Shireen Abu Akleh

9.12: SHIREEN ABU AKLEH

A pioneering Palestinian-American journalist whose reporting for Al Jazeera over 25 years gave global audiences a human perspective on life under Israeli occupation, Shireen Abu Akleh was known as “the voice of Palestine.” 

On May 11, 2022, while covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin, she was fatally shot despite wearing clearly marked press gear. Multiple investigations — by the UN, CNN, The Washington Post, and others — concluded that Israeli forces were responsible, contradicting initial Israeli claims. Independent groups argued she was deliberately targeted, though Israel maintains it was accidental and has refused to take accountability or cooperate with international investigations.

Her killing was widely condemned as an attack on press freedom and a possible war crime, and her legacy endures as a symbol of Palestinian resilience and unflinching journalism in the face of military occupation.

UPDATE: Jonathan Moyle

9.10: UPDATE: Jonathan Moyle

Jonathan Moyle, likely an MI6/CIA asset as well as the editor of a specialist defense journal, died suspiciously in Santiago, Chile, in March 1990, while questioning Cardoen Industries at an aerospace expo about alleged military helicopter sales to Iraq. Found hanging in a hotel closet, his death was ruled a suicide despite evidence suggesting murder. Wensley Clarkson’s book, used as a key resource for our previous episode on this case in 2024, implied that Moyle’s inquiries about Cardoen’s deal with Saddam Hussein led to his death, possibly on the order’s of Cardoen or one of his lieutenants.

New information disputes Clarkson’s claim — and Moyle’s accusation — that Cardoen was adapting Bell 206 helicopters for military use in 1990. Cardoen Industries had shifted to civilian applications (e.g., crop dusting), as the helicopters were deemed unsuitable for military purposes, as confirmed by FAA-approved inspectors and Iraqi disinterest. 

Moyle’s claims of military use were either a mistake (unlikely given his expertise) or part of a Western intelligence plot to frame Cardoen for weapons sales to Saddam — a plan that was to be deployed after Iraq’s 1990 Kuwait invasion.

This suggests Moyle may have been silenced by his own intelligence handlers for revealing their scheme several months prematurely. 

British efforts to label his death a suicide or sexual misadventure hint at a cover-up, while doubts remain about Clarkson’s accuracy, Moyle’s motives, and who was truly responsible for his death: potentially Western intelligence rather than Cardoen. 

Interview: Tim Norman and Kit Klarenberg: The Sturgess Inquiry and the "novichok" narrative

9.9: Interview: Tim Norman and Kit Klarenberg: The Sturgess Inquiry and the "novichok" narrative

Independent journalists Kit Klarenberg and Tim Norman have conducted significant investigations into the alleged 2018 assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer turned British spy, and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. The episode also covers the related death of Dawn Sturgess in nearby Amesbury, which was recently the subject of a UK inquiry. 

Skripal, who betrayed Russia for MI6 in the 1990s, was settled in Salisbury after a spy swap in 2010. On March 4, 2018, he and Yulia were found unconscious on a bench, allegedly poisoned by the nerve agent "novichok," which the British government attributed to Russian operatives. The official narrative claims this poison was smeared on Skripal’s door, though inconsistencies—such as the delayed onset of symptoms, the survival of the Skripals, and lack of definitive evidence linking the agent to Russia—raise doubts about the UK government’s story.

Months later, Englishwoman Dawn Sturgess died after reportedly spraying herself with "novichok" from a sealed perfume bottle found by her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, prompting further accusations against Russia. However, the apparently sealed bottle and the inability of scientists to confirm the nerve agent’s origin undermined the government’s claims. 

The British narrative was shaky and possibly propped up by intelligence-linked entities like Bellingcat and the Institute for Statecraft’s Integrity Initiative, which may have pushed disinformation. The recently concluded Sturgess Inquiry, designed to control the narrative, inadvertently exposed its weaknesses.

Jonathan Moyle

9.8: JONATHAN MOYLE

Jonathan Moyle, a former RAF pilot and editor of Defense Helicopter World, died under mysterious circumstances in Santiago, Chile, in 1990. His death was seemingly connected to espionage, international arms deals, and covert operations, particularly concerning the activities of a Chilean businessman named Carlos Cardoen, who was a CIA informer with connections with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. Moyle was investigating the conversion of civilian Bell helicopters for military use by Cardoen Industries, which could have involved supplying Iraq amidst its financial desperation that followed the end of its war with Iran. Moyle’s aggressive questioning of Cardoen and his employees at an arms fair in Santiago might have made him a target. Officially, his death was ruled a suicide, but evidence suggested foul play, including a puncture wound hinting at sedation before death. The British government, linked to Moyle through MI6, seemed to engage in a cover-up, first suggesting suicide, then a bizarre sex game gone wrong, to deflect from any espionage connection. Despite investigations, no definitive culprits were identified; however, theories point towards Cardoen, Iraqi hitmen, MI6, or even the CIA due to Moyle’s disruptive inquiries into sensitive operations. His death remains a murky case of espionage and possible assassination, reflecting the shadowy interplay of the international arms trade and intelligence work.

Donald Trump

9.7: DONALD TRUMP

With the US election upon us, host Niall takes a look at a couple of historical political assassination attempts and considers this year’s political drama, including two apparent attempts on the life of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Things often aren’t quite what they seem—especially in the world of high-level politics—and this might be no exception.

Antonio Luna

9.6: ANTONIO LUNA

Victorious over the Spanish Empire, at the end of the 19th century the United States decided to extend its “manifest destiny” across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippine Islands. A young Filipino radical named Antonio Luna helped lead the struggle to defend his country against Yankee imperialism, dealing highly effective blows against the superior forces of the American invaders. Luna’s assassination at the hands of his fellow Filipinos dealt a mortal blow to the freedom struggle, and it would be another half century before the Philippines would achieve—a form—of independence from Washington’s control.

John Lennon Part 2

9.5: JOHN LENNON PART 2

In the conclusion of our look at the assassination of John Lennon, we discover that it is a virtual impossibility that the man who has spent the last 44 years behind bars for the crime, Mark Chapman, could have done it. While Chapman confessed at the time and maintains his guilt to this day, the evidence does not support his claim to have fired the fatal bullets.

Niall continues his discussion with David Whelan, the author of the important new book Mind Games: the Assassination of John Lennon.

John Lennon Part 1

9.4: JOHN LENNON PART 1

In the first of a two-part look at the murder of John Lennon, we consider the life and work of the former Beatle, and the strange story of the man who was convicted of killing him, Mark Chapman. 

Host Niall speaks with author David Whelan about his fascinating new book Mind Games: The Assassination of John Lennon, which contains important and surprising fresh insight on the case.

Danny Casolaro

9.3: DANNY CASOLARO

A Fairfax, Virginia based computing journalist who had turned his hand to deep-dive investigative journalism, in the early-1990s Casolaro was looking into an alleged theft of cutting-edge software by the US Government, which led him down a rabbit hole of seemingly bizarre conspiracy theories — thanks to disinformation fed to him by a shady self-professed tech expert — a project that Casolaro called “The Octopus”. His dead body was found in the bathtub of a hotel room in a small town in West Virginia on August 10th, 1991. He had gone there to meet at least one contact who was helping with his investigation. While police assumed it had been a suicide, not everything added up to that conclusion — not least the strange circumstances leading up to Casolaro’s death.

Alex Odeh

9.2: ALEX ODEH

Alexander Odeh was a Palestinian Arab displaced by the 1967 Arab-Israel War. He moved to the United States in the 1970s, working as a college lecturer, as well as writing poetry. While engaged in political activism in support of Arab people, both in the Middle East and in the USA, he was killed in a bombing attack in 1985 that was widely attributed to a Jewish American terrorist cell.

The alleged perpetrators subsequently fled to Israel in order to evade murder and terrorism charges. One of the potential killers, Andy Green (who changed his name to Baruch Ben-Yosef), is back in the news in early 2024 as he seems to be a leader of protests by ultra nationalist Jewish people in Israel, which aim to prevent essential aid from reaching the malnourished Palestinian people living in war-torn Gaza.

Erik Jan Hanussen

9.1: Erik Jan Hanussen

A legend and a mystery in his own lifetime, the decades following his death have only added to the mystique — and confusion — about who Jan Erik Hanussen really was and what his role in the rise of the Nazis might have been. We find out about the various dubious accounts that have shaped public perception about this once-famous mesmerist and clairvoyant, and how an entire subcategory of popular history was born — Occultism and the Nazis.

Louis Mountbatten

8.9: LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN

Blown up while sailing on his fishing boat along the coast of County Sligo in Ireland in 1979, the assassination of Lord Mountbatten resulted in international condemnation of the IRA, which claimed responsibility for the blast. Three other people — two teenaged boys and a woman in her eighties — were also killed. Many wondered why the IRA had chosen to kill Mountbatten, an old man who had long ago retired from public life, and who regularly summered in Ireland. It was especially strange that the Irish Republican group would choose to carry out the assassination on the same day as, and overshadowing, a bombing attack against a British Army barracks. 

Many years later, it was revealed that there was another aspect of Mountbatten’s life, quite apart from his royal status, that might have put a target on his back. A disgraceful secret that could have made him a liability to the British.

The Gunpowder Plot

8.8: THE GUNPOWDER PLOT

We explore the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which threatened the life of King James, his wife, and their two sons. History records that a gang of Catholic rebels, including Guy Fawkes, sought to blow up the king as he opened a session of the English parliament. But might someone else — James’ own spymaster — have engineered the entire conspiracy as a “false flag”?

Nepalese Royal Massacre

8.7: NEPALESE ROYAL MASSACRE

Did Crown Prince Dipendra single-handedly nearly wipe out his entire dynasty, the Shahs, who had ruled in Nepal for centuries? Did he really murder in cold blood his parents and siblings? If so, why? No solid motive was ever uncovered.

Maybe he was a patsy, a pawn in someone else’s game. Or could he have been a victim framed to look like the perpetrator?

And who stood to really benefit from one of the bloodiest moments in Nepal’s modern history?

Faisal Al Saud Part 2

8.6: FAISAL AL SAUD PART 2

One of the most vocal opponents and the State of Israel, Faisal lavished money on Palestinian causes. Following the 1973 Ramadan / Yom Kippur War, the Saudi king instituted an oil embargo against the United States and other countries that backed Israel. Other Muslim oil-producing countries joined the embargo, leading to the Energy Crisis, which had a damaging impact on the global economy. When Faisal was assassinated in 1975, many in the Muslim world thought that he had been targeted by the Americans or the Israelis in retaliation. Part 2 of 2.

Faisal Al Saud Part 1

8.5: FAISAL AL SAUD PART 1

Long before the House of Saud became synonymous with fabulous wealth flowing from their oil rich kingdom, they were tribal warriors who aspired to unite the Arabian Peninsula — and control the holy cities of Mecca and Medina — under their flag and guided by their obscure interpretation of the Islamic faith. Before we look at the details of the assassination of King Faisal, this episode considers the origins of the Saudi royal family, including their connection to British intrigues in the Middle East. Part 1 of 2.

Alexander II of Russia

8.4: ALEXANDER II OF RUSSIA

Tsar Alexander II of Russia was reformer who granted freedom to over twenty million serfs in 1861. Two decades later, he was on the brink of signing into law a program of changes to the Russian system of government that might have set the empire on a road to some form of democracy and constitutional monarchy. That was thwarted when assassins from a shadowy radical group called People’s Will killed the Russian emperor on the snowy streets of St. Petersburg.

Alexander I of Yugoslavia

8.3: ALEXANDER I OF YUGOSLAVIA

The slaying of the Yugoslavian king on the streets of Marseille, France, in 1934 sent shockwaves throughout Europe. His assassination by a squad of Croatian and Macedonian nationalist militants was part of an international conspiracy by more powerful forces that sought to reshape the map of Europe. After a narrative historical recounting of events, host Niall discusses the case with Dr. Chris Millington of Manchester Metropolitan University.

Philip II of Macedon

8.2: Philip II of Macedon

Struck down in his prime on the day of his daughter’s wedding in 336 BC, the murder of Philip shocked ancient Greece.

This episode includes a narrative telling of the assassination, before going on to consider the lives of Philip and his much more famous son, Alexander the Great. Then we ask the question: To what extent can we say that the assassin’s blade, plunged into Philip’s heart that fateful day, changed the course of world history?