Zheng Pingru, the Courtesan Spy

Episode 2.1: Zheng Pingru, the Courtesan Spy

Japan expanded its empire across eastern China in the 1930s, and maintained it with a reign of terror throughout the Second World War. The feared Japanese spymaster Kenji Doihara recruited a ruthless Chinese collaborator to help control the city of Shanghai. As leader of the secret police, Ding Mocun came to be known as the “Butcher of Shanghai.” In a bid get rid of Ding, the nationalist resistance recruited a beautiful young socialite, Zheng Pingru, for the most dangerous of missions - ensnare Ding and lead him to his death!

Season 2 Teaser Trailer: Spy vs. Spy

The world of James Bond, with all its ingenious weaponry and elaborate schemes, is pure escapist fantasy - a caricature, right?

Well, when it comes to real world spies, truth can be as strange as anything Ian Fleming could come up with. In Season 2 of the podcast we will delve into this fascinating and dangerous world. Our new season launches November 19th. Check out our teaser trailer for a taste of what's coming this season, and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher to make sure you're one of the first to know when new episodes go live.

Mini Episode: Jörg Jenatsch

Episode 1.12: Jörg Jenatsch

In this Halloween special, we uncover the story of one of history’s strangest assassinations. Jörg Jenatsch was a preacher, a politician, a soldier and a downright dirty schemer. Embroiled in the wars of religion in the early 17th Century, he made many enemies. In the end, he got his comeuppance when he was murdered by ... a bear?

Mini Episode: King Radama II

Episode 1.11: King Radama II

In this mini episode, we look at King Radama II of Madagascar. Though he inherited an isolated island kingdom steeped in pagan tradition, Radama wanted to open up his country to Christianity and the modern world. He made powerful enemies during his short reign and was strangled to death by his own soldiers ... or so the official story goes. Rumors persisted that King Radama survived the assassination attempt and lived on in the remote jungle of the island - a folk hero who would one day reclaim his throne.

Mini Episode: Mary, Queen of Scots

Episode 1.10: Mary, Queen of Scots

For this episode, Assassinations Podcast goes ON LOCATION! We start our tale in the historic city of Edinburgh, outside Holyrood Palace. Over 400 years ago, this was the scene of one of the bloodiest episodes in Scottish history: the murder of David Rizzio, the favorite of Mary, Queen of Scots. That murder set off a chain of events that led to the assassination of a king and the execution of Mary herself.

Diana, Princess of Wales Part 2

EPISODE 1.9: Diana, Princess of Wales PART 2

In Part Two of our episode on the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales, we look at what happened on that tragic night in Paris in 1997 when her limousine crashed. From the moment her death was announced, people have speculated as to how this icon of the 20th Century met such a sudden, shocking end.

Diana, Princess of Wales Part 1

EPISODE 1.8: Diana, Princess of Wales PART 1

Part One of our episode on the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales. We recount the extraordinary day of her funeral and the crisis facing the British monarchy at that time. Diana had a troubled marriage to Prince Charles, and we find out about the secret recordings of adulterous affairs, leaked to the press, as part of the so-called "War of the Waleses".

Salvador Allende Part 2

EPISODE 1.7: SALVADOR ALLENDE PART 2

From the moment that Allende won the popular vote in 1970, powerful forces inside Chile and the United States began to plot his demise. A left wing intellectual, Allende was opposed by conservative Chileans, who saw him as a godless communist, and by the Nixon White House, which viewed him as threat to US business interests and geopolitical strategy. On September 11, 1973, Allende's opponents struck. Allende died in the ensuing coup, and with him, the democratic political process in Chile. 

Salvador Allende Part 1

EPISODE 1.6: SALVADOR ALLENDE PART 1

From the moment that Allende won the popular vote in 1970, powerful forces inside Chile and the United States began to plot his demise. A left wing intellectual, Allende was opposed by conservative Chileans, who saw him as a godless communist, and by the Nixon White House, which viewed him as threat to US business interests and geopolitical strategy. On September 11, 1973, Allende's opponents struck. Allende died in the ensuing coup, and with him, the democratic political process in Chile. 

Mini Episode: Arkady Babchenko

EPISODE 1.5: Arkady Babchenko

Arkady Babchenko, a Russian journalist living in Kiev, was dead. In newspapers and on TV news programs around the world, the story of the assassination was repeated: a brave critic of the Kremlin had been murdered in his apartment. There was even a gruesome photo seeming to show the victim, bullet holes in his back, lying in a pool of blood. But then, the day after his death, Babchenko walked into a press conference. It had all been a hoax, he said, orchestrated by the Ukrainian authorities to uncover a real plot. And so unfolded a tale involving spies, an arms dealer, a monk, and a shady security consultancy in the suburbs of Washington, DC. 

Dag Hammarskjöld & Patrice Lumumba

EPISODE 1.4: Dag Hammarskjöld & Patrice Lumumba

In this episode, we look at two men, from very different backgrounds, whose lives intersected in the crisis that engulfed the newly independent country of the Congo.

Patrice Lumumba was charismatic, and he became the face of the African liberation movement. He helped to lead his homeland from an exploited Belgian colony to an independent republic. But his dream of a free and prosperous Congo was dashed upon the rocks of foreign economic interests, local political rivalries, and ruthless Cold War scheming. Lumumba was murdered by his Congolese foes - but just who ordered and witnessed his execution?

Cool, distant, and a deep thinker, Dag Hammarskjold, the second ever Secretary-General of the United Nations, was described as the most brilliant diplomat of his generation. He took over the UN in the midst of the Cold War. As global tensions rose, Hammarskjold sought to strengthen the UN as a force for peace and dialogue. This vision was put to the test in the Congo Crisis. His effort to bring about a lasting settlement cost him his life. Killed in a plane crash, rumors swirled - then and now - about what happened. Was he murdered? And if so, by whom?

Leon Trotsky

EPISODE 1.3: LEON TROTSKY

Trotsky co-led the Russian Revolution, becoming a hero to millions of socialists and a villain to millions more who saw the Bolshevik regime as a terrible curse to befall Russia. Though he was one of the leading figures in Soviet society, Trotsky's rivalry with Joseph Stalin led to his downfall. Exiled and hounded across the world, Trotsky never gave up on his vision for a socialist future. But he knew it was only a matter of time before one of Stalin's henchmen would catch up with him and deal the fatal blow. In this episode of Assassinations Podcast, we explore the extraordinary and tragic life of Leon Trotsky and witness the brutal death of a revolutionary martyr.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

EPISODE 1.2: ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND

This week, we explore one of the most famous assassinations of the 20th century: the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, on the streets of Sarajevo in the summer of 1914. The assassination has been called the most important event of the 20th Century – the event that plunged Europe into the First World War. Join me as we journey from glamorous Vienna to the dingy, smoke-filled rooms of Serbian terrorists in Belgrade to uncover the mysteries behind the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. 

Grigori Rasputin

EPISODE 1.1: GRIGORI RASPUTIN

The first episode of our podcast! Join us as we explore the life and death of Grigori Rasputin, a mysterious Siberian peasant who captivated the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia. As he rose to become the most infamous man in the vast Russian empire, a cabal of powerful men plotted his bloody downfall. We sort the facts from legend to uncover the man behind the myth of the "mad monk."

Season 1 Teaser Trailer

SEASON 1 LAUNCHES MONDAY, APRIL 30TH!

Assassinations Podcast Season 1 will be launching April 30th. Check out our teaser trailer for a taste of what's coming this season, and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher to make sure you're one of the first to know when episodes go live.