robert f kennedy

Senator Robert Francis Kennedy was murdered in Los Angeles, California in June of 1968. He was in the midst of the Democratic primary campaign for the party’s nomination for President of the United States, and he had just won the California primary.

The man convicted of his killing was Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, a Palestinian immigrant. With a history of brain injury and an interest in occult religion, Sirhan is a strange and unfortunate man. He appeared to have no memory of killing Kennedy, nor did he seem to have much of an idea of what was going on around him during his trial.

Over the years, many people have uncovered serious problems with the Los Angeles Police Department investigation into Kennedy’s assassination, including signs that witnesses were harassed and evidence either suppressed or destroyed. According to some, Sirhan was part of a conspiracy (though he might not have fully understood this) and there had to have been a second shooter.

recommended reading

Shadow Play: The Unsolved Murder of Robert F. Kennedy by William Klaber and Philip Melanson provides a fascinating overview of the conspiracy theory (backed up by a wealth of research amassed from many sources over the years) regarding this assassination.

The Revolution of Robert Kennedy by John Boher charts the politician’s shifting political perspective, as this scion of a patrician family came to be seen as a voice of a radicalized younger generation.

RFK and MLK: Visions of Hope by Philip Goduti considers the careers of two of the most iconic figures in American political life in the 1960s - two men who fought for civil rights and social reformism, only to succumb to assassins’ bullets within a few weeks of each other in 1968.

Robert Kennedy, in His Own Words is a selection of Kennedy’s recollections of life inside one of the most powerful political clans in America.

Attribution for music used in this episode:

Assassinations Podcast Theme Music (Intro, Outro, and Transitions) written and performed by Graeme Ronald

Extracts from live coverage of Kennedy’s speech at the Ambassador Hotel, NBC News