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?

Stepan Bandera

8.1: STEPAN BANDERA

Reviled by many as a Nazi collaborator who committed atrocities against Jews, Poles, and Russians during the Second World War, Stepan Bandera is regarded by some people in Ukraine as a national hero. His name and legacy have been in the news lately as a result of the war in Ukraine — a conflict rooted in deep historical and geopolitical tensions.

This episode also serves to announce the theme of the new season of the show.

Interview: Luca Trenta Part 2

7.24: INTERVIEW: LUCA TRENTA PART 2

Despite the so-called “ban on assassination” instituted by President Gerald Ford, successive administrations have found ways to justify - often using euphemistic language - the killing of people around the world for a variety of political, strategic, and military reasons. From Contra death squads, to the wars on terror, to drone strikes, historian Luca Trenta discusses the evolving policies adopted in Washington’s corridors of power.

Interview: Luca Trenta Part 1

7.23: Interview: Luca Trenta Part 1

Luca Trenta, an academic at the University of Swansea, joins Niall for a conversation about the evolving US policy towards the use of assassination throughout the Cold War.

This is the first installment of a two-part discussion.

Interview: Kit Klarenberg

7.22: INTERVIEW: KIT KLARENBERG

This interview follows on from a past episode of the show, which looked at the apparent assassination attempt targeting Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Sergei was a former Russian spy turned British double agent, who was living in exile in England when he was allegedly poisoned by a “Novichok” chemical weapon in 2018. Kit and Niall consider the many strange aspects of the case and the official investigation, and they look at some recent developments.

They also discuss the role of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which investigated the Skripal incident at the same time as it was engaged in an investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. This connects the Skripal case to the previous episode of the show - the death of James LeMesurier.