ASSASSINS

In the early 2000’s Pim Fortuyn was one of the most famous gay politicians in the world.   Determined to protect the tradition of progressive Dutch values, Fortuyn was also anti-immigration, and a fierce critic of Islam.    All this against a backdrop of the War on Terror, which, at the time was in full swing.   Host: Aslan Pahari  Producer: Hannah Jose  Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls  Video Produ...

You might know L-FRESH The LION from tracks like 1 in 100,000 or his Like A Version performance of Survive on triple j.  As a Sikh Punjabi-Australian artist, he’s built his career around questions of identity and culture and the melding of musical genres.  In the final instalment of our Punjabi music special, Aslan sits down with L-FRESH to talk about the Punjabi musicians who’ve influenced him. ...

Chamkila, the so-called 'Elvis of Punjab', famously outraged religious leaders with his 'vulgar' music. But what was so taboo about his songs that he was forced to fold his hands and apologise? And in the end, that apology wasn't enough! In 1988, Punjabi musician and cultural icon Amar Singh Chamkila had his rise cut cruelly short. To this day, it's not clear who pulled the trigger. Host: Aslan Pa...

July 2022. Drake, the famous and at times controversial musician, takes to the stage in his home city of Toronto, Canada. That evening, Drake performs in a sweatshirt emblazoned with the face of a turbaned Punjabi man. And underneath the image, in large black font, is his name: Sidhu Moose Wala. 1993 to 2022. So, who is this man on Drake's sweatshirt? And why is he dead? This is the first instalme...

During the middle Ages, the shrine of Thomas Becket was one of the most popular destinations for Christian pilgrims. Aslan talks to Mary McGilivray about the cult of St Thomas, the pilgrims who went to see the place he died, and the medieval souvenirs they took home. And if you haven't yet, check out our recent full episode about the assassination of Thomas Becket. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Han...

The murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170 rocked medieval Europe. For hundreds of years, the place of his death — Canterbury Cathedral — became one of the most popular Christian pilgrimage destinations in the world. Thomas Becket was even made a saint. But why did this man become such an important and influential figure after his death? Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer:...

After the young British MP Jo Cox was assassinated in 2016, police raided the house of her killer.  He lived in Cox’s West Yorkshire electorate, a region with a large and flourishing South Asian population.   Inside his home were disturbing clues about what motivated his attack.  Neighbours had thought that the assassin was harmless, just a quiet, solitary middle-aged man.  But the local South Asi...

In the year 40 AD, the Trung sisters led one of the most incredible rebellions against China, taking on the powerful Eastern Han dynasty.  Born into an aristocratic family in what’s now northern Vietnam, the sisters were trained from an early age in combat and military strategy.  Sparked by an assassination, they went to war.  But history holds different accounts of how this story ended.  Host: As...

When Daniel Pearl touches down in Karachi, Pakistan, he knows he's taking a risk. A big one. He's a Jewish American reporter for the Wall Street Journal, investigating terrorism in a country hostile to America. He’s also highly experienced and well-versed in security protocols. So how does it all go so wrong? Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls Video Producers:...

Magistrate Giovanni Falcone should have been too scared to take on the Sicilian mafia. After all, many of his colleagues had died trying to bring the Cosa Nostra to justice. So how did he do it? And why was victory, when it came, so bittersweet? This is the second in a two-part series about mafia assassinations in Italy. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls Video...

The Italian mafia once held regular meetings to decide which public figure needed to be assassinated. Some decisions were because of long-held grudges by these Sicilian "men of honour". Other killings were about stopping someone from challenging the mafia's power in southern Italy. For Sicilian magistrate Cesare Terranova, both of those reasons made him the target of the notorious Cosa Nostra. Thi...

Would-be assassins have tried to kill or abduct Masih Alinejad at least three times.  Somehow, she's still alive. The former Iranian journalist fled her home country over 15 years ago. From America, she started a hugely popular global campaign against Iran's hijab laws. But why do people want her dead?  Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls Video Producers: Dylan...

ASSASSINS with Aslan Pahari will be back in a few weeks with a batch of brand new stories about the world's most shocking assassinations. But in the meantime, may we present… What The Duck?! | Nature's Most Wanted.

Who wins in a feud between a Washington Post journalist… and his own Crown Prince? Saudi Arabian columnist Jamal Khashoggi ran monthly op-eds about how Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was ruining his country. But MBS is not a man who's known for his tolerance. And something snapped. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls Video Producers: Dylan Behan, Tejas Bhat Sp...

The Army of God has been described by the American government as a domestic underground Christian terrorist organisation. The group's been accused of organising arson and bomb attacks against abortion clinics. But was it also connected to the 2009 killing of abortion provider Dr George Tiller? NOTE: This episode is the second in two parts series about the American abortion provider Dr George Tille...

Bombings. Break-ins. Setting fire to abortion clinics.   The extremist wing of the anti-abortion movement in the United States has actively targeted clinics that provide abortions to women. But it has also attacked the humans working there, sometimes with deadly consequences.   This week, the 2009 assassination of Dr George Tiller, a high-profile abortion provider in Kansas.  Host: Aslan Pahari  P...

The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the majestic Taj Mahal to commemorate his beloved wife Mumtaz after she died. The couple's children, however, were far less loving with each other. They fought a bloody battle of succession that divided them all and ended with Aurangzeb assassinating his brother, Dara Shikoh. How did things get so bad in this powerful 17th century family? Host: Aslan Pahari Prod...

At the 1970 Academy Awards the movie "Z" won the Oscar for best foreign film. The film opens with this line: "Any similarity to actual persons and events is not coincidental. It is INTENTIONAL". You see, it was inspired by the real-life assassination of Greek athlete turned activist, Grigoris Lambrakis. Released just 6 years after his killing, the film was immediately banned in his homeland. Film...

The Greek Olympic long jumper Grigoris Lambrakis was assassinated by right wing extremists in front of police and a crowd of witnesses. Just one month earlier he had walked the full Marathon route in Greece to protest war and military power. His killing shook the nation and foreshadowed the rise of the military dictatorship he had long feared was coming. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Au...

There aren't many Russians who can get away with insulting their president, Vladimir Putin. But for most of his career, Alexei Navalny did. This week, the story of Russia's most famous dissident, and the lengths it took to kill him. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls Video Producers: Tejas Bhat Special thanks: Michael Osmond for archives research Supervising Pr...

In 1975 a young Saudi prince entered the royal palace and shot dead the king, Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The killing was both personal and political, linked to the death of a brother, the tension between tradition and modernisation, and the introduction of television to the desert kingdom. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls Video Producers: Chloe Farrington,...

When Indigenous woman Berta Cáceres helps organise a months-long blockade against multinationals in Honduras she immediately becomes a target. It's 2016, and Honduras is the deadliest country per capita for environmental activists. But Berta and the Lenca people refuse to back down. Their sacred river is at stake. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: Tegan Nicholls Video Produc...

Indira Gandhi, India's first and only female Prime Minister, had many enemies. But after her government ordered tanks to fire on the Golden Temple, one of Sikhism's holiest sites, the backlash became inevitable. Little did she know that her assassin would come from her most trusted inner circle… Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: John Jacobs Video Producer: Tejas Bhat Special...

It's said that Rasputin, the so-called 'mad monk', had supernatural abilities, could hypnotise people, and was quite the philanderer… It's also said that he was incredibly tricky to assassinate. But how much of that is true? And what's with people claiming to have preserved his severed penis in a jar? Host: Aslan Pahari Producer: Hannah Jose Audio Engineer: John Jacobs Video Producer: Tejas Bhat S...

Five months before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Afghan resistance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud warned the western world that Al Qaeda was planning something big. But no one took him seriously. And just two days before they committed the most lethal terrorist attack in history, Al Qaeda assassinated Massoud too. But in the carnage that followed, the world barely noticed. Host: Aslan Pahari Producer:...