ASSASSINS

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 PahariProducer: Hannah JoseAudio Engineer: John JacobsVideo Producer: Tejas BhatSpecial thanks: Michael Osmond for archives researchSupervising Producer: Kyla SlavenExecutive Producers: Joel Werner, Eric George, Jessica RadburnTo binge even more great episodes of ASSASSINS with Aslan Pahari go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more stories of the world's most shocking assassinations — from the lone wolf hitman to the professional assassin, you'll hear how famous figures like Abraham Lincoln, Benazir Bhutto, Ramses III, Tupac and Gandhi met their end.

Each week on If You're Listening, host Matt Bevan explains the biggest story in world news while hiding in his basement from assassins (not us!) and authoritarian regimes.In this episode, Matt brings you the story of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.In the early hours of July 31 this year, Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran. It's presumed Israel was behind the killing, with reports detailing a complex operation by its spy agency Mossad. So if it was Israel that did this, why did they do it in such an extraordinary manner, and in Iran of all places? The answer tells us a lot about the complex political situation Israel finds itself in, where it feels the need for revenge, but only in a way that doesn't alienate its allies.Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app, or check out the series on YouTube.

Hosted by Marc Fennell, No One Saw It Coming is a podcast that focuses on moments in history that seemed inconsequential but turned out to be momentous. And in the episode that we're bringing you today, one of the most infamous assassinations of all time — that of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.It's the event that's seen as the trigger for World War One, but it didn't happen quite the way the history books let on…Australian author Paul Ham tells Marc Fennell (Stuff the British Stole, Mastermind) what really happened on the 28th of June 1914, when the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo.Far from a meticulously planned and executed assassination, the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand might not have happened at all, were it not for one fateful wrong turn that put him right in the path of the man who would murder him. And the deaths of millions could have been avoided altogether without the desperate need for colonial powers to defend their empires.Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

Editor's note (22/12/2025): In this episode, we discuss how, under Gandhi's leadership, the spinning wheel became a symbol of rebellion in India. We then say, "Which is why, to this day, that wheel appears on the Indian flag." This is incorrect. Although it is true that the spinning wheel featured on an earlier version of the Indian flag, in 1947 it was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra.Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian activist who helped topple the British Empire, wasn't killed by colonisers, but by one of his own.When the struggle against the British was won, and India gained its independence, the ghosts of Partition lingered.And finally caught up with the man of peace.Why did Mahatma Gandhi, a man known for non-violence, meet such a violent end?Host: Aslan PahariProducer: Hannah JoseSound: John JacobsVideo Producer: Tejas BhatSpecial thanks: Michael Osmond for archives researchExecutive Producers: Joel Werner, Eric George, Jessica RadburnTo binge even more great episodes of ASSASSINS with Aslan Pahari go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more stories of the world's most shocking assassinations — from the lone wolf hitman to the professional assassin, you'll hear how famous figures like Abraham Lincoln, Benazir Bhutto, Ramses III, Tupac, Rasputin, and Gandhi met their end.

In 2020, Iran's top nuclear scientist, Professor Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was gunned down on a remote stretch of road outside Tehran.But as the dust settled, one thing stood out as being particularly strange.Apart from the victim, his wife, and their security detail, there was no one else around.No assailants, no witnesses, and no collateral damage.Israel was the prime suspect.Had they just enacted one of the most technologically advanced assassinations of all time?Host: Aslan PahariProducer: Hannah JoseSound: John JacobsVideo Producer: Tejas BhatSpecial thanks: Michael Osmond for archives researchExecutive Producers: Joel Werner, Eric George, Jessica RadburnTo binge even more great episodes of ASSASSINS with Aslan Pahari go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more stories of the world's most shocking assassinations — from the lone wolf hitman to the professional assassin, you'll hear how famous figures like Abraham Lincoln, Benazir Bhutto, Ramses III, Tupac, Rasputin, and Gandhi met their end.