The Forgotten Assassin – Sirhan Sirhan and the Killing of Robert F. Kennedy

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2019

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1968 seemed like it should have been an open-and-shut case. Many people crowded in the small room at Los Angeles’s famed Ambassador Hotel that fateful night and saw Sirhan Sirhan pull the trigger. Sirhan was also convicted of the crime and still languishes in jail with a life sentence. However, conspiracy theorists have used inconsistencies in the eyewitness testimony and alleged anomalies in the forensic evidence to suggest that Sirhan was only one shooter in a larger conspiracy, a patsy for the real killers, or even a hypnotized assassin who did not know what he was doing (a popular plot in Cold War–era fiction, such as The Manchurian Candidate).

In this episode I speak with Mel Ayton, who profiles Sirhan and argued that his political beliefs and hatred for RFK motivated the killing. Ayton, author of the book The Forgotten Terrorist – Sirhan Sirhan and theAssassination of Robert F Kennedy, examines Sirhan’s extensive personal notebooks, revisits the trial proceedings, and argues Sirhan was in fact the lone assassin whose politically motivated act was a forerunner of present-day terrorism. Overall, we reexamine the assassination that rocked the nation during the turbulent summer of 1968.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The history of the Popes of Rome and Christianity reaches into nearly every aspect of history.
0:06.4	In the history of the Papacy podcast, we step over the rope.
0:10.0	We dive into, discover more about the people events and backgrounds that define the influence
0:15.8	of the Popes of Rome and church not only on the west, but the world.
0:20.4	To start listening now, go to ParthenonPodcast.com or search for history of the Papacy on your
0:27.4	favorite podcast platform.
0:58.2	Welcome to the History Unplugged Podcast.
1:07.4	The unscripted show that celebrates unsung heroes, myth busts historical lies, and rediscoveres
1:15.4	the forgotten stories that changed our world.
1:19.4	I'm your host, Scott Rank.
1:27.4	Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 and it seemed like an open-and-chuck case.
1:38.8	Many people crowded in the small room at Los Angeles's Ambassador Hotel that fateful night
1:43.6	and saw the assassin, Sirhan Sirhan pulled a trigger.
1:47.1	He was also convicted of the crime and is still in prison with a life sentence.
1:51.0	But conspiracy theorists have jumped on inconsistencies in the eyewitness testimonies and anomalies
1:56.6	in the forensic evidence to suggest that he was only one shooter in a larger conspiracy.
2:01.8	They also say that his claim that he has no recollection of the event shows that he was hypnotized
2:06.9	and could be some sort of manchurian candidate.
2:09.7	Today I'm speaking with Mel Eiton, author of the book The Forgotten Terrorist.
2:13.5	He argues that there's a wealth of evidence about Sirhan and is hatred for RFK that motivates the
2:18.7	killing. He describes eyewitness accounts and overlook forensic evidence and even Sirhan's
2:23.7	personal notes and shows that Sirhan was in fact the loness assassin who's politically motivated
	...

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