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Intelligence Squared

The Remarkable True Story of The Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970’s, with Jason Burke (Part One)

Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.21.2K Ratings

🗓️ 4 January 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them were the beautiful young Leila Khaled with her jewellery made from grenade rings, the hard-drinking philanderer Carlos the Jackal sporting shades and open-neck shirts, and the radical leftists of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. Taking Israel, capitalism and ‘western imperialism’ as targets, they orchestrated spectacularly violent attacks that held governments to ransom and the world gripped to their television screens. In October 2025 one of the foremost writers on terrorism and International Security Correspondent for the Guardian Jason Burke came to the Intelligence Squared stage to uncover the insider stories from the terror attacks which shaped this tumultuous decade. From the Munich Olympics and the raid on Entebbe, to the Iranian Embassy Siege in London and the Beirut bombings of the early 1980s, Burke shed light on the lives and minds of the perpetrators of these attacks, as well as the government agents who sought to thwart and assassinate them, drawing on declassified archive material and original interviews with key actors and witnesses. --- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:32.3

Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.

0:34.6

I'm producer Mia Sorrenti.

0:40.2

Today's episode is part one of our recent live event with Jason Burke, the International Security Correspondent for The Guardian.

0:42.7

Burke joined the rest-is-classified co-host Gordon Carrera at the Kielm Theatre in London

0:47.4

to discuss the remarkable true stories of the extremists who hijacked the 1970s.

0:53.7

In that turbulent decade, a network of radicals, from Leila Khaled and Carlos the

0:58.1

Jackal to the Bard of Meinhof gang, targeted the West with hijackings, hostage-taking

1:03.1

and spectacular acts of political violence.

1:06.5

Drawing on declassified archives and original interviews, Burke takes us inside the attacks that

1:11.3

defined the era, from the Munich Olympics to the Iranian embassy siege in London and the early

1:16.3

1980s, Beirut bombings.

1:18.7

Let's join our host, Gordon Carrera, now with more.

1:21.5

Hello everyone.

1:26.7

Welcome to this Intelligence Square-Ead event. I'm Gordon Carrera.

1:30.3

I host a podcast called The Rest is Classified and write about some of the issues we might be talking about today.

1:35.3

And I'm absolutely delighted to speak to Jason Burke, who is the International Security correspondent for The Guardian,

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