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Intelligence Squared

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

Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.21.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 34 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. --- 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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0:52.3

Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.

0:54.7

I'm producer Mia Sorrenti.

0:59.4

For this episode, we're rejoining for part two of our live event with Jason Burke,

1:02.5

the International Security Correspondent for The Guardian.

1:07.4

Burke joined us recently at the Kieln Theatre to examine the extremist networks that shook the West in the 1970s.

1:09.8

Drawing on declassified documents and new interviews,

1:12.9

he impacts the motivations of the perpetrators,

1:15.4

the responses of the governments who confronted them,

1:18.1

and the lasting impact at these attacks on global security.

1:21.9

Burke was joining conversation by Gordon Carrera,

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