logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
40m 40s

Six Men, Two Bombs, One Grave Injustice

The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
About this episode

March 14, 1991. The Birmingham Six have been in prison for 16 years. Each of these six Irishmen was found guilty of 21 counts of murder back in 1975 – held responsible for bombs detonated at two popular pubs in Birmingham, England. They were accused of being part of an IRA terror campaign, but have maintained their innocence since the moment they were arrested. It turns out... they were telling the truth.

Today, the Birmingham Six will be set free. How were they imprisoned for a crime they never committed? And why have the actual bombers never been brought to justice?

Special thanks to Ed Barlow, producer at the BBC and creator of the podcast series In Detail: The Pub Bombings

To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Aug 21
The True Winnie-the-Pooh
August 24, 1914. A train pulls up to the lumber town of White River, Ontario, carrying a regiment of Canadian troops on board. On the tracks where they disembark is a small black bear cub. An army veterinarian decides to buy the bear and name her Winnipeg—Winnie for short—after t ... Show More
29m 51s
Aug 18
Egypt’s Last Hieroglyph and the Fiery Archbishop of Alexandria
August 24, 394. On the walls of a fading Egyptian temple, a priest carves what will become the last known hieroglyph in history. At the same moment, in Alexandria, a fiery archbishop named Theophilus is rising to power. He mocks the ancient Egyptian gods, desecrates their temples ... Show More
33m 21s
Aug 11
The Shark Attacks That Made Us Fear the Water
August 15, 1915. American diplomat J. T. Du Bois publishes a letter in The New York Times. It’s not about diplomacy or foreign affairs. This letter is about sharks. It’s Du Bois’ attempt to prove to the American public that “Man-Eating Sharks” - as he calls them - are real. Becau ... Show More
32m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
Miscarriage of Justice: The Wrongful Conviction of The Birmingham Six
On November 21st, 1974, Birmingham, England, was forever scarred by one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in its history. Two bombs tore through crowded pubs, killing 21 people and injuring nearly 200. In the wake of the explosions, six innocent men—later known as the Bir ... Show More
39m 42s
Nov 2024
Paddy Hill: Rebuilding after a miscarriage of justice
This month marks 50 years since 21 people were killed by the IRA in the Birmingham pub bombings. Six men, ‘The Birmingham Six’, were imprisoned for 16 years for murderous bomb attacks which they did not commit. In 2011, Stephen Sackur spoke to one of those men, Paddy Hill. He had ... Show More
22m 58s
Aug 2024
476. Crime and Punishment | Tommy Robinson
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with British journalist and activist Tommy Robinson. They discuss how peaceful demonstrations have been relentlessly tarred as extremist events, how the captured media and U.K. government have colluded to oppress and silence the majority populatio ... Show More
1h 36m
Sep 2018
“The Yorkshire Ripper” Pt. 2 - Peter Sutcliffe
From the years 1969 to 1981, a serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper freely roamed the streets of Yorkshire, England. Police were so determined to find him, they interviewed over 250,000 people. Sutcliffe had been brought in for questioning on nine separate occasions and ea ... Show More
53m 15s
Nov 2024
Blitz: London's Burning (Part 1)
4pm, 7th September 1940, London. The first bombs on the Empire's capital fall. Death, shock and devastation rain. What happens next? We Have Ways tackles the people's war in this new series, taking a forensic dive into the history of the Nazi bombing raids that terrorised the UK ... Show More
52m 40s
Apr 2024
Introducing… The Burden
In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname.  Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers (who all say they ... Show More
16m 13s
Mar 2024
Spies, Murder and Justice in Northern Ireland with Henry Hemming
In this episode of the Spybrary podcast, the hosts discuss the book 'Four Shots in the Night' by Henry Hemming. Four Shots In the Night tells the story of the 1986 murder of a British spy inside the IRA and the subsequent investigation that took place 30 years later. It explores ... Show More
40m 22s
Apr 2019
Holy Terror
A serial bomber was on the loose in Illinois. Two churches had been bombed and one person was killed. Investigators had to stop the perpetrator before he struck again... and they hoped to find him by following a thin copper wire.To learn more about how HLN protects listener priva ... Show More
21m 52s
Aug 4
Margaret Roberts Exposes the True Story of the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Ongoing Cover-Up
Thirty years ago, Timothy McVeigh was arrested and later executed for the deadliest act of domestic terror in American history. Margaret Roberts says most of what you think you know about the Oklahoma City bombing is a lie. (00:00) What Was the Oklahoma City Bombing? (05:59) The ... Show More
1h 57m
Jul 29
Post Mortem | The Concerning Case Against Jane Dorotik
Join Correspondent Erin Moriarty and Producer Ruth Chenetz as they discuss the case of Jane Dorotik, who was convicted for the murder of her husband, Bob. A conviction that was overturned 21 years later. They look back on two decades of reporting on Jane's long fight for freedom. ... Show More
28m 40s