logo
episode-header-image
May 2019
50m 27s

The Counternarrative

NPR
About this episode
In Episode 3, we break down the conspiracy theory that emerged after the Rev. James Reeb's murder: that he was allowed to die or was killed because the civil rights movement needed a white martyr.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Apr 2023
Taking Cover
NPR's Pentagon Correspondent, Tom Bowman, receives a shocking tip from a trusted source: A deadly explosion during the Iraq War was an accident—friendly fire, covered up by the Marine Corps—and the son of a powerful politician may have been involved. Listen to the full story in N ... Show More
49m 57s
Mar 2023
The Excludables
In our final episode of the season, we start researching the names on the secret list of 2,746 Cuban excludables. What we find confirms many of our suspicions about the arbitrariness of how the U.S. government created the list. Our reporting takes us — where else? — to Cuba, to f ... Show More
1h 4m
Mar 2023
The List
Since we began reporting this story, we've been after a list. A secret list. On it are the names of 2,746 people whom the US government deemed excludable, including the men on the roof. The government has kept this list so secret that at one point it went so far as to classify it ... Show More
48m 25s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Part II
A manhunt is launched for MLK’s killer, James Earl Ray. After his capture he pleads guilty. With no trial the world won’t hear the facts of the case laid out in court, giving rise to decades of conspiracy theories that even the King family came to believe.See omnystudio.com/liste ... Show More
41m 39s
Oct 2024
NYC's Only Murder on 9/11 (Henry Siwiak)
Nearly 25 years have passed since that fateful day in New York, and while the major events of the day will always be remembered, there was one more life lost that day that we also cannot forget. This episode may sound familiar, but it's because justice has yet to be served... The ... Show More
51m 57s
Apr 2025
The Assassination of Malcolm X Pt. 2
After Malcolm X was assassinated, three men were arrested. Despite holes in the investigation and the prosecution’s case, all three went to prison. In the years that followed, people close to Malcolm insisted there was more to the story. But then, decades later, after new informa ... Show More
39m 10s
Apr 2025
The Assassination of Malcolm X Pt. 1
Malcolm X’s radical ideas about racial justice won him many followers, and spawned just as many enemies. When Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, three men were promptly arrested. But for decades, questions have lingered about whether the right men went to prison, and more import ... Show More
43m 15s
Jul 2024
The Pioneer
When a pioneer and one of his companions are gunned down in cold blood while prospecting for silver in the great American west, the sole survivor of the attack is quick to blame a group of Native Americans for the crime... but evidence emerges that raises questions about whether ... Show More
30m 52s
Mar 2025
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Part I
When he was murdered by an assassin’s bullet, MLK was going through a hard time in his life and many close to him say that he knew the end was near. But even he couldn’t have predicted the impact his death would have – good and ill – on the United States.See omnystudio.com/listen ... Show More
39m 4s
Apr 2024
Conspiracy Revisited: The JFK assassination – Oswald’s second murder
In part 2 of a special bonus episode of our Conspiracy series, Rob Attar and Gerald Posner delve deeper into the questions surrounding the assassination of JFK. Who did Lyndon Johnson think was behind the murder? Why do so many people believe in a conspiracy theory? And why is Le ... Show More
32 m
May 26
Episode 1020: (Day 17) The body under the staircase - Richard Satchwell murder trial
The jury at the murder trial of Richard Satchwell has been told that they will have three options: to convict him of murder, of manslaughter, or to acquit him.Justice Paul McDermott in his charge to the jury told them they will enter their deliberations as independent people with ... Show More
26m 30s
Mar 2024
Stephen Lawrence: The Murder Case That Shook The UK
Uncover the shocking true story of Stephen Lawrence's racially motivated murder in 1993. Explore the three-decade-long battle for justice, police corruption, and the lasting impact on racial relations. Sponsor:Quince.com/CASUAL for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns ... Show More
1h 54m
Aug 2024
Season 3: The Killing Fields of L.A.
In 1995, a Cambodian refugee was gunned down in an alley in L.A.'s Chinatown. But this wasn't a typical murder. The victim was Haing Ngor, an Oscar-winning actor and humanitarian. Many Cambodians believe Ngor was assassinated over his role in The Killing Fields – a film that depi ... Show More
2m 54s