Das Criminal

In 1960, Israeli secret agents tracked down Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann to a house on Garibaldi Street in Buenos Aires. Without assistance from the Argentine government or police, they planned and executed Eichmann’s capture and clandestinely brought him back to Israel.

The following year, Eichmann was tried and eventually convicted of 15 counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes against the Jewish people, and membership in a criminal organization. He was hanged shortly after midnight on June 1st, 1962, at Ayalon maximum security prison in the town of Ar-Ramleh.

Despite overwhelming evidence against him, Eichmann’s trial became one of the most controversial of its time. In this special episode, we cover the story of the capture and trial of Adolf Eichmann and review the Netflix dramatization of the events: Operation Finale. We also discuss Hannah Arendt's interpretation of the trial and what Israeli scholar Idith Zertal terms "the Nazification of the Palestinian struggle."

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Aamer's Radio War Nerd episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41683290

On May 4th, 2017, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher of SEAL Team 7 allegedly stabbed and killed a teenage prisoner-of-war in Mosul, Iraq. The events that followed prompt questions about war crimes, rules of engagement, and American exceptionalism. We discuss the case and these topics in this episode about the case centering on U.S. soldier / right-wing Instagram influencer Eddie Gallagher.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Aamer's Radio War Nerd episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41683290

On May 4th, 2017, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher of SEAL Team 7 allegedly stabbed and killed a teenage prisoner-of-war in Mosul, Iraq. The events that followed prompt questions about war crimes, rules of engagement, and American exceptionalism. We discuss the case and these topics in this episode about the case centering on U.S. soldier / right-wing Instagram influencer Eddie Gallagher.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Aamer's Radio War Nerd episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41683290

On October 23rd, 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian was shot and killed by a sniper rifle while in his kitchen in East Amherst, New York. Slepian was targeted for his work at the Buffalo Womenservices clinic, where he provided a spectrum of OB-GYN care, including safe, legal abortions. The killer — an anti-choice extremist named James Charles Kopp — fled the country, but he couldn't hide forever...

AAMER'S RADIO WAR NERD EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41683290

Aamer is expected to return shortly! But you can fill your appetite there, or on our Patreon where we keep the bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

On September 30th, 1965, people in Indonesia went to bed thinking that the following day would be like any other. However, that assumption was sadly wrong. In the early hours of October 1st — before the sun had even risen — members of the Gerakan 20 September (G30S) initiated a failed putsch for power that triggered a genocide. In a campaign of bloodletting that would shake Indonesia to its core, General Suharto attacked communists, feminists, and all believed to associate with them. Over a period of several months, his forces killed over one million people, displaced one million more, and tortured countless others.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. We are about to embark upon a dark and twisted journey into The Black Circle — the infernal heart of Norway’s heavy metal scene. On this adventure, we will encounter ear-splitting music, edgelords, Satanism, arson, Nazis, and murder. Join us as we discuss the life and times of characters with titles like Euronymous, Dead, Faust, and Count Grishnack, gate-keeping fan cultures, death of the author, and the artistic merit of the hit song, WAP.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, please reach out to someone. INTERNATIONAL HOTLINES: http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

You’ve heard all the references and allegations, the accusations and wild claims, the guesses and suspicions. You’ve probably seen Rachel Maddow scream about Russia interfering with US elections on MSNBC at least once over what feels like a century ago. Terms like ‘interference, ‘kompromat,’ and ‘leaks’ have been drilled into our heads. Despite the countless hours pundits have debated Russiagate on CNN, it remains as baffling and utterly incomprehensible as ever. In this episode, we break down what we know and what remains as speculation regarding Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and its connections to Russia. Plus, we look at more examples of election meddling to try and put these events in perspective.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

From 1992 to 1993, 26-year-old white American Fulbright Scholar Amy Biehl lived and worked in Cape Town, South Africa, while studying women’s participation in the anti-apartheid struggle and transition to democracy. On the 25th of August, 1993, Amy decided to give some of her Black friends a ride home. While passing through the township of Gugulethu, the car was attacked by a crowd of Black residents, who shouted “anti-white slurs.” Some of these angry young men zeroed in on Amy Biehl — stabbing and stoning the young scholar and activist to death.

But what may seem like a straightforward murder case actually necessitates a deeper look into South Africa's history, from the Apartheid regime to a transition to democracy to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Put into context, we can begin to understand Amy's life's work and the circumstances that led to her death, and why her family emphasizes forgiveness over revenge.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

On September 21, 1976, at roughly 9:35 AM, a massive explosion pierced the quiet Washington DC air at Sheridan Circle. A bomb placed under their vehicle killed exiled Chilean Ambassador Orlando Letelier and his colleague, Ronni Moffitt. The murder corresponds to a shady campaign of terror called Operation Condor, which ultimately traces back to the United States government and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet himself. In this episode, we discuss the life and death of Orlando Letelier, and the socialist politics that made him a target for assassination on US soil.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Aamer's substack: https://aamer.substack.com

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

In the summer of 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus purchased their dream family home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. Soon after, the Broadduses started receiving strange and threatening letters from a person only known as The Watcher. Someone was fixated on 657 Boulevard and wanted the Broadduses out...

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

In 1966, the Jules Rimet Trophy (which was awarded to winners of the FIFA World Cup) was stolen from a display in London, only to be recovered a week later in the most miraculous of ways. Seventeen years later, the trophy was swiped yet again from its case in Rio de Janeiro. Join us as we discuss the corruption of FIFA, Nazi plundering, composite sketches, and a dog named Pickles.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

In October of 2000, Pakistani police stumbled across an ancient artifact that would shake the archaeological world: a mummified Persian princess. The cuneiform on her coffin claimed that she was Rhodugune — a daughter of the great king Xerxes. The story brought news coverage from around the world as Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan all fought to declare possession of the princess. But soon, the story would take a shocking turn…

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Most of us are probably at least somewhat familiar with the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Born in Palestine at the beginning of the 1st century CE, Jesus would eventually lead a Jewish movement and be crucified by the Romans for the crime of sedition.

But, despite the obvious political overtones of such a tale, Jesus’s story is often decontextualized and therefore depoliticized. The fact is, Jesus of Nazareth was a guy with some pretty incendiary ideas for the time which put him in the crosshairs of expanding imperial Rome. For this, he was publicly executed by the state. And though few people would deny that this story is technically true, the image of Jesus as a Jewish activist rarely comes to mind in contemporary discussion of his life and times.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Cleopatra VII is one of the most famous figures in popular culture and one of the world's most ancient sex symbols. She’s frequently painted as a seductress and an accessory to the Roman generals in her life, Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. But we often neglect Cleopatra’s legacy as a politician and commander in her own right. She was Egypt’s last independent ruler, and spent the latter part of her life unavailingly trying to keep her Kingdom out of Rome’s imperial clutches.

In this episode, we discuss the life and times of Cleopatra VII Philopater and her partner-in-death, Marc Antony, as well as the collision of ancient Egypt and ancient Rome, and the complicated concepts of girl power and aristocratic feminism.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

In this first episode of our ancient assassinations mini-series, we talk about the life and death of one of history's greatest conquerors, Gaius Julius Caesar. Was Caesar really a rising tyrant bringing about the end of the Roman Republic? Or was he a "people's dictator" who instituted some progressive reforms despite some unsavory methods of governance? We talk about Caesar's time as a military leader, numerous love affairs, some ironic execution methods, and Aamer's gift for tongue twisters.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

On the 29th of August, 2005, the tropical cyclone known as Hurricane Katrina made landfall over southern Louisiana and Mississippi, most famously devastating the city of New Orleans. The damage was catastrophic: over 1,800 people died — almost all of them poor and Black — prompting Kanye West to utter his famous line: “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.” Six days later, New Orleans police gunned down Katrina survivors and tried to cover up what they'd done. In this episode, we bring you the story of the Danziger Bridge shooting.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

On the night of November 12th, 1988, a 28-year-old student and Ethiopian immigrant named Mulugeta Seraw was beaten to death by three strangers outside his Portland, Oregon apartment. The case of racial violence would shock Portland and bring to light the horrific underbelly of present-day Neo-Nazis in the United States.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Aamer & Erin examine talking to your family about race as a religious conversion process. Plus, we discuss police abolition, White Fragility, Bahraini organized crime, and the Premier League's Kafkaesque noise spectacle.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/dascriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

Between May 31st and June 1st of 1921, mobs of white people in Tulsa, Oklahoma rampaged through the predominantly Black Greenwood district, reducing the neighborhood to rubble and ash. The violence saw dozens - if not hundreds - of people killed and many more expelled from their homes. In this episode, we discuss the Tulsa Race Massacre and its relevance to current politics and pop culture, including as a setting in HBO's Watchmen series.

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/dascriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw

In 1987, two different women in Huntington, West Virginia were attacked by the same stranger. Police collected physical evidence from the scenes and soon zeroed in on Glen Woodall — a 29-year-old groundskeeper who was convicted of the crimes based on testimony from the state's leading forensic serologist, Fred Zain. 

As technology advanced, Woodall's defense team pushed for the evidence from the crime scene to be re-tested against Woodall's DNA. It didn't match. Glen Woodall was exonerated after spending five years in prison. 

But how is it that forensic evidence — which originally secured Woodall's conviction — would later prove his innocence? The answer should horrify us all... 

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw