Radio War Nerd EP #135 — Years Of Lead, Part 1 (Patreon)

Guest: Annibale, Italian war nerd 

Recorded May 29, 2018

Radio War Nerd's popular series on Italy in the 20th c. [EP 131, EP 134] continues! This episode, "Annibale" gives a brief update explainer about Italy's 2018 political crisis—then takes us back to the 20th century, through the beginnings of Italy's "Years Of Lead": the violent & disorienting period from 1969-early 1980s, of deadly bombings, neo-fascist terrorism, radical leftist unrest, spooky coup conspiracies, Red Brigades kidnappings . . . And we meet some larger-than-life radical aristocrats, like the fascist Prince Junio Valerio Borghese and his failed coup conspiracy, and the radical leftist publisher-aristocrat, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli . . . 

At 2:10:37 the War Nerd & Ames look at current war news: In Yemen, Saudi/UAE coalition forces closing in on the port city Hodeida, the one port servicing the starving Houthi region . . . Reports of Israeli-Russia deal to let Assad forces retake southwest corner of Syria, but without "Iranian" (Hezbollah) forces . . . British TV Channel 4 visits East Ghouta, discovers Islamist rebels who controlled it for years made life "Hell" for its residents . . . The Guardian's Simon Tisdall's propaganda piece rebranding Al Qaeda-run Idlib as a feminist paradise . . . Islamist beheadings in Mozambique . . . 

Listen to the first two episodes in our "20th-c. Italy" series with Annibale: EP 131, on the Italian Resistance Movements 1943-45; and EP 134 on Post-War Italy politics, reaching back from 1919 - 1960 . . .

Total time: 2:43:46

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here