Heroes Behind Headlines Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com Cold Case Western Australia They're the crimes that continue to haunt grieving family members and the wider... Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyAf Heroes Behind Headlines

Special Forces legend "Tilt" Meyer is back in a special two-part episode, sharing stories from his new book “On The Ground!” If you joined MACV-SOG–-the Studies and Observations Group—in the 1960s for America's "Secret War" in Laos and Cambodia, the first thing you did was sign an oath to never speak about what happened for 20 years. Now able to sp…

Retired CIA Operative and government whistleblower Gary Berntsen continues to share insights and details from the results of a four-year investigation into election tampering. His team’s conclusion: Enemies of the United States including Venezuela, Cuba, China and Serbia have been determining the results of elections in the U.S. since 2006 through …

Retired CIA Operative and government whistleblower Gary Berntsen reveals the results of a four-year investigation into election tampering. His team’s conclusion: Enemies of the United States including Venezuela, Cuba, China and Serbia have been determining the results of elections in the U.S. since 2006 through the use of electronic systems that th…

An Inspiring Reprise Episode From Season One: Human trafficking is a $150 billion-a-year business that thrives in war zones and is arguably more lucrative than arms sales. Lurata Lyon joins HBH and bravely tells her unimaginable story of survival during the Balkan Wars across Eastern Europe in the 1990s. Lurata was kidnapped into human trafficking …

Mikael Cook served as a U.S. Army engineer in the reserves. He was sent to Afghanistan in 2019 helping to build out infrastructure for U.S. military camps, working with local translators and other workers. He befriended his Afghan co-workers, especially an interpreter, Muhammad, and his brother Abdul. Following the Trump administration’s decision i…

Former Florida police investigator James Byrd-Williams, Sr. recounts the story of his son's murder in 2020. 44-year-old Michael Williams was an African-American man living in the mostly White college town of Grinnell, Iowa, to be near his ex-wife and kids. Occurring just weeks after the George Floyd incident, Michael Williams’ body was found strang…

Becky Ellis was one of her father’s eight children by four wives, and the chaos of her childhood, dominated by a haunted and difficult father, marked her and all her siblings. As a child, she suffered through her father’s paranoia about Nazis attacking them; trips to the dentist without anesthesia; and other irrational behaviors. Only at age 89, wh…

Admiral Robert Stiles Harward, Jr. grew up in a Navy family, living overseas, and eventually joined up himself as a means to pay for college. Adm. Harward ultimately went on to an amazing career and leading the U.S. Navy Seals, and the Naval Special Warfare Group Task Force KBAR. He explains his amazingly positive view of the world and philosophy o…

Did you miss it? One of the most popular episodes we ever released from Season One is back for an encore listen: Russian and Chinese-backed rebels were making deadly headway in Oman during its Civil War of the early 1970s. In support of the Western-allied Sultan, the British Army secretly deployed nine operators from its most elite unit, the SAS. H…

Mark Paul’s outrageous adventure,“The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told," is the hilarious story of two buddies who won't give up on their stroke of luck. While the horse is the real hero of the story—a filly who broke the odds when she won the Kentucky Derby out of sheer heart. Mark and his friend Dino determine to try, along with a third gambling…

David Crow had a childhood like no other—with a mentally troubled mother and a criminally sociopathic father who raised his kids on a Navajo reservation, despite not actually being Native-American. David describes how his father tried to train him to be his criminal accomplice, until as an adult David broke away and ultimately built a successful li…

Bobbie Myers served for years as a Florida policeman, de-stressing from his first responder experiences by living at the beach and surfing. Suddenly, after dramatically saving a drowning boy, his PTSD was triggered. He sought help and found a unique way to heal himself—repairing the headstones and tending the gravesites of fallen heroes, soldiers, …

When he started playing video game “Red Dead Redemption 2”, (which has sold over 64 million copies) Professor Tore Olsson from the University of Tennessee was inspired to use the game's setting in the American West to inspire his students and provoke a conversation about the real history of this romanticized era. And his curriculum has been a wild …

Previous HBH guests, private security contractors Dean and Alana Stott are back—this time reporting on their work last October, after the terrorist attacks in Israel. Charged with helping Americans and others get their loved ones home, Dean describes arriving in Israel for the first time ever, and how they navigated operating on the ground in a cou…

Three lives collide and transform in wartime: The Japanese fighter pilot, Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor; the U.S. pilot Jake DeShazer, who bombed Tokyo in retaliation and became a Japanese POW; and Peggy Covell, an American woman who felt compelled to help the Japanese-Americans interned in the U.S., despite her missionary fami…

Lynne Black Jr., as member of RT Alabama – a recon team of the legendary MACV-SOG (“Study and Observations Group”) – fought in one of the most amazing missions of the eight-year "secret war" during the Vietnam War. As their Kingbee helicopter spiraled downward toward the target west of the dangerous A Shau valley in Laos, Lynne and his team observe…

In 1911, experts believed that the psychology of different races was distinct, and so, like other states, the state of Maryland founded Crownsville, a mental asylum administered by an all-white doctor and nursing staff expressly and exclusively for African-Americans. From her book "Madness," author/Peabody Award-winning journalist/on-air NBC corres…

In 1968, SSgt. Richard Fitts Sr. was a member of the legendary MACV-SOG team based in Vietnam, fighting in the ‘secret war’ in Laos, when the helicopter he was flying in crashed in the jungle in a ball of flames. Richard was declared Missing in Action while his wife and 3-year-old son back home in Massachusetts were given no other information. For …

In late April 1968, John K. Cordsen was a U.S. Marine on his second tour of duty when he became engaged in one of the most fiercely fought yet little-known battles of the Vietnam War. Over three days, a single battalion of 860 U.S. Marines fought against nearly 10,000 North Vietnamese soldiers over control of a river that was a critical supply line…

Howard Snyder Jr. was a B-17 pilot bombing Nazi targets during WWII—when in February 1944 he and his ten-man crew were shot down over Nazi-held Belgium, close to the French border. His son Steve Snyder details how eight of the men, including his dad, survived the crash before scattering into the countryside. Howard survived through the bravery and …

During the Iraq War, U.S.M.C. Infantry Major Scott A. Huesing led Echo Company, 2nd battalion, 4th Marines through some of the worst combat in Ramadi, in Al Anbar Province in Iraq. He shares his account of the harsh realities of dense urban combat, and what helped his men persevere—especially their sense of camaraderie and 'family,’ that persists d…

David Ambroz was one of three kids raised by a single mother with mental health issues. In his book, "A Place Called Home," he describes his Dickensian childhood surviving a flawed parent, life on the streets, and a social services system seemingly designed to deprive his family of the help they needed. When his mother grew too violent, David was i…

In his book, “Poisoner-in-Chief,” (Henry Holt & Co.) former New York Times reporter and prolific author, Stephen Kinzer describes the shadowy man responsible for setting up one of the most infamous U.S. government programs. In 1953 during the “Cold War,” MK Ultra was initiated to develop techniques to brainwash people to act as our ‘programmed’ age…

"Damn the Valley" is the mantra of every soldier from 2 Fury who fought in this infamous Taliban stronghold and is also the title of guest Will Yeske's memoir. Operating as the gateway to Kandahar, this area saw months of the fiercest combat—yielding a 52% casualty rate as coalition forces attempted to pacify this hotspot in 2009 and 2010. At one p…

Elmer Miller was born in upstate New York into a large farming family that was part of a strict Amish community. Standing under four feet tall as a grown man, Elmer talks about the reality of life inside this group; how he confronted his own limitations and rebellious spirit; and ultimately his decision to leave and pursue life in the wider world w…

Ryburn Dobbs breaks down his work as a forensic anthropologist and scientist and separates fact from fiction, as in TV programs like "Bones," explaining how real forensic investigations work. He shares details from his cases, and how his examination of bones help revealed critical clues as the police worked to solve murder cases. Now retired, Rybur…

Moritz Fuchs was a private in the 1st infantry division, 26th regiment, when he was sent overseas after D-Da,y to help fight German forces in the Huertgen forest, which saw some of the worst fighting in the whole war and claimed over 30,000 U.S. casualties. After being wounded and recovering, he later served in the Harz mountains of Germany. After …

As part of a military unit so secret that its team members are not permitted to speak about it--except now for the first time ever!--Adam Gamal (not his real name) is not who you might expect to find in such a unit. But he's exactly the person who's most effective. Born in Egypt, he emigrated to the U.S. to avoid Islamic extremists; worked two jobs…

U.S. Army Major General Gregg F. Martin (ret.) was the epitome of a successful military officer—an inspirational leader brimming with energy, intelligence and creativity. He shot up the leadership ranks of the U.S. military. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, he commanded the 130th Engineer Brigade as they cleared the way and rebuilt bridges to f…

David Holdridge served as a platoon leader in the U.S. Infantry outside of Chu Lai, Vietnam suffered a catastrophic injury, and has since devoted his life to delivering humanitarian aid to people suffering from starvation, exploitation, and in war zones around the world in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. From Saigon to Gaza, he relates his journe…

A different kind of war story and hero: Lt. Mary Balster was a charming Midwestern teenager (the apple of her father's eye) when she enlisted as a nurse at the outbreak of WWII. She proved invaluable on the front lines as a German-speaker, but was unprepared for the nonstop workload; the filth; the horrible injuries and desperation; the quickly for…

Award-winning journalist Sam Quinones lays out the facts behind the meth and fentanyl drug crisis in the U.S.: He expertly describes how mass manufacturing has made these drug ubiquitous, cheap, and infinitely more potent, and thus unlike any other drugs--legal or illegal--ever consumed by human beings. Sam explains how today’s meth has triggered a…

Janina Melberg was a brilliant mathematician posing as a Polish Countess Janina Suchodolska to hide her Jewish identity during the Nazi occupation in WWII Poland. She simultaneously joined the both the Polish Welfare Council (RGO)--and secretly the Polish Underground--and bravely organized food and relief supplies for Poles incarcerated in the infa…

Jim “Wild Carrot” Shorten-Jones served as a team leader (One-Zero) in MACV-SOG during the height of Vietnam War, and ultimately in the Army, Navy and Air Force. In another exciting chapter in America's "secret war" in Laos and Cambodia, Jim shares his adrenaline-fueled war stories as team leader of RT-Delaware, and also recounts the non-stop life o…

Jim “Wild Carrot” Shorten-Jones served as a team leader (One-Zero) in MACV-SOG during the height of Vietnam War, and ultimately in the Army, Navy and Air Force. In another exciting chapter in America's "secret war" in Laos and Cambodia, Jim shares his adrenaline-fueled war stories as team leader of RT-Delaware, and also recounts the non-stop life o…

When FBI Special Agent Nikki Badolato arranged a live meetup with a man looking to 'rent' her infant daughter as part of a sting, she was shocked to see how presentable and 'normal' this 30-something man was. Now, after a two-decade career, Nikki and Rolling Stone journalist Alex Morris lay out the state of domestic human trafficking, how pedophile…

U.S. Coast Guard Veteran Martha La Guardia-Kotite shares inspiring stories of bravery from her book, “So Others May Live—Coast Guard’s Rescue Swimmers: Saving Lives, Defying Death.” These brave men and women put their lives at risk to rescue people in the greatest peril. Among the stories is that of a baby rescued from a boat in the middle of a hur…

One dark night in Austin, Texas, onlookers watched in horror as musician Gary Wimmer was struck head-on by a speeding car, ramming his head into the front grill and hurtling him into the air until he landed on the pavement. When he stood up minutes later, seemingly unharmed, people were confused and unbelieving at his lack of injury. So were the em…

In part two of this interview, Roger Lockshier lays out his dramatic experiences as a helicopter pilot serving in Vietnam. In 1968, at the height of the war, he was routinely sent in on his Huey gunship to support or rescue MACV-SOG Green Beret soldiers secretly operating in Laos and Cambodia. Roger shares his 'birdseye' perspective on several miss…

In this two-part interview, Roger Lockshier lays out his dramatic experiences as a helicopter pilot serving in Vietnam. In 1968, at the height of the war, he was routinely sent in on his Huey gunship to support or rescue MACV-SOG Green Beret soldiers secretly operating in Laos and Cambodia. Roger shares his 'birdseye' perspective on several mission…

We've re-released this episode, as an homage to Chuck Mawhinney, who we learned passed away last week. Chuck was our guest in Season Two (September 2023.) We were honored to have had a chance to speak with him and hear his story...Here it is again in case you missed it.... *** Chuck Mawhinney grew up hunting in the Oregon woods on his grandfather's…

Military veteran and author Stephen M. Rusiecki describes the process of how and why Americans developed a standing narrative of the WWII operation known as D-Day, based upon a common, press-enabled, thematically framed narrative. Steve describes how the radio and newspaper networks of the day cooperated in this effort, and how this version of even…

Building a career in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was no easy feat: Danny Smith overcame different hurdles and became a detective, going on to solve some grisly cases, including the murders of an immigrant mother by her daughter, and a Native American man burned alive by skinheads. Danny describes how the mental toll of his relentles…

In 1963, Dorothy Kilgallen was on top of the world, famous as a groundbreaking female journalist, with a nationally syndicated column and a panelist on the popular TV show, "What's My Line?" She was also an acquaintance of JFK and when he was killed, she never bought the official story. One of the only reporters to further investigate the assassina…

When 18-year-old Steve Smith was sent to Oak Ridge Psychiatric Hospital in Ontario, Canada in the 1960s, (misdiagnosed due to an ill-timed LSD trip) he didn't expect the inmates to be running the asylum, or to be part of a control group in a government-sponsored experiment to try to control psychopaths and turn normal people, like Steve, into contr…

On 11 September 1970, 16 U.S. soldiers and 110 Montagnards from Hatchet Company B were sent deep into the Laotian jungle in support of a CIA team, during the Vietnam War. Over the next four days, they were continually attacked by overwhelming numbers of NVA. If it wasn’t for the air support of helicopter pilots like Barry Pencek, they wouldn’t have…

The amazing life of undercover agent Frederick L. Gleffe is a nonstop series of adventures inside three of our nation's law enforcement agencies. His sometimes surreal, always perilous cases include breaking up a black market arms ring at a Special Forces armory and running an ongoing ‘sting’ during the Miami “Cocaine Wars” in the 80s, selling ever…

WW2 humble hero, Laurence "Sparky" Rector, was just a GI in the infantry when he was drafted as an 18-year-old. He ended up crossing Europe as "cannon fodder," including as part of Patton's army, participating in the battle of Anzio, and encountering the Siegfried Line. His unit was also the first to enter and liberate Dachau Concentration Camp. De…

The Battle of Gettysburg is a pivotal event in the history of our country, but not broadly understood. Attorney-turned-historian Allen R. Thompson digs into a Civil War controversy: How the decision-making of Generals Lee and Longstreet on July 2nd, 1863, resulted in the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg – and ultimately the loss of the war. In his …