Latest updates

The recent murder of British soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich has reignited the fire of the 'war on terror' in Britain.  Initial, inaccurate reports said that the victim was beheaded with a machete by a man shouting 'Allah Akbar' and this started a media firestorm.  Within hours the killing was labelled as terrorism and the upper echelons of government went through the absurd ritual of two COBRA meetings.  Now that the initial wave of fear-filled nonsense has passed, we are in a position to ask some serious questions.  Read article here. 

In our latest discussion Keelan of WideShut.co.uk and I talked about my new book Secrets, Spies and 7/7 in the context of recent events.  In typically wide-ranging fashion we looked at predictive programming and in general the BBC's role in exploiting violence and shaping debates, including their coverage of the recent murder in Woolwich.  We examined their role in provoking and providing confirmation bias in the debate about 7/7 and about terrorism as a whole.  Listen or download here.

In our most recent conversation on the Boston marathon bombings and the theories developing around it, Guillermo and I had a wide-ranging discussion on how we had developed in our thinking in recent weeks.  Without ruling anything in or out we talked about how the context and reaction to the bombings was a better means of understanding the event than media coverage of the day itself.  We looked at the links between the CIA and the uncle of the alleged bombers, and how different members of the Tsarnaev family are being exploited by different intelligence superpowers in the wake of the attack.  Listen, watch or download here. 

In this latest talk with old friend and colleague Keelan Balderson of WideShut, we analysed the various conspiracy theories that have sprung up about the Boston marathon bombings.  In an attempt to explore and inquire without prejudice we outlined the reasons why the 'FBI-patsy/simultaneous drill/Craft guys' theories do not stand up to scrutiny.  Listen or download here.

Since last Monday's twin bombings at the finish line of the Boston marathon, suspicion has been cast on a range of suspects but aside from the officially-nominated culprits attention has mostly been drawn to elements within the US government, but the theories springing up are far from coherent and convincing.  Read article here. 

Guillermo of TracesofReality.com and I talked about the Boston marathon bombings, the conspiracy theories springing up around the attacks and in particular the relevance of a supposed 'drill' or 'exercise' being run near the start of the marathon.  Listen or download here. 

The bombings at the Boston marathon on Monday were yet another atrocity in a nation that has seen considerable bloodshed in recent months.  2012 was a record year for mass shootings in the US, and just like many of those events the Boston bombings have immediately been subject to scepticism, suspicion and in many cases outright speculation as to who was responsible.  Read article here. 

In our latest conversation James and I took a sideways look at Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel The Secret Agent, which fictionalises the real story of Martial Bourdin.  Bourdin officially became Britain's first suicide bomber in February 1894 when a bomb he was carrying exploded in the park near the Royal Greenwich Observatory.  However, Bourdin categorically did not commit suicide and the anarchist movement he was involved with as well as the theories spawned by his death provide a fascinating context for analysing Conrad's novel.  Listen or download here.