Crosshairs

Episode 9 : Malcolm X

In 1965 Malcolm X found himself at something of a crossroads. The prominent civil rights activist, famed for his incendiary oratory prowess, was trying to start a new political movement whilst engaged in a very public split from the Nation of Islam, the black nationalist organisation where Malcolm had made his name. Standing on the stage of the Audubon Ballroom, he was all too aware that his enemies were circling. What he didn’t know was how close they truly were and that his speech, to what he hoped were the next generation of fighters for the cause, would be the last one he would ever give.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With one squeeze of a trigger, or flash of a blade, the course of history can change forever.
In this series - we tell the stories of assassinations throughout history, plotting the path of the killer and victim, step by step, until they meet. We examine the fall out, following the assassination of world leaders. We reveal how cultural icons were targeted, and why. And we unpack stories which you may never have heard about before.
From What's the Story Sounds - and narrated by Jonathan Guy Lewis - Crosshairs is your weekly dose of crime and history, with new episodes every Thursday.