JASON BURKE
Jason Burke joins us to discuss his enthralling and resonant new book The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hacked the 1970s.
This impressive work of non-fiction examines a seismic decade that transformed the modern world.
In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with intricately planned plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them were Leila Khaled with her jewellery made from grenade rings, the hard-drinking Carlos the Jackal, and the radical leftists of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. United by their hatred of Israel, capitalism and Western imperialism, they unleashed a series of audacious attacks that brought governments to their knees.
Drawing on decades of research, recently declassified government files, secret documents, and original interviews with hijackers, spies, witnesses and victims, Jason Burke takes us into the lives and minds of the perpetrators of these often deadly operations.
Jason Burke, the International Security correspondent for the Guardian, has been a foreign correspondent for almost 30 years, reporting from the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and Africa. He is one of the foremost writers on terrorism. The Revolutionists was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize in 2025.
Its a real pleasure to welcome back author and journalist Christopher de Bellaigue. His books include The Golden Throne, The Lion House, Rebel Land and The Islamic Enlightenment.
