Episodes

  • Introducing Countdown to Dallas: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
    Oct 10 2023
    Sixty years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, former White House correspondent Paul Brandus takes an in-depth look at the seemingly unconnected events that led to that afternoon in Dallas, Texas. He explores the troubled and broken life of Kennedy’s killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, and challenges six decades worth of conspiracy theories––none of which have been proven.. Available October 31st in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 mins
  • What happened in Dealey Plaza?
    Oct 31 2023
    In the series premier, we recap the basic events surrounding President Kennedy's assassination. We’ll discuss the formation of the famous Warren Commission, its findings — and highlight the one thing about its report that's often overlooked. Buy the book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    19 mins
  • A Violent and Unstable Childhood
    Nov 7 2023
    Lee Harvey Oswald’s childhood was difficult. He never knew his biological father. His unstable mother considered Lee and his two brothers burdens. They moved constantly. By the time Lee was 18, he'd lived in 21 different homes and attended a dozen schools. He was angry, a loner, and developed an erratic, sometimes violent personality. A young Oswald even said he would like to kill President Dwight Eisenhower. Buy the book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    29 mins
  • Sharpshooter: Oswald in the Marines
    Nov 14 2023
    Hoping to escape his mother and his unstable home life, Oswald drops out of high school and enlists in the Marines at age 17. But the violent behaviors he learned in childhood go with him. Oswald’s antics get him court-martialed — twice. He serves at an air base in Japan, where the CIA is also operating, leading to claims that Oswald is somehow involved in espionage. Oswald also does something else in the Marines: he learns to shoot a rifle. Buy the book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • Defector: Oswald in the Soviet Union, Part 1
    Nov 21 2023
    Deluded into thinking that the Soviet Union is a “communist paradise,” Oswald defects in October 1959, just weeks after leaving the Marines. At first, the Soviets don’t want him, and order him to leave. But after a suicide attempt, Oswald is given permission to stay. But not in Moscow. He's shunted off to Minsk, a secondary city, and given a menial job in a radio-TV factory. Meanwhile, the KGB worries that Oswald is a CIA spy. The CIA worries he's a KGB spy. And Oswald is clueless as ever. Buy the book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Defector: Oswald in the Soviet Union, Part 2
    Dec 5 2023
    Lee Harvey Oswald is living in Minsk, a backwater Soviet city, and working a lowly and menial job in a radio-TV factory. He soon learns that life in the USSR is anything but paradise, and schemes to return to America. The KGB worries he's a CIA spy. The CIA worries he's a KGB spy. And Oswald departs for America in 1962 — with a wife, Marina, and his daughter in tow. Buy the book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • Defector: Oswald in the Soviet Union, Part 3
    Dec 19 2023
    Living in Minsk, a backwater Soviet city, and working a lowly and menial job in a radio-TV factory, Oswald soon learns that life in the USSR is anything but paradise, and schemes to return to America. But he doesn't return alone. When he lands stateside in 1962, he has a wife, Marina, and daughter in tow. Buy the book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • Oswald Returns to America, Part 1
    Jan 2 2024
    Oswald returns to Texas. “What, no reporters?” He asks his brother. Oswald has difficulty finding work and getting back on his feet. Marina is a hit with the emigre community in Dallas-Fort Worth but Lee — surly and angry as ever — turns people off. The episode ends on Thanksgiving Day, 1962 — exactly one year to the day before the assassination. Buy the book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins