Iran-Contra Pt. 2

In 1958, movie star Lana Turner was trapped in an abusive relationship with mafia bodyguard Johnny Stompanato. Until her teenage daughter Cheryl Crane ended the couple’s last argument by fatally stabbing Johnny. But many wondered: how did a teenager overpower a gangster? Or was C ...  Show more

When Juan Borgia died in 1497, his father, Pope Alexander VI, swore he’d find the killer. But just two weeks later, the Pope suddenly closed the case – without naming or punishing the murderer. The Pope might have covered up the killer’s identity for political reasons… or because ...  Show more

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s administration secretly — and illegally — traded weapons of war to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages, then used the proceeds to fund a Nicaraguan rebel army known as the Contras. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p ...  Show more

Warmonger or nuclear disarmer? Ronald Reagan’s presidency survived an assassination attempt, the AIDS epidemic and the Iranian hostage crisis. He powered through the 1980s, creating his own truth and narrative, in a series of events that read like a Hollywood screenplay.  Tom an ...  Show more

He saw himself as an enigmatic spy and went so far as to try to play both sides of the FBI and the CIA. Richard Cain’s later career in international espionage in the 1960s nearly crossed paths with Fidel Castro before once again returning to the mayhem of Chicago—and the mob. Lea ...  Show more

If you enjoy the true stories told in Dictators, check out this episode from our series Kingpins: How did Manuel Noriega rise from nothing to become the drug-smuggling, secret-selling, military dictator of Panama in the 1980s? He had a great deal of help from the American CIA. Le ...  Show more