In 2012, an Al-Qaeda sleeper cell was planning 2 potentially devastating attacks in the United States and Canada - at the same time. To prevent catastrophe, a Muslim undercover FBI agent had to gain to the trust of the extremely dangerous Al-Qaeda operative planning the attacks. HBH is thrilled to welcome FBI agent and author Tamer Elnoury. Already an experienced undercover officer, Tamer joined the FBI after 9/11 in an elite unit of the brand new Joint Terrorism Task Force. When he was given th...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 25
On October 3, 1993, a US Army operation in Mogadishu, Somalia, which was supposed to take 45 minutes, lasted for more than 18 hours. Delta Force operators had surgically and swiftly taken high value targets supporting warlord Mohamed Farrah Aydid into custody. However, when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed, the original plan to leave the city had to be abandoned - and then another Black Hawk went down. Tragedy ensued in the form of the longest sustained firefight since Vietnam. HBH is deeply hono...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 24
We are excited to welcome former Navy SEAL Sniper, Team Leader, Platoon Commander, Troop Commander and Task Unit Commander, as well as bestselling author and producer of 'The Terminal List' television series based on his book: Jack Carr to HBH. Jack shares incredible insights into how his love of reading and writing shaped his life beginning at a young age and helped him discover his career. Jack tells us the story of what he considers one of the defining moments of his time as a SEAL Sniper in ...
Jul 18, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 23
In World War II, an American bomber pilot’s combat service was to last for 25 missions. However, most did not survive to see their 10th. In October 1943, John ‘Lucky’ Luckadoo began his 22nd mission. The assault on Bremen, Germany was to utilize dense cloud cover to shield the B-17 Flying Fortresses. However, when they arrived, the clouds had disappeared, and 50 American pilots and crew members would lose their lives. HBH is honored to be joined by Kevin Maurer, the author of ‘Damn Lucky: One Ma...
Jul 11, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 22
A very happy 4th of July to everyone, as we celebrate by going behind the headlines of two of the most famous rescue missions in United States military history. The operations to save both US Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and US Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch, both of which involved the Army Rangers. HBH is honored to welcome author, and the Army Ranger who was a part of both missions, Nicholas Moore. Nicholas was in the middle of his training at Ranger school on 9/11. As a result his career...
Jul 04, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 21
156 miles of Afghanistan stood between a convoy led by US Army Special Forces and the Forward Operating Base (FOB) they were to resupply. As their destination was in the very heart of Taliban territory, they knew they would be attacked. However, no one could have predicted the absolutely terrifying firefight would last for three days. HBH is honored to be joined by US Army Special Forces Green Beret, Sniper, Ranger, Professional MMA Fighter and NYT bestselling author Tim Kennedy. Afghanistan’s O...
Jun 27, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In June of 1939, a five-year-old American girl traveled with her family to Germany to visit her grandfather. The visit was supposed to last three months. However, before they could board a ship back to the USA, the Nazi’s seized control of Germany and closed all borders. That little girl would overcome unfathomable odds to survive 7 more years in Nazi Germany, before returning to her native soil. Today, nearly 90 years later, we are honored to be joined by the incredible and inspiring Marlies Di...
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 19
On April 26, 1717, amidst the golden age of piracy, Captain Samuel ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy tried to navigate a violent storm off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The flagship of his pirate fleet, The Whydah Gally, shipwrecked and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean where it stayed until 1984. Now, more than 300 years after the wreck, HBH is excited to be joined by the man who discovered the Whydah, Underwater Archaeologist, Explorer and Author: Barry Clifford. The only pirate shipwreck in the world ...
Jun 13, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Prior to May 5, 1980, the world was largely unaware that the UK’s SAS (Special Air Service), or any elite special operations units, existed at all. Six days earlier, terrorists had stormed the Iranian Embassy in London and taken 21 hostages. As the situation was being covered on live TV around the world, the SAS attacked the embassy. HBH is honored to be joined by two members of that elite SAS team, Pete Winner and Sekonaia ‘Tak’ Takevisi. The terrorists had not anticipated a violent response to...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In a first of its kind episode for HBH, we are joined by former gangster ‘Boston’ Bobby Luisi Jr, a key figure in the undercover operations detailed in our previous episode ‘Knockout Blow to the Italian Mafia in the US’. Bobby gives his perspective on the operation that put him behind bars, and the very surprising turn his life took - at a particularly dangerous time in mafia history. Bobby Luisi is not our usual guest - and has a very unusual life story. We hope you enjoy his unique perspective...
Jun 01, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Part 2 with Mike McGowan continues, detailing how the FBI dealt the most devastating blow to the Italian Mafia in its US history. In this episode, the story concludes with the takedown of kingpins Joseph ‘Skinny Joey’ Merlino, and ‘Boston’ Bobby Luisi. The Italian Mafia is well known as the dominant organized crime force in the history of the United States. However, this is no longer the case. HBH is excited to be joined by former FBI Special Agent Mike McGowan, who led a series of operations ac...
May 31, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 15
The most secretive mission of World War II ended in the largest scale shark attack of all time. The U.S.S. Indianapolis’ mission was so secret, the entire crew was unaware of their cargo: the components of the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ which was dropped on Hiroshima. Thus, when the cruiser was sunk by a Japanese torpedo, no one knew, and 900 sailors were left floating in shark-infested waters for four days. HBH is excited to welcome Doug Stanton, author of ‘In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S...
May 23, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 14
The Italian Mafia is well known as the dominant organized crime force in the history of the United States. However, this is no longer the case. HBH is excited to be joined by former FBI Special Agent Mike McGowan, who led a series of operations across multiple cities & targeted three different mob families, collectively dealing a blow to ‘La Cosa Nostra,’ from which they have never recovered. These operations accomplished something once thought impossible: relegating the Italian Mafia to als...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Before 2006, no woman had ever embedded to operate within a SEAL team, nor had a non-SEAL Counter-Intel officer ever been assigned to a platoon. HBH is honored to welcome the pioneer who broke down both of those barriers at once, Chief Warrant Officer Ama Adair. Ama discusses the immense challenges she faced and tells the incredible story of an operation where she helped a SEAL Team target and take down not one, but two of the most wanted Al-Qaeda targets in Iraq. Not only has Ama’s career been ...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 12
HBH is thrilled to welcome back our good friend, Omar Kahn. Today, Omar tells us of an operation he undertook as a private investigator against the vast smuggling network of Ayub Afridi, the single largest funding source for Al-Qaeda. Dating back to the 1970s and through the early 2000s, Afridi ran one of the biggest smuggling operations the world has ever seen. With Afghanistan’s infamous opium trade as its bedrock, Afridi’s organization traded tens of billions of dollars in contraband and cash...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 11
On June 24th, 1994, Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington State became the site of the second single-shooter mass shooting on a U.S. military base. Andy Brown joins HBH to tell the story of how he stepped in and incredibly prevented an even greater tragedy. He details the day that forever changed his life and the lives of so many others, as well as how he bravely handled the psychological after-effects. Andy Brown’s book, ‘Warnings Unheeded’, covers the Fairchild Air Force Base shooting and its...
Apr 11, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Russian and Chinese-backed rebels were making deadly headway in Oman during its Civil War of the early 1970s. In support of the Western-allied Sultan, the British Army secretly deployed nine operators from its most elite unit, the SAS. HBH is honored to have today’s guest, Pete Winner, with a special appearance by Sekonaia ‘Tak’ Takevisi, two of the nine SAS heroes who took on over 400 Omani rebels at the Battle of Mirbat. At stake on July 19th 1972 was more than just a single battle for a small...
Apr 04, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Captain John Pruitt III joins HBH to tell incredible stories of his time in the US Coast Guard, a branch of the military few people know much about. John’s stories are remarkable. At the start of the Iraq War, he conducted dangerous anti-mining missions and was chased by Iranian Navy missile boats in the Persian Gulf. Furthermore, he spearheaded an enormous undercover cocaine seizure worth over $250 million and led a very surprising search and rescue mission. Americans are not widely aware that ...
Mar 28, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Human trafficking is a $150 billion-a-year business that thrives in war zones and is arguably more lucrative than arms sales. Lurata Lyon joins HBH and bravely tells her unimaginable story of survival during the Balkan Wars across Eastern Europe in the 1990s. Lurata was kidnapped into human trafficking as a teenager when the war engulfed her home country of Serbia. She was destined for a life of sex-trafficking and organ-harvesting. Miraculously, she escaped, only to find further horrors waiting...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 7
The story of the young CIA operative who helped launch the Contra War in Nicaragua. Ric Prado joins HBH and tells of his first mission in the CIA. Long before the US operations in Central America became public, he was embedded in supporting the Nicaraguan Contras. With very little experience at the time, Ric found himself alongside brave local rebels at the tip of the spear. That was just the beginning of Ric’s decorated career in the Central Intelligence Agency. He went on to receive multiple m...
Mar 07, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Legendary SEAL Team 6 operator Don Mann joins HBH for a special episode. During Don’s incredible career as a Naval Special Warfare operator he served in SEAL Teams 1 and 2 before being recruited to Team 6. He was both the Advanced Training Officer and Weapons of Mass Destruction Officer for SEAL Team 6.
Feb 21, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 5
Fred Reynolds joins HBH to tell the story of a shootout that could have escalated the 1992 Los Angeles riots into something far worse. He discusses his experiences as a black police officer during one of the nation's most significant racial conflicts, and the long-lasting effects the riots have had on policing. Fred grew up in gangland Detroit, deciding to leave a path destined for prison - or worse - for the Marines. After serving, he moved to Southern California where he would become a member ...
Feb 14, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 4
CIA Officer Doug Laux joins us to explain how he developed a network of spies to track down the man responsible for running the Taliban's lethal IED network, which at the height of the Afghan War was responsible for over 80% of US and Coalition deaths.
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 3
International private investigator Omar Khan joins us to explain the incredible story of how he infiltrated the Chinese Triads' global criminal organization, and crippled their multi-billion dollar counterfeit cigarette smuggling business…in less than a month.
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Legendary FBI Special Agent Mike McGowan describes the unknown true story of how he and an FBI undercover ‘all-star team’ delivered a massive blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, directly leading to the arrest of infamous cartel kingpin Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 1
The real stories behind the headlines you know, told by the heroes you don’t. Heroes Behind Headlines is an explosive new podcast, featuring new, incredible interviews every episode. First-hand accounts of the harrowing operations which have shaped the world over the past half-century. Hosted by NYT and international bestselling author, Ralph Pezzullo. GUrQKedOy0prLXp69Ayn
Jan 13, 2022•1 min
