Haywire
Summary
This episode investigates the unsolved 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing, which killed 11 people and injured 75, through interviews with survivors and journalist Elon Green. It contextualizes the attack within the wave of 1970s domestic terrorism, including the Francis Tavern bombing and the "Sunday Bomber" series, while detailing the massive but ultimately fruitless investigation. The narrative also explores the TWA Flight 355 hijacking by Zvanko Busic, a suspect who was never charged for the airport attack, and examines why this major act of violence has been largely forgotten by the public.
Topics discussed
Sponsors: Fetch, Faire, and Bombas
Robert Dickman's arrival at LaGuardia
The explosion and immediate chaos
Survivor accounts of the blast
Reporter Ike Pappas and the death toll
Destruction and the show introduction
Search for a second bomb and evacuation
Debris analysis and bomb composition
Early investigation and false leads
Scale of the federal investigation
Context: The Francis Tavern bombing
The FALN and Puerto Rican nationalism
1970s radical groups and protest bombings
Why bombings stopped in the 70s
PLO denial and lack of claims
Walter Long turns himself in
Sponsors: NetSuite and Shopify
The Sunday Bomber of 1960
Walter Long's connection to LaGuardia
Investigative challenges and lack of evidence
Post-bombing airport security changes
TWA Flight 355 hijacking begins
Sponsors: Fetch and Home Chef
Hijacker demands and Grand Central bomb
Death of bomb squad officer Brian Murray
Zvanko Busic's confession and sentencing
Busic's release and the unsolved case
Why the LaGuardia bombing was forgotten
Survivors' hope and the cold case
Credits and show information
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