The Rebel With A Cause: Rodney Wilkinson
Summary
Hosts Elizabeth Dutton and Zaryn Burnett celebrate a listener’s 30th birthday before diving into the story of Rodney Wilkinson, a white South African fencing champion who became an anti-apartheid spy. Wilkinson stole blueprints from the Koeberg nuclear plant and, with his girlfriend Heather Gray, underwent guerrilla training in Zimbabwe to sabotage the facility. The episode details their tense preparations, including smuggling Soviet limpet mines, as Rodney struggles with anxiety while awaiting the signal to blow up the reactor.
Topics discussed
Intro and sponsor ads for UnitedHealthcare and Notion
Host banter about birthdays and black garlic Doritos
Introduction to Rodney Brickhill and apartheid South Africa
Rodney's military service, AWOL incident, and fencing career
Ad break and transition to the Coburg nuclear plant story
Rodney meets the ANC spy master Jeremy Brickhill
Rodney becomes an undercover operative for the ANC
Planning the sabotage and smuggling limpet mines
Ad break for iHeart True Crime Plus
Explanation of limpet mines and thermite explosives
Rodney smuggles mines into the facility over several days
The day of the bombing: placing and detonating the mines
Rodney's escape to Mozambique and aftermath
Conclusion, legacy, and outro credits
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