Solving JFK

For sixty-three years, a shadowed figure has been standing in the doorway of the Texas School Book Depository, hiding in plain sight in the Wiegman and Darnell films of the JFK assassination. The Warren Commission never asked who he was. The House Select Committee on Assassinations never asked. The JFK research community calls him "Prayer Man" and there is now a serious, document-driven case that he is Lee Harvey Oswald, watching the motorcade from the front steps at the exact moment the official story says he was firing a rifle from six floors up. If that case is right...

Author and researcher Larry Hancock returns to Solving JFK for his second Recap and Rebuttals episode, this time helping us pressure-test our five-part series on the Soviet Union as a potential culprit in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. We dig into Kennedy and Khrushchev's evolving relationship through Vienna, Berlin, and the tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie; the brink of nuclear war drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis; the Cold War spy games surrounding Popov's Mole and Oswald's manipulated CIA file; JFK's late move toward peace and the limits of former CIA Director James Woolsey's theory that Khrushchev...

In the final installment of our Soviet Union series, we examine a cache of newly released Russian documents handed to Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna by the Russian Ambassador in October 2025. These 350 pages, prepared under the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, offer a rare behind-the-curtain look at Soviet decision-making around Lee Harvey Oswald's defection, the Warren Commission, and the aftermath of the assassination. We weigh why Moscow released the files now and what they reveal about Khrushchev's private suspicion of a conspiracy.Along the way, we unpack some genuine bombshells: a candid 1964 exchange between Warren Commissioner John McCloy and...

We wrap up the Cold War context by looking at Kennedy's push for peace with Khrushchev in the final months of his life, including the American University speech, the Limited Test Ban Treaty, and a secret Khrushchev letter proposing further cooperation that the State Department never even showed to the President. Then we stress-test former CIA Director James Woolsey's claim in "Operation Dragon" that Oswald killed Kennedy on Khrushchev's direct orders after meeting with Soviet assassination chief Valeriy Kostikov in Mexico City. The problem? FBI Director Hoover told LBJ the day after the assassination that the man at the...

In Part 3 of our Soviet Union series, we dig into the Cold War spy games swirling around Lee Harvey Oswald and ask whether the KGB had a hand in JFK's assassination. The trail starts with Pyotr Popov, a Soviet military intelligence colonel who became a CIA defector-in-place in 1952 — and whose tip about a KGB mole hidden deep inside the CIA launched one of the most consequential mole hunts in Agency history. We trace how Popov was burned, how counterintelligence chief James Angleton became obsessed with finding "Popov's Mole," and how Oswald's strangely routed CIA file suggests he may have be...

In this bonus episode, Solving JFK reviews and critiques PBS Nova's JFK Cold Case documentary in response to a question from a listener. We'll be back with Part 3 on the Soviet Union series next week. Patreon - Patreon.com/solvingJFKTwitter - https://twitter.com/solvingjfk Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/solvingjfk Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/solvingjfkpodcast Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@solvingjfk Transcripts and Sources - https://www.solvingjfkpodcast.comOur Sponsors:* Check out Mood and use my c...

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the United States and the Soviet Union ever came to nuclear war—a thirteen-day period where decisions made in real time carried unimaginable consequences. In this episode, we break down how the crisis developed, why Khrushchev chose to place nuclear missiles in Cuba, and how American intelligence and leadership responded as the situation escalated. Inside the Kennedy administration, there was no consensus. Military leaders urged immediate force, while Kennedy weighed options that might avoid triggering a nuclear exchange. As the pressure intensified, miscommunications, near-misses, and rogue actions on both sides pus...

In Part 1 of this new series, Solving JFK zooms out to examine the Cold War backdrop that shaped the world leading up to President Kennedy’s assassination. From the so-called “missile gap” and early U.S.–Soviet tensions to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, this episode explores the fragile and often volatile relationship between Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. While often portrayed as either a Cold War hawk or dove, Kennedy emerges here as something more complex—navigating intense pressure from both sides while attempting to avoid catastrophic conflict.The episode also dives into the high-stakes...

In this bonus episode of Solving JFK, Matt Crumpton speaks with John Kirby, director, and Libby Handros, producer, of the ongoing documentary film franchise Four Died Trying. The project explores the lives—and assassinations—of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, asking what connects these four pivotal murders of the 1960s and how they reshaped American political history. Through more than 130 interviews with family members, colleagues, eyewitnesses, and others connected to these events, the series revisits these tragedies with fresh research and a wide range of perspectives.John and...

We recently completed a four-part series examining whether Israel played a role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In this episode, we revisit the strongest claims, examine the weakest links, and discuss what the evidence actually shows.Joining me is former Washington Post reporter and leading JFK researcher Jefferson Morley, author of The Ghost, the definitive biography of CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton. We take a deeper look at Angleton’s close relationship with Israeli intelligence, his role in Israel’s nuclear development during the Kennedy administration, and whether any of that connects in a meani...

In the final episode of our Israel series, we bring together the remaining evidence and arguments relied upon by researchers who believe Israel may have played a role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. We revisit Jack Ruby through the lens of his alleged connections to Mickey Cohen and Meyer Lansky, examine the operational capabilities of the Mossad in the early 1960s, and explore newly declassified material touching on Israel’s involvement in covert operations related to Cuba. We also analyze claims involving Cuban exile foreknowledge, including the Homer Echeverria file, and address allegations surrounding Israeli intelligence ti...

In this episode, we continue our deep dive into the theory of Israeli involvement in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by expanding the lens beyond James Angleton. We revisit Meyer Lansky through the specific context of his ties to Israel, organized crime, offshore banking, and intelligence-adjacent networks, examining whether those relationships plausibly intersect with Dealey Plaza. Along the way, we explore Lansky’s connections to figures like Jim Braden, the Corsican mafia, and the murky financial world that sat at the crossroads of intelligence agencies and criminal enterprises.We then turn to Permindex, a shadowy in...

This episode centers on CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Angleton and his exceptionally close, largely unsupervised relationship with the Israeli government and its intelligence services. We trace Angleton’s rise inside the CIA, his exclusive liaison role with Mossad, the extraordinary authority he exercised with minimal oversight, and his deep personal ties to senior Israeli political, intelligence, and nuclear figures during the critical years leading up to 1963. We then turn to Israel’s secret nuclear program and the unresolved mystery of the missing highly enriched uranium from the NUMEC facility in Pennsylvania.Patreon - Patreon.com/solvingJFKTw...

In this episode, we begin a multi-part examination of Israel, focusing on whether serious and escalating policy disputes between the Kennedy administration and Israeli leadership could constitute motive.This episode examines four major areas of conflict: Kennedy’s effort to enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act on pro-Israel lobbying groups, his comparatively pro-Arab Middle East policies, disputes over UN Resolution 194 concerning Palestinian refugees, and—most critically—his confrontation with Israeli leaders over Israel’s secret nuclear weapons program at Dimona. Drawing from historical records, declassified materials, and firsthand accounts, this episode lays the groundwork for a deeper explorat...

In this bonus episode of Solving JFK, I’m joined by acclaimed JFK researcher and author Jim DiEugenio for a conversation that begins with reflections on the recent passing of Rob Reiner and Robert Tanenbaum, both of whom previously appeared on this podcast. Jim discusses his work with Reiner on the project that ultimately became the Who Killed JFK podcast, and why Reiner’s late-career involvement in the JFK case was significant.The discussion then turns to Tanenbaum’s underappreciated role on the House Select Committee on Assassinations, before shifting into a rebuttal of several claims made in the recent M...

In this Recap and Rebuttals Part 18, we turn our full attention to Jack Ruby, the man who silenced Lee Harvey Oswald, and ask two questions the official record never convincingly answered: how deeply was Ruby connected to organized crime, and why did he pull the trigger? Joining me is returning guest Don from the Fourth Reich Archaeology podcast, whose detailed work on the Warren Commission and Jack Ruby is stellar. Together, we synthesize what we’ve learned across Episodes 84 and 85 and stress-test the strongest arguments on all sides. We trace Ruby’s life from his Chicago upbringing and ear...

In this 17th edition of Recap & Rebuttals, we take a comprehensive look back at the five-part Mafia series (Episodes 79–83) to assess what the historical record really tells us about organized crime’s potential role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Joined by internationally bestselling author, television producer, and former Gambino crime family associate Lou Ferrante, we revisit the rise of the American Mafia, its clashes with the Kennedy brothers, and the high-stakes world of mob power, politics, and intelligence operations. Together, we explore pivotal moments and figures including the Apalachin raid, the McClellan Committee, CIA-Mafia plots...

Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen was one of the earliest and most prominent national reporters to challenge the official story of the JFK assassination. Best known to the public from What’s My Line?, she was also a respected investigative journalist who covered major cases, interviewed Jack Ruby, and published columns openly criticizing the Warren Commission. In 1965, while actively pursuing new leads, she was found dead under disputed circumstances—and her JFK research file vanished.In this bonus episode, Matt is joined by Sara Jordan Heintz, author of The Incredible Life & Mysterious Death of Dorothy Kilgallen, and her father, Larry Jo...

Programming Note: A new video-only episode—20 Dallas JFK Landmarks—is now live on YouTube as of December 3rd at 4pm Eastern. It includes a tour of Dealey Plaza, the Paine House, General Walker’s home, and other rarely visited JFK-related locations.Click Here To Watch the VideoUpcoming episodes in the regular feed:December 10 – Bonus: Dorothy Kilgallen with Sara Jordan-HeintzDecember 14 – Patreon: Zooming Out with Tim Fattig and Tim GardnerDecember 17 – Recap & Rebuttals Part 17 (Episodes 79–83) with Lou FerranteDecember 24 – Recap & Rebuttals Part 18 (Episodes 84–85) with Don from Fourth Reich ArchaeologySolving JFK merchandise is available at SolvingJFKPod...

In the last episode, we rewound Jack Ruby’s life long before the basement of the Dallas Police Department and found a man deeply entangled with organized crime, Cuban gun-running, and people far more powerful than he let on.This episode goes deeper into Ruby’s world and asks how far inside that orbit he really was. We explore Ruby’s stint as an FBI informant, his close relationship with casino manager Lewis McWillie, and the allegation that Ruby visited Mafia boss Santos Trafficante in prison. We also look at Ruby’s ties to Carlos Marcello and analyze...