The True Origins of Modern Terrorism

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to journalist Jason Burke about his new book The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s. Jason explains: Why the origins of modern terrorism lie earlier than the Afghan jihad of the 1980s The global revolutionary ferment of the 1960s and 70s Why early terrorist attacks were often designed to attract attention rather than cause mass casualties The role of Palestinian militant groups in pioneering modern tactics like hijacking Connections between European radicals, Japanese militants, and Middle Eastern groups How states adapted to terrorism through new counterterrorism measures The shift from theatrical violence to mass-casualty and suicide attacks The relationship between secular revolutionary movements and later Islamist militancy The Iranian Revolution as a turning point in the evolution of political violence Why many common narratives about the origins of jihadism are incomplete Find Jason on X: Join the Conflicted Community here: Find Conflicted on X: And Facebook: And Instagram: And YouTube: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The True Origins of Modern Terrorism is an episode from CONFLICTED by Message Heard.

This episode is 77:53 long.

This episode was published on Apr 16, 2026.

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