Bian Zhongyun's Husband (8:11)

Before the Internet ruled our lives, AOL brought America Online with email and Instant messenger. By 2000, AOL was so powerful, it bought media giant Time Warner. This was a deal that was supposed to bring us into the future, revolutionize media. But instead, it became one of the messiest corporate disasters in history. So what went wrong? The dot com crash? Culture clashes? Or something deeper? Business wars gives you a front row seat to the biggest moments in business and how they shape our world. Because when your flight perks disappear, your favorite restaurant chain goes bankrupt, or new tech threatens to reshape everything overnight. You can bet there's a deeper story behind the headlines. Make sure to follow Business wars on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. And you can binge all episodes of Business the AOL Time Warner Disaster early and ad free Right now on Wondery.

Chico Felitti (9:10)

Everyone has that friend who seems kind of perfect for Paddy. That friend was Desiree. Until one day I texted her and.

Desiree (9:19)

She was not getting the text. So I went to Instagram. She has no Instagram anymore. And Facebook. No Facebook anymore.

Chico Felitti (9:26)

Desiree was gone and there was one person who knew the answer.

Lindsey Graham (9:31)

I am a spiritual person, a magical.

Chico Felitti (9:34)

Person, a witch, a gorgeous Brazilian influencer called Kat Torres, but who was hiding a secret from Wondery. Based on my smash hit podcast From Brazil comes a new series, Don't Cross Cat, about a search that led me to a mystery in a Texas suburb.

Lindsey Graham (9:53)

I'm calling to check on the two.

Song Bin Bin (9:55)

Missing Brazilian girls, maybe get some undercover crew there.

Lindsey Graham (9:58)

The family are freaking out.

Chico Felitti (10:00)

They are lost. I'm Chico Felitti. You can listen to Don't Cross Cat on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Lindsey Graham (10:17)

It's the evening of August 4, 1966, in Beijing, China, two months after students began an anti capitalist campaign at a city middle school. Vice principal Bian Zhongyun sneaks into her home and rushes up the stairs. She manages to make it to the bathroom without her family seeing. Turning on the light and looking into the mirror, Jong Yung sees a face she barely recognizes. Her lip is cut, her eyes black and swollen. Her hair is matted with ink and blood, and large chunks are missing where she was attacked with scissors and pens. Jeongyeong fills the sink with warm water. She does her best to gently wash out the ink and fix her hair. She dabs at her lip, but there's little she can do about the swollen eye. There's a soft knock on the bathroom door, and in a sympathetic voice, Jeong Yong's husband tells her that dinner is ready, but to only come when she's ready. Xiang Yong croaks out a reply, telling him that she'll be out soon. Xiang Yong once considered herself an ardent supporter of the Chinese Communist Party. She joined the movement in 1941 and celebrated when it seized power eight years later. But Xiang Yong's faith in Chairman Mao and the Communist Party's vision for the future has faded in recent years. The launch of the Cultural Revolution has only deepened her doubts. But Xiang Yong thought she had kept her growing skepticism hidden until a slip up in class gave her away. A student asked whether they should save the school's portrait of Chairman Mao in the event of a fire. Zhong Yong answered that they should simply get out of the building as quickly as possible. The implication, however slight, was that Zhong Yong was not a true believer in Chairman Mao. This was enough for students to label Xongyong a counter revolutionary. And almost immediately they began verbally and then physically abusing her. She had written to local authorities asking for help, but her letters have gone unanswered. Then, earlier today, Jung Yong faced her worst beating yet. And the girls warned her that worse was to come unless she confesses to being a counter revolutionary revisionist. Finally, Jong Yong switches off the bathroom light and goes downstairs to join her husband. A part of her understands that these attacks cannot go on like this forever. It's like her students are suffering from a collective fever. Eventually it will break, but she fears that the violence won't stop. Before someone takes things too far across the dinner table, Jung Yung's husband watches her with concern. He offers food and drink and tries to make cheery small talk. But Jung Yung says little in response. When the meal ends, she goes to bed early. The next day, she bids her husband goodbye with an unemotional handshake. Wracked with worry about the day ahead. When she arrives at school, it doesn't take long for a group of students to come for her. They start beating on her office door. At first, Jung Yong ignores them, but her silence is taken as defiance. And that only makes the girls angrier. Knowing that they will break in eventually, Jong Yong decides she must face them and try to defuse the situation. But as soon as she unlocks the door, she is attacked. Jeong Yong is dragged into the playground so the entire school can witness her punishment. She is told that her crimes mean she is condemned to death and ordered to admit that she is a counter revolutionary revisionist before her execution. But Jung Yong won't give the students the confession they want. Once the girls realize this, their fury reaches a new height. One of them grabs a mop bucket and forces its dirty contents down Jung Yung's throat. They punch her and kick her and beat her with nail studded clubs. And even when Jong Yung loses consciousness, the blows don't stop. Eventually, she is left to die in the hot sun. Jong Yong's husband will only be notified of his wife's death hours later. Understanding that he has no way to seek justice he will instead gather as much evidence as he can can and save it for a later date. He will remove the bloody clothes from Jong Yong's body. And he will take one final family photo with his wife's corpse positioned in front of their four children. Bian Jeong Jung's husband will hide all this evidence away, waiting for the madness of the Cultural Revolution to pass and the opportunity to finally come when he can show the world what was done to his wife.

Nick (14:36)

Hey, Jack, I got some trivia for you. You ready?

Chico Felitti (14:38)

Nice.

Nick (14:38)

Which company's iconic fleece jacket was inspired by a toilet seat cover? Gotta be Patagonia. What's next? Okay, which sneaker was banned by the NBA but then became the most iconic basketball shoe in history? Air Jordans. Come on, give me something hard. All right. What energy drink used to plant empty cans in nightclubs to fake its own popularity? That was Red Bull. Legendary move by a legendary brand. Instant classic. This is Nick and this is Jack. We're best friends, ex finance guys and resident 90s cultural experts. And every week on our podcast, the Best Idea yet, we explore the untold origin stories behind the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk takers who made them go viral. From the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the iPhone to the most powerful force in business, Costco's Kirkland brand. Follow the best idea yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery. And if this podcast lasts longer than 45 minutes, call your doctor.

Lawless Planet (15:36)

How hard is it to kill a planet? Maybe all it takes is a little drilling, some mining, and a whole lot of carbon pumped into the atmosphere. When you see what's left, it starts to look like a crime scene.

Lindsey Graham (15:48)

Are we really safe? Is our water safe? You destroyed our tap.

Lawless Planet (15:52)

And crimes like that, they don't just happen.

Lindsey Graham (15:54)

We call things accidents. There is no accident. This was 100% preventable.

Lawless Planet (16:01)

They're the result of choices by people. Ruthless oil tycoons, corrupt politicians, even organized crime. These are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet. Stories of scams, murders and cover ups that are about us and the things we're doing to either protect the the earth or destroy it. Follow Lawless Planet on the Wonry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of Lawless Planet early and ad free right now by joining Wonry plus in the Wonry app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Lindsey Graham (16:44)

It's January 12, 2014 at Beijing Normal University. Girls School in Beijing, China. Nearly a half century after Bian Zhongyun was killed by her students. Now in her mid-60s, Song Bin Bin is in the hallway where Jong Yun was attacked. Standing before a memorial dedicated to the murdered teacher alongside four other former students of the school, Bin Bin bows her head then, after a moment's silence, reads from a prepared statement. She labels the Cultural Revolution a calamity and expresses remorse for her part in it. Bin Bin doesn't go as far to admit she was the one who attacked Xun Yung, but she does apologize for not doing more to protect her teacher. Bian Xiang Yong's murder was not an isolated incident. During the so called red August of 1966, hundreds of teachers were killed in similar ways. As violence swept through China, thousands of others took their own lives to avoid the brutal punishments dished out by the Red Guards. But that was still just the beginning of the terror of Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution. Over the next decade, around 2 million so called class enemies were killed or forced into suicide. The chaos and violence only came to an end after Mao's death in 1970. Six years later, Song Bin Bin's expression of regret makes national headlines in China. But the words mean little to Xiong Yong's 92 year old widower. He doesn't just hold the Red Guard students responsible for his wife's murder. Their actions were evil, but they were brainwashed by Mao and the Chinese Communist Party. In his view, until the government officially apologizes, justice will never be served. But although he has shared the evidence he gathered back in 1966, the government has never been willing to look into his wife's murder too deeply. It's part of a wider pattern. Although the ruling party has officially declared that the Cultural Revolution was a severe setback, officials have been reluctant to discuss the regime's historic mistakes, let alone pursue justice for those killed. Even the memorial to Bian Zhongyung is evasive. Although the memorial records her name and the date of her death, there is no mention of the manner in which she died or that she was the first victim of one of the bloodiest people periods in Chinese history. One that began with the whim of a dictator and burst into murderous violence on August 5, 1966. Next on History Daily, August 6, 1991. A British computer programmer changes the world forever when he uploads the first site to the World Wide Web. From Noiser and Airship this is History Daily Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Mohammed Shazi Sound design by Molly Bond. Supervising sound designer, Matthew Filler. Music by Thrum. This episode is written and researched by Owen Paul Nichols, edited by Scott Reeves. Managing producer, Emily Burke. Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.