Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Jason Burke, "The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s" (Knopf, 2026)
Date: January 22, 2026
Host: Rebecca Buchanan
Guest: Jason Burke

Overview of the Episode

This episode features a deep dive into Jason Burke’s 2026 book, The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s. The conversation explores the global history of the first wave of international terrorism between the late 1960s and early 1980s, focusing on the intertwined rise of secular leftist and Islamist revolutionary extremism. Burke discusses his decade-long multilingual research, humanizes notorious figures, and reflects on how this era shapes both current perceptions of terrorism and broader political histories.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis and Scope of the Book

• Narrative Focus: The book is a narrative history of international terrorism from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, mainly focusing on the Middle East and Western Europe, but with a broadly global context.
  • “It is a narrative history of the first wave of international terrorism that really broke in the late 1960s and through the 70s.” (02:04, Jason Burke)
• Double Strand: It uniquely explores both leftist/secular and Islamist forms of extremism in parallel.
  • “One of the things I set out to do was to look at two major strands of extremism in the period ... left leaning on the whole ... but also Islamism, as it’s really that period, too, that extremist Islamism begins to emerge as a major force.” (02:43, Jason)

2. The Research Process & Global Reach

• Multilingual & Archival Work: Burke utilized translation tools and a variety of sources (academic works, interrogation reports, music, postcards) to gain a genuinely global perspective.
  • “You suddenly got DeepL and Google Translate ... I was translating, you know, all sorts of academic research in Serbo-Croat and Greek and Arabic ... Dutch interrogation reports ... really useful and just people hadn’t used.” (05:12, Jason)
  • “I deliberately wanted to make it kind of a global ... I just cast my net really wide in terms of sources ... pictures, postcards, archival documentaries, music ... just everything I could get my hands on.” (07:20, Jason)
• Primary Interviews: Where possible, Burke personally interviewed surviving participants, providing fresh perspectives and untapped memories.

3. Intertwined Histories of Leftist and Islamist Extremism

• Parallel Developments: The late 1960s and 1970s saw concurrent—and sometimes overlapping—leftist revolutionary and Islamic militant movements.
  • “I was struck by the coincidence ... how it was also a moment of revolutionary ferment all over the world for leftists ... and at the same time you have this extraordinary change happening in the Islamic world.” (09:03, Jason)
• Mutual Influence: Islamist extremists often adopted tactics, language, and anti-imperialist stances from leftist groups.
  • “The more I looked at it, the more I could see how much it was drawing on the left wing ideas of the time—tactically, some of the vocabulary, some of the world view.” (11:09, Jason)

4. Internationalism and Unexpected Alliances

• Global Solidarity: Revolutionary training camps and operations drew participants from around the world, breaking the myth that such actions were limited to Middle Easterners.
  • “...I was really interested to learn that there were Nicaraguans, for example, involved in the big hijacking of 1970 ... Dutch Maoists and you had British Communists ... the Japanese Red army faction ... to give it that kind of global spread.” (14:17, Jason)
• Learning and Adapting: Groups learned from and inspired each other, with ideological and tactical exchange across continents.
  • “There was a lot of learning from one another and figuring out how to ... make whatever cause you are fighting for stronger by coming together.” (18:40, Rebecca; 19:00, Jason)

5. Evolution of Tactics and Public Perception

• From Spectacle to Lethality: Early acts, notably hijackings, were often aimed at publicity and negotiations, rarely mass casualties—a contrast with later, deadlier operations.
  • “As excellent commentator Brian Jenkins ... said at the time, ‘terrorists then wanted a lot of people watching and not a lot of people dead.’” (22:02, Jason)
  • “Tracing that was really interesting to me ... this evolution in quite a short period, from a moment where hijacking was scary and uncomfortable, but rarely lethal, to this very different kind of violence later.” (23:20, Jason)
• Changing Stereotypes: In the 1970s, suicide attacks were associated with Japanese extremists, not Arabs—an inversion of current perceptions.
  • “A security official is quoted as saying, I want it, you know, ‘It can’t be the Arabs ... They don’t do suicide attacks. It must be the Japanese.’ ... Now ... that would be completely nonsensical.” (19:54–21:36, Jason)

6. The Surprises of Historical Research

• Challenging Myths: Many “known” stories, like the Munich Olympics attack or the Entebbe raid, are often distilled through layers of myth or misunderstood context.
  • “All of these events, we all think we know about ... and when I dug into all of them, I found that so much of what we think happened ... didn’t.” (25:47, Jason)
  • “Everybody talks about how amazing the Israeli operation was ... they could not have done it without the support of the Kenyans ... And that ... context was really ... fascinating.” (27:40, Jason)
• Erased Histories: Leftist Iranian groups were key in resisting the Shah in the 1970s—an aspect often overshadowed by the clerical figures of the 1979 revolution.
  • “I was very lucky in that I got to know their leader ... days and days talking to him about how they fought the Shah ... a complete window into something that’s been totally obscured.” (29:40–30:36, Jason)

7. Humanizing and De-Mythologizing the Extremists

• Not Just Killers: Burke makes a point to identify the humanity and complexity in individuals behind notorious acts, without falling into glamorization.
  • “There’s humanity in everyone ... there’s romance, right? ... but also really showing like multiple parts of who these people [are] ...” (32:11, Rebecca)
  • “Carlos the Jackal ... he’s a mythomaniac and a sociopath ... but because you can’t get away from it ... he was a media icon ... but really, half the attacks he’s involved in would go badly wrong but he gets away with it.” (32:57–36:03, Jason)
• Aging Revolutionaries: Many surviving figures are now elderly and uniquely positioned to reflect on their actions, with layers of memory, secrecy, and myth remaining.
  • “A lot of them [are] in their 80s ... most of them were in their early 20s back then. So I spoke to Layla Khaled at length ... But the thing is, she’s still around ... people are observing operational security.” (39:31–43:31, Jason)

8. Lessons and Relevance for Today

• Democracy vs. Repression: The fate of leftist radicalism in the West versus the Middle East highlights why some revolutions withered—democracy addressed grievances, while repression in the Middle East seeded future, less negotiable extremism.
  • “A lot of the measures that the protesters ... were demanding kind of happened ... they won the cultural social battle ... democracy answered some of those grievances ... In the Middle East, you don’t get any of that. All you get is just brute repression ... you get more people who want to address the grievances ... but with much more intractable tactics.” (44:46, Jason)
• Epic Narrative: Aside from analysis, Burke aims for a “technicolor epic” imbued with the drama and complexity of the period.
  • “I just wanted that kind of technicolor epic kind of feel ... plunges the reader in that moment. ... That’s what I hope people feel.” (48:55–50:33, Jason)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Book’s Approach:
  • “My interest is in what makes people commit acts of violence, whoever they are, but also because in and of themselves, they were just really fascinating people.” (03:15, Jason)
• On the Global Jigsaw:
  • “I just cast my net really wide in terms of sources ... everything from standard histories ... to pictures, postcards, archival documentaries, music that I felt was important to conjure up the period.” (07:20, Jason)
• On Early vs. Later Terror Tactics:
  • “Early on, they’re handing out pamphlets with their cause and their grievances ... by the early 80s, these big bombs by Hezbollah ... they’re not interested. It’s just, let’s just blow up an embassy.” (23:35–24:41, Jason)
• On Carlos the Jackal:
  • “His real name is Illich Ramirez Sanchez and he’s a really unpleasant man. ... He’s a mythomaniac and a sociopath … a media icon … but really, half his attacks would go badly wrong but he gets away with it.” (32:57–36:03, Jason)
• On Lasting Reverberations:
  • “...you’re 50 more years after the event, and … people are observing operational security.” (41:05, Jason)
• On the Reading Experience:
  • “[I hope] you finish it and you put it down or you listen to the audiobook ... and you sit down, you go like … you come out the cinema blinking and going, wow, that was intense. That’s what I hope people feel.” (50:03, Jason)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Book Overview and Approach: 02:04–04:36
• Research Challenges & Multilingual Work: 05:12–08:39
• Leftist and Islamist Movements in Parallel: 09:03–13:33
• Transnational Solidarity and Training: 14:17–18:40
• Evolution of Terrorist Tactics: 21:36–25:24
• Rewriting Familiar Narratives: 25:47–32:11
• Humanizing the ‘Revolutionists’: 32:11–39:05
• Interviewing Survivors and Secrecy: 39:31–44:26
• Lessons & Relevance: 44:46–49:29
• Intended Reader Experience: 49:44–50:33

Conclusion

Jason Burke’s The Revolutionists reconstructs the real story of the 1970s’ extremists in all its complexity—global, ideological, and deeply human. This interview not only outlines the vast and ambitious narrative Burke crafts but also offers candid behind-the-scenes perspectives on the myths, methods, and meanings underlying a decade that continues to echo in today’s world.