Hindsight

Winnie Mandela was hailed as an anti-apartheid hero and reviled as a corrupt child killer. In hindsight, can she be both? If she had never married Nelson Mandela would we even have heard of her? Yes, most likely. Listen to the first episode of season 6 where we dive into the lives of some of history's most notable women.Narrated by Charles Dance. Publishing biweekly.  Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and FacebookSupport the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Andrés Escobar was considered the gentleman of football for his clean, calm play on the pitch. But his life was cut short after a mistake at the 1994 World Cup. In hindsight, it was impossible to separate the footballer, and the sport, from the other Escobar in 1990s Colombia. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and FacebookSupport the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Brazil's Mané Garrincha was first written off after being born with bent legs. Against the odds, he went on to become one of the greatest dribblers in football. But in hindsight, Garrincha's ultimate undoing began when he was a boy.  Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook  Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Hungary's Ferenc Puskás is considered “football’s first international superstar.” There's even a trophy named after him for the player who scores the most 'aesthetically significant  goal'. In hindsight, his journey from national hero to fugitive and hero again was already written.Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

England's Lily Parr became famous during the brief, golden period of women’s football in the 1920s.  A time when society had a hard time accepting that the sport was suitable for women. But Parr was formidable and in hindsight, the chain-smoking footballer was very much ahead of her time.    Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Lev Yashin was a Soviet-era legend, considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the game. Scoring on Yashin was considered a career achievement and with a nickname like the Black Spider, you'll find out why.   In hindsight however, although he was adored, Yashin wasn't spared a violent backlash by his fans.Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Diego Armando Maradona is often described as having been touched by the divine. But in hindsight, the man was no saint. Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Rosa Parks is known to most as the woman who took a stand by sitting down. In the collective memory, her legacy is confined to that one day, but in hindsight, refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus was neither her first nor her last fight for social justice. Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Sani Abacha is often referred to as the worst and most corrupt ruler in modern Nigerian history. He established a reputation as someone who was good at planning coups. A kingmaker of sorts. But none was more successful, and subsequently destructive, as his own takeover for power.  In hindsight, how did no one see it coming? Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Ulrike Meinhof - one half of the infamous Baader-Meinhof gang that robbed, bombed, kidnapped and killed their way across Germany in the early 1970s. In hindsight, was she a deranged terrorist who took her own life to evade justice, or a misunderstood victim of a tumultuous, mid-20th century Europe?Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

In the West, Pol Pot is synonymous with Cambodia’s infamous “Khmer Rouge”.  One of the most brutal dictatorships of the 20th Century. In hindsight, was this a case of one man’s bloodthirsty hunger for power, or the unravelling of a mission for an agrarian utopia? Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile for 17 years after a coup in 1973.  Many who knew him in the years before considered him unremarkable. In hindsight, Pinochet was an accomplished opportunist who seized absolute power, then bullied his way into keeping it.  Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Strong,  determined, cultured and desperate for true love.  Catherine the Great was Russia's longest ruling female leader. She was also its last. In hindsight, her rise to power was no accident.Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Catherine the Great, Augusto Pinochet, Ulrike Meinhof, Pol Pot, Sani Abacha and Rosa Parks. What do they have to say in season 4 of Hindsight? Actor Charles Dance narrates.  We begin with Catherine the Great on August 30.Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/

Polonium for Poland and Radium for the rays. Marie Curie was a Pole and scientist through and through. But as a woman in the early 20th century, her contributions in discovering two elements nearly went unknown. Support the show: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/hindsight/