The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight

The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight

Portland-based anti-fascist Sean Kealiher was killed in 2019, months before the uprising that would bring Portland international attention. Nearly two years later, his homicide remains unsolved. His mother, Laura, believes she hasn't received justice because of police hatred for her son and his politics. Dying For A Fight, goes in search of answers: What happened the night Sean was killed? Why have no arrests been made? Who are the Americans living at the political extremes? And how did things escalate from Portland to the Capitol? The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight is part of The Binge - subscribe to listen to all episodes, all at once, ad-free right now. From serial killer nurses to psychic scammers – The Binge is your home for true crime stories that pull you in and never let go. Follow The Binge Crimes and The Binge Cases wherever you get your podcasts to get new stories on the first of the month, every month. Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession. This show is a co-production with Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Episodes

Introducing... The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq

September 14, 2020 • 3 mins
On September 11th 2001, as he faced incalculable losses after the terrorist attacks that day, President George W Bush made a call to his greatest international ally: British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 18 months later, Bush and Blair led a coalition into a war that went horribly wrong. David Dimbleby, one of the BBC’s best known news hosts and reporters, takes us back to those crucial 18 months. Talking to prime ministers, politicia...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 1. The Truth Shall Set You Free

September 28, 2020 • 38 mins
Was there a chance to stop the 2003 invasion of Iraq before it even began? In February 2003 CIA agent Bill Murray chased a high level, top secret new source across the middle east. Bill was looking for a piece of information so valuable he might be able to use it to stop a war. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories d...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 2. Up the Arse of the White House

October 5, 2020 • 45 mins
How did Bush and Blair get so close? We go back to the late 90s and hear how British Ambassador in Washington Christopher Meyer carried out Blair’s instruction to ‘get up the arse of the White House and stay there’. Meyer tries to find out what Bush’s position is on foreign policy and gets to know the influential group of conservatives advising him. They’re known as the neocons. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fa...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 3. Shoulder To Shoulder

October 12, 2020 • 48 mins
On September 11th 2001 the world changes in an instant. George Bush calls his greatest international ally, Tony Blair, and the two leaders stand shoulder to shoulder. But where and how should they strike back? A team of intrepid reporters in Washington investigates why the Bush administration is turning its attention towards Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now b...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 4. The Alpha Dog

October 19, 2020 • 47 mins
How did WMD become central to the case for war in Iraq? We go back to 1991 - just after the first Gulf War - to find out why the argument for invading Iraq focussed on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. We look at how the Iraqis tried to hide these weapons and meet the two men who did the most to try and find them. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Bin...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 5. Curveball

October 26, 2020 • 35 mins
An Iraqi defector’s evidence becomes crucial to the case for regime change in Iraq. His codename is Curveball. Meanwhile journalists at the Knight Ridder news organisation investigate whether the White House is using bogus intelligence to make the case for war. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the fi...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 6. With You Whatever

November 2, 2020 • 42 mins
Tony Blair writes to George Bush “I’m with you whatever”. But now he needs to do two things: persuade the UK that war against Saddam is necessary, and the Americans that they need to seek international support for military action. The result is a decision by Bush to try and win round the United Nations, and an intelligence dossier that will haunt Blair forever. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free,...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 7. Seven Days and Seven Nights

November 9, 2020 • 39 mins
US Secretary of State Colin Powell is tasked with making a public case for war at the United Nations. As he tries to sort fact from fiction he alights upon evidence from the mysterious Iraqi defector known as Curveball. Meanwhile, weapons inspector Rocco Casagrande is searching the Iraqi desert. How will Powell’s speech match with the reality on the ground? Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, rig...
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Blair, Bush & Iraq | 8. The Pieces of the Puzzle

November 16, 2020 • 51 mins
Tony Blair finally has to come face to face with his party and his country. To sell his war to parliament and to the public. Little does he know that in a few short months the weapons' inspectors, searching through the rubble in Iraq, will find something that will haunt him for the rest of his life and career. And it will leave us, the people, asking - can we ever trust our politicians again? Want the full story? Unlock all epis...
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Bush, Blair & Iraq | 9. Iraq

November 23, 2020 • 40 mins
After the arguments over intelligence, the debates between politicians and the meetings behind closed doors in this final episode we ask what happened next? What happened to Iraq and what happened to Iraqis after Bush and Blair sent their troops into the country in March 2003? Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dr...
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Introducing... The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight

August 30, 2021 • 3 mins
Portland-based anti-fascist Sean Kealiher was killed in 2019, months before the uprising that would bring Portland international attention.  Nearly two years later, his homicide remains unsolved. His mother, Laura, believes she hasn't received justice because of police hatred for her son and his politics.  Dying For A Fight, the second installment in Somethin’ Else’s Fault Line series, goes in search of answers: What happened...
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The Death of Sean Kealiher

September 13, 2021 • 39 mins
Sean Kealiher was killed on Oct 12, 2019, near a popular bar for Portland’s antifascist scene. An SUV ran him over and crashed outside the Democratic Party of Oregon office. Gunshots rang out through the night, and whoever was driving fled the scene, leaving the vehicle behind. Now, almost two years later, his mother Laura Kealiher is demanding police answer why his killing remains unsolved. Want the full story? Unlock all ...
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A Fight Brews

September 20, 2021 • 49 mins
Portland, Oregon, had been a hotbed for political clashes between the far left and the far right for years before 2020.  Sean Kealiher was among the people who regularly took to the streets to fight — sometimes physically — with people who opposed Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements.  We look at who was in the streets leading up to one of the most significant years in American protests.  Want the full sto...
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It’s a Conspiracy

September 27, 2021 • 47 mins
Oregon’s long history of racism was what brought Sean Kealiher and so many protesters like him to the streets.  The fights between anti-racist skinheads and neo-Nazis in the 80s and 90s set the stage for Portland to found America’s first official Antifa chapter.   And Laura Kealiher says the way police are intertwined with those past fights makes her skeptical they will ever solve Sean’s homicide.  Want the full story? Unlo...
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This Isn't a Game

October 4, 2021 • 38 mins
When Sean Kealiher and his friend Micah Fletcher began confronting racists in their community, neither one could have predicted the consequences.  In 2017, Micah would nearly lose his life when he was attacked on a Portland train as he defended two teenage girls from a racist tirade.  Now, he reflects on how he was lauded as a hero while his friend Sean was treated as a thug for doing the same things.  Want the full story? U...
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It’s Personal

October 11, 2021 • 38 mins
After Sean Kealiher was killed, his mother Laura was subjected to brutal harassment from conservative trolls at her home and online—and it was Sean’s antifascist friends who provided her security, not the Portland police.  Meanwhile, we ask the former head of police detectives in Portland why there has been no progress in solving Sean’s homicide.  Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now ...
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Dying for a Fight | Portrait of a Young Anarchist: An Interview with Ani Raven

October 12, 2021 • 20 mins
Ani Raven is a longtime activist and community radio host in Portland.  She was also one of Sean Kealiher’s mentors when he joined the Occupy movement at 15 years old.  In 2011, Raven met Sean at the camps that Occupy protesters had set up in Portland city parks.  In this episode, released on the two-year anniversary of Sean’s killing, Raven discusses how she watched Sean grow as a young activist, and start to lead people in...
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Summer 2020

October 18, 2021 • 55 mins
The uprising of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 swept the country.  As many as 1 in 10 adult Americans attended a protest. They got a taste of the world Sean Kealiher had been inhabiting for years before he was killed.  And in Portland, the culture war over race and politics would turn deadly.  Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge acce...
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Life Is Cheaper

October 25, 2021 • 53 mins
In some ways, Sean Kealiher’s homicide has remained a mystery because people closest to him have long declined to talk publicly about what happened the night he was killed.  For the first time ever, two antifascists who were with Sean the night of his homicide tell their side of the story.  Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to bran...
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Who Gets Justice

November 1, 2021 • 52 mins
Laura Kealiher doesn’t believe the state has made a good faith effort to solve Sean’s case.  We attempt to get answers from Portland’s progressive district attorney. And, we uncover a new witness who raises questions about why this case is still unsolved.  Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of The Fault Line, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the firs...
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