Media & Appearances

Switzerland (German)

Trump hört auf seine Berater – nicht auf die CIA
2026.03.11

The targeted killing of top Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior regime members on the morning of February 28th in Tehran came as a surprise to many. The historian Adrian Hänni explains. The specialist for intelligence agencies makes the case that US and Israeli tactical intelligence has been used to great effect in the current war on Iran, strategic intelligence is apparently ignored by US President Donald Trump.

Germany (German)

Wie die CIA versucht, Regime zu stürzen
2026.03.08

In a live conversation with ZDF, intelligence expert and political historian Adrian Hänni looks at the current role of the CIA in Iran. He explains how the US uses the CIA for its missions abroad, why some previous operations failed spectacularly, and ranks how much Hollywood gets right about everyday life in the intelligence world.

Switzerland (French)

La mission diplomatique russe augmente le nombre de ses antennes à Genève pour espionner
2024.11.17

Russian spies are strengthening their presence in Geneva, conducting intelligence operations, sabotage and assassination attempts, according to an investigation by the RTS. Adrian Hänni provides expert commentary.

Germany (German)

Stecken russische Agenten hinter dem „Havanna-Syndrom“?
2024.04.02

Havana Syndrome – hardly any other “illness” raises so many questions. For years, hundreds of US diplomats have been experiencing mysterious health problems, including headaches, dizziness, nausea, and hearing and memory loss. The first to report the enigmatic symptoms were US diplomats living in Havana, Cuba. Later, cases were reported elsewhere, including in China, Colombia, and Austria.

The cause of the ailments remains unclear. New research now reveals that the trail leads to Russia. Is the Russian secret service attacking diplomats with microwave weapons? Who is behind GRU Special Unit 29155? And what is their motive? Victoria Reichelt discusses these questions on ZDFheute with intelligence expert Dr. Adrian Hänni from the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich.

Switzerland (German)

Cold Cases Schweiz: Ungeklärte politsche Kriminalfälle

2024.02.08

Historian Adrian Hänni explores unsolved political crimes with links to intelligence agencies and terrorists.

Germany (German)

Bruno Breguet: Im Rudel des Schakals (Part 1)
2023.10.13

On February 21, 1981, there is a devastating bomb attack on the American radio station Radio Free Europe – which provides information to people behind the Iron Curtain – at the edge of the English Garden in the heart of Munich. No one suspects at the time that this attack is being carried out by the world’s most wanted terrorist, Carlos the Jackal. Bruno Breguet, a Swiss citizen and member of the Carlos Group, plays an important role in the attack. Breguet’s incredible life story is told in a double episode with his biographer, historian Adrian Hänni.

Bruno Breguet: Der Spitzel des Erzfeinds (Part 2)
2023.10.20

While the trial of Bruno Breguet and his accomplice Magdalena Kopp begins in the Paris Palace of Justice, the Carlos group begins a series of bomb attacks at a nearby busy street with the demand to release their captive members. Adrian Hänni describes how the attack on Radio Free Europe in Munich will eventually catch up with Breguet.

US (English)

Dancing With Jackals, Part 1: The Idealist
2023.08

In June 1970, a young man is arrested at the Israeli port of Haifa. On his person, police officers discover pro-Palestine propaganda, a Super-8 video camera, and two kilograms of high explosive. His name is Bruno Breguet and his story only gets stranger from here. In this two-part True Spies story, intelligence historian Adrian Hänni joins Daisy Ridley to uncover the life of a little-known, but fascinating figure. In Part 1, you’ll follow Bruno’s journey from sleepy southern Switzerland to the frontlines of pro-Palestinian terror in the 1970s and the inner circle of one of the world’s most notorious terrorists, Carlos the Jackal.

Dancing With Jackals, Part 2: The Vanishing of Bruno Bréguet
2023.08

It’s the 1980s, and Bruno Breguet is one of international super-terrorist Carlos the Jackal’s most trusted operatives. But in a paranoid world of violence and subterfuge, what is loyalty really worth? In this two-part True Spies story, intelligence historian Adrian Hänni joins Daisy Ridley to uncover the life of a little-known, but fascinating figure. In Part 2, the strength of Breguet’s revolutionary ideals come up against the mercenary reality of the Jackal’s world – and is found wanting. Gunplay in Paris, a lavish semi-retirement in Syria and an unlikely new paymaster pave the road to a final, deadly riddle.

UK (English)

Revealed: the terrorist hired by the CIA to catch Carlos the Jackal
2023.04.09

Hänni speaks with the Guardian’s Jason Burke about Bruno Breguet and how the terrorist-turned-CIA agent contributed to the capture of his infamous boss, Carlos the Jackal.

Switzerland (German)

Geheimdienstaffäre Cryptoleaks
2020.02.13

A joint investigation by SRF Rundschau (Switzerland), ZDF (Germany), and the Washington Post (USA) exposed a worldwide surveillance operation by secret services centered around Crypto AG, a Swiss company. Hänni was interviewed on the Cryptoleaks spy scandal and the activities of foreign intelligence services in Switzerland.