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Behind the Scenes–Netflix: Who Killed Malcolm X?

What really happened the day Malcolm X was assassinated? And why did it take more than 55 years for the truth to begin coming out?

In this powerful episode of The Hotsheet Podcast, hosts Jenn Nelson and Sean Dryke sit down with filmmaker and director Phil Bertelsen to unpack the making of the Netflix film, “Who Killed Malcolm X?” and the inspiration for the shocking investigation behind the assassination of one of the most influential civil rights leaders in American history.

For decades, three men were convicted of the 1965 murder of Malcolm X. But behind the scenes, many believed that two of those men were wrongfully imprisoned. The evidence simply hadn’t been presented in a way that could challenge the official story—until a groundbreaking documentary series on Netflix reignited the case. After the series aired during the height of the pandemic, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office reopened the investigation.

What followed was extraordinary: new evidence emerged, the convictions were vacated, and the men were fully exonerated, with their families later receiving multi-million-dollar settlements for decades of wrongful imprisonment.

In this conversation, Bertelsen reveals:

• The moment he realized the story of Malcolm X’s assassination needed to be told again
• Why he was initially hesitant to investigate such a controversial case
• The role of citizen investigator Abdul Rahman Muhammad and his decades-long search for the truth
• How the documentary sparked a real-world criminal investigation
• What the new evidence says about who may have actually killed Malcolm X

This episode explores the intersection of true crime, civil rights history, investigative journalism, and justice delayed—and shows how storytelling can change the course of real cases.

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t watched the documentary series Who Killed Malcolm X?, you may want to pause, watch it on Netflix, and then come back to hear this behind-the-scenes conversation.

If you’re interested in true crime investigations, Malcolm X history, wrongful convictions, and documentary filmmaking, this episode is a must-watch.

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