ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Let's Assassinate Hitler - DAY BEFORE:
The Death of Kissing - DAY BEFORE THAT:
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Hollywood's Iconic Landmark
ON THIS DAY
Where's Pablo Escobar?
Pablo Escobar dramatically escaped from La Catedral (aka ‘Hotel Escobar’, his luxurious prison compound) on 22nd July, 1992.
The drugs lord had surrendered the previous year under an extraordinary deal that allowed him to avoid extradition to the United States by serving his sentence in a bling hilltop retreat, complete with recreational facilities, fine food and contact with the outside world.
But the arrangement quickly became an embarrassment for the Colombian government once it became clear that Escobar had continued to direct the international cocaine trade from inside the facility. Matters came to a head after he had several associates murdered, prompting the authorities to transfer him to a conventional military jail. But, before they could do so, Escobar slipped away, disappearing into the mountains surrounding Medellín…
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the cartel leader’s complicated public image in Columbia; discover how security forces eventually tracked and killed him; and reveal just how much money this legendary figure was making at the peak of his empire.
Further Reading:
• ‘La Catedral: The Luxury Prison Pablo Escobar Built For Himself’ (All That’s Interesting, 2026): https://allthatsinteresting.com/la-catedral
• ‘Escobar escape humiliates Colombian leaders | Colombia’ (The Guardian, 1992): https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jul/24/colombia.fromthearchive
• ‘Pablo Escobar Escapes from Prison’ (NBC News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmlUuOw2kE
ON THIS DAY
Where's Pablo Escobar?
Pablo Escobar dramatically escaped from La Catedral (aka ‘Hotel Escobar’, his luxurious prison compound) on 22nd July, 1992.
The drugs lord had surrendered the previous year under an extraordinary deal that allowed him to avoid extradition to the United States by serving his sentence in a bling hilltop retreat, complete with recreational facilities, fine food and contact with the outside world.
But the arrangement quickly became an embarrassment for the Colombian government once it became clear that Escobar had continued to direct the international cocaine trade from inside the facility. Matters came to a head after he had several associates murdered, prompting the authorities to transfer him to a conventional military jail. But, before they could do so, Escobar slipped away, disappearing into the mountains surrounding Medellín…
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the cartel leader’s complicated public image in Columbia; discover how security forces eventually tracked and killed him; and reveal just how much money this legendary figure was making at the peak of his empire.
Further Reading:
• ‘La Catedral: The Luxury Prison Pablo Escobar Built For Himself’ (All That’s Interesting, 2026): https://allthatsinteresting.com/la-catedral
• ‘Escobar escape humiliates Colombian leaders | Colombia’ (The Guardian, 1992): https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jul/24/colombia.fromthearchive
• ‘Pablo Escobar Escapes from Prison’ (NBC News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmlUuOw2kE
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Let's Assassinate Hitler - DAY BEFORE:
The Death of Kissing - DAY BEFORE THAT:
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Hollywood's Iconic Landmark
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OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
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