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Understanding Why States Use Poison for Assassination

The Insider
Naomi Rio and Nicole Wiley
May 8, 2026

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Episode Notes:

Naomi Rio joins The Insider to discuss her research with Glenn Cross on how states use poison as an assassination tool. They challenge two prevailing assumptions: that poisoning as a method of targeted killing is a recent, predominantly Russian practice, and that states deploy it primarily as a signal to adversaries.

Image: Evgeny Feldman via Wikimedia Commons