Hunting Warhead

CBC•www.cbc.ca

How do you take down a criminal network that’s hidden in the shadows? How do you rescue child abuse victims who could be anywhere in the world? Hunting Warhead follows the journalists and police on a global mission to expose the darkest corners of the internet. What they discover shocks them. Host Daemon Fairless tracks down the investigators, survivors and criminals themselves. A co-production of CBC Podcasts and the Norwegian newspaper VG. For the best in true crime from CBC, ad-free, visit apple.co/cbctruecrime.

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Episodes

Hunting Warhead is coming back, but first: Real talk on high-risk reporting

They say you should never meet your heroes. Daemon Fairless disagrees. First, he has an update on the return of Hunting Warhead. But then he takes us behind-the-scenes on another project he’s been working on as a story editor: The Outlaw Ocean. This is a frank, illuminating discussion with Ian Urbina, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who quit his New York Times job to do some of the hardest, most difficult and often dangerous reporting in the world. He’s since become the de facto beat repor...

Jun 05, 2025•48 min

Hunting Warhead Introduces | Uncover: Calls From a Killer

What does a reporter do when they receive a cold call from one of the most horrific serial killers in Canadian history? The killer: Clifford Olson, who murdered at least eleven children in the 1980s. The reporter: Arlene Bynon, who recorded her jailhouse calls with Olson for years. Alongside legendary journalist Peter Worthington, Arlene spent hundreds of hours on the phone with Olson. It was kept secret from his prison guards; he wasn't allowed to speak to the media. In Calls From a Killer, fro...

Jun 03, 2025•34 min

Episode 6: Fallout

At Faulkner’s final sentencing hearing, we finally discover the true extent of his activities on the dark web. We thought we knew everything he had been up to. We were wrong. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/hunting-warehead-transcripts-listen-1.5346693

Nov 18, 2019•54 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Episode 5: Becoming Warhead

What led Benjamin Faulkner to become Warhead? And, more importantly, how do you prevent others like him from following the same path? For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/hunting-warehead-transcripts-listen-1.5346693

Nov 18, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Episode 4: Impact Statement

Jenn was home alone with her children when she received a call from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They needed to talk to her as soon as possible. It was about her relative, Ben Faulkner. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/hunting-warehead-transcripts-listen-1.5346693

Nov 11, 2019•48 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Episode 3: Operation Artemis

After the arrest of Canadian Benjamin Faulkner, Taskforce Argos has to learn how to become Warhead on Child’s Play, before its users realize that the site has been compromised. But time is running out — and very difficult moral decisions will have to be made. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/hunting-warehead-transcripts-listen-1.5346693

Nov 11, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Episode 2: Rude Awakening

All Gordon wants for his birthday is to travel to Washington, D.C., to visit museums and see the opera. He’s completely unaware that his companion on this trip has very different plans. His friend has an alter ego, Warhead, and it turns out police are not far behind. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/hunting-warehead-transcripts-listen-1.5346693

Nov 04, 2019•44 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Episode 1: Hacker vs. Hacker

Einar Stangvik is a white-hat hacker — an internet security expert with an expertise in cracking the most secure and disturbing parts of the web. He discovers a troubling phenomenon online and joins forces with journalist Håkon Høydal. It leads them to Australia, to confront two men who are running the largest child abuse site on the dark net. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/hunting-warehead-transcripts-listen-1.5346693

Nov 04, 2019•54 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Trailer - Hunting Warhead

A new investigative series from CBC Podcasts and the Norwegian newspaper VG, Hunting Warhead follows an international team of police officers as they attempt to track down the people behind a massive child-abuse site on the dark web — and the morally complicated lengths authorities will go to to do so. Coming November 2019.

Sep 16, 2019•3 min

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