“ I have these epiphanies all the time, especially if I had anchovies on my pizza..” Could the White Helmets be involved in staging chemical attacks? When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, the...
Nov 09, 2020•36 min•Season 4Ep. 7
“I went to meet with Assad to see what kind of access we might get.” James is accused of a horrific crime. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James ...
Nov 09, 2020•27 min•Season 4Ep. 6
“He hadn’t really understood that he would be singled out.” How to tell who the jihadists are. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier ...
Nov 09, 2020•35 min•Season 4Ep. 5
“There’s something addictive about uncovering the world as it really is.” The allegations begin. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurie...
Nov 09, 2020•31 min•Season 4Ep. 4
“This was just one baby out of thousands and thousands of other babies.” How James got involved in a war. When he fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 James Le Mesurier left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James L...
Nov 09, 2020•25 min•Season 4Ep. 3
“I was naked having a strip search and I just know James was somewhere laughing his head off.” Who was James Le Mesurier? When he fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 James Le Mesurier left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elabora...
Nov 09, 2020•17 min•Season 4Ep. 2
“The story sounds like a purely English murder.” The rumour mill starts over who or what killed James Le Mesurier. When he fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 James Le Mesurier left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax...
Nov 09, 2020•20 min•Season 4Ep. 1
When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was fo...
Nov 03, 2020•3 min•Season 4Ep. 1
“I started dancing with Eveline.” A final twist in the final chapter. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman Sound Desig...
Oct 16, 2019•18 min•Season 3Ep. 10
“If you don’t have a coffee, then bring me a cognac.” Ellen's plan is derailed. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman S...
Oct 16, 2019•15 min•Season 3Ep. 9
I said "ok, I'll do it”. Ellen, Mimmo's girlfriend, agrees to play a dangerous role. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena Merri...
Oct 16, 2019•14 min•Season 3Ep. 8
“That’s the first time I saw her again.” Wolfdieter's show trial begins. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman Sound De...
Oct 16, 2019•17 min•Season 3Ep. 7
“And then my interrogation began.” The escape operation unravels. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman Sound Design: E...
Oct 16, 2019•15 min•Season 3Ep. 6
“We had no chance to be together.” The diggers hatch a new plan, unaware the Stasi are onto them. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter:...
Oct 16, 2019•16 min•Season 3Ep. 5
“If we could hear them, they could hear us.” The diggers reach the terrifying death strip. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena...
Oct 16, 2019•14 min•Season 3Ep. 4
“We have a tunnel.” The diggers are on the hunt for money and make an unlikely alliance. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena M...
Oct 16, 2019•15 min•Season 3Ep. 3
“I choose the codename Fred.” A hairdresser becomes a Stasi spy. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman Sound Design: El...
Oct 16, 2019•15 min•Season 3Ep. 2
“I didn’t want to be a part of this new world.” Joachim is on holiday in East Germany when he hears Berlin is to be divided. The wall is built and the escapes begin. Joachim has to decide whether he'll be among them. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. It’s also the story of the Stasi spy who betrays the tunne...
Oct 16, 2019•19 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel. Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman Sound design: Eloise Whitmore Editor: Richard Knight #tunnel29...
Oct 11, 2019•2 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In a bonus episode of Intrigue: The Ratline, Stephen Fry interviews Philippe Sands in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in London. They discuss a range of issues brought up by the series including historical responsibility and the nature of evil. Plus as a special extra, there is a full version of The Ratline theme music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita.
Oct 15, 2018•20 min•Season 2Ep. 11
In the final episode of The Ratline, the Persilschein and denial continue. Charlotte Wachter finally brings Otto home. Philippe takes a forensic look at how Otto died and returns to Hagenberg to confront Horst with some new evidence. In this episode, Dame Sue Black is incorrectly described as a forensic pathologist. She is a forensic anthropologist. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita Otto ...
Oct 08, 2018•30 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Philippe travels to Albuquerque to meet Tom Lucid Jnr, the son of the CIA agent who recruited Karl Hass, chief source on Project Los Angeles and the man Otto had lunch with on Lake Albano. How much does he know about his father's role in recruiting Nazis and a close relative in Geneva? Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney Other parts ...
Oct 08, 2018•29 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Philippe and the team work out the identity of the mysterious man Otto lunched with on Lake Albano, and discover he too is connected with the Nazi Bishop. They take a trip to the lake to meet the Priest who buried the man and he reveals some unbelievable family secrets. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney Other parts by members of th...
Oct 01, 2018•31 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Philippe Sands accesses the Vatican archives to find out about Otto's protector in Rome, the man who was by his side as he lay dying, Alois Hudal. Hudal's archivist reveals to the team something extraordinary. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney Other parts by members of the BBC Radio Drama Company
Oct 01, 2018•26 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Otto contracts a strange illness and Charlotte rushes to Rome to be by his side. Philippe talks to an old friend who was working for British intelligence in 1949 and explores who might have been hunting Otto in Rome and why. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney Other parts by members of the BBC Radio Drama Company
Sep 24, 2018•22 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Midnight. Rome. 1949. Otto Wachter, a Nazi on the run, arrives in the Eternal City, penniless, homeless, searching for a way out to Argentina. He's also unwittingly found himself in the middle of a battle between East and West. He is taken in by monks, makes a friend high up in the Vatican and takes on some unusual employment. The continuing investigation into how a senior Nazi evaded justice. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Origina...
Sep 24, 2018•25 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The war is over and Otto Wachter has disappeared. Whilst his friends are committing suicide or being tried for mass murder Otto has escaped high into the mountains with the help of a young SS soldier. Meanwhile his wife Charlotte is working on getting him out of Austria. Barrister and author Philippe Sands continues his investigation into how a leading Nazi evaded justice. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Original music by Catrin Fin...
Sep 21, 2018•25 min•Season 2Ep. 4
The criminal charge sheet against senior Nazi Otto Wachter. Whilst Charlotte Wachter and her children were spending the summer in Zell am See, Otto was in Lemberg overseeing the 'Grosse Aktion' - the mass deportation of Jews to concentration camps. Philippe Sands interviews two Nazi hunters from the US Department of Justice to go through the evidence against Otto. Meanwhile Otto's son Horst continues to maintain his father's innocence. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research:...
Sep 21, 2018•32 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Otto and Charlotte Wachter climb to power, after Hitler annexes Austria, with Otto at his side. Otto's job takes the family to a palace in Krakow and on to Galicia, where his story collides with those of the family of presenter Philippe Sands. This is the continuing investigation into how a leading Nazi evaded justice. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound design: Neil Churchill Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry Charlotte ...
Sep 18, 2018•26 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Philippe Sands investigates the mysterious disappearance of senior Nazi Otto Wachter, who was indicted for mass murder. The Ratline is a story of a curious death, political intrigue, spies, Nazi hunters, shadowy forces in the Vatican and a son grappling with the sins of his father. Philippe begins by travelling to a castle outside Vienna to meet an old man who believes his father was murdered, while a voice from the past offers up clues to how it might have happened. Producer: Gemma Newby Sound ...
Sep 18, 2018•20 min•Season 2Ep. 1
