Intrigue - podcast cover

Intrigue

BBC Radio 4www.bbc.co.uk

Next on Intrigue: To Catch a King. A new people-smuggling boss is running routes into the UK. Who is he, and can his true identity be revealed? To Catch a Scorpion duo Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie investigate. Intrigue: 'Jaw-dropping', 'gripping', 'bingeable,' 'thrilling' - dramatic true stories and investigations that reveal how the world really works.

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Episodes

Burning Sun: 5. An Extreme Decision

Journalist Kang receives a surprising call from K-pop royalty Goo-Hara, who wants to help her with her investigation, as some of the people in the chatroom were her friends. Goo Hara, like many South Korean women is a victim of digital sex crime. Her very public battle in taking a stand against it, receives enormous coverage into her private life and she is mercilessly trolled. It’s too much for her, and will end in tragedy. For the first time, we give the definitive account of the sex scandals ...

Jul 24, 202329 minSeason 5Ep. 5

Burning Sun: 4. Consent

The scandals are making headlines around the world ánd K-pop fans react. Jung’s superfan watches as one after another K-pop star is arrested. She has had enough and becomes part of a feminist movement for change against spy cam crimes and misogyny. The woman who made the original allegation against Jung says she regrets not pursuing it. She was viciously trolled after her accusation, and she campaigns to make sure this never happens again to another woman who dares to speak out. For the first ti...

Jul 17, 202329 minSeason 5Ep. 4

Burning Sun: 3. The Nightclub

A rival broadcaster reveals a shocking scandal at the exclusive Burning Sun nightclub, co-owned by Seungri – one of the members of Big Bang, and a global K-pop star. There are disturbing accounts emerging of underground rooms where women are taken, and the police investigate. And Journalist Kang is about to drop a bombshell. For the first time, we give the definitive account of the sex scandals that brought down some of Korea’s biggest K-pop stars. It’s a tale of depravity, power and excess - hi...

Jul 10, 202329 minSeason 5Ep. 3

Burning Sun: 2. Kakao Talk

Someone is holding popstar Jung’s phone in their hands. And what they see on it is shocking. Another journalist Kang Kyung-Yoon gets a tip-off and starts investigating the chat-rooms, and is overwhelmed by the crimes she sees. Sex videos being shared by well-known celebrities, and in some the women are unconscious and being sexually assaulted. She tracks down some of the victims, and the more she digs, the more she uncovers. For the first time, we give the definitive account of the sex scandals ...

Jul 03, 202329 minSeason 5Ep. 2

Burning Sun: 1. The Phone Call

“I had no idea how big it was going to be….” Journalist Park Hyo-sil gets a tip off that music and TV star, Jung Joon-young, is being investigated by police for secretly filming a woman during sex. We find out about Jung, his wholesome, attractive personality and wide popularity. And we meet one of his superfans whose whole life revolves around him. She, like many others, don’t want to believe the accusations against Jung. So when Park publishes her story she encounters an extraordinary backlash...

Jun 26, 202329 minSeason 5Ep. 1

Burning Sun: Trailer

The sex scandals that brought down some of the world’s biggest K-pop Stars. A tale of depravity, power and excess - hidden behind a facade of wholesome pop music. In 2019 some of the world’s biggest music stars were found guilty of sharing secretly filmed sex videos, others of rape. Korean heart-throbs, used to being mobbed by adoring female fans, had been videoing themselves committing acts of terrible abuse and sharing them on group chats with each other. When all this came to light, these sup...

Jun 20, 20233 minSeason 5Ep. 1

Mayday: The Evidence Gatherers

In a secret location in a European city is an archive that contains over a million documents. It’s run by a tough-talking Canadian, Bill Wiley, who set up an evidence-gathering organisation funded by Western governments. Using undercover criminal investigators operating inside a war zone, the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) has spent the last eight years extracting official documents from Syria. Wiley says that evidence will prove that the Assad regime has been res...

Apr 07, 202154 minSeason 4Ep. 12

Mayday: The Canister on the Bed

“The crime scene had been left unguarded for two weeks”. What really happened in the Douma massacre? This episode is a diversion from the story of the life and death of James Le Mesurier. It’s about one of the most contested events in the war - the chemical attack in the town of Douma in 2018. Unravelling what really happened there takes us to the heart of the global race to control the narrative of the Syrian war. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helm...

Nov 20, 202037 minSeason 4Ep. 11

Mayday: 10. The Second Casualty

“They will be targeted for the rest of their lives.” Where does that leave everyone else? 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...

Nov 09, 202034 minSeason 4Ep. 10

Mayday: 9. The Boiling Frog

“My love it’s 10 times worse than we thought.” Things start to unravel. 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 – ...

Nov 09, 202033 minSeason 4Ep. 9

Mayday: 8. Operation Magic Carpet

“I had to do it because my colleagues faced death.” Now the rescuers need saving. 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 detract...

Nov 09, 202024 minSeason 4Ep. 8

Mayday: 7. Managed Massacres

“ 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, 202036 minSeason 4Ep. 7

Mayday: 6. The One With Sean Penn

“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, 202027 minSeason 4Ep. 6

Mayday: 5. God Bless Syria

“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, 202035 minSeason 4Ep. 5

Mayday: 4. Hoax Producers

“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, 202031 minSeason 4Ep. 4

Mayday: 3. The Miracle Baby

“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, 202025 minSeason 4Ep. 3

Mayday: 2. The Pizza in the Suitcase

“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, 202017 minSeason 4Ep. 2

Mayday: 1. On the Ledge

“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, 202020 minSeason 4Ep. 1

Mayday: Trailer

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, 20203 minSeason 4Ep. 1

Tunnel 29: 10. The Shoes

“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, 201918 minSeason 3Ep. 10

Tunnel 29: 9. The Signal

“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, 201915 minSeason 3Ep. 9

Tunnel 29: 8. The Messenger

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, 201914 minSeason 3Ep. 8

Tunnel 29: 7. The Interrogation

“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, 201917 minSeason 3Ep. 7

Tunnel 29: 6. The Gun

“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, 201915 minSeason 3Ep. 6

Tunnel 29: 5. The Trap

“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, 201916 minSeason 3Ep. 5

Tunnel 29: 4. The Death Strip

“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, 201914 minSeason 3Ep. 4

Tunnel 29: 3. The Deal

“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, 201915 minSeason 3Ep. 3

Tunnel 29: 2. The Spy

“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, 201915 minSeason 3Ep. 2

Tunnel 29: 1. The Escape

“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, 201919 minSeason 3Ep. 1

Tunnel 29: Trailer

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, 20192 minSeason 3Ep. 1
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