Can the reign of terror of Louis van Schoor be stopped? There was a state of emergency in South Africa and resistance to the apartheid regime had intensified. A coalition of activists had him in their sights. African National Congress supporters, lawyers and journalists were fighting to bring the apartheid system to an end and, in turn, bring mass murderer van Schoor to justice. Could they succeed? Since this episode was recorded, it has been announced that Louis van Schoor died, on 25 July 2024...
Aug 12, 2024•34 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast The making of mass murderer Louis van Schoor. The “apartheid killer” was part of a system which enabled the shootings as “justifiable homicide”. As we investigate one of his most horrific crimes, we begin to expose the web of lies surrounding the killings and ask: how were they covered up? Since this episode was recorded, it has been announced that Louis van Schoor died, on 25 July 2024. There will be more about this later in the series. This was a four-year investigation and the interviews with...
Aug 05, 2024•24 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Who killed Edward and so many others? His name was Louis van Schoor and we found him. Some people see one of South Africa’s most prolific mass killers as a hero. Would the “apartheid killer” admit to the multiple shootings and killings? Hosted by Ayanda Charlie and Charlie Northcott. Since this episode was recorded, it has been announced that Louis van Schoor died, on 25 July 2024. There will be more about this later in the series. This was a four-year investigation and the interviews with Louis...
Jul 29, 2024•33 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Who was Edward and how did he die? His body is exhumed in East London, South Africa. His heartbroken family has waited decades to find out what happened to him. Edward Soenies wasn’t the only one killed in East London after dark in apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. We have spent years investigating. Hosts Ayanda Charlie and Charlie Northcott begin to unravel what happened. They hear from investigative journalist, Isa Jacobsen and Edward’s sister and son, Marlene and Raymond. Since this episod...
Jul 22, 2024•27 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Four more seasons of World of Secrets will be released in 2024, starting with The Apartheid Killer. All the victims were black and the youngest was just 12 years old. Some relatives are still searching for the graves. During a three-year bloodbath in the 1980s, at least 39 people were killed in the South African city of East London – by one person. After years of investigation, we’ve tracked him down. It has been three decades since the white supremacist apartheid regime crumbled. The unresolved...
Jul 17, 2024•5 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Inside the investigation – the story of the journalism behind The Disciples. Hear from the journalists and the whistleblowers about the investigation into TB Joshua. A special episode with season 2 presenters Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke, producer Rob Byrne, and whistleblowers Rae and Ajoke. Hosted by Hannah Ajala, presenter of "Love, Janessa", and recorded in front of an audience at “World Service Presents” in London. Plus we hear from the presenter of the first season of World of Secre...
May 06, 2024•44 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast The secret daughter of TB Joshua, who dared to rebel against her prophet father. Ajoke was born to a different mother than her sisters, and disciples have told us how she fought back against the prophet. Two years ago, we tracked her down but we weren’t able to use the recording – until now. She tells us her story. Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke unravel a story of miracles, faith and manipulation, carried out by one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Please note, ...
Jan 08, 2024•40 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast People are trapped under rubble in the Lagos church compound. The eyes of the world are now on TB Joshua. Beneath the collapsed building is 23-year-old Princess, from South Africa. Her mother says she’s told: “just pray”. Disciple Emmanuel goes to the scene. “You could hear people, and their voices are fading. From louder, it’s getting weaker.” As suspicion about the cause of the collapse intensifies, Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, flies in to offer his condolences to TB Joshua and the ...
Jan 08, 2024•27 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast A once loyal disciple and recruiter for TB Joshua speaks out. Bisola’s video emerges on the internet - she calls it Deception of the Age. For the prophet, it’s betrayal. He won’t let go and delves into his archive of confessions to try and discredit her. Other disciples are frightened, including Rae. Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke unravel a story of miracles, faith and manipulation, carried out by one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Please note, this season of ...
Jan 08, 2024•25 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Healer or fraud? The truth about TB Joshua, whose miracles made him rich and famous. Videos show doctors testifying to his unexplainable ability to cure the sick. From restoring sight and the ability to walk, nothing seemed beyond the prophet’s power. But behind the miracles is a secret machine run by TB Joshua’s most trusted disciples. And some of them are turning whistleblowers. What was the human cost of these so-called miracles? Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke unravel a story of m...
Jan 08, 2024•36 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Anneka confronts TB Joshua. What really happened in his fifth-floor apartment at the top of the Lagos church compound? And can she escape his clutches? Anneka flees home to England but her ordeal isn’t over. TB Joshua sends one of his most trusted disciples to bring her back. “I knew she’d been sent to take me,” Anneka says. Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke unravel a story of miracles, faith and manipulation, carried out by one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Ple...
Jan 08, 2024•28 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Namibian teenager Jessica gives up everything to join prophet TB Joshua in Lagos. She is taken to a special place, where the church was born, now transformed from a swamp into a lake, with islands and a helipad. As one of a privileged few, she sees strange rituals with swords, crosses and photographs. Back in the church compound, disciples are encouraged to call TB Joshua “Daddy”. Then, Anneka tries to escape. Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke unravel a story of miracles, faith and mani...
Jan 08, 2024•31 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast TB Joshua’s new disciples Rae and Anneka leave behind their lives in England to follow the prophet, along with other young people from around the world. Isolated and sleep deprived, life is tough for the disciples but the only thing that matters to them is following Jesus – and TB Joshua is their passage. Outside of the closed compound in Lagos, Nigeria, people are noticing that something is wrong. Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke unravel a story of miracles, faith and manipulation, ca...
Jan 08, 2024•34 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast The myths around Nigerian pastor TB Joshua draw young disciples into his web. His miracles go viral, bringing thousands more followers, hoping to be healed. Chosen ones, like Rae and Anneka, are invited to his Lagos church, with the coveted chance of becoming his disciples. Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke unravel a story of miracles, faith and manipulation, carried out by one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Please note, some episodes in this season of World of S...
Jan 08, 2024•37 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Shots ring out at a church guarded by gunmen in Lagos, Nigeria. Behind the blacked-out windows and high walls are secrets. In a pub in Oxford, England, a woman comes to us with a story. Hosts Charlie Northcott and Yemisi Adegoke investigate the cult of TB Joshua. Please note, some episodes in this season of World of Secrets contain graphic descriptions of sexual and physical violence, including sexual assault, rape and the language associated with it. This episode also contains strong language. ...
Jan 08, 2024•35 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast A lawsuit is filed revealing new allegations, but what did Abercrombie and Fitch know? An anonymous source speaks about Mike Jeffries' time at A&F, but the company won't answer all our questions. Meanwhile, another staffer recalls his time working for The Abercrombie Guys: "I only worked for them for a year, and I hated every second of it." Have you got a story to tell? Email rianna@bbc.com. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets This podcast refers to sex...
Nov 21, 2023•29 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast The Abercrombie Guys’ alleged main recruiter is tracked-down to a small town in Wisconsin and asked about his involvement in the operation: “Nobody went into this without their eyes wide open.” One high profile American lawyer examines the team’s evidence and calls for prosecutors to investigate. Have you got a story to tell? Email rianna@bbc.com. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some liste...
Oct 02, 2023•34 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Do you know how much money I was getting paid?" A former assistant who travelled with The Abercrombie Guys agrees to talk: "They were trying to act so perfect,” he says - what could they have been hiding?” Have you got a story to tell? Email rianna@bbc.com. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected...
Oct 02, 2023•27 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast A model is made a lucrative offer to meet the Abercrombie Guys in Morocco: “I'm going to Marrakesh, this is awesome!” But events, he says, take an unanticipated dark turn. Why was the event in Marrakesh, according to another man, “one of the sketchiest times”? Have you got a story to tell? Email rianna@bbc.com. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as s...
Oct 02, 2023•42 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Who is the other Abercrombie guy, Matthew Smith? “Witty, strict and secretive” says a former colleague. Papers reveal the influential role he had in the life of his partner, the former Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries. A former staffer reveals how he frequently requested large sums of cash, sealed in white envelopes – what was it for? Have you got a story to tell? Email rianna@bbc.com. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets This podcast refers to sexual abuse and...
Oct 02, 2023•36 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast A former US marine turned reality TV star is invited to Mike Jeffries' mansion in the Hamptons. He dreams of being an Abercrombie and Fitch model, and he hopes to impress the fashion mogul. But the mood at the event begins to change and he says he soon realises this is not the interview he was expecting: "I didn't feel like I had control”. Have you got a story to tell? Email rianna@bbc.com. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets This podcast refers to sexual a...
Oct 02, 2023•33 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast He made Abercrombie and Fitch a millennial megabrand, marketing "sexy clothes on sexy people”, as one former colleague of Mike Jeffries put it. At home he had model-like men washing his cars and staff to chauffeur his dogs around. But what else was going on at his Hamptons mansion? “There was something about it that was strange,” according to a former staffer, “why wouldn’t anyone talk about it?” Rianna decides to investigate. Have you got a story to tell? Email rianna@bbc.com. Let us know what ...
Oct 02, 2023•35 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Sometimes it only takes one person to speak, for others to be heard… An aspiring male model hopes a meeting with Abercrombie and Fitch’s former CEO could be a career break. But it is far from a dream opportunity. “It's probably the darkest experience I’ve ever dealt with,” he says. After reading a cryptic tweet, Rianna Croxford follows a trail which leads to the most intensive investigation of her career. MeToo has empowered women to speak out – now men say they want to be heard. This is World o...
Oct 02, 2023•39 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast An aspiring male model hopes a meeting with Abercrombie and Fitch’s former CEO could be a career break. But it's far from a dream opportunity - revealing fashion’s dark side. This is World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys, an investigation from BBC 5 Live and Panorama.
Oct 02, 2023•1 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast 
