Intrigue
'Jaw dropping', 'gripping', 'bingeable,' 'thrilling' - dramatic true stories and investigations that reveal how the world really works. To Catch A Scorpion: The dramatic hunt for one of Europe's most-wanted people smugglers, recorded as it unfolds. BBC journalist, Sue Mitchell, and former soldier and aid worker, Rob Lawrie go on a search for a crime boss: a people smuggler on the run, whose codename is Scorpion. He is one of the central characters controlling the transport of migrants from the European mainland into the UK. Barzan Majeed - codenamed Scorpion - leads the Scorpion gang. He's on international most-wanted lists. He started his criminal career in Britain and went on to build a smuggling empire which now spans the globe. An international police surveillance operation trapped more than 20 of his gang and almost netted Scorpion himself, but he was tipped off and escaped. Sue and Rob, two seasoned investigators, team up to try to do what the police have been unable to achieve: to find Scorpion, to speak to him, to ask him to account for his crimes and to seek justice for the families he has harmed. Their investigation takes them to the heart of an organised criminal gang making millions from transporting thousands of migrants on boat and lorry crossings that in some cases have gone dangerously wrong, causing serious injury and putting lives at risk. They witness his operation in action and record as intense situations unfold, where vulnerable people desperate for a better future, put their lives in the hands of ruthless and dangerous criminals. As they edge ever closer, they meet the people helping and supporting Scorpion and unpick the financial side of his business funding his luxury life. As they start to understand the man himself, can they garner enough clues to trace his whereabouts?
Episodes
Welcome to this BBC podcast. The first episode will be published on 17 Feb 2017.
The story of the mysterious murder which changed the course of Chinese politics. Carrie Gracie investigates the killing of a British man, Neil Heywood, in Chongqing in 2011, and explores his links to China's up-and-coming power couple. China is gripped by a lurid show trial.
Producers: Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell Sound mix by James Beard
We've met the mayor's wife. Now meet the mayor, the remarkable man who takes this story to the national stage. The continuing true story of death, sex and elite politics in China, presented by BBC's former China Editor Carrie Gracie.
Producers: Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell Sound mix by James Beard.
What really happened in the hotel suite in Chongqing? The British businessman and go-between Neil Heywood arrives in Chongqing, where an"iron-blooded" police chief holds sway. The continuing true story of sex, death and Chinese politics, told by the BBC's former China Editor Carrie Gracie.
Producers: Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell Sound mix by James Beard.
A spectacular show trial exposes the lavish lifestyle of China's new elite. The continuing true story of sex, death and top-level Chinese poltiics, told by the BBC's former China Editor, Carrie Gracie.
Producers: Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell Sound mix by James Beard.
How the murder of British businessman and fixer Neil Heywood changed China. Concluding the true-life tale of sex, death and politics, told by the BBC's former China Editor Carrie Gracie. As we hear, however, the story isn't over - as one thing you can't predict in China is the past.
Producers: Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell Sound mix by James Beard.
A story of love, denial and a curious death presented by Philippe Sands. Hear the first episode on 18 Sept 2018.
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. In episode one of this ten part series we travel to a castle outside Vienna to meet an old man who believes his Nazi father was murdered, and a voice f...
In episode two of the Ratline we meet the Wachters, Otto and Charlotte and chart their ascent to power. Otto's job takes the family to Krakow and on to Galicia, where he makes some dubious decisions, and Horst continues to maintain his father's innocence.
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.
Producer: Gemma ...
Whilst Charlotte Wachter and her children spend the summer in Zell am See, Otto is in Lemberg overseeing the 'Grosse Aktion' - the mass deportation of Jews to concentration camps.
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.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound Design: Neil Churchill
The war is over and Otto 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 Charlotte is working on getting him out of Austria.
A story of life, love and a curious death told by writer and barrister, Philippe Sands. A cold war mystery that reveals shadowy forces at work and consequences that stretch across g...
Midnight. Rome. 1949. Otto 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 finds employment and makes a trip out of the city to the countryside.
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.
...
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 after Otto and why.
A story of life, love and a curious death told by writer and barrister, Philippe Sands. A cold war mystery that reveals shadowy forces at work and consequences that stretch across generations.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound De...
Philippe 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 something extraordinary.
A story of life, love and a curious death told by writer and barrister, Philippe Sands. A cold war mystery that reveals shadowy forces at work and consequences that stretch across generations.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound Design: Neil Churchill
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 an unbelievable family secret.
A story of life, love and a curious death told by writer and barrister, Philippe Sands. A cold war mystery that reveals shadowy forces at work and consequences that str...
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?
A story of life, love and a curious death told by writer and barrister, Philippe Sands. A cold war mystery that reveals shadowy forces at work and co...
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 an unbelievable family secret.
A story of life, love and a curious death told by writer and barrister, Philippe Sands. A cold war mystery that reveals shadowy forces at work and consequences that str...
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.
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: Elo...
“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 es...
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