Codename Badger

In 1955 Josephine Mills’ husband Robbie dies suddenly, leaving her the single parent to four young children. But just weeks after his death a stranger arrives at her door, to tell her that Robbie was murdered, and that he had been working for the intelligence services.

 It’s a conversation that will change the course of Josephine, and her children’s, whole life forever.

John was held prisoner by the Nazis in wartime and ...

John Cottell has retired from his job with MI6 and started a new life in America. Now he’s free to talk about his harrowing wartime experiences, and his dangerous missions as a spy. 

John was receiving orders straight from Prime Minister Winston Churchill, narrowly escaped death on multiple occasions and found love with a fellow spy. 

Meanwhile Josephine remains in Devon, but his part in her life isn’t over yet.

...

John is a rising star in the US with his tales of espionage and survival, he even has a book deal on the horizon. 

But it’s all about to come crashing down. 

So why are journalists on both sides of the Atlantic out to get John? And what will he do next?

To see photos of John Cottell, Josephine and access exclusive archive visit PATREON LINK. If you’d like to binge the whole series now you can subscribe on Patreon...

Who is John Cottell? Eugene and Andy find answers about John’s wartime experiences and military career. 

We find his service record and finally get to the bottom of the death of Major Robbie Collins in 1955, 

Meanwhile,  Josephine comes to America.

To see photos of John Cottell, Josephine and access exclusive archive visit PATREON LINK. If you’d like to binge the whole series now you can subscribe on Patreon...

Josephine has moved to the tiny, mountainous country of Andorra. There she waits for John, who’s embarked on a new career path.

But Josephine’s family are becoming increasingly anxious, their mother is alone in a foreign country, and she’s withdrawing large amounts of money for mysterious reasons.

Her bank manager contacts Nikki, concerned. 

To see photos of John Cottell, Josephine and access exclusive archive vis...

Josephine is bankrolling John’s increasingly expensive legal battles, but her own health is failing her. Her family move in to care for her…and confront John.

This is the first time anyone’s questioned him to his face, and the consequences are disastrous.

Nikki cares for her mother as she slips deeper into dementia, still waiting for her spy to give her the answers she has waited a lifetime for. 

To see photos of John...

In this bonus episode of Codename Badger, presenter Eugene Henderson and producer Andy Clark go behind the scenes of the podcast’s creation. Hear additional details from the investigation that didn’t make it into the main series.

They discuss how they first uncovered the story of John Cottell, the challenges of researching a case that spanned more than 70 years, and how they shaped decades of mystery, deception, and evidence int...

A shocking investigation into decades of controversial psychological experiments that attempted to erase and reprogram the human mind. Project Mind Control begins with the harrowing story of Lana Ponting, one of the last-known survivors of one of Canada’s most notorious psychiatric institutions, The Allan Institute. Her memories are fractured but what she remembers is enough to expose something far bigger than one hospital.

From...