Podcast
This Much is True Crime
Hosted by Podcast House · EN
Ever wonder why serial killers kill or why ordinary people sometimes do extraordinary things, sometimes downright evil things?
This Much is True Crime is a weekly look at crime making the headlines and that includes crime drama and docuseries that are making news themselves. The hosts are news reporter and TV producer Martin Frizell and Britain's top criminologist Professor David Wilson.
Produced by Podcast House.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
EP51: The Truth Behind the Post Office Scandal
Mar 1800:40:02Tap to summarizeThe Post Office Scandal is one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history, yet for years it unfolded quietly behind the counter of ordinary village post offices. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were accused of theft, fraud and false accounting after a faulty computer system made it look like money was missing. Lives were ruined, reputations destroyed, and some victims were even sent to prison. Now, after decades of campaigning and a landmark ITV drama that reignited public outrage, the scandal is finally getting the attention it deserves. But how did the Post Office get away with it for so long? Who was really responsible for the catastrophic failures of the Horizon system? And why did it take so many years for the truth to come out?Produced by Podcast House.
Transcribe →Episode 50: Why Is Hannibal Lecter Making A Comeback?
Mar 1300:44:21Tap to summarizeHannibal the Cannibal has never really gone away, he's remained a pop cultural icon despite being a coldblooded serial killer. Now, thanks to Donald Trump and a new book on the elusive author Thomas Harris, the chianti supping monster is back in the news. But what was the origin of the fictional character brought to chilling life by Anthony Hopkins and Brian Cox? And why does he remain our favourite cannibal killer?
Transcribe →Episode 49: Soham Killer Ian Huntley’s Final Hours: Life Support Switched Off By Mum
Mar 600:35:11Tap to summarizeHis daughter had wanted him dead, his mum Lydia wanted peace for her family but she was still his mum. However, following a bedside visit she reportedly gave permission to unplug his ventilator. Ian Huntley was fighting for his life after a ferocious attack by a fellow inmate in jail where the former school caretaker had been serving 40 years for the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Huntley’s injuries made him unrecognisable, catastrophic head and brain trauma, doctors reportedly said he was in a vegetative state.If he had a better prognosis ,he' would have served his time in Ashworth Prison Hospital where a bed per year costs as much as £335,000!In this episode , recorded as Huntley stared at death’s door, we debated should such killers be resuscitated and how did the prison system fail to protect its most marked man?
Transcribe →Episode 48: The Psychic Who Found Nicola Bulley's Body
Feb 2501:05:10Tap to summarizeExclusive hour long chat with the remarkable Jason Rothwell who says he connected with the dead body of the Lancashire mum of two Nicola and led police to the stretch of river where she was eventually found. Jason says Nicola told him where to find her and she followed his instructions to free her foot allowing her corpse to rise to the surface. Police divers and search teams had looked in vain for 23 days before Jason intervened.If you are sceptical or think it all sounds far fetched then have a watch or a listen and see if you can be convinced. Jason also shares his feelings, literally, on the very strange disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in Arizona and what he believes happened to her.
Transcribe →Epiosode 47: Why is the Nancy Guthrie Kidnap Very Strange?
Feb 1800:37:12Tap to summarizeWe each have a foot in both camps in this episode. I, broadcaster and journalist Martin Frizell, have spent much of my career in breakfast and daytime tv, indeed I'm married to a former morning show anchor, Fiona Phillips. Professor of Criminology David Wilson has studied the reasons behind kidnapping and the typical profile of abductors. And yet there's something about the kindnap of NBC Today host Savannah Guthrie's 84 year old mum that is puzzling. Three weeks in and no sign of life from Nancy, no confirmation of a ransom note but a very amateurish break in at her home in Tucson, Arizona. And a statement from the Sheriff that no members of the wider Guthrie family are being questioned as part of the inquiry. All very strange according to our expert criminologist...
Transcribe →Episode 46: Why Wasn’t The Killer Clown Stopped?
Feb 1100:38:41Tap to summarizeHe was one of America’s most prolific serial killers, John Wayne Gacy, murderer of 33 teens and young men, executed for his crimes - but what was the motive?The new documentary on ITVX, Devil in Disguise, explores Gacy’s clown connection, the trauma on his victims and families, prejudice in 70’s USA and glaring police failings. The killer protested his innocence to the end but his crimes are now textbook reading and possibly led to copycat killings by British serial killer Dennis Nilsen.
Transcribe →Episode 45: "I warned police the Suffolk Strangler had killed before’
Feb 200:29:34Tap to summarizeSuffolk Strangler Steve Wright has admitted the murder of 17 year old sixth former Victoria Hall near Felixstowe in 1999. He's already serving life without parole for the killing of five other women in the Ipswich area years later in 2006. Professor of Criminology David Wilson investigated the five murders at the time and wrote a. book on Wright's serial killing methods but he also called on police to investigate the death of young Victoria years earlier. The Professor believed she had been one of the serial killer first victims and today he was proved correct.This is a half hour of fascinating insight from someone who knows - and his fears that there are other missing girls waiting to be linked to the killer,
Transcribe →Episode 44: The Former Nurse Who Cured The Gangsters
Jan 2800:42:15Tap to summarizeWhy is Karyn McCluskey not a Dame? Along with a colleague she revolutionised the way Glasgow tackled its notorious gangland problem, reduced killings, attacks and made the city streets safe again for the first time in generations.The former nurse from Falkirk persuaded authorities to treat violence as a disease, a health problem rather than criminal justice issue and the killings and slashings dropped dramatically in a city that was once known as the murder capital of Western Europe. Karyn's strategy was so successful it was adopted in London where murders have also fallen to a new low. And cities around the world are looking to copy. In this episode Karyn explains how it works, an enlightening positive discussion with a remarkable woman who deserves more than an honorary degree from the Open University.
Transcribe →Episode 43: Did We Jail The Wrong Man For Lin and Megan Russell Murders?
Jan 2100:32:35Tap to summarizeIs this the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history? If Michael Stone didn’t kill Lin and Megan Russell and leave Josie for dead, then who did? In a major new development, a star forensic scientist has cast doubt on Stone’s conviction, he’s protested his innocence from behind bars for almost 30 years.In this latest episode, we assess the chances of Stone walking free, and they are high - so says Britain’s leading criminologist who has studied the case and spoken to a member of the original investigation.
Transcribe →Episode 42: Real Traitors Special
Jan 1600:37:30Tap to summarizeWe all loved Alan Carr but what does it take to be a real traitor and what are the real consequences if caught? For many British traitors it wasn't a round table, a hug from Claudia, black Land Rover home and an interview on This Morning, real traitors faced the hangman and several were executed for treason.In this epsiode we highlight three real traitors, two sentenced to death, the other escaped to be a Soviet hero.
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