The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 5. Waiting for Michael

Summary

Summary of "World Of Secrets" Podcast Episode: The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 5. Waiting for Michael

Podcast Information:

• Title: World Of Secrets
• Host/Author: BBC
• Episode: The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 5. Waiting for Michael
• Release Date: March 24, 2025

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Introduction

In the fifth episode of Season 7 of the BBC’s investigative podcast series World Of Secrets, titled "The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 5. Waiting for Michael", host Suzanne Wilton delves deep into one of the most notorious mining frauds in history—the Bre-X scandal. This episode explores the mysterious death of Michael de Guzman, Bre-X’s chief geologist, whose demise marked a pivotal turn in the unraveling of the largest goldmine fraud ever.

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The Rise and Fall of Bre-X

The Golden Dream

In 1995, Bre-X, a Canadian mining company, announced a groundbreaking gold discovery in the Busang region of Indonesia’s jungles. This revelation sent stock prices soaring, attracting investors worldwide eager to stake their claims in what was touted as the biggest gold find in history.

Michael de Guzman: The Geologist Behind the Dream

Michael de Guzman emerged as a pivotal figure in Bre-X’s success. Renowned for his expertise, De Guzman was the chief geologist whose discoveries seemed to promise unprecedented wealth. However, whispers of irregularities and skepticism began to surface as the company’s claims appeared too good to be true.

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The Night Before the Fall

A Last Hurrah?

On the evening of March 12, 1997, De Guzman was seen enjoying a night out in Toronto. Ashley Iconetti, a colleague, recounts, “[02:33] Ashley Iconetti: Boys being boys… he was clearly enjoying himself. It may have been a last hurrah thing for him.” De Guzman, already married multiple times, was reputed to have a lavish lifestyle, spending thousands on champagne and engaging in questionable relationships.

Orders and Departure

After the night out, De Guzman received orders to return to Busang to address concerns about the dwindling gold findings. “He was to explain everything to Dave Potter and the Bre-X team,” Wilton narrates. The following day, De Guzman was scheduled to fly back to Indonesia but never arrived.

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The Mysterious Death of Michael de Guzman

Arrival in Singapore

De Guzman traveled to Singapore for medical treatment, accompanied by his wife, Jeannie. “Jeannie de Guzman: He had many women everywhere… He was happy,” she stated ([05:19]). Jeannie brought along $7,000 in cash as instructed by Bre-X officials.

The Last Day

Upon returning to Indonesia on March 18, De Guzman met with Rudy Vega, a core member of the Bre-X team. According to journalist Jennifer Wells, “[07:39] Michael sang Indonesian songs and Frank Sinatra’s My Way, reflecting a mixture of his cultural ties and personal tastes. After a night of drinking and karaoke, De Guzman took a bath fully clothed, accompanied by cough syrup ([09:07]).

The Helicopter Incident

On March 19, 1997, De Guzman was on a helicopter flight from Samarinda to the Bre-X site. According to the Indonesian Police Report, “[17:02] Jennifer Wells: De Guzman fell from the helicopter when the left rear door unexpectedly opened. The pilot noticed De Guzman was missing shortly after takeoff.

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Reactions and Speculations

Official Explanation vs. Skepticism

Bre-X’s official stance suggested that De Guzman might have accidentally fallen from the helicopter. However, many, including Ashley Iconetti, expressed disbelief: “[25:13] I don’t believe the suicide letter for two seconds… He was partying hard; there’s no way he was suicidal.”

Impact on Bre-X’s Reputation

De Guzman’s death cast a shadow over Bre-X’s claims. Financial analyst Warren Irwin shared his turmoil: “[23:04] When Mike de Guzman jumped out of a helicopter… I never want any part of this.”

Investigation Unfolds

Despite initial claims of suicide, inconsistencies led to suspicions of foul play. The discovery of a handwritten suicide note juxtaposed with testimonies of De Guzman’s vibrant social life fueled theories of murder to obscure the fraud.

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The Unraveling of the Scam

Stock Market Turmoil

Following De Guzman’s death, Bre-X’s stock experienced significant volatility. Initial plummets were quickly followed by a temporary rally as the truth began to surface. “Bre-X, suspicious of Freeport's drill results and motives, decided to start their own due diligence,” Wilton explains ([25:35]).

Searching for the Truth

Local geologists and team members scoured the Indonesian jungle for De Guzman’s body, uncovering discrepancies in Bre-X’s drilling data. As Jim Richards, an Australian geologist, noted: “De Guzman was scared… he was trying to take his own life” ([10:17]).

The Global Impact

The Bre-X scandal had far-reaching implications, shaking investor confidence and spotlighting the dangers of unchecked greed in the mining industry. The quest for accountability remains unresolved, with no one held responsible nearly three decades later.

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Conclusion

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 5. Waiting for Michael masterfully captures the intricate web of deception, ambition, and mystery surrounding the Bre-X fraud. Through compelling storytelling and firsthand accounts, Suzanne Wilton sheds light on how the pursuit of immense wealth can lead to devastating consequences, obscuring the truth and leaving a legacy of unanswered questions.

Notable Quotes:

• “[05:19] Jeannie de Guzman: He had many women everywhere. I gave him freedom for that. He had plenty of money, a great career. He can play around with any woman while he can still see his kids. So he was happy.”

• “[10:17] Jim Richards: He was trying to take his own life by drowning himself in the bath.”

• “[23:04] Warren Irwin: I never want to hear about BREX again. This is over for me. I don't want any part of this.”

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Production Credits

Produced by BBC Scotland Productions for the BBC World Service and CBC. Lead Producer: Kate Bissell. Producers: Anna Miles, Mark Rickards. Story Consultant: Jack Kibble White. Music and Sound Design: Hannis Brown. Additional Sound Design and Audio Mix: Joel Cox. Executive Editor: Heather Kane Darling (CBC). Senior Producers: Veronica Simmons and Willow Smith. Executive Producers: Chris Oak, Cecil Fernandez, and Arif Noorani. Director at BBC World Service: Arif Noorani. Senior Podcast Producer: Ann Dixie. Podcast Commissioning Editor: John Mennell.

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This summary is intended for informational purposes and reflects the content of the podcast episode as of its release date in March 2025.

Transcript

[Ashley Iconetti]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

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[Unknown Speaker]

From.

[Suzanne Wilton]

The BBC's investigations podcast World of Secrets. Here's the fifth episode of our guest season, the $6 billion gold scam from the BBC World Service and CBC over to Suzanne Wilton. First, a warning. The following episode contains difficult subject matter, including references to suicide, death and descriptions of serious injury. It's the evening of March 12, 1997. The bre x bosses are reeling from the bombshell that there might not actually be any golden boosang. Not that it bothered Michael de Guzman, their geologist whose dream led to the gold discovery. He was living it up in Toronto. Freeport geologist Joe McPherson was also out on the town that night.

[Ashley Iconetti]

Boys being boys, you know, they tend to go to the gentlemen's clubs and did meet Michael there one night and he was clearly enjoying himself. He had a little private booth and he was doing you know, the dancers thing. And I was only there for about an hour, but he'd been there for most of the afternoon, I think, and into the evening. You know, I kind of got the feeling that it may have been kind of a last hurrah thing for him.

[Suzanne Wilton]

De Guzman, dripping in gold, was spending thousands on Cristal champagne with the ladies in the strip joint. Rumor has it he became so fond of one of the strippers, he proposed to her and asked her to come back to Indonesia. At this point, De Guzman already had a wife. In fact, he had several.

[Ashley Iconetti]

We knew of at least three, some people said there were four. So there was Philippines, Kalimantan, Bogor here, and apparently someone in Brazil.

[Suzanne Wilton]

After that heavy night out, De Guzman received his orders from John Felderhoff and David Walsh. From BRE X, he was to return to Busang to meet with Dave Potter and the rest of the Freeport geologists to explain everything. The next day, De Guzman was put on the last flight out of Toronto, bound for Hong Kong. This was the start of his long journey back to the exploration site. But he would never arrive. In four days time, Michael De Guzman would be dead. I'm Suzanne Wilton from the BBC World Service and CBC. This is the 6 billion doll gold Scam, a story about the lengths people will go to in pursuit of getting rich and how greed can obscure the truth. This is episode five, Waiting for Michael. From Hong Kong, De Guzman traveled to Singapore, where he had an appointment at Mount Elizabeth Medical Center. He suffered from recurring malaria and was reportedly struggling with a hacking cough. Waiting for him in Singapore was his wife, Jeannie. She had traveled from the couple's home in Jakarta. Unlike his other spouses, Jeannie knew all about Michael De Guzman's multiple wives. Her words are translated by an actress.

[Jeannie de Guzman]

He had many women everywhere. I gave him freedom for that. He had plenty of money, a great career. He can play around with any woman while he can still see his kids. So he was happy.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Genie had brought along with her De Guzman's pay packet, which she had picked up on his instructions from the Briex Jakarta office. $7,000 in cash. De Guzman decided to stay in Singapore for two days, perhaps to spend some time with his wife. This didn't please Freeport boss Jim Bob Moffat. Back in Busang, Moffat's due diligence team were waiting for De Guzman. They wanted to quiz him about why they weren't finding any gold. You can hear Moffat telling Richard Behar about this in the BRE X tape archive recorded by Behar while reporting on the story in 1997, we waited four.

[Ashley Iconetti]

Days for de Guzman. You waited? You mean it was four days before he. Four days before de Guzman got there. And guess where Felderhoff was? In the Cayman Islands. He went to the Cayman Islands. He didn't come straight out. Went to the Cayman Islands and sent the Guzman.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Oh, my God.

[Ashley Iconetti]

I was still pissed off. I could eat. I could eat dirt. I can't believe that. So that's why it was so difficult for me to try to. I don't know what happened, man. I tell you, you know, I'm just. I had it with these guys.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Jim Bob kept phoning de Guzman, demanding he return to the job site the following day.

[Jeannie de Guzman]

When Mike came from Canada and I was in Singapore, he was called by Freeport's Jim Bob Moffett and he asked Mike to go up Busang. The next day, we were on the last flight from Singapore. We arrived at 1am and at 4am Mike left again because Freeport was waiting for him. Mike was outraged. I haven't had any rest. I must see Big Boy.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Big Boy was Michael and Genie's son.

[Jeannie de Guzman]

They say, no, you can't. You have to fly tomorrow because they've been waiting for you at the Busang site.

[Jennifer Wells]

I first became aware of BRE X when I was working as a national business correspondent for McLean's magazine. I was a feature writer.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Jennifer Wells was following the Brie X story for an article. She pieced together de Guzman's last evening and final day. According to her, at 1am On March 18, DeGuzman and Jeannie arrived in Jakarta. By 4am they had gone their separate ways. De Guzman's next stop was to be Balik Papin, the seaport city in East Kalimantan, and the last big flight before Busang. De Guzman left Jakarta in the early evening. When his flight touched down in Balikpapin, he was met by his BRE X colleague, Rudy Vega. Vega was part of the core Filipino exploration team at Busang. De Guzman had asked him to come out so the two men could get their facts straight. Ahead of de Guzman's showdown with geologist Dave Potter the following day, Potter was leading Freeport's due diligence. But as the meeting dragged on, De Guzman suggested they go out for a drink. At 8:03pm they checked into a hotel, then spent the evening eating and drinking and singing until 1am the next morning. Which brings us to March 19th. De Guzman's last day.

[Jennifer Wells]

The last night of Mike de Guzman's life didn't sound all that different. From the life of Mike De Guzman when he was visiting Toronto and hanging out at the strip club. You know, they went to a karaoke bar. He's singing, apparently a number of Indonesian songs, but also sang My Way, My.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Way and Now the End is near and so I Face the Final curtain. The song popularized by Frank Sinatra, was one of De Guzman's favorites. Jennifer Wells tells us that when De Guzman got back to his hotel room after indulging in karaoke, accompanied by his drink of choice, rum and Coke, he ran a bath and got into it fully clothed.

[Jennifer Wells]

A bottle of cough syrup had been purchased for him because he wasn't feeling well, and then said that he had taken the majority of the bottle of cough syrup and had taken a bath and was somehow soaking wet.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Australian geologist Jim Richards told me a similar story.

[Jim Richards]

So I used to hang out a bit with Greg McDonald, who was a.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Logistics guy at Bre X. Greg McDonald worked for Rudy Vega, De Guzman's metallurgist. Vega was one of the last people to see de Guzman alive. Vega shared details with MacDonald of De Guzman's last morning, who then told the story to Jim Richards. Vega's alleged recollection of De Guzman's last day have been widely retold ever since.

[Jim Richards]

He hammered on de Guzman's door, trying to get de Guzman out of bed or ready for the flight, which would have been very early. And eventually De Guzman came to the door and he was still wearing his clothes from the night out the night before, but they were all soaking wet. De Guzman's demeanor when he answered the door was scared. And he believed that De Guzman was trying to take his own life by drowning himself in the bath. And that's why he was soaking wet.

[Suzanne Wilton]

It was time to get on the chopper. Exhausted after their night out, De Guzman and Vega dozed until they touched down in Samarinda at 9.40am it was arranged that a fresh shirt and blue jeans were waiting there for De Guzman so he could finally change out of his wet clothes. Several witnesses also report seeing a big black box being taken onto the helicopter while it was refueling. No one knows what was in it. De Guzman then decided to use his satellite phone to ring his wife.

[Jeannie de Guzman]

We had satellite phones even though he's in the jungle. Even before he boarded the helicopter, he said, ma, I'm leaving. Yeah, Ma, it looks like the pilot who brought my helicopter was not the usual pilot. And the mechanic was also not the usual ones. He was like, ma, why are the pilot and the mechanic different? I told him, it's okay. I thought maybe they had an upset tummy. We like to make jokes. Maybe they need to go to the toilet, Pa. Then he laughed. Okay, Ma, I will call again. We like making jokes so we don't have any bad thoughts.

[Suzanne Wilton]

At 10am De Guzman reboarded the helicopter. Geologist Jim Richards Again, this was the.

[Jim Richards]

Moment of truth for de Guzman. De Guzman was caught like a rat in a trap. He if he got off that chopper at the other end, there was nothing he could have said to other geologists that would have convinced them that it was anything other than a scam.

[Ashley Iconetti]

This is Ashley Iconetti from the Ben.

[Suzanne Wilton]

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[Suzanne Wilton]

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[Suzanne Wilton]

At busang. Dave Potter had been waiting four days for de Guzman's arrival. In the hot and humid conditions, his patience was being tested. But then a message came through. It was de Guzman.

[Ashley Iconetti]

He called on the radio and I happened to be in the radio room. He said he was in the helicopter on his way to the BRE X job site. So he was flying from San Marinda out to the BRE X job site. I said, ask him, when are you going to be here? And he said, shortly. And they started talking back and forth in their native language. All I know that I was a little bit aggravated with him and I was a little bit aggravated with the radio operator as well because he was not being overly helpful. I had to yell at him a little bit because they were talking in a Tagalog and I said, no, speak English. I want to hear what's going on. I said, I need to know when you're going to be here. 20, 25 minutes later, it was that long that they told me that he jumped out of a helicopter.

[Jennifer Wells]

This is from the Police Department Investigation Department in the Republic of Indonesia, dated March 19, 1997.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Jennifer Wells managed to get ahold of a police report filed shortly after de Guzman's death.

[Jennifer Wells]

On March 19, 1997, at about 10:30 Central Indonesia Time in the village of Mara Common Sub district, Kutai district, East Kalimantan, a Philippine citizen named Michael Antonio de Guzman, 43 years old, Operational Manager of PT Bre X, fell from a helicopter belonging to the airline PT Indonesia Air Transport. At 10:30 Central Indonesia Time. Helicopter was flying at an altitude of 800ft and a speed of 95 knots when the left rear door opened widely with a loud noise. Pilot pitched down to reduce the speed and at the same time looked back and saw that Michael Antonio de Guzman was no longer in his seat.

[Suzanne Wilton]

News of de Guzman's fall reached Freeport. Dan Bowman, Freeport's lawyer, was sitting in a conference room with executives talking about how they were going to build the mine.

[Ashley Iconetti]

And one by one the secretary would come in and call somebody out. And I thought that was a bit strange because this is a pretty important meeting. And then somebody else went and I was the last one there and I was the most junior person. And I'm thinking, what's going on here? And then they called me out, and I heard on the speakerphone this muffled voice saying, grossman jumped. And it was. It was Potter. You know, I was just shocked. I didn't. I couldn't believe it.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Dave Potter was also in shock.

[Ashley Iconetti]

I have to admit. I didn't believe it at first because, you know, this was something that was coming over radio, and I didn't see a body fall out of a helicopter. So that's hard for me to say. Oh, yes, that really happened. And then, judging by the reaction of some of the people at the site, they were shocked when they heard about it. And then I started thinking to myself, damn, maybe this guy really did do this. Then I started thinking, no, for my own sanity, I can't believe that, because I just find it so distasteful to think that rather than talk to me, somebody would kill themselves. I have no idea who the pilot was or what the helicopter was. He never did come to the BRE X job site. So that's a bit of a mystery for me.

[Suzanne Wilton]

After a couple of hours, Dave Potter got a telephone call from the president of Freeport, Indonesia.

[Ashley Iconetti]

And he was concerned for our safety. And he said, dave, you need to get out of there. He said, we just heard that Mike de Guzman jumped out of a helicopter. And he said, things are getting really strange. And he said, I want you to get the crew out of there.

[Suzanne Wilton]

At that time, when a mine suddenly shut down, it wasn't uncommon for hostages to be taken. This was the workers way of making sure they got paid.

[Ashley Iconetti]

I spent about an hour because they were scattered. So it took me a bit of time to get people all gathered around and get our helicopter. And by that point in time, I also had three Capassus bodyguards that followed me around like dogs. They were interesting guys.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Dave Potter's Indonesian Special Forces bodyguards were a sign that things could get ugly.

[Ashley Iconetti]

There was this big, big thunderstorm rolling in and lightning crashing and rain coming down. You could see it. I was starting to get a little worried because the pilot told me, he said, you know, if this storm hits, we're not going anywhere. And I said, oh, dear. And we speeded everybody up, got everybody thrown in the helicopter, and jumped in and lifted off. And the rain started just as we lifted off, and we turned around and flew away from the storm. So we flew out of the. Out of the gust front, and it followed us for a while. It was chasing us, you know, kind of an omen.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Potter flew into Samarinda, where a private jet arranged by Freeport's Indonesian President Audrey.

[Ashley Iconetti]

McCriby was waiting, the whole crew dirty, stinking, and crawled in this luxurious private jet. And he flew us back to Jakarta. I drove immediately to the office. Audrey said, come and see me. And I got there and it was essentially like, what in the world has happened? You know, the first thing that comes out of everybody's mouth is, what did you do? Didn't do anything, Audrey. Mike degoosman fell out of the helicopter. And Audrey said, no, he jumped. We were all kind of going, what? What?

[Suzanne Wilton]

Jakarta journalist John macbeth had been following the highs and lows of the BRE X saga for years when one evening, while drinking in the bar of the Shangri La hotel, he was tapped on the shoulder by one of his sources, ex CIA agent Richard Jacobson.

[Ashley Iconetti]

And his first words to me was, what if I told you that de Guzman was dead? And I just about dropped my beer to tell the truth. And I said, well, he filled me in a little on the detail, and I just fled. I went straight back to the office. We called the East Kalimantan police, who confirmed that de Guzman was dead. And I had it on the Dow Jones newswires hours ahead of the office. It was one of the best scoops you could ever get, frankly.

[Suzanne Wilton]

For months, John macbeth had been keeping investment banker Warren Irwin informed daily on the latest BREX intel. Warren Irwin had invested millions in BRE.

[Unknown Speaker]

X. I get a call in the middle of the night. Warren, it's John. What's up? Warren de Guzman's dead. They've killed him. And I'm going, what? Yeah, yeah, they threw him out of a helicopter. Who did? Who killed him? He said, the Indonesians. I said, wow, my nerves by this point, completely shot. I don't know what end is up. So I'm going, okay, as soon as the market opens, I'm selling everything. I never want to hear about BREX again. This is over for me. I don't want any part of this. Sure enough, stocks halted. Halted all morning. And I'm going, oh, man, I can't do anything. I'm sitting there with half of my position still. So I phoned up the company in Jakarta and I go, so what happened to Mike? And they go, well, he was. He fell out of the helicopter. He said, well, can you tell me where it happened? They said, what happened between Samarinda and the site? I said, well, I've seen the pre flight inspection. Nobody falls out of a helicopter given the tight pre flight inspection. So, man, that's not going to. That doesn't sound right.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Back In Canada, the brokers wanted to believe that de Guzman had accidentally fallen from the helicopter. They wanted to prevent a crash in shares. They continued to push the stock.

[Unknown Speaker]

The news release comes out. Then mining analysts started telling me, oh, Warren, oh, yeah, you know how these geologists get. They get a little axed with safety. When you're hopping around from site to site, on the site, going from drill place to drill place, they don't buckle in. He just fell out. I said, nope, that didn't happen. He went from Samarind to the site. He would have buckled in 100%. There's something seriously wrong here. So I went in, I sold all my stock at the equivalent. I think about that point, it sold off a little bit, about $220 or $210 a share.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Then a handwritten suicide note supposedly written by de Guzman, was discovered in de Guzman's belongings from the helicopter. As news spread, people assumed DeGuzmin had taken his own life. But not everyone believed it.

[Unknown Speaker]

I don't believe the suicide letter for two seconds because I was at the Prospectors and Developers association conference in Toronto, the largest mining conference in the world. Mike de Guzman was there with all the other go's, with probably half a dozen hookers having the time of his life, and he was partying up so hard, I knew there's no way he was suicidal. Trust me on this one.

[Suzanne Wilton]

After de Guzman's fall, Breeck's shares plummeted, but then rallied. Bre X, suspicious of Freeport's drill results and motives, decided to start their own due diligence. Meanwhile, Freeport were determined to find out why they couldn't find any gold. And several locals and geologists from the job site began scouring the jungle for de Guzman's body. All while the rest of the world were asking what happened next on the $6 billion gold scam. DeGuzmin's death turns up the heat on the investigation into Breec's drill results.

[Ashley Iconetti]

We had all the equipment, put it under scanning microscopes and also binocular microscopes. And boom.

[Suzanne Wilton]

And panic begins to set in.

[Ashley Iconetti]

We're sitting on top of a time.

[Suzanne Wilton]

Bomb, but some still aren't ready to give up on believing.

[Unknown Speaker]

The greed at the time was just off the charts. So much money at stake and so much money to be made and so many dreams that people couldn't let go of.

[Ashley Iconetti]

People were willing to roll the dice at any cost.

[Suzanne Wilton]

The $6 billion gold scam is produced by BBC Scotland Productions for the BBC World Service and CB. Susan, I'm Suzanne Wilton. Our lead producer is Kate Bissell Producers Anna Miles, Mark Rickards story consultant Jack Kibble White music and sound design by Hannis Brown additional sound design and audio mix by Joel Cox Executive Editor Heather Kane Darling at cbc, Veronica Simmons and Willow Smith are senior producers, Chris Oak is executive producer, Cecil Fernandez is executive producer and Arif Noorani is the director at the BBC World Service. Ann Dixie is senior podcast producer and John Mennell is the podcast Commissioning editor. Thanks for listening.

[Ashley Iconetti]

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