This week's podcast lineup delivers a potent mix of unbelievable true crime, darkly comic drama, and urgent investigative journalism, led by a shocking story of international deception.
The Con That Cost Lives: A Novelty Device Goes Global
In the standout new series Explosive Lies, host Alice Levine applies her characteristically wry narration to an almost unbelievable true story. The podcast investigates a massive global fraud where a device, originally marketed as a novelty golf-ball finder, was repackaged and sold as a cutting-edge bomb detector to governments and militaries worldwide.
The slickly produced tale follows Steve, a former police officer, who helps his childhood best friend sell the fraudulent technology. His involvement leads to his eventual arrest by detectives, unravelling a web of deceit. The action spans from dubious Hong Kong banks to Iraqi airports, where the useless devices were installed as critical security measures. The consequences of this scam were potentially lethal, putting countless lives at risk based on a complete fabrication.
Compelling Drama and Daring Hacks
Elsewhere in audio, Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw turns his hand to drama with the one-off monologue Mercy. Starring the superb Joanna Scanlan, it presents a charming but forced-into-retirement nurse who shares her unfiltered views on everything from patients' sex appeal to why people should never quit smoking. It's a compelling and darkly comic character study.
Radio 4's esteemed Intrigue strand returns with Ransom Man, hosted by Jenny Kleeman. This propulsive investigation revisits a daring hack of a Finnish online mental health service, dubbed "the McDonald's of therapy." The breach led to thousands of patients' most private therapy records being dumped on the dark web, exploring the profound trauma unleashed by the violation.
More Top Podcast Picks This Week
The weekly selection is rounded out by several other notable releases. Fitness influencer James Smith launches The Problem With …, a series of lengthy interviews with experts confirming that various modern crises are indeed "as bad as you fear." Topics range from Gen Z struggles to demographic time bombs.
Finally, journalist Louise McLoughlin returns with the thoughtful second season of You Look Like Me, which continues her exploration of donor conception. The new episodes include conversations with a father who kept a life-changing secret from his daughter for nearly four decades.
From global cons to intimate secrets, this week's podcast offerings prove the power of audio storytelling to captivate, inform, and disturb.
