In 2015 a woman in Saskatoon was strangled by a belt. Did her friend do it?

She has been strangled by a belt that lies next to her body - the same belt her best friend was wearing in a photograph of the two of them that was posted on Facebook earlier that evening. What can really be learned by what we choose to post online? And what might cause a friendship to take a violent turn?

On this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen explore the psychology of “breaking up” with friends, the role of social media for teens’ mental health, and why people so rarely murder their friends.

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

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Clip: The He Lab “About Lulu and Nana: Twin Girls Born Healthy After Gene Surgery As Single-Cell Embryos”

For her role in the Moors Murders, Myra Hindley was for many years described as ‘‘the most hated woman in Britain’’. So when her escape plot from HMP Holloway in late 1973 is part-aided by then prison guard Patricia Cairns, there is dismay at why anyone would go to such lengths for someone convicted of Hindley’s crimes.

What was unearthed during the police investigation, however, was that Hindley and Cairns had established a relationship - not only through interactions within the prison, but through the deeper communication of letter writing that spanned some two years.

In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen explore how Hindley became an “unwitting architect” of whole-life sentences, and discuss the citizens who write to inmates. Why do people become prison pen pals and when is it unethical?

CREDITS

In Winson Green, Birmingham a category B prison is fit to burst, and on the 9th of October 2018 it finally does. Armed with one syringe, three men set five hundred convicts free and over the next twelve hours the building is almost burnt to the ground.

The Winson Green riot was one of the largest prison mutinies for twenty-five years and leaves the public wondering how this could have happened.

In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen explore when prison riots become inevitable? What factors make violence more likely? And can PRISM prevent it?

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

In 2015, fifteen-year-old Shamima Begum left the UK with two of her friends on a flight bound for Turkey. But the East London schoolgirls were not going on holiday. They were going to join thousands of recruits from across the globe in the Syrian city of Raqqa. They were going to join the so-called Islamic State. Four years later Shamima Begum, now nineteen, was found in a refugee camp and the UK Government revoked her citizenship, something she’s been trying to get back ever since.

On this episode of Bad People Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen are joined by Josh Baker, the journalist behind ‘The Shamima Begum Story’, where for the first time her account of what happened is investigated.

This episode contains clips from the BBC Radio Five Live podcast ‘I’m Not A Monster: The Shamima Begum Story’

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

In 1861 William Mumler claims to capture a spirit of dead on camera and offers grieving people the chance to sit with a lost loved one, one last time.

These controversial photographs unleashed a debate about the nature of reality and truth and marked a cultural moment which questioned whether what we see can really be believed.

But is this a new problem? Are deepfakes forcing us to examine the same questions today?

On this episode of Bad People, Sofie Hagen and Dr Julia Shaw discuss dystopian futures, deep fake technology, the uncanny valley, false memories and ask whether the law can really keep up.

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

It’s 1992 and Barry Kingston, a man with admitted paedophilic tendencies, is accused of indecently assaulting a child. The police have photographs and audio-tape to prove his involvement - and yet Kingston still pleads not guilty. The boy in the case explains he’d been drugged without his consent. But so, it turns out, had Kingston.

In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen discuss the relationship between violent crime, drugs and alcohol, and the moral minefield of involuntary intoxication and drugged intent. Can you be convicted of a crime you committed while unknowingly under the influence?

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

It’s 2007 in Perugia Italy. A body has been found, but the American suspect maintains her innocence. Amanda Knox spent 7 years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, but the long path from conviction to acquittal led to her fluency in Italian and defending herself in court. In this episode, can we ever defend ourselves when we don’t speak the language? And when does bad translation lead to bad justice?

CREDITS

In April 2018, a sealed plastic bag is found tossed next to a dumpster in Coachella, USA. In it, seven tiny, squeaking, new-born puppies. CCTV footage of the puppy dumping culprit, Deborah Sue Culwell, sparked outrage.

On this episode of Bad People, we discuss animal welfare and cruelty, the new psychological categorisation Animal Hoarding Disorder (AHD), the link between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence, and why we often care so deeply about some animals (pets) while ignoring the suffering of others (livestock).

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

Bobbie was eight months pregnant and shared the good news with her online community.

But because she met Lisa Montgomery, Bobbie would never have the future she hoped for. In one of the most horrific ways imaginable, Lisa steals her baby.

Lisa was the first woman to be put to death by the US government in 67 years. But did she deserve capital punishment? Is the death penalty ever justified?

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

There was international outcry in 2011 when the celebrated Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing airport and imprisoned. The charges against him were vague. So what was Ai Weiwei really in prison for?

To begin to answer this, we need to understand the historical background: the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Claiming to purge the country of 'impure' elements, students were encouraged to attack their teachers. Intellectuals were exiled. Books were burned. And the purge didn’t stop there.

On this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen explore anti-intellectualism, and how politicians have exploited its appeal. What is the difference between intelligence and intellectualism? What can the anti-intellectualism scale teach us about the psychological origins of a lack of trust in experts?

And, what does all of this have to do with art?

CREDITS

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