The only murderer in the family? When serial killer Robert Spahalski admitted to murder in 2005, police not only discovered his decades long criminal past but also a fascinating family history that raises the possibility of a genetic tendency towards violence.

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

In November 2018 Chinese scientist Dr He Jiankui made a big announcement; he had illegally “edited” the DNA of Chinese twin girls Lulu and Nana in an attempt to prevent them from contracting HIV. The news made global headlines and the scientific community reacted with horror. But why is it so controversial to mess with our genes?

Dr Julia Shaw is joined by geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford to discuss the dangers of gene editing and how it relates to Nazism and the dark history of trying to breed “better people”, the subject of Adam’s BBC Radio 4 series Bad Blood: The History of Eugenics.

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

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

On the 22nd of May 1987 Kenneth Parks killed his mother-in-law and almost killed her husband. He claims he was asleep with amnesia for most of the event. The burden of proof is now on the defence. How can he prove that he was asleep? And if he can, does it mean he will walk free?

In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen investigate how sleep scientists can examine our brainwaves to see whether we are conscious or awake. Can stress, anxiety, or sleep deprivation make us more likely to sleepwalk? What is the legal defence of “non-insane automatism”, and why is it so incredibly hard to argue in a courtroom?

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

On the 22nd of May 1987 Kenneth Parks got into his car and drove 27 km up a three-lane highway to his beloved parents-in-law's home. He claims he was asleep through his horrific actions until he woke up with blood dripping from his hands.

In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen look into the science of sleepwalking, sleep terrors, and related parasomnias. What is REM sleep? What are we capable of while asleep? What kind of sleep disruptions are normal? And is there a link between “disorders of arousal” and violence?

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

Dr Julia Shaw unwraps Bad People’s choice of true crime podcasts in 2022.

She talks to Gabriel Gatehouse about his series The Coming Storm, which began as an investigation into the Q-Anon phenomenon and has evolved to explore major conspiracies that have engulfed politics in the US and beyond.

Julia also meets Winifred Robinson, the acclaimed BBC journalist whose podcast The Boy in the Woods revisits the disturbing case of murdered six year-old Rikki Neave.

And journalist Una Mullally discusses the extraordinary story behind Obscene, a BBC podcast that examines the political scandal that erupted following the discovery of a suspected killer in the home of the Irish Attorney General in 1982.

CREDITS

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Dr Julia Shaw unwraps Bad People’s choice of true crime podcasts in 2022.

She talks to BBC social media and disinformation correspondent Marianna Spring about her series Disaster Trolls, which investigates the trolling of victims of terror attacks by people who claim they never happened.

Julia also meets Audrey Gillan, the acclaimed journalist who’s podcast Bible John: Creation of a Serial Killer reinvestigates horrific murders that shocked Glasgow over fifty years ago.

We hear from Formula One expert Sarah Holt about the Spygate podcast which tells the story behind industrial espionage and bitter rivalries in motor racing.

And Rachel Monroe discusses her story of lawlessness on the high-seas, BBC podcast Lost at Sea.

CREDITS

It’s the early hours of the morning in Merseyside. Peter Stubbs is thrown out of Cindy’s Nightclub, then brutally beaten in the street. Constable Dytham is standing nearby and watches it happen. The minutes tick on and the violence subsides, but it’s clear that Peter is dead.

On this episode of Bad People, hosts Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen explore whether it should be a crime to do nothing. They ask why we don't step in when we know we should, and discover what happens when inaction leads to conviction.

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

In 2010 a serial robber was on the loose in Cincinnati, US. Surveillance footage shows a clear image of a black man, with a black hoodie and sunglasses on. When tips come in the police follow the trail to a woman’s house. When she opens the door she says, “I know why you're here. I just saw on television my son robbing a bank”.

After arresting their prime suspect, it emerges that the police have the wrong man in custody. So if their suspect didn’t commit the crime, who has his face?

CREDITS

In 1895 a bronze statue of slave trader Edward Colston was erected on top of a stone plinth in the centre of Bristol. Colston had made large donations to charities, schools and hospitals in the city, and certain businessmen saw him as a philanthropist. A plaque beneath the statue described Colston as one of the “most virtuous and wise sons of the city”. But there was no mention anywhere that he made his fortune as a slave trader.

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC

On the 6th of March 1995 Scott Amedure reveals his growing sexual attraction to a friend in front of a large studio audience. Behind the scenes, Jonathan Schmitz is waiting to meet a secret admirer. Jonathan is led on stage of the Jenny Jones Show and each man is revealed to the other. Scott’s face lights up but Jonathan’s expression is inscrutable, and the crowd erupts with laughter around them. Just three days after filming, Jonathan Schmitz shot his friend Scott in the chest, killing him there and then. But was Schmitz fully culpable? What happens when shame becomes public?

CREDITS

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

#BadPeople_BBC