Young women painting glowing watch dials begin to fall mysteriously ill, exposing a deadly truth hidden behind one of America’s most celebrated industries.

This episode uncovers the story of the Radium Girls, the dial painters encouraged to use radium paint as if it were harmless and even fashionable. We explore the horrific consequences of exposure, the women who fought for recognition, and the legal battle that transformed workplace safety and medical understanding across the United States.

Topics include

• The United States Radium Corporation’s dial-painting work

• Radium exposure and its fatal effects

• The women who became known as the Radium Girls

• Medical misunderstandings and delayed recognition

• The legal fight that reshaped labour protections

A shy entrepreneur chases the American Dream, only to build an empire that spirals into jealousy, crime, and one of true crime’s wildest scandals.

This episode explores the rise of Somen Banerjee and the creation of Chippendales, revealing how a flashy nightclub act became the centre of rivalry, betrayal, and deadly ambition. We trace the backstage tensions, the criminal schemes, and the downfall that exposed the dark side of fame and success.

Topics include

• Somen Banerjee’s rise and ambitions

• The creation of the Chippendales empire

• Rivalries behind the scenes

• Crimes born from greed and jealousy

• The collapse of a nightclub phenomenon

A remote utopian experiment ends in horror when a cult leader orders more than 900 people to drink poisoned flavour aid in one of history’s deadliest mass suicides.

This episode examines the Jonestown Massacre, tracing Jim Jones’s rise to power, the creation of the Peoples Temple community in Guyana, and the escalating paranoia that led to Congressman Leo Ryan’s murder and the final, tragic command. We explore the psychological grip Jones held over his followers, the logistics behind the mass poisoning, and the lasting impact of a tragedy that redefined the world’s understanding of cults.

Topics include

• Jim Jones’s leadership and control

• Life inside the Jonestown settlement

• Congressman Leo Ryan’s visit and assassination

• The mass poisoning and its aftermath

• How Jonestown reshaped conversations about cults

A string of brutal murders grips London’s East End in 1888, and a nameless killer vanishes into history, leaving terror and speculation in his wake.

This episode revisits the Jack the Ripper case, exploring the victims, the chaotic investigation, and the suspects who have fuelled debate for more than a century. We trace the theories ranging from doctors to royals to unknown figures, and examine why this unsolved mystery still captivates the public imagination.

Topics include

• The Whitechapel murders

• Key suspects and competing theories

• Police challenges and investigative missteps

• Victorian anxieties and media sensationalism

• Why the Ripper case endures

A “flying disk” is reported recovered in New Mexico, only for the military to retract the claim overnight, igniting decades of suspicion and conspiracy.

This episode revisits the Roswell Incident, tracing the crash discovery, the swift change in the official story, and the speculation that transformed a desert mystery into a cultural phenomenon. We explore the theories, the witnesses, the government explanations, and the enduring fascination that keeps Roswell at the centre of UFO debate.

Topics include

• The 1947 crash near Roswell

• The military’s shifting statements

• Key witnesses and early reports

• UFO theories vs military explanations

• How Roswell became a cultural icon

A young Austrian archduchess becomes France’s most controversial queen, her life swept from royal splendour to revolution and ruin.

This episode traces the story of Marie Antoinette, from her early years and marriage to Louis XVI to the opulence of Versailles and the public resentment it fuelled. We explore the myths that clung to her name, the political tensions that shaped her downfall, and the final chapter that saw her imprisoned, separated from her children, and executed during the French Revolution.

Topics include

• Marie Antoinette’s childhood and marriage

• Life and politics at Versailles

• Scandals, gossip, and public perception

• The “let them eat cake” myth

• Her downfall during the French Revolution

An everyday household staple reveals a hidden story of lobbying, marketing, and government influence that quietly shaped the American diet.

This episode uncovers the little-known history of the US dairy industry, tracing its rise from early farming to its deep entanglement with federal policy. We explore the powerful tactics of Big Dairy, the studies and campaigns that shaped public beliefs, and how school lunches, fast-food chains, and advertising were engineered to keep milk at the centre of American life.

Topics include

• Early roots of the US dairy industry

• Lobbying and government partnerships

• Nutrition guidelines shaped by dairy interests

• Advertising and fast-food influence

• How Big Dairy maintained its market power

A plane crashes high in the Andes, leaving its passengers stranded on a glacier and fighting for survival long after the world assumes they are dead.

This episode revisits the Miracle of the Andes, tracing the ordeal of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and the extraordinary resilience of the survivors. Drawing on the book Alive and decades of retellings, we explore the brutal conditions, the impossible choices, the teamwork that kept hope alive, and the journey that turned tragedy into one of history’s most powerful stories of human endurance.

Topics include

• The crash of Flight 571

• Life-and-death conditions on the glacier

• The survivors’ hardest decisions

• Teamwork, leadership, and resilience

• The legacy of Alive and Society of the Snow

Thieves slip into a Boston museum at night and walk out with half a billion dollars’ worth of masterpieces, leaving one of the greatest art mysteries in history.

This episode explores the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, tracing how two disguised intruders overpowered security, stole 13 irreplaceable works, and vanished without a trace. We examine the theories, the suspects, the criminal underworld connections, and why decades later none of the stolen art has ever been recovered.

Topics include

• The night of the Gardner Museum heist

• The 13 stolen masterpieces

• Security lapses and early missteps

• Key suspects and criminal theories

• Why the case remains unsolved

A strange handwritten book filled with unknown symbols and impossible drawings appears in the historical record, defying every attempt to decode it.

This episode investigates the Voynich Manuscript, examining its mysterious illustrations, baffling structure, and uncertain origins. We explore its botanical sketches, astrological charts, medicinal diagrams, and recipes, as well as its journey through collectors and emperors. We also look at the researchers who have tried and failed to crack its code, and why this enigma continues to captivate scholars and sceptics alike.

Topics include

• The manuscript’s undeciphered script

• Botanical, astrological, and medical sections

• Possible links to Rudolf II and Wilfrid Voynich

• Scientific and historical investigations

• Modern theories about its purpose and origin