Intrigue

One of the consequences of the family falling out about Dave is that Carolyn has decided to take back control of her bank accounts from her daughter, Sally, who had always helped her Mum in the past. Carolyn’s daughters fear that she will start giving money to Dave and that there is nothing they can do about it.

In the early days of the relationship, the daughters had got Carolyn and Dave to sign a legal agreement protecting her money and properties. But now they fear that the pair have effectively ripped up that agreement, which they are perfectly entitled to do. Could this be the start of the nightmare scenario they have been dreading ever since Dave moved into the family home?

There is a childlike quality in Carolyn when it comes to Dave that does make her vulnerable. She guards him as if he is some kind of rare treasure and when he is out late drinking with friends, she sometimes sets out in the dark to find him. Her neighbour Marie, who cares for more than a dozen wealthy old women in Cayucos, says it is something she sees a lot.

Marie warned Carolyn about Dave, but to no avail and soon she is pushed to the side-lines of Carolyn's life, powerless to act. With people in this idyllic Californian community left wondering whether Dave really a tender carer who will cherish Carolyn to the end as he promises, or is he a dangerous interloper who will fleece Carolyn – breaking her heart and her family?

New episodes will be released on Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re in the UK, listen to the latest full series of Intrigue first on BBC Sounds. https://bbc.in/3WEQS5W

It is presented by Sue Mitchell and scripted by Winifred Robinson. It's produced by Sue Mitchell and Joel Moors; the dramaturg is Flo Dessau and sound design is by Tom Brignall

Carolyn is facing mounting opposition to her relationship with Dave, who is 23 years younger than her and a world away in terms of wealth and lifestyle. She is being forced to make the most difficult choice possible: between her daughters and her new lover. The situation becomes so heated that it finally erupts into violence.

Opposition to Dave makes Carolyn more determined to support him and she decides to take back control of her finances from her daughters. They fear she is showing signs of mental incapacity and want her to agree to be tested, but Carolyn is digging her heels in and is adamant that she can make her own decisions

The situation is escalating really quickly, with her daughters are increasingly on the side-lines - powerless to act. They have huge concerns about Dave, who has a long criminal record and was homeless and addicted to the drug, Crystal Meth. They cannot get their Mum to listen and as long as she says she is happy, there appears to be nothing that they can do.

Million Dollar Lover is an unlikely love story, recorded over a year as the relationship unfolds between Carolyn, who is 80 and has a valuable property portfolio, and Dave, 57, who arrives in the idyllic Californian resort of Cayucos by chance and quickly decides to make it his home

New episodes will be released on Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re in the UK, listen to the latest full series of Intrigue first on BBC Sounds. https://bbc.in/3WEQS5W

Million Dollar Lover is produced at BBC Audio by the team behind The Boy in the Woods and is presented by Sue Mitchell.

The series is scripted by Winifred Robinson; the producers are Sue Mitchell and Joel Moors; the dramaturg is Flo Dessau and sound design is by Tom Brignall.

Carolyn had not expected to fall in love at 80 and certainly not to someone 23 years younger. But she has embraced all aspects of her new relationship, including having sex and being open with her daughters about that. Her honesty has not gone down well and even her Pastor, Dale James, is shocked that the couple are now living together in this way.

Concerned about the speed of the relationship and the direction it's taking, Carolyn's daughters turn to the police and outside agencies for help. They believe their Mum is in the early stages of dementia, but her GP did not support their diagnosis and now Carolyn will not go back for further tests. Their options for stopping Dave taking control of their Mum's life appear to be limited and they fear what might happen.

Million Dollar Lover is an unlikely love story, recorded over a year as the relationship unfolds between Carolyn, who has a valuable property portfolio, and Dave, a former drug addict who was homeless and has a long criminal record.

Soon everyone is asking whether he is really a tender carer or a dangerous interloper who will fleece her – breaking her heart and her family?

New episodes will be released on Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re in the UK, listen to the latest full series of Intrigue first on BBC Sounds. https://bbc.in/3WEQS5W

Million Dollar Lover is produced at BBC Audio by the team behind The Boy in the Woods and is presented by Sue Mitchell.

The series is scripted by Winifred Robinson; the producers are Sue Mitchell and Joel Moors; the dramaturg is Flo Dessau and sound design is by Tom Brignall.

Million Dollar Lover is an unlikely love story, recorded in real time as the relationship unfolds between Carolyn, who is 80 and has a valuable property portfolio, and Dave, 57, a former drug addict who is homeless and has spent a decade in jail.

The story captured the attention of the BBC Journalist Sue Mitchell, as it was unfolding on her street. She spends a lot of time in California – she married an American and her award-winning journalism has been about the lives of people like Dave who inhabit the dangerous margins of society.

There are so many homeless people in America that the wealthy can no longer avoid contact with them. When Dave arrives in Cayucos, a charming beach town, prosperous and sunny all year round, he goes to church. Some people there try to help him find work and recommend him to Carolyn as an odd job man. She falls in love with him and within a fortnight, Dave has moved in.

Is Dave really a tender carer who will cherish Carolyn to the end as he promises, or is he a dangerous interloper who will fleece Carolyn – breaking her heart and her family?

New episodes will be released on Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts. But if you’re in the UK, listen to the latest full series of Intrigue first on BBC Sounds. https://bbc.in/3WEQS5W

Million Dollar Lover is produced at BBC Audio by the team behind The Boy in the Woods and is presented by Sue Mitchell.

The series is scripted by Winifred Robinson; the producers are Sue Mitchell and Joel Moors; the dramaturg is Flo Dessau and sound design is by Tom Brignall. The editor is Philip Sellars.

Million Dollar Lover is an unlikely love story, recorded in real time as the relationship unfolds between Carolyn, who is 80 and has properties worth a few million dollars, and Dave, 57, a former drug addict who is homeless and has spent a decade in jail.

The story captured the attention of the BBC Journalist Sue Mitchell, as it was unfolding on her street. She spends a lot of time in California – she married an American and her award-winning journalism has been about the lives of people like Dave who inhabit the dangerous margins of society.

There are so many homeless people in America that the wealthy can no longer avoid contact with them. When Dave arrives in Cayucos, a charming beach town, prosperous and sunny all year round, he goes to church. Some people there try to help him find work and recommend him to Carolyn as an odd job man. She falls in love with him and within a fortnight, Dave has moved in.

Dave is a talented man – a skilled joiner and musician who makes and sells jewellery. With Carolyn’s support, he is ambitions for his future. He appears to be thriving and so does she. But she is vulnerable following the death of her husband. Her family fear she is showing signs of cognitive decline and she certainly struggles to manage her finances. She also yearns to feel the love that comes from a romantic relationship and to feel needed again.

Her neighbour, Marie, says it is something she sees a lot amongst the elderly people she cares for; it is a desire to be loved and to be in love which does not diminish with age. Marie cautions Carolyn against rushing into a relationship with Dave, but it is too late. Soon Marie is left watching from the side-lines as Carolyn starts cutting off friends and relatives who question her.

Her middle-aged daughters are increasingly worried for their Mum and for the money they expected to inherit from her; a property portfolio which their parents and grandparents had built up over the years. They fear Dave might be taking advantage of Carolyn and ask her to be assessed for mental incapacity: it seems the only explanation they can find for why she has fallen so deeply under his spell.

Sue Michell is a skilled investigator who uncovers horrors in Dave’s past that he has never mentioned to a living soul. She also brings her knowledge of elder abuse and exposes how the process of ageing makes subtle changes that can alter how we see others - particularly strangers who seem loving, young, and strong.

Is Dave really a tender carer who will cherish Carolyn to the end as he promises, or is he a dangerous interloper who will fleece Carolyn – breaking her heart and her family?

New episodes will be released on Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts. But if you’re in the UK, listen to the latest full series of Intrigue first on BBC Sounds. https://bbc.in/3WEQS5W

Million Dollar Lover is produced by BBC Audio, the team behind The Boy in the Woods and is presented by Sue Mitchell.

The series is scripted by Winifred Robinson; the producers are Sue Mitchell and Joel Moors; the dramaturg is Flo Dessau and sound design is by Tom Brignall. The series Editor is Philip Sellars

The idea of living forever has captivated us for millennia, but rarely do people imagine what would happen the day after the fountain of youth is discovered. Today’s technology entrepreneurs pushing an immortality agenda - through their investments and their influence - seem only focussed on the pursuit.

Whether or not immortality is a distant possibility, how do we cope with living longer en route to forever? Where’s the planning for that? It’s a great opportunity for innovative thinkers but, from what we’ve seen over the last two decades of technological disruption, these real but smaller goals aren’t nearly as enticing as the big ones.

In this series, technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski explores the frontiers of the extreme longevity pioneers. They've made their money in Silicon Valley. And with their technology solutions - PayPal, Facebook, cryptocurrencies - they've ushered in the world that we live in today, with all its unintended consequences. Some of them now want to solve the "problem" of aging, or even death, and they are making bigger strides than we may think.

Can they? Should they?

A Pillowfort production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes released Mondays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series of Intrigue: The Immortals first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3WEQS5W

The immortalist movement in Silicon Valley shares a lot with evangelical religions, says Dr Emile P Torres, a philosopher and former Nick Bostrom acolyte. In both, he explains, there’s a heaven in which the faithful will experience unsurpassed bliss and delight, and an apocalypse, which will separate out the people who can go there.

After a decade at the epicentre of the transhumanist research community, Emile became concerned with the number of apocalyptic stories of techno-utopia that were being shared online. Was this philosophical movement becoming radicalised? When Emile raises the question, the consequences are swift and severe. Excommunicated, harassed and threatened.

With influential and powerful technology billionaires as some of its faithful, is Emile right? Is this movement really one of the most dangerous secular ideologies?

In this series, technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski explores the frontiers of the extreme longevity pioneers. They've made their money in Silicon Valley. And with their technology solutions - PayPal, Facebook, cryptocurrencies - they've ushered in the world that we live in today, with all its unintended consequences. Some of them now want to solve the "problem" of aging, or even death, and they are making bigger strides than we may think.

Can they? Should they?

A Pillowfort production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes released Mondays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series of Intrigue: The Immortals first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3WEQS5W

A new philosphical movement is gathering steam in Silicon Valley, one that promises immortality by using technology to solve the problem of death. This movement is led by Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom.

Professor Bostrom is the author of Fable of the Dragon Tyrant, the original manuscript of the modern immortality movement. It was published in 2005 in the Journal of Medical Ethics as a response to what Bostrom described as the absurdity of the inevitability of accepting ageing and death. Far from being a one-off, the Fable is one of the core texts that form part of a moral philosophy of the future of humanity called transhumanism. Adherents believe that we will achieve immortality by merging with artificial intelligence and becoming “post-human", and that the next step in our human evolution is nigh.

In this series, technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski explores the frontiers of the extreme longevity pioneers. They've made their money in Silicon Valley. And with their technology solutions - PayPal, Facebook, cryptocurrencies - they've ushered in the world that we live in today, with all its unintended consequences. Some of them now want to solve the "problem" of aging, or even death, and they are making bigger strides than we may think.

Can they? Should they?

A Pillowfort production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes released Mondays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series of Intrigue: The Immortals first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3WEQS5W

Vitalek Buterin is the billionaire founder of Ethereum, one of the most successful blockchains and cryptocurrencies in the world. With his fortune, he is attempting to solve the problem of death by creating a longevity state - which will fast track life everlasting, without the need for regulation.

They will crowdsource their longevity solutions and organise them through the blockchain. His north star is the Fable of the Dragon Tyrant.

In this series, technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski explores the frontiers of the extreme longevity pioneers. They've made their money in Silicon Valley. And with their technology solutions - PayPal, Facebook, cryptocurrencies - they've ushered in the world that we live in today, with all its unintended consequences. Some of them now want to solve the "problem" of aging, or even death, and they are making bigger strides than we may think.

Can they? Should they?

A Pillowfort production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes released Mondays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series of Intrigue: The Immortals first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3WEQS5W

Many of the longevity innovators in the Valley want to extend human life. But there are others who are trying to eliminate death. A lot of them.

The tech billionaires who have never been told ‘no’ are driven to tackle the most insurmountable problems. They believe they can solve death by re-engineering the human in code. Problem is, it’s unlikely to happen in their natural lifetime.

But technology is on their side. Every year, computing power doubles. Once a decade, the amount of change produces a whole new paradigm. And that is what they’re banking on.

Science, combined with the rapid acceleration of technological change will keep them alive decade on decade until such time as they can achieve ‘longevity escape velocity’ - eternal life.

In this series, technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski explores the frontiers of the extreme longevity pioneers. They've made their money in Silicon Valley. And with their technology solutions - PayPal, Facebook, cryptocurrencies - they've ushered in the world that we live in today, with all its unintended consequences. Some of them now want to solve the "problem" of aging, or even death, and they are making bigger strides than we may think.

Can they? Should they?

A Pillowfort production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes released Mondays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series of Intrigue: The Immortals first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3WEQS5W