Obscene: The Dublin Scandal

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

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.

Julia also meets 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.

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

CREDITS

#BadPeople_BBC

Producer Eamon O’Connor, writer Paul Walker and journalist Una Mullally discuss the wider context surrounding the MacArthur affair and the making of the podcast.

After 30 years in jail, Malcolm MacArthur returns to the streets of Dublin. But the unanswered questions around his case persist.

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CREDITS:

Narrated by Adrian Dunbar

Archive producer: Declan Smith

Development producer: Satiyesh Manoharajah

Assistant producer: Tess Davidson

Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

Executive Producer: Paul Smith

Obscene: The Dublin Scandal is a BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Another murder, this time of a gay man, feeds into the rumours that continue to swirl around Malcolm MacArthur.

Warning: This episode contains some strong language and graphic violent scenes.

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CREDITS:

Narrated by Adrian Dunbar

Archive producer: Declan Smith

Development producer: Satiyesh Manoharajah

Assistant producer: Tess Davidson

Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

Executive Producer: Paul Smith

Obscene: The Dublin Scandal is a BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

The surprising outcome of Malcolm MacArthur’s trial only adds to a growing sense of suspicion in Ireland.

Warning: This episode contains some strong language.

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CREDITS:

Narrated by Adrian Dunbar

Archive producer: Declan Smith

Development producer: Satiyesh Manoharajah

Assistant producer: Tess Davidson

Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

Executive Producer: Paul Smith

Obscene: The Dublin Scandal is a BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Murder and politics collide as Charles Haughey, the Irish Prime Minister, attempts to clear the air with a disastrous press conference.

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CREDITS

Narrated by Adrian Dunbar

Archive producer: Declan Smith

Development producer: Satiyesh Manoharajah

Assistant producer: Tess Davidson

Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

Executive Producer: Paul Smith

Obscene: The Dublin Scandal is a BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Who is Malcolm MacArthur, the suspected killer found hiding in the Attorney General’s home?

Warning: This episode contains some violence.

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CREDITS:

Narrated by Adrian Dunbar

Archive producer: Declan Smith

Development producer: Satiyesh Manoharajah

Assistant producer: Tess Davidson

Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

Executive Producer: Paul Smith

Obscene: The Dublin Scandal is a BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

The police launch Ireland’s biggest manhunt for the suspect. Tip offs lead to an unexpected location.

Warning: This episode contains some violence.

CREDITS:

Narrated by Adrian Dunbar

Archive producer: Declan Smith

Development producer: Satiyesh Manoharajah

Assistant producer: Tess Davidson

Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

Executive Producer: Paul Smith

Obscene: The Dublin Scandal is a BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Two seemingly random killings and a smartly-dressed assailant shock Ireland in the summer of 1982.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence and some strong language.

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CREDITS:

Narrated by Adrian Dunbar

Archive producer: Declan Smith

Development producer: Satiyesh Manoharajah

Assistant producer: Tess Davidson

Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

Executive Producer: Paul Smith

Obscene: The Dublin Scandal is a BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar narrates Obscene: The Dublin Scandal, a seven-part series about a bizarre moment in Irish history.

In the summer of 1982, two seemingly random killings occurred within the space of days, sparking Ireland’s biggest manhunt. The smartly-dressed suspect, Malcolm MacArthur, was eventually found hiding in the home of Ireland’s Attorney General.

His trial lasted seven minutes, and after spending 30 years behind bars, MacArthur can now be seen wandering the streets of Dublin.

Featuring contributions from award-winning Irish novelist Colm Toibin (Brooklyn), The Irish Times’ Fintan O’Toole, and veteran broadcaster Olivia O’Leary, this series revisits the political fallout that ensued, and tackles the many unanswered questions surrounding this case.