Unmissables: Explosive Lies

Operation Postmaster: The Biggest Heist of WWII?

January, 1942 - Britain steals three Axis ships out of a neutral harbour, using a watering can, a bathtub, and a fake party.

The story is so so good, even Guy Ritchie made a film about it.

This is Bloomin' Legends: The Impossible Missions of the Second World War. Over six episodes, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin “The Woodman” Woods tell the story of the Second World War like you've never heard it before - through six impossible missions so ridiculous, so ludicrous, they never should have worked.

Episode one: Operation Postmaster.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

🚢 Why Britain had to break the rules – Britain was being strangled by the Germans in the Battle of the Atlantic, and they were alone in Europe. Churchill needed to send a message to Germany that he was willing to fight dirty.

🛁 The bath, the mistress and the watering can – how British intelligence blackmailed a pro-Nazi governor into lending them his aircraft for surveillance flights, using a photograph we still can't fully explain.

🥂 The party that stole three ships – the Axis crews were tricked and lured off their ships with not one, but two fake parties thrown by the British, leaving the ships entirely vulnerable.

💡 Thirty minutes in total darkness – from start to finish, the whole mission only took 30 minutes.

🕵️ The original 007s – Here we meet the men that allegedly inspired Ian Flemings most famous spy, James Bond.

🇸🇪 Swedish Luxury Yacht - Why sixteen men sailed from Poole harbour in the UK, to Sierra Leone, dressed as Swedish holidaymakers.

🏹 The Viking – Anders Lassen, the commando who carried a bow and arrow and wrote the shortest action report in military history.

If you love daring raids, stories from the Second World War, eccentric heroes and unbelievable true tales, this episode of Bloomin' Legends is for you.

Got a WWII legend you want us to cover?

📩 Send it to: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends

Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com

Bloomin' Legends – WWII: The Impossible Missions is a Global production

Executive Producer – Adem Waterman

Senior Producer - Ben Fairclough

Lead Producer – Elena Guthrie

Producers – Cassie Merrit, Jasmine Feldman, Sam Johnson & Onyi Olisa

New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday.

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Episode 6. The fight for truth reaches its explosive final stage.

At the Old Bailey, Jim’s legal team insists he genuinely believed the ADE worked. After years of investigation, the case hangs in the balance.

But even as the verdict looms, one question remains: why are these bogus devices still in use around the world?

From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

Explosive Lies is a Global production.

For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

Episode 5. The investigation is thrown into turmoil.

As Niki White digs deeper into Jim’s empire, she discovers that exposing the truth will be far harder - and far more dangerous - than anyone imagined.

From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

Explosive Lies is a Global production.

For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

Episode 4. Steve and Meirion join forces as the investigation gathers pace, uncovering shocking complicity at the heart of the British state.

Meanwhile, Detective Niki White quietly begins her own pursuit of Jim - setting the stage for a clash that could change everything.

From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

Explosive Lies is a Global production.

For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

Episode 3. The higher the stakes, the harder the fall?

Jim doubles down, pushing the ADE’s supposed power with the backing of a powerful Iraqi general. His empire looks untouchable.

Meanwhile, Steve leaks secrets from the shadows, and journalists Caroline Hawley and Meirion Jones take their investigation public - sparking a reaction no one saw coming.

From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

Explosive Lies is a Global production.

For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

Episode 2. Loyalty or truth - which would you choose?

Steve faces a brutal choice: protect his best friend of forty years or expose a secret that could shake governments. When he finally tries to speak out, every door slams shut.

Meanwhile, journalists Caroline Hawley and Meirion Jones start asking questions - and what they uncover hints at a fraud far bigger than anyone imagined.

From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

Explosive Lies is a Global production.

For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

Episode 1. This story begins on the streets of Liverpool.

Jim McCormick and his childhood friend Steve grew up side by side. But when Jim quits the police to chase big money as a salesman, their paths split. Years later, Jim is living it large with millions made from his so-called bomb detector. He reappears from the shadows with an offer that sounds too good to refuse.

What happens when loyalty meets a lie worth millions?

From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

Explosive Lies is a Global production.

For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

He said it could save lives. It didn’t. It couldn’t even find golf balls…

Jim McCormick was a cocky English salesman with an outrageous claim: a black plastic gadget that could sniff out bombs using “electromagnetic energy.” The science was pure fiction. But in the panic after 9/11, governments bought the lie - paying up to $60,000 for a device that started life as a $20 novelty golf-ball finder.

McCormick sold hope to armies and security forces across the globe. But hope turned deadly. Behind the deals were fragmented friendships, betrayals, and a truth so dangerous it would take years to drag into the light.

Alice Levine uncovers the jaw-dropping story of a con that cost countless lives - and the unlikely people who stopped at nothing to uncover the truth.

From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

Explosive Lies is a Global production.

All episodes are out now. Listen on Global Player.

For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

Lewis Goodall is joined by Alice Levine to let you in on a big secret. Something explosive is coming to this feed... your next podcast binge.

Welcome to Unmissables, home to our most unmissable podcast series - the mysteries, the scams, the stories you can't stop listening to. It's a one stop shop for incredible real stories collated here for you.

Follow or subscribe and get ready to listen to Explosive Lies. And if you haven't already, check out Filthy Ritual and Coining It.

Listen to all episodes on Global Player.

Episode 6. Who was the real James Parker? Lewis Goodall pieces together the truth behind the would-be Robin Hood, as his friends face jail for their actions. Penniless and abandoned, James is still holding one last twist - while the police close in on his missing millions.

Listen to all episodes of Coining It with Lewis Goodall on Global Player.

Coining It is a Global production