Bonus Episodes | The Compendium

A trillion-dollar company. Two women who worked inside it, years apart. And the exact same warnings, ignored twice. This episode traces Frances Haugen, the Facebook product manager who walked out with a phone full of leaked documents and wiped six billion dollars off the company's share price in a single day, and Sarah Wynn-Williams, Facebook's former global policy chief, whose tell-all memoir  Ca...

Finally, Patreon-exclusive episodes are here! Every month, we’ll be bringing you a brand-new episode made exclusively for our wonderful Patreon members. That’s right—this isn’t an early-access episode. This is an episode just for you! And to kick off this new member perk, we’re starting with an absolute banger: the incredible story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Ruth Ellis...

In 1692, an enslaved woman named Tituba told a Salem courtroom that the Devil had come to her and bid her serve him. Her confession lit the fuse that would become known as the infamous Salem witch trials, the deadliest witch hunt in American history.  Within months, more than a third of Salem Village had been accused, imprisoned and were awaiting trial. Nineteen people were hanged. One man was pre...

On the last morning before half term, 240 children walked into Pantglas Junior School beneath a mountain of coal waste. Minutes after lessons began, Tip 7 collapsed above Aberfan, sending liquefied spoil through homes and classrooms and killing 116 children and 28 adults. But the Aberfan disaster did not begin with the slide, and it did not end when the rescue stopped. The warning signs had been t...

An entire colony of 117 men, women and children vanished without leaving behind a single body. There was no blood, no sign of an attack and no ruined settlement. Their homes had been carefully dismantled and taken away. All they left behind was one word carved into a wooden post: CROATOAN. In 1587, the colonists were stranded on Roanoke Island instead of reaching their intended home in Chesapeake...

Two sisters made a pact to stop speaking to the world, together they build a private language, wrote strange fiction, and ventured out into a life crime spree that ended with them being locked inside Broadmoor, Britains most notorious psychiatric hospital. Now to the world as The Silent Twins, June and Jennifer Gibbons, became one of Britain’s strangest and saddest true stories. Born to Barbadian...

On the morning of 31 October 1938, a sleepless 23-year-old walked into a room full of reporters who all wanted the same answer: had Orson Welles deliberately terrified America? The night before, his Mercury Theatre on the Air had performed The War of the Worlds as a string of fake news bulletins, and by morning the newspapers claimed the country had come apart. Families fleeing their homes. Switch...

MKUltra was not a fringe conspiracy theory. It was a real CIA programme built to test whether drugs, fear, interrogation and psychological pressure could break the human mind. In this episode, we follow MKUltra from Cold War panic to one of the darkest hidden histories in American intelligence: Project Bluebird, Project Artichoke, Sidney Gottlieb, CIA LSD experiments, Operation Midnight Climax, Do...

Genie Wiley was locked away for thirteen years, but rescue was only the beginning of one of psychology’s most haunting cases. This episode follows the story of Genie Wiley, a child kept in near-total isolation, deprived of language, movement, comfort and the outside world until she was discovered at thirteen. Her case became a landmark in debates around language acquisition, childhood development...

They spent a year planning the perfect heist. Code names, disguises, a buyer in Amsterdam, every Ocean’s Eleven trick they could copy. Then four college kids walked into a Kentucky university library to steal millions in rare books. To them, it was the perfect heist. But the American Animals true story came apart over something they had never thought to check. After all, how heavy could a few book...

Somerton Man is one of Australia’s most enduring mysteries: an unidentified body found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide in 1948, a hidden scrap of paper reading “Tamám Shud”, and a trail of clues that only got stranger. In this episode, we unravel the dead man with no ID, the copy of The Rubaiyat , the mysterious nurse, the alleged code, the Cold War spy theories, and the DNA breakthrough that may ha...

Thirteen children are discovered living in unimaginable conditions inside a suburban home, exposing a hidden world of abuse that shocks the globe. This episode revisits the Turpin family case, tracing how years of imprisonment, starvation, and psychological control remained concealed behind an ordinary façade in Perris, California. We examine the 911 call that revealed the truth, the arrest and tr...

A Royal Mail train is stopped in the dead of night, and a gang of thieves pulls off one of the boldest robberies Britain has ever seen. This episode revisits the Great Train Robbery, tracing how a determined crew planned and executed a heist that stunned the nation and reshaped true-crime history. We explore the robbery’s meticulous preparation, the moment the train was brought to a halt, the dari...

A French aristocrat’s family is found murdered in their home, and the father vanishes without a trace, leaving a mystery that still fuels debate across the world. This episode examines the Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès case, exploring the financial strain, marital tensions, and emotional entanglements that shaped his final months. We trace the meticulous planning behind the murders, the disappearance...

Nine experienced hikers flee their tent in the dead of night, only to be found scattered across a frozen mountain pass under circumstances no one can fully explain. This episode investigates the Dyatlov Pass Mystery, tracing the 1959 expedition into the Ural Mountains and the baffling injuries, torn tent, and eerie final photographs that fuel decades of speculation. We explore natural theories, mi...

A young mother vanishes without a trace, triggering a nationwide search and a mystery that only deepens as the story unfolds. This episode revisits the disappearance of Sherri Papini, tracing the shock of her sudden vanishing, the intense investigation that followed, and the media storm that turned her case into a national obsession. We explore the evidence, the competing theories, the emotional i...

In this episode of All the Latest Things , we explore the hidden fishing wire encircling Manhattan that serves a surprising religious purpose. The myth behind menstrual cycle synchronisation and its potential evolutionary origins. We learn why Amazon Go’s AI checkout stores are closing and how Heinz is fighting back against ketchup fraud with a clever colour trick. Plus, we delve into the rock-and...

In this episode of All the Latest Things , we explore the wild and the downright bizarre. From a lawsuit over cake slices and creased cushions, to a banana sold as art for $6.2M, this week is packed with stories that will make you question reality. We also uncover the secrets behind fake elevator buttons, the curse of Michelin stars, and the man who took his shoe-sniffing habit way too far. Buckle...

A mysterious poem sends treasure hunters into the Rocky Mountains in search of a hidden chest filled with gold, sparking obsession, danger, and a decade-long frenzy. This episode revisits Forrest Fenn’s modern treasure hunt, exploring why he created the challenge, how his riddle captivated thousands, and the risks and controversies that followed. We trace the devoted searchers, the near misses, th...

In this episode of All the Latest Things  we explore jaw-dropping stories that will leave you stunned. From P. Diddy’s spiraling scandal and wild conspiracy theories, to the man caught smuggling 320 spiders under his clothes. Then, we delve into a chilling near-miss organ harvesting case, and round things off with a 21st-century treasure hunt involving millions in hidden crypto riches. You won’t b...

In this episode of the All the latest things , we uncover some of the strangest news stories. We discuss a wild insurance scam involving bear suits and luxury cars, Mattel's 'Wicked' doll packaging error that accidentally led to adult websites, and the possibility of octopuses taking over the world. We also talk about the Grindr app crash at the Republican National Convention and its unexpected re...

In this episode of  All the Latest Things ,  we explore the strange and fascinating stories making headlines this week. We kick things off with a look at China’s AI-powered highway project—a 100-mile stretch paved entirely by autonomous machines, sparking fresh debate over job security and the future of work. Then, we cover the quirky tale of a New Zealand man who hired a clown as emotional suppor...

In this episode of  All the Latest Things ,  we dig into the surprising stories we’ve uncovered over the past week. First up, we discuss the Capsula Mundi project, a bold new burial approach that turns you into a tree. Then, Kyle reveals the unexpectedly deep meaning behind Hanson’s “Mmmbop,” a 90s anthem that’s not as carefree as it sounds. Finally, we explore Mozart’s mischievous side with a pee...

Centuries of inequality and improvisation shape Britain’s early medical system, long before the creation of the NHS transformed healthcare forever. This episode traces the history of UK healthcare from the medieval era to the early 20th century, exploring monasteries as early centres of aid, the rise of voluntary hospitals, and the harsh realities faced by the poor in workhouses. As the NHS marks...

A young woman from suburban Canada orchestrates a crime so shocking that it exposes a hidden world of lies, pressure, and deadly ambition. This episode unpacks the Jennifer Pan case, tracing how she constructed an intricate web of deception before arranging the attack that left her mother dead and her father gravely injured. We explore the family dynamics, the fabricated stories, the hitmen she re...