The Girlfriends - Season 1 & 2

Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight: When Nadya Tolokonnikova saw her country Russia change under President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime, she knew she had to do something.  She started the iconic ski-mask-wearing art protest collective Pussy Riot. On February 21st, 2012, they performed their anti-Putin protest song, Punk Prayer, in a Moscow church, launching Nad...

Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight: Germany. Spring 1945. The writing is on the wall for the Nazis. And thousands of women are marching along dirt roads. If they stop walking, they’ll be shot. Their route is lined with piles of corpses. It’s a death march. Among these women are The Nine. Nine young women, all members of the French resistance, who have formed an extraor...

Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight: When Lu Ann Cooper was just fifteen years old, she was told to drop out of school and marry her first cousin. She would be his fourth wife.  Lu Ann grew up inside the so-called Kingston Clan, a religious sect where, Lu Ann claims, every man is expected to have many wives, and every woman is expected to have many children. All with the aim o...

Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight: Rose Brady’s job running Baltimore County’s SVU was a frustrating one. The sexual violence crimes she and her team were investigating were just the tip of the iceberg. Her department was sitting on thousands of unsolved rape cases, dating back decades - with little hope of ever finding the perpetrators. That was until Rose made an in...

In 1992, the Bombay Stock Exchange in India was skyrocketing. And at the centre of this chaotic, testosterone fuelled world was Harshad Meta: a man with aviator shades, a Lexus, and a reputation as a financial wizard. To millions, he was "The Big Bull," a self-made hero who promised wealth to anyone who followed his lead. But Sucheta Dalal, one of the only female journalists covering the financial...

Anna Rowe thought she’d found the perfect man: attentive, caring and totally devoted to his children. But Anna gradually started to suspect that things weren’t quite what they seemed… Her doubts led her to some late night dating app sleuthing. What Anna discovers will unravel everything she thought she knew about love, trust, and the man she was madly in love with. And it will s...

On Valentine's Day 2000, Carolyn Moor's life changed forever when a hit-and-run accident killed her husband Chad. She was left a widow in her 30s - and with two young daughters to raise alone. And she discovered that when you’re a young widow, there’s not very much support - especially not the sort of support you need to get through the long years of grief-stricken child rearing. So, C...

When Morrell Andrews’s attacker was convicted of her sexual assault, she thought her fight was over. But it was just beginning. Because in Canada, where Morrell lives, ‘Publication Bans’ were enshrined in law. These bans meant that no one, including the survivor themselves, is allowed to publicly name the victim of a sexual offense. Effectively, if Morrell talked about her story...

Why did it take law enforcement so long to pay proper attention to Derek Alldred’s pattern of fraud against women all over the country?  In bonus episode four, Anna takes a deep dive into the investigation that finally brought Derek down, and the shortcomings of the many that came before.  In this four part mini-series, we take a deep dive into our archive of never before heard int...

When Derek Alldred was finally convicted in 2017, it was far from his first run-in with the law.  In fact, more than a decade earlier, he found himself in the crosshairs of one determined California fire investigator, named Tom Oldag, who suspected him of a very different kind of fraud.  In bonus episode three, Anna takes a deep dive into one strand of Derek Alldred’s colourful cri...

Confronting your bestie’s terrible boyfriend about his toxic behaviour can be tempting, but is it always the best course of action? How do you strike a balance between protecting your friend from becoming isolated, and being honest with them about your fears? In bonus episode two, Anna talks to social worker - Jen Lawrence - to learn more about the red flags of romance scammer behaviour, and...

In the years leading up to Derek’s conviction, his victims sometimes came forward to the media about their experiences.  But when they did so, the reaction from the public wasn’t always sympathetic.  In bonus episode one, Anna takes a closer look at the stigma that surrounds romance fraud with journalist Rachel Monroe, who covered Derek’s sentencing for The Atlantic bac...

Girlfriends from all over the country finally converge on a house in Texas.  And they meet a woman who’s been waiting on answers from Derek Alldred, for decades.  If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.org . To learn more about romance scams, and to access specialised support, visit htt...

Special Agent Mike discovers Dorie isn’t the only woman Derek Alldred’s been seeing in Texas. Will Tracie agree to help the girlfriends bring him down once and for all?  If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.org . To learn more about romance scams, and to access specialised support, v...

Dorie is at home in Texas scrolling through photos on her iPad, when she makes a shocking discovery about the guy she’s been dating.  When the truth comes out about who he really is, she resolves to do something about it.    If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.org . To learn mor...

Lisa finally touches down in Minnesota, and learns her friends know more than they’ve been letting on about the real identity of her unusual boyfriend.  If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.org . To learn more about romance scams, and to access specialised support, visit https://fightcyber...

Lisa, a hockey loving nurse from St Paul, Minnesota, has just begun dating a new guy who seems to have it all.  But her close-knit group of friends have begun to suspect something dodgy is going on.   If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.org . To learn more about romance scams, and to acces...

Wendy is  a single mom with a busy job, looking for love on Maui, Hawaii. Then, she begins dating a con artist. By accident at first.  And then, before long - out of sheer curiosity and with the help of her protective older sister - on purpose.    If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.o...

When a group of women from all over the country realise they all dated the same prolific romance scammer they vow to bring him to justice.  In this brand new season of global number 1 hit podcast, The Girlfriends, Anna Sinfield meets a group of funny, feisty, determined women who all had the misfortune of dating a mysterious man named Derek Alldred.  Trust Me Babe is a story about the pr...

In 2013, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s nine-year-old daughter, Ella, died from a catastrophic asthma attack. Her death transformed her mum into a formidable campaigner. First, she fought to find out what had killed Ella - why had her previously healthy little girl suddenly developed breathing problems so bad they would become fatal?  The answer lay very close to home - Ella, Rosamund and...

Christmas Day, 1992. Sarajevo, Bosnia. War is ranging - Serb forces surround the city. For nearly four years, its people have endured daily shelling and sniper attacks, cut off from the rest of the world in the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. More than 11,000 people were killed. 1600 of them were children.  And in the main hospital, a baby is born: Lejla Damon. Her mother d...

It’s the 1990s in San Francisco, and Antonia Crane is a dancer at the legendary peep show, the Lusty Lady. In the dressing room and the mirrored ‘Fishbowl’ where the dancers perform in six inch heels, a revolution is brewing.  The dancers are sick of putting up with workplace injustices, or customers filming them without their consent. And they’re about to take on the...

When the Taliban captured Herat City in August 2021, Tooba Sarwari had just one thing on her mind: cricket. Would she ever be able to play her beloved sport again? And more pressing, would the Taliban find the evidence of her and her team mates’ sporting achievements? If they did, it would surely spell the end for them and their families. This is the story of how Tooba, and the other members...

Germany. Spring 1945. The writing is on the wall for the Nazis. And thousands of women are marching along dirt roads. If they stop walking, they’ll be shot. Their route is lined with piles of corpses. It’s a death march. Among these women are The Nine. Nine young women, all members of the French resistance, who have formed an extraordinary bond of friendship and support in the concentr...

Jacquie Davis joined the police when she was just 18 years old. She was fearless and ambitious, but she quickly realised her career progression was limited by her gender and education. Everything changed when she was recruited into The Circuit - a secretive network of freelance security professionals.  As one of the only women in her field, Jacquie’s career as a bodyguard would take her...