British Scandal

Journalist Sean O'Driscoll met the IRA Heiress herself. He would cycle to her Dublin care home to chat over tea and biscuits. Though he went easier on the digestives after he found out Rose was the architect of the biscuit-launcher: a deadly weapon used in countless attacks during the Troubles. Sean tells Matt and Alice what he learned about the next mind-blowing chapter in Rose Dugdale's story, f...

The police are after Rose. Her face is all over the papers. If authorities are going to try and stop her, Rose is determined to use whatever time she has left wisely. It’s time to stage Ireland’s biggest ever art heist. Do you have a suggestion for a scandal you would like us to cover? Or perhaps you have a question you would like to ask our hosts? Email us at britishscandal@wondery.com Listen to...

Rose and her IRA comrades plan The Troubles’ first aerial bombing. But she’s having a hard time getting the others to trust her. With her plummy English accent, she’s the last person you’d expect to join the IRA. But that’s what makes her the perfect weapon. Do you have a suggestion for a scandal you would like us to cover? Or perhaps you have a question you would like to ask our hosts? Email us a...

Oxford graduate, aristocrat, heiress – Rose Dugdale has it all. So her path from millionaire’s daughter to IRA bomb-maker shocks British society. And Dugdale’s ideals means she doesn't just reject her privileged upbringing - she sets out to destroy it, one explosion at a time. Do you have a suggestion for a scandal you would like us to cover? Or perhaps you have a question you would like to ask ou...

If you think your job sucks, spare a thought for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James Ball. He spent three months living and working with Julian Assange on the leaks of hundreds of thousands of documents. And he has some tales to tell about the cult-like environment he was thrust into. Like how Assange was a deliberately weird, difficult man with a "pathological need to lie". How Assange’s reac...

Assange seeks asylum at London’s Ecuadorian Embassy to avoid facing charges abroad. It’s supposed to be a safe haven, but it begins to feel like a prison. He started this fight for press freedom. Now, he’s fighting for his own. Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcas...

An alliance with international press turns Assange into a public figure. But soon, he ends up on the front pages for all the wrong reasons. Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/british-scand...

Julian Assange dreams of a world where secrets are open and truth reigns. So he builds a haven for whistleblowers, Wikileaks.org. But when a US military leak sparks a global controversy, it puts his source in danger. Will Assange's ideals survive the storm? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in...

William Motley says he’s a descendant of the family… But we’ve checked and this time it’s true. He’s even writing a book about Arthur Orton’s outlandish claims. William joins Alice and Matt to unpack the lasting impact of the scandal on his relatives, Britain’s fascination with class, and life as the descendant of nobility. Plus, William tells us about the so-called "Tichborne curse". Listen to Br...

Everything seems to have got rather out of hand. Arthur is now one of Britain’s biggest celebrities, and his fight for the Tichborne estate has become an ideological battle. Will fame assure his freedom? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start you...

Arthur Orton is inching towards victory. But when an untimely death forces him to prove his identity in court, the game steps up. Now he must convince the world he’s Sir Roger Tichborne, or face public humiliation—and a one-way ticket to pennilessness. Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the...

It’s 1865, and butcher Arthur Orton is living in poverty in Australia. Then he hears about a reward for information on England’s ninth richest nobleman, Sir Roger Tichborne, who's been missing for several years. So Arthur comes up with an audacious plan. All he has to do is fool the man’s entire family. How hard can it be? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podca...

Think Dickens was all jolly carols and festive cheer? Not so. Behind the snowy scenes and spirit of goodwill, the so-called “Father of Christmas” was hiding a scandalous love life. Matt and Alice dive into the details with co-hosts of Wondery’s Legacy podcast, writer Afua Hirsch and historian Peter Frankopan. Plus, did Britain's most famous novelist really "invent" Christmas? Afua and Peter weigh...

Jonathan Goldberg KC has acted for alleged murderers, rapists and fraudsters during his five decades as a leading barrister. Among his high-profile clients: Brink’s Mat launderer, Brian Perry. He takes Alice and Matt inside the uncompromising world of criminal justice, and reveals the long lasting impact of Brink’s Mat Heist. Plus, what’s it like to defend someone you suspect to be guilty? Listen...

DCS Boyce is hurled bang into the middle of Micky and Brian’s fierce rivalry. But can he use the in-fighting to finally trace the Brink’s Mat stash and bring the criminals to justice? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visi...

Brian Perry’s living the high life with new girlfriend, Jackie, spending millions on property. The trouble is, everything he has, he’s stolen from best mate Micky. And Micky won’t stay in the dark forever. Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start y...

South London criminal Mad Micky McAvoy leads his gang into a gutsy warehouse raid. Three hours later, he’s pulled off the biggest robbery in British history. But it’s not easy to shift £26 million worth of gold bullion. In this four-part series, Matt Forde and Alice Levine unravel the story of the notorious Brink’s-Mat Heist, and the jealousy, greed and bitter rivalry that tore through its perpetr...

The Tower of London is the place where the stories of so many British criminals have come to an end, including Guy Fawkes. Matt and Alice pack their lunchboxes and take a tour  with the tower's curator, Dr Alden Gregory . On the agenda: the actual room where the Gunpowder Plotters were interrogated, the prisoners’ accommodation and a run-in with a rowdy raven. Listen to British Scandal on the...

The Gunpowder Plot lies in ruin. Fawkes is the first conspirator to face the wrath of the King, and unthinkable torture. With his life hanging in the balance, Fawkes must decide: martyr himself for a lost cause, or betray everything he believes in? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wond...

As London bristles with paranoia, the conspirators race against time. Guy Fawkes is ready to light the fuse, but whispers of treason echo through the shadows. Will the Gunpowder Plot go up in smoke? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your fre...

In Elizabethan England, Catholics face brutal persecution. A young Guy Fawkes vows to fight back. When, years later, he returns home from abroad to find his homeland even more rotten, he knows the time has come. But can Fawkes spark a revolution without getting caught in the crossfire? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free...

Women are in demand in the drug trafficking industry. Often considered less likely to be stopped at customs, they make up almost a third of drug runners. Sociologist and criminologist Dr. Jennifer Fleetwood joins Matt and Alice to unpack the case of the 'Peru Two' and reveal how female mules get drawn in. Plus, why male ex-cons earn more in their life post-crime. Listen to British Scandal on the W...

Michaella and Melissa have told lie after lie. To their families, to journalists and to the police. Now they're getting ready to face the judge. And it’s time to make a decision: tell the truth or risk fifteen years in Peruvian prison. Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Appl...

The task Michaella agreed to has become wildly more complicated. When she said yes to the mission, she thought Lima was in Spain. So why is she on a plane hurtling towards South America? Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by v...

Michaella and Melissa are just two young women on holiday in Peru. Or that’s what they want you to think. In reality, they’ve been recruited to smuggle £1.5 million worth of cocaine into Europe. And they’re woefully unprepared. In this four-part series, Matt Forde and Alice Levine learn how a chance meeting with a bronzed stranger in Ibiza brought the girls together for a haphazard mission that wo...