RedHanded

With Scientology’s biggest poster boy back on the big screen, the church is ramping up the recruitment drive. And to make sure you STAY AWAY from this sinister, star-studded sci-fi cult posing as a world religion, we’re rereleasing our two-parter as a bumper bonus episode... --  Hannah and Suruthi peer under the slippery stone of Scientology’s sinister origins. They track the life of founder L. Ro...

Melanie McGuire was a beautiful young nurse who wouldn’t hurt a fly. So when her husband’s chopped-up remains were found in three separate suitcases in the Chesapeake Bay, she suddenly had a lot to answer for… Was this petite New Jersey mum capable of killing her husband and disposing of his body in such a gruesome way? Or was this – as she claimed – a huge Sopranos-style stitch-up? Sex, drugs and...

Who was The Zodiac? Did he kill Cheri Jo Bates? And how did three hobbyist cryptographers crack his ‘impossible’ code 50 years after it was written? These are just a few of the questions we answer in our final episode on The Zodiac Killer. Join us as we try to conclude the inconcludable, cold case that has haunted California for half a century. Exclusive bonus content: Wondery  - Ad-free & Sho...

Last week we left you with the absolutely massive cliffhanger of a 408-character cipher, which in theory contained valuable information on the Bay Area’s most infamous killer “The Zodiac”. But first it needed to be solved. And amazingly it wasn’t cracked by the police, or the FBI: it was solved by a 41-year-old history teacher and his wife, and we’re going to tell you exactly how they did it.  In...

Violent attacks, sadistic taunting, and uncrackable puzzles; in some ways “The Zodiac” laid the foundations for every murderous TV psychopath and movie villain of the next half-century. For our  400th  episode we decided to dedicate three whole episodes to the potentially the most famous serial killer in history: how he operated, how his puzzles were solved, and who he might have been. In part one...

When her sister-in-law never returned from a trip to India, Sarbjit Kaur Athwal knew exactly what had happened: her mother-in-law had made no secret of her plan to “get rid of” Surjit – the outspoken thorn in the family’s side. But Sarbjit also knew what she was up against: a strict code of honour; the threat of shame and total rejection by her community – and the certainty that if she stepped out...

With the release of a new Netflix documentary on the Wests, we dove into the archive (way way back to episodes 27 and 28) to get you up to date with our in-depth two-parter on one of the UK's most infamous cases. -- Incest, rape, murder and torture dungeons; the girls take on one of Britain's most notorious serial killer couples - Fred and Rose West. Over a span of 25 years this pair of sexual sad...

ShortHand is released weekly for Wondery+ and Amazon Music subscribers. Listen exclusively and ad-free every Tuesday on Wondery+ through Apple Podcasts and Spotify. And depending on where you are in the world, ShortHand is included with your Prime Membership on Amazon Music. -- What happens when humanity’s mouthpiece of God, the holiest man on earth, The Pope, passes away? First and foremost a man...

In our second part of the Pre-Diddy saga, we take a closer look at the accusations you need to know about – and the 99 problems it could cause for some of his closest associates... With all the sensational stories swirling around this case, we separate fact from fiction, and find out that the truth is always wilder than the headlines: from ‘MVP bags’ containing ‘power banger sex machines’, to the...

As the trial we’ve all been waiting for finally approaches, we bring you the full rundown on the self-proclaimed “bad boy for life” – and the hundreds of accusations, from victims as young as nine years old, that threaten to jail the music mogul for the rest of his days. Before we find out which “well-known figures” are likely to be accused alongside Sean Combs (aka P Diddy aka “Love”) here is eve...

When the Countess of Lucan burst into a West London pub drenched head-to-toe in blood, it instantly sparked a national obsession. Lord Lucan – the suave, speedboat-racing, professional-gambling aristocrat – was wanted for the murder of their housekeeper, Sandra Rivett. And he had disappeared without a trace. This week, we sift through the theories on Britain’s most famous fugitive (from the bonker...

They say Brazil is not for amateurs. And that’s certainly true in the crime-stricken city of Manaus, where Wallace Souza – a charismatic TV host and congressman with a flair for the dramatic – built up an army of fans with his hard-hitting news coverage in the early 2000s.  But was his bonkers daytime TV show, Canal Livre, just a smokescreen for his own shady criminal empire? And how far would Wal...

The adopted princess of a wealthy Spanish family, 12-year-old Asunta Basterra Porto seemed destined to thrive under the devoted care of her parents Rosario and Alfonso. But beneath the surface, sinister secrets were taking root – including clandestine druggings, creepy family photos and one seriously twisted marriage. Had these callous parents cast aside the daughter they chose? An investigation d...

In one of our most horrifying episodes yet, we look at a man who clamped and amputated the genitals of potentially hundreds of men, and carried out unimaginable sexual torture – all from his basement flat in North London. But what makes this story truly unbelievable is that every one of those victims wanted for it to happen. They belonged to a secretive community of 'nullos' – people who fantasise...

Continuing our filmed mega Menendez marathon, in this episode we dive into the sensational details of Lyle and Erik’s trial – where these Beverly Hills bad boys would need to convince the jury, and the world , of their story.  We break down the explosive courtroom battles, shocking legal twists, and the media circus that turned the case into a spectacle – plus new bombshell revelations that could...

In this long-awaited episode, we dive into one of the most infamous true-crime cases in American history: the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez. The brutal 1989 slayings of their wealthy parents, José and Kitty Menendez, divided a nation: but where do we stand? In Part 1, we take you through the chilling night of the crime, the early investigations, and the lavish spending spree that raised eyebrows...

Delia Balmer’s ex-boyfriend wasn’t just a scruffy stoner with a pet tarantula and a sketchbook full of gruesome drawings:  he was a murderer.  The infamous ‘Canal Killer’ John Sweeney told Delia he had killed before – but after the police ignored her repeated warnings, she ended up barely escaping with her life. This is the harrowing true story behind hit ITV drama ‘Until I Kill You’: one of horro...

When the body of 19-year-old Caroline Crouch was found in her attic room after an apparent home invasion – with her 11-month-old daughter crying next to her, and her puppy hanging from the bannister – the nation of Greece mourned with her widower, Babis Anagnostopoulos. A handsome helicopter pilot, Anagnostopoulos had led the tributes since her death. But one month on, at a clifftop memorial servi...

This week, we were speechless to learn that Casey Anthony is now on TikTok (and Substack), trying to reposition herself as an online advocate and activist for those wronged by the justice system. And, so you can understand why this idea made our heads spin, we've rereleased this classic two-parter from 2021. So – enjoy, then come and join us on our socials, to let us know your thoughts... -- This...

This week, we were speechless to learn that Casey Anthony is now on TikTok (and Substack), trying to reposition herself as an online advocate and activist for those wronged by the justice system. And, so you can understand why this idea made our heads spin, we've rereleased this classic two-parter from 2021. So – enjoy, then come and join us on our socials, to let us know your thoughts... -- When...

This story of how a rich, aristocratic French family lost their fortunes, and their minds, to a painter-and-decorator conman, unravels like Dan Brown mystery. Secret treasures, Masonic plots, kidnap and torture - the de Védrines family were desperate to hold onto their ancestral chateau; only to have everything ripped away from them by a Crowley-obsessed charlatan. Exclusive bonus content: Wondery...

In December 2020 Gabby Petito and her fiance Brian Laundrie set off on a once-in-a-lifetime journey across the USA in their tiny little van. The trip was set to be packed full of starry nights and stunning vistas for countless happy memories, and also all the beautiful views needed to kickstart Gabby’s dream career as a travel vlogger. But when Brian returned to his family home in August 2021 with...

The body of a woman – a hotel night clerk – is found frozen in the deep winter snow of Van Buren County, Michigan. A tragic discovery; but the tale it went on to tell revealed a series of ever more barbaric and gruesome details: of no-holds-barred sexual games, crises of faith, and utter betrayal. The web was so tangled that it took police more than three decades to uncover the full, shocking trut...

An independent panel of experts has concluded that NO murders took place at the Countess of Chester hospital. If true, it would mean that Lucy Letby, currently serving 15 life sentences and branded the UK’s most prolific child serial killer, is innocent – and the subject of the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British memory. We go over what was covered at last week’s press conference – and...

Through the early 2000s, a satanic, paedophilic sex cult, with dozens of members and an obsession with Ancient Egyptian iconography, ran totally undetected in an unassuming cul-de-sac in south Wales. And its depraved, shabby and mostly toothless kingpin, Colin Batley, was perhaps the most unlikely cult leader imaginable… For over a decade, Batley used his twisted free-love philosophy to groom the...