The Tip Off

In The Dark, the US podcast team, finished their acclaimed first series with a request: they wanted to hear what their audience thought they should be investigating next. And there, buried in the hundreds of responses they got was a simple, short email. An email about Curtis Flowers. From dusting off records in abandoned jail cells to reconstructing get-away routes and tracking down mystery men, t...

Three continents, 80 interviews and an investigation that took more than a decade. This is the story of how Cam Simpson uncovered one of the great David vs. Goliath stories of our time. In this episode, Cam wrestles with duplicitous sources, flies across the world twice and arranges an undercover embed, all to find out how 12 men came to die far from home, in the Iraqi desert. Read all about it: h...

New Yorker writer Alexis Okeowo wants to tell stories differently. Her new book A Moonless Starless Sky , tells the stories of people affected by extremism in Africa. In this episode, Alexis tells us how she came to find two of the main characters of her book: Eunice and Bosco, a couple with a complicated past. Warning: mention of sexual violence. Read all about it: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/b...

BBC File on Four's Alys Harte explores a shocking case of a sexually abused teenager who was failed by the authorities. From speed-reading in-depth reports, to casting famous actors- this is the behind-the-scenes of how a team of journalists told an emotional and legally sensitive story. Read all about it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08y134b Hosted and produced: Maeve McClenaghan Music: Dice...

Ben Bryant was having fun, mingling with friends at a house party when inspiration struck in the most unusual way. This is the story of how one moment of piqued interest turned into a year of investigation. From trawling the dark web to making contact with drug dealers, this is how Ben uncovered a previously unreported surge in fake prescription drugs. Read all about it: https://www.thetimes.co.uk...

Gary Younge explains how he set out on a year long project to record the number of children and teenagers killed by knife violence. Funerals, heartbreaking interviews and a tenacious hunt for data. This is the story of how a team of journalists produced award-winning and timely stories. Read all about it: https://www.theguardian.com/membership/series/beyond-the-blade https://www.theguardian.com/uk...

Madison Marriage broke a story that ricocheted around the world. The sleazy goings on of the President’s Club fundraising dinner provoked shock and outrage from all camps. But where did it all begin…. ? This is the story of how Madison and a team of FT colleagues uncovered one of the biggest stories of the year so far. Wanring: This episode contains some bad language and adult themes. Read all abo...

A sneak peek at what's coming in series 3.... and a quick ask! We've been shortlisted for TWO British Podcast Awards- yippee! (Best New Podcast and Smartest Podcast). But we're up against some big names! If you want to help us out, you can vote for The Tip Off in the Listeners' Choice Award, it just takes a second at: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

A journalist is on the trail of a big story, unravelling how an 18 year-old rape victim came to be, not only disbelieved, but charged with false reporting after being attacked by a serial rapist. He is putting all the pieces together when he gets an email that will change everything… Journalists Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller talk through how they told a story of two halves, one that wound...

After months of digging the end is in sight for Heidi Blake and the Buzzfeed team. They are piecing together a puzzle of mysterious deaths on British soil, and all the signs are pointing to Russian influence…. Then one night… a shady figure appears outside the journalist’s home... Read all about it: https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/poison-in-the-system?utm_term=.roABLnaNPR#.mkzxDMG72o https://w...

In the corner room of Buzzfeed’s office is a wall is covered with photographs. Photographs that are linked up in a web of connections. Photographs of dead men. These are the people Heidi Blake suspects were killed with impunity on British soil. This is the story of how Heidi and a team of reporters followed the clues surrounding a series of mysterious deaths, back to the same, shady source. (This...

Tip offs for a story can come in many forms, but for Alistair one investigation he worked on started in the worst way imaginable: with the death of a loved one. From a hospital car-park in the Midlands to a meeting with the Health Secretary, the BBC’s Alistair Jackson sets off to explore sepsis deaths in the UK. Read all about it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0957545 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/...

When you set out on an investigation you usually start with a hypothesis- an idea that you will test and challenge as you go. But not Paul Myles… Working for On Our Radar, Paul set out to tell the story of dementia in the UK. Hours spent on trains, workshops around the country and 3D printed phones brought him to Agnes, Melvyn and dozens of others. Together they give a never-before-seen insight in...

Leah Borromeo sees journalism differently to most. Or rather she hears it. Leah and colleagues are working on a project to tell investigative journalism through music. So Maeve went along to the studio, to hear just exactly what that means. Read all about it: https://www.disobedientfilms.com/if-the-oceans-could-speak https://www.disobedientfilms.com/climate-symphony Hosted and produced: Maeve McCl...

Ep. 11 Putting a price on health Billy Kenber set out to look into one story and ended up finding another. Hidden within open datasets was proof of a practice that was costing the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds a year. Battling to put the pieces together in a quagmire of complex pricing structures and regulations understood by very few people, Billy blew the lid of a multi-million pound indust...

Jennifer Williams, of the Manchester Evening News, was hearing horrible stories coming from two hospitals in her patch. Rumour had it, there was a damning report out there... but getting hold of it would be easier said than done. Sources, FOI battles and an envelope full of surprises- this is the story of how one reporter revealed mothers and babies dying at a worrying rate. Read all about it: htt...

Ep.9 When the roof came down In late July I read a Facebook post that would send me on a three month journey- from town council steps, to bland hotels to dirty council flats- I followed the stories of women fleeing domestic violence only to be let down by the system designed to support them. Meanwhile, a team of journalists all across the country, dug into FOI data, pulled in local council funding...

Ep.8 The stories untoldIt’s one thing breaking a story- but how do you keep reporting a story that unfurls over years and not days? Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi explains how she travelled to the vast refugee camps of Ethiopia before Rossalyn Warren takes up the baton, reporting from the perilous sea-crossings on the Mediterranean. Working freelance, both women struggle to do the stories they care abou...

Ep. 7 Codename: PrometheusEveryone’s heard of the Panama Papers- the stories from the biggest data lead in history rocked the world. But how did it happen? Where did the data appear from? How do you sift through 11.5m files? And how on earth do you herd hundreds of journalists to the same finish line? Bastian Obermayer (Süddeutsche Zeitung), Holly Watt (Guardian) and Will Fitzgibbon (ICIJ) talk us...

Ep. 6 Caught offside? A two year investigation took reporters undercover as they met with top football managers and agents. Claire Newell explains how the Daily Telegraph’s investigation team exposed the murky world of British football, ending in the England manager stepping down. Read all about it:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/26/exclusive-investigation-england-manager-sam-allardyce-for...

Ep. 5 It started with a bodyIt started with a body and ended up in a months long investigation exploring the scale of homelessness in a London borough. We follow Emma Youle as one simple story grows and morphs into an award-winning campaign. Read all about it: http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/hackney-council-pays-35million-a-year-to-keep-the-homeless-homeless-1-4851576http://www.hackneygazette...

Ep.4 Knock knock Jane Bradley is stood on doorstep in West London. She is about to knock and tell a mother that she suspects her son is one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. We follow Jane’s progress as she tracks down not one but two of the Beatles terror cell. Read all about it: https://www.buzzfeed.com/janebradley/unmasked-the-second-member-of-isiss-beatles-execution-cell?utm_term=.tbXjXVD...

Ep.3 Back to the source The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s Abigail Fielding-Smith finds a vital source, who lets her into the world of the Pentagon’s top-secret propaganda machine. With: Abigail Fielding-Smith Read all about it: http://labs.thebureauinvestigates.com/fake-news-and-false-flags/ Hosted and produced: Maeve McClenaghanProduction advice: Lorna StewartMusic: Dice Muse Hosted on Aca...

Ep. 2 The stuff of horror movies Piece by piece the Washington Post’s Louisa Loveluck puts together the picture of a horrifying Syrian torture facility, in a setting you wouldn’t expect. WARNING: This episode includes descriptions of violence and torture and may not be suitable for all listeners. With: Louisa Loveluck Read all about it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/the-hospital...

Ep.1 Follow the money Wigs, car chases and rucksacks stuffed with cash. Buzzfeed’s Heidi Blake explains how she exposed the questionable financial practices of one of the Conservative Party’s largest donors. With: Heidi Blake Read all about it: https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/this-tory-donor-was-secretly-filmed-dropping-cash-stuffed-ru?utm_term=.oxjmBQGKN#.qneDMy19Q Hosted and produced: Maeve...