RedHanded

A deadly virus that causes hydrophobia, frothing at the mouth and delirious aggression might sound more like science fiction than real life. But that's what awaited 15-year-old Jeanna Giese when she was bitten by a rabid bat in 2004. This is the history of one of the oldest and most deadly viruses known to man – and how a 15-year-old girl and her doctor managed to overcome it, against all odds. This is the ShortHand.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

When the body of 18-year-old newlywed Michelle Schofield was found in a canal in Bone Valley, Florida, all eyes turned to her guitar-playing, heavy-metal husband, Leo Schofield.But despite his protestations of innocence (and rock-solid alibi), the facts of this case couldn't help but muddy those waters. Namely: a nosy neighbour with ever-changing stories; a hot-shot southern lawyer with exactly nothing to prove; and the body's location being revealed through a message from God…--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Party favours full of drugs, a hose-down rubber sex balcony, and Bianca Jagger on a real horse. It's often said that the brightest flames burn for the shortest time – and by god did Studio 54 burn bright. Under the helm of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, 254 West 54th was the single coolest place on the planet – and set the blueprint for exclusive nightclubs to this day. Bowie, Warhol, the Jaggers, and every other celebrity you could think of felt lucky to set foot on its gigantic dance floor. But what comes up, must come down, and it only took three years for the greatest club on earth to come unstuck. This is the story of sex, drugs, and disco – the rise and fall of Studio 54.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Zombies, incantations and dolls full of pins… the version of voodoo that most of us get has been suffused with decades of Hollywood magic, and a dusting of light xenophobia.But the reality of Haitian vodou is much more complex – and way more fascinating. So, how did slaves reconcile their own folklore and religions, with the Catholicism that colonisers were forcing down their throats? Who are the main lwa – or spirits – of vodou? And how can an offering of black coffee, rum and cigars help you to commune with the dead?Find out in this week's ShortHand!--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Trapped in a soundproof underground bunker, sleeping in a coffin-shaped box, abused and forced to watch news footage of her December 1992 disappearance on a loop, 10-year-old Katie Beers wondered if she'd ever see the world outside her makeshift prison ever again…But one thing her captor didn't know? Katie was a survivor. This is the story of a little girl who fought against the odds – and managed to escape a lifetime of abuse. --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Rage-inducing viruses that spread through bites; a flesh-eating fungus that controls its host like a puppet; deadly pathogens trapped for millennia in Arctic ice… sometimes nature is more gruesome than fiction.From the Walking Dead to the Last of Us, stories of contagion are never far from our screens. So what are the closest real-life scenarios that could turn our world into a full-on zombie wasteland? (And, what makes insects go on a sex-crazed, amphetamine-fuelled rampage until their literal butts fall off?) This is the ShortHand.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Somehow, perhaps the worst deep-sea diving disaster in history – one that led to two men being crushed, three men boiling to death, and one man being liquified and shot out of a five-inch hole – happened above sea level.How? Well, join us off the coast of Norway for a little explosive decompression – and find out what can happen when the pressure of diving just gets too much…--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

In the summer of 2017, 26-year-old Anna Sorokin was arrested in Manhattan with a stack of unpaid hotel bills and fraudulent loan requests in her wake. She'd been calling herself Anna Delvey: an uber-wealthy German heiress. In reality? She didn't have a penny to her (fake) name.Armed only with an untraceable accent and a passion for fashion, Anna tried to pull the designer wool over the eyes of some of America's biggest financial institutions, in her bid to secure multi-million-dollar loans… And the worst part? She almost got away with it. Was Anna a con artist? An inspirational Robin Hood in high heels? An insufferable wannabe? Or all of the above? --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Tens of millions of dollars flowed onto the canvas from the tip of Wolfgang Beltracchi's brush. His talent? Unquestionable. His methods? Perfect. His ability to recreate the works of other artists? The greatest there has ever been.Alongside his wife Helene, Wolfgang Beltrachhi sold an unknown number of paintings, passed off as the work of 20th-century artists, to some of the most respected galleries and collectors in the world. In the process they made millions of dollars, and created a scandal so deep that, even today, nobody wants to touch it.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Mystery, mayhem, and death followed Michael X all the way back to Trinidad.Hacked to death and left in shallow graves, the bodies of Gale Benson and Joseph Skerritt were found at Michael X's house.  Whispers of black magic and rumours of espionage rippled through the island.How could a young, wealthy British socialite like Gale Benson end up buried alive in the Caribbean? And why would Michael X want her dead?--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Intimate and explicit images of A-list celebrities – that's what the world woke up to on the 31st of August 2014. “The Fappening” saw thousands of leaked celebrity nudes dumped onto 4chan, Reddit, and Twitter. It gave unprecedented access to the most overtly private images anyone could imagine – but how on earth did it happen? This week on ShortHand we're taking a deep dive into the grubby world of AnonIB and leaked-nude “collectors”: users who hoard and circulate explicit images without the subject's consent – celebrity or not. So how do these images come to be online? And how do we stop it from happening? --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Malcolm X was a true revolutionary, Michael X was an imposter.This con man realised that politics was a lot easier than poetry and rose to the top of the British Civil Rights Movement. All the while violently exploiting the Windrush generation he claimed to be fighting for.John Lennon and Leonard Cohen were his biggest fans. They donated thousands to Michael X's projects that never actually happened. The press hung on his every word, quoting him as the most powerful black man in Europe.By the time Michael X's ego unravelled, it was too late for socialite Gale Benson to escape from his web. They would both pay the ultimate price for his lies.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

On the night of 14th April 1912, the ‘unsinkable' RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank into the icy depths of the Atlantic Ocean – killing almost all of its passengers. But the real question is: would you make it through that fateful night? In this special 114th-anniversary ShortHand, we walk through your realistic chances of survival after boarding the doomed ship… And with your sex, class and circumstances all tipping the balance on some seriously sketchy odds, you'd better grab a life jacket just in case.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

When two fighter jets came to check on the unresponsive Helios Flight 522, they were stunned at what they saw: all 115 passengers, lying motionless in their seats. Even worse – the pilot's seat was empty, and the co-pilot lay slumped over the control panel. The commercial plane was drifting along at 34,000 feet, on autopilot – and fuel was running out. This is the ShortHand.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

The lead suspect in the Gilgo Beach Killings - 62 year old former architect Rex Heuermann - has now pleaded guilty.So, with a trial off the table in the Long Island Serial Killer saga, join us for an update on what investigators found that finally nailed Heuermann - forcing him to confess. Then stick around and revisit our two-part episode on this harrowing case that haunted Long Island for decades.Plus, join us on next week's Under the Duvet - over on Patreon - for a look at the impact this has all had on Heuermann's own family.--In 2010, Shannan Gilbert made a series of frantic 911 calls as she ran through the streets of Oak Beach, Long Island, screaming: “They're trying to kill me”. Then she vanished. A few months later a body was found - but it wasn't her. And neither were the next 9 sets of human remains they found along Ocean Parkway. Now, over a decade later, with the arrest of Rex Heuermann - the police believe they've found the elusive Long Island Serial Killer.But the questions still stand; Why did it take so long to catch him - and was this the work of a lone serial killer, or multiple men using the same dumping ground? We'll look at Heuermann's family life, his background - and delve into the 33-page bail document that offers us an in-depth look at how investigators finally caught this notorious, modern American serial killer.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

When Rhode Island native Nicholas Rossi found himself wanted by the FBI and Interpol for a string of assaults and large-scale frauds, he didn't just run away. He faked his death, fled to Scotland, disguised himself as a wheezing British academic called Arthur Knight, and went on the attack – loudly claiming his innocence in wilder and wilder TV appearances across the international press.And that isn't even the half of it. Before the story finally wrapped up a few months ago, Rossi's winding tale had covered satanic ritual abuse, incel smear campaigns, and somehow, the September 11th attacks. It's time to enter the dark, disorientating world (and 16 aliases) of Nicholas Rossi.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

With Netflix's new documentary on the modern fundamentalist Mormon church coming out today – we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our episode on Warren Jeffs's FLDS, to give some much-needed context... Last week, we looked at the formation of the ultra-obedient, bigamist Mormon cult, the FLDS – in which plural marriage to pregnant preteen girls is just the tip of the fundamentalist iceberg. In this second part, we look at how its new prophet, Warren Jeffs, took his so-called religion to ever stricter and more terrifying depths. With followers so beaten down that they were banned from even laughing; the prophet on the lam, living it up at Disneyland; and a team of ex-faithfuls and dogged investigators closing in – something had to give. But not before the full extent of his evil was laid bare in front of a stunned courtroom.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

With Netflix's new documentary on the modern fundamentalist Mormon church coming out today – we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our episode on Warren Jeffs's FLDS, to give some much-needed context... According to Warren Jeffs' thousands of followers, he was the leader of a secretive but devoted religion – their prophet, and the representative of God on Earth. But according to US law, he was a dangerous, totalitarian, child-molesting horror with over 80 wives – some married off as young as 12. Still, according to the church, Earthly laws are no match for the voice of God.In this episode, we explore the story behind the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: how the visions of a charismatic, seventeen-year-old farmhand called Joseph Smith grew to become a major world religion; how plural marriage caused a major rift in the church; and how its teachings were warped into a systematic cult of child abuse, underage sex, and absolute power.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

A relentless barrage of oil that killed anything in its path, the disaster that befell the Deepwater Horizon oil rig took the lives of eleven crew members, destroyed an entire oceanic ecosystem, and is still severely affecting the livelihoods of coastal communities to this day.  Described as “the largest ecocide in history”, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the response of BP, the company responsible, serves as a testament to corporate greed and profit over people. Hard working crew members lost their lives, fishing towns lost their income, and billions of oceanic organisms perished, all so that BP could get back on schedule. --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

The Holy Grail is the most sought-after object in human history. The legend goes that the grail could bring whoever finds it unbelievable power, influence, youth and even eternal life. Which is why the hunters have included everyone from the knights of King Arthur to full-blown Nazis, hunting for a secret weapon to win them the war.We trace the whole story back to the Last Supper, via the Crusades, Heinrich Himmler, Dan Brown and Indiana Jones.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Kouri Richins brazenly murdered her husband Eric, lacing a drink with a lethal dose of fentanyl, hoping to cash in on his business, home, and life insurance policies. The only hitch was that Korui Richins' ‘girl math' didn't add up. Most of Eric Richins' wealth was going to end up nowhere near his wife Kouri, and it was going to be very hard to spend from prison. In this concluding part of our two-part series on the murder of Eric Richins, we pull apart the trial and discuss how Kouri Richins unwittingly destroyed her own defence, all while trying to outwit the prosecution.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Jesus of Nazareth: Messiah, Emmanuel, King of Kings, and probably the most widely recognisable figure in human history. So why do so many people believe in the ultimate sacrilege: that he never even existed?We take a look through all the evidence we have of a historical Jesus, bridge the gap between circumstance and scripture, and go on a journey to find the Gospel truth. This is the ShortHand.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Sudden mental break or hunted by a pack of mysterious men? The disappearance of 28-year-old Lars Mittank has left authorities and armchair sleuths alike, dumbfounded. The only record of his last twenty-four hours being some mysterious calls with his mum suggesting he was being followed, and edited heavily CCTV footage showing him sprinting out of Varna Airport, hopping a fence, and running off into the woods, never to be seen again.Why did Lars suddenly sprint away? Was he really being followed by some strange men? Where could he be now? Find out on this week's episode of ShortHand!--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

After Kouri Richins' husband Eric died suddenly in what was ruled to be a tragic accidental overdose, the Utah mum bravely published a children's book about grief to help their kids cope…But just a month after appearing on local TV to promote it, Kouri was arrested and charged with murdering Eric herself.So who is Kouri Richins? A grieving wife trying to rebuild her family's life? Or a Black Widow who plotted to poison her husband for his money, so she could run off with her secret lover?We're reading between the lines of this sensational case: and it's anything but a cosy bedtime story. --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

They said she'd mastered a Chinese sex technique that could "make a matchstick feel like a Havana cigar". Top Nazi Joachim Von Ribbentrop allegedly sent her 17 carnations for each night they slept together. After three botched facelifts, she became a bed-bound recluse scammed by her evil French lawyer. Wallis Simpson – the woman King Edward VIII famously abdicated the crown for in 1936 – was no stranger to wild rumours: from exotic bedroom secrets to her not-so-secret love of fascism. But how much of the gossip was actually true? In this week's ShortHand, we're uncovering the real story of 'That Woman': the scandalous American divorcee who threatened to topple the British crown forever. --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

“The Kinsey Reports” – Alfred Kinsey's 1950s studies into how people like to have sex, and with who – did a lot more than ruffle a few feathers. Even acknowledging that some of us like a bit of light biting or partner-swapping was enough to make headlines. The rest was enough to blow conservative America's minds…--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

In 2017, British glamour model Chloe Ayling went through a terrifying ordeal: abducted from a fake modelling shoot in Italy, held hostage for days by an obsessed stalker, and told she'd been put up for sale into sex slavery on the dark web…Against all the odds, Chloe escaped – and lived to tell the tale. The only problem? No one believed her.With headlines declaring her story a hoax and dismissing her as a fame-hungry wannabe, Chloe was only vindicated when her captors were convicted. But even now, the doubts still haven't gone away.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

As long as a walking stick. A billiards cue. Thin as a nub of wax at the base, thick as a man's fist at the tip.These are just some of the eye-watering descriptions of what King Ferdinand VII – Spain's worst ever king – was allegedly hiding beneath his britches...This week, H&S are lifting the sheets of the royal bedroom to meet a king who wrecked an empire, traumatised his young brides, and left the Spanish court buzzing with scandal – all because of his deeply unfortunate anatomical affliction. --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

With great esoteric power, comes great esoteric responsibility.Aleister Crowley was considered many things, a poet, an artist, a master of the dark arts, and a prophet of Thelma. But who was the man behind the mask? And how did he go from being a leading figure and social commentator to dying in relative obscurity?--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Bodies unearthed in the desert seemed like the final piece in the puzzle for McStay Family Murders. However, the four years that had passed left more questions than answers, and a whole lot of people with a whole lot in their pockets.Despite all the mystery, Chase Merrit found himself firmly on the stand. Rightly or wrongly? Listen to find out.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

In October 1993, River Phoenix crashed out of Johnny Depp's exclusive club, fell onto the pavement, and died. An hour earlier, the 23-year-old rising star had snorted a lethal combination of cocaine and heroin known as a ‘speedball' in the toilets. As he staggered around the club, no one offered Phoenix anything more than a valium to "take the edge off”. How did Johnny Depp's club become such a den of iniquity and excess? And more importantly, how did it survive after the death of Hollywood's golden boy?--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

The year was 1917, and revolution was in the air in Russia. After sustaining heavy losses in WW1, the fall of the House of Romanov seemed inevitable. And one night the Tsar, his wife, and their five children, were shot, stabbed, burned with acid, set on fire, blown up with grenades and buried deep in Koptyaki forest. But then, rumours began to circulate that there had been survivors of the massacre… And over the years, numerous women came forward claiming to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. What follows is a story of “delusion, fabrication, sham, romance, burlesque, travesty and humbug”. Press play to solve the mystery.Listen to our episode on Rasputin here–Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

How does a family completely vanish? That was the question that plagued investigators after Michael McStay reported his brother Joe McStay missing on the 15th of February 2010, along with Joe's wife Summer, and their two children, Joe Jr and Gianni. It took four years to discover the fate of the McStay family: a fate that cast a lens across their entire lives. Everyone from Joe's business associates Chase Merrit and Dan Kavanaugh, to Joe's own brother Michael, had something to gain from the family's disappearance – but who had the mentality to kill them for it?--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Turning lead into gold and living forever: that's about the summation of our modern understanding of Alchemy. Informed by high-fantasy films and pop history, it now brings to mind dark, arcane ceremonies in castle ruins, playing God in the pursuit of limitless riches and immortality. However, the reality is that Alchemy spanned thousands of years and countless cultures. It was the precursor to modern science, and undoubtedly changed humanity's understanding of the world around us. This is the ShortHand.–Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Alien autopsies, flying saucers, and top secret government programs: three things alleged to be hiding in ‘Area 51'. Officially known as Homey Airport or Groom Lake, this secret government testing facility in Nevada has been the epicentre of UFO folklore for over a century – yet the CIA only admitted its existence in 2013.So what's really going on behind those big metal gates? Listen to this week's ShortHanded to find out!--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Amid the chaos now unfolding in Mexico after the February 2026 assassination of drug cartel boss El Mencho, we're throwing it back to the 1985 torture and murder of American DEA agent Enrique ‘Kiki' Camarena at the hands of the ruthless Guadalajara Cartel… and how Kiki's death triggered the chain reaction that led to the drug wars raging in Mexico today.With whispers of a Cold War CIA conspiracy that still refuse to die, was Kiki on the brink of uncovering an inconvenient truth about the USA's War on Drugs? And if so, was he silenced by the very country he dedicated his life to protect?We're diving into a gritty underworld of cartels, conspiracy and deep-state corruption to find the answers. --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

In the darkest hour of WWII, as bombs threatened Europe's historic cities, a small unit was sent to the front lines – not to fight, but to save art history itself. The 'Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives' section of the US Army, known as the Monuments Men, was tasked with protecting Europe's centuries of culture from destruction.And then, when Hitler was cornered, the Monuments Men had a new mission: track down the vast hoards of looted Nazi treasure, and stop them from blowing it all up.–Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

“On that day, there were no flies on the dead. The flies were dead too.” On the 21st of August 1986, 1746 people and 3500 livestock died in the Cameroonian village of Nyos, died suddenly, and all at once.  Ancient folklore had long cautioned the inhabitants of Nyos about evil spirits that lurked deep within their crater lake, but the grim reality far exceeded the unsettling myths.What took place that evening, was one of two natural disasters ever recorded of its kind, and the next one could claim the lives of millions. --Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

In December 2006, the town of Ipswich was rocked by a spree of brutal murders targeting sex workers in its notorious red light area. But the story didn't end with the capture of the so-called ‘Suffolk Strangler', Steve Wright… The murders of Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell would go on to transform policing strategies for prostitution in the UK (and even inspired a tone-deaf musical).And with killer Steve Wright back in the news in February 2026 after pleading guilty to the murder of schoolgirl Victoria Hall in 1999, this decades-old case still hasn't run out of surprises.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

EmptyHanded is back! We're joined by comedian Abi Clarke to discuss all things racy, risky and romantic – and read out some of the most scandalous listener-provided stories we've ever heard. –Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to dive into the surprising, and at times horrifying, history of contraception through the ages; from crocodile-dung pessaries and mercury-tadpole concoctions to penis sheaths made of turtle shells, humanity has come a long way in its efforts to outsmart the stork. This is the ShortHand.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

When Brendan Banfield frantically called 911 in February 2023 to report a double murder at his million-dollar suburban home in Virginia, it seemed like an extramarital sex game gone wrong.But as police dug deeper, the deaths of Christine Banfield and Joe Ryan – the stranger found beside her – proved even weirder than they once appeared. And all the evidence pointed to a dastardly plot between Brendan and the family's Brazilian nanny, Juliana Peres Magalhães, in a twisted web of infidelity, catfishing, and betrayal…So did this bloodthirsty Bonnie and Clyde duo conspire to commit the grisly killings? With everyone talking about the sensational trial that wrapped up in February 2026, we're diving into one of the most shocking cases we've ever covered. Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/s4yaGloq8zk--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

For all the centuries of slavery throughout human history, you might think one group came through mostly unscathed: white Europeans. But for more than a thousand years, Barbary pirates fro North Africa (funded by the Ottoman Empire) prowled European coastlines, snatching unsuspecting Christian folk and taking them to be slaves in the Islamic world.At their height, huge fleets of privateers were raiding coastal towns, sliding their ships silently up onto English beaches in the dead of night, and snatching people in their beds. Here's the ShortHand, on the forgotten history of the Barbary corsairs.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

The ever-changing story of neonatal nurse Lucy Letby, and the Countess of Chester baby deaths, has been given the Netflix treatment – and We. Have. Thoughts.For our coverage of the full story, check out our previous deep-dive just before this one in the feed. But in this week's second-ShortHand, we talk about missed evidence, digital anonymisation, and decide whether or not it changed our minds.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

In light of the new Netflix documentary about Lucy Letby, we're dipping into the RedHanded archives to revisit our own coverage of this controversial case – following an expert panel's findings in February 2025...Want even more up-to-date analysis? Listen to our new ShortHand episode now: 'ShortHand: Lucy Letby – What Netflix Left Out'. --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 whether it changed our minds on this complex case. Watch the press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT8CO15IHMsStatistical Smoke and Mirrors with Prof John O'Quigley: https://youtu.be/k8jkl255PWI?si=DlYAFeNgU8NFlZ-Y--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

In January 2016, a coffee date between three glamorous Indonesian gal pals turned deadly – when Mirna Salihin, a wealthy and beautiful newlywed, took a sip of a Vietnamese iced coffee that had been laced with a lethal dose of cyanide. The culprit? Her ex-bestie Jessica Wongso. The motive? A toxic case of the green eyed monster: with revenge served ice cold.At least, that's how the Indonesian courts said it went down. But was it really that simple? A bungled trial, dodgy test results and a crooked legal system meant that many now believe Jessica Wongso could be innocent – no matter how guilty her smile. But what do we think? Join us as we explore the case that divided Indonesia... and left a pretty bitter taste in our mouths.Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/yc7jH8nWB4k--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

From faking insanity to go undercover in an asylum, racing around the world in 72 days, and reporting from the front lines of deadly war zones, this fearless investigative reporter risked everything to expose the truth… and she did it all in a corset. The unstoppable Nellie Bly rewrote all the rules to smash her way into the boys' club of Victorian journalism, and blazed a trail for all the ladies who followed in her footsteps – including us.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Behind the façade of the white-picket-fence dream and adventurous childhoods of suburban, late-70s Michigan, lay a web of depravity that law enforcement was not remotely prepared for. Over the course of just one tragic year, the town of Oakland was terrorised: four children vanished, only to turn up dead. Chillingly, one had even been fed his favourite food, just before his murder.Was this the work of a lone killer? Or an organised, murderous child abuse operation involving a network of predators, stretching all the way to the top? After thousands of leads and countless hours of investigation, not one single arrest has ever been made. So what's the truth? We open up the coldest case in Michigan: the Oakland County Child Killer.Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/-y8qK_BkeAw--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Not many of us need convincing that Sesame Street is good; the Muppets have been chaotic TV icons for more than 50 years. But what not many people know is just how much good it did.Not just unmissable TV, but a revolutionary, massive-scale outreach program. One that used ad-land tactics and groundbreaking psychological research, to reset the balance of educational privilege – and teach disadvantaged, inner-city kids how to read. It's a sunny day. We're sweeping the clouds away. This is the ShortHand, sponsored by the letter ‘S'.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

With 2026 bringing widespread anti-government protests to Iran, and the government's brutal crackdowns leading to thousands of people killed and arrested, we're rereleasing our coverage on the current regime – and how we got here – through the lens of Mahsa Amini's murder.--On 19 May 2024, Ebrahim Raisi – “The Butcher of Tehran” and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran – died in a helicopter crash. Immediately, theories of who had killed him and why, swept the worlds' media.But while his passing inspired this episode, we're also going to look at his many thousands of victims – and in particular how his actions led to the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022. It was a single death which sparked protests that challenged the mullahs of Iran like never before.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

In 2000, Christine Lundy and her seven-year-old daughter Amber were brutally hacked to death in their New Zealand home. Their husband and father, Mark Lundy, had a seemingly watertight alibi: he was over 90 miles away.But that didn't stop the New Zealand courts from convicting him. Twice.With a controversial case built on junk science, shifting timelines, and a microscopic speck of what prosecutors called ‘brain tissue' (but might have just been lunch), the Lundy saga was New Zealand's answer to Making a Murderer.Was an innocent man wrongfully convicted? Or did the police catch a killer who thought he'd pulled off the perfect crime?Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/kO84-yv9GCA--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com