RedHanded

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

‘Anal seepage' is one of the many potential risks to the consumer due to seafood fraud, a multi-layered conspiracy that goes as deep as the Mariana Trench.The stats speak for themselves: if you're in the UK, there's a 55% chance that the fish you're eating has been deliberately mislabeled. In the US, 120 samples of ‘Red Snapper' were tested, and only 7 turned out to be the real thing.Clearly there's something fishy going on.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

When Luigi Mangione was charged as the UnitedHealthcare shooter – it changed everything. The public knew this was a political act, but Luigi was not the crackpot vigilante many had pictured. He had no clear personal link to UnitedHealthcare (or CEO Brian Thompson) – and he had everything to lose. To many, he became a certified, revolutionary, anti-capitalist heartthrob.But there's also a lot more to Mangione than the selfless martyr with chiselled abs. In our concluding part, we take a deeper look at Mangione's life: his privileged upbringing, world travels, and the innermost thoughts shared in his notebook – which reveal how a charming, idealistic tech bro with the world at his feet, turned his thoughts to murder.Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNXJAQTDEVU--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

One of the most powerful people in one of the most powerful organizations in the world, Shelly Miscavige, hasn't been seen in public in almost two decades. In the world of Scientology, Shelly was practically an apostle. Yet, since her relationship with her husband – the leader of The Church of Scientology, David Miscavige – fell apart, she has never been seen again.Where is Shelly Miscavige? Why is she so dangerous to The Church of Scientology? And does she know that today is her 65th birthday?--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Our 2026 listener survey is here – if you have 5 minutes to help inform the next year of RedHanded, we'd love to know your thoughts! https://forms.gle/jNhKVqtdyqoyF3ey9--Three words, written on bullet casings, instantly changed the New York City shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson from a senseless inner-city attack, into one of the most polarising, unique and culturally important events in modern memory.In part one of our coverage of the Luigi Mangione story, we run through the entire breakneck timeline of those first five days: the nationwide manhunt, the growing cultural phenomenon, and the arrest, which unmasked the killer and his manifesto for the first time. And then, the madness that followed: when detached, meme-led internet thirst met one of the most febrile political discussions in the modern US.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

Imagine a building as tall as the Empire State Building, that stretches for more than 100km through the Saudi Arabian desert. Inside are nine million people – with robot maids and a giant fake moon – living in self-sufficient pods where everything they need is a five-minute walk away.It's part of NEOM, a futuristic megacity complex, which the Saudi government has already started building. And if you believe the PR, it'll be a car-free, carbon-free, utopian existence – the most equitable and sustainable society in human history. But will it happen? And what is the financial (and human) cost? For our first ShortHand back in 2026, we're looking at the most ambitious and controversial building project ever: The Line.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

When the son of Mormon family vlogger Ruby Franke turned up bound, emaciated and apparently covered in blood – it horrified the police, the internet and Franke's millions of followers.The uber-strict brand of parenting advice she preached on her YouTube channel, “8 Passengers”, had been drawing online criticism for years. But even her loudest detractors couldn't know how despicable and unhinged her punishments had grown. That is, until a diary, found among evidence of torture in a windowless basement, revealed the depths of her abuse to the world.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com

As RedHanded takes a festive pause, we've picked two of our favourite Patreon Bonus episodes from 2025. To get a full-length, bonus episode of RedHanded every month (plus weekly video episodes of Under the Duvet and much more besides) head to Patreon.com/redhanded and sign up. Or, head to patreon.com/redhanded/gift to buy a membership for someone else!--Remember that time a bunch of wristband-wielding Western teens went on a mission to save the world from a megalomaniac Ugandan warlord with an army of literal children in his ranks?Well, back in 2012, American filmmaker Jason Russell was determined to make the whole world know Joseph Kony's name.Featuring one of the first YouTube videos to ever go viral, cringey musical numbers, unhinged memes and a big old splash of charitable scammery, in this week's bonus episode we're unravelling the bizarre story of a social media campaign that virtue-signalled too close to the sun – and ended up crashing and burning.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As RedHanded takes a festive pause, we've picked two of our favourite Patreon Bonus episodes from 2025. To get a full-length, bonus episode of RedHanded every month (plus weekly video episodes of Under the Duvet and much more besides) head to Patreon.com/redhanded and sign up. Or, head to patreon.com/redhanded/gift to buy a membership for someone else!--When Santa Claus robbed the First National Bank in Cisco, Texas, two days before Christmas 1929 – it was just the beginning of a wilder-than-fiction festive tale.What followed was a calamitous string of bungled carjackings, high-speed chases, oil-field shootouts, a trail of dead and injured townsfolk, and mishaps aplenty – all under a hail of gunfire from the entire town of Cisco, who in true Texas fashion were all armed to the teeth, and desperate to be the one to nail Santa…--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / InstagramSources and more available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The important bits: At the end of this year we'll no longer be a Wondery show. New ShortHand and early-release episodes will no longer appear in Wondery+ and Amazon Music subscriber feeds after 29th December.The good news is that ShortHand will be free for everyone and living its best life on the main RedHanded feed!If you're reading this, you're already on our main feed and don't need to go anywhere. See you in 2026!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OJ Simpson wasn't black, “he was OJ”. That was the narrative OJ had pushed his entire career… right up until he found himself in the dock for killing his ex-wife and a waiter. Then suddenly OJ Simpson was practically MLK himself.Last week in our first part on “The Juice”, we told you how OJ Simpson killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. In Part Two, we're going to tell you how he went to trial, with all of the evidence stacked against him – and, with the help of the “dream team”, still got away with murder.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Orenthal James Simpson, aka “OJ”, aka “The Juice”: the single most famous man in American sporting history. By the early 90s he had not only established himself as the greatest American Football player who'd ever lived – but he had also transcended sport, turning himself into a charismatic advertising machine and national icon.However, in June 1994, it all fell apart – when he killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown, and her friend Ron Goldman in cold blood, leaving a trail of evidence and eventually going on a highly televised (but actually pretty slow) car chase. But somehow, he got away with it. Welcome to the most American thing since apple pie: the life of OJ Simpson, and his unquestionable guilt. Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In May 1937, a chic young woman entered an empty Paris Métro carriage. Less than a minute later, she was discovered bleeding to death with a dagger in her neck.It's a locked-room whodunnit that has bamboozled the French public for almost a century.The murder of Laetitia Toureaux unravelled her dizzying double (and triple) lives as a factory worker by day, nightclub siren by night – and a glamorous undercover spy tangled up in the deadliest politics of 1930s France…The case still remains officially unsolved: but can we solve it? Step aboard and join us as we try to crack this shadowy Parisian mystery. Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Add together a narcissistic gold-digger, a gullible gym bro and a police department with a flair for theatrics, and what do you get? The Dalia Dippolito saga.She thought she'd hired a hitman to kill her husband. Instead, she ended up starring in a viral sting complete with a staged crime scene, hidden cameras, and the world's least convincing crocodile tears. This week, we unpack the wild story of Dalia Dippolito – the wannabe black widow who fell for her own web of lies.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious woke up in a pool of his girlfriend's blood, most people thought they knew the score. Sid & Nancy were famous across the world: the ultimate dysfunctional, smack-addicted punk power couple – and their reckless lifestyle was bound to end in tragedy.But they were far from the only people in Room 100 of the infamous Chelsea Hotel that night. With a building full of shady characters coming and going; thousands of dollars in cash nowhere to be found; an endless list of dangerous enemies with a lot to gain; and enough drugs to make a blue whale see god: it's the rock'n'roll mystery that just won't quit.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In our final episode on the murder of Robert Wone, we examine the most shocking autopsy we've ever come across. Complete with what they found on and inside Robert…Which together with the nightmarish sex toys discovered in the DC townhouse, painted a new and even more bizarre picture of what took place just before Robert's death.And it's time to lay out what we really think happened that night.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just 72 minutes after Robert Wone arrived at the fancy Washington DC townhouse of his College pal, 911 received a call that he was dead.Was it a drug-fuelled gay orgy gone wrong? A horrific rape and murder? An opportunistic burglar? The scene, Robert's injuries, the surviving residents' stories – nothing added up…In part one, we introduce strait-laced lawyer Robert Wone – and hear from the other men in the apartment that night: a messy throuple, with a romantic dynamic as changeable as their alibis.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--To round off our month of spooky eps, our Halloween ShortHand covers the life and afterlife of one of the most sinister, blood-thirstiest bastards in all of human history: Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Vlad Dracula.We dig into the legends surrounding the savage ruler – including an al fresco lunch among hundreds of thousands of twitching, impaled enemies – and see how they tie into the modern, blood-sucking vampire legend. Happy Halloween…Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--The dead live among us: walking, talking corpses who appear normal, but are rotting from the inside out. Or at least, that's what sufferers of Cotard's syndrome will have you believe.Cotard's is a rare condition in which the affected (and very much alive) person is certain that they are already dead and decaying, with their blood frozen in their veins. The delusion is so great that some stop eating, and starve to death. Here's the ShortHand.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For our second Halloween special we've teamed up with I Could Murder A Podcast for a super-spooky fancy dress edition of RedHaunted recorded in a magician's house. So, join us by the hearth for tales of faceless ghosts, disappearing babies, and “wet maps of Africa” on the front of a man's trousers.For the full spooktacular experience, head to youtube.com/@redhandedthepod from the 30th of October.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--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?Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--The great literary pantheon of horror would be nothing without the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. His life was every bit as dark and melancholy as all his best writing. And as for his death? Fittingly for the inventor of the mystery novel, it's shrouded in secrets…Found in a Baltimore pub, wearing someone else's clothes, Poe was rushed to hospital – where he hallucinated and screamed incoherently for days, then died before he could say a word of explanation. We take a look at Poe's greatest mystery of all.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--In 2013, horror blockbuster The Conjuring packed out cinemas worldwide, terrifying moviegoers with its alleged ‘true story' of a house haunted by malevolent demons. But the real truth behind the tale is far sketchier than we might think – with marital discord, pissed-off neighbours, and a ghost-busting power couple spearheading a very unfair smear campaign against a 19th century farmer's wife. This is the ShortHand.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--A fire has been raging under the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, for more than 60 years – and it's nowhere near done.After the vast underground coal deposits under the former mining town caught alight, sinkholes in the road opened up into flaming pits, billowing thick smoke through town. Toxic fumes seeped up through the floorboards and poisoned people in their homes. And in the town's cemeteries, the flames even reached up from below and swallowed up the dead themselves…Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--Black magic, or ‘Sanguma', is often used to explain everything from minor illnesses to sudden deaths in Papua New Guinea. Horrifyingly, it's also behind the recent rise of brutal witch hunts sweeping the nation. An epidemic of violence in which, predominantly, women and girls are being publicly tortured and murdered.Why? Find out on this week's ShortHand.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For our first of two Halloween specials we set off on a spooky adventure ghost hunting with Ghost Huns at Clophill, allegedly the one of the most haunted and evil locations in the UK. Today we're going to tell you the dark history of Britain's most horrifying church, including satanic rituals, and the local priest driving around with a dead woman's bones in the back of his car. Watch the full video of our freaky frolics here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJhcUcFOCLMExclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--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. Join H&S for some all-important extra context behind this week's main feed episode on Papa Doc: 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?Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--First, children started to go missing in the villages around the Black Baron's castle. Then, word spread of his dabbling in sinister, arcane rituals to conjure the Devil himself. And soon, in the dead of night, villagers reported hearing screams from a high castle window.Some say Medieval French nobleman Gilles de Rais was the first recorded serial killer in history, responsible for the gruesome torture and murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of children. Join us to find out what really happened high up in the dark towers of the Black Baron.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the last 13 days before Halloween, a different ShortHand will rise from the archives for 24 hours only – before disappearing back into the vault. Get exclusive access to every ShortHand episode ad free only on Amazon Music Unlimited.--Recorded under a full moon, RedHanded's guide to all things lycanthropic tells the whole hairy story: from Ancient Greek tales of curses, through the gruesome wolf trials of the Middle Ages, all the way through to whatever yassified teen-heartthrob vibe we've got going on nowadays. Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The police knew their suspect was a sexual sadist – one who had trapped a young boy for days and took great pleasure in slowly, methodically, snapping every bone in his legs. What they didn't expect was that this ghastly resident of Baraboo, Wisconsin was still just 17 years old. And it wasn't his first time.H&S spin the sinister tale of a twisted young psychopath, hiding in plain sight in an unassuming Midwestern town.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

*Update* Ian Watkins has been stabbed to death in Wakefield Prison by two fellow inmates, on Saturday 11th November 2025. He was previously stabbed in 2023, when he was taken hostage for six hours by a group of inmates. Here is our full episode from 2019.--Ian Watkins was the lead singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets. He toured all over the world, playing to sold out stadiums of adoring fans - so in 2012 when he was arrested and charged with 13 counts of child sex offences, including against a child as young as 11 months old, the world was shocked.This is a particularly troubling case because it of course covers the abuse this depraved man doled out to incredibly young victims, but there are also deeply troubling questions raised about why authorities missed chance after chance to catch Watkins.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One of WWII's lesser-known horrors, Japan's secret biological warfare testing program is so brutal and inhumane that it's hard to believe it could ever happen. And at its helm was a twisted microbiologist Shiro Ishi. Victims, known inside as “logs”, were injected and exposed to countless pathogens including typhoid, cholera, and the plague, then watched like lab rats as they were gripped by the diseases. Even in their last moments, the poor souls stuck inside Unit 731 weren't safe, as they were cut open and examined, while they were still alive…Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Boiled in blood, hacked at by knives, torn apart by iron dogs… the world's religions differ on what exactly might await sinners in the afterlife. But one thing they can all agree on is that if you were naughty on Earth, you are in for one hell of a horrible time.We take a quick tour of history's grimmest netherzones: from freezing poison rain in the Norse Helheim, to a river of excrement, where monstrous aquatic beings eat your flesh, down in the Hindu Narakas. Welcome to Hell.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1981, nineteen-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabbed his landlord to death – but claimed he wasn't guilty. Why? Because he was possessed by the literal Devil.With a wild alibi starring a possessed tween, budget exorcisms and even a cameo from America's most notorious spooky grifters Ed and Lorraine Warren, Satan was going on trial...But would a judge believe that the horned guy himself was roaming small-town Connecticut in the early eighties? Find out as we explore the case that shocked a nation – and almost changed US law forever.Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.