Intrigue: 3 explosive true stories

Summary

Three dramatic true stories, this is investigative journalism at its very best.

'Slick, efficient and professional... hugely engaging' The Spectator (on Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel)
'Thrilling... a really great listen'The Guardian (on Tunnel 29)
'Brilliantly produced' The Observer (on Mayday)

In these three gripping series, prominent journalists investigate fascinating human stories, shining a light on history and politics and deepening our understanding of the word we live in.

Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel tells a shocking tale of sex, death and power, as Carrie Gracie delves into the mysterious murder that led to the toppling of charismatic Chinese politician, Bo Xilai, and the rise of his greatest rival, President Xi Jinping. The story of the killing of British businessman and fixer Neil Heywood in Chongqing in 2011 is one the authorities do not want told. Gracie was warned off making this programme, her phones were tapped and her emails hacked. But she would not be silenced. Here, she uncovers a tragedy 'with no heroes but only villains and victims', and takes us into the dark heart of Chinese politics.

In Tunnel 29, Helena Merriman recounts the incredible story of Joachim Rudolph, who, in the early 1960s, joined a group digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall, and helped smuggle out 29 people. It's a story of the young people who risked everything, the spy who betrayed them, and the terrible price paid by those who were caught - and of the love that developed between the refugees who found freedom. Based on interviews with the tunnellers, thousands of documents from Stasi archives, and recordings from the tunnel, it is an astonishing tale of one of the most daring escape attempts of the 20th Century.

Mayday investigates the extraordinary case of James Le Mesurier, an ex-British army officer found dead in an Istanbul street in 2019. The co-founder of the White Helmets - a civil defence force who pull survivors from bombed-out buildings in Syria - he was a hero to many, awarded an OBE for his efforts. But he also attracted deep suspicion, and accusations of being a spy, faking rescue videos - and involvement in appalling atrocities... Talking to Le Mesurier's widow, friends and colleagues, Chloe Hadjimatheou attempts to discover who he really was and how he died, and unravel a tangle of truth and lies. Also featured is a special extended version of The Canister on the Bed, exploring the events of the Douma massacre. In addition, bonus programme Mayday: The Evidence Gatherers reveals how a Western-funded NGO, responsible for extracting over a million documents from Syria allegedly containing evidence of torture and genocide, is now fighting a disinformation war.

NB: Contains strong language and scenes which some listeners might find upsetting

Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel
Presented by Carrie Gracie
Produced by Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell
Sound mix by James Beard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13-17 March 2017

Tunnel 29
Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck
Editor: Richard Knight
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 21 October-1 November 2019

Mayday
Produced, written and presented by Chloe Hadjimatheou
Editor: Emma Rippon
Researcher: Tom Wright
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound design and mix: Neil Churchill
Additional mixing Graham Pudifoot
Editing assistance: Robbie Wojciechowski
Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles and Abdul Kader Habak
Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur
Narrative Consultant: John Yorke
Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum
End track: Zamilou by Bu Kolthoum
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 9-20 November 2020

Mayday: The Evidence Gatherers
Produced, written and presented by Chloe Hadjimatheou
Editor: Emma Rippon
Researchers: Orla O'Brien and Lara Al Gibaly
Executive producer Maggie Latham
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound design and mix: Neil Churchill
Commissioner for Radio 4: Richard Knight
Prof Paul McKeigue and Ivan played by Mark Fleischman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7 April 2021

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