

Intrigue
BBC Radio 4
Next On Intrigue: Ransom Man.What would you do if your deepest secrets were held to ransom? Jenny Kleeman investigates one of the world's most audacious hacks.
When a shocking data breach takes place at a Finnish psychotherapy service, the nation’s darkest secrets are held to ransom by a faceless hacker. He calls himself ransom_man.
Award-winning journalist Jenny Kleeman (BBC Radio 4’s The Gift) traces the story from the first extortion email to the hunt to find the hacker and bring him to justice.
We all have some thoughts we’d never write down. Now, just imagine that a criminal had got hold of those thoughts, and was threatening to publish them for all the world to see if you didn’t pay to stop him. Jenny finds out what kind of person is prepared to terrorise a nation like this, and the lengths people will go to fight back. On the way, she’ll discover that the origins of this dark crime stretch far beyond Finland. Her extraordinary quest leads her around the world and to unexpected places, bringing Jenny face to face with victims, investigators, police and notorious hackers themselves.
It is a cautionary tale about something that could happen anywhere, to any of us, again and again.
Jenny will learn just how vulnerable our deepest secrets can be – and the enormous power that hackers now have to hold our inner lives to ransom.Intrigue: 'Jaw-dropping', 'gripping', 'bingeable,' 'thrilling' - dramatic true stories and investigations that reveal how the world really works.
When a shocking data breach takes place at a Finnish psychotherapy service, the nation’s darkest secrets are held to ransom by a faceless hacker. He calls himself ransom_man.
Award-winning journalist Jenny Kleeman (BBC Radio 4’s The Gift) traces the story from the first extortion email to the hunt to find the hacker and bring him to justice.
We all have some thoughts we’d never write down. Now, just imagine that a criminal had got hold of those thoughts, and was threatening to publish them for all the world to see if you didn’t pay to stop him. Jenny finds out what kind of person is prepared to terrorise a nation like this, and the lengths people will go to fight back. On the way, she’ll discover that the origins of this dark crime stretch far beyond Finland. Her extraordinary quest leads her around the world and to unexpected places, bringing Jenny face to face with victims, investigators, police and notorious hackers themselves.
It is a cautionary tale about something that could happen anywhere, to any of us, again and again.
Jenny will learn just how vulnerable our deepest secrets can be – and the enormous power that hackers now have to hold our inner lives to ransom.Intrigue: 'Jaw-dropping', 'gripping', 'bingeable,' 'thrilling' - dramatic true stories and investigations that reveal how the world really works.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 24, 2018 • 22min
The Ratline: 6. The Men Who Murdered Nazis
Otto contracts a strange illness and Charlotte rushes to Rome to be by his side. Philippe talks to an old friend who was working for British intelligence in 1949 and explores who might have been hunting Otto in Rome and why.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound design: Neil Churchill
Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst
Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita
Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry
Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney
Other parts by members of the BBC Radio Drama Company

Sep 24, 2018 • 25min
The Ratline: 5. La Forza del Destino
Midnight. Rome. 1949. Otto Wachter, a Nazi on the run, arrives in the Eternal City, penniless, homeless, searching for a way out to Argentina. He's also unwittingly found himself in the middle of a battle between East and West. He is taken in by monks, makes a friend high up in the Vatican and takes on some unusual employment. The continuing investigation into how a senior Nazi evaded justice.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound design: Neil Churchill
Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst
Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita

Sep 21, 2018 • 25min
The Ratline: 4. Where's Otto?
The war is over and Otto Wachter has disappeared. Whilst his friends are committing suicide or being tried for mass murder Otto has escaped high into the mountains with the help of a young SS soldier. Meanwhile his wife Charlotte is working on getting him out of Austria. Barrister and author Philippe Sands continues his investigation into how a leading Nazi evaded justice.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound design: Neil Churchill
Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst
Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita
Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry
Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney
Other parts by members of the BBC Radio Drama Company

Sep 21, 2018 • 32min
The Ratline: 3. A Lot Going On in Lemberg
The criminal charge sheet against senior Nazi Otto Wachter. Whilst Charlotte Wachter and her children were spending the summer in Zell am See, Otto was in Lemberg overseeing the 'Grosse Aktion' - the mass deportation of Jews to concentration camps. Philippe Sands interviews two Nazi hunters from the US Department of Justice to go through the evidence against Otto. Meanwhile Otto's son Horst continues to maintain his father's innocence.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound design: Neil Churchill
Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst
Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita
Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry
Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney
Other parts by members of the BBC Radio Drama Company

Sep 18, 2018 • 26min
The Ratline: 2. Meet the Wachters
Otto and Charlotte Wachter climb to power, after Hitler annexes Austria, with Otto at his side. Otto's job takes the family to a palace in Krakow and on to Galicia, where his story collides with those of the family of presenter Philippe Sands. This is the continuing investigation into how a leading Nazi evaded justice.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound design: Neil Churchill
Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst
Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita
Otto Wachter: Stephen Fry
Charlotte Wachter: Laura Linney
Other parts by members of the BBC Radio Drama Company

Sep 18, 2018 • 20min
The Ratline: 1. The Secrets in the Castle
Philippe Sands investigates the mysterious disappearance of senior Nazi Otto Wachter, who was indicted for mass murder. The Ratline is a story of a curious death, political intrigue, spies, Nazi hunters, shadowy forces in the Vatican and a son grappling with the sins of his father. Philippe begins by travelling to a castle outside Vienna to meet an old man who believes his father was murdered, while a voice from the past offers up clues to how it might have happened.Producer: Gemma Newby
Sound design: Neil Churchill
Research: James Everest and Lea Main-Klingst
Original music by Catrin Finch and Sekou Keita

Aug 16, 2018 • 4min
The Ratline: Trailer
A story of love, denial and a curious death presented by Philippe Sands.

9 snips
Mar 17, 2017 • 21min
Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel: Episode 5
Discover how the shocking murder of British businessman Neil Heywood set off a political earthquake in China. The narrative uncovers the scandalous trial of a politician's wife, revealing financial motives behind her confession. Delve into the political rivalry that led to Bo Xilai's dramatic downfall and how personal ambitions fueled betrayals. The podcast also touches on Bo Guagua's reflections on his family's legacy and aspirations, leaving listeners pondering the intricate web of power and ambition.

7 snips
Mar 10, 2017 • 22min
Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel: Episode 4
A mysterious death at the Lucky Holiday Hotel unravels a web of political intrigue and family secrets. Key figures, including Gu Kailai and Wang Lijun, are drawn into an international scandal that captivates the media. The dual life of a Chinese student at Oxford juxtaposes privilege with academic struggles amid scandals. Meanwhile, political ties between China and Britain deepen as the story of Neil Haywood's death raises questions of espionage and motive. The sensational trial reveals the dark interplay of power, influence, and justice in modern China.

8 snips
Mar 3, 2017 • 19min
Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel: Episode 3
Dive into the gripping mystery of Neil Heywood's death in a Chongqing hotel suite. Unravel the intertwining tales of ambition, corruption, and political upheaval under an iron-fisted police chief. Discover the dramatic dynamics between powerful personalities and the intense paranoia that permeates the landscape. Follow the shocking developments of a suspicious murder cover-up that captures global attention, escalating tensions and unveiling hidden rivalries. This tale of sex, death, and politics will leave you questioning the truth.


