Believe in Magic

Believe in Magic

A tale of charity, celebrity and truth, ad-free

US$2.99/month or US$29.99/year

Jamie Bartlett, host of the hit podcast The Missing Crypto queen, is back with another gripping, investigative serial. In his new series, Jamie tells the story of Megan Bhari, an inspirational 16 year old girl who in 2012 launches a charity to grant wishes to seriously ill children. The charity is called Believe in Magic and it attracts the support of the biggest boy band in the world: One Direction. Believe in Magic soon becomes a household name in the child cancer community, putting on parties, sending thoughtful gifts and organizing trips to Disney. Megan is adored by all those she helps and is given an award by the then Prime Minister David Cameron. What’s even more remarkable is that Megan is herself extremely unwell. She announces that she has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She raises money online for life saving treatment in the United States. But a group of internet sleuths start to suspect that Meg isn’t ill at all. When they discover Megan is in a Disney resort rather than a US hospital, they decide to hire a private detective to prove Megan is faking her illness–and expose the truth to the world. But events take an unexpected turn. And the internet sleuths-who are all parents of seriously ill children themselves-begin to wonder if they've got it all wrong. "It wasn't meant to end like this," says one. Author Jamie Bartlett and producer Ruth Mayer investigate the truth about Megan Bhari, tracing back over the sleuths’ incredible discoveries, meeting Megan’s old friends and supporters, and exploring the medical profession’s most mysterious condition. After months of investigation, Jamie and Ruth discover a secretive investigation into the truth about Megan’s medical condition. The conclusion is shocking–and will have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. Believe in Magic is a BBC Studios production.

Shows with Subscription Benefits

  • In the third season of her podcast, Dua Lipa: At Your Service, pop powerhouse Dua Lipa has candid, uplifting and insightful conversations with the people who inspire her most about topics like reinvention, sex and relationships, psychedelics, and more. Season Three will include conversations with internationally renowned artists, thought leaders and cultural icons. Season Three of At Your Service will also invite listeners to explore the vast landscape of human experiences, and celebrates the power in sharing stories and insights into the world around us. Following Season Three's premiere with Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg, Dua will welcome an extraordinary lineup of guests including BLACKPINK's Jennie Kim, renowned relationship expert Esther Perel, star of Netflix's You and podcaster Penn Badgley, drag icon Sasha Velour, and the incomparable Billie Eilish. New episodes of At Your Service will be released every Friday at 12pm UK time. The Dua Lipa: At Your Service podcast is the sweeping companion piece to Dua's Service95 newsletter, a global style, culture, and society editorial platform created to help the reader make sense of the world.

  • Season 6: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in? Also: Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Women accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of rape. And: The Abercrombie Guys. Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. Delve into a World of Secrets: the global investigations podcast from the BBC. Uncovering stories around the world and telling them, episode by episode, with gripping storytelling. Latest season: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in? Journalist Cat McShane investigates the international yoga movement headed by Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual guide arrested by French police in November 2023 and charged with human trafficking, organised kidnapping, rape and organised abuse of weakness by members of a sect. “Nobody joins a cult. You just get sucked in,” says Penny, the mother of a university tutor from London. In 2017, Penny’s daughter Miranda joins a yoga charity with studios in London and Oxford. The classes make Miranda feel amazing and the people make her feel loved. “There was this sense that these people cared,” says Miranda. But as Miranda becomes more deeply involved with the international yoga movement that her group in London is part of, her mother Penny starts to worry. “When she rang us, she'd be speaking in very hushed tones,” says Penny. Miranda has fallen under the spell of guru Gregorian Bivolaru. She joins thousands of his followers from around the world on a free holiday at a coastal resort in Romania. It’s part of a search for spiritual enlightenment which will see her driven through Paris blindfolded and doing sex work in Prague. This series includes explicit sexual content and strong language. Previous seasons of World of Secrets: Season 5: Finding Mr Fox. Investigating a plot to smuggle around a hundred millions of dollars’ worth of drugs from Brazil to Europe and the miscarriage of justice that followed. But where is the man Brazilian police believe to be at the centre of it all? Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods. Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed – then owner of Harrods, one of the most famous shops in the world – is accused of rape and attempted rape by women who worked for him. Now they refuse to be silenced any longer. Season 3: The Apartheid Killer. All the victims were black and the youngest was just 12 years old. Some relatives are still searching for the graves. They were killed during a three-year bloodbath in the 1980s, in the South African city of East London – by one person. He killed so many, he lost count. In piecing together this story, we expose the disturbed past and racial injustices of South Africa itself. Season 2: The Disciples. The cult of Nigerian prophet TB Joshua. A story of miracles, faith and manipulation, told by people from around the world, who gave up everything for one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Lured by TB Joshua’s claimed healing powers, they live as disciples in a guarded Lagos compound, cut off from family and friends. Season 1: The Abercrombie Guys. An investigation into claims of sexual exploitation made against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. He and his British partner were accused by several men, recruited for sex events they hosted around the world.

  • The day’s top stories from BBC News, including the latest developments in Syria, after the fall of the Assad regime. Also keeping you up to date on the wider Middle East and Ukraine conflicts, as well as the latest news about US politics. Delivered twice a day on weekdays, daily at weekends.

  • The BBC's daily news podcast, Newscast dives into the day's big stories so you're never out of your depth. Newscast picks the brains of BBC News experts so you're ready if someone picks yours, covering the latest developments in politics in Westminster and beyond. Follow the new Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer. How will Kemi Badenoch do as leader of the Conservative party? Newscast will give you all the best insights from BBC News so you're across all the day's top stories. Newscast is hosted by trusted journalists including Adam Fleming, BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O'Connell. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. Catch Newscast seven-days a week and watch on BBC One at 23:40 on Thursday night or later on BBC iPlayer. GET IN TOUCH: You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Send us a message or voicenote via WhatsApp to 03301239480 Email Newscast@bbc.co.uk Or use the hashtag #BBCNewscast Newscast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Newscast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Americast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Newscast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Americast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p07h19zz Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm

  • The latest news, insight, analysis and big name guests from the Premier League, WSL and the Football League, plus Scottish, International and European football. Join us! Get in touch with us @5liveSport on social media and remember to leave us your ratings and reviews.

  • The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.

A tale of charity, celebrity and truth, ad-free

US$2.99/month or US$29.99/year

About

Jamie Bartlett, host of the hit podcast The Missing Crypto queen, is back with another gripping, investigative serial. In his new series, Jamie tells the story of Megan Bhari, an inspirational 16 year old girl who in 2012 launches a charity to grant wishes to seriously ill children. The charity is called Believe in Magic and it attracts the support of the biggest boy band in the world: One Direction. Believe in Magic soon becomes a household name in the child cancer community, putting on parties, sending thoughtful gifts and organizing trips to Disney. Megan is adored by all those she helps and is given an award by the then Prime Minister David Cameron. What’s even more remarkable is that Megan is herself extremely unwell. She announces that she has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She raises money online for life saving treatment in the United States. But a group of internet sleuths start to suspect that Meg isn’t ill at all. When they discover Megan is in a Disney resort rather than a US hospital, they decide to hire a private detective to prove Megan is faking her illness–and expose the truth to the world. But events take an unexpected turn. And the internet sleuths-who are all parents of seriously ill children themselves-begin to wonder if they've got it all wrong. "It wasn't meant to end like this," says one. Author Jamie Bartlett and producer Ruth Mayer investigate the truth about Megan Bhari, tracing back over the sleuths’ incredible discoveries, meeting Megan’s old friends and supporters, and exploring the medical profession’s most mysterious condition. After months of investigation, Jamie and Ruth discover a secretive investigation into the truth about Megan’s medical condition. The conclusion is shocking–and will have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. Believe in Magic is a BBC Studios production.

More From BBC

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada