Bad People BBC Podcasts

It’s the Bad People finale. In this last ever episode, Julia and Sofie dig into the ethics of the media covering criminal cases.
After a press “campaign of vilification”, all charges against Christopher Jefferies were dismissed. The tabloids had incorrectly painted him as Joanna Yeates’ killer. Mr Jefferies took the newspapers responsible to court - and won. He then gave evidence during the Leveson Inquiry, the UK’s landmark investigation into wrongdoing and alleged corruption within the media.
In this episode of Bad People, criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw and comedian Sofie Hagen discuss why many of us think the media is biased against our own views because of “the hostile media effect”. They talk about the Leveson inquiry and what makes media coverage of crimes bad -- or good.
At the end, they summarise what they learned from working on Bad People for the past three and a half years.
CREDITS
Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen
Producers: Laura Northedge and Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Assistant Producer: Hannah Ward
Editors: Anna Lacey and Richard Collings
Music: Matt Chandler
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris
#BadPeople_BBC

In December 2010, the UK media became fixated with the disappearance of 25 year-old Joanna Yeates. When her body was discovered, many tabloid newspapers felt certain they knew the identity of her murderer. Christopher Jefferies had been Joanna’s landlord and was considered by some to be “strange”. The claims against Christopher were unfounded. Being hounded by the press left lasting reputational and psychological scars.
In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen ask: is it possible to have a fair trial when the tabloids have decided you are guilty? They explore research on prejudicial pre-trial publicity as well as “media shock” effects after police issue warnings about a killer on the loose.
CREDITS
Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen
Producers: Laura Northedge and Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Assistant Producer: Hannah Ward
Editors: Anna Lacey and Richard Collings
Music: Matt Chandler
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland
#BadPeople_BBC

Daniella Isaacs, the creator of the new BBC Sounds audio drama, People Who Knew Me, joins Dr Julia Shaw in a conversation about faking one’s own death and using the terrorist attacks in America on September 11th 2001 to do so.
We ask, who fakes their own death and why? And how easy is it to pull it off?
Warning: This episode contains references to the 9/11 attacks and also suicide and drowning.
CREDITS
Presenter: Dr Julia Shaw
Producer: Simona Rata
Assistant Producer: Hannah Ward
Editors: Anna Lacey and Richard Collings
Music: Matt Chandler
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland
#BadPeople_BBC

Convicted child sex offender Mark Sutherland has arranged to meet a 13 year-old boy at a bus station, but when he arrives a team of adult “paedophile hunters” greet him with a video camera.
In this episode of Bad People, hosts Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen explore vigilante justice. What right, if any, do these “hunters” have to track down sex offenders? When text messaging, do people have a right to privacy? And do sex offender registries make us safer or just more scared?
CREDITS
Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen
Producer: Laura Northedge
Assistant Producer: Hannah Ward
Editors: Anna Lacey and Richard Collings
Music: Matt Chandler
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland
#BadPeople_BBC

In 2010 Pramila Krishnan, a journalist for the Deccan Chronicle, filed a story about a little-known practice called Thalaikoothal. The story was huge in India and lead to the filming of the 2020 Tamil-language film Baaram, which translates as The Burden.
In this episode of Bad People, Sofie Hagen and Dr Julia Shaw discuss senicide, the killing of older adults. At what point is someone “old” and how does frailty fit into it? At what age, if any, should we want to die? And how prevalent is elder abuse?
The audio in this episode is from the film Baaram, directed by Priya Krishnaswamy, a Reckless Roses production. Some audio is also from Satyameva Jayate, produced by Aamir Khan Productions.
CREDITS
Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen
Producer: Simona Rata
Assistant Producer: Hannah Ward
Editors: Anna Lacey and Richard Collings
Music: Matt Chandler
Production Coordinator:
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland
#BadPeople_BBC

It’s 2001 and 14-year-old Anthony Haynes has died. He was one of some 50 kids who participated in a military-style, wilderness programme that was supposed to give troubled teens a new start.
Hailed at the time as a local legend among parents struggling with their children, Anthony’s mother had enrolled him after a spell of behavioural problems. Yet, the wilderness therapy Anthony experienced consisted of drill instructions and desert isolation- the sort of ‘tough love’ rife within America’s Troubled Teen Industry.
Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen discuss the original ideas behind wilderness therapy, the experiences of survivors such as Paris Hilton, and the efficacy of the programmes of this unregulated industry. And, what are alternative interventions for reducing adolescent delinquency?
CREDITS
Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen
Producer: Hannah Ward
Editors: Anna Lacey and Martin Smith
Music: Matt Chandler
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland
#BadPeople_BBC