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Updated 16/02/2021

4 days ago

He spent 438 days and 7,000 miles lost at sea, and lives to tell the tale

In November 2012, two fishermen set off from the coast of Mexico. Only one came back, 438 days later, having drifted almost 7,000 miles across the Pacific, the longest open-ocean survival in recorded history. The Debrief is joined by journalist Jonathan Franklin, who tracked down survivor Salvador Alvarenga and wrote the book documenting the whole ordeal. Jonathan takes the team through how it began, a routine trip that a storm turned into a nightmare, and what happened to Alvarenga’s young, barely-experienced crewmate out on the water. He explains how he fact-checked a story almost too extraordinary to believe, what kept Alvarenga alive through months of total isolation, and the strange mental tricks that stopped him losing his mind. Then the moment everything changed: after 438 days, land. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
14 Jul

CeCe Moore: How Your DNA Can Catch a Killer

The Debrief is joined by CeCe Moore, the pioneering genetic genealogist who helped turn a hobbyist's tool into one of the most powerful weapons in modern policing. CeCe explains what those consumer DNA tests are really telling you, how far back your family tree can genuinely be traced, and why some parts of the world are far better represented in the databases than others. The conversation digs into the hurdles of unpicking someone's ancestry, and how the same technology that reunites adoptees with birth parents is now cracking cold cases that sat untouched for decades. Then comes the harder question: where does personal privacy end and the pursuit of justice begin, when a distant cousin's spit sample can put a killer in handcuffs? CeCe also looks ahead to where AI takes this next, and reflects on how a career spent inside other people's DNA has reshaped the way she thinks about family, identity and truth itself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
22 Jul

Dr. Adeel Khalid: How Rescue Drones Find What Humans Can't

The Debrief is joined by Professor of Aerospace Engineering Dr. Adeel Khalid, to unpack the technology that recently found two lost hikers in a matter of hours, a search that could have taken human teams days. Dr. Khalid explains exactly what he has been building, and what one of these drones is actually seeing when it sweeps over a forest below. The team uncovers the accuracy difference between these machines and old school rescue tech like helicopters or dogs. They also find out how long these machines can stay airborne, and just how much ground they can cover on a single flight. Then the conversation lifts off into the future: what these life-saving systems will look like five to ten years from now, and how many more people they might bring home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11 Aug

How extradition works in the UAE

Irish national Daniel Kinahan has appeared in court after being extradited from the UAE to Ireland, accused of serious organised crime offences. We look at how extradition works and what the UAE’s growing network of agreements tells us about international trust and cooperation. Plus, as tourists begin returning to the UAE following months of regional disruption, we ask what will bring Chinese and Indian visitors back, and whether major events could accelerate the recovery. We also explore a breakthrough in vaccines that don’t need refrigeration, the growing row at the top of FIFA, Taylor Swift stopping Donald Trump from using her music on TikTok, and the launch of the new Dubai-it Award. And we ask: what does Dubai do better than anywhere else? What’s given you that “only in Dubai” moment? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
14 Aug

Ricky Kidd: The man who spent 23 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit

The Debrief hears the extraordinary story of Ricky Kidd, sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole for two murders he did not commit. Ricky walks the team through it all, from the fateful day police first made contact to the moment the gavel came down in the courtroom and his life changed forever. He describes what it was like to walk into a maximum security prison for a crime he had no part in, and how, behind three layers of barbed wire, he somehow found his purpose again. It builds to the moment that had all of us in tears on air: being told, at last, that he was free to go. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
13 Aug

Negotiations: What an FBI trained expert thinks of your handshake

The Debrief puts Shaan in the hot seat with a live negotiation, then takes it apart - before handing it over to a real expert. Joe Navarro spent his FBI career in counterintelligence and behavioural assessment, and he reveals the tiny signals people leak long before they say a word, and the thousands of behavioural tells hiding in every interaction. He even weighs in on what makes a good handshake (hint - it’s not always strength), and what he makes of the world's most famous grips, including President Trump's. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
20 Aug

Why you need security clearance (and AED 20,000) to meet Obama

As Barack Obama's speaking tour puts premium meet-and-greet access on sale, The Debrief digs into what that eye-watering price tag of AED 20,000 per ticket actually buys, and why every ticket comes subject to a background check. Joining the team is Jason Russell, a former US Secret Service Special Agent of eight years. He explains just how big a headache an event like this is when the public is given close access to a former president, what kind of personal history gets someone flagged, and what most people misunderstand about presidential security in general. And the question everyone secretly wants answered: how close are the presidents and their agents really? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
23 Jun

Barbara Butcher: Inside the Life of a Death Investigator

The Debrief is joined by Barbara Butcher, who spent more than two decades as a death investigator in New York City, witnessing thousands of crime scenes over her career. Barbara explains exactly what the job involves, how someone ends up in that line of work, and how she mentally prepared to walk into a crime scene. She opens up about the difficulty of delivering devastating news to strangers, and even the times she clashed with police and homicide detectives. It left Dane and Shaan asking: what does our fascination with death really say about us? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
28 Jul

Dubai’s holiday homes pivot to longer stays

28 Jul 2026. Longer stays now account for nearly 70% of booked nights in Dubai’s short-term rental market. We speak to Luis Santos of First Class Property Management about what is driving the shift towards flexible monthly living. Plus, a quarter of junior employees surveyed say poor onboarding has made them more likely to leave, while two-thirds say they did not feel supported. Is this down to generational expectations? We ask Megan Prosser of Robert Walters about “lily padding” and whether it is happening in the UAE. Peter Willmott of AtkinsRéalis takes us inside the plans for Abu Dhabi’s $1.7 billion Sphere. And Meerah Ketait of dnata Travel explains why Asia is having a breakout summer with UAE travellers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
23 Jul

Edna Cowell Martin: Growing Up With Ted Bundy

The Debrief is joined by Edna Cowell Martin, cousin of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, and Megan Atkinson, who helped her tell her story in print. Edna takes the team back to a childhood spent alongside a boy nobody suspected, and answers the question that has followed her for decades: were there ever glimpses of what lay beneath? She describes what it was like to remain close to him while the murders were happening, how the family absorbed the news when the truth finally broke, and what passed between them in their final exchanges before he escaped prison for the second time. Megan explains how the writing process forced Edna to revisit trauma she had buried for years, and what it revealed about the toll it had taken on her whole life. It leaves one unsettling question hanging over the whole conversation: if someone close to you was living a double life, would you really see it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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