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Season 13, Episode 1

Shadows on the Pitch: 1. No Terrorists in America

Can an ex-referee with a cryptic message help James unravel an explosive conspiracy about the build-up to World Cup USA 1994? James travels to Bucharest to find out more … Presented by James Montague Written by Ben Wyatt and Emma Weatherill Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey Production manager: Debbie Waddell Development Executive: Emma Shaw Executive Producers: Ben Wyatt, Emma Weatherill and Joe Kent Sound Design and Composition: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds. ARCHIVE: AP Archive - Iraqi football team celebrates Asia Cup victory - (Aug, 2007) Firstpost America -FirstPost Live TV - Iraq’s World Cup 2026 qualification - (March, 2026) White House Communications Agency - Clinton’s USA ‘94 opening speech - (July 1994) Spitting Image Productions - The Mary Whitehouse Experience World Cup skit anticipating America as hosts - (Oct, 1990) Los Angeles Times - Uncle Sam’s Visas? Not for Iraq, Iran : World Cup: Both fail to qualify, alleviating fears of U.S. officials over possibility of political terrorism - (Oct, 1993) CSPAN - Trump announces World Cup taskforce alongside Infantino - (March, 2025)
Season 13, Episode 2

Shadows on the Pitch: 2. Son of Anarchy

A political powder-keg World Cup qualifying tournament held in Doha. American security on the line. James tries to make sense of what went down in the desert shadows. Thirty years on he reviews the matches, looking for clues about why the conspiracy persists, and hears what it was like to play for Iraq in the 1990s under the whip of Uday Hussein - Saddam’s son. Presented by James Montgaue Written by Ben Wyatt and Emma Weatherill Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey Production manager: Debbie Waddell Development Executive: Emma Shaw Executive Producers: Ben Wyatt, Emma Weathrill and Joe Kent Sound Design and Composition: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
Season 15, Episode 1

Invisible Hands: The American Century: 1. Mr Nobody

This is the story of the most important person you've probably never heard of. The man who made the dollar the centre of the world. And America along with it. His name is Harry Dexter White and, as an economist at the Treasury, he had a vision of how to ensure another conflict like World War Two would never happen again. To do that he had to upend the whole structure of the world financial system - and make the US Dollar the most important currency on Earth. Standing in his way was the greatest celebrity economist of all time, John Maynard Keynes. The battle between these two men - and Harry Dexter White’s eventual victory - would come to define the next 80 years of world history. And yet, just a few years later, this visionary economist - the man who changed the world - would be dead. Branded as a traitor to his country. Accused of being the worst thing an American could be accused of - a Soviet Spy. In Series 2 of Invisible Hands: The American Century, David Dimbleby tells the story of how, in the middle of the 20th century, America became a superpower and shaped the world around it. It began with a vision. A vision born out of the ashes of World War Two. A vision of a world shaped not by war but by peace. This vision of America at the head of the free world came to be the defining idea at the centre of the past 80 years of world politics. And yet now, it is under threat. So how did we get here? How did America become the leader of the free world and why did it go wrong? It’s a story shaped by people. People you may not know. These ‘invisible hands’ wrote the story America came to believe about itself. A story of moral leadership leading to prosperity and peace. But is it a story that has run out of steam? Presenter: David Dimbleby Producer: Redzi Bernard Sound Design: Jeff Emtman Executive Producers: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Story Editor: Joe Sykes, Dasha Lisitsina, and Peggy Sutton Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Samizdat Audio production for BBC Radio 4
Season 15, Episode 2

Invisible Hands: The American Century: 2. The Prophet

A man wakes up in the middle of the night in Moscow. He is sick. Shivery. Feverish. But he has a mission. A mission that will end up changing the course of world history. After World War Two was over, America was ready for peace. And to continue working with their ideological adversary, the Soviet Union. Franklin Delano Roosevelt even flew to Crimea to make a deal with Churchill and Stalin. But there was one man who was sounding the alarm, all the way from a freezing Moscow winter. A Chekhov-obsessed diplomat called George Kennan who’s witnessed Stalin’s repressions first hand and would live to 101. More than anyone else, he will set the trajectory of American foreign policy in the 20th Century - with a telegram. A telegram he would come to deeply regret. This is the story of how the US and USSR went from allies to enemies. And the man who made this happen - starting what would come to be called the Cold War. David Dimbleby tells the story of how in the middle of the 20th Century one country - America - became a superpower and shaped the world around it. It began with a vision. A vision born out of the ashes of World War Two. A vision of a world shaped not by war but by peace. This vision of America at the head of the free world came to be the defining idea at the center of the past 80 years of world politics. And yet now it is under threat. So how did we get here? How did America become the leader of the free world and why did it go wrong? It’s a story shaped by people. People you have probably never heard of. In the 20th Century, these ‘invisible hands’ wrote the story America came to believe about itself. A story of moral leadership leading to prosperity and peace. But is it a story that has run out of steam? Presenter: David Dimbleby Producer: Redzi Bernard Sound Design: Jeff Emtman Executive Producers: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Story Editor: Joe Sykes, Dasha Lisitsina, and Peggy Sutton Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Samizdat Audio production for BBC Radio 4
Season 15 Trailer

Invisible Hands: The American Century: Trailer

David Dimbleby introduces the story of how America became a superpower through the invisible hands who made it happen.
Season 1, Episode 1

Episode 1: Megan

A teenage girl with a brain tumour starts a charity for sick children. It captures the support of pop megastars, One Direction. But questions arise - is Megan really ill? This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
30 Jul

The mistake in Trump’s tariff formula

What is the error in the calculation Donald Trump used to work out his new tariffs? What happened when the government ordered a recount of bobbies on the beat? When is a tax freeze not a tax freeze? And do redheads really have a 25% higher tolerance to pain? Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Charlotte McDonald Producers: Nathan Gower and Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon
12 Jun

Epic of Gilgamesh (Radio Edit)

Greg Jenner is joined in the ancient world by Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid and comedian Marjolein Robertson to learn all about the famous Mesopotamian poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Sumerian poems about a legendary king called Gilgamesh began to be composed sometime in the third millennium, and were told and retold throughout Mesopotamia until a Babylonian scholar named Sîn-leqi-unninni wrote down what has become the standard version. The tale he recorded tells of a tyrannical king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, and the transformative journey he takes with his enemy-turned-friend (and possibly more), Enkidu. In the 3100 lines of the poem, they fight forest guardians and celestial bulls, anger the gods, and even challenge death itself. In this episode, we retell the story of Gilgamesh, exploring the history of the epic’s composition, what it tells us about ancient Mesopotamian storytelling and beliefs, and how it was rediscovered in the nineteenth century, written in cuneiform on clay tablets housed in the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. We also look at the themes of companionship, community and environmental protection that are still relevant today, and ask the question: is Gilgamesh just a legend, or was he based on a real king? This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Katharine Russell Written by: Katharine Russell, Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars
6 Aug

Archive: Aphra Behn

Widely regarded as the first professional woman writer in English literature, Aphra Behn (1640-1689) is best known for her plays and her novel Oroonoko, she's been an inspiration to countless writers across the ages. This archive episode, first released in October 2017, was selected as part of a ten-episode series by Misha Glenny. In the episode, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and times of Behn, who made her name and her living as a playwright, poet and writer of fiction during the Restoration. Virginia Woolf wrote of her: 'All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn... for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds'. Behn may well have spent some of her early life in Surinam, the setting for her novel Oroonoko, and there are records of her working in the Netherlands as a spy for Charles II. She was loyal to the Stuart kings and refused to write a poem on the coronation of William of Orange. She was regarded as an important writer in her lifetime and inspired others to write but fell out of favour for two centuries after her death when her work was seen as too bawdy, the product of a disreputable age. With Janet Todd Former President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge University Ros Ballaster Professor of 18th Century Literature at Mansfield College, University of Oxford and Claire Bowditch Post-doctoral Research Associate in English and Drama at Loughborough University Producer: Simon Tillotson. Reading list: Kate Aughterson, Aphra Behn: The Comedies (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) Ros Ballaster, Seductive Forms: Women’s Amatory Fiction 1684-1740 (Oxford Clarendon Press, 1991) Aphra Behn (ed. Joanna Lipking), Oroonoko (Norton and Co, 1997) Aphra Behn (ed. Paul Salzman), Oroonoko and Other Writings (Oxford University Press, 2009) Aphra Behn (ed. Jane Spencer), The Rover and Other Plays (Oxford University Press, 2008) Aphra Behn (ed. Janet Todd), Oroonoko (Penguin Classics, 2003) Aphra Behn (ed. Janet Todd), Oroonoko, the Rover and Other Works (Penguin Classics, 1999) Aphra Behn (ed. Janet Todd), The Complete Works of Aphra Behn:7 vols. (Pickering and Chatto, 1992-6) Claire Bowditch, The Works of Aphra Behn (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) W. J. Cameron, New Light on Aphra Behn (University of Auckland Press, 1961) Maureen Duffy, The Passionate Shepherdess: Aphra Behn, 1640-89 (Jonathan Cape, 1977) Derek Hughes, The Theatre of Aphra Behn (Palgrave Macmillan, 2001) Derek Hughes (ed.), Versions of Blackness: Oroonoko, Race and Slavery (Cambridge University Press, 2007) Jane Spencer, Aphra Behn’s Afterlife (Oxford University Press, 2000) Janet Todd (ed.), Aphra Behn Studies (Cambridge University Press, 1996) Janet Todd, Aphra Behn: A Secret Life (Fentum Press, 2017) Janet Todd and Derek Hughes (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Aphra Behn (Cambridge University Press, 2004) S. J. Wiseman, Aphra Behn (Northcote House, 1996) In Our Time is a BBC Studios production Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.
26 Aug

Canada tests the limits of Trump’s power

The trade war between the US and Canada has escalated after Canadian prime minister Mark Carney walked away from negotiations to cut a new trade deal with the US and declared up to 50% retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of American goods. Sumi and Anthony discuss how America’s once closest ally is fighting back, and if it could become a political problem for Trump as the midterms approach. And we mark the passing of musical legend Dolly Parton who has died at the age of 80. With a reputation defined by her quick quips and deep kindness, she had fans from across the political divide, leading an Americaster to ask what would have happened if she’d ever run for president? HOSTS: * Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent * Sumi Somaskanda, BBC Chief Presenter GET IN TOUCH: * Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB * Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 * Email Americast@bbc.co.uk * Or use #Americast This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app. You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers. US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155 Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (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. Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd

Global investigations from the BBC. Gripping stories from around the world – delve into a World of Secrets. Latest season: DNA detectives track down the British soldiers who fathered children in Kenya then disappeared. The mothers and children were left without support. We join the quest for justice. Also, previously on World of Secrets: The Darkest Web: Two US special agents infiltrate the dark web to rescue children. With access to the elite global team who hunt down people creating and trading in child sexual abuse materials. Death in Dubai: A woman falls from a tower block and her name starts trending. But behind the online rumours lies an even darker reality. And The Abercrombie Guys: Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. Please note, some of the images being used for World of Secrets seasons are for illustrative purposes only and the people depicted are models.

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When sport collides with true crime.

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The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.

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The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

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Writer and broadcaster Andrew Hunter Murray uncovers last century’s biggest ever publishing scandal, a forgery which rocked the world and destroyed reputations. When Germany’s biggest magazine Stern announced in 1983 that they’d found the long-lost diaries of Adolf Hitler, authenticated by the eminent British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, the world was poised to rewrite history. Salvaged from the wreckage of a Junkers plane which had crashed escaping Hitler’s Berlin bunker in the dying days of the war, the diaries had been hidden in a hayloft in East Germany for forty years. And remarkably they had now come to light, smuggled across the border into West Germany at the height of the Cold War. One lone journalist, Gerd Heidemann, known as ‘The Bloodhound’, had tracked them down. It had taken two years of secret missions and millions of Deutschmarks to amass all sixty volumes of Hitler’s personal, handwritten journals. The world was about to find the truth of Adolf Hitler’s mind: what he knew, what motivated him, his intimate reflections as the Third Reich rose and fell. That, at least, was the story – a story which news organisations the world over, including Rupert Murdoch’s newly-acquired Sunday Times, believed. This would be a sensation – assuming, of course, that it was true. It’s a tale of greed, obsession and mass delusion. It includes Hermann Göring’s yacht, Nazi-themed honeymoons, Idi Amin’s underpants, and more details almost too unbelievable for words. Murray interviews the people who were there as the diaries were announced to the world, and as the story fell apart: the archivist tasked with authenticating the diaries in Germany, the TV producer led around the homes of retired Nazis to film a promotional doc for the scoop, and the Fleet Street editor given 24 hours to create a world-beating story based on fraudulent material. Murray’s mission is to track down the actual books which caused all this chaos, and to get as close as he can to the truth. In our own time of AI, fake news and disinformation, are there any lessons we can take from the greatest hoax of the last fifty years? A Whistledown Production for BBC Sounds and Radio 4 Presenter: Andrew Hunter Murray Producer: Ruth Abrahams

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History
From ghostly phantoms to UFOs, Danny Robins investigates real-life stories of paranormal encounters. So, are you Team Believer or Team Sceptic? Written and presented by Danny Robins Editor and Sound Designer: Charlie Brandon-King Music: Evelyn Sykes Theme Music by Lanterns on the Lake Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4

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Documentary

The BBC offers a curated selection of the BBC’s best podcasts, ranging across global news, true crime, pop culture, science, history and sports. The BBC has been producing award-winning audio for a century, and our trusted global news has made us a household name for just as long. Now, the BBC allows listeners to connect with whatever audio content their ears desire. Stay up to date with what’s happening across the world with The Global Story and Global News Podcast. Immerse yourself in thrilling true-crime investigations such as World of Secrets, Stalked, Believe in Magic and The Missing Cryptoqueen. There are podcasts for history, science, and culture fans with series such as In Our Time, You’re Dead to Me and The Infinite Monkey Cage. If you're outside the UK, you can subscribe to BBC Podcasts Premium for ad-free listening and new exclusives every month.

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Shadows on the Pitch: 1. No Terrorists in America

Shadows on the Pitch: 2. Son of Anarchy

Invisible Hands: The American Century: 1. Mr Nobody

Invisible Hands: The American Century: 2. The Prophet

Invisible Hands: The American Century: Trailer

Episode 1: Megan

The mistake in Trump’s tariff formula

Epic of Gilgamesh (Radio Edit)

Archive: Aphra Behn

Canada tests the limits of Trump’s power

Get exclusive episodes, early access, and more

Halloween Countdown. Case 4: The Girl in the Pond

Trailer: World of Secrets: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods

Update: Live show and season 3!

UCL Debrief: Liverpool end winless run as Chelsea’s teenagers shine

Ruthless Red Roses thrash Scotland

John Mitchell special

Champions Cup launch part 1: Curry, Spencer & Rhule

The pod's favourite number 9

The end of year review

Witness History

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