PODCASTS/AUDIOBOOKS

Wrongly Accused: The Annette Hewins Story

In October 1995, a 21-year-old woman and her two young daughters died in a horrific house fire in Merthyr Tydfil. It is soon discovered that the fire, initially thought to be an accident, was actually set deliberately and the police launched a murder enquiry. Shortly afterwards three women were arrested and charged with arson and intent to endanger life. Among them was mother of five Annette Hewins who maintained her innocence and made a desperate plea from prison. After nearly three years in jail, her conviction was overturned at the Court of Appeal and she was set free. However, that terrible miscarriage of justice haunted her for the rest of her life. Her daughter Nicole Jacob investigates how the justice system failed her mother.

How to Win An Information War BBC Sounds, review by Yvette Huddleston

Author Peter Pomeratsev tells the extraordinary story of German-born Englishman Sefton Delmer who, during the Second World War, used his radio broadcasts to subvert the Nazis’ propaganda machine. In Radio 4’s book of the week slot, Alan Cox reads this remarkable account of bravery and clever counter-propaganda. In the summer of 1941, with the Nazis ruling Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, Britain was struggling to combat the influential propaganda created by Joseph Goebbels which was claiming imminent victory while smearing the enemy. From inside Germany, a voice of dissent, known as der Chef, was questioning Nazi doctrine. The broadcasts were listened to by German soldiers and citizens who were unaware that der Chef was actually a character created by Delmer.

53 Minutes Various platforms, review by Yvette Huddleston

This new six-part podcast series hosted by award-winning comedians Josh Widdicombe and Dara O Briain explores the story of footballer Ali Dia’s overnight rise to fame to the Premier League – for just 53 minutes. He made one appearance for Southampton in 1996 and it is an event that is still remembered with some shock and dismay by those who witnessed it. The series takes listeners back in time and hears from footballing legends such as Eric Cantona, Alan Shearer and Gianfranco Zola and asks the question – how did it happen? Was Ali Dia a hoaxer or just incredibly lucky? The hosts hear the take on this mystery from other guests including footballers, sports journalists and Southampton manager at the time Graham Souness.

Child BBC Sounds , review by Yvette Huddleston

This excellent, exhaustive series hosted by India Rakusen follows a child right from the moment of conception up to its first birthday viewed through a social, scientific and historical lens. In the opening episode Rakusen visits a lab in Cambridge to view a human embryo and speaks to leading cell biologist Magdelana Zernika-Goetz about how human life begins to unfold in those very early stages. We also hear from child psychologist Graham Music and historian Elinor Cleghorn about how intertwined humans are with the world that surrounds them and the instant effects of a new-born baby on its mother. Subsequent episodes cover a wide range of topics and issues including the amazing properties of the placenta, ultrasound scans and pain relief in labour.