Bad People
Episodes
34. #Pizzagate: Why do people believe conspiracy theories?
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2016 the pizza restaurant owner James Alefantis began to receive a large number of abusive messages on social media. Confused and afraid, he g...
33. Kill Team: Could you be trained to kill on command?
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A group of American soldiers sought out and murdered three civilians in Afghanistan. How did this happen? Was it the work of a rogue platoon or is it ...
32. Jimmy McGovern: Doing Time
20 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Bad People features the writer of the new BBC One hit drama, Time, Jimmy McGovern. There will be spoilers. Mark Cobden is drunk. Again...
31. Horrorhaus Höxter 2: Should we judge offenders for being ice cold?
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is part two of the shocking story of abuse and torture which marked the small German town of Höxter. Angelika was called the ‘torture witch’...
30. Horrorhaus Höxter 1: Do you need to be a sadist to torture people?
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the middle of a snowstorm in April 2016 a car broke down on the outskirts of a sleepy German town. Angelika, a middle-aged woman, stepped out and...
29. Tuskegee Trauma: How lethal is medical racism?
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1930s in Tuskegee, Alabama, hundreds of men signed up to a medical study which offered free transportation to and from hospitals, free hot lunc...
28. Eating Fireballs: Is prison education a good idea?
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1997 Lyle May murdered a young mother and her son, allegedly after being annoyed by them at a dinner party. He was later convicted of two counts of...
27. Hollywood Predator: Would you keep an open secret?
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
American film producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for two separate cases of sexual assault. Women have made allegations...
26. House of Tears: Why do we mistreat young mums?
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Children are playing on the grounds of a former Irish Mother and Baby Home in Tuam when they find 20 tiny skeletons under a concrete slab. Stories fol...
25. Suicide Voyeur: Why is assisted dying a crime?
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
William Melchert-Dinkle posed as a female nurse online and encouraged people with suicidal thoughts to hang themselves. He even watched some of them c...
24. Missing Little Princess: Can we detect high-stakes lies?
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the 19th February 2008, nine-year-old Shannon Matthews went missing in Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. She had just been dropped off by a coach at her ...
23. Blue Lips: Does good cop / bad cop actually work?
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the 22nd of April 1972, the police in the southeast London borough of Lewisham were alerted to a house fire on Doggett Road. On the second floor of...
22. The Butcher of Baghdad: Would you kill a dictator?
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, was implicated in the killing of between 50,000 and 100,000 people. In 2006, he was sentenced to death...
21. No Angel: When is spreading infectious diseases a crime?
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Popstar Nadja Benaissa was convicted of recklessly transmitting HIV. She was blackmailed and attacked by the press. Did she deserve the hatred she rec...
No fooling, Bad People is back
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Murderers. Dictators. Sex offenders. Why do people do bad things? Bad People is back for another series.Archive credits: This episode contains audio f...
Bad People x The Serpent Part 3: Hunting Sobhraj
14 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Charles Sobhraj is a convicted killer and the inspiration for the new BBC One drama, The Serpent. Julia and Sofie speak with producer Paul Testar abou...
Bad People x The Serpent Part 2: Psychopathic charm
23 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Charles Sobhraj is a convicted killer and the inspiration for the new BBC One drama, The Serpent.Julia and Sofie speak with Julie Clark, journalist an...
20. Murder Behind Bars: How does prison change you?
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a man serving multiple life sentences keeps killing in prison?In July 1996, while in solitary confinement, Craig Bjork wrote to the ...
19. Livestreaming Killer: Would you kill for fame?
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Early one morning in July 2019, Brandon Clark used his online platform to share graphic photos with his followers, including a photo that appeared to ...
Bad People x The Serpent Part 1: The hippie trail
01 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Charles Sobhraj is a convicted killer and the inspiration for the new BBC One drama, The Serpent. Julia and Sofie speak with producer Paul Testar to...
18. Lone Wolf: Who becomes a far-right terrorist?
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When far-right terrorist Anders Breivik murdered 77 people, many of whom were children, court-appointed psychiatrists declared him insane. Many Norweg...
Black Saturday: Why is Wildfire Arson Common?
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On February 7th 2009, Australia experienced its worst natural disaster. The weeks-long intense heat and gale force winds culminated in 400 separate wi...
16. The Pearl Earring: No body, no parole?
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If a killer refuses to reveal where they’ve hidden a body – should they have to stay in prison?Helen McCourt’s family campaigned for the UK to a...
15. "Insanity": Can schizophrenia cause violence?
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There were signs that the former polo player Alexander Lewis Ranwell was unravelling in early 2019. He’d lost his job and his girlfriend, was living...
14. Piggy's Palace 2: Are serial killers intelligent?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An excavation reveals horrific truths about Robert Pickton. The bodies of dozens of women are unearthed on a pig farm, many of whom are sex workers an...
13. Piggy's Palace 1: Why are witnesses reluctant?
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over 60 sex workers go missing in Vancouver. Robert Pickton is a pig farmer. There are stories of bloodied women's clothes on his farm and even a de...
12. Ward Four: Can you spot Munchausen by Proxy?
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hospitals are places of safety, where staff help people to get better. So the parents of four children left in the care of Beverley Allitt never imag...
11. Plant Pot Killer: How do our biases blind us?
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People have been going missing from Toronto’s Gay Village since the 70s. The gay community claims that the police are not taking the disappearances ...
Bad People is back
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Murderers. Psychopaths. Sex offenders. Why do people do bad things? Bad People is back. Warning: Contains strong language and references to sexual vio...
10. Bad Blood: Should you fake it till you make it?
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Holmes is the world’s youngest self made female billionaire. But her nine billion dollar startup disintegrated when the truth came out. On...
9. Unimaginable: Can we understand paedophiles?
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the small Danish town Tønder, a man is talking to a friend when the conversation takes a dark turn. His friend asks him whether he wants to have s...
8. The Land of Fires: What are green crimes?
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some 10 million tonnes of industrial waste has reportedly been dumped in a small Italian town over the past 30 years.The local mafia is suspected of s...
7. River Rat: What leads to false confessions?
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Two friends knock on Angie Dodge’s door and find her lying on the floor. She had been raped, stabbed and her throat cut. The police arrive, take DNA...
6. When Children Kill: Should we imprison kids?
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
NOTE – Discussion of this case was correct at the time of broadcast. An update – which includes the exoneration of the three boys – is outlined ...
5. The Wrong Man: What causes misidentification?
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A man breaks into Jennifer Thompson’s apartment, severs her phone wires and rapes her. Jennifer studies his face, hoping to remember enough details ...
4. Cannibal Cop: What is your darkest fantasy?
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Police officer Gilberto Valle opens the door to find his house surrounded by the FBI. His wife had discovered gruesome stories of kidnap and cannibali...
3. Remembering Monsters: Can we trust memories?
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
John was home alone with his father when he suddenly remembers being abused as a child. In a fit of rage he strangles his father to death.In 2017 John...
2. Murder in Peachland: When do women kill?
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A high school house party is in full swing in the quiet town of Peachland, Canada. Suddenly, hysterical screams are heard. 16-year-old Ashlee Hyatt ha...
1. The Nightstalker: Who marries a serial killer?
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1984 a serial killer was on the loose in Los Angeles. Richard Ramirez or the ‘night stalker’ as he would come to be known, broke ...
Welcome to Bad People
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Murders. Sex offenders. Corporate psychopaths. Cannibals. This is a podcast about the people we consider to be the worst around.