Mystery on the Rocks
Episodes
Episode 137: The Murder of Viola Liuzzo | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #30
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1965, civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo was fatally shot during a car chase when she was pursued by four members of the KKK after she had been shu...
Episode 136: The Assassination of JFK | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #29
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The daddy of all conspiracy theories...In November 1963, president of the United States John F Kennedy is shot dead in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswal...
Episode 135: The Cuban Missile Crisis | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #28
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we find ourselves well and truly in the 1960s with the world the closest to nuclear war as it had come by this point... We take a quick look...
Episode 134: The Lost Cosmonauts | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #27
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union supposedly sent up doomed manned spaceflights before Yuri Gagarin was recognised officially as the fir...
Members' Lounge Open Day
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Due to life/scheduling reasons, this week's episode isn't our regular programming. Instead of a mystery, this is a compilation of a tiny percentage of...
Episode 133: Lester C Hunt & The Fall of McCarthyism | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #26
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our current season continues into the 1950s as we take a look at the suicide of Lester C Hunt, a Democratic Senator for Wyoming. Several factors could...
Episode 132: The Death of Joseph Stalin | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #25
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we find the Cold War well and truly underway as one of the Soviet Union's most totemic figures (probably the most) bows out.In 1953, the Iro...
Episode 131: The Story of Harry & Harriet Moore | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #24
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode sees us move from the war into the 1950s, to the United States where the Civil Rights Movement is gaining momentum. So much so, th...
Episode 130: Fat Man & Little Boy | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #23
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we recorded on location in Sooz's dressing room as she got ready for a show (hence the echo, sorry guys) to discuss the end of World War II...
A Very Self-Indulgent Birthday Party
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Birthday to us! We take a break from the current season as this week's episode is our third birthday special! A hugely self-indulgent stroll dow...
Episode 129: Adolf Hitler - Death of a Farty Coward | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #22
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we are reaching the end of World War II and quite probably our most immature episode yet as we take a look at some of the conspiracy theorie...
Episode 128: The Nazi Gold Train | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #21
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For listeners from Eastern Europe, Poland specifically, we apologise sincerely and profusely for our terrible, terrible pronunciations. What dinguses ...
Episode 127: Operation Mincemeat - The Man who Never Was | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #20
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In early 1943, the Allies are planning to invade Sicily - although with each side of the war closely scrutinising the other with a ramped up focus on ...
Episode 126: Pearl Harbor Double Bill | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #19
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Slightly looser episode this week as we get far too distracted by the relationship status of the two main characters in Jurassic Park but when we get ...
Episode 125: Kristallnacht | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #18
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We might take a little longer than usual to get to the subject of this week's episode because Sooz and Chris were recording in the same room and so mo...
Episode 124: Who Stabbed Dimitri Navachine? Geopolitics, War & Espionage #17
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our current season hits 1937 an we head to Paris where Russian politician and economist Dimitri Navachine is stabbed to death while walking his dog. D...
Episode 123: Federico & Franco | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #16
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Federico Garcia Lorca was one of Spain's most promising and famous poets and playwrights of the 1920s. The fall of the Restoration era in 1931 saw the...
Episode 122: The Murder of Gareth Jones | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #15
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Famine hit the Soviet Union in 1932-1933, killing millions upon millions. It was covered up with creative language in the press but certain crusading ...
Episode 121: Who Was Wallace Fard Muhammad? Geopolitics, War & Espionage #14
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we learn about the founder of the controversial religious and political group Nation of Islam - Wallace Fard Muhammad. No fixed date of birt...
Episode 120: The Night of the Long Knives (or, Did Hitler J*** While Soft?) Geopolitics, War & Espionage #13
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1934 to consolidate his iron grip on Germany, Hitler did away with dozens of political foes, and even allies he considered might be foes. This was ...
Episode 119: Magnus Hirschfeld and the Fate of Dora Richter Geopolitics, War & Espionage #12
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Nazis are in power and barely one month after the enabling act effectively makes Hitler dictator of Germany steps are made to eradicate literature...
Episode 118: The Reichstag Fire | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #11
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We hit the 1930s in our Geopolitics, War & Espionage season and hotfoot it straight over to Germany in 1933 where something big was brewing. Hitle...
Episode 117: The Kidnapping of Casper Holstein | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #10
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
1928 New York. Prohibition has been in place for some time but some of the criminal underworld (who have been some of the few to profit from its tight...
Mystery on the Rocks Christmas Drinks
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're taking a week off from our ongoing themed season for a chilled-out Christmas special - join us for some Christmas drinks where we go t...
Episode 116: The Death of Morduch Halsman | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #9
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In September 1928 Latvian dentist Morduch Halsman is hiking in Austria with his son, Phillippe. He loses his footing and plummets off a cliff to the h...
Episode 115: The Osage Murders | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #8
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When a Native American people gains immense wealth from oil found on their land at the beginning of the 20th Century, it sets in motion a chain of eve...
Episode 114: The Assassination of Michael Collins | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #7
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we decide to educate ourselves on something which didn't really get taught to us at school or, we feel, get adequately explained to us as c...
Episode 113: The Wall Street Bombing | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #6
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On September 16th 1920, an attack on Wall Street killed 30 people instantly, 10 more in the aftermath and injured hundreds more. Yet it remains unsolv...
Episode 112: The Spy Who Predicted Pearl Harbor| Geopolitics, War & Espionage #5
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Following the Great War, in the early 1920s celebrated military strategist Earl Hancock Ellis worked tirelessly on a secret project - a project which ...
Episode 111: The Disappearance of William Cantelo | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #4
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Following last week's encounter with the nefarious Sir Basil Zaharoff, we rewind to the 1880s when machine gun inventor William Cantelo vanishes compl...
Episode 110: Chocolate For ZedZed: The Merchant of Death | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #3
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Basil Zaharoff. One of the most evil men who ever lived. Bigamist, fraudster, international arms dealer. Codename: ZedZed. A real nasty piece of w...
Episode 109: Anastasia | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #2
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Season Five continues with one of the great 20th Century mysteries; did Princess Anastasia Romanov survive the Bolshevik revolution and execution of h...
Episode 108: The Mad Monk Rasputin | Geopolitics, War & Espionage #1
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kicking off Season Five of Mystery on the Rocks (a kinda themed trawl through Geopolitics, War & Espionage of the 20th Century) is our 100th case....
Episode 107: The Vanishing Blonde and the Mercury Man
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's our Season Four finale and we wanted to pick a doozy for it! So come with us to Florida in 2005 as we look at how a woman got out of a hotel she ...
Episode 106: The Zeta Reticuli Incident
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode focuses on one of the earliest stories of alien abduction, that of Barney and Betty Hill who claimed to have been abducted by an a...
Episode 105: The Tale of John Lang
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode, as voted for by our awesome supporters on Patreon in our monthly mystery vote, is the tale of John Lang who in 2016 was found dea...
Episode 104: The Life and Death of Sonny Liston
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Something a little different this week as we got together in the same (really echoey - sorry!) room and lay out a story suggested just one hour prior ...
Episode 103: Dead Creek, or The Suspicious Death of Jonathan Luna
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A case which has nothing whatsoever to do with 90s movies but which we still managed to make aaaaaallllllll about 90s movies.In 2003, assistant attorn...
Episode 102: The Murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, intellectual, actor, journalist, novelist, playwright and political figure who created...
Episode 101: The Toxic Lady
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Gloria Ramirez was 31 years old when she was admitted to Riverside General Hospital Emergency Room in February 1994, delirious and speaking gibberish ...
Episode 100: 100th Episode Centenary Special
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A big one today. Not including the initial trailer, this week's episode is our big 100!So allow us a little self indulgence as we discuss, among other...
Episode 99: Sunil Patel and the Ghost of Copper Hole
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Wonderful comedian, actor and decent bloke Sunil Patel popped by the bar this week to reduce us to hysterics while talking about a Welsh sheep farmer ...
Episode 98: Freddie, Kenny & Lady Di's Big Night Out
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After an 11th hour guest cancellation we decided to discuss the case between ourselves anyway and had a fun conversation about the oft-repeated story ...
Episode 97: The Ourang Medan (Live From The Bill Murray)
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A couple of weeks ago, we got together to do Mystery on the Rocks in the same room for the first time in over a year and did a live show from Angel Co...
Episode 96: Matt Highton and the Circleville Letters
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The brilliant comedian, director and man behind all those TV intros you have seen re-imagined as stock footage Matt Highton poked his head round the d...
Episode 95: Juliette Burton and the Sonora Aero Club
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Juliette Burton is an absolutely top-drawer comedian, writer and actor as well as being one of the country's foremost speakers and advocates on the to...
Episode 94: Stuart Laws and the Murder of Eric Tamiyasu
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Stuart Laws isn't just a fantastic comedian in his own right, he is also behind some of the best online comedy content of the past few years. His comp...
Episode 93: Vix Leyton and the Case of the Sherlock Holmes Scholar
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week the fabulous Vix Leyton, stand-up comedian and host of the awesome Comedy Arcade podcast, swung by and was even generous enough to get the r...
Episode 92: Helen Duff and the Watseka Wonder
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joining us for this week's episode is absolutely fantastic comedian, actor and writer Helen Duff. You may have seen Helen on The Mash Report, heard he...
Episode 91: "Grand" "Reopening"
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a couple of weeks of unexpected hiatus the bar is back in business! And we've made a few changes. We have a couple bits of news so, before we ge...
Episode 90: Gráinne Maguire and the Wilma Montesi Mystery
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's guest is fantastic comedian, writer and political commentator Gráinne Maguire, who has appeared on Question Time, written on sh...
Episode 89: Jarred Christmas and Gef the Talking Mongoose
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sauntering into the bar this week is the effortlessly funny and absolutely top drawer Jarred Christmas who brightens up the bar with tales of his time...
Episode 88: Henry Zebrowski and Murder in Setagaya
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A bit of a dream for us this week as we are joined by actor, comedian and podcast legend Henry Zebrowski! Henry has cropped up in all manner of film a...
Episode 87: What Is Jeremy Renner? Hollywood Case File #31
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's the Hollywood season finale and there's an end of term vibe as Sooz and Masud bring in their boardgame and lead with their own mystery. Both shar...
Episode 86: Hollywood Case Files, The Story So Far...
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of next week's Hollywood Case Files finale, we take a brisk walk down memory lane as we recount all the cases we've covered so far in our Hollyw...
Episode 85: Who On Earth is Tommy Wiseau? Hollywood Case File #30
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When 'The Room' was released in 2003 it very quickly became widely recognised as the worst film ever made but a mystery which endures to this day surr...
Episode 84: Brando, Jacko & Liz Taylor's Escape from New York | Hollywood Case File #29
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On September 11 2001, in the wake of the devastating attacks on America, firm celebrity friends Michael Jackson, Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor fi...
Episode 83: Who Shot Bonnie Lee Bakley? Hollywood Case File #28
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our Hollywood series hits the 21st century as we take a look at the fatal shooting of Hollywood wannabe Bonnie Lee Bakley as she sat alone in her husb...
Episode 82: The Strange Case of Gary DeVore | Hollywood Case File #27
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In June 1997, screenwriter Gary DeVore vanishes without trace after finishing a script said to expose corruption in the CIA. A year later, his car is ...
Episode 81: The Mystery on the Rocks Pandemic Christmas Party
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As it's Christmas, we take a week off Hollywood sleuthing so join us in a cocktail as we chat about our differing opinions on Christmas films, share m...
Episode 80: The O.J. Simpson Murder Trial | Hollywood Case File #26
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In June 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were brutally murdered - stabbed multiple times in a frenzied attack. The resulting tria...
Episode 79: The Ghost of the Hollywood Sign | Hollywood Case File #25
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1990 two dog walkers saw an ethereal woman in 1930s dress looking dazed and confused near the Hollywood sign. This was far from the first and ...
Episode 78: Richard Gere's Ass Gerbil | Hollywood Case File #24
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A stubborn rumour which won't go away... Join us as we discuss the possible origins and sources for the urban myth/true story (delete according to per...
Episode 77: The Peter Ivers Mystery | Hollywood Case File #23
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In March 1983, avant garde musician and anarchic late-night TV show host Peter Ivers is found in his Los Angeles loft apartment bludgeoned to death wi...
Episode 76: Natalie Wood | Hollywood Case File #22
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the biggest Hollywood mysteries... After finding fame as a child star in films such as 'Miracle on 34th Street' and becoming one of movies' mos...
Episode 75: The Gang & The Election (Minisode)
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When we recorded the most recent episode about The Wonderland Murders, we ended up getting sidetracked quite a lot by the recent US election, its surr...
Episode 74: The Wonderland Murders | Hollywood Case File #21
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In July 1981, four people were brutally murdered in a Laurel Canyon townhouse in a crime scene detectives described as 'more gruesome' than the Manson...
Episode 73: The Murder of Bob Crane | Hollywood Case File #20
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wholesome 1960s sitcom star Bob Crane was murdered in 1978 in Arizona, beaten by an unknown object and found in his apartment with a cord wrapped arou...
Episode 72: The Story of Christa Helm | Hollywood Case File #19
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Christa Helm just wanted to be a famous movie star and would do anything to make it happen. Making unbelievable connections and an unlikely fortune al...
Episode 71: The Curse of the Omen | Hollywood Case File #18
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1976, seminal horror movie 'The Omen' was released, depicting the birth and early childhood of the Antichrist. But some say the movie itself was cu...
Episode 70: The Death of Bruce Lee | Hollywood Case File #17
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
July 1973, fast-rising superstar Bruce Lee dies suddenly while in Hong Kong. His brain is swollen by 13% and the world asks how someone at the peak of...
Episode 69: The Manson Family | Hollywood Case File #16
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century... Over two nights in August 1969 members of the cult The Manson Family carried out seven brutal ...
Episode 68: Did the Devil Kill Jayne Mansfield? Hollywood Case File #15
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In June 1967 Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield died in a terrible car accident after a turbulent career and much publicised private life. However, there ...
Episode 67: Was Disney Frozen? Hollywood Case File #14
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Walt Disney died in 1966 but rumours persist that he insisted his body be cryogenically frozen in the hope that one day he could be revived and able t...
Episode 66: Marilyn Monroe | Hollywood Case File #13
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A slight left turn for us this week as our Hollywood series hits the 60s! And what would a Hollywood series be without an episode on the ultimate movi...
Episode 65: The Death of Superman | Hollywood Case File #12
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In June 1959 the actor George Reeves is found in his bedroom, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. World famous for his role as Superman in the huge...
Episode 64: The Disappearance of Jean Spangler | Hollywood Case File #11
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In October 1949 professional dancer Jean Spangler vanished without trace... Not even her purse, which was found two days later, could help detectives ...
Episode 63: Bugsy Siegel Gets Whacked | Hollywood Case File #10
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In June 1947 the prominent gangster, feared mobster and casino mogul Bugsy Siegel was shot dead following an eye-popping 20-year career involving exto...
Episode 62: The Red Lipstick Murder | Hollywood Case File #9
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
February 1947. Mere weeks after the Black Dahlia killing Jeanne French is found by a Los Angeles roadside, naked and beaten to death and with an obsce...
Episode 61: The Black Dahlia | Hollywood Case File #8
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most enduring unsolved murders of the 20th Century is the brutal killing of Elizabeth Short, otherwise known as The Black Dahlia. In Januar...
Episode 60: The Killing of Georgette Bauerdorf | Hollywood Case File #7
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
October, 1944. A wealthy oil heiress who is nevertheless trying to make her own way in Hollywood is found murdered, face down in her overflowing batht...
Episode 59: The Murder of the Masked Marvel | Hollywood Case File #6
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In September 1943, a car careens out of control on a busy boulevard before coming to an abrupt stop in an adjacent field. The driver, wearing only swi...
Episode 58: The Battle of Los Angeles | Hollywood Case File #5
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Through the night of February 24th 1942, LA was plunged into a blackout as American forces at the beginning of their war effort defended the county fr...
Episode 57: The Suspicious Demise of Thelma Todd | Hollywood Case File #4
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Not every movie star was able to make the transition from silent film to the 'talkies' but phenomenal actress Thelma Todd was one of the few who could...
Episode 56: The Thomas H Ince Conspiracy | Hollywood Case File #3
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1924, a party to celebrate the birthday of revolutionary movie producer Thomas H Ince takes place aboard the luxury yacht of pioneering media mog...
Episode 55: Who Killed William Desmond Taylor? Hollywood Case File #2
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While last week's case was still ongoing, prominent film director William Desmond Taylor was found shot in the back in his Hollywood home. A litany of...
Episode 54: The Death of Virginia Rappe | Hollywood Case File #1
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hello listener, and welcome to something a little different... Join us for the first in a mini series where Mystery on the Rocks Do Hollywo...
Episode 53: Katy Montgomerie and the Murder of the Blind Architect
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A blind architect found bludgeoned in an empty mansion... £12 million of missing gold bars... The search for Camelot... And an ubercool guest as...
Episode 52: Mike Balazo and the Sherman Murders
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Beaming all the way over the Atlantic is fantastic writer and comedian Mike Balazo. Winning the Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing in a Variety of...
Episode 51: Saima Ferdows and the Great Mull Air Mystery
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Joining us for some lockdown-eased larks this week is comedy producer and director extraordinaire Saima Ferdows! As well as racking up credits impress...
Episode 50: Sooz, Chris & Masud Have a Lock-In
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In an unprecedented turn of events, our guest this week just... Never showed up. But we recorded the ensuing chat regardless! Plus, a former guest mes...
Episode 49: Danielle Rowley and the Vanishing Victor Grayson
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We've put on our best clothes and gone all serious (of course not) as we are now bona fide political interviewers... We're joined this week by former ...
Episode 48: Adele Cliff and the Icebox Murders
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Responsibly distancing herself from everyone else in the bar this week is one-liner comedian extraordinaire Adele Cliff. Adele's jokes have featured i...
Episode 47: Charlie Baker and the Devil's Footprints
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Joining us in lockdown this week is comedian, singer, actor and dancer Charlie Baker! Charlie has turned his hand to most things and excelled at all o...
Episode 46: Carl Donnelly and the Formidable Dolly Osterreich
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Popping into the bar today is phenomenally funny comedian Carl Donnelly. Carl is also a bona fide podcasting legend having hosted 'The Carl Donnelly &...
Episode 45: Ken Cheng and The Gatton Murders
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Popping into the bar during his daily outdoor exercise allowance is the hilarious comedian and professional poker player Ken Cheng. As well as his own...
Episode 44: Suzy Bennett and the Murder of Barbara Colby
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Another week in lockdown sees ace comedian, former Butlins Redcoat and avowed Columbo superfan Suzy Bennett beam into the bar with a proper posh cockt...
Episode 43: Joz Norris and the Mandela Effect
09 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Joining us at the bar during lockdown (without breaking any rules don't call the police please thanks) this week is award-winning alternative comic, s...
Episode 42: Paul Gannon and The Enfield Poltergeist
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nipping in for a swift one this week is real life ghost hunter and Ghost Busters fanatic, Paul Gannon! Paul has been writing, producing and performing...
Episode 41: Heidi Regan and The Travellers in the Fourth Dimension
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Come to quench her thirst this week is Heidi Regan! Heidi is an award-winning Australian writer and stand up comedian. She co-hosts the BBC podcast Gr...