PODCAST

File on 4 Investigates

BBC Radio 4

News-making original journalism documentary series, investigating stories at home and abroad.

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

36:50

Covid Crime

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/06/02

The covid-19 pandemic continues to have a profound effect on society - including the world of serious organised crime. The closure of international borders and global lockdown has made some criminal activities impossible while at the same time creating opportunities for new ones. While law enforcement around the world grapple with this new challenge, criminals seek to profit from the pandemic. In this episode of File on 4, reporter Paul Connolly examines how the global crisis has changed

36:50

Game Changer: How the UK played on during coronavirus

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/05/26

From the Olympics to Euro 2020, the world’s biggest sporting events have fallen like dominoes because of coronavirus. But as the global pandemic was declared and most European countries closed their sports stadiums, the UK allowed events to carry on with hundreds of thousands of fans coming together to watch everything from Champions League football to the Cheltenham Gold Cup. File on 4 casts a forensic eye over the decisions that were made before the UK went into lockdown, speaks to those at the

36:54

Coronavirus: The care homes catastrophe

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/05/19

The awful impact of Covid-19 on the lives of care home residents and staff is now well understood. But many in the industry believe the authorities, both local and national, didn't recognise the threat of the virus on the most vulnerable elderly early enough and didn't react quickly enough to stop it spreading through their homes. File on 4 hears from those who say opportunities to collect and share information were missed, that vital PPE supplies weren't secured quickly enough and that a policy of

37:03

Coronavirus: Stories from behind the mask

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/05/12

They’re the intensive care staff we see on the TV news. In their protective equipment, we can’t see their expressions – even their own colleagues find it hard to recognise them behind their masks. We can’t read their faces, but we can hear their thoughts - as they record a series of diaries as the weeks in the grip of the virus go by. In these recordings for File on 4, doctors and nurses take off their masks and reveal their private emotions and professional fears. They talk from the heart,

36:47

Critical Condition: Allegations of failings at Great...

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/03/17

Great Ormond Street Hospital in London has a global reputation for providing outstanding care to children with the most complex medical conditions who need expert help. The hospital, known as GOSH, boasts more specialist services for children under one roof than any other and employs some of the country's leading doctors to staff them. The vast majority of the 43,000 children who stay at GOSH every year receive care which befits its reputation. But when things go wrong, is the hospital being

37:04

Extreme measures: Can extremists be de-radicalised?

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/03/10

Usman Khan was released from prison in 2018 for plotting a terror attack. He'd undertaken two de-radicalisation programmes designed to turn him away from violent extremism. Yet despite efforts to rehabilitate him, Khan launched an attack near London Bridge - killing two people. It was the first of two violent attacks involving convicted extremists in a little over two months. So just how effective are schemes designed to de-radicalise offenders? For the first time, File on 4 hears from those at the

36:49

Taking the Rap

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/03/03

When a video of one of the UK's biggest rap stars being attacked went viral, it marked the start of a series of events that left three young people dead. They died when tensions escalated between rival gangs in Tottenham and Wood Green in the north London borough of Haringey. File on 4 has been told the events that led to their deaths were triggered by an attack on a rapper called Headie One from the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham. Tensions were escalated via social media - violent tit-for-tat

36:52

Something in the Air?

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/02/26

In January 2020, a British Airways flight from Athens to London issued a "Mayday" emergency call when the pilot flying the plane became incapacitated during a "fume event". The airline industry does not reveal how often fume events happen, but according to some estimates they occur every day on airlines worldwide.. They are thought to be caused by air containing chemicals from engine oil passing into the cabin.Pilots and cabin crew say that sudden fume events and long term low level exposure to

36:50

Fair game? The secrets of football betting

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/02/18

In recent years, betting companies have invested millions in Britain’s professional football leagues through sponsorship deals and blanket advertising campaigns. The ever-increasing collaboration between the two has been labelled as the ‘Gamblification of professional football’ – a term which, for many, raises serious concerns. File on 4 puts this controversial relationship under the microscope, asking if football’s public endorsement of gambling companies is helping to normalise, even encourage, a

36:54

Sewage Sludge

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/02/04

For decades sewage sludge from waste treatment works has been used as a fertiliser on agricultural land. But File on 4 hears serious concerns over whether it could pose a risk to human health and whether tougher regulation is needed. The practice is perfectly legal. Treated sewage known as 'sludge' or 'biosolids' provides a rich and cost-effective source of nutrients for soil which is then used to grow crops. The process saves more than three and a half million tonnes of human waste going into

36:49

Facial Recognition

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/01/28

File on 4 has been tracking the roll-out of facial recognition tech across Britain’s streets, shopping centres and football grounds. The Metropolitan Police has announced it will use live facial recognition cameras operationally for the first time on London streets. The force sees the technology as a vital tool in the fight against crime. But privacy campaigners say it's a 'serious threat to civil liberties.'The pace is frenetic – new computer systems can watch thousands of people at once, with the

37:04

After The Flood

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/01/21

Few who saw the pictures of the devastating floods which hit the Yorkshire village of Fishlake will forget those images of houses and fields sunk beneath the waters of the River Don. But who knows what life looks like for the residents after the water has receded? Reporter Anna Cavell discovers a village fighting not only to get back into their homes, but also trying to find out what can protect them if the waters return. Delays to insurance claims and businesses struggling to get back to work are

36:56

Separated Siblings

File on 4 Investigates ·

2020/01/14

When Sophia was growing up, she had an imaginary friend. It was only later she learned that the little girl she played with in her mind was not imaginary at all, but a distant memory of an older sister. The two had been separated when they were in care, and contact between them was soon lost. It might sound like a Dickensian tale of misery, but it’s not rare for siblings to be forced apart whilst in the UK’s care system.In England alone, there are currently more than 78,000 children living in

36:52

Going back: The people reversing their gender transition

File on 4 Investigates ·

2019/11/26

An increasing number of people are questioning their gender identity. Waiting lists for specialist clinics treating both children and adults with gender dysphoria are increasing, with some having to wait years to been seen. Many who transition to a gender different to the one they were assigned at birth live happy lives. But, File on 4 has spoken to some who now regret the taking of cross-sex hormones or undergoing surgery, and who are now detransitioning. They and experts working in the field of

36:55

Drug Shortages

File on 4 Investigates ·

2019/11/19

Medical professionals say shortages of commonly prescribed drugs are currently worse than ever before - impacting on patient care and potentially costing lives. The government has banned the export of some medications from the UK in an attempt to protect dwindling supplies but desperate patients are still travelling abroad to get the medication they need or, rationing their supply or going without treatments entirely. File on 4 examines the complex supply network behind the medication we’re

37:04

Anatomy of a fraud

File on 4 Investigates ·

2019/11/12

Dodgy diamonds, missing millions - and the victims failed by justice.It starts with a phone call. Cynthia Tuck, a retired nurse and widow in her 80's, is charmed by a man offering her the chance to help put her grandchildren through university. All it would take is a small initial investment. Fast forward three years and Mrs Tuck has lost her entire life savings - hundreds of thousands of pounds. Three years on, in 2019, her fight for justice has hit a dead end. No charges. No trial. Everyone

37:05

Crash Landing - The demise of Thomas Cook

File on 4 Investigates ·

2019/10/22

To its thousands of employees left unemployed or 150,000 holiday makers stranded overseas, the collapse of Britain’s oldest travel firm came as a bitter, unexpected shock. File on 4 takes a forensic look at the demise of the 178-year-old company, revealing how it came about, the warning signs that were ignored and why a last, desperate attempt at a bail-out came too late. Speaking to Thomas Cook insiders, the programme uncovers how senior executives made millions while loading the company with

36:46

Lost on the line: The county lines gangs recruiting...

File on 4 Investigates ·

2019/10/15

New figures have revealed at least four thousand young people are currently caught up in county lines – meeting orders for heroin and cocaine placed on mobile phone ‘deal lines’. They’re transporting drugs from cities to rural and coastal towns, and carrying weapons too – knives, hammers and acid.Many find themselves selling drugs in a strange town. Trapped, too scared to leave. Increasingly, when police raid the ‘traphouses’ where the drugs are held, they’re finding girls. But how many young

36:55

Can sex offenders and violent criminals be...

File on 4 Investigates ·

2019/10/08

The decision to scrap the Sex Offender Treatment Programme raised major concerns about the rehabilitation of prisoners and the impact on victims. The scheme was replaced five years after initial research suggested it wasn’t working - and might even increase the risk of re-offending. There are now calls to ensure that other courses, including those which cater for violent offenders, are properly evaluated. Campaigners claim the system for assessing the effectiveness of such programmes is too

36:53

Families versus the state: An unfair fight?

File on 4 Investigates ·

2019/10/01

Julie Montacute-Carter (pictured left) was found drowned in a lake after suffering from depression for many years. But when it came to the inquest into her death it fell to her daughter Becky Montacute to represent the family at the start of the inquest process - and then find and fund a lawyer herself. All because the family could not get Legal Aid. The mental health trust responsible for Julie's care however was able to spend tens of thousands of pounds in legal representation. Critics call this

494 results

File on 4 Investigates

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Voices of Life

APG Mannheim

Promo Estereo Podcast

Promo Estereo

Talking Timelines Podcast

Talkingtimelines

גיקונומי

ראם שרמן ודורון ניר

Drømmefanger

Drømmefanger