Unmissables: Explosive Lies
Podcast

Unmissables: Explosive Lies

Global

22 episodes

He said it could save lives. It didn’t. It couldn’t even find golf balls… Jim McCormick was a cocky English salesman with an outrageous claim: a black plastic gadget that could sniff out bombs using “electromagnetic energy.” The science was pure fiction. But in the panic after 9/11, governments bought the lie - paying up to $60,000 for a device that started life as a $20 novelty golf-ball finder. McCormick sold hope to armies and security forces across the globe. But hope turned deadly. Behind the deals were fragmented friendships, betrayals, and a truth so dangerous it would take years to drag into the light. Alice Levine uncovers the jaw-dropping story of a con that cost countless lives - and the unlikely people who stopped at nothing to uncover the truth. Explosive Lies is a Global Original podcast, produced by Forest Sounds in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

What this show covers

investigationfraudtrue crimesecrecybetrayalfriendshipdetective workbritish stateADEinvestigative journalismIraqleakspower and falloutdangerpower

What listeners will find here

A 40-year friendship collides with a secret that could shake governments
Steve must choose between loyalty to his oldest friend and revealing a secret with potentially huge consequences. As journalists Caroline Hawley and Meirion Jones dig deeper, the story begins to look far bigger than a personal betrayal.
An investigation widens toward alleged state complicity as a quiet pursuit closes in
This episode follows Steve and Meirion as their investigation accelerates and points toward shocking complicity within the British state. At the same time, Detective Niki White begins her own pursuit of Jim, setting up a potentially game-changing clash.
As the ADE’s influence grows, leaks and reporting threaten to crack the empire
This episode follows Jim as he pushes the ADE’s supposed power even further with support from a powerful Iraqi general. At the same time, secret leaks and a public investigation by journalists Caroline Hawley and Meirion Jones trigger an unexpected reaction.
The case hits a wall as digging into Jim’s empire turns dangerous
The investigation is thrown into turmoil when Niki White pushes deeper into Jim’s empire. This chapter centers on a dead end that raises the stakes, suggesting that uncovering the truth may be far harder—and riskier—than expected.
At the Old Bailey, the ADE case reaches its decisive final showdown
This episode follows the final stage of the fight over the ADE at the Old Bailey, where Jim’s legal team argues he truly believed the device worked. As the verdict nears, it also asks why these bogus devices are still being used around the world.

Episodes

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