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Shadow World

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Rating
★★★★★
4.9
from
40 reviews
This podcast has
73 episodes
Language
English
Publisher
BBC Radio 4
Explicit
No
Date created
2024/05/20
Latest episode
2026/09/02
Average duration
21 min.
Release period
60 days

Description

In Shadow World: Anatomy of a Cancellation, the BBC's Culture Editor Katie Razzall revisits a story that rocked the UK's publishing industry in 2021. It led to what some saw as the unjustified cancellation of a prize-winning writer and teacher - but to others, was a long overdue reckoning for the world of publishing. It grew into a culture war about race, class, and who has the right to say what. Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

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Breakin' the Cycle: 6. The Final Act
2026/09/02
Tragedy sends D into shock, confusion, and grief. In the maelstrom of emotion, he decides to fulfill a lucrative drug deal, but is immediately arrested. In prison, he struggles with guilt, despair, the consequences of his criminal past, and the legacy of the unfinished film. But over time, the story becomes a rare source of purpose. Eventually, D is released and tries to rebuild his life away from crime, but the weight of Colin's memory, and the unfinished film, continues to define him. Has D finally come to terms with his past and its consequences? Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow Series Producer: Emma Barnaby Producer: Louis Hollis Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie Script Editor: Jason Lewis Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho Production Executive: Letisha Kidza Head of Production: Nicky Murphy Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle. Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong. Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Raw production for BBC Radio 4 In memory of Malik Ford, who first brought this remarkable story to light.
Breakin' the Cycle: 5. One Shot
2026/08/26
As filming wraps, Lewis struggles to finish the first edit of Breakin’ the Cycle as he questions the morality of its violent protagonist. Colin and D head towards a make-or-break meeting that reveals the final steps needed to complete their goal. But before they can finish them, they are unexpectedly drawn into a high-level drug opportunity. As pressure mounts, the tragic consequences of their past lives begin to catch up with them. Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow Series Producer: Emma Barnaby Producer: Louis Hollis Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie Script Editor: Jason Lewis Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho Production Executive: Letisha Kidza Head of Production: Nicky Murphy Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle. Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong. Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Raw production for BBC Radio 4
Breakin' the Cycle: 4. A New Direction
2026/08/19
With Colin now firmly in the director’s chair, Breakin’ the Cycle is transformed. Drawing directly from their lived experience, Colin unlocks startlingly authentic performances from the cast, turning what once looked like a cliched gangster film into something intimate, powerful, and deeply real. As early edits reveal the film’s extraordinary potential, hope begins to take hold. This could be the project that finally changes Colin and D’s lives. But stepping into film-making doesn’t mean escaping the world they came from. When tensions flare on East London estates and old reputations are tested, the past begins to close in. Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow Series Producer: Emma Barnaby Producer: Louis Hollis Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie Script Editor: Jason Lewis Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho Production Executive: Letisha Kidza Head of Production: Nicky Murphy Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle. Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong. Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Raw production for BBC Radio 4
Breakin' the Cycle: 3. The Right Kind of Violence
2026/08/12
Production on Breakin’ the Cycle is falling apart - actors are injured, the crew is out of its depth, and Colin and D realise their director can’t capture the reality they lived. As D faces court and confronts the police corruption that shaped his life, he and Colin make a life-changing decision — to finally commit to breaking the cycle, shutting down their criminal operation, and betting everything on film. Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow Series Producer: Emma Barnaby Producer: Louis Hollis Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie Script Editor: Jason Lewis Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho Production Executive: Letisha Kidza Head of Production: Nicky Murphy Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle. Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong. Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Raw production for BBC Radio 4
Breakin' the Cycle: 2. A Hood Story
2026/08/05
As Colin and D begin turning their prison-written script into a real production, they recruit former pop stars and emerging actors, building a cast captivated by the promise of an authentic Black British crime story. Their film starts to feel like a genuine cultural moment. But most of the cast and crew are unaware of the true story behind the pair or their journey to becoming film-makers. Beneath the excitement of the production, the money, power, and instincts that built “Love of Money” are still very much in play. When D’s commitment to turning away from crime is tested, he is drawn back to familiar instincts. Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow Series Producer: Emma Barnaby Producer: Louis Hollis Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie Script Editor: Jason Lewis Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho Production Executive: Letisha Kidza Head of Production: Nicky Murphy Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle. Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong. Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Raw Production for BBC Radio 4
Breakin' the Cycle: 1. The Script
2026/07/29
When aspiring movie editor Lewis Albrow lands an unusual interview with Colin Browne and his right-hand man D, he believes he’s finally found his break into the film industry - but instead he’s pulled into a very different world. In prison, Colin Browne has written a script based on his life and his long-running criminal partnership with D, leading the gang Love of Money. But in Colin’s story, unlike in his life, the main protagonist manages to break free from his cycle of criminality. When the pair reconnect after Colin’s release, they realise the script could be a way out of crime. They meet a smooth-talking fixer who promises to help them turn it into a movie, and begin a new chapter in their lives. But how serious are they about the film’s central theme - breaking the cycle of a life of crime? Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow Series Producer: Emma Barnaby Producer: Louis Hollis Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie Script Editor: Jason Lewis Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho Production Executive: Letisha Kidza Head of Production: Nicky Murphy Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle. Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong. Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Raw production for BBC Radio 4
Breakin' the Cycle: Trailer
2026/07/22
Breakin’ the Cycle is the story of two feared London gangsters, Colin and D, who, in the early 2000’s decide to try and escape the cycle of crime by making a movie based on their own lives as gang leaders and drug dealers. But the lines between fact and fiction quickly begin to blur, when they take a star-studded cast and a largely white, middle-class film crew into their world, in an attempt to make the UK’s first authentic hood film. Accidental stabbings, drug dealing on set, and even a real-life shootout. Amongst the chaos, they're faced with the realities of leaving gang life behind, and the constant temptations of their old life threatening to drag them back in. Breakin’ the Cycle is a series about friendship, guns, drugs, money and the sacrifices required when leaving one life behind in pursuit of another.
Stolen Years: 1. Contaminated Memories
2026/05/19
How can a victim of a traumatic crime appear to be so sure, yet so wrong? In the first episode of Shadow World: Stolen Years we confront the eyewitness evidence that helped convict Andrew Malkinson in 2004. As a new suspect faces trial over the 2003 rape, Andy meets another woman who made the same devastating mistake, offering him an answer to the question that has haunted him for years. Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. Presenter and Producer: Jemma Gander Series Producer and Editor: Fran Robertson Assistant Editor: Christopher Whyte Composer: Sholto Sound design and mix: Chris Maclean Executive Producer for Goldhawk: Kate Holland Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke A Two Step Films production in association with Goldhawk for Radio 4
Stolen Years: Trailer
2026/05/12
Andrew Malkinson’s wrongful conviction of a brutal rape in 2003 has been recognised as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK history. He’s angry and says the criminal justice and appeal systems let him down. Now that the right man has been convicted, he wants answers, and reform. So why did he spend all those years in prison while the perpetrator remained free? And what does his case tell us about the justice system that failed him? In Shadow World: Stolen Years, filmmaker and journalist Jemma Gander (co-director of The Wrong Man: 17 Years Behind Bars) follows the next chapter of this extraordinary case. As Andrew tries to rebuild his life, fresh questions emerge about the role of the police, the courts, and the institutions that failed him. “You don’t know what you’re capable of withstanding until you are forced to. But it’s just horrific”. Twenty three years later, a man is found guilty of the crime Andrew Malkinson was falsely accused of.
Thief at the British Museum: 6. Lone Wolf or Scapegoat?
2024/05/27
As news of the thefts breaks around the world, the boss of the British Museum turns on Ittai. Now he has to fight to clear his name. And what of the thief? The museum shares details about how they think the thief covered their tracks. Peter Higgs is sacked and when Katie tries to learn more about him she discovers something unexpected. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Mix and sound design : James Beard Composer: Jenny Plant Exec-producer: Joe Kent Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell Series Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Archive: Sky News
Thief at the British Museum: 5. Secret Missions
2024/05/27
The inside story of how ancient treasures were stolen from one of the world’s most renowned institutions. And how one man believes he caught a thief. Omnibus edition part one of two. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Mix and sound design : James Beard Composer: Jenny Plant Exec-producer: Joe Kent Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell Series Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Thief at the British Museum: 4. Seeds of Doubt
2024/05/27
Ittai is convinced he’s found his thief, but not everyone is so sure. “I mean, to me, it just sounds like a setup. It sounds like he’s being framed”, one former museum insider tells us. Peter Higgs is a well respected curator, highly regarded for his expertise on the ancient world and known for helping to return stolen antiquities, not selling them on eBay. When Ittai shares his evidence with the British Museum, laying out why he thinks Higgs is a thief, no one seems interested. Has he missed something? Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Mix and sound design : James Beard Composer: Jenny Plant Exec-producer: Joe Kent Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell Series Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Archive: Galleries of the British Museum
Thief at the British Museum: 3. Lightbulb Moment
2024/05/27
For Ittai, the clues finally fall into place. Has he identified the thief? Ittai Gradel long suspected someone was selling ancient gems that once belonged to the British Museum. But he had no idea when they were stolen or by whom. Now a startling discovery leads him to believe the thefts are recent and that the thief is someone in a position of trust. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Mix and sound design : James Beard Composer: Jenny Plant Exec-producer: Joe Kent Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell Series Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Thief at the British Museum: 2. White Paper Dots
2024/05/27
A mysterious seller appears with a seemingly endless supply of ancient, precious gems at bargain prices. Collector and dealer Ittai Gradel snaps them up. But then a strange series of events starts to unfold. From his home in rural Denmark, Ittai becomes suspicious about what is happening hundreds of miles away at the heart of the British Museum. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Mix and sound design : James Beard Composer: Jenny Plant Exec-producer: Joe Kent Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell Series Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Thief at the British Museum: 1. The Man with the Cardboard Box
2024/05/27
People have called Dr Ittai Gradel a kind of Sherlock Holmes, if Holmes were Danish and obsessed with gems. He’s an antiquities dealer with an eye for stolen goods who will help unlock the mystery at the heart of this story. When Katie meets him in London, he’s got something to show her - two ancient gemstones he believes belong to the British Museum. But this whodunnit begins more than a decade ago as a man with a cardboard box wanders into an antiques market. He has some valuable treasure to sell. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Mix and sound design : James Beard Composer: Jenny Plant Exec-producer: Joe Kent Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell Series Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Archive: Sky News Australia

Podcast reviews

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4.9 out of 5
40 reviews
★★★★☆
Tbmeade 2026/05/27
Stolen Years
Great so far but cannot play episodes 3 and 4. Says the episode is temporarily unavailable.
★★★★★
dr-lizard 2026/01/13
Anatomy of Cancellation is Brilliant
This is so so good. My favorite podcast that I’ve listened to in the new year. I would love this same format/journalist applied to other cancellation ...
★★★★★
OhGeezADifferentNickname 2025/11/18
Wow!
In my US state, probate is derided as a long slog involving trips to the county probate court. But after hearing this podcast, I am thankful for our o...
★★★★★
GTT43015 2024/12/09
Crooks in Abundance
I am so outraged and I have only finished two episodes.
★★★★★
Harthkóss 2024/10/14
Absolutely brilliant…
… and too soon ended! I hope Katie does another podcast soon. This was well researched and presented. I’ve quite enjoyed it.
★★★★★
TreeLV 2024/08/26
Really enjoyed!
Thanks for a really enjoyable show! Top notch listen. Highly recommend.
★★★★★
Palunargar 2024/05/30
Great story!
There are many heroes in unexpected places .
check all reviews on apple podcasts

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