Unmissables: Explosive Lies

Coming January 13th 2026.

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 trut...

Lewis Goodall is joined by Alice Levine to let you in on a big secret. Something explosive is coming to this feed... your next podcast binge.

Welcome to Unmissables, home to our most unmissable podcast series - the mysteries, the scams, the stories you can't stop listening to. It's a one stop shop for incredible real stories collated here for you.

Follow or subscribe and get ready to listen to Explosive Lies. And if you haven't already, check out Filthy Ritual and Coining It.

Listen to all episodes on Global Player.

Episode 6. Who was the real James Parker? Lewis Goodall pieces together the truth behind the would-be Robin Hood, as his friends face jail for their actions. Penniless and abandoned, James is still holding one last twist - while the police close in on his missing millions.

Listen to all episodes of Coining It with Lewis Goodall on Global Player.

Episode 5. The party’s over. When one of James’ friends goes to the police, detectives finally connect the dots. James is hauled in for questioning - but doesn't give a monkeys. As greed and paranoia take hold, his last friendships fracture beyond repair.

Listen to all episodes of Coining It with Lewis Goodall on Global Player.

Episode 4. James Parker’s secret has been rumbled. But he’s not about to give up his millionaire spending. And instead of handing back all his glitched bitcoin, he and his financial advisor have come up with a deal to broker. Meanwhile, James’ friends realise the depth of the trouble they’re all in... James wants his Bitcoin back.

Listen to all episodes of Coining It with Lewis Goodall on Global Player.

Episode 3. Destination: Dubai. James Parker and his newly hired financial advisor are on the trip of a lifetime - to meet a man who can turn their glitched Bitcoin into gold and cash. But just as they’re about to board the plane, James gets a call. It’s the owner of the trading platform… and he wants his money back. Now.

Listen to all episodes of Coining It with Lewis Goodall on Global Player.

Episode 2. James Parker has turned a digital glitch into a fortune. Most would keep it quiet - but not James. The newly minted millionaire flaunts his wealth across Blackpool, playing Robin Hood to a tight-knit circle who share his secret. But his spending spree hasn’t gone unnoticed. One cop is watching, puzzled by the sudden riches of a man who, until recently, had nothing.

Listen to all episodes of Coining It with Lewis Goodall on Global Player.

Episode 1. In Blackpool, one of the UK’s poorest cities, James Parker lives in a damp, mouldy flat. He’s in his mid-fifties, broke, but surrounded by a small circle of close friends. Then, one day, everything changes. James stumbles across a glitch in a Bitcoin trading platform - a bug that could turn his fortunes around overnight. What follows is a wild, true story of instant riches, risky bets, and a chain of events none of them can control.

Listen to all episodes of Coining It with Lewis Goodall on Global Player.

In a damp Blackpool flat, James Parker is broke, restless, and stuck in a life going nowhere - until he discovers a glitch in a Bitcoin trading platform that begins pouring millions into his account.

Most people would keep it quiet. James doesn’t.

He starts handing out money, buying cars for mates, throwing lavish parties in a town where fortunes are rare. To some he’s a hero, a modern-day Robin Hood. But as the spending spirals and the police start asking questions, cracks begin to show. Deals get darker, loyalties shift, and James is l...

Launched in 2013 after an early buyout by Twitter, Vine quickly grew into one of the fastest growing platforms on the internet. The app created an entirely new category of online content: short, user-generated videos. It became the home of online creativity, birthed beloved memes and viral trends, and introduced a whole new generation of celebrity: the influencer. So, how did an app that was ten steps ahead die only three years after launch?

Credits:

Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator

Mary Goodhart - Producer & Creator

Kevyah Cardoso - Narrative & Creative Producer

Ali Dia - it's a name synonymous with footballing failure. How did a below average footballer find his way onto the sport's most elite stage, the Premier League?

Josh Widdicombe and Dara Ó Briain preview their new 6-part podcast series, in which they unearth the weird and wonderful truth behind the biggest mystery in football history.

The series kicks off on Tuesday 19th March.  

Episode 6. The trial is over, this should be the end of it. But as they gather on the steps of Blackfriars Court, Keith, Maria and Sylvia hear rumours of a new scam that’s been unfolding right under their noses.  

Filthy Ritual is a Global Original podcast, produced by Global and Novel. In partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.  

If you’ve been affected by anything you’ve heard in this podcast or think you, or someone you know, may have been scammed, you're not alone and there's support available. 

Age UK has helpful advice and information...

Episode 5. At Blackfriars Crown Court, a long-awaited trial is about to commence. It could finally bring justice to this group of Hampstead victims. 

But Juliette D’Souza’s defence team are about to develop a new theory about who is really responsible for the last two decades of ‘magic’ and manipulation.  

Filthy Ritual is a Global Original podcast, produced by Global and Novel. In partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.  

If you’ve been affected by anything you’ve heard in this podcast or think you, or someone you know, may have been scammed, you're not alone and there...

Episode 4. Sylvia Eaves, a retired Opera singer with a knack for making friends, who lost thousands of pounds to Juliette D’Souza finds herself back in the thrall of the healer of Hampstead.  

But this time, Juliette hasn’t counted on one DIY detective who will stand in her way: An intrepid nurse and amateur detective named Maria Feeney.  

Filthy Ritual is a Global Original podcast, produced by Global and Novel. In partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.  

If you’ve been affected by anything you’ve heard in this podcast or think you, or someone you kno...

Episode 3. In the face of apathy and ridicule from the police, Keith Bender takes his allegations about Juliette D’Souza to the only avenue that’s left to him: the media.  

A few months later, a newly formed investigative team of plucky journalists touch down in Suriname for the reporting adventure of a lifetime.  

Filthy Ritual is a Global Original podcast, produced by Global and Novel. In partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.  

If you’ve been affected by anything you’ve heard in this podcast or think you, or someone you know, may have been scammed, yo...

Episode 2. Keith starts spreading the word about Juliette D’Souza’s ‘powers’. Little by little, Juliette’s client base expands across Hampstead, as her promises of miracle cures captivate more and more of its residents.  

All is not well. Under Juliette’s influence, Keith has lost control of his own life. After she goes missing, Keith is left to reckon with her real identity.  

Filthy Ritual is a Global Original podcast, produced by Global and Novel. In partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.  

If you’ve been affected by anything you’ve heard in this podcast or think you, or...

Episode 1. An eccentric osteopath, Keith Bender, meets a charming, mysterious woman named Juliette D’Souza. 

Keith’s life is falling apart, and Juliette seems to know just how to fix it. She wins his trust and whisks him off on a journey to meet a shamanic healer in Suriname, changing his life forever. Soon, she’s bringing her supernatural influence into the heart of the bohemian London suburb where Keith worked: Hampstead.  

Filthy Ritual is a Global Original podcast, produced by Global and Novel. In partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.  

If you’ve been affected by an...

This is a story about a scam. But this isn’t any old scam. There's shamanism, a 'tree of life' in the jungle of Suriname, a bathing ritual in a dark rusty red lake, voodoo dolls, black magic and envelopes jammed full of sacrificial cash. There's even a wild capuchin monkey called Joey.

At the turn of the 21st century, set in one of London's most wealthy suburbs, Hampstead, Juliette D'Souza wreaked havoc on a number of people's lives. Described by her neighbours as 'a knife in a velvet glove', D'Souza claimed to have a special connection to an...