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The Trial of Russell Brand

The Times

97 episodes · in order

The Trial of Russell Brand is season 14 of Times Investigates, bringing you award-winning investigative and true crime podcasts from The Times & The Sunday Times.

More about the show

From war zones to suburban homes, pursuing brutal criminals and cult leaders, our podcasts go further than any other to uncover the truth.

In season one, war correspondent Anthony Loyd investigates the fate of his colleague John Cantlie, who was kidnapped in Syria by Islamic State.

In season two, crime correspondent John Simpson breaks down the wall of silence surrounding the killing of 14-year-old Corey Junior Davis

In season three Berlin correspondent Oliver Moody uncovers the story of Hans Globke, the Nazi bureaucrat who laid the legal basis for the Holocaust - and helped build the modern German state

In season four, columnist David Aaronovitch follows the trail of charm and deception left by businessman Lex Greensill through the corridors of power in Britain

In season five, special correspondent Emily Dugan asks whether the wrong man was sent to prison for a brutal attack on a mother of two

In season six, Middle East correspondent Louise Callaghan steps into the weird world of ‘kittens’, ‘lions’, and televangelism surrounding a cult leader

In season seven, journalists Brenna Daldorph and David Aaronovitch explore the dark past behind some of Britain’s wealthiest stately homes

In season eight, feature writer Andrew Billen exposes a very British scandal at the world-famous university college, Christ Church, Oxford

In season nine, David Aaranovitch steps into the online world of Patriotic Alternative, a far-right group using the Covid pandemic as a recruiting tool

In season ten, journalists Peter Gillman and Emanuele Midolo investigate the death of one of our own, David Holden, the reporter whose killing became a Cold War whodunnit

In season 11, social affairs editor James Beal follows a trail leading from a quiet British town to frozen Canada, where he discovers a man allegedly selling death online

In season 12, reporter Mario Ledwith returns to his hometown in Northern Ireland, seeking answers about the bloody 1987 Remembrance Sunday attack

In season 13, The Sunday Times’s Insight team investigates how Nigel Farage came to depend upon a crypto enthusiast, gambler and convicted fraudster

In season 14, journalists Rosamund Urwin and Charlotte Wace join Luke Jones to report daily from the trial of Russell Brand

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Episodes page 1 of 2

  1. Introducing: Last Man Standing

    · 2:04 · Trailer

    In 2012, British photojournalist John Cantlie was kidnapped in Syria by Islamic State. While his fellow hostages were released or murdered, he remained captive. Then, a series of Isis propaganda videos emerged, fronted…

  2. On the trail | Last Man Standing Ep 1

    · 36 min · S1 E1 · Explicit

    Anthony Loyd begins his investigation into the disappearance of journalist John Cantlie, who was taken by Isis in 2012. He explores the events of a prior kidnap and asks: what compelled John to return to Syria after…

  3. The kidnap | Last Man Standing Ep 2

    · 40 min · S1 E2 · Explicit

    Anthony investigates details of John Cantlie and his colleague James Foley’s abduction in 2012. He speaks to those who were with them and explores possible reasons the men were targeted. In 2012, British…

  4. Missing | Last Man Standing Ep 3

    · 38 min · S1 E3 · Explicit

    John Cantlie is missing and there are no leads in the case. The hunt is on for his whereabouts, when a rapper shows up in a Belgian prison saying he has information to share. What can this man tell us about John’s…

  5. There but for the grace of God | Last Man Standing Ep 4

    · 52 min · S1 E4 · Explicit

    For Anthony this story is personal as he reveals that he himself was captured while reporting on the Syrian conflict. What is it like to be a journalist covering war? And what does his experience tell us about John…

  6. Freedom is for other people | Last Man Standing Ep 5

    · 46 min · S1 E5 · Explicit

    Some of the hostages who were held with John Cantlie describe what life was like inside their prison cell, under the watch of brutal Isis guards. Their captors had a special role in mind for John… but why did Isis pick…

  7. Lend me your ears | Last Man Standing Ep 6

    · 51 min · S1 E6 · Explicit

    As one by one the British and American hostages are killed by their captors, John Cantlie emerges in a series of Islamic State propaganda films, ‘Lend Me Your Ears’. His new role keeps him alive. It also attracts…

  8. Inside Mosul | Last Man Standing Ep 7

    · 55 min · S1 E7

    Anthony retraces John Cantlie’s steps on the streets of Mosul, the Iraqi city where John was last seen alive. In 2012, British photojournalist John Cantlie was kidnapped in Syria by Islamic State. While his fellow…

  9. Restless ghosts | Last Man Standing Ep 8

    · 55 min · S1 E8 · Explicit

    When a British minister tells reporters that John Cantlie is still alive in February 2019, the search is on again. What does the British government know? Anthony shares his conclusions. In 2012, British…

  10. Introducing: Who Killed CJ Davis?

    · 1:31 · Trailer

    Corey Junior Davis was just 14 when he was shot dead on the afternoon of 4 September 2017. In this series, crime correspondent John Simpson exposes the systemic failings, rivalries and silence surrounding CJ’s killer.…

  11. March 2023 UPDATE - An arrest | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 8

    · 7:45 · S2 E8 · Bonus

    News breaks that a suspect has been arrested in connection with CJ’s murder. John Simpson speaks with CJ’s mother, Keisha, about this pivotal moment in her fight for justice. Corey Junior Davis was just 14 when he was…

  12. Atonement | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 7

    · 35 min · S2 E7 · Bonus

    Five years after CJ Davis was shot dead in East London, John Simpson is back in Newham to confront the stagnant investigation. He brokers a powerful meeting between CJ's grieving mother and the woman who found him,…

  13. Meet Corey Senior | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 6

    · 39 min · S2 E6 · Bonus

    In this bonus episode, CJ’s father, Corey Sr., speaks publicly about his son’s death for the very first time. We also meet close family friend Dwayne Brooks, who was witness to the Stephen Lawrence murder. Corey…

  14. How do we solve this? | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 5

    · 35 min · S2 E5

    Three years after CJ Davis’ murder, John Simpson interviews the lead detective working on the case, whose team continues to grapple with an impenetrable “code of silence”. Expert Craig Pinkney also takes us into the…

  15. The murder scene and the wall of silence | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 4

    · 32 min · S2 E4

    The September afternoon in 2017 when CJ Davis was shot dead in broad daylight in Forest Gate, East London. An anonymous witness recounts the harrowing moment she heard gunshots and rushed to CJ’s side in an attempt to…

  16. The gangs of Newham | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 3

    · 32 min · S2 E3

    We dive into the brutal reality of London’s gangland, where imprisoned but still powerful leaders Young Dizz and CB preside over the rival Beckton Boys and Woodgrange gangs. CJ’s name appears on a leaked police “gang…

  17. Descent into crime | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 2

    · 30 min · S2 E2

    Lifting the lid on a national crisis of child criminal exploitation. Accounts from CJ’s girlfriend, Bella, and his mother give rise to questions: how did he come to be arrested for carrying a knife? What were CJ’s…

  18. Meet Corey Junior | Who Killed CJ Davis? Ep 1

    · 34 min · S2 E1

    We meet CJ Davis’s mother Keisha McLeod and hear about the promising early years and the struggles of a young boy who, in his final 18 months, was sucked into an underworld of drug deals and gang crime. Corey Junior…

  19. Introducing: The Spider in the Web - the Hans Globke Story

    · 1:34 · Trailer

    Uncovering the story of Hans Globke, the Nazi bureaucrat who helped lay the legal basis for the Holocaust, then came back to build the foundations of modern Germany. Presented by Oliver Moody, the Berlin correspondent…

  20. Almost forgotten | The Spider in the Web - the Hans Globke Story Ep. 1

    · 33 min · S3 E1

    Hans Globke is the forgotten Nazi. The Times and The Sunday Times’s Berlin correspondent Oliver Moody traces the story of the unremarkable bureaucrat who quietly laid the legal basis for the Holocaust, positioning…

  21. Quiet survival | The Spider in the Web - the Hans Globke Story Ep. 2

    · 40 min · S3 E2

    As the bombs fell, Hans Globke stayed behind his desk, signing papers that sent Jews to their deaths across Europe. Oliver Moody uncovers how Globke’s quiet survival allowed him to emerge unscathed from the ashes of…

  22. Introducing: Cameron and the Toxic Banker

    · 1:56 · Trailer

    Behind the closed doors of Whitehall in central London Lex Greensill promised to revolutionise the way money moves through the highest levels of British business. Instead, he built an empire on financial smoke. David…

  23. The rise of Lex Greensill | Cameron and the Toxic Banker Ep. 1

    · 32 min · S4 E1

    How did a little-known Australian banker end up with the ear of a Prime Minister? David Aaronovitch recounts the improbable rise of Lex Greensill from a sugar cane farm in central Queensland to high-flying advisor with…

  24. Collapse and aftermath | Cameron and the Toxic Banker Ep. 2

    · 28 min · S4 E2

    Calls, texts and elbow bumps. As a global pandemic takes hold, former prime minister David Cameron is now working for Greensill Capital, dusting down old contact books and making calls to old colleagues at the very top…

  25. A pay app for the NHS | Cameron and the Toxic Banker Ep. 3

    · 32 min · S4 E3

    Greensill Capital is on the brink - until it lands a lifeline helping to run a vital payroll app for NHS staff. David Aaronovitch uncovers how the company secured taxpayer-backed schemes even as its risky finance model…

  26. Sanjeev Gupta, man of steel | Cameron and the Toxic Banker Ep. 4

    · 34 min · S4 E4

    Sanjeev Gupta styled himself as the saviour of Britain’s struggling steel industry, but his empire was fuelled by Greensill money. Deep in Britain’s industrial heartlands, we step inside a house of cards. Guest: John…

  27. The crash | Cameron and the Toxic Banker Ep. 5

    · 35 min · S4 E5

    What happens when the music stops? With insurers retreating and Lex Greensill’s tangled web of influence unravelling fast, only one thing’s for certain - many others stand to be exposed. Guest: John Collingridge,…

  28. Questions and answers? | Cameron and the Toxic Banker Ep. 6

    · 35 min · S4 E6

    Finally facing interrogation, David Cameron and Lex Greensill appear before MPs. Between their testimony and half-apologies, we finally come to the truth - that the scandal surrounding Greensill Capital didn’t just…

  29. Introducing: Seventeen Years - the Andrew Malkinson story

    · 1:28 · Trailer

    A mother of two is brutally attacked, but was the wrong man sent to prison? Andrew Malkinson was wrongfully convicted of a brutal rape and sentenced to life in prison. The Sunday Times social affairs correspondent…

  30. Life turned upside down | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 1

    · 29 min · S5 E1 · Explicit

    In 2003, a 33-year-old mother of two was raped and left for dead during a horrific attack in Salford, Greater Manchester. A security guard called Andrew Malkinson was arrested and later sentenced to life - despite…

  31. The trial | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 2

    · 39 min · S5 E2 · Explicit

    No DNA. Contradictory descriptions. Witnesses with hidden criminal pasts. Andy’s trial is fraught with controversy. As the jury returns a guilty verdict, Emily unpicks the flaws in the judicial system that can send an…

  32. Witness testimony | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 3

    · 27 min · S5 E3 · Explicit

    Eyewitness evidence is powerful. But it is not infallible. Emily draws on wrongful convictions abroad to explore how memory and trauma can complicate justice and what this might mean for Andy’s conviction. Host: Emily…

  33. Forensics | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 4

    · 28 min · S5 E4 · Explicit

    Years into Andy’s prison sentence, new forensic techniques reveal the presence of another man’s DNA at the crime scene. Emily investigates the implications of this and the challenges of reopening a long-closed case.…

  34. ‘Forced’ to testify? | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 5

    · 31 min · S5 E5 · Explicit

    Cracks are showing in the case against Andy. Emily meets witnesses who claimed they felt pressure to testify, and learns of failures at the Criminal Cases Review Commission that may have contributed to a miscarriage of…

  35. Police failings | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 6

    · 33 min · S5 E6 · Explicit

    Emily meets the former wife of another suspect in the original investigation. Police failures loom as we learn of other men - some with violent histories - who were barely investigated. Host: Emily Dugan, social…

  36. A breakthrough (February 2023 UPDATE) | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 7

    · 20 min · S5 E7

    Finally, a door opens. The CCRC refers Andy’s case to the Court of Appeal, and police arrest another man. After 17 long years, could Andy finally be vindicated? Host: Will Roe If you, or someone you know, has been…

  37. Innocent | Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story Ep. 8

    · 34 min · S5 E8 · Explicit

    In July 2023, almost 20 years after he was sentenced to life in jail, Andrew Malkinson's conviction is quashed. We visit Andy a day after the Court of Appeal overturned his rape conviction following the revelation that…

  38. Introducing: The Messiah and his Kittens

    · 1:03 · Trailer

    The leader of Turkey’s most powerful cult, Adnan Oktar, was sentenced to over 1,000 years in prison in January 2021. The Sunday Times’s Middle East correspondent Louise Callaghan steps into his weird world of…

  39. The Mahdi wears Armani | The Messiah and his Kittens Ep. 1

    · 32 min · S6 E1

    Meet Adnan Oktar, the Turkish televangelist who’s rarely spotted without an entourage of surgically enhanced young women he calls his ‘kittens’. After Oktar is sentenced to over 1,000 years in prison, Louise tries to…

  40. Nice girls from good families | The Messiah and his Kittens Ep. 2

    · 33 min · S6 E2

    Away from the TV cameras, Adnan Oktar reigns over a den of secrecy. Louise meets the male enforcers he used to keep it under control. Oktar’s ‘lions’ reveal the hierarchy, rules, and ruthless methods used to enforce…

  41. The turnstile system | The Messiah and his Kittens Ep. 3

    · 31 min · S6 E3 · Explicit

    The fortress walls begin to crumble. Survivors describe suffering sexual abuse and financial crimes while cult insiders help the authorities bring Adnan Oktar down. Accompanied by a former ‘kitten’, Louise revisits…

  42. The kittens who still purr | The Messiah and his Kittens Ep. 4

    · 29 min · S6 E4

    Adnan Oktar is behind bars but some of his followers still believe. Louise meets his devotees, listens to their claims of injustice and comes to terms with the power Oktar still wields from behind bars. Host: Louise…

  43. Building Britain | The Legacy of Penrhyn Castle Ep. 1

    · 42 min · S7 E1

    Arguments still rage about Britain’s role in the slave trade, but the evidence of that dark past is written across the faces of some of the country’s wealthiest stately homes. Journalists Brenna Daldorph and David…

  44. Plantation records | The Legacy of Penrhyn Castle Ep. 2

    · 28 min · S7 E2

    April-Louise Pennant’s grandparents were part of the Windrush Generation, emigrating from the Caribbean to Britain in the 1950s. Visiting a local university archive to discover the significance of her Welsh surname,…

  45. Pennant money | The Legacy of Penrhyn Castle Ep. 3

    · 37 min · S7 E3

    Pennant money reshaped not only Jamaica, but also modern Britain. In Wales, it financed the vast Penrhyn slate quarry, built villages, and paid for the castle that April-Louise visits alongside her father, Gil.…

  46. Introducing: The Feud

    · 2:36 · Trailer

    The Very Reverend Martyn Percy leaves his post as dean of the world-famous Christ Church, Oxford, with a seven-figure settlement after a bitter dispute that pitted a lone reformer against an institution. But what…

  47. Down the rabbit hole | The Feud Ep. 1

    · 31 min · S8 E1

    Christ Church, Oxford: a bastion of higher education since the 16th century that produced some of the country’s best and brightest, and is home to a very British way of life. When The Very Reverend Martyn Percy - a…

  48. Immoral, scandalous, or disgraceful | The Feud Ep. 2

    · 40 min · S8 E2

    A stabbing, a scandal, and a battle over job descriptions. Andrew exposes the bureaucratic dispute that spirals into bitter war between Martyn Percy and Christ Church’s governing body. Behind the formal manners and…

  49. Mystery in the cathedral | The Feud Ep. 3

    · 27 min · S8 E3

    Christ Church stalls when a student asks for protection, yet when Martyn Percy is accused of impropriety he is suspended within days. What at first appeared a battle over different styles of governance now carries the…

  50. Who blinks first? | The Feud Ep. 4

    · 29 min · S8 E4

    Breaking point as the college dons question Martyn Percy’s mental capacity. He accuses them of smear campaigns, and an ill-judged essay likening his plight to Nazi persecution triggers outrage. Costs soar,…

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