Tag Archives: real story

The Secret History of Oxford University

Zing Tsjeng visits Oxford to examine the ongoing controversy as universities across the UK reckon with their unsavoury connections to colonialism. People like slave owners, slave traders and white supremacists have historic connections to some of the UK’s finest universities. They don’t put that bit in the prospectus, but it’s the truth.

Empires of Dirt is a show about Europeans getting rich at the expense of everyone else. Zing Tsjeng uncovers the ugly history of the European colonial empires they don’t teach us in schools. Countries around the world were looted for their treasures, people were oppressed and exploited and European powers relentlessly profited. The far-reaching repercussions of colonialism are all around us, from our financial institutions to the food we have in our cupboards at home – and it’s about time we took notice.

The Hidden Female Genital Mutilation of Asia

We investigate the practice of Female Genital Mutilation in Asia, and how common it is even in progressive countries like Singapore. We follow host, Natashya Gutierrez, as she meets women who speak openly about the harmful effects of FGM, and questions why there are no laws that protect against it.

Escaping the Moonies: An Ex-Member’s Story

When Steven Hassan was 19 years old, he was recruited by the Unification Church, an infamous cult known for its mass marriage ceremonies. He spent two and a half years with the group, working to bring in new members, raise money, and preach the teachings of its controversial founder, Sun Myung Moon—until a near-fatal car accident helped him realize he’d been brainwashed, and led him to flee the cult.

After the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary—an offshoot of the Unification Church—nabbed international headlines for holding a blessing ceremony complete with AR-15s and bullet crowns earlier this year, we met up with Hassan to hear more about his time as a “Moonie,” find out how he escaped, and learn why he’s since dedicated his life to becoming an expert on cults.

Conspiracies Against Men

Is there a conspiracy to shrink men’s penises, destroy their sperm, and feminize America’s macho dudes? Well, a range of right-wing conspiracists claim “traditional men” are under attack, poisoned, and brainwashed in a plan to weaken them. According to them, the vehicles of this alleged mass emasculation vary widely, from soy products to COVID vaccines. Despite a lack of supporting evidence for these conspiracies against men, they might contain a grain of truth — believers point to studies in complicated, evolving areas of science, on the effects of chemicals like phthalates.

While not a globalist plot, the use of endocrine-disrupting substances in packaging and industry could have a real impact on male reproductive health. The Internet has ushered in an era of information overload, but it comes at a cost and ‘the truth’ is more subjective and contested than ever before. In ‘Alternate Reality’, we examine corners of the internet where conspiracy theories about the world have started to have a real impact on society.

The Lizard People Murders

Conspiracy theories take many forms but belief in reptilian conspiracy theories—that the world is controlled by extraterrestrial lizards—has played a role in a series of bizarre and tragic crimes over the last 20 years. Since 2017, at least six murders have been tied to lizard-people theories.

We break down the connection between alleged outer-space lizards and these crimes. The Internet has ushered in an era of information overload, but it comes at a cost and ‘the truth’ is more subjective and contested than ever before. We examine corners of the internet where conspiracy theories about the world have started to have a real impact on society.

Therapy Gecko: The Internet’s Unofficial Therapist

Lyle the Therapy Gecko started as a kind of accident. The pandemic hit, and like most of us, Lyle found himself in his mom’s basement, laid off from his job, and spending too much time online. After a few too many nights on Reddit’s streaming platform, Lyle put on a gecko costume and decided to stream himself. Suddenly, the views and calls started pouring in- and so did people’s problems. Lyle found himself in a new predicament, alone in a basement acting as a therapist to the masses. We unmask the man behind the costume.

The Man Who Will Eat Anything

YouTube sensation Shoenice22 explains why he’s spent the past two years eating and drinking everything from sticks of deodorant, to tampons, to full bottles of grain alcohol.

The Garden: How a TikTok Cult Went Viral

We dive into the world of “Culttok” – Tiktok’s obsession with cults. After more than a decade of operating as a small off-the-grid farm, The Garden decided to try to attract more people to their commune by using Tiktok and they went viral. A few days later, Tiktok is filled with amateur detectives dedicated to exposing The Garden as a dangerous cult.

But was The Garden a cult? Or was it just an online witch hunt? We take a close look behind the hysteria.

Homegrown DMT: A Teacher’s Secret Lab

We visit a homemade DMT lab in the heart of London and see how the product is made. Splitting his time between teaching chemistry and making DMT, ‘Bob’ shows he has become a real life Walter White.

From finding the source materials online to developing the crystals themselves, Bob leads us through the step by step process of creating one of the most elusive and potent hallucinogens in the world. Bob escapes the classroom daily to work on his profitable hobby and explains why this drug is so sought after.

The Rise of Contaminated Weed

Banks (not his real name) earns tens of thousands of euros every month distributing weed to dealers in a small town in central Germany. But he wants to stop, because he says his product has become poison.

The weed he sells is so laced with synthetic cannabinoids that it has become a new drug entirely: something extremely potent, addictive – and possibly lethal.

Recruited Online: Social Media and the Rise of Money Mules

Gangs are always looking for new ways to launder their money, and in cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester, using money mules has become one of their favorite methods.

Young and vulnerable people are convinced by criminals, often on social media, to let them use their personal bank accounts to receive and send on their illicit earnings. However, there can be serious consequences for those who get involved, from being locked out of the financial system, to even serving time in prison. This crime is still massively under-reported, which in part is what leaves many young people so vulnerable.

The Teenage Credit Card Scam

We chat to a young credit card scammer who has been ‘’deetsing’’ – buying account details online to purchase whatever he wants without the account holder’s knowledge or consent.

Teenagers as young as 13 are learning how to commit online fraud at school and say they are targeting the rich. Some are using profits to feed their families as they don’t see any prospect in regular minimum-wage jobs.

Others use the money to buy anything from iPhones to flights, holidays, fancy restaurant dinners, clothes and food deliveries.