ShortHand: Alchemy
Turning lead into gold and living forever: that’s about the summation of our modern understanding of Alchemy. Informed by high-fantasy films and pop history, it now brings to mind dark, arcane ceremon...
3 Mar 30min
ShortHand: Area 51
Alien autopsies, flying saucers, and top secret government programs: three things alleged to be hiding in ‘Area 51’. Officially known as Homey Airport or Groom Lake, this secret government testing fac...
27 Feb 32min
Mexico's Cartel Wars: The Torture and Murder of Agent Kiki Camarena | #438
Amid the chaos now unfolding in Mexico after the February 2026 assassination of drug cartel boss El Mencho, we’re throwing it back to the 1985 torture and murder of American DEA agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ C...
26 Feb 1h 10min
ShortHand: The ‘Monuments Men’ Saving Art from Nazi Bombs
In the darkest hour of WWII, as bombs threatened Europe’s historic cities, a small unit was sent to the front lines – not to fight, but to save art history itself. The 'Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archi...
24 Feb 25min
ShortHand: Lake Nyos - Fog of Death
“On that day, there were no flies on the dead. The flies were dead too.” On the 21st of August 1986, 1746 people and 3500 livestock died in the Cameroonian village of Nyos, died suddenly, and all at o...
20 Feb 36min
The Suffolk Strangler: Ipswich's Red Light Killings | #437
In December 2006, the town of Ipswich was rocked by a spree of brutal murders targeting sex workers in its notorious red light area. But the story didn’t end with the capture of the so-called ‘Suffolk...
19 Feb 1h 5min
ShortHand: Valentine’s Special (w/ Abi Clarke)
EmptyHanded is back! We’re joined by comedian Abi Clarke to discuss all things racy, risky and romantic – and read out some of the most scandalous listener-provided stories we’ve ever heard. –Patreon ...
17 Feb 35min
ShortHand: The Bizarre History of Birth Control
Valentine's Day is the perfect time to dive into the surprising, and at times horrifying, history of contraception through the ages; from crocodile-dung pessaries and mercury-tadpole concoctions to pe...
13 Feb 31min
