Latest news with #AlickMcKay
ABC News
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
From a kidnapping case involving Rupert Murdoch to an exploration of queer history, these are our favourite podcasts from June
The temperature is dropping, the days are getting shorter, and the only possible way to spend your time is curled up somewhere cosy, listening to stories. Well, that's what I've been doing lately, particularly after stumbling upon a scintillating tale of kidnap for ransom, made all the more salacious by the injection of tabloid journalism. I was fascinated to find that this case is a big part of why the Murdoch family moved from the UK to the United States, opening the doors for Rupert to create such media fiefdoms as Fox News and the Wall Street Journal. So pull out your warmest blanket and settle in for a good listen. BBC/ABC Listen On a cold night in Wimbledon, London in 1969, kidnappers set out to seize Anna Murdoch, the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. But, as Jane MacSorley explains in Worse Than Murder, they got the wrong person. Australian woman Muriel McKay — the wife of Daily Mirror editor Alick McKay — was abducted instead, and the kidnappers demanded 1 million pounds for her safe return. This was the first kidnapping-for-ransom case that had ever occurred in the UK, and the bumbling of the police would be comical if there wasn't a real person's life on the line. The matter was made much worse by the involvement of the Murdoch press: McKay was convinced media would help put pressure on the crooks, but it only spooked them. That didn't make them stop, however; this was arguably the beginning of the voyeuristic, often harmful, tabloid journalism that still exists today. Using startling phone recordings from the time, as well as interviews with the now elderly children of McKay, Worse Than Murder lays out the bamboozling tale in heart-pounding episodes. And despite it being a 56-year-old case, new information comes to light from one of the people alleged to be involved. This story is equal parts juicy and tragic, and MacSorley's passionate narration (complete with a charming Irish accent) will have you captivated all the way through. — Katherine Smyrk Radiotopia Normal Gossip has been giving us the electrifyingly mundane tea from everyday people since 2022 and, as its eighth season comes to a close, it still has plenty to spill. The premise is simple: an anonymous person submits their tale of everyday gossip, and the host relates it to a guest — with vivifying detail, lots of side commentary and interrogations of "what would you do in this moment". Famously, this concept was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the creators missed "the fizzy thrill of overhearing a good story at a bar". When long-time host and co-creator Kelsey McKinney announced she was leaving the show at the end of 2024, loyal listeners were devastated to be losing her irreverent and infectious energy. But new host, culture reporter Rachelle Hampton, has more than filled her shoes. Over the 10 episodes of this season, stories cover things like a love triangle at a polyamorous, worker-owned bee farm; a tiny golden figurine that gets stolen in a housemate prank gone wrong; and the lengths someone will take to get the couch of their dreams. Hampton is both similar to and different enough from McKinney to feel fresh, but not jarring for long-time fans of the show. She is a funny, wry and engaging host, who generates great chemistry and rapport, and plenty of giggles, with each of her guests. — Katherine Smyrk ABC Is your screen time a shameful secret? Do you fear you have "goldfish brain"? Well, same. And it turns out we're not alone. Brain Rot is a new five-part series from ABC's Science Friction, delving into the effect of technology on our lives. The first episode looks at the science behind the anecdotal phenomenon of "brain rot", the widely held fear that the internet and our addiction to smartphones are rotting our brains and sending our attention spans into free fall. It takes us back to 2016, when Facebook introduced its stories feature, signalling the advent of the dopamine-driven time suck we know as the infinite scroll. We also learn about the science of attention, the effect of smartphone notifications on brain waves and what constitutes disordered screen use. Episode two takes on AI. We hear about the rise of AI companions in response to the loneliness epidemic and meet Kelly, a 47-year-old American woman dating Christian, an AI incarnation of the character from Fifty Shades of Grey. More eye-raising revelations ensue, questioning the effect of AI on human relationships. Ably hosted by ABC's national technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre, Brain Rot is essential listening for the chronically online (ahem, guilty) and anyone who is concerned about where technology is taking humanity. — Nicola Heath Sebastian Hendra What better way to celebrate Pride month than diving into some LGBTQIA+ history! Luckily, Historical Homos has you covered. The new fourth season of the show continues its long-standing tradition of illuminating the stories of fascinating queer folk over time. A particular highlight is the episode about John/Eleanor Rykener, a gender-diverse sex worker from London in the 1300s. Their arrest bamboozled the courts. They weren't sure whether to charge them with "prostitution" as a woman, or "sodomy" as a man. Host Sebastian Hendra chats with a historian expert — in this case, Dr Mireille Pardon — to recount John/Eleanor's rollicking tale of sex, money, clergymen and the law. Their story also throws up some juicy questions about how our modern categories of "trans" or "queer" don't map easily onto people from different times. Other highlights include an episode diving into the sexy evolution of restaurants in Paris — as well as how food culture is inherently queer — and an episode titled 'Toxic Boyfriends of Greek Mythology'. Hendra's wittiness and curiosity is a through line of each episode, making this podcast a balanced pairing of nerdy historical explorations and hilarious queer commentary. — Katherine Smyrk RNZ/ABC listen My three-year old nephew learned about the Titanic at daycare. The next time I saw him, he breathlessly recalled the story of the ill-fated ship, which set off from Southhampton, England, for New York City in 1912, before sinking in the North Atlantic Ocean just four days later. "It was a really big boat and it CRASHED into an iceberg, and all the people died," he told me. You can imagine a child like this growing up to be comedian Carlo Ritchie (one half of lauded Australian improvisers The Bear Pack). Ritchie first became fascinated with the Titanic when he was about six years old, after seeing an article about the wreckage — which was found in 1985 — in National Geographic. In the podcast Did Titanic Sink? — recently added to ABC listen — he shares a conspiracy theory with Kiwi comedian Tim Batt (The Worst Idea of All Time): maybe the Titanic didn't sink after all. At the end of each episode of season one, other comedians, including Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords) and Rose Matafeo (Starstruck), join Batt to pick apart Ritchie's argument. Are they convinced? Did a different boat sink? Could the lives of the more than 1,500 people who died on board have been saved? It feels strange to call a podcast about a maritime tragedy a pure joy, but that's what Did Titanic Sink? is. It's silly, sometimes laugh-out-loud, meticulously researched, but also strangely heartfelt. It's not really about the Titanic, but the things we purport to believe — and the stories we tell ourselves and each other. As Ritchie reflects in season two: "History is not a play. We have to create a lens through which we view it and the easiest way for that to be compelling to us is this fireside story." — Hannah Story
BBC News
11-06-2025
- BBC News
Muriel McKay family offer £1m reward to find her remains
The family of Muriel McKay – who was held hostage and murdered 56 years ago – have offered a £1m reward for information that leads to the discovery of her McKay's grandson, Mark Dyer, told the BBC the family was inspired by the Mel Gibson movie Ransom to make a last-ditch attempt to solve the McKay's body has not been found since she was kidnapped in 1969, taken to a farm in Hertfordshire and searched the farm at the time, in 2022 and again in 2024, but Mr Dyer said the family hoped the reward "could provide a new way forward". He said the £1m ($1.35m), which had been supplied by a "benefactor", would not be paid "if finding Muriel involves any illegal act whatsoever"."It's a long shot, but it's a big statement and I think after 55 years – we have been trying to get her back ever since," he added. The reward mirrors the original ransom demand of £1m to return Mrs McKay to her had been mistaken for the then-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and abducted from her London home on 29 December husband, Alick McKay – Murdoch's deputy - returned home to find her missing. Later that evening, he received a phone was told: "This is Mafia M3. "We're from America, we have your wife. It will cost you a million pounds to get her back. "You'd better get it by Wednesday, or we will kill her."The caller was Nizamodeen Hosein, who was convicted of Mrs McKay's kidnap and murder along with his brother, died in prison. Nizamodeen Hosein later spoke to the McKay family, explaining where he had buried Metropolitan Police interviewed Hosein in 2024 and - despite scepticism about his account - carried out a third dig at Stocking Farm, near Bishop's Stortford. No human remains were found. Mr Dyer said his mother Dianne – Muriel's daughter – had seen the film Ransom and "thought it was an interesting idea to turn it on its head" by offering the same payment that had been demanded in ransom."We're offering it to anybody who can lead us directly to recovering Muriel's remains."Someone who feels a flicker of recognition. It could be an old memory."You may have been living with this for 55 years, you may have been suffering with that knowledge."There are people perhaps in Trinidad or in prison who were told things over the years."You could have the courage to rewrite history and give a family that peace that's been denied," he said. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
