A great investigation, thank you for this

Brilliant Cameron investigation analysis. Clear, intelligent, interesting and enlightening.

Well presented pod cast that filled gaps in the knowledge of pre.nazi Germany.

I have only listened to series 1. I found it interesting, if a bit meandering in the middle. What I was most disappointed with was the ending where our narrator gave no real conclusion or opinion on Stephen’s guilt or innocence. The last episode revealed in passing a shocking late admission of guilt by Stephen and then made no comment or inquiry about that shocking revelation. Odd ending.

This is a phenomenal 2-parter on a story about Nazi Germany I knew nothing about. Really well put together.

I’ve only listened to about two thirds of the first series and will probably doggedly hear it out till the end, but am finding it SO full of repetition and irrelevant trivia as to make a potentially fascinating story pretty tedious. Is there some rule that says crime podcasts have to be spun and spun to reach a set number of episodes, when the point could be made in half as many?

Obviously Don, the editor of the local paper who ran with the often thankless task of blasting the original conviction and is one of the main narrators of this story, has acted with compassion and fairness, but his speech is so long-winded and circumlocutory as to make you wonder how he ever processed any reports on the subject, let alone wrote a coherent book on it (which is forever being plugged). His shaggy dog tendencies are only encouraged by the podcast’s reporter who keeps taking him down blind alleys which indulge his penchant for fluff but add nothing to the essential case.

I’m sure some really important work has done here and Don sounds like a really nice person, but investigative journalism which might be leading to the revelation of a massive miscarriage of justice deserves more incisive treatment. I’m persevering, but yawning a lot!

You need to listen to this.

Insightful and devastating reporting on the death of CJ Davies. The parallel lives of bankers in canary wharf alongside young people of newham is a reality which should be thought about more by society as a whole. The context of this tragic death is something for us all to reflect on and stop ignoring. The honesty of Cj’s loved ones is astounding, my heart goes out to them.

Really enjoyed working my way through this podcast! The subject matter of London gang culture from both sides is rarely given the space to be heard and so good work on the production team for pushing this through! CJs mum offers a raw passion and fierceness you only get in London!

Compassionate, unsentimental journalism that gets close to its sources and gives them a chance to speak for themselves. The UK needs more like this. Thanks John Simpson (Poppy & Will) for sticking with this story and for giving Black people a voice in the Times.

This is a fantastic series - really gripping storytelling. CJ’s mother is a very powerful speaker. I can’t wait to hear the rest of it.

Is amazing - I found it though Stories of our times and am here to stay.

I really enjoyed this podcast. Its a harrowing real life tale about Wendy Sewell’s untimely end and Journalist Don Hale’s dogged determination to uncover a miscarriage of justice.

Still as far as I can make out there’s still a lot of secrets being kept out there. One wonders if those involved guilty consciences will be lifted before they depart this world?

Like other reviewers I got so fed up with the repetition on this podcast. As I’m listening to them all at once it’s particularly tiring. Feel like I’ve learnt barely anything new 5 episodes in.

The 2nd series is by far better than the first series, which is a shame as I’m sure some of the bad reviews are putting people off but it seems to be produced & narrated by different people. Anyway it’s just as good as some of the American podcasts I listen to, and it’s even more interesting as based up in Scotland.

Confusing and disjointed. Don’t bother.

This story on the face of it is very interesting and it should have made for an equally interesting podcast. Basically an 18 year old could have done this more justice. The editing is crass with a level of repetition not generated since Allied POW’s were interrogated by the Germans. Massive plot holes. No-one questions the change of boots by the suspect. I am not one to cast judgement as I haven’t made a pod but compared to others out there, this does whiff of ‘sell the adverts’. It doesn’t help when half of the orators can’t pronounce words. And some of them are journalists! Thank God for spellcheck.

This is a sad and interesting story but this podcast is confusing - the episodes are not numbered and there appears to be no linear sequence in which to listen to them so they just end of being a bit repetitive and confusing without reading any conclusions. The presenter also sounds quite scripted and lacks the casual tone of other podcast presenters such as Sarah Koenig (Serial - definitely addictive and worth a listen). Also didn’t enjoy her occasional sarcastic tones!

Audio for the first episode is actually the audio for the second episode which isn’t included in the series, also lack of episode numbering makes this pod a bit of a nightmare which is a shame as it actually seems like an interesting story. Will amend rating if the show gets fixed.

Interesting story but good grief, how difficult is it to number the episodes??

It’sa really interesting story, but it’s disjointed and repetitive. I’ve tried to listen but I’m constantly thinking ‘I’ve heard this before’. The episodes aren’t in any sensible. order.... it’s very strange I want to hear the conclusion but I’m rapidly running out of patience with it!!

The content is great but I can’t follow the sequence due to episodes not being numbered. That seems such a simple thing to do: number your episodes guys!

The story is one worth hearing so is interesting , but this is the first time I’m giving up with a series as it doesn’t have the episodes numbered and they are playing in random order , and the sound is so quiet I miss a lot - even on full volume .

Has anybody involved ever worked in radio?

Difficult to hear due to sound levels, difficult to hear due to presenters/producers style.

Impossible to understand the order of shows by titles/ compounded by iTunes (not your fault) and compounded by repetition and confused editing. Given up.

Great story that the reporter peeled like an onion. But immensely annoying that the audio levels were too low (trailers were OK). Also, no need to repeat the basic facts when you are already so far down the story.

I loved this, listened to so many of this genre and some just grip you and make you feel you’re in the middle of everything, looking around !!! Thank you

Excellent story and a very good production, but they keep repeating the same quotes through each episode. Would have been better over few episodes. Still good though. 👍

Story’s really interesting but the sound bites and interviews are used so often that it’s incredibly repetitive. Think I’ve heard one interview 4 times! Definitely agree it could have been condensed and areas potentially interesting haven’t been covered in much detail (i.e. the confession!). Headline summary...if I couldn’t have binge listened, I’d have given up!

Loved it , British justice at its worst. Well done Don Hale ! Loved the music accompanying the podcast! A must listen podcast!

Found the series interesting but the way it’s put together very disjointed and repetitive

Did Wendy Saul's family agree to you using her tragic murder to advertise your podcast relentlessly on the radio? Tasteless & offensive.

I think we could have listened to one episode and condensed 3 into one here. I kept forwarding the episodes as thought I’d already listened to it but turned out I hadn’t and it just kept going over old ground. Remarkable story though, poor Steven Downing. All the best to him.

While the content could be interesting, the whole podcast is ruined by the low level of production

There is a lot of mumbling, off-mic chatter and some terrible reading aloud.

The worst part is the illegible tape recordings they insist on playing and the repetition of issues.

It’s a shame as I was interested in this case, but it is infuriating to listen to.

I’d recommend you just google the story or read the book.

I’ve had to give up on this. I love true crime but I’m three hours in and not much has happened. I think this case could easily have been condensed into one or two episodes. It’s way too drawn out.

Its a well made podcast, the narrators good, its slick, but im finding it a little far fetched, i hope im wrong, but, "I did a u-turn and the lorry kind of sped up and followed me around in the u-turn" on a country road? Maybe there was a lay by or something, i dont know! Again with a true crime podcast, its well done, an intresting story, until you remember, its not a story, its real life! Still worth a listen if a true crime fan!

It started off interesting to me as a fan of true crime, but I found this podcast very repetitive and boring. The host(s) repeat themselves and sound clips over and over and I felt that I didn’t get that much information of this tragic story. Rather disappointing - decided to stop listening halfway through the available episodes ☹️

Live locally and can remember the case

This is a gripping and fabulously well make podcast on a truly tragic case. But relentlessly in the background beats a tedious and facile soundtrack which makes it almost impossible to listen to. Please please can you just remove.

If they turned the music down or even off this podcast would be considerably more absorbing, the music is irritating at times and a distraction at others .

Good content, but overly strung out to the point of being distracting. A few times I heard the same audio content repeated and wondered if I’d somehow accidentally clicked on a previous episode I’d already heard. Otherwise it’s an interesting story, just felt a bit too much like an advert for buying the book.

I can only imagine that the financial incentives of spreading this across a large number of episodes outweigh the appeal and effectiveness of conciseness. That’s very unfortunate because it diminishes the impact of this important story. Still worth listening to, but the experience is unnecessarily frustrating.

An hour long story, spread out over too many episodes. Pressing the fast forward button...