What would you do if one handwritten letter from a psychic promised to change your life forever?

This is the story of 1 million hopeful Americans, the global scam that took $200m from them, and the mastermind who managed it all by sending out thousands of letters a week.

Investigative journalist Rachel Browne exposes the shocking details of this massive scam on this season of Smoke Screen: The Greatest Scam Ever Written - available now wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes right now, completely ad-free.

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In this special bonus episode of Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets, join presenter Giles Milton and producer Sarah Peters as they discuss some of their favourite moments from the show, including behind-the-scenes highlights that didn’t make it into the final edit.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Giles and Sarah reveal who - today - is blocking the truth about Lionel Crabb. And why. Ministry of Secrets reaches its dramatic climax as a Royal Navy widow gives her testimony and reveals the sensational, sinister and uncomfortable truth of what really happened to Lionel Crabb.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Who ordered Lionel Crabb’s final dive? And why? Giles and Sarah investigate the possible role of MI6. Was the CIA also involved? Revelations from a former spy and a royal expert implicate some very important figures in Crabb’s disappearance. Who are they? And is this why the affair is still being kept secret?

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Show notes:

The Frogmen, 1949 - BBC Motion Gallery/Getty Images

John Le Carre afterword - Ben Macintyre, A Spy Among Friends

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Fourteen months after Lionel Crabb’s disappearance, in 1957, a corpse is found in Chichester Harbour, eight miles from Portsmouth. Is it Crabb? When Giles and Sarah discover a long-lost autopsy file in West Sussex archives, they seek help from Britain’s leading forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.

Show notes:

Mark Elliott interview, 2014 - BBC Motion Gallery/Getty Images

John Randall interview, 1957 -  BBC Motion Gallery/Getty Images

Sidney Knowles interview - David Jackson-Wills

Various materials - West Sussex County Archives

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Giles and Sarah’s Russian fixer, Masha, finds a remarkable video interview with a former KGB diver, Eduard Koltsov – the last person to see Lionel Crabb on the day of his secret dive. His deathbed confession is graphic, shocking and believable. But can he be trusted?

Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets ad-free right now. Click "Subscribe" at the top of the Cover Up show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Show notes:

Eduard Koltsov interview, 2007 - Ren TV

Lord Mountbatten interview, 1969 - Fremantle

Death of Princess Diana announcement, 1997 - BBC Motion Gallery/Getty Images

Operation Paget Press Conference, 2006 - BBC News

John Randall interview, 1957 - BBC Motion Gallery/Getty Images

HC Deb, The Case of Commander Crabb, 14 May 1956, Vol 552.

Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Newspaper headlines:

The Independent, 21 December 2003

The Guardian, 20 October 2003

The Herald Sun, May 27 2019

The Independent, 31 May 2017

The Daily Record, 31 August 2022

The Daily Express, 18 June 2007

The Daily Mirror, 15 May 1956

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Giles and Sarah investigate the first few days that followed Crabb’s disappearance with the help of Peter Marshall, the 90-year-old journalist who first broke the story. As they piece together what might have happened, they discover a sinister 1950s cover-up — one that extends to the very centre of power.

Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets ad-free right now. Click "Subscribe" at the top of the Cover Up show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.

Show notes:

Newspaper headlines:

The Times, 30 April 1956

The Times, 3 May 1956

Portsmouth Evening News, 1 May 1956

Le Monde, 7 May 1956

Le Monde, 14 May 1956

Bild Zeitung, circa June 1956

The Daily Mirror, 8 May 1956

The Daily Mirror, 9 May 1956

The Daily Mirror, 15 May 1956

Die Zeit, 10 May 1956

The New York Times, 13 June 1957

The New York Times, 29 May 1960

The Irish Times, 19 May 1956

The Irish Times, 10 May 1956

Der Spiegel, 22 May 1956

El Universal, 2006

HC Deb, Commander Crabb (Presumed Death), 09 May 1956 vol 552.

Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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Giles and Sarah find a 2007 video interview made by Crabb’s oldest friend, Sydney Knowles. This explosive interview is full of sensational revelations that will take the Lionel Crabb mystery in a whole new direction.

Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets ad-free right now. Click "Subscribe" at the top of the Cover Up show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Show notes:

Various materials - National Archives

Gordon Gutteridge quote - John Bevan, Crabbgate

Bulganin And Khrushchev visit, 1956 - British Pathé

San Francisco Prison Break Attempt, 1962 - British Pathé

Sidney Knowles interview - David Jackson-Wills

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Lionel Crabb was a celebrated wartime hero, feted in blockbuster films, and was even believed to be the model for James Bond. But when Giles and Sarah look through the Crabb files at the National Archives, a far more complex person starts to emerge. Those files also suggest that a sinister cover-up is at play.

Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets ad-free right now. Click "Subscribe" at the top of the Cover Up show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

Show notes:

Sidney Knowles interview - David Jackson-Wills

Various letters & memorandums - National Archives

The Silent Enemy, 1958 - Romulus Films

Frogman article, 29 April 1957, The Herald Newspaper

Anthony Eden’s speech at Bradford, 1956 - AP Archive

Duck and Cover, 1952 - Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division

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Giles and Sarah set off on their quest to discover what happened to Lionel Crabb. A chance encounter leads them to ex-diver, Commander Julian Malec, the last living link to the Crabb mystery. He tells them of a story cloaked in secrecy.

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A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.

Archive:

Commander Crabb clip, 1956 - British Pathé

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Ministry of Secrets is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Cold War.

At its heart is a missing person — a wartime hero and international celebrity. But that’s just the starting point. It involves the royal family, MI6, the CIA and the KGB. There’s conspiracies. And lies. This story is so sensitive, so secret — that the truth is being withheld for 100 years, until 2057. Presenter Giles Milton and producer Sarah Peters are on a quest to find out why…

Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.

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Cover Up is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

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