World Of Secrets
BBC
Season 6: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in?
Also: Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Women accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of rape. And: The Abercrombie Guys. Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch.
Delve into a World of Secrets: the global investigations podcast from the BBC. Uncovering stories around the world and telling them, episode by episode, with gripping storytelling.
Latest season: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in? Journalist Cat McShane investigates the international yoga movement headed by Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual guide arrested by French police in November 2023 and charged with human trafficking, organised kidnapping, rape and organised abuse of weakness by members of a sect.
“Nobody joins a cult. You just get sucked in,” says Penny, the mother of a university tutor from London.
In 2017, Penny’s daughter Miranda joins a yoga charity with studios in London and Oxford. The classes make Miranda feel amazing and the people make her feel loved. “There was this sense that these people cared,” says Miranda.
But as Miranda becomes more deeply involved with the international yoga movement that her group in London is part of, her mother Penny starts to worry. “When she rang us, she'd be speaking in very hushed tones,” says Penny.
Miranda has fallen under the spell of guru Gregorian Bivolaru. She joins thousands of his followers from around the world on a free holiday at a coastal resort in Romania. It’s part of a search for spiritual enlightenment which will see her driven through Paris blindfolded and doing sex work in Prague.
This series includes explicit sexual content and strong language.
Previous seasons of World of Secrets:
Season 5: Finding Mr Fox. Investigating a plot to smuggle around a hundred millions of dollars’ worth of drugs from Brazil to Europe and the miscarriage of justice that followed. But where is the man Brazilian police believe to be at the centre of it all?
Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods. Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed – then owner of Harrods, one of the most famous shops in the world – is accused of rape and attempted rape by women who worked for him. Now they refuse to be silenced any longer.
Season 3: The Apartheid Killer. All the victims were black and the youngest was just 12 years old. Some relatives are still searching for the graves. They were killed during a three-year bloodbath in the 1980s, in the South African city of East London – by one person. He killed so many, he lost count. In piecing together this story, we expose the disturbed past and racial injustices of South Africa itself.
Season 2: The Disciples. The cult of Nigerian prophet TB Joshua. A story of miracles, faith and manipulation, told by people from around the world, who gave up everything for one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Lured by TB Joshua’s claimed healing powers, they live as disciples in a guarded Lagos compound, cut off from family and friends.
Season 1: The Abercrombie Guys. An investigation into claims of sexual exploitation made against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. He and his British partner were accused by several men, recruited for sex events they hosted around the world.
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Top 10 World Of Secrets Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best World Of Secrets episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to World Of Secrets for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite World Of Secrets episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
The Abercrombie Guys: 1. Silenced
World Of Secrets
10/02/23 • 39 min
Sometimes it only takes one person to speak, for others to be heard... An aspiring male model hopes a meeting with Abercrombie and Fitch’s former CEO could be a career break. But it is far from a dream opportunity. “It's probably the darkest experience I’ve ever dealt with,” he says. After reading a cryptic tweet, Rianna Croxford follows a trail which leads to the most intensive investigation of her career. MeToo has empowered women to speak out – now men say they want to be heard. This is World of Secrets - Season 1: The Abercrombie Guys, an investigation from BBC 5 Live and Panorama. Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets
This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Rainsford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson
Archive: Paramount Pictures: Mean Girls (2004) This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
8 Listeners
The Abercrombie Guys: 2. Who is Mike Jeffries?
World Of Secrets
10/02/23 • 34 min
He made Abercrombie and Fitch a millennial megabrand, marketing "sexy clothes on sexy people”, as one former colleague of Mike Jeffries put it.
At home he had model-like men washing his cars and staff to chauffeur his dogs around. But what else was going on at his Hamptons mansion? “There was something about it that was strange,” according to a former staffer, “why wouldn’t anyone talk about it?” Rianna decides to investigate.
Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets
This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson
Archive: CBS: Sharon Chin report (9th May 2013) Warner Bros: Ellen DeGeneres - (May 2013) BBC: Sophie Hutchison news report (24th Jun 2009) BBC: Hugh Schofield news report (26 July 2013) International Business Times: A&F Company outlook (24th May 2013) Bloomberg: Report on Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries to Step Down (9th Dec 2014) Bloomberg: Jeffrey Hayzlett joins Trish Ragen and Adam Johnson on Bloomberg's Street Smart (9th Mar 2013) NBC: Report on ‘half-naked models’ (30/11/2002) Fox News: The O’Reilly Factor Report on Abercrombie & Fitch marketing (1st Dec 2015) BBC: BBC 4- Love Thy Neighbour (14th Oct 2008) This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
4 Listeners
The Abercrombie Guys: 7. Do You Remember Me?
World Of Secrets
10/02/23 • 33 min
The Abercrombie Guys’ alleged main recruiter is tracked-down to a small town in Wisconsin and asked about his involvement in the operation: “Nobody went into this without their eyes wide open.” One high profile American lawyer examines the team’s evidence and calls for prosecutors to investigate.
Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets
This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
2 Listeners
The Abercrombie Guys: 6. Inside the Operation
World Of Secrets
10/02/23 • 27 min
Do you know how much money I was getting paid?"
A former assistant who travelled with The Abercrombie Guys agrees to talk: "They were trying to act so perfect,” he says - what could they have been hiding?”
Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets
This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
1 Listener
The Abercrombie Guys: 3. The Marine
World Of Secrets
10/02/23 • 33 min
A former US marine turned reality TV star is invited to Mike Jeffries' mansion in the Hamptons. He dreams of being an Abercrombie and Fitch model, and he hopes to impress the fashion mogul. But the mood at the event begins to change and he says he soon realises this is not the interview he was expecting: "I didn't feel like I had control”. Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets
This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson
Archive audio: Bravo TV: Below Deck (2013) This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
1 Listener
The Abercrombie Guys: 5. Midnight in Marrakesh
World Of Secrets
10/02/23 • 41 min
A model is made a lucrative offer to meet the Abercrombie Guys in Morocco: “I'm going to Marrakesh, this is awesome!” But events, he says, take an unanticipated dark turn.
Why was the event in Marrakesh, according to another man, “one of the sketchiest times”?
Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets
This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
1 Listener
The Bad Guru: 1. The Retreat
World Of Secrets
12/09/24 • 29 min
Miranda joins a yoga school in London. The classes make her feel amazing and the people make her feel loved. But at a weekend retreat in a country house, she gets a shock.
This series contains explicit sexual content, some strong language and allegations of sexual exploitation. This episode contains explicit sexual content. Host: Cat McShane Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane Sound design: Melvin Rickarby Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister Executive Producer: Innes Bowen Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
1 Listener
The Bad Guru: 5. The Breakthrough
World Of Secrets
01/06/25 • 28 min
“I was admitting it was a sex cult,” says Miranda. She meets up with her mother Penny to tell her what she's really been up to. When she tells her story to students from the yoga school where her journey started, the guru Gregorian denounces her as a liar.
This episode contains sexual content.
Host: Cat McShane Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane Sound design: Melvin Rickarby Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister Executive Producer: Innes Bowen Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
1 Listener
The Abercrombie Guys: 4. The Mysterious Mr Smith
World Of Secrets
10/02/23 • 35 min
Who is the other Abercrombie guy, Matthew Smith? “Witty, strict and secretive” says a former colleague.
Papers reveal the influential role he had in the life of his partner, the former Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries. A former staffer reveals how he frequently requested large sums of cash, sealed in white envelopes – what was it for? Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets
This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
1 Listener
The Abercrombie Guys: 11. Mike Jeffries Under Arrest
World Of Secrets
10/26/24 • 25 min
"Anyone who thinks they can exploit others by using the so-called casting couch system... prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison."
Prosecutors in New York send a stern message, as The Abercrombie Guys, Mike Jeffries and Matthew Smith, are arrested on charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, along with their alleged fixer Jim Jacobson. They've denied wrongdoing.
Reporter Rianna and producer Ruth head to New York to watch the court proceedings unfold, just a stone's throw from Mike Jeffries' Hamptons mansion.
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FAQ
How many episodes does World Of Secrets have?
World Of Secrets currently has 50 episodes available.
What topics does World Of Secrets cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Documentary and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on World Of Secrets?
The episode title 'The Abercrombie Guys: 1. Silenced' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on World Of Secrets?
The average episode length on World Of Secrets is 29 minutes.
How often are episodes of World Of Secrets released?
Episodes of World Of Secrets are typically released every 3 days, 6 hours.
When was the first episode of World Of Secrets?
The first episode of World Of Secrets was released on Sep 6, 2023.
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