Mystery On The Rocks

This week we find the Cold War well and truly underway as one of the Soviet Union's most totemic figures (probably the most) bows out.In 1953, the Iron Man of Russia - Joseph Stalin - pegged it, precipitating a scramble for power and potentially a pretty big set back for the USSR at a crucial point in the burgeoning Cold War...We also briefly discuss weird sneezes, Lenin's dick and Sooz considers getting a boob out "for the podcast". See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's episode sees us move from the war into the 1950s, to the United States where the Civil Rights Movement is gaining momentum. So much so, that it has some white supremacists pretty worried. And at this point, white supremacists didn't need to be threatened in order to kill people.In 1951, pioneering Harry and Harriet Moore are murdered at home, becoming the first civil rights activists to be assassinated during the movement by opponents to their cause. The case remains unsolved decades later, despite a few suspects being likely.And could the attack possibly have links to the case of the Groveland Four two years previously...? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we recorded on location in Sooz's dressing room as she got ready for a show (hence the echo, sorry guys) to discuss the end of World War II, specifically the devastating bombings of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons in August 1945.The death toll was huge and not always immediate. They may have put an end to World War II but the bombings also ushered in a new era of terror, the concept of mutually assured destruction and had a human cost which continues to be felt today... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Happy Birthday to us! We take a break from the current season as this week's episode is our third birthday special! A hugely self-indulgent stroll down memory lane as we recount the Mystery on the Rocks origins story, recap all of our mysteries so far, briefly discuss the future of the podcast and - naturally - get sidetracked by being silly.We've done so many episodes now that the completists among you may notice a few misrememberings. We know now that the Somerton Man's last meal was a pasty and not a kebab but we were going on hazy half-rememberings of yesteryear. And can someone please tell us which episode was 'The Buttermilk One' because none of us can remember? Let us know if we got anything wrong and tell us your favourite moments from the show if we missed any out.And if we didn't miss your favourite out, let us know anyway!Thank you for the bottom of our hearts for sticking with us and allowing the podcast to continue. Here's to many more!Sooz, Masud & Chris See acast.com/privacy for privacy and

This week we are reaching the end of World War II and quite probably our most immature episode yet as we take a look at some of the conspiracy theories regarding the possibility that Adolf Hitler didn't end his own life in the bunker as Allied forces closed in on him in 1945, but instead survived and escaped via submarine to Argentina...And is there even a chance that he invented Angostura bitters...? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For listeners from Eastern Europe, Poland specifically, we apologise sincerely and profusely for our terrible, terrible pronunciations. What dinguses we felt! Right stupidos...Why so heavy on Polish place names this episode? WELL! This week finds us in the latter days of World War II as a supposed train full of gold and treasures plundered by the Nazis goes missing in the Polish mountains. Is it still out there somewhere? Many have searched for it, including the Polish military for a time, and our minds are blown as we discover the most recent attempt to locate it continued after we started this podcast!And for an episode about a train full of loot stolen by the Nazis we certainly discuss the practicalities of The Three Little Pigs and the painting of dogs playing poker a bit too much... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In early 1943, the Allies are planning to invade Sicily - although with each side of the war closely scrutinising the other with a ramped up focus on espionage and stealing secrets the question arises as to how to do so without the enemy knowing.A supremely audacious plan is concocted to throw Axis powers of the scent, a plan which has to be perfectly calibrated in order for the enemy to fall for it. And so, in nominally netural territory, Operation Mincemeat is put into action thanks to a future spy novelist, a couple of meticulous intelligence men, a submarine and a homeless man.This is the story of the man who never was... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Slightly looser episode this week as we get far too distracted by the relationship status of the two main characters in Jurassic Park but when we get to business it's two mysteries for the price of one!Our series hits the 1940s, which you know full well means World War 2. America's entrance into the conflict lies in the attack on Pearl Harbour so here we delve into two mysteries centered around the attack.Firstly, could a board game contain a coded message warning of the attack ahead of time and, secondly, is there a ghost plane flying the skies following the attack? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We might take a little longer than usual to get to the subject of this week's episode because Sooz and Chris were recording in the same room and so more time was spent on the cocktails as Masud instructed them on what to make but when we get there, we uncover something of a mystery within a topic we all thought we knew quite a great deal about.In 1938, the Nazis targeted Jewish businesses in what has become known as the Night of Broken Glass. Except, that's a bit of a simplification over time - it obviously wasn't just businesses, it was people and this was far from the first example of anti-semitic persecution by the Nazis.But what we didn't know before we got to this episode was the story of a 17 year old Polish Jew living in Paris at the time by the name of Herschel Grynszpan... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our current season hits 1937 an we head to Paris where Russian politician and economist Dimitri Navachine is stabbed to death while walking his dog. Despite the attack taking place in broad daylight, the mystery has never been solved, possibly because so many questions surround Dimitri himself...Was he exiled in France? Had he just emigrated there? Was he advising the French government off his own left-leaning back or was he infiltrating it as a spy for the Soviet Union?And who really wanted him dead? Mother Russia or a local fascist terror cell? And could the answer relate to the subject of one of our earliest episodes?And who remembers the kids' TV show Woof!? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Federico Garcia Lorca was one of Spain's most promising and famous poets and playwrights of the 1920s. The fall of the Restoration era in 1931 saw the monarchy abolished, the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera fall and the installation of a left-leaning democratic government. Under this, Lorca thrived creatively except trouble was brewing in Spain...This new democracy wasn't to last and in 1936 increasing tensions saw another coup - this time against the government. It failed but still led to the Spanish Civil War which ultimately saw General Franco assume command of Spain and rule as a fascist dictator.It also saw Lorca summarily executed. The true nature of his death, and even the whereabouts of his body, remain one of Spain's enduring mysteries... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Famine hit the Soviet Union in 1932-1933, killing millions upon millions. It was covered up with creative language in the press but certain crusading journalists began uncovering the truth and reporting anonymously for their own safety.Until one Welsh journalist by the name of Gareth Jones returned from what is now the Ukraine and decided it was time to not only expose what was going on, but to be the first reporter to do so under his real name.Barely two years later, Gareth is murdered. Was it a conspiracy masterminded by the Soviet Union in revenge for exposing its hand in covering up and even potentially deliberately causing the famine? Or was it just circumstance? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we learn about the founder of the controversial religious and political group Nation of Islam - Wallace Fard Muhammad. No fixed date of birth exists for the man and many have tried, including the FBI, to ascertain exactly from where and when he came. But to no avail...What's more, the elusive Wallace Fard Muhammad vanished completely from public record in 1934. Where did he come from? Where did he go?Along the way we uncover tales of adultery, an alliance between white supremacists and black activists and even an instance of human sacrifice.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1934 to consolidate his iron grip on Germany, Hitler did away with dozens of political foes, and even allies he considered might be foes. This was Operation: Hummingbird. Also known as The Night of the Long Knives...This is the story of how Hitler turned on one of his closest allies, the story of the first openly gay politican in history and the story of Germany's further descent into tyranny.Along the way we speculate wildly about Hitler's sex life and try to get the bottom of the ultimate mystery - did he jizz while soft? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Nazis are in power and barely one month after the enabling act effectively makes Hitler dictator of Germany steps are made to eradicate literature and research deemed to go against the Nazi ideology.One particular place of scientific learning which falls foul is an institute set up by a Dr Magnus Hirschfeld, a progressive man who dedicated his life to helping the LGBTQIA+ community. No mean feat for a century ago. Hirschfeld's institute helped many but one in particular was Dora Richter - the first known transwoman to ever undergo complete gender confirmation surgery.But she vanished, her fate unknown... So what happened to Dora?And along the way we touch on Hirschfeld being almost unfathomably ahead of his time and a gay sex scandal which rocked Germany... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We hit the 1930s in our Geopolitics, War & Espionage season and hotfoot it straight over to Germany in 1933 where something big was brewing. Hitler and his Nazi party are able to seize absolute power and rule Germany as a dictatorship. An arson attack on the home of Germany's parliament - the Reichstag - helps to precipitate all of this.But who literally started the fire? And could Erik Jan Hanussen, the man who coached Hitler in public speaking, somehow predicting it ahead of time hold some clue? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

1928 New York. Prohibition has been in place for some time but some of the criminal underworld (who have been some of the few to profit from its tight grip) are sensing it is nearing its end. Casper Holstein, a black racketeer from Harlem who has considerable control over illegal gambling and has been very generous to black activism with his profits, is kidnapped at gunpoint. A ransom of $50,000 demanded. He is released three days later and he insists no ransom has been paid. Nor will he name his kidnappers.He also could have paid that ransom himself several times over...To this day, nobody knows who kidnapped him or why. Could it be dodgy attorney Dixie Davis? Maybe out-of-control hoodlum Dutch Schultz? Or Casper's rival in illegal gambling, the formidable Stephanie St Clair? Each have motive and each have an incredible story of their own.Join us for this season's stop-off in prohibition New York, where Chris chaperones Sooz and Masud to a threesome with a sexy gangster... See acast.com/privacy for privacy a

This week we're taking a week off from our ongoing themed season for a chilled-out Christmas special - join us for some Christmas drinks where we go through our middle names, our Christmas plans and opinions on Christmas dinner.Thanks for listening everyone, have a great Christmas!! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In September 1928 Latvian dentist Morduch Halsman is hiking in Austria with his son, Phillippe. He loses his footing and plummets off a cliff to the horror of Phillippe. When Phillippe manages to find a way down to the bottom, he discovers his father has been robbed and, if the fall hadn't killed him, murdered.Yet this is smack bang in between the World Wars, in a country with an ever more pronounced lean towards fascism. And the Halsmans are Jews. Phillippe is promptly arrested, tried and convicted.But was Phillippe ever destined for a fair trial? And is the pressure cooker of anti-semitism responsible for not only a skewed trial, but also possibly the murder itself...? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When a Native American people gains immense wealth from oil found on their land at the beginning of the 20th Century, it sets in motion a chain of events which leads to fraud and death in a concentrated campaign of malevolence throughout the 1920s. Who is responsible for a string of murders, all carried out with the express aim of wresting control of the land and money from those to whom it rightfully belongs...?And just what has Masud been getting up to with plums? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.