A new podcast to capture those ‘Mic-Drop' stories

When I first had the idea for Caught Up in Crime, I thought I’d be telling other people’s crime stories.

My working theory was that most of us have at least one belter. One guaranteed humdinger we roll out down the pub that has our mates crowding round in slack-jawed astonishment. You know the type: The nefarious black sheep uncle who did time for tax evasion; the neighbour who ran a crack empire out of his garden shed; the friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend who ran with the Krays, back in the day.

These are the ‘mic-drop stories’. The ones you can boil down into a single, deliciously intriguing sentence that you offhandedly drop into conversation, knowing they will bring all other chat to a grinding halt and leave your companions hanging slavishly on your every word.

What I hadn’t realised was that I had an absolute classic lurking in the recent history of my own family. 

It was Christmas 2023, and (as was my wont at the time) I was scoping around for podcast ideas, when my Uncle Alastair casually dropped the mic ON ME as he reached for the cheese and biscuits:

‘You remember your granny’s boyfriend, Oliver Smedley? Did you know he once killed a man in a row about stolen crystals?’ 

Silence.

“No, Alastair. I did not know that…”

But there it is. My own grandmother - the humorously-named Granny Foofie - thirty years dead and almost forgotten, was connected to one of the most notorious shootings of the 1960s. And it was a tale that grew more extraordinary with every twist and turn: Hostage-taking, nerve gas, pirate radio… It even featured a cameo from Screaming Lord Sutch.

Fast-forward a year, and this story is now told in full in the very first episode of Caught Up in Crime. In fact, it has become a blueprint for the podcast - exemplifying everything I was looking for:

• Ordinary people finding themselves entangled in criminality
• Single, earth-shattering moments that can change lives forever
• Mystery and historical intrigue with a dash of black humour

Even more than that, it proves the theory that we all have fascinating stories buried in our pasts if we are prepared to dig deep enough.

Indeed, my own extended family history was a gift that kept on giving. Apparently, my father-in-law’s great-grandfather was involved in a bitter property dispute with his brother over the family farm. At around the same time, he happened to be holding a pitchfork that connected with said brother’s eye - killing him instantly… 

‘Accidental death’ ruled the Coroner. ‘Hmm,’ said everyone else.

And then there are the stories that have formed the other episodes in this series. 

Like my US client who started out by engaging me to write him a press release about the relaunch of his patented flying toy - the Woblong - and ended up as the star of Episode 3, describing his brush with a crazed stock-broker-cum-mobster who threatened his life in 90s Los Angeles.

Or the grandmother of my daughter’s schoolfriend who, in researching her family tree, was trying to uncover a two-centuries-old mystery about her legendary ancestor who killed a man in a duel and then fled to join the Navy where he fought alongside Admiral Nelson! 

So, yes. Everyone has a crime story tucked away somewhere - even if some are more historical than others. 

And wouldn’t it be wonderful if we dusted some of them off and told them again? 

You can check out the first series of Caught Up in Crime here - with the first episode dropping on 14th January 2025 - and a further five released weekly after that.

Maybe it will inspire some of you to get in touch and tell me about your own brush with crime - however tangential and fleeting it might have been.

You never know - it might feature in Series 2!