Cover Up: The Conspiracy Tapes

Sony Music Entertainment

Cover Up is a series of investigative stories that take us on a journey into a world of subterfuge and secrecy—a world where the truth is concealed under a blanket of lies. From corrupt individuals to clandestine institutions, Cover Up exposes deceit, deception, and the abuse of power. SEASON 4: The Anthrax Threat In the wake of 9/11, a series of letters laced with a deadly powder called anthrax appeared on the desks of prominent journalists and politicians in New York City and Washington D.C. Five people were killed, and seventeen more were infected. It was the worst case of bioterrorism in American history, setting off a surge of finger pointing, xenophobia, and fear. But what started as an unprecedented case soon turned into an unsettling mystery. Who had sent these letters? And why? On season 4 of Cover Up, we trace the FBI’s costly investigation into the attacks, which was stacked with a seemingly endless series of false leads, damaging leaks, and embarrassing blunders. Through revealing interviews with victims, agents, and suspects, we unpack the case in its messy entirety, all with an eye toward the question that remains today: Did the FBI identify the true killer, or is this case still unresolved? From Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, this is Season 4 of Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat. SEASON 3: Body Brokers For eight years, Megan Hess ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in the small town of Montrose, Colorado. She promised clients discounts on normally expensive cremations, a seeming kindness in a town where many are poor. But in the back of the funeral home, Megan’s elderly mother Shirley was actually dismembering the dead. And then Megan was selling the body parts – heads, torsos, legs – to companies that claim to do medical research. The families who trusted Megan –- they had no idea what she was really up to. When they came to pick up the ashes of their loved ones, they instead received a mixture of ashes of various people. They had no idea of their betrayal until some received a strange phonecall from the FBI. Megan and Shirley were body brokers, trading on a dark network where people buy and sell bodies. What exactly were the two women after? Who was really buying those stolen bodies, and why? SEASON 2: The Pill Plot Back in the ‘90s, a ragtag group plotted an international drug smuggling scheme and set up a secretive lab to cook up tablets. But they weren’t trafficking narcotics—they were fighting to bring the abortion pill to America. The new season of Cover Up—The Pill Plot—will take you inside the epic struggle facing activists who battled presidents, the Supreme Court, militant anti-abortionists, would-be assassins, and murders. SEASON 1: Ministry of Secrets Season one uncovers the story of The Ministry of Secrets, 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 are 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… read less

Our Editor's Take

Cover Up is a podcast that explores subterfuge. It also looks into the abuse of power by government agencies. Season one is Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets. It focuses on the Cold War disappearance of a national celebrity. British naval hero Lionel "Buster" Crabb disappeared in 1956. Some may not recognize this name, but many believe he inspired the James Bond character. The government ruled not to release information about Crabb until 2057. Host Giles Milton intends to discover the truth sooner.

Each episode of the Cover Up podcast examines evidence Milton and his team gather through research and interviews. Dramatic music plays behind story elements. There are clips of old news broadcasts. Sometimes, voice actors portray people in the story. Milton interviews people who are still alive. A listener might feel like they are solving the mystery with Milton. His detailed descriptions make it easy to imagine what had happened to the famous frogman.

Could Crabb have made a conscious decision to disappear by water? Milton shares a story he published about the 1962 escape from Alcatraz. Water surrounds the prison. When someone escapes by water, authorities often assume that they're dead. The FBI closed the file on these escapees. But shortly after Milton's story ran on Cover Up, he received an email. A friend of the Alcatraz escapees sent him a picture of them present-day.

Some of Crabb's peers thought he would defect from the Royal Navy. His wife said he was living in the Soviet Union. A KGB diver named Eduard Koltsov came forward in 2007 and confessed to killing Crabb. But the pathologist, who Milton talks to, does not see much evidence that he was telling the truth.

The second season of the podcast is Cover Up: The Pill Plot. It talks about people who decided to manufacture drugs in the 1990s. However, this didn't have anything to do with narcotics. It wasn't a Breaking Bad situation. Instead, it was about an abortion pill. Mifepristone (RU5486) was illegal in the US then. This podcast talks about what happened next.

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