Listening to the Dead - Forensics uncovered

S3 Ep6: Fibre analysis and Operation Airlines

In 1996 the IRA were planning a major bombing campaign. Their targets were the electrical substations around Greater London. Had they been successful it would have crippled the electricity supply of south-east England. Fortunately, the police launched Operation Airlines, a covert investigation to foil the campaign and gather evidence to prosecute those planning it.  
Forensic fibres expert Dr Ann Priston joins Lynda and Cass to discuss her memories of analysing the evidence that linked the prime suspects to the bombs they had built. 
 
Dr Priston is currently working with the charity Inside Justice, investigating alleged miscarriages of justice. You can learn more about their work here: 
<a href="https://www.insidejustice.co.uk/">https://www.insidejustice.co.uk</a>  
 
Lynda's new novel Vanished is out on March 31st 2022 in hardback, ebook and audiobook. 

 
Discover more at: <a href="http://lyndalaplante.com/listening-to-the-dead/">www.lyndalaplante.com/listening-to-the-dead/</a>

 


Credits 
 This podcast was made by Bonnier Books UK 
 Host &amp; Director: Jon Watt 
 Producer: Laura Makela 
 Sound Engineer: Chris Attaway 
 Theme music: Game Over by Magic in the Other 
 End music: Sweeney by Mike Relm

If you want to know what criminal investigation is like in real life, then get ready for a podcast that puts YOU at the crime scene.

This series will look at the latest developments, the famous cases and how the forensic scientists are meeting the challenge laid down by a criminal who is forensically aware.

Lynda La Plante has always been fascinated by criminality and the people that solve crime. Her books are celebrated for their authentic depictions of crime scenes and police procedures – something she achieves through meticulous research with her colleague, CSI Cass Sutherland.

Over six episodes, Lynda and Cass will investigate six branches of forensics: discussing their own experiences, talking with experts, hearing how real life crime scenes are worked, exploring the latest innovations and demonstrating how CSI fact is even more thrilling than CSI fiction.

Episodes will reveal how plant regrowth can be used to track a killer’s path months after a crime was committed; how a fly on the wall can be more than an observer; why the ‘sibling defence’ can unravel DNA evidence; and why a dog’s nose can sniff out cases of arson that the scientists miss.

A murderer is 20% more likely to be convicted if forensic evidence can be presented in court by the prosecution. Yet fingerprints are currently recovered from only 40% of crime scenes, and DNA at a mere 10%. Now more than ever, forensic scientists are under pressure to improve their success rate – their challenge is to advance their crafts and uncover the hidden clues that are left at every crime scene.

Join author Lynda La Plante and former detective Cass Sutherland for a series that reveals the real secrets of CSI.