Detained, tortured, stabbed, and sentenced to death. This is Aiden Aslin’s astonishing story, from the heart of the conflict in Ukraine. Aiden fought with the Ukrainians and was captured by Russian forces during the siege of Mariupol. After a normal childhood in Nottinghamshire and ambitions to be a policeman, how did he find himself a prisoner of war? And how did he survive it? If Maxwell was like that to his staff, how did he treat Ghislaine, the apple of his eye? Monstrously says an old enemy, Richard Ingrams, former editor of Private Eye who was sued so many times by Maxwell that he can’t remember. After hiding for almost a year, she now finds herself facing multiple charges for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually exploit and abuse under-age women which could lead to her spending the rest of her life in jail. Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a news conference to announce charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein.

Following the huge success of LBC podcast Hunting Ghislaine in 2020, investigative reporter and host John Sweeney has returned with Hunting Ghislaine: The Trial. Each week John will dissect the key moments and talking points from the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell. As the trial progresses in New York, John will offer a weekly analysis of this grimly fascinating case, in his inimitable style. Robert Maxwell's luxury yacht, the Lady Ghislaine. Multi-millionaire Maxwell probably plunged to his death from the yacht. He looked at me as if I was an enormous cowpat’ … John Sweeney. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The ObserverThe enormous cowpat has had the last laugh: Sweeney is very proud of Hunting Ghislaine. “The journalism is solid. We set out points of view and investigate them and get to a conclusion.” Launched in November 2020, written and presented by award-winning investigative journalist and author John Sweeney ( BBC Panorama, The Observer), the six-part podcast co-commissioned by Global and The Story Lab, part of dentsu, tells the story of Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of disgraced billionaire media tycoon Robert Maxwell and former partner of notorious convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Hunting Ghislaine with John Sweeney sets out to tell the strange story of Maxwell and her role in the Epstein scandal.

For me, it is the little details that are most telling. Epstein, we learn, decorated the entrance hall of his New York townhouse with rows of individually framed prosthetic eyeballs. We hear a recording of a prosecutor asking Epstein if it’s true he has an egg-shaped penis, followed by the financier ripping off his mic and storming out of the deposition. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. Sweeney explores the theories about Epstein having laundered Robert Maxwell’s ill-gotten funds, without ever getting to the bottom of it. But it seems clear that Ghislaine knew Epstein, or of him, before she flew to New York in the wake of her father’s death. She became Epstein’s lover, factotum and the manager of his various homes, although they never cohabited; he had his mansion, and she had the mansion he bought for her. John speaks to people like him, who are not prepared to be part of the silent majority. They have put their livelihoods and personal reputations on the line to challenge those who run our governments, lead our industries, control our finances and dictate the way we live. They refused to toe the line, and have found themselves in trouble. Big trouble. Activists, agitators, heroes… or villains. You decide.Sweeney methodically chronicles the steps of grooming; spotting the victim as being vulnerable, unstable, from a broken home; the friendly approach, the offer of a job, advancement or simply ready cash; the seemingly innocent suggestion of giving Epstein a massage; the ensuing abuse and entrapment.