I'm Not a Monster
Seeking to separate fact from fiction, the multi award-winning series returns to investigate the divisive story of Shamima Begum. When three London school girls went missing in 2015, they generated global headlines and the media storm that ensued continues to this day. Back then, investigative journalist Josh Baker was filming at a mosque in the girls' neighbourhood as their families came to seek help; their daughters were on the way to Syria to join the Islamic State group. But it was too late, and they disappeared inside the so-called caliphate. For four years, their fate remained a mystery - with only occasional glimpses and sometimes conflicting reports of what they were doing with the terror group being made public. Only one of the girls emerged from the ashes of the so called caliphate - Shamima Begum. The new series will take listeners inside Josh's attempts to figure out what really happened, unearthing new information about one of the most talked about stories of our time. He travels from Bethnal Green in East London to the depths of what was ISIS controlled Syria as he challenges Shamima Begum and investigates if the story she tells is true. Series One - 'I'm Not A Monster: from BBC Panorama & FRONTLINE PBS' The first series of I'm Not A Monster told the story of Sam Sally, an American mother who left behind a comfortable life and travelled to the heart of what the Islamic State group called its caliphate with her family. Her husband became an IS sniper and her 10 year-old son was forced to appear in an infamous propaganda video threatening President Trump. It's the BBC's most awarded podcast series to date, having received 16 nominations, winning 11 awards in 10 different international programme competitions including the Rose d 'Or for Best Audio series, three Golds and the Grand Jury Prize at the New York Festivals Radio Awards and Best Documentary Series at the Webbys and the inaugural Podcast Academy Awards (the Ambies) in 2021.
Episodes
An American mother living in the heart of the ISIS caliphate. Her husband an ISIS sniper. Her 10-year-old son forced to threaten the U.S. president in a propaganda video shown around the world. She claims she was tricked into taking her young children to war-torn Syria, but where does her account end and the truth begin?
Over four years journalist Josh Baker unravels a dangerous story where nothing is as it seems. From the depths o...
A suicide bombing in Iraq and a home video from inside the ISIS caliphate begin the search for a family trapped in Syria. A desperate plea arrives from an American woman who says she wants to escape the Islamic State group with her young children.
This episode includes descriptions of violence and some upsetting scenes involving children.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Prod...
A man who says he’s a people smuggler offers to help the family, while a drive around a suburb in Indiana reveals their past. Sam’s father adds a new twist on who his daughter really is.
This episode includes descriptions of violence and some upsetting moments involving children.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Composer: Sam Slater Mixed b...
The Islamic State group forces Sam’s son Matthew to spread its propaganda. Josh searches the woods of Idaho looking for a man on an elk hunt. Then an obscure tweet leads him to Syria to try to find the family.
If you know something that you think might help the investigation please email notamonster@bbc.com
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan...
A young boy in the mountains of Northern Iraq makes Josh question what he knows about Sam. Then ten days searching war-torn Syria lead to an offer of help, but can it be trusted?
This episode includes descriptions of violence and some upsetting moments involving children.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Composer: Sam Slater Mixed by: Tom B...
Josh is face-to-face with Sam after a year trying to track her down. On a military base in Syria, she begins to tell her side of the story. She says it all started as a family holiday.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Composer: Sam Slater Mixed By: Tom Brignell Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning ...
A torture prison, buying slaves and a dramatic escape: Sam continues her account of her years in Raqqa.
This episode includes references to sexual abuse, extreme violence and some upsetting moments involving children.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Composer: Sam Slater Mixed by: Rod Farquhar Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Executi...
As Josh starts to uncover more about the family’s past, Sam tries to explain away some of the many discrepancies in her story. Then, a connection to the FBI raises new questions about her.
If you know something that you think might help the investigation please email notamonster@bbc.com
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Composer: Sam Slater ...
Josh retraces Sam’s steps in Syria and asks could she have been an ISIS supporter all along? He meets her old neighbours in Raqqa, visits the infamous torture prison where she says she was held and meets an Islamic State group member who knew her personally.
This episode includes references to violence.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Comp...
After years of insisting she’s innocent, Sam pleads guilty and Moussa’s exes reveal more about the man that led her to Syria. Sam’s team claims she was “a wife under the thumb of her violently abusive and radical husband” but the prosecution says she has “credibility issues” and tells stories that serve her personally. So how long will she spend in prison?
This episodes contains some upsetting moments involving children.
If you know ...
Sam’s son Matthew was just seven when he was taken to Syria and the Islamic State group. He thought he’d never see America again. Now he’s back with his dad and talks of the “sweet relief” of being home.
Josh finds out how he and Sam’s other children are doing now.
This episode includes references to violence and some upsetting moments involving children.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and...
Josh is back with news of what to expect next and with a reminder of what we heard in I’m Not A Monster.
Reporter: Josh Baker Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green
“I’m Not a Monster” is a collaboration between BBC Panorama and FRONTLINE (PBS) and is a BBC Radio Current Affairs production for BBC Sounds.
What happened to the family Josh was staying with when the Islamic State group struck in 2016?
I’m Not a Monster began after Josh was injured by an ISIS truck bomb in Mosul, Iraq. If it wasn’t for an old contact reaching out to see how he was doing, he may never have heard about Sam and Matthew.
Now he returns to the Iraqi city and finds that while the fighting may be largely over, the people of Iraq are facing a different battle as ...
In Northern Iraq, Josh finds out how two people you’ve been asking about are doing now.
In 2014, the Islamic State group killed thousands of members of the Yazidi religious community and kidnapped and enslaved many, many more. Ayham and Saud were both taken from their families and ended up in Syria where they were eventually bought by Sam and her husband Moussa.
Josh first met them just after they’d escaped ISIS with Sam and then mad...
Since the series ended, so many of you have got in touch wanting to know more. With the help of criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw, Josh answers your questions.
Presenters: Josh Baker and Dr Julia Shaw (host of the Bad People podcast on BBC Sounds) Mixed by: Tom Brignell Producer: Joe Kent Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Editor Emma Rippon
“I’m Not a Monster” is a collaboration between BBC Panorama and FRONTLINE (PBS) and is ...
Seeking to separate fact from fiction, the multi award-winning series returns to investigate the divisive story of Shamima Begum. When three London school girls went missing in 2015, they generated global headlines and the media storm that ensued continues to this day. Back then, investigative journalist Josh Baker was filming at a mosque in the girls’ neighbourhood as their families came to seek help; their daughters were on the...
Investigating the story of Shamima Begum. At 15, she ran away from her London home with two school friends to join the terror group ISIS in war torn Syria. Now she wants to come back. It’s a tale that has gripped the world, but there are different ways to tell it.
Josh Baker has been following the story since 2015 when Shamima Begum left for the Islamic State group. For Series 2 of I’m Not a Monster he investigates what really happ...
Three London schoolgirls disappear, heading for a war zone. Four years later only one emerges from the ashes of ISIS. Nobody knows what really happened to her. Josh Baker meets Shamima Begum in Syria to begin unpicking her story.
Almost eight years earlier, he was filming in Shamima’s local mosque when news broke that she and her friends had gone missing, it made global headlines. He was there when their families came asking for h...
Following Shamima Begum’s route reveals a dangerous Islamic State group smuggling network, but that’s not all. A local taxi firm isn’t what it seems and a gangster threatens to make Josh “disappear.” It all ends in an underground carpark with a stack of secret documents and a warning.
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Field producers: Hussam Hammoud and Zeynep B...
The man who smuggled Shamima Begum to Syria claims he was spying for Canada. What's the truth? And could she and her school friends have been stopped from reaching the Islamic State group?
Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Field producers: Hussam Hammoud Composer: Firas Abou Fakher Theme music: Sam Slater and Gunni Tynes Mix and sound design: Tom Brignell Produc...
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