logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
33m 40s

Catching a KiIler Doctor

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

Family doctor Harold Shipman got away with murdering his patients for decades. He was one of the most prolific serial killers in history - but his hundreds of crimes largely went unnoticed despite a vast paper trail of death certificates he himself had signed.

Why do we sometimes fail to see awful things happening right under our noses? And how can the systems that maintain quality control in cookie factories be employed to prevent another doctor like Shipman killing with impunity?

Read more about Tim's work at http://timharford.com/

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
Schrödinger's Spy: Businessman, Fraud, or Russian Agent? - with Sam Jones
When the Financial Times uncovered the billion-dollar Wirecard fraud, it seemed like the story was over. But then the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Jan Marsalek, vanished - leaving behind clues that pointed to a double life as a secret agent. In his new podcast Hot Money: Ag ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 3
Missing Fish and Fatal Feasts: Ritual and Ruin at the Sun King’s Table
In the gilded court of Louis XIV, 17th Century France, manners are everything. Where to sit, how to eat, what to wear - any misstep is costly. No one knows this better than François Vatel, the greatest party planner in all of France. Tonight, Vatel must deliver the ultimate banqu ... Show More
42m 18s
Sep 26
Don't Panic! Douglas Adams' Guide to Tomorrow - with Arvind Ethan David
Writer Douglas Adams, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, used science fiction and satire to warn us about potential dangers in our future, from artificial intelligence to social media and animal extinction. In this Cautionary Conversation, Tim is joined by Arvin ... Show More
37m 54s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2018
“Dr. Death” - Harold Shipman
What happens when a doctor, someone we should trust, becomes a killer? Harold Shipman, later known as Dr. Death, terrorized Britain for 25 years, killing over 200 of his patients. We look into Shipman’s life to learn how someone who went through years of medical training could be ... Show More
39m 5s
Sep 2020
Fred Shipman Pt. 2: “Dr. Death”
After starting a private practice, Dr. Shipman escalated his crimes until a slip-up alerted authorities. The subsequent inquiry into “Dr. Death” forever changed the British medical field. Dr. David Kipper examines how Shipman used his medical training to get away with murder—and ... Show More
53m 28s
Feb 2018
“Dr. Death” Pt. 2 - Harold Shipman
During his 25-year medical career, Harold Shipman rose to be a respectable family doctor who treated his patients with outstanding care. But behind closed doors, he operated as Dr. Death, and injected his victims with deadly doses of diamorphine. We look into how this man, who ma ... Show More
37m 19s
Jun 2022
Condo Killings
In May of 2011, high school sweethearts and avid church-goers, Bill and Peggy Stephenson, are found dead in their condo in Florence, Kentucky. The crime scene is so bizarre that the FBI has stated that the perpetrator has a pathology they only see in 1% of criminals. Detective Co ... Show More
30m 44s
May 2023
Dr. Harold Shipman - Part 3
At the beginning of the investigation it was assumed that Shipman began his murderous activities in general practice in Todmorden and later in Hyde. A few inquiries were carried out initially by the Shipman Inquiry into his time as a hospital doctor, particularly after the relati ... Show More
28m 27s
Sep 2020
H.H. Holmes Pt. 2: “The Torture Doctor”
He used his medical knowledge to dispatch his victims quickly—and in some cases, to make their deaths look like accidents. But eventually the authorities caught on to Dr. Holmes, and a nationwide manhunt to stop one of history's most infamous killer doctors began. Learn more abou ... Show More
46m 37s
May 2023
Dr. Harold Shipman - Part 4
There were many inconsistencies in Shipman’s behaviour and recording of the death. He said the patient had been in a coma for forty-five to fifty minutes, yet no nursing staff were called. He said that he had attended to Mr Brewster for the last eighteen hours of his illness, yet ... Show More
27m 6s
Aug 2022
Dentist convicted of murdering wife on safari; Doctor over-prescribed meds to sexually abuse victims
This Week on True Crime Daily The Podcast: A dentist convicted of murdering his wife on safari to collect $4.8 million in life insurance and start a new life with his mistress. Plus, a doctor found guilty of overprescribing medications to suffering patients and denying their pres ... Show More
1h 1m