logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2023
32m 15s

Series 2: 1. It Felt Like a Dream

Bbc Radio 5 Live
About this episode

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 help, but it was all too late; they'd already made it into the hands of the Islamic State group.

But how did it all begin?

Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Composer: Firas Abou Fakher Theme music: Sam Slater Mix and sound design: Tom Brignell Production coordinator: Janet Staples Series Editor: Jonathan Aspinwall Head of Long Form Audio: Emma Rippon Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins

ARCHIVE Good Morning Britain (ITV, September 2021) Sky News: John Sparks interviews Shamima Begum (February 2019)

Up next
Feb 2021
Series 1: 9. The rest be damned
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 ... Show More
33m 32s
Jan 2021
Series 1: 8. I take my book back
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 ... Show More
51m 43s
Jan 2021
Series 1: 7. On American soil
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@b ... Show More
39m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2024
The forgotten Syrian earthquake survivors
When two major earthquakes hit the Turkey-Syria border region on February 6, 2023, there was some hope that the catastrophe would bring renewed attention and aid to war-torn northwestern Syria. But almost a year later, those on the ground say the situation has only grown more dir ... Show More
20m 47s
Oct 2023
Another Take: The past, present, and future of Hamas
Introducing 'Another Take' – joining you now every Saturday and Sunday, revisiting stories we’ve done that are in the news again.  This episode was originally published on June 14, 2021. The Palestinian group Hamas doesn't fit neatly into the labels some try to fit them into — te ... Show More
22m 49s
Oct 2019
4. Miss OneLife
Jamie and Georgia arrive in Bucharest in the hope of seeing their first OneCoin event: The Miss OneLife 2019 Beauty Pageant. Who else could be there?The Missing Cryptoqueen is an eight-part series for BBC Sounds, with new episodes every Thursday.Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer ... Show More
38m 4s
Dec 2023
2023 in Review: What one city lost in Turkey’s earthquakes
As the year wraps up, we're looking back at ten of the episodes that defined our year at The Take. This originally aired on February 17. What happens when you can’t go home? The city of Antakya, one of Turkey’s cultural centers, was destroyed after the February 6 earthquake. Thou ... Show More
23m 22s
Dec 2022
Look who’s audio describing you
The families of seven teenagers with complex needs have just one week to find a new school after they were asked to leave Purbeck View School in Dorset following an “inadequate” rating by Ofsted.Mum, Sarah London, whose son Harrison, is one of those being forced to leave, shares ... Show More
38m 59s
Aug 2023
Gaddafi and Lebanon’s 'vanished Imam' that divided the Middle East
It’s a story that brings together two powerful families in the Middle East. Musa al-Sadr, a revered figure in Lebanon’s Shia community, met with then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on August 31, 1978. He was never seen again. His mysterious disappearance has sparked decades of the ... Show More
18m 15s
May 2024
Another Take: Will there ever be justice for Shireen Abu Akleh?
Every Saturday, we revisit a story that’s in the news again. This originally aired on May 11, 2023. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.  In November 2022, six months after Shireen Abu Akleh was killed the FBI launched an investigation, ... Show More
23m 51s
Apr 2024
Another Take: The Forever Wars and Abu Ghraib
Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on September 13, 2021. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.  Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison was once a front-page headline in the “war on terror.” Today, public knowl ... Show More
28m 35s
Dec 2022
Bad People present True Crime Crackers 2022 ft. Lost at Sea
Dr Julia Shaw unwraps Bad People’s choice of true crime podcasts in 2022. She talks to Rachel Monroe about her story of lawlessness on the high-seas, BBC podcast Lost at Sea. Julia also meets BBC social media and disinformation correspondent Marianna Spring to discuss her series ... Show More
44m 51s
Jan 2024
Yemen strikes: The political fallout
We look at how Westminster is reacting to the US and UK airstrikes in Yemen.Laura and Paddy discuss why the UK got involved, Sunak’s decision not to ask Parliament first, and Labour backing the military action. Laura’s got Sir Keir Starmer on her BBC One show on Sunday, and the S ... Show More
32m 24s