logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2020
2m 47s

Introducing... I’m Not A Monster

Bbc Radio 5 Live
About this episode

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 of Raqqa’s infamous torture prison to an elk hunt in Idaho, he uncovers secrets, lies and the lasting consequences.

“I’m Not A Monster” is the story of one family’s journey from Indiana to the Islamic State group and back.

Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Composer: Sam Slater Series Editor: Emma Rippon Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor: Jason Phipps “I’m Not a Monster” is a collaboration between BBC Panorama and FRONTLINE (PBS) for BBC Sounds.

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
Sep 2018
A Syrian Radio Drama
Radio Alwan is an independent radio station that has been entertaining the people of Syria with dramas, phone-ins and their very own version of Woman's Hour since 2014 - as well as providing an independent source of news. Now, as Emma Jane Kirby reveals, its future is in doubt.Ka ... Show More
29m 24s
Sep 2022
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Netflix Review Starring Evan Peters
What’s up legendaries, it’s Ameenha Lee. In this podcast episode, we have a true crime series to discuss. Netflix latest series, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”, is making headlines all over social media. Starring Evan Peters, it tells Jeffrey Dahmer’s story throughout his ad ... Show More
14m 6s
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
Feb 2024
Another Take: Did a Kenyan cult leader convince his followers to die?
Every Saturday, we revisit a story that’s in the news again. This originally aired on May 3, 2023. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.  In a shocking discovery on a ranch hidden in Kenya’s Shakahola Forest, more than 100 people – inclu ... Show More
23m 5s
Sep 2022
Justice for Shireen: The American investigation - Part 2
Last May, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces. Since then, her family has pushed the United States government for one thing: an independent investigation into her killing that leads to real accountability. The Take looks into the push for justice ... Show More
26m 38s
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
Jul 2022
Taira’s story
Fearless paramedic, Yuliia “Taira” Paievska, who filmed the horrors of Mariupol and was then held captive for 3 months by Russian proxy forces. She describes how she was physically and psychologically tortured. Lyse and Irena discuss why a Ukrainian croissant is named after Boris ... Show More
39m 55s
Jan 2021
Introducing Into the Grey Zone
What do assassinations, cyber hacks and disinformation have in common? They’re all weapons used by states against each other in a grey zone of harm that sits - deliberately - under the threshold of war, but could be just as dangerous if ignored. Sky News journalist Deborah Haynes ... Show More
2m 36s
Sep 2022
Americast: Mar-a-Legal Trouble
Donald Trump, some top secret documents and the FBI.Welcome to episode one of the new-look Americast (we thought, as listeners of Ukrainecast, you might enjoy Americast). Classified documents stored at former President's Florida home were likely concealed as part of an effort to ... Show More
45m 18s
May 2023
Gold Mafia: Ep. 6 - The Crocodile
In the shadows of the UN’s climate conference, our undercover reporters, posing as criminals from Hong Kong, arrange a meeting with Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa. There’s a billion-dollar plan on the table to turn Victoria Falls into a mega-casino on the scale of Las Ve ... Show More
29m 29s