Episode 1

Series 5 Episode 1: The Gas Works

Content warning: This series discusses the use of explosives for terrorism. Episodes will contain sounds of explosions, statements from victims and descriptions of injuries as well as other content you may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

On the night of 20 January 1883, a series of explosions rung out in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Was this an accident or an act of malice? The top minds of the 19th century raced to deduce the answer.

In this episode we will follow the investigation of Colonel Vivien Majendie, the first Chief Inspector of Explosives in the UK, as he determines the cause of the explosion at Tradeston Gas Works.

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Inside Forensic Science is an Adventurous Audio Ltd production for the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) at the University of Dundee and was funded by The Leverhulme Trust.

The series is written and narrated by Pennie Stuart. The researchers are Heather Doran and Clara Morriss.

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Inside Forensic Science

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Adventurous Audio

The creative partnership behind Adventurous Audio is Pennie Latin Stuart and Dan Holland. We worked together as a team at the BBC for years—45 between us—producing an insane range of content, covering every conceivable topic from comedy to hard-hitting documentaries, food, the arts, science, music, sport and outside broadcasts, for just about every audio corner of the BBC - BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Scotland, Radio 4, Radio 3 and Radio 2.