PEOPLE don’t tend to fall out of helicopters by accident. So, when the geologist Michael de Guzman plunged to his death, apparently by suicide, in the Indonesian jungle in March 1997, leaving behind him one of the biggest frauds of modern times, questions were bound to be asked.
The questions are asked, but only partially answered, in The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam (all episodes available on BBC Sounds), the latest enthralling podcast series from the World Service and the Canadian Broadcasting Company. I had cause to praise another of these collaborations — Hollywood Exiles (Radio, 12 April) — earlier this year, and this series replicates that balance of level-headed reportage and narrative flair.
This really is a cracking good story, featuring huge personalities such as “Jim Bob” Moffett, the swaggering chief executive of the mining company Freeport, and Guzman himself, who lived a rock ’n’ roll lifestyle among the bars and whorehouses of South-East Asia.
It’s a complex one as well; and the producers here do a good job orchestrating the various sub-plots in such a way that we don’t get deafened by the detail. But at the centre of it all, like a Chaucerian fable, is blinding greed; and, even as it became apparent that the vast gold deposit which had been promised was no more than some rock with gold dust sprinkled on top, investors — financial, political, and reputational — could not let pull their foolish gaze from the yellow glow.
Now, let us turn to a more virtuous subject: the Salvation Army farm, as featured in On Your Farm (Radio 4, Sunday). Situated on the Thames Estuary, Hadleigh Farm is typical in its mix of revenue streams — arable, livestock, and recreational — but far from typical in its history and ambition. Established by William Booth in the 1890s, the farm was intended to engage and educate the poor of London’s East End. It is still maintained by Salvation Army officers, and provides opportunities for work to those who are not readily employable elsewhere.
Profit is not here the motivating force, although, as the presenter, Vernon Harwood, properly highlighted, there are difficult decisions to be made around releasing productive land so as to benefit the environment.
The sports commentariat is an exceptionally fickle institution; but, at the time of writing, with victory against Switzerland still fresh, Gareth Southgate is the sage tactician that we all knew him to be, and the England players a cadre of heroes. And you have also to admire the creators of the podcast The Rest is Football (Goalhanger Productions) for putting out shows so soon after these crucial games. The challenge is to match in immediacy and relevance the round-the-clock commentaries provided by radio networks such as Five Live; and it is an indication of the state of modern broadcasting that Gary Lineker and chums are allowed to relocate so swiftly from BBC TV to independent podcast studio, to record a show which carries a prominent advertisement for Sky Sports.