Sir Michael Caine - perhaps best known as gang leader Charlie Croker in 60s crime caper The Italian Job - tells the stories of remarkable heists and extraordinary robberies from around the world, as remembered by the masterminds, detectives, victims, journalists and witnesses that lived through them. For more than 60 years, Caine has played thieves, criminals, gangsters and the detectives trying to catch them. But there’s Hollywood and then there’s real life... and that’s when things get really interesting.

These days it can feel like life is a never-ending to-do list, and it’s increasingly difficult to balance work and life. People everywhere are unhappy about their work-life balance, and we’re seeing growing numbers of people reporting burnout. Comedian and ex-lawyer Alice Fraser has experienced the costs of work-life imbalance first-hand, so she teams up with neuroscientist Ash Ranpura to look for solutions to the demands of modern life.

Why are humans seemingly hardwired to worship gold? It is unique amongst metals: it is malleable, it doesn’t tarnish, and it shines like nothing else. Over time it has come to symbolise wealth and status. It can represent goodness and fidelity but also greed and lust. Financial educator, author and broadcaster Alvin Hall explores why we are so obsessed with this particular metal, and what it represents around the world - in terms of wealth and symbolism - both historically and now.

Drummer with The Police, Stewart Copeland, sets out to uncover the truth about his father, Miles Axe Copeland ll - musician, raconteur, international businessman... and, it turns out, secret CIA operative. Going back to the 1950s to trace his father’s involvement in the birth of the CIA, Stewart enters a murky world of dictators and dirty tricks. He learns about his dad’s role in overthrowing governments, assassination plots, and befriending an infamous Soviet double agent.

Kids love the ocean - it’s mysterious and unknown, home to monsters of the imagination and some of the most fascinating life forms on the planet. But while many grown-ups might love being by or on the sea, how much do we actually know about the world beneath the waves? In this follow-up to A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs, evolutionary biologist, Professor Ben Garrod, takes the listener on an oceanic journey from the beginning of life on Earth to the present day, discovering what the ocean actually is and why it’s so important in the evolutionary history of life.

Each week on Happiness...and How to Get It, comedian Charlie George and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota dive into a topic, trend or technique and ask vital questions, like: where has this idea come from? What’s the evidence? And is this more or less effective than a custard cream and a cuppa. 

Carolyn Pickles retraces the true story of how 11 people came to be brutally cut with a deadly sharp implement, in a spate of attacks that left a town in a state of fear and police mystified about the identity of the attacker. Halifax, West Yorkshire, 1938 and the hunt is on for a razor-wielding attacker, possibly a murderer. The papers name him 'The Halifax Slasher'. A huge reward is offered for leads to his arrest. Vigilante groups form, and innocent men are set upon. Baffled, police argue with each other about how to catch the suspect.

Making sense of the British Empire's legacy... through the stories of people who lived through it. Through six intimate conversations with a new generation of writers and historians - journalist Afua Hirsch tries to break through old cliches, and unpick the true legacy of this complicated and difficult inheritance. She speaks to leading figures in British culture today - from poet Benjamin Zephaniah to actress Diana Rigg, broadcaster Anita Rani to novelist Nadifa Mohamed - discovering vivid family stories of the people who made Empire what it was.

In December 2017 the famous porn star August Ames committed suicide in a park in the Conejo Valley. It happened a day after she’d been the victim of a Twitter pile-on by fellow porn professionals. A month later, August’s husband Kevin connected with the writer Jon Ronson so they could piece together the story of how Twitter bullying killed his wife. What neither Kevin nor Ronson realised was that Ronson would soon hear rumours and secrets hinting at a very different story - something mysterious and unexpected and terrible.   

Murdoch is an innovator who has re-shaped a media industry across continents, from Australia to the UK to the US. He is a disruptor who has changed the nature of our politics with a steadfast focus on giving the people what he believes they want. But to what extent has Murdoch shaped our modern world? Has he created new audiences, or given existing, under-served audiences a voice? And what motivates the media mogul? Money or power? David Dimbleby, one of the UK’s most respected politics and current affairs journalists, has followed Murdoch’s career for more than five decades.

Slay In Your Lane’s Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené present a new podcast designed to help you navigate the world of work and thrive in your career. In each episode, Liz and Yomi take a question from someone struggling with a specific aspect of their career, covering: building and pushing your personal brand; getting valued at work; taking risks; dealing with unexpected changes; and building the relationships that will take you to the next level.

Join best-selling author Jon Ronson as he traces a very strange butterfly effect.

Music finds its way into every corner of our world. Whether it’s sounds written to soothe our four-legged friends, or a loud, politically charged punk song, music can change the way we feel and often has larger implications than we imagine. In the latest Audible Original series, Pitch, you’ll hear an incredible range of stories that illustrate why music is so central in our connections to each other, our history, and how we navigate the culture and the current moment. 

Some people amass artwork. For others, it's stamps. But why would you want to collect the possessions of a serial killer? Journalists Poppy Damon and Alice Fiennes travel from New York to Scotland to probe one of the internet’s strangest subcultures – the people from all over the world who can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on so-called “murderabilia”. From the Muswell Hill Murderer, Dennis Nilsen, to Charles Manson, the duo explore the grisly yet lucrative business in trading everything from handwritten letters to prisoners' hairbrushes.

When George inherits her family farm it’s supposed to be a new start for her and her partner Ash, an escape from the chaotic pace of Manchester life and the traumatic incident that’s casting a shadow over their relationship. George embraces country living and a burgeoning dairy business but a lonely Ash can’t settle – the farm is isolated and the villagers’ stares make clear their feelings about the inter-racial lesbian couple in their midst.