Yarn | A Story Podcast

Yarn 29 / 1h 12m / May 2025

Hotel on the edge of Europe

I've been going to Inishbofin, with a group of friends every Easter for years.

Yarn 28 / 10 min / Apr 2025

Lucy's grandmother Judy was a volunteer with the Samaritans for 30 years, on their phone line. She's always wanted to ask her about what it was like, being on the end of those calls but Samaritan volunteers swear to never talk to anyone about the details of their callers but there was one call that Judy was able to tell Lucy about, and you’ll hear why.

Yarn 27 / 43 min / Jan 2025

Escape from Madrid

Pablo De Miguel tells the little known story of how Turkish diplomats saved the lives of 1,000 refugees during the Spanish Civil War’s longest siege. It involves espionage, international negotiations and murder but above all else it's a story about the fight for survival and the determination to get home.

Yarn 26 / 50 min / May 2023

The Highest Cyclist in the World

In 2007 the legendary Scottish track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy set out to break the 1km time trial world record. The record and then only sub one minute 1km time was set by Hoy's longtime rival- Arnaud Tournant. Hoy was determined to go sub one minute himself and even more determined to snatch the record away from the french cyclist.

Yarn 25 / 22 min / Mar 2022

The Stalker

"I had no contact with this man. All I ever said was hello to him. It's stalking. And it builds and builds."

Yarn 24 / 28 min / Mar 2022

Kyiv Calling

It is Day 6 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Yarn 23 / 1h 29m / Oct 2021

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury

I wanted to see inside this secretive world and get a sense of what it feels like to serve. I talked to 7 former jurors about their 7 separate trials. I also talked to a practicing criminal law barrister for his thoughts on the jury system. We’ll explore the selection process, the characters in the courtroom and the atmosphere in the jury deliberation room. We’ll also do a deep dive into a few cases and hear them told from a juror's perspective in their own words.

Yarn 22 / 59 min / May 2021

Lone Actor Terrorism

We speak to Dr. Francis O’Connor, an expert on lone actor radicalisation. Dr. O’Connor and his colleagues have been funded by the EU Commission to research lone actor attacks. They have collected what they think is the largest dataset of lone actor attacks and attackers in the western world, dating from 1990 until the present.

Yarn 21 / 23 min / May 2021

The Secret Palace

We visit the Mezhyhirya estate in Ukraine.

Yarn 20 / 2h 13m / Nov 2020

Disability: A Parallel History

In this new Yarn Podcast Miniseries we’re going to give you a rough history of disability.

Yarn 19 / 1h 16m / Jun 2020

How Not to Be a Spy

For our third season we focus on one story in this two part Docu-Drama. The true story of Hermann Goertz, the Nazi spy who landed in neutral Ireland during the Second World War, on a mission to meet the IRA and organise a German-led invasion of Northern Ireland.

Yarn 18 / 32 min / Apr 2020

Stammer

My friend Dermot has a stammer. He’s had one as long as I’ve known him. Like most people I didn’t take much notice of it. After all, everyone stumbles over words sometimes don’t they? Whats the big deal? I certainly didn’t think about what was happening behind the stammer. The thoughts, the anxiety and all the tricks being employed under the surface of what most would consider a minor blip in someone's speech. In this documentary Dermot tells us about the secret war he waged every time he spoke.

Yarn 17 / 52 min / Feb 2020

Chernobyl

We spend two days exploring the Chernobyl exclusion zone and we stay overnight, in Chernobyl’s only functioning hotel.

Yarn 16 / 40 min / Dec 2019

Eyes Don't Lie

On patrol with a drug recognition expert. We go on a ride along in New York State with a police officer who's specialty is to determine if drivers are impaired by drugs.

Yarn 15 / 48 min / Jul 2019

Blak Bisnis

Modern piracy and the hijacking of the Petro Ranger. You probably don’t think of pirates as wearing expensive suits and working in high rise office buildings. In the 90’s the biggest pirates of South East Asia were impossible to tell apart from high powered business people. It was hard to tell them apart because they could be both. This is the true story of one of the most sophisticated pirate syndicates in South East Asia and its mythic leader Mister Wong.

Yarn 14 / 34 min / Apr 2019

Billy

"I treated it like it was my best friend but in fact it was my worst enemy".

Yarn 13 / 38 min / Mar 2019

The Boxer and the Bomber

An audio drama based on a true story.

Yarn 12 / 13 min / Feb 2019

Chancin' Me Arm

A dramatic monologue. Drinkin’, workin’, emigratin’ and boilin’ spuds in hot tar. The life of a chancer.

Yarn 11 / 7 min / Aug 2018

Brick Lane

Walk with the narrator on a six minute stroll down one of London's most famous streets. You'll meet its inhabitants and visitors, all to a thumping music beat.

Yarn 10 / 7 min / Jul 2018

Oonagh and the Giant

The Irish legend of how the Giant’s Causeway came to be. A mythic audio drama tale.

Yarn 09 / 27 min / Jul 2018

Cuban Missile Crisis

October 1962. A bold move on the Cold War chessboard makes America very nervous. Russia installs nuclear missiles in revolutionary Cuba and points them directly at the US. Life as we know it becomes increasingly precarious as communication between Moscow and Washington breaks down. Meanwhile, naval personnel on the Caribbean seas sense they have their finger on far more than a trigger. Yarn 09 is the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. We explore the ideological and technological that created history's most dangerous moment and ask who the heroes really were?

Yarn 08 / 15 min / May 2018

Wild Night

A night out to the pub in rural Ireland leads to gossip and ends in murder. A true crime audio drama.

Yarn 07 / 10 min / May 2018

Every Second Saturday

An emotional short story about the effect divorce and shared custody has on children and parents.

Yarn 06

Anthem

The melody of nations Respected and revered, the national anthem is a country's musical tribute to itself. But in a world so splintered, are songs invoking God, love of country and bloody slaughter the ones we need to be singing? Yarn 06 is melodic journey through some of the world's most famous national anthems. On the way, we get up close and personal with the triumphant tribalism at the heart of a nation's sense of self.

Yarn 05 / 19 min / Feb 2018

Lefty

When you think one of  your legs is possessed. I have cerebral palsy. It mainly affects my left leg. Lefty tries to disrupt my life whenever possible, especially in public or in sensitive situations. Eventually, enough is enough and my doctors come up with an unusual plan to pacify Lefty but he's not going to like it.

Yarn 04 / 16 min / Feb 2018

The Siren

An accidental sounding of the Civil Defence Siren causes one concerned citizen to get a little too concerned. What results is a haphazard journey through childhood fears and the history of hysteria in a sleepy Irish town. Featuring medieval witchcraft, military history and Ireland's preparations for the end of all things.