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Introducing: Explosive Lies episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 8, 2026 · 2 MIN

Introducing: Explosive Lies

from Explosive Lies

He said it could save lives. It didn’t. It couldn’t even find golf balls… Jim McCormick was a cocky English salesman with an outrageous claim: a black plastic gadget that could sniff out bombs using “electromagnetic energy.” The science was pure fiction. But in the panic after 9/11, governments bought the lie - paying up to $60,000 for a device that started life as a $20 novelty golf-ball finder. McCormick sold hope to armies and security forces across the globe. But hope turned deadly. Behind the deals were fragmented friendships, betrayals, and a truth so dangerous it would take years to drag into the light. Alice Levine uncovers the jaw-dropping story of a con that cost countless lives - and the unlikely people who stopped at nothing to uncover the truth. From Global and Forest Sounds, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment. Explosive Lies is a Global production. All episodes are out now. Listen on Global Player. For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact [email protected].

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 8, 2026

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Introducing: Explosive Lies

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This episode was published on January 8, 2026.

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