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World Of Secrets

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Season 6: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in?Also: Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Women accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of rape. And: The Abercrombie Guys. Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch.Delve into a World of Secrets: the global investigations podcast from the BBC. Uncovering stories around the world and telling them, episode by episode, with gripping storytelling.Latest season: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in? Journalist Cat McShane investigates the international yoga movement headed by Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual guide arrested by French police in November 2023 and charged with human trafficking, organised kidnapping, rape and organised abuse of weakness by members of a sect.“Nobody joins a cult. You just get sucked in,” says Penny, the mother of a university tutor from London.In 2017, Penny’s daughter Miranda joins a yoga charity with studios in London and Oxford. The classes make Miranda feel amazing and the people make her feel loved. “There was this sense that these people cared,” says Miranda.But as Miranda becomes more deeply involved with the international yoga movement that her group in London is part of, her mother Penny starts to worry. “When she rang us, she'd be speaking in very hushed tones,” says Penny.Miranda has fallen under the spell of guru Gregorian Bivolaru. She joins thousands of his followers from around the world on a free holiday at a coastal resort in Romania. It’s part of a search for spiritual enlightenment which will see her driven through Paris blindfolded and doing sex work in Prague.This series includes explicit sexual content and strong language.Previous seasons of World of Secrets:Season 5: Finding Mr Fox. Investigating a plot to smuggle around a hundred millions of dollars’ worth of drugs from Brazil to Europe and the miscarriage of justice that followed. But where is the man Brazilian police believe to be at the centre of it all?Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods. Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed – then owner of Harrods, one of the most famous shops in the world – is accused of rape and attempted rape by women who worked for him. Now they refuse to be silenced any longer.Season 3: The Apartheid Killer. All the victims were black and the youngest was just 12 years old. Some relatives are still searching for the graves. They were killed during a three-year bloodbath in the 1980s, in the South African city of East London – by one person. He killed so many, he lost count. In piecing together this story, we expose the disturbed past and racial injustices of South Africa itself.Season 2: The Disciples. The cult of Nigerian prophet TB Joshua. A story of miracles, faith and manipulation, told by people from around the world, who gave up everything for one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Lured by TB Joshua’s claimed healing powers, they live as disciples in a guarded Lagos compound, cut off from family and friends.Season 1: The Abercrombie Guys. An investigation into claims of sexual exploitation made against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. He and his British partner were accused by several men, recruited for sex events they hosted around the world.

The Bad Guru: 6. The Return

World Of Secrets

  • 21 views
  • 8 days ago
  • 29:31

Miranda returns to Paris after some surprising news about the guru Gregorian Bivolaru. This episode contains sexual content, allegations of sexual exploitation and some strong language. Host: Cat McShane Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane Sound design: Melvin Rickarby Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister Executive Producer: Innes Bowen Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

The Bad Guru: 5. The Breakthrough

World Of Secrets

  • 38 views
  • 15 days ago
  • 30:43

“I was admitting it was a sex cult,” says Miranda. She meets up with her mother Penny to tell her what she's really been up to. When she tells her story to students from the yoga school where her journey started, the guru Gregorian denounces her as a liar. This episode contains sexual content. Host: Cat McShane Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane Sound design: Melvin Rickarby Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister Executive Producer: Innes Bowen Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

2. The Technique

World Of Secrets

  • 120 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 29:04

Miranda joins thousands of the guru Gregorian Bivolaru’s followers from around the world at a yoga festival in a Romanian seaside resort. It’s a two weeklong holiday and her food and accommodation is free. But is she being drawn into something darker? This episode contains explicit sexual content. Host: Cat McShane Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane Sound design: Melvin Rickarby Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister Executive Producer: Innes Bowen Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

1. The Retreat

World Of Secrets

  • 140 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 31:14

Miranda joins a yoga school in London. The classes make her feel amazing and the people make her feel loved. But at a weekend retreat in a country house, she gets a shock. This series contains explicit sexual content, some strong language and allegations of sexual exploitation. This episode contains explicit sexual content. Host: Cat McShane Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane Sound design: Melvin Rickarby Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister Executive Producer: Innes Bowen Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

Finding Mr Fox: 6. What does the Fox say?

World Of Secrets

  • 76 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 29:24

Our investigation moves to a hotel car park in Norwich, England. What more new leads will this bring? We find the man himself, but what does Fox have to say about the tonne of cocaine found on his yacht? How does he respond to the claims from Brazilian police?