A man is found dead in a locked hotel room with no signs of a struggle, leaving investigators with a mystery that makes no sense.

This episode follows the case of Greg Flanagan, whose death in Room 348 seemed straightforward until private investigator Ken Brennan uncovered evidence hiding in plain sight. We trace the overlooked clues, the chain of small mistakes that derailed the initial inquiry, and the reasoning that finally revealed what happened inside that locked room.

Topics include

• The discovery in Room 348
• Early investigative missteps
• Key forensic details
• Ken Brennan’s reconstruction of events
• How the true cause of death was uncovered

Resources and Further Reading

• Body in room 348 - Vanity Fair
• Body in room 348 - People

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music:Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on:Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram:@theCompendiumPodcast
• Website:TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support usPatreon

Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A quiz show champion reaches the million-pound question, only for suspicious coughs to spark a scandal that grips the nation.

This episode revisits the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire coughing scandal, tracing how Charles Ingram, his wife Diana, and Tecwen Whittock became the centre of a media storm and courtroom battle. We explore the evidence, the trial, the role of Chris Tarrant, and the twists that inspired ITV’s Quiz, all while asking whether the Coughing Major was truly guilty.

Topics include

• The night of the alleged coughing
• Charles and Diana Ingram’s involvement
• Tecwen Whittock and studio dynamics
• Key trial evidence and testimony
• The cultural legacy of ITV’s Quiz

Resources and Further Reading

• Charles Ingram Fraud Scandal Footage - YouTube
• Charles Ingram - Wikipedia
• Quiz Miniseries 2020 – by ITV/AMC
• Bad Show: The Quiz, The Cough, The Millionaire Major – by Bob Woffinden & James Plaskett
• Reasonable doubt: was ‘the Coughing Major’ innocent? – James Plaskett

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music:Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on:Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram:@theCompendiumPodcast
• Website:TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support usPatreon

Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A failed explosion beneath Parliament ignites a chain of treason, torture, and myth-making that still echoes every Bonfire Night.

This episode traces the real story of Guy Fawkes, from Robert Catesby’s radical plot to the brutal aftermath that shaped Britain’s most famous annual ritual. We explore whether Fawkes was the mastermind or the perfect scapegoat, and how a botched act of rebellion became a national night of fire, memory, and political symbolism.

Topics include

• The Gunpowder Plot’s origins
• Guy Fawkes’s role and interrogation
• Robert Catesby’s leadership
• King James I’s response
• The making of Bonfire Night tradition

Resources and Further Reading

• The Gunpowder Plot - Wikipedia
• The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605 – by Antonia Fraser
• Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot – Tower of London
• Guy Fawkes night - Wikipedia

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music:Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on:Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram:@theCompendiumPodcast
• Website:TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support usPatreon

Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A young artist survives unimaginable pain and transforms it into paintings so bold and intimate they redefine what art can be.

This episode explores Frida Kahlo’s turbulent life, from the accident that reshaped her body to the politics, passion, and creative defiance that fuelled her work. We trace her self-portraits, her fractured relationship with Diego Rivera, and the way she turned personal suffering into a visual language that made her an icon of rebellion and self-expression.

Topics include

• Frida Kahlo’s life-changing accident
• Her most influential self-portraits
• Politics, identity, and artistic rebellion
• The complexities of her relationship with Diego Rivera
• Her legacy from La Casa Azul to global recognition

Resources and Further Reading

• Frida (2002) – Directed by Julie Taymor
• Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo – by Hayden Herrera
• Complete Works – Frida Kahlo – Frida Kahlo Foundation
• Frida: The Making of an Icon – Exhibition at Tate Modern

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Topic Suggested by: Samantha Bingley
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin
• Trailer Music: Stealy Move by Soundroll

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Visit us at: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• ️ Early access episodes: Patreon

Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favorite takeaway.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of The Compendium, we dive into the chaotic story of Fyre Festival, the so-called “greatest party that never happened.” What began as Billy McFarland’s glossy vision of a luxury music festival in the Bahamas quickly unraveled into a full-scale disaster involving Ja Rule, celebrity influencers, and one infamous cheese sandwich. We explore how this viral catastrophe became a modern parable of greed, Ponzi schemes, and social media delusion, and what happened to Billy McFarland after the fallout.

We give you just the Compendium, but if you want more, here are our resources:

• Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019) – by Chris Smith
• Fyre Festival – Wikipedia
• Hype: Inside the Fyre Festival and the Golden Age of Grift – by Gabrielle Bluestone
• Billy McFarland – Wikipedia

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• About: Kyle and Adam are more than just your hosts, they’re your close friends sharing intriguing stories from tales from the darker corners of true crime, the annals of your forgotten history books, and the who's who of incredible people.
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin
• Trailer Music: Stealy Move by Soundroll

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Visit us at: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• ️ Early access episodes: Patreon

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of The Compendium, we hand over the mic to our friends at Horrifying History for a crossover episode. Its a tale so bizarre, it sounds made up, but absolutely isn’t.

In 1876, a woman in rural Kentucky stepped outside to find chunks of raw meat falling from the sky. Yes, actual meat! What followed was a media frenzy, scientific confusion, and some truly stomach-churning theories — including one involving vulture vomit.

Horrifying History explores this forgotten slice of weird America and why it’s exactly the kind of story we love: unsettling, unexplained, and just plausible enough to make you question everything.
We give you just The Compendium, but if you want more, here are our resources:

And find more episodes of Horrifying History wherever you get your podcasts.

Host & Show Info

• Host: Brenda Ganske
• Listen on: Spotify
• Listen on: Apple
• Visit at: https://bleav.com/shows/horrifying-history

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of The Compendium, we explore the Mushroom Murders the shocking case of Erin Patterson and the deadly family lunch poisoned with death cap mushrooms. Three relatives died, one barely survived, and the trial revealed her deep web of lies. This episode has it all, deception, courtroom drama and of course that imfamous poisoned Beef Wellington. Join us as we uncover how this bizarre story became Australia’s most infamous mushroom murder trial.

We give you just the Compendium, but if you want more, here are our resources:

• Inside the Family Lunch That Killed Three (2025) — Youtube
• Leongatha Mushroom Murders — Wikipedia
• Key Facts in Australia’s Mushroom Murder Trial — Reuters

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• About: Kyle and Adam are more than just your hosts, they’re your close friends sharing intriguing stories from tales from the darker corners of true crime, the annals of your forgotten history books, and the who's who of incredible people.
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin
• Trailer Music: Stealy Move by Soundroll

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Visit us at: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• ️ Early access episodes: Patreon

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A reality show convinces its contestants they’ve been launched into space, creating one of the strangest deceptions in British television history.

This episode revisits Space Cadets, the 2005 Channel 4 hoax that used fake cosmonaut training, a shuttle simulator, and an entire “Russian base” built in Ipswich to sell an impossible illusion. We explore how the production pulled it off, why the contestants believed it, and how this bizarre stunt still stands as reality TV’s most audacious experiment.

Topics include

• The setup behind the Space Cadets hoax
• Fake cosmonaut training and shuttle simulation
• The Ipswich “Russian base”
• Contestant reactions and belief
• The legacy of TV’s strangest reality stunt

Resources and Further Reading

• Space Cadets (2005) – Wikipedia
• Space Cadets TV Series - Youtube
• Ipswich, we have a problem - The Guardian
• Capricorn One (1978) – by Peter Hyams

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music:Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on:Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram:@theCompendiumPodcast
• Website:TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support usPatreon

Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.