iPX Directory

Directory Society & Culture

I’m Not a Monster Presents… Where is Austin Tice?

Listed, no subscribers yet · Documentary

Paste it into any podcast app or feed reader to subscribe.

Josh Baker enters a dangerous world of fear, greed and betrayal as he sets out to uncover the truth behind one of the biggest missing-person cases of our time - the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice. Josh - creator of two of the BBC's most award-winning and widely listened-to investigative podcasts, I'm Not a Monster and The Shamima Begum Story - returns for his most ambitious chapter yet, in a major new series from BBC Radio 4 and NPR's Embedded. This is not the retelling of a closed case. It is a real-time investigation into a disappearance that has remained unsolved for more than a decade, conducted in close contact with Austin's family. What started out as a personal effort to help a mother find her son has turned into a multi-year journalistic investigation stretching from the corridors of power in Washington DC to the depths of the Syrian security state. Austin Tice is a journalist, law student and former Marine officer, who vanished in Syria in 2012. Since then, competing stories have emerged about his fate. In some, he is alive - held in a cell and waiting to be rescued. In others, he was smuggled out of Syria and hidden away. In the darkest versions, he died long ago. His disappearance has reached the highest levels of power - from presidents to popes - yet remarkably little is known about what happened to him. Investigative journalists Josh Baker and Sara Obeidat begin following Austin's trail long before the fall of the Syrian regime. Then everything changes. The regime collapses, and the black box of Syria's intelligence state opens. Sources step forward, unprecedented leaks arrive and doors to secret bases that had been sealed for years open. Josh and Sara speak to spies, search secret prisons and track down alleged war criminals in hiding, uncovering information that has never been made public and making discoveries that generate international headlines. The audience follows every breakthrough as the investigation closes in on those who may know the truth - while Syria is transformed and powerful interests compete to shape what happens next. Some claim Austin was working for the CIA. Others say he was simply a young journalist trying to make his name in war reporting. His fate has become entangled in secret negotiations and geopolitical power struggles that are still unfolding. At the centre of it all is his mother, Debra Tice, who has never stopped searching for her son. There are people who know exactly what happened to Austin. Some of them do not want the truth to come out. So where is Austin Tice?

Latest episodes

Where Is Austin Tice?: 8. Those Who Know

Josh and Sara hunt the men who know what really happened to Austin. When the Assad regime fell, they went into hiding. As the team close in, competing accounts begin to emerge: stories of detention, secret deals, survival and betrayal. Some may be telling the truth, others may be trying to bury it. Archive: CNN; BBC; NBC; PBS; Al Jazeera. Writer and showrunner: Josh Baker Investigative producer: S

8 Oct 2026 · 34 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: 7. The Escape

When was the last time Austin was seen alive? Josh and Sara find the people who claim to know. Josh meets a man who says he interrogated Austin. Then two more witnesses are found. Each of them helps fill gaps in Austin’s story, and the hidden months of his captivity are revealed. But one question becomes more urgent than any other: when was Austin last seen alive? Writer and showrunner: Josh Baker

29 Sep 2026 · 36 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: 6. A Meeting in Muscat

Josh uncovers a hidden world of secret negotiations, backchannels, and high-level talks. And, after years of failed promises, Austin’s mother Debra decides to go to Syria herself - alone. She believes the US government could have done more to get her son home. Josh finds the men who took part in covert talks between Washington and Damascus. Could Austin’s release have been possible? And what was S

24 Sep 2026 · 39 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: 5. The Video

A video appears online titled: “Austin Tice Still Alive”. It shows Austin bound, blindfolded and terrified, surrounded by armed men. But as Josh and Sara dig deeper, the story begins to change. They uncover a trail that leads to the door of the most powerful man in Syria. Austin’s case is like no other. Archive: CBS; NPR; CNN; khalidfree75; Al Jazeera; BBC; ABC; Middle East Eye. Writer and showrun

22 Sep 2026 · 30 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: 4. The Driver

Josh and Sara piece together Austin’s final route into Damascus. They find the farm where he celebrated his 31st birthday - the last place his mother spoke to him. Then comes an unprecedented discovery. For years, the story was that Austin was taken at a checkpoint. But what Josh and Sara uncover suggests something far more deliberate. And at the centre of Austin’s disappearance is one man. Archiv

17 Sep 2026 · 41 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: 3. The American Journalist

The Austin Tice files begin to give up their secrets. Josh and Sara uncover names, locations and new leads about what happened to Austin Tice. But to understand them, they have to go back to the start - to Austin’s own journey through Syria, the rebels he befriended, and the road he took before he vanished. That road leads to a town outside Damascus - and a shocking discovery. Archive: CNN; Sky Ne

15 Sep 2026 · 31 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: 2. "A Black Box"

In the chaos after the Syrian regime’s downfall, the hunt for Austin Tice is on. Josh Baker and his fellow investigative journalist Sara Obeidat are in Damascus as bombs fall and gunfights break out. Armed with a list of locations where Austin may have been held, they race across the Syrian capital searching for any sign of him. They find horrifying evidence of detention and torture on an industri

10 Sep 2026 · 40 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: 1. "We Believe He’s Alive"

Josh Baker investigates one of the biggest missing-person cases of our time. American journalist Austin Tice vanished in Syria, but the US president says he’s alive. For more than a decade Austin's mother Debra has been leading the search for her son. As Josh Baker and Sara Obeidat travel to Syria to help Austin’s mother’s search, a source gives Josh information that might unlock where he is - and

8 Sep 2026 · 32 min
Where Is Austin Tice?: Trailer

Josh Baker enters a dangerous world of fear, greed and betrayal as he sets out to uncover the truth behind one of the biggest missing-person cases of our time - the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice. Archive: NBC; PBS; CNN. Writer and showrunner: Josh Baker Investigative producer: Sara Obeidat Series producer: Simon Maybin Field producing: Ouday Al Hussein Additional producing: Lucy Bur

1 Sep 2026 · 2 min
The Shamima Begum Story: The Court Decides

Nine years to the day since Shamima Begum entered ISIS controlled Syria, she’ll find out whether she’s any closer to coming back to Britain. Josh is at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London to hear whether Begum’s lawyers have succeeded in arguing that the British government’s decision to take away her citizenship was unlawful. After she emerged from the remnants of the Islamic State group

23 Feb 2024 · 6 min
The Shamima Begum Story: Josh Baker Answers Listener Questions

Josh answers your questions about Shamima Begum and the making of the multi-award winning series. Recorded in front of an audience at the BBC’s Radio Theatre in London, Naga Munchetty puts your questions to Josh including: what is it about this story that captures the imagination and curiosity of so many people? How did Josh keep safe while making the podcast? And, Should Shamima Begum be seen as

29 Nov 2023 · 53 min
The Shamima Begum Story: Our Live Show

What do you want to know about The Shamima Begum Story and the making of the podcast? Join us on Tuesday the 12th of September in London, as Josh answers your questions about the series, share more about how it was made and some extra things we’ve learnt about the story. Apply for FREE TICKETS: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/shamima-begum Email your questions: [email protected]

8 Aug 2023 · 1 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 10. The World’s Unwanted

What happened to the girl Shamima Begum says convinced her to join the Islamic State group? Less than 24 hours before this episode was published ,we got the answer. Reporter: Josh Baker Written and produced by: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Composer: Firas Abou Fakher Theme music: Sam Slater Mix and sound design: Tom Brignell Production coordinators: Janet Staples and Helena Warwick-Cross

22 Mar 2023 · 45 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 9. State of Mind

No longer a vulnerable schoolgirl, but a seemingly unrepentant adult. Shamima Begum enrages the British public and ends up stuck in Syria. A series of media interviews come to shape how she’s perceived - with long lasting consequences. Reporter: Josh Baker Written and produced by: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Composer: Firas Abou Fakher Theme music: Sam Slater Mix and sound design: Tom Br

8 Mar 2023 · 37 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 8. No Plan B

Raqqa falls, the so-called caliphate crumbles and a pregnant Shamima Begum is desperate to come home. After she and her husband Yago walk out of the ashes of the Islamic State group, she’s discovered in a detention camp where she gives an interview that will change her life. Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Composer: Firas Ab

1 Mar 2023 · 29 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 7. Trapped

Someone close to Shamima Begum is looking for a way out of the so-called caliphate. Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Composer: Firas Abou Fakher Theme music: Sam Slater Mix and sound design: Tom Brignell Production coordinator: Janet Staples Series Editor: Jonathan Aspinwall Head of Long Form Audio: Emma Rippon Commissioning

22 Feb 2023 · 32 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 6. Father Figure

With her new husband in prison, Shamima Begum is left in the care of a stranger, but who is he? Josh travels to the heart of the former caliphate as he searches for clues and investigates what her life with the Islamic State group was like. Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Composer: Firas Abou Fakher Theme music: Sam Slater M

15 Feb 2023 · 40 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 5. Empty Paper

Shamima Begum’s new life under ISIS isn’t what she expected. She says what she thought would be paradise is more like a prison. At just 15 years-old she finds herself trapped in an ISIS guesthouse, where the only way out is to get married. In his first interview since 2019, Islamic State group fighter Yago Reidjik reveals how he became her husband and what their life together was like. This episod

8 Feb 2023 · 34 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 4. When You’re In Love

Friendship, propaganda and the promise of paradise - why Shamima Begum left London at 15 for the Islamic State group in war torn Syria. But how did she ignore the group’s brutal violence? And who convinced her to go? The feature length documentary, "The Shamima Begum Story", will be on BBC2 at 9pm on February 7th. Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara

1 Feb 2023 · 33 min
The Shamima Begum Story: 3. Double Agent?

The man who smuggled Shamima Begum to Syria claims he was spying for Canada. What's the truth? And could she and her school friends have been stopped from reaching the Islamic State group? Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent Field producers: Hussam Hammoud Composer: Firas Abou Fakher Theme music: Sam Slater and Gunni Tynes Mix a

25 Jan 2023 · 37 min