169. The Murder of Litvinenko: Poisoned in London (Ep 1)
6/21/202652 min
A Russian security service officer murdered in London, with radioactive poison. But who gave the orders and why?
Listen as David and Gordon begin their six-part investigation into the 2006 murder of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko on the streets of London.
-------------------
THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026 at The Rest Is Fest: Buy your tickets to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 4 September: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/the-rest-is-classified-live/
-------------------
Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer Becki takes you behind the scenes of the show: https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up
-------------------
Join the Declassified Club to go deeper into the world of espionage with exclusive Q&As, interviews with top intelligence insiders, regular livestreams, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, and weekly deep dives into original spy stories. Members also get curated reading lists, special book discounts, prize draws, and access to our private chat community.
Just go to therestisclassified.com or join on Apple Podcasts.
-------------------
Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.
-------------------
Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com
Instagram: @restisclassified
Video Editor: Joe Pettit
Social Producer: Emma Jackson
Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe
Producer: Becki Hills
Head of History: Dom Johnson
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDavid McCloskey· Host0:00
[upbeat music] For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series, first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books, join the Declassified Club at therestisclassified.com. [upbeat music] A Russian security service officer murdered in London with radioactive poison. But who gave the orders, and why? Well, welcome to The Rest is Classified. I'm David McCloskey.
Gordon Corera· Host0:36
And I'm Gordon Corera.
David McCloskey· Host0:37
And this week we are beginning a new and very exciting series looking at one of the most dramatic spy stories, I think, of this, of this century, the killing in 2006 in London of Alexander Litvinenko. Now, Litvinenko is a former Russian FSB security service officer, and he is murdered in a very shocking way, a way that I think, uh, shocked London, shocked the world. He is poisoned with polonium, and in this series, we are going to be looking at this story, which I think will be a bit of a, uh, a murder mystery in many ways, looking at who Litvinenko was really, why was he killed, how was he killed, the, the people behind it. And it's a story, Gordon, that I think