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Mystery on the Rocks
Episode 7: Sadia Azmat and the Riddle of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse Keepers
Season 1, Ep. 7
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Drinking the bar dry this week is the brilliant Sadia Azmat. Sadia is a British Asian Stand-up comedian and writer from East London. A chance encounter with a comedian in a call centre introduced her to the circuit where she has been a regular stand-up to date.
In 2018 Sadia launched her critically acclaimed BBC podcast “No Country For Young Women” which has enjoyed global success and consistent reviews from audiences and reviewers alike. The podcast explores Sadia and her friend discovering their roots and where to call home when your place of upbringing differs from those of your family.
Masud knocked together…
Virgin Mojito
8 Mint Leaves
¾ Lime
Soda Water
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
Put sugar and mint leaves in the bottom of a highball glass. Muddle well, then squeeze in the lime, drop in the glass then top up with soda water.
Appletini
2oz Apple Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
¼ oz Lemon Juice
Rim a cocktail glass with sugar, pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled then strain into the glass. Garnish with a slice of apple.
At the Mystery on the Rocks bar you’ll find a retired sleuth, the bartender trying to settle his tab, and the down-on-her-luck lounge singer, solving mysteries and drinking cocktails. Each week a new guest enters the bar and attempts to solve an unsolved mystery alongside the regulars. Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner. It’s a high concept comedy and true crime podcast, set in a fictional crime-solving bar (with real cocktails!). The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. Masud makes the drinks, Chris tells the mystery and Sooz sings and plays live piano – and everyone chats and chimes in with their theories.
You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram too!
This is a Studio71 production.
Producer - Jack Claramunt
Exec Producer - Tom Payne & Jody Smith
Production Support - Phie McKenzie
Studio71 is a Red Arrow Studios Company.
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7. Episode 211: MK Ultra Part VII - MK Chickwit
37:21||Season 9, Ep. 7This chapter of our ongoing MK Ultra series is all about MK CHICKWIT! Not only the most fun-named of the MK Ultra subprojects, but also what sounds like the most fun full stop. Spy games! Espionage! Gap year!And did MK Chickwit change the 20th Century more than we might have thought?______An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 5 minutes of bonus extra chat can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!
Members' Lounge Open Day 2
17:22|Owing to lots of stupid stuff, our MK Ultra series will be back next week with Part 7 but for this week please enjoy an excerpt from a recent Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. You can hear the full 97 minute bumper bonus episode over on our Patreon, where episodes drop a week early in extended, ad-free form. Which means, that's right, an extended version of next week's Part 7 of our MK Ultra series is already over there.There's also an extensive back catalogue of bonus episodes, minisodes and other fun stuff so if you've been hearing us wank on about our Patreon but haven't checked it out yet then do go check it out!
6. Episode 210: MK Ultra Part VI - Harris Isbell & Subproject 27
55:24||Season 9, Ep. 6When MK Ultra was given the greenlight, Sidney Gottlieb enlisted Donald Ewen Cameron (Part IV's hypocritical psychiatrist) and renowned pharmacologist Harris Isbell, director of research at Addiction Research Center.Having already studied the effects of certain drugs, Isbell was clearly the right man for the MK Ultra job. But where his methods also questionable enough to qualify?______An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with almost 20 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things, including snooker documentaries, the recent film Nuremberg and what the hell Jonathan Lipnicki is up to these days can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!
5. Episode 209: MK Ultra Part V - Big Dog Hess
01:12:54||Season 9, Ep. 5The episode Sooz has been waiting for!For the fifth instalment of our MK Ultra series we sidestep ever so slightly to take a look at the life of prominent Nazi Rudolf Hess and how it intersected with (and maybe even inspired) the CIA's diabolical experiments of the 1950s and 60s.But in addition to these crossovers with our ongoing story, Hess and his life were cuckoo bananas so strap in! And exactly what did he like in his sandwiches?______An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with 10 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things, including more of our thoughts on the Greens' sensational win in the Gorton and Denton by-election, can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!
4. Episode 208: MK Ultra Part IV - The Hypocritical Psychiatrist
44:27||Season 9, Ep. 4Part 4 of our MK Ultra series introduces us to Donald Ewen Cameron, a psychiatrist of world renown whom Sidney Gottlieb recruited to MK Ultra. Born in Scotland, Cameron made huge waves in setting up mental health services in Canada before settling in America where he found himself enlisted to psychoanalyse some real bad dudes.However, his ideas to fight the evils of the 20th Century were (at best) misguided and (at worst) insane.So he'd fit right in with MK Ultra...______An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with 10 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!
3. Episode 207: MK Ultra Part III - The Bacteriologist and the Tennis Pro
57:30||Season 9, Ep. 3Our trawl through the CIA's appalling MK Ultra project takes in the stories of two men - bacteriologist Frank Olson and professional tennis player Harold Blauer. Both men were born in 1910 and both died in 1953.But how and why?And what are their links to our ongoing story?______An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 15 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things including the worst meals we have ever cooked for ourselves plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!
2. Episode 206: MK Ultra Part II - Plötner & Pash
55:17||Season 9, Ep. 2This week we chart the shifting from Project Artichoke to MK Ultra following the appointment of Allen Dulles to Director of Central Intelligence and his hiring of Sidney Gottlieb to bring da scienz to Project Artichoke.Alongside these two rotten eggs, we discuss the very tangible link from the Nazis' horrific experiments and what MK Ultra would ultimately be responsible for in two equally rotten eggs - Nazi scientist Kurt Plötner and American intelligence officer Boris Pash...______An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 15 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things including EVEN MORE about 1990s sci fi police procedural Space Precinct plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!
1. Episode 205: MK Ultra Part I - Bluebirds & Artichokes
47:14||Season 9, Ep. 1This week we begin a brand new series looking at something we've been wanting to cover on the show for a long, long time... Project MK Ultra!One of the most heinous operations the CIA ever did... THAT WE KNOW OF, RIGHT GUYS?We lay out a broad overview of what MK Ultra actually was, discuss the nature of conspiracy theories and what the existence of MK Ultra has meant for them going forward plus take a brief look at the project's precursor, Project Artichoke.______An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 15 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things including how long it's been since The Lord of the Ring, how Jurassic Park engineers made the prehistoric leaves and unveiling Sooz's new character, Bonnie Poo, plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky, X and Instagram too!9. Episode 204: The Strange Tale of Emilie Sagee - Part II
01:08:43||Season 8, Ep. 9This week's episode is, as threatened, us attempting a commentary. Specifically, a commentary on the 1977 'Leap in the Dark' episode called 'The Fetch' which claims to dramatise the Emilie Sagee story we covered last week.Does it do the tale justice? And how many famous faces can we spot in it?If you wanted to watch along with us then the full episode of 'The Fetch' can be found (or watched without our juvenile interrupting) at the following link; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhYofF6GJWc______An exclusive extended, ad-free VIDEO version of this episode with 15 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things including the works of Stephen King (mostly 'It') plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...You can follow us on Bluesky, X and Instagram too!