Season 3 trailer: The Apartheid Killer
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This is the BBC. This podcast is supported by advertising outside the UK. Hey, I hear you think podcasts are all about true crime, huh? Well, wise guy, the iHeartRadio app's got all kinds of podcasts. We got stuff you should know and stuff they don't want you to know. We got Bobby Bones, Big Boy and Lou Lader. We got SpongeBob Binge Pants and Exotic Erotic Storytime. We got Doughboys, Two Dudes in a Kitchen, Green Eggs and Dan. Hey, we got ElfQuest.

We got podcasts for everything on the iHeartRadio app for free. If you don't download that, well, that's not just a true crime, my friend. That's criminal. Hi, it's Yemi Siadegake here. I hope you've enjoyed the first two seasons of World of Secrets, the BBC podcast that tells major global investigations with gripping storytelling.

I've got some big news. Our production teams are really busy. We're making four more seasons of World of Secrets and all four will be released between now and the end of 2024. Stories they don't want told, holding the powerful to account. Make sure you are following or subscribe to World of Secrets so you get every new season and every new episode automatically.

The first of the four upcoming seasons will be released on Monday 22 July, with World of Secrets: The Apartheid Killer. In the 1980s, on the streets of a South African coastal town called East London, people began disappearing after dark.

Families have spent years, more than that, decades, trying to find their loved ones, the missing. People were desperate. We were looking for him. We couldn't find him.

and nobody knew where he was. It was very painful for me because I look out for my father and now he was not there anymore. I didn't know what to do. The way he died, he died like he was a criminal. It's very sad. It will always be there. When they told me my father died, I was scared and angry because that's my father. My father...

I was so overwhelmed when they said, "This is the head," and they would pick out, they saw the little bones of his fingers. Who was this man? And how did he die? And why didn't his family even know where he was buried? We spent the last four years investigating Edward's death, piecing together a puzzle. If you look at the greater context of South Africa, people are buried all over.

19 killings and disappearances, which took place in this town between 1985 and 1989. And behind them all, there was one man. He reached such a stage where he was now hunting, hunting, literally hunting. I'm Ayanda Charlie. And I'm Charlie Northcutt. This is World of Secrets from the BBC World Service, Season 3, The Apartheid Killer.

In this major investigation, we're on the trail of one of the worst serial killers in South African history. The whole scale of it is just, it's mesmerizing. A man who unleashed a reign of terror. He would appear in the dark and that person who was in that space would not know that this guy was about to appear. He was known to be a killer. Even if you see him at the town, everybody would say, here's the killer, here's the killer, here's the killer. He was a killer.

But the remarkable thing? To many, this man was a hero. When he shot someone, they would say, "Well done, good job, keep up the good work." He was a kind of vigilante killer. He was a Dirty Harry character. This great savior of the white community, protecting their businesses, and was much loved. How could he get away with so much killing, and for so long?

Was he really a lone wolf? Or did he have help? It's astounding that anybody could get away with it. That justice system ultimately ignored all of those bodies and all of the families. The message it sends is, we don't care. We just don't care. And the most shocking thing? This serial killer is no longer behind bars.

And is somewhere in South Africa. And we have found him. That's The Apartheid Killer on World of Secrets from the 22nd of July. Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode. Hey everyone, this is Molly and Matt and we're the hosts of Grown Up Stuff How to Adult, a podcast from Ruby Studio and iHeart Podcasts. It's a show dedicated to helping you figure out the trickiest parts of adulting.

Like how to start planning for retirement, creating a healthy skincare routine, understanding when and how much to tip someone, and so much more. Let's learn about all of it and then some. Listen to Grown Up Stuff How to Adult on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Grown Up Stuff.