Inside The Bermuda Triangle - The Mysteries Solved

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0120090914What is the genesis of the Bermuda Triangle story and why does it persist?

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0120120323In this first of two omnibus editions of his series from 2009, Tom Mangold begins an epic quest to uncover the truth behind one of the world's most famous mysteries.

The Bermuda Triangle is one of the great iconic stories of our time. Within its half million square mile borders between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico some 1000 people are said to have perished in the sixty or so ships and planes that have vanished without trace since 1854.

The stories are legend.

From the USS Cyclops en route from Barbados to Baltimore with 300 people which vanished in 1918 and has never been found - to the most recent Triangle event in 2002 - the disappearance of a small Piper Pawnee airplane over the Bahamas - the mystery persists.

Tom Mangold turns his journalistic skills to the myth of the Bermuda Triangle - and separates fact from fiction, speculation from recorded history, and barefaced lies from long forgotten truths. He discovers just was the genesis of the story, how it grew, and why it persists to this day.

In the process he'll be speaking to the authors who first spun the tales of inexplicable events in the area, investigating some of the supposed mysteries in the light of new evidence, and travelling around the Triangle itself to find out if there really is anything out there.

Think you know the truth behind the mystery? Think again. And join Tom Mangold as he travels - Inside The Bermuda Triangle.

Producer: Adam Fowler

A Ladbroke production for BBC Radio 4.

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold tries to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0220090915

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

In 1948, British South American Airways flight Star Tiger vanished into the Triangle, becoming one of its best-known disappearances. But digging around for some long-neglected facts, the mist begins to clear.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom Mangold investigates the iconic disappearance of the 'Star Tiger' flight in 1948.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0220120330In this second of two omnibus editions of his series from 2009, Tom Mangold re-enters the Bermuda Triangle in search of the truth behind the legend.

This episode he resumes his investigations by examining the work of two of the most successful authors who first wrote about the supposed mysteries of this famous piece of wet geometry. The lurid blurbs on the covers of their books often left little to the imagination, one purporting to be :

A saga of the mysterious sea where planes, ships and doomed human beings disappear for ever - an astonishing, baffling, fully documented true life mystery of the hundreds of helpless victims, sucked up by giant water spouts, sea monsters and flying saucers.

Tom traces some of those responsible for spreading these yarns and interrogates them and their works rigorously. On the way he discovers how the myth of the triangle became entwined with that of the lost kingdom of Atlantis, how the mysterious disappearance of a plane sixty years ago turns out to be far from inexplicable, and how scientists, air traffic controllers and air sea rescue officers remain extremely sceptical that there are any anomalies in the region.

However, Tom finishes his tour on Bermuda itself and finds that some people are convinced that they have experienced something odd.

The truth is out there.

Producer: Adam Fowler

A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom Mangold continues his epic quest to uncover the truth behind the Bermuda Triangle.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0320090916

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom visits Lloyds Register in London to fathom two of the Triangle's most enduring maritime mysteries. The files reveal that they were not inexplicable events, but entirely predictable and tragic accidents.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom Mangold inspects the Lloyds Register to fathom two enduring maritime mysteries.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0420090917

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom meets the most recent of the many Bermuda Triangle authors who have perpetuated the myth since the 1950s, and puts his ideas and theories to the test.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom meets the most recent mystery authors, and puts his ideas and theories to the test.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0520090918

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom's scepticism is challenged by a pilot whose experience in the Triangle suggests that something strange may, in fact, be out there.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom's scepticism is challenged by a pilot's experiences in the Triangle.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0620090921

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom tracks down one of the original Bermuda Triangle authors and discovers that the pursuit of truth was not necessarily the priority when the story was first told.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom Mangold learns that pursuing truth was not a priority when the story was first told.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0720090922

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom pursues the truth about Charles Berlitz, the man who wrote the all-time Bermuda Triangle bestseller. He hears from critics of Berlitz's para-science and speaks to Berlitz's biggest fan, his surviving daughter, Lin Hilton.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom Mangold pursues the truth about Charles Berlitz, who wrote the all-time bestseller.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0820090923

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom examines the relationship between the supposedly inexplicable disappearance of hundreds of seamen and aviators in the Bermuda Triangle, and the mythical lost kingdom of Atlantis.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom compares the supposedly inexplicable disappearances with the lost kingdom of Atlantis.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

0920090924

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom returns to the peculiar story of British South American Airways and the last flight of Star Ariel, which disappeared without trace in the Bermuda Triangle in 1949. He uncovers new evidence suggesting that, far from being a mystery, the disappearance was in fact down to one small, but fatal, flaw.

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom uncovers hard evidence that may explain the strange 1940s disappearance of two planes.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle

1020090925

Investigative journalist Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle to try to get to the truth about this mysterious area.

Tom concludes his rigorous investigation into the mysteries of the Triangle by visiting Bermuda itself. The extraordinary experiences of local fishermen and treasure divers seem at odds with the empirical evidence collected by oceanographers, air traffic controllers and air sea rescue officers. So where does the truth lie?

A Ladbroke Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Tom visits Bermuda itself to experience first-hand accounts of seemingly strange events.

Investigative reporter Tom Mangold journeys inside the Bermuda Triangle