Assume Nothing: Murder At The Stables - BBC Sounds
Desert Island Discs: Laurie Anderson, artist - BBC Radio 4/BBC Sounds
The story of what happened to promising showjumper Katie Simpson seems unbelievable.
Her death looked at first like suicide; others thought differently.
Horse trainer Jonathan Creswell eventually stood trial for her rape and murder.
He was found dead at his home on the second day of his trial.
Read more: Jonathan Creswell: Review ordered into how violent offender avoided scrutiny
Assume Nothing comes with a warning that it is not suitable for children; and it isn’t.
These are brief 15-minute episodes that paint a picture of violent, coercive control.
Promising showjumper Katie (21) ended up fighting for her life after an apparent suicide attempt. But was it?
Creswell claimed to have found her hanged in the house they shared.
But why, after taking her to hospital, did he double back home, strip off his clothes, take a cold shower and order another woman to put what he had been wearing into a bag in the boot of his car and tell anyone who asked that it was horse clippers?
Why did he instruct her to wash up the blood from the stairwell of the house?
Why did she do what he ordered?
It’s an astonishing, tragic story.
Kudos to journalist Tanya Fowles who features in this podcast and who was tenacious in getting to the truth.
For those who turn to the radio for escape then Desert Island Discs should be on regular prescription.
Artist and performer Laurie Anderson’s work spans music, film and multimedia but put simply, she’s a storyteller.
Remember her 1981 hit, O Superman? It’s an eight-minute song that recently went viral on TikTok.
As professor of poetry at Harvard, she asked the question; “Is everything beautiful?”
And yes, she says, it is.
Read more: Laurie Anderson says artificial intelligence spells ‘the end of the world’
Hers was a childhood as one of many children and animals and fun with “green rivers and cokes” at the roller rink.
There’s the story of the monkey that bit her brother and her mother cut its head off and took it to be checked out for rabies.
Then there’s Lou Reed, her husband. In some parts of the world he is best known as a tai chi master rather than a musician.
Laurie Anderson tells compelling stories. This is an exceptional episode of Desert Island Discs with beautiful and unusual music choices.
