Podcast Corner: West Cork crew tackle intriguing tale of mystery in Havana

After already hitting the heights with the tale of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, podcast-makers Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde delve into the story of strange sounds in Cuba

Tue, 15 Jul, 2025 - 15:23

Eoghan O’Sullivan

It’s been over seven years since the West Cork podcast was first released via Audible. It was subsequently made widely available in 2021 to coincide with Ian Bailey’s trial in France, where he was found guilty of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Made by Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde, West Cork is one of the best true crime podcast series ever made, right up there with season one of Serial.

While subsequent promotion, events, and tie-ins (a deal to adapt it for TV was struck in 2021) took up much of their life since, Bungey and Forde found time to focus on an entirely separate investigation for the series Havana Helmet Club, released via BBC Sounds. Forde, in the opening episode Psychological Fortitude, says: “A recording of the otherworldly sound was posted on Twitter. At the time, we were on an all-consuming deadline for a podcast about an unsolved murder in West Cork, Ireland.”

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