Hunting Warhead
Hunting Warhead is a masterclass in the category of limited series podcast. It is the podcast that first grabbed me on this type of storytelling and honestly nothing has ever quite lived up to the standard it set.
The subject matter is harrowing but it is treated by the host Daemon Fairless and co-producers with a kind of sacred finesse and sensitivity. The story is seen through an almost clinical lens but Fairless’s humanity and compassion is pretty evident throughout. In brief, Hunting Warhead traces an investigation that begins in Norway when a journalist and a hacker begin a collaboration after discovering truly dark and disturbing corners of the internet that deal in child abuse images. Their investigation connects with police from across the world who are also running against the clock and the perpetrators to bring down the networks and catch the abusers. Warhead is the username of the creator of a dark web platform that allows users to discuss and exchange child abuse material online. It is this guy who gives the podcast its name and law enforcement’s pursuit of him that forms the backbone of the story.
What is strikingly clear here is that Fairless is working with some stellar people. The Norwegians, journalist Hakon Hoydal and internet security specialist, Einar Stangvik are both measured and succinct, with this staggeringly competent grasp of English nuance and expression. The conversations between Fairness, Hoydal and Stangvik feel intimate but also like you’re listening in on a collaboration between highly competent and worldly people.
I can’t really say much more about how fantastic this podcast is. The final two episodes are confronting as hell. The entire podcast was lingering on my mind for days afterwards. It intrigues for both the story it tells and the masterful way in which it was told. This podcast showed me how powerful the medium of podcast storytelling is. It will forever and always be the blueprint.