Call Bethel

"Call Bethel" is an investigative journalism podcast produced by The Telegraph's Investigations team, chronicling a year-long probe into allegations that the Jehovah's Witnesses organization maintains a secretive internal database tracking child abuse allegations within its congregations. Structured as a serialized narrative, each episode follows reporters as they chase leads, hit dead ends, and uncover breakthroughs—drawing on whistleblower testimony, legal precedents from the US and Australia, and painstaking document trails. The tone is tense and suspenseful, akin to true crime storytelling, while grounded in rigorous journalistic methodology, offering listeners a behind-the-scenes look at how investigative reporters build a story from scratch. It will appeal to fans of accountability journalism, exposés on religious institutions, and true crime narratives centered on institutional cover-ups and systemic failures to protect vulnerable individuals. The show also invites audience participation, encouraging listeners with relevant information to contact the team directly, blurring the line between passive listening and active investigative collaboration.