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Writing Wrongs

Writing Wrongs

By: Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics
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Every sentence tells a story, every word leaves a trace. Writing Wrongs, from the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, explores historic and contemporary forensic linguistic cases. Hosts Professor Tim Grant and Dr Nicci MacLeod, who've provided expert evidence in hundreds of cases, examine a specific case and its linguistic analysis each episode. Some episodes feature guest forensic linguists sharing their experiences as expert witnesses. The series highlights different case types, showcasing the strengths and limitations of forensic linguistics in criminal and civil investigations.Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics True Crime
Episodes
  • The multiple personas of an online child abuser

    The multiple personas of an online child abuser
    Jun 5 2026

    * Warning: Today’s episode contains descriptions of child sexual abuse material. *

    In today’s episode, Dr Nicci MacLeod and Prof. Tim Grant are joined by Dr Emily Chiang, one of our Research Fellows at AIFL, about her research into identity performance in online child sexual abuse conversations.

    By tracing 17 different personas from a single perpetrator, Dr Chiang explored linguistic differences in identity performance and online grooming strategies. Together, Dr Chiang and our hosts go over how her research may help future grooming and child sex abuse cases.

    Have a question for Nicci or Tim? Email us at writingwrongs@aston.ac.uk and we may answer it during an upcoming episode!

    Check out the official AIFL blog for more forensic linguistic goodies here: https://medium.com/@AIFLblog

    If you have been affected by any of the themes in this week’s episode, please contact one of these free resources:

    https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

    https://www.helpguide.org/find-help

    Production Team: Mark Round, Jordan Robertson, Neus Alberich Buera, Karolina Placzynta

    Sound: Mark Round

    Editing: Nicci MacLeod

    Visual design: George Grant

    Additional Voices: Karolina Placzynta

    With our thanks to Dr Emily Chiang and Dr Zoe Adams

    Professor Tim Grant’s home page: Tim Grant - Aston Research Explorer

    Dr Nicci MacLeod’s home page: Nicci MacLeod - Aston Research Explorer

    Dr Emily Chiang’s home page: Emily Chiang - Aston Research Explorer

    Both Tim and Emily are part of the Europewide Horizon SALVUS project looking at the investigation of online child abuse and exploitation across Europe. You can find out more about the SALVUS project here: https://salvusproject.eu

    Research Papers:

    Deceptive identity performance: Offender moves and multiple identities in online child abuse conversations

    Online grooming: moves and strategies

    Do Perverted Justice chat logs contain examples of Overt Persuasio⁠n and Sexual Extortion? A research note respondingto Chiang and Grant 2017 and 2018.
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    40 mins
  • Dhiren Barot Part 2: Al Qaeda's al-Britani

    Dhiren Barot Part 2: Al Qaeda's al-Britani
    Apr 30 2026
    VOTE FOR US IN THE TRUE CRIME AWARDS 2026!*Warning: this episode contains descriptions of terrorist mass-casualty events, and torture * NOTE: This is Part 2 of a double episode. Please make sure you have listened to Part 1 before proceeding. ---These two episodes are dedicated to the memory of Dr Janet Cotterill (1968-2022) who contributed significantly to this case and to forensic linguistics more generally. Her obituary can be found here https://iafll.org/2022/11/11/remembering-dr-janet-cotterill-1968-2022/--- August 2004. Dhiren Barot, a high-value terrorist, has been arrested in London, and police need to charge or release him within four days. To charge Barot, the police needed to prove to a criminal standard that he had indeed written the Gas Limos project, a document that contained the plot to attack underground carparks of landmark tourist destinations across London with multiple limousines filled with gas cylinders containing explosive gases. In this second part we are joined by Professor Jessica Woodhams from the University of Birmingham who, alongside Tim Grant, Janet Cotterill, and Janet’s PhD student, was rushed to New Scotland Yard in the summer of 2004 to carry out an analysis of The Gas Limos project. For a list of our sources and more information about this case, please visit https://www.aston.ac.uk/writing-wrongs Have a question for Nicci or Tim? Email us at writingwrongs@aston.ac.uk and we may answer it during an upcoming episode! Check out the official AIFL blog for more forensic linguistic goodies here: https://medium.com/@AIFLblog If you have been affected by any of the themes in this week’s episode, please contact one of these free sources: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ https://www.helpguide.org/find-help ProductionProduction Team: Mark Round, Jordan Robertson, Neus Alberich Buera, Karolina PlaczyntaSound: Mark RoundVisual design: George GrantEditing: Nicci MacLeodAdditional voices: Professor Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, George Grant, Stephany Grant, Dr Graeme Hayes, Greg Fraser McLarenResourcesProfessor Tim Grant’s home page: Tim Grant - Aston Research Explorer Dr Nicci MacLeod’s home page: Nicci MacLeod - Aston Research Explorer Professor Jessica Woodham’s home page: Professor Jessica Woodhams - School of Psychology - University of Birmingham Research ResourcesAcademic Sources- Andrew, C. (2012). The defence of the realm: The authorized history of MI5. Penguin UK.- Carlisle, D. (2007) Dhiren Barot: Was He an Al Qaeda Mastermind or Merely a Hapless Plotter? Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 30:1057–1071 DOI: 10.1080/10576100701670979 - Grant, T.D. (2022) The Idea of Progress in Forensic Authorship Analysis CUP- Sean O’Neill and Daniel McGrory, The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque(London: Harper Perennial, 2006) News sources - Guardian 2006 https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/07/usa.terrorism- Times of India 2006 - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/2168783.cms Other Web sources- US Government 9/11 Commission Report https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf- House of Commons library on pretrial detention of terrorists - https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05634/
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    59 mins
  • Dhiren Barot Part 1: Al Qaeda's al-Hindi

    Dhiren Barot Part 1: Al Qaeda's al-Hindi
    Apr 30 2026
    VOTE FOR US IN THE TRUE CRIME AWARDS 2026!*Warning: this episode contains descriptions of terrorist mass-casualty events, and torture * --- These two episodes are dedicated to the memory of Dr Janet Cotterill (1968-2022) who contributed significantly to this case and to forensic linguistics more generally. Her obituary can be found here https://iafll.org/2022/11/11/remembering-dr-janet-cotterill-1968-2022/---August 2004. Dhiren Barot, a high-value terrorist, has been arrested in London, and police need to charge or release him within four days. To charge Barot, the police needed to prove to a criminal standard that he had indeed written the Gas Limos project, a document that contained the plot to attack underground carparks of landmark tourist destinations across London with multiple limousines filled with gas cylinders containing explosive gases. In this first part, we explore Barot’s story and background. How did he get from an average upbringing in an Indian family in North London to becoming a radical Islamist authoring a plan for mass destruction? For a list of our sources and more information about this case, please visit https://www.aston.ac.uk/writing-wrongs Have a question for Nicci or Tim? Email us at writingwrongs@aston.ac.uk and we may answer it during an upcoming episode! Check out the official AIFL blog for more forensic linguistic goodies here: https://medium.com/@AIFLblog If you have been affected by any of the themes in this week’s episode, please contact one of these free sources: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/https://www.helpguide.org/find-help ProductionProduction Team: Mark Round, Jordan Robertson, Neus Alberich Buera, Karolina PlaczyntaSound: Mark RoundVisual design: George GrantEditing: Nicci MacLeodAdditional voices: Professor Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, George Grant, Dr Graeme Hayes, Dr Madison Hunter, Aymun Yasin Khan ResourcesProfessor Tim Grant’s home page: Tim Grant - Aston Research Explorer Dr Nicci MacLeod’s home page: Nicci MacLeod - Aston Research Explorer Professor Jessica Woodham’s home page: Professor Jessica Woodhams - School of Psychology - University of Birmingham Research Resources Academic Sources- Andrew, C. (2012). The defence of the realm: The authorized history of MI5. Penguin UK.- Carlisle, D. (2007) Dhiren Barot: Was He an Al Qaeda Mastermind or Merely a Hapless Plotter? Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 30:1057–1071 DOI: 10.1080/10576100701670979 - Grant, T.D. (2022) The Idea of Progress in Forensic Authorship Analysis CUP- Sean O’Neill and Daniel McGrory, The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque(London: Harper Perennial, 2006) News sources - Guardian 2006 https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/07/usa.terrorism- Times of India 2006 - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/2168783.cms Other Web sources- US Government 9/11 Commission Report https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf- House of Commons library on pretrial detention of terrorists - https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05634/
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    43 mins
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