麻豆社

An American mother living in the heart of the ISIS caliphate. Her husband an ISIS sniper. Her 10-year-old son forced to threaten the U.S. president in a propaganda video shown around the world. She claims she was tricked into taking her young children to war-torn Syria, but where does her account end and the truth begin? Over four years journalist Josh Baker unravels a dangerous story where nothing is as it seems.

This programme features episodes 1, 2 and 3. Hear the full series on 麻豆社 Sounds.
This programme includes descriptions of violence and some upsetting scenes involving children.

1. 鈥淚 love you, I miss you鈥�
A suicide bombing in Iraq and a home video from inside the ISIS caliphate begin the search for a family trapped in Syria. A desperate plea arrives from an American woman who says she wants to escape the Islamic State group with her young children.

2. 鈥淩ead between the lines鈥�
A man who says he鈥檚 a people smuggler offers to help the family, while a drive around a suburb in Indiana reveals their past. Sam鈥檚 father adds a new twist on who his daughter really is.

3. 鈥淢y name is Yusef鈥�
The Islamic State group forces Sam鈥檚 son Matthew to spread its propaganda. Josh searches the woods of Idaho looking for a man on an elk hunt. Then an obscure tweet leads him to Syria to try to find the family.

CREDITS:
Reporter: Josh Baker
Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent
Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green
Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan
Composer: Sam Slater
Sound Design and Mix: Tom Brignell
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Editor: Jason Phipps

鈥淚鈥檓 Not a Monster鈥� is a collaboration between 麻豆社 Panorama and FRONTLINE (PBS) and is a 麻豆社 Radio Current Affairs production for 麻豆社 Sounds.