Introducing: Explosive Lies

About this episode

The episode uncovers the story of Jim McCormick, who sold a fraudulent bomb detection device that cost lives and the efforts to reveal the truth behind it.

He said it could save lives. It didn’t. It couldn’t even find golf balls… Jim McCormick was a cocky English salesman with an outrageous claim: a black plastic gadget that could sniff out bombs using “electromagnetic energy.” The science was pure fiction. But in the panic after 9/11, governments bought the lie - paying up to $60,000 for a device that started life as a $20 novelty golf-ball finder. McCormick sold hope to armies and security forces across the globe. But hope turned deadly. Behind the deals were fragmented friendships, betrayals, and a truth so dangerous it would take years to drag into the light. Alice Levine uncovers the jaw-dropping story of a con that cost countless lives - and the unlikely people who stopped at nothing to uncover the truth. Explosive Lies is a Global Original podcast, produced by Forest Sounds in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment. All episodes are out now. Listen on Global Player . For any commercial enquiries with this podcast including IP interest, please contact  commercialpodcasts@global.com .

People in this episode

Host: Alice Levine

Topics covered

• true crime
• fraud
• military technology
• post-9/11
• scams
• investigation

Keywords

• bomb detection
• fraud
• Jim McCormick
• 9/11
• military
• scam
• investigation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Forest Sounds, Dentsu Entertainment

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• 2. Ultimate Betrayal | Explosive Lies · January 12, 2026 · 36 min
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