A dark, cold morning in February 2025. Hundreds are filing into the Museum of the Bible - evangelical leaders, gospel singers, and over 30 members of Congress including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. They've gathered just three blocks from the US Capitol for an annual event of fervent prayer about what they see as America's most pressing problems. Meanwhile, journalist Ben Lewis explores how an institution that once dreamed of becoming a centre for biblical scholarship has transformed after losing some 17,000 artefacts - nearly 40% of its entire collection. Through revealing interviews with museum officials and its critics, Ben traces the extraordinary journey of the Museum of the Bible - from the Green family's ambitions to make Washington, DC a centre for biblical scholarship, to the devastating revelations of forged Dead Sea Scrolls fragments and thousands of problematically sourced artefacts. Yet despite these setbacks, the museum has found new purpose as a convening space for a movement that wants to make evangelical protestantism the moving spirit of America’s future. As Ben explores exhibits that present a selective view of religious and American history, he discovers how the museum bridges faith and politics. While its staff insist there's no religious agenda, events hosted within its walls blend prayer with political messaging. Through conversations with scholar Roberta Mazza and journalist Katherine Stewart, Ben examines how museums shape our understanding of history through what they choose to display - and what they leave out. This final episode reveals how the Museum of the Bible has quietly evolved into something more significant than just a repository of ancient artefacts - a platform for reimagining America's past to shape its future.Presented by Ben Lewis
Produced by Martha Owen
Series producer: Clem Hitchcock
Executive producers: Philip Abrams and Jago Lee
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Sound design by Richard Courtice
Original music by Max de Wardener
Additional sound effects courtesy of FreesoundA TellTale production for BBC Radio 4
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28:55
Word of God: 5. Revelations
In April 2019, Dr Roberta Mazza receives an email from an academic in charge of Research at the Museum of the Bible which leads to the exposure of one of the most extraordinary breaches of trust in biblical scholarship. Through exclusive interviews, Ben Lewis reveals how the Museum of the Bible discovered that precious gospel fragments they had purchased for hundreds of thousands of dollars may have been stolen from a collection at Oxford University.The episode follows the museum's quest to verify their collection's legitimacy, leading to a devastating discovery that a renowned Oxford professor had allegedly been selling artefacts that weren't his to sell. From papyrologist Roberta Mazza's early suspicions to the museum's internal investigation, Ben pieces together how an elite scholar's apparent betrayal came to light.As evidence mounts, the story builds to a dramatic doorstep confrontation, where Ben attempts to get answers from the professor at the centre of the scandal - raising profound questions about the intersection of academia, wealth, and the ownership of sacred texts.Presented by Ben Lewis
Produced by Clem Hitchcock
Executive producers: Philip Abrams and Jago Lee
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Sound design by Richard Courtice
Original music by Max de Wardener
Additional sound effects courtesy of FreesoundA TellTale production for BBC Radio 4
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28:35
Word of God: 4. You've Got Mail
Federal investigators uncover a shadowy scheme to smuggle ancient clay tablets into America.When customs officers in Memphis inspect a package labelled "tile samples" in January 2011, they discover something far more precious - delicate clay tablets covered in cuneiform, one of humanity's earliest forms of writing. Through exclusive interviews with former US prosecutor Karin Orenstein and special agent Brenton Easter, Lewis reveals how this discovery led to one of the largest antiquities investigations in recent history.The episode reconstructs how Hobby Lobby President Steve Green attended a meeting in an apartment in the United Arab Emirates to view thousands of ancient artefacts, despite receiving explicit legal warnings about importing items from Iraq. When boxes of tablets start turning up at US customs addressed to Hobby Lobby stores labelled as craft supplies, investigators uncover an elaborate scheme of false declarations, undervalued items, and payments spread across multiple bank accounts.As the investigation builds toward a landmark settlement requiring the return of around 3,800 artefacts and a $3 million payment, the episode exposes the complex world of international antiquities trafficking and raises questions about the responsibility of wealthy collectors to verify the origins of their acquisitions.
Presented by Ben Lewis
Produced by Clem Hitchcock
Executive producers: Philip Abrams and Jago Lee
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Sound design by Richard Courtice
Original music by Max de Wardener
A TellTale production for BBC Radio 4Episodes of Intrigue: Word of God are released weekly on Wednesdays, wherever you get your podcasts, but if you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode a week early, first on BBC Sounds.
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28:45
Word of God: 3. Holy Grail
A biblical scholar's dramatic last-minute announcement at a packed debate hints at a fragment that could rewrite history.On a winter's night in 2012, an extraordinary claim electrifies a university auditorium in North Carolina - the discovery of what could be the earliest known Christian text, written within decades of Jesus's life. Through exclusive interviews, investigative journalist Ben Lewis reveals how this announcement connects to a meeting one night in an Oxford professor's chambers, where precious gospel fragments were laid out on a pool table.He uncovers how the Green family's fervent quest for biblical artefacts intersected with the world of elite academia. Their representatives were desperate to buy the four gospel fragments - including one potentially dating to the first century. But as scholars wait years to find out more, questions mount about that fragment in particular and what exactly is the professor's role.From the gothic halls of Christ Church Oxford to heated debates in American universities, Lewis follows papyrologist-turned-detective Roberta Mazza as she pieces together clues from social media posts, YouTube videos, and academic papers. What she uncovers raises troubling questions about the relationship between wealthy collectors, prestigious scholars, and the verification of sacred texts.Presented by Ben Lewis
Produced by Clem Hitchcock
Executive producers: Philip Abrams and Jago Lee
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Sound design by Richard Courtice
Original music by Max de Wardener
Commissioning editor: Daniel Clarke
Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams
Assistant commissioner podcasts/digital: Chris Walsh-HeronA TellTale production for BBC Radio 4Episodes of Intrigue: Word of God are released weekly on Wednesdays, wherever you get your podcasts, but if you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode a week early, first on BBC Sounds.
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28:54
Word of God: 2. Roberta Investigates
A threatening message leads a papyrologist into the shadowy world of online antiquities trading.On a September morning in 2017, Dr Roberta Mazza opens her WhatsApp to find menacing messages and warnings to "watch her back". How did a respected academic specialising in ancient texts find herself at the crossroads of biblical scholarship and antiquities looting?Through exclusive interviews, investigative journalist Ben Lewis reveals how Dr Mazza's chance discovery at a Vatican exhibition three years earlier set her on a collision course with one of the world's most ambitious collecting projects. When she spots a rare biblical fragment she'd previously seen listed on eBay, Roberta begins pulling threads that lead from online auction sites to a prestigious museum collection.Her investigation intensifies as she uncovers connections between anonymous online sellers and the Museum of the Bible's massive acquisition programme. Going undercover to expose the trade in potentially looted artefacts, Roberta finds herself drawn into an increasingly dangerous world where ancient treasures, scholarly research and outright illegality intersect.Her digital sleuthing uncovers the true identity of a mysterious Turkish dealer - and his possible connections to the museum's inner circle. But her determination to expose the truth comes at a personal cost, as threats escalate and she realises she may have waded too deep into dangerous waters.Presented by Ben Lewis
Produced by Clem Hitchcock
Executive producers: Philip Abrams and Jago Lee
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Sound design by Richard Courtice
Original music composed by Max de Wardener
Commissioning Editor: Daniel Clarke
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Assistant Commissioner Podcasts/Digital: Chris Walsh-HeronA TellTale production for BBC Radio 4.Episodes of Intrigue: Word of God are released weekly on Wednesdays, wherever you get your podcasts, but if you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode a week early, first on BBC Sounds.
