The gripping independent podcast, The Overturn, has this week been shortlisted in the ‘Impact’ category of the British Podcast Awards. For over a decade, these awards have recognised excellence and originality in British podcasting, with this category highlighting podcasts that have attempted to move the dial on some of the most important issues facing society. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 1 October in London.
The Overturn launched in March this year and brings listeners into the real-life battles of people fighting on behalf of loved ones they believe have been victims of grave miscarriages of justice. The series goes shoulder-to-shoulder with those on the outside as they campaign for those on the inside. In the face of a dysfunctional criminal appeals system, they refuse to stop fighting to clear their loved ones’ names.
From families contesting the convictions of teenagers jailed for conspiracy to murder over group-chat messages, to a former police officer who alleges he’s been stitched up by colleagues, to relatives of four men claiming a corrupt undercover sting led to their terrorism convictions, The Overturn brings their fight for justice to the forefront with journalistic resolve and critical urgency. The series highlights potential police corruption to secure dodgy convictions, the discredited testimony of prison cell snitches, and murder convictions so dubious even the victim’s family believe the wrong man went down.
But above all, it highlights the courage – and loneliness – of fighting a broken justice system. These are the stories of people who maintain they’re innocent and yet remain in prison, fighting unimaginable odds to win justice in a system that – many would say – is rigged against them.
The Overturn is produced and hosted by Marnie Duke. Executive producers are Justice Gap editor Jon Robins and Calum McRae. The series has been supported by The Future Justice Project. All interviews by Marnie Duke are original. The cases in this series have all featured over the years on the Justice Gap (www.thejusticegap.com) and (in the case of episodes 3 and 7) in Jon’s book Guilty Until Proven Innocent (Biteback, 2018).
Marnie won silver Best New Producer at the 2025 Audio Production Awards and is the silver Rising Star at the British Podcast Awards 2025. Her work has been shortlisted for the International Women’s Podcast Awards and the Independent Podcast Awards.
All nine episodes of the podcast are available to listen to now. Subscribe via Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, or listen online via The Justice Gap.
