When a medal was finally announced for nuclear test veterans there were some who were inexplicably left out - the crews who flew through the mushroom clouds of foreign powers on secret intelligence gathering operations. Even when it was extended, the men of 543 and 27 Squadrons were still only partially recognised. Now Merlin is throwing up more evidence of how even the crews who stayed behind in the UK could have been exposed to radiation. Susie and Jon are joined by ex-543 men Colin Duncan and Barry Fagg to discuss the evidence.

Politicians get a bad rap but today Susie and Jon are joined by two backbenchers who have been instrumental in securing justice for the nuclear veterans. Rebecca Long-Bailey and Emma Lewell have grilled ministers, arranged debates, and got under the bonnet of government to force Whitehall to address the evidence being discovered by campaigners.

All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.

The British government always said it would compensate nuclear veterans, if they could provide evidence they were harmed. Neil Sampson was the lead solicitor who battled to do just that in 2007, in a legal process that stymied and blocked his best efforts but led to the creation of the newly-opened Merlin database. Together with lawyer Oli Troen, who is helping veterans with a fresh legal fight over the cover-up of human experiments, Neil joins Susie to unpick all the twists and turns of the MoD's legal strategies to deny truth and justice to its veterans.

All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.

Radiation was weaponised because nuclear bombs could contaminate people and landscapes for decades. Yet the British government has always denied there was a genetic hazard to taking part in its Cold War bomb tests. Papers uncovered by investigative journalist Susie Boniface, and now found on the Merlin database behind national security, show that chief biologist John Butterfield knew there were genetic risks to servicemen - but decided it was worth it. Susie and Dr Jon Hogg are joined by nuclear descendants Alan Owen and Steve Purse to discuss what has been found in Butterfield's personal papers.

All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.

In this episode Susie Boniface is joined by Charlotte Hennessy, founding member of the campaign group Hillsborough Law Now and whose father Jimmy was among the 97 killed in the Hillsborough disaster, and Professor Lydia Hayes of the Centre for People's Justice. We discuss how the fight for truth and justice led to the creation of the Hillsborough Law to stop future scandals, and the connections to Britain's nuclear testing veterans.

All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.

For decades the UK government said there was no fallout at Christmas Island after its nuclear weapons tests. Then a whistleblower came forward, spurred on by Project Merlin, to reveal they had the evidence all along, and had covered it up. First reported by Susie, she and Jon discuss the ramifications of the whistleblower's secret report with veteran John Morris and Professor Kevin Ruane of Canterbury Christchurch University.

All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.

In 1953, Britain detonated two atomic weapons in the Outback of South Australia. The purpose was to test how much plutonium was too much for the bomb to work properly. But after one blast an oily black mist was seen rolling across the landscape, covering Aboriginal camps with greasy ash, poisoning waterholes, and killing the wildlife. In the wake of it, Yami Lester went blind. Decades later he heard a scientist insist reports of a "black mist" were a myth, and Yami's testimony blew open the nuclear testing scandal. His daughter Karina joins Prof Liz Tynan to unpick newly-declassified documents that prove Totem was more toxic than Hiroshima.

All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.

William Russia was a family man raising his grandchildren in the projects of Cincinnati when he contracted lung cancer, and unwittingly became one of the last subjects in a horrifying human radiation experiment conducted by US doctors, and believed to have been settled in the 1990s. Now research in the top secret Merlin database has found a link to the British military which was sharing information about the gruesome testing with allies, and requesting more. Susie and Jon discuss their findings with William’s granddaughter Toilynn O’Neal, and what it may mean for UK veterans fighting the government to access their own medical records with solicitor Oli Troen.

All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.