2023 Winner

Acid Dream: The Great LSD Plot

BBC Studios

UK

- Podcast: Non-Fiction

A six-part podcast that uncovers the gripping story behind Operation Julie, one of the world’s biggest ever drugs busts. Presented by Hollywood actor Rhys Ifans, Acid Dream: The Great LSD Plot is the story of a real-life Breaking Bad, set in rural Wales. Rhys Ifans says: “Our Welsh slate was laid on the roofs of the world, our coal burnt brightly on its hearths and our LSD, it seems, kicked open the doors of perception.” The podcast tells the story of the Microdot Gang, a rag tag group of chemists, dealers, businessmen and hippy dreamers who attempted to start a revolution of the mind from a Welsh farmhouse. From Wales the story spreads across the world, including to Woodstock; the festival’s infamous ‘bad acid’ originated from the gang’s labs. With original music by Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) the podcast takes listeners back to the 1970s to tell the tale of a brilliant chemist turned drug lord, an international LSD ring based in rural Wales, and a top secret police operation.