Twenty-five years on from the deadliest terror attack in history, BBC investigative journalist Jane McMullen asks why thousands of grieving families are still fighting for answers. In early 2000, two young Saudis arrived in San Diego. They had never been to America, spoke almost no English, and had no idea how to open a bank account or rent a flat. Within weeks they had done all of it. Twenty months later they hijacked a plane and crashed it into the Pentagon. McMullen investigates the hidden story of a man who helped two of the hijackers - and reveals a story that the US and Saudi governments have fought to keep secret.

Latest episodes

A 9/11 Story: New: Where is Austin Tice?

September 21, 2026 · 33 min

I'm Not A Monster Presents... Where is Austin Tice? Josh Baker investigates one of the biggest missing-person cases of our time. American journalist Austin Tice vanished in Syria, but the US president says he’s alive. For more than a…
A 9/11 Story: 10. A Quarter Century

September 11, 2026 · 15 min

Terry Strada spies the FBI Director in a VIP area. Can she get to him to make her case before time runs out? A new generation is preparing to step into the fight for answers. A BBC News Long Form Audio production. Host: Jane McMullen…
A 9/11 Story: 9. The Puzzle

September 11, 2026 · 14 min

Decades of arguments and evidence land before a judge. Terry Strada’s hopes hang on how he pieces it all together: an airplane sketch, a video from Washington, and call records between Saudi officials in the US. FBI Special Agent Danny…
A 9/11 Story: 8. The Party

September 9, 2026 · 14 min

When one of Omar Al-Bayoumi’s home videos contains more than was first thought, FBI Special Agent Danny Gonzalez is shocked. Decades after he should have seen it, can it make a difference? A BBC News Long Form Audio production. Host…
A 9/11 Story: 7. Secret Weapon

September 8, 2026 · 14 min

To keep a promise to her kids, Terry Strada must master an unknown world and defy a president...all in uncomfortable shoes. She’s pounding the corridors of power in Washington, but a decisive moment comes at an opulent party on Long…
A 9/11 Story: 6. More Questions than Answers

September 7, 2026 · 14 min

The FBI’s Danny Gonzalez suffers setbacks professional and personal after British police release the man at the centre of his investigation: Omar Al-Bayoumi. And official inquiries fail to provide Terry Strada the answers she so badly…
A 9/11 Story: 5. Mosque and State

September 4, 2026 · 15 min

Terry Strada joins a lawsuit on behalf of 9/11 families, while Special Agent Danny Gonzalez and the FBI continue their investigation in secret. A BBC News Long Form Audio production. Host: Jane McMullen Series producer: Neal Razzell…
A 9/11 Story: 4. A Chance Meeting

September 3, 2026 · 14 min

Inside Britain's most secure interrogation room, Detective Constable David Campbell of Scotland Yard's anti-terror branch has just seven days to question the hijackers’ neighbour from San Diego. A BBC News Long Form Audio production…