Red Hot Chilli Writers

British crime writers Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee bring to life history’s most intriguing murders, true crime and fictional, in the company of the world’s best known crime writers. They make murder . . . fun.

Episode 151 - Kelly Mullen, This is Not a Game, and Iowa clown serial killers
Apr 21, 2025 – 29:37
Episode 150 - Lucy Atkins, Windmill Hill and pony fiction
Apr 14, 2025 – 31:07
Episode 149 - Jeremy Vine, Murder on Line One, Nelson Mandela turns a tap, and Ted Bundy
Mar 31, 2025 – 32:53
Episode 148 - Stig Abell, The Burial Place, Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time
Mar 24, 2025 – 30:15
Episode 147 - Scott Turow, Presumed Guilty, and the true story behind the classic Presumed Innocent
Mar 10, 2025 – 33:51
Episode 146 - The Day of the Roaring, Nina Bhadreshwar, fun facts about Sheffield
Feb 24, 2025 – 24:11
Episode 145 - Simon Mayo, Black Tag, the legend of King Dick, and radio's greatest confessions
Feb 10, 2025 – 32:28
Episode 144 - The stolen Churchill painting, Jonathan Whitelaw, The Garden Club Murders, and who invented bingo?
Jan 27, 2025 – 34:53
Episode 143 - The Unsolved Arctic Mystery of Charles Francis Hall, Tom Hindle and Death in the Arctic, and when airships ruled the skies
Jan 13, 2025 – 33:48
Episode 142 - Christmas Killers, Santa's Law Breaking, and a Look Back at 2024
Dec 30, 2024 – 26:58
Episode 141 - The Yuba County Five, Rob Parker, and Does Sasquatch have Talons?
Dec 16, 2024 – 30:01
Episode 140 - Murder Junction, the Harem Conspiracy and the assassination of Ramesses III
Dec 2, 2024 – 28:18
Episode 139 - City of Destruction, the history of murder, history's most prolific murderers
Nov 18, 2024 – 30:23
Episode 138 - Erin E. Adams, Jackal, and the 'black horror' genre
Nov 4, 2024 – 30:38
Episode 137 - Louise Minchin, Isolation Island, and a frozen foot on Everest
Oct 21, 2024 – 33:52
Episode 136 - Shari Lapena, Everest rising, and undefecting defectors.
Oct 7, 2024 – 30:49
Episode 135 - T.M. Logan, The Dream Home, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Sep 23, 2024 – 32:02
Episode 134 - Gareth Rubin, Holmes & Moriarty, Tête-bêche and Mise en Abyme
Sep 9, 2024 – 31:09
Episode 133 - Tom Mead, Cabaret Macabre, locked room mysteries, and the world's second largest diamond
Aug 26, 2024 – 34:54
Episode 132 - Rachel Abbott, The Last Time I Saw Him, and poodle-clipping at the Olympics
Aug 12, 2024 – 35:04
Episode 131 - Ram Murali, Death in the Air, Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
Jul 29, 2024 – 29:52
Episode 130 - Jack Jordan, Redemption, and existential moral dilemmas
Jul 15, 2024 – 29:20
Episode 129 - Karin Slaughter, This Is Why We Lied, Cricket in America
Jul 1, 2024 – 29:19
Episode 128 - Michael Robotham and MW Craven, Storm Child and The Mercy Chair, and Aussie Noir
Jun 17, 2024 – 40:15
Episode 127 - Jo Callaghan, artificial intelligence policing, and AI Armageddon
Jun 3, 2024 – 33:26
Episode 126 - Claire Douglas and David McCloskey and the British Book Awards 2024
May 20, 2024 – 34:20
Episode 125 - Hunted and Finding Sophie, loans sharks and deadly Deliveroo drivers
May 6, 2024 – 44:42
Episode 124 -Stig Abell, Death in a Lonely Place, press complaints, and falling satellites
Apr 22, 2024 – 37:33
Episode 123 - Erin Young, gold kitchens, banned trousers, and Christianity's oldest religious book to ever go on sale
Apr 8, 2024 – 45:20
Episode 122 - Harriet Tyce, A Lesson in Cruelty, Chaucer's unfinished Canterbury tales
Mar 25, 2024 – 35:41
Episode 121 - Tony Kent, The Shadow Network, great legal thrillers, and the Old Bailey
Mar 11, 2024 – 31:30
Episode 120 - BA Paris, The Guest, and Arabian Noir with Michael Lynes and Alex Shaw
Feb 26, 2024 – 52:53
Episode 119 - Nita Prose, The Mystery Guest, dog poop DNA, and cold fusion powered hot baths
Feb 12, 2024 – 36:48
Episode 118 - Anna O and Matthew Blake, homicidal sleepwalking, Guy Kennaway and Good Scammer, and the best ever Caribbean books
Jan 29, 2024 – 51:33
Episode 117 - Chris Hammer, Scrublands, Funnel-Web Spiders, and New Year Gut Health
Jan 15, 2024 – 45:52
Episode 116 - Fenton's ten best novels of 2023, dodgy Xmas parties, and Micky Mouse set free
Jan 1, 2024 – 33:19
Episode 115 - Andrew Lycett and The Worlds of Sherlock Holmes - with added Cucumber Sherlock.
Dec 18, 2023 – 33:06
Episode 114 - Imran Mahmood and Finding Sophie, author winterwear, and the most famous tea party in fiction
Dec 4, 2023 – 30:32
Episode 113 - Susi Holliday, female serial killers, and the meaning of Diwali
Nov 20, 2023 – 30:23
Episode 112 - Fiona Cummins, meeting George Clooney, cats' facial expressions, and the Aussie mushroom poisoning
Nov 6, 2023 – 32:33
Episode 111 - Suk Pannu, The Kumars at No 10, and the unstoppability of Indian aunties
Oct 23, 2023 – 30:38
Episode 110 - Nev March, the Bombay Clocktower deaths, and the secret to happiness in orangutans
Oct 9, 2023 – 41:38
Episode 109 - Matthew Parker, One Fine Day in the British Empire, the Booker shortlist, Seven Deadly Bins
Sep 25, 2023 – 59:00
Episode 108 - AJ West, greatest ever ghost stories, Big Brother, and the saucy ghost ape of Dorset
Sep 11, 2023 – 46:05
Episode 107 - Evil Under the Sun, India's Moon Landing, and Hercule Poirot's bottom
Aug 28, 2023 – 38:49
Episode 106 - Simon Toyne, St Hilda's Crime, Bute rap battle, and how to avoid being eaten by a tiger
Aug 14, 2023 – 42:19
Episode 105 - Sarah Hilary, Neurodiversity in fiction, a Death of a Lesser God competition, and the invention of the 'blousers'
Jul 31, 2023 – 53:40
Episode 104 - Karin Slaughter, remembering Cormac McCarthy, and gruesome author deaths... including death by flying tortoise
Jul 17, 2023 – 47:28
Episode 103 - Ambrose Parry, Shakespeare's grammatical legacy, the short-sighted monster of envy, and nude 'blind date'
Jul 3, 2023 – 46:03
Episode 102 - Mark Billingham and The Last Dance, Hitler's Nazi playground in Blackpool, and 'Broken Arse-gate'
Jun 19, 2023 – 31:33

Recent Reviews

Jayhawk100

Fun and entertaining

I always enjoy the interactions between the hosts. They make my day better. Plus I learn about writers and books from diverse settings.
SuzyCayenne

feeling good with crime

I am a reader of both these guys’ books, but I would enjoy listening to them regardless. They are so amiably snarky and just plain interesting. I haven’t been listening in order, but jump around according to my mood and who their guest is. And those guests! If you like crime fiction, there’s something here for you.
cmndrtoad

Great listening

These two are great fun to listen to as they talk about their favourite movies, books and misc. They are great interviewers and have interesting guests.
smithvox

Hilarious and Informative

The funniest crime fiction podcast I’ve come across.
MeagJ

I make a fool of myself every time I listen...

...because they have me laughing out loud during my walks to class/work/wherever. Another reviewer called this podcast vibrant, and I’d have to agree. It’s a breath of fresh air in the middle of my otherwise dour mix of true crime, politics, and more “serious” writing shows. The hosts are great, interviews are always interesting, and I want to adopt Mum as my own! My one complaint might be the intro music, but I’ve decided it’s so bad that it’s actually quite good. 👍🏻👍🏻
BookgirlGB

If only they served Abir’s mum’s food!

This podcast is on point and brilliant - love it! The interviews are great, I’ve added many more books to my “to read” list, and I laugh my way to and from work. It will get upgraded to 5 stars if/when the recording quality gets a little better. The change in volume between segments and background echo means I’m constantly having to adjust the volume. I don’t mind when it catches Abir’s mum’s comments though!
mrh usa

Mum's kitchen

I gave it 5 stars as it was very different and vibrant - I feel as the get more experienced working together on the podcast it’s going to get even better!
zeta cross

In mom’s kitchen with two crime writers

Good energy. Visiting with two fun pals with interesting things on their minds. I love their detectives in their series’s. They call other writers. Tiny nudge: Dig deeper in your interviews. More details from your excellent guests: more bio. Typical writing day? Describe where they write. More about their detective’s personalities.how they are inspired. Put Abirs mom on mike.