The Poison That Left a Trail: Forensic Science and the Litvinenko Case

When Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer, fell inexplicably ill in London in 2006, doctors initially had no explanation — until forensic testing uncovered polonium-210 in his system. This episode examines how that finding reshaped the investigation, forcing forensic teams to trace radioactive contamination across an entire city while reconstructing the method behind the poisoning. We explore why standard toxicology screening missed the cause entirely, and what the case reveals about the intersection of forensic pathology, covert violence, and investigative persistence. It's a striking example of how physical evidence can expose what was designed to stay hidden.