The Documentary Podcast
What’s your poison: The methanol crisis
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March 20, 2025
26 minutes
Available for over a year
In November 2024, six people died after visiting a bar in Vang Vieng, Laos. Authorities in the country said it was a suspected mass poisoning - the culprit, methanol. It made headlines around the world, but it was not an isolated incident. It is happening across South East Asia, Central America and the Middle East, often in countries where drinking alcohol is frowned upon, taboo, or even illegal. Matthew Hill investigates a devastating story of a rising death-toll, and travels to Bangladesh to meet the people on the ground urgently working to treat those affected.