Nathaniel Frum
Appearances
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
He was a roving foreign correspondent, chasing every conflict through the 50s and 60s, until helping found his own paper, the Toronto Sun, a paper that still exists today. Pete continued to write until his death in 2013. The last thing he wrote was his own obituary. My grandpa left behind a bird's nest of papers, photos, and tapes, fragments of his extraordinary career.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
It was all packed and sent away to Canada's National Archives by my grandmother, Yvonne. But six years after Pete's death, I brought those boxes back. By this time, I was in my mid-20s, trying to make it as a screenwriter in L.A., trying to find my next story. What if it lived in the boxes that Pete had left behind? I popped one of his hundreds of cassettes into a player. Tape 12, 1991. Okay.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Yeah, no, I had no idea you had dug up the boxes. I don't think when I first reached out to you that I understood how deep this story went, not just with you, but with the nation. In the years we've worked together since, I've started to realize how important it is that this story is told.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
It feels appropriate that we've teamed up, and all these years later, you walking me through this story, you being the vet and me being the rookie. In an era where most serial killer stories are known and most murderers are famous, why isn't this one well-known? When I was reading about it, every detail was stunning to me.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Do you think this story was suppressed, or is there another reason why it wasn't well-known?
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
There's no shortage of serial killer content out there. Documentaries on streaming services, TV shows, movies, fiction thrillers that sit on bestseller lists for weeks. But in Clifford Olson's case, there was no long, winding, twist-filled road to catching him. Because for a long time, police didn't know there was a him to catch. Until Olson told them. Until he was able to get something in return.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Olson proposed a deal. $10,000 for each body. For each child he led the RCMP to.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
This season on Calls from a Killer, from CBC's Uncovered.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
This man, hoping to keep the peace at home, is my grandpa, Pete.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Calls from a Killer was written and produced by me, Nathaniel Frum, Arlene Beinen, and senior producers Ashley Mack and Andrew Friesen. Additional writing by Alina Ghosh. Mixing and sound design by Evan Kelly. Emily Connell is our digital producer. Executive producers are Cecil Fernandez and Chris Oak. Tanya Springer is the senior manager, and Arif Noorani is the director of CBC Podcasts.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Tune in next week for an all-new episode of Calls from a Killer from CBC's Uncover. Or you can binge the whole series by subscribing to our True Crime Premium channel on Apple Podcasts. Just click on the link in the show description.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
On the other end of the phone call is a man named Clifford Olson, a man convicted in 1982 of killing 11 children and teenagers. The oldest of them, 18. The youngest of them, 9. Pete's archives housed hundreds of hours of calls with Olson. They began in 1990, and they went on for years. And they were placed by Olson from prison.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Jean Chrétien. Holson was writing the prime minister.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
But once in a while, you'd be reminded who's on the line.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
But Pete wasn't recording these tapes alone. It became clear he had a partner. And she was where it all started.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
This is a CBC Podcast. The following episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence. Please take care when listening. Whenever I stayed at my grandparents' house as a kid, there was a rule. Always pick up the phone. Because you never knew who could be calling for my grandpa Pete. A Soviet spy, a cabinet minister, a serial killer.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
She was a journalist herself.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Although Olson often didn't treat her like one.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
From what I could hear, she was also patient with Olsen. But then there was this exchange.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
I paused the tape and scribbled on a post-it. Find Arlene. This is Calls from a Killer from CBC's Uncover. I'm Nathaniel Frum.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
Growing up, I'd learn what my grandpa did for a living through the stories he'd share at the holidays or summers at the lake. It wasn't that he was bragging. Pete was actually really humble. He just had stories no one else could tell. And he never told the same one twice, because he never needed to. There was the time he stood just feet away from Lee Harvey Oswald as Jack Ruby pulled the trigger.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
S33 E1: The Olson Tapes | Calls From a Killer
The time a bullet went through his sleeve in Algiers as fighting between the Algerians and French raged. The time he met the Beatles in Hong Kong. He didn't even think to mention that one until a couple years before he died. Long story short, he thought they all needed haircuts. My grandpa, Peter Worthington, was a newspaper man. And for some time, he was one of the newspaper men in Toronto.
Sea of Lies from Uncover
The hidden story of a notorious serial killer — and his secret calls from behind bars
When we get down to the point where you've got a missing nine-year-old kid who's six blocks from his home and disappears when he's at the corner store getting an ice cream or a candy bar, you've got a big problem.