00:00 The mystery of the Summerton man, a captivating murder case in Adelaide, Australia, is the focus of this episode.

03:58 On November 30, 1948, a man is found dead on the beach in Adelaide, Australia, with no identification and all labels surgically removed from his clothing, leading to a mysterious case that includes strange details such as a fallen cigarette and the possibility that he may have been a ballet dancer.

07:44 The man's cause of death is determined to be poison, but the specific type of poison remains unknown, leading to uncertainty about whether his death was natural, a suicide, or murder.

10:56 The pathologist discovers a tiny roll of paper in the pocket of the Somerton Man's clothes, which turns out to be a Persian phrase meaning "it is done" and comes from a book of poetry that was thrown into someone's car parked near the beach.

14:05 The theories surrounding the identity of the Somerton Man include the possibility that he was a spy, potentially involved in intelligence or gun running, or that his death was connected to a doomed love affair involving Jessica Thompson.

17:41 Derek Abbott, an electrical engineer and physicist, theorizes that Robin Thompson, a ballet dancer, is the son of Jessica Thompson and the Somerton Man due to genetic markers, and in order to prove this theory, he marries Rachel, Robin's daughter, and they have three children together, but their attempts to dig up the Somerton Man's corpse for DNA are denied by local authorities.

21:18 DNA tests have revealed that Robin Thompson is not the son of the Somerton Man, but rather a man named Carl Webb, who had a brother-in-law named Thomas Keane and enjoyed poetry and betting on horses, leaving many mysteries unanswered.

24:30 The mysteries surrounding Carl Webb's connection to Jessica Thompson, his reason for being at Somerton Beach, the cause of his death, and whether he killed himself, died of natural causes, or was murdered remain unknown, highlighting the allure of grandiose conspiracy theories and sensational murder theories in the historiography of cases like this.

27:49 The hosts promote their podcast series on the history of Iran and how it shaped the Middle East today.