The Missing Sister examines the disappearance and murder of Joy Morgan

A powerful investigative podcast The Missing Sister launches today, 10th September, on Wondery+.

The podcast tells the under-reported story of Joy Morgan, a 20-year-old midwifery student from South London, who vanished on Boxing Day in 2018, after attending a party at her controversial church, Israel United in Christ (IUIC). It was later discovered that she had been murdered by a fellow member of the congregation.

Hosted by award-winning journalist Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff (New York Times, Guardian, gal-dem), and produced by award-winning journalist and producer Seren Jones (Blanchard House, BBC) and entertainment company Free Turn, the podcast represents the culmination of six years of thought and investigation. Brinkhurst-Cuff was among the first journalists to report on Joy’s story in 2019, and remained convinced that there was more to be uncovered about IUIC. When she finally got the commission to make this podcast Joy’s family had one clear message: “The church needs to be taken down. They ruined our lives.”

IUIC, which was recently banned in France in a decree signed by President Emmanuel Macron, has been accused of being violently misogynistic, homophobic, Islamophobic, antisemetic, and anti-white. The organisation is part of the broader Hebrew Israelite movement, which claims that Black, Native American and Hispanic people are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites. IUIC encourages followers to turn away from mainstream society. To find salvation, and family, within its ranks.

Over the course of six gripping episodes, “The Missing Sister” takes us on an unexpected journey, using never-heard-before testimonies from Joy’s friends and family to illustrate the devastating impact of the church. Former IUIC members share harrowing accounts of psychological and physical abuse, misogyny, racism and a silencing culture within the organisation, casting a stark light on its potential role in Joy’s death.

The investigation reaches its peak when Brinkhurst-Cuff travels to the U.S. to learn more about IUIC’s origins. She attempts to confront the head of the church, an elusive former NYPD detective named Bishop Nathanyel Ben Israel, about Joy’s murder.

“The Missing Sister” asks uncomfortable yet necessary questions about belonging, faith and power: Why do Black people join Hebrew Israelite groups? Could Joy’s life have been saved? How do you grieve when you don’t have all the answers you need? What secrets are hidden behind IUIC’s closely guarded doors? And can the organisation be held accountable for what happened to Joy?

Brinkhurst-Cuff navigates these questions with sensitivity and transparency, always with one goal in mind: to get real answers for Joy’s family.

Robbie Ashcroft, Executive Producer at entertainment company Free Turn, says: “It’s been five years since Charlie floored me with Joy Morgan’s story. We are proud to have supported Charlie, Seren and executive producer Lexi Rose as they bring Joy’s story into the light in a way that only the best investigative podcasts can, with depth and nuance, in an ethically sound yet entertaining package. ”

Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, presenter, writer and producer says: “We made this podcast with the blessing of Joy’s family and friends. From everything we’ve learned about her, we know that Joy was brilliant and bold, with a big smile, a loud laugh, and a huge intellect. The Missing Sister honours her memory by revealing the truth about an organisation that she became a part of as a young teenager. An organisation that claims to be a refuge, but that in reality is something much darker. ”