Secrets We Keep

LiSTNR

Each season, Secrets We Keep investigates a different Australian secret.

CLAREMONT: The Trial (Season 13):
The shocking disappearance and murders of three young women in the affluent Perth suburb of Claremont 30 years ago became one of the biggest mysteries in WA history. Any hope of justice in the deaths of Ciara Glennon, Sarah Spiers and Jane Rimmer seemed bleak for two decades, with no sign of a breakthrough. That was until the arrest of Bradley Robert Edwards in 2016, who was subsequently charged with the trio's murders. In this series from our colleagues at The West Australian, you’ll hear the full story, go inside the courtroom for what was dubbed the trial of the century, be taken through all the revelations, allegations and talking points as the court case unfolded. First published to much acclaim in 2019 and 2020, this is Claremont: The Trial

Behind the White Line (Season 12): An investigation into Australia’s cocaine binge, Behind the White Line, traces the trail of white powder, from narco to nostrils. The series goes inside a $1 billion shipment, exposing a police turf war between the US DEA, the AFP and WA cops over an audacious sting to outwit a Mexican cartel. With exclusive interviews of high-ranking detectives, undercover operatives, DEA agents and coke users, Behind the White Line, examines the human cost of the world’s glamour drug hosted by investigative journalist Richard Baker.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt (Season 11): Sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman, disappears into the Australian bush after shooting and killing two police officers, triggering a massive nationwide manhunt. This compelling six‑part investigation explores his radicalisation, the extraordinary pursuit culminating in him being discovered in a shipping container, and the lasting impact on the officers and families involved. Hosted by Michael Usher and Cassie Zervos.

The Children in the Pictures (Season 10): is an 8 part series hosted by Australian documentary-maker and father of two Akhim Dev, that powerfully examines how child abuse has become endemic online, and what we can all do to fight it.

Secrets We Keep: Uncovered (Season 9): takes you inside some of the most important investigations of our time, with our expanding network of journalists and sources from around Australia and beyond. Every week, Uncovered pulls back the curtain on the stories powerful people hoped would stay buried, by speaking directly to those who lived and breathed them.

Jailbreak (Season 8): Journalist Tim Elliott details the extraordinary story of Darko Desic, a fugitive who lived for 30 years on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

Lone Actor (Season 7): Joey Watson traces the radicalisation trajectory of the Christchurch terrorist, asking the question - did he really act alone?

By Any Means (Season 6): An investigation into the modern fertility landscape, confronting complex questions about consent, identity and human rights.

Should I Spit? (Season 5): The origin story of the multibillion dollar consumer DNA industry. From police hoping to solve cold murder cases, to one of the most powerful churches in the world, everyone seems to want a piece of what makes you, you.

Pray Harder (Season 4): investigative journalist Richard Baker uncovers the unbelievable and compelling true story of Australia’s oldest and most hard line Pentecostal Church, the Geelong Revival Centre.

Baghdad Nights (Season 3): Richard Baker takes you inside Australia's biggest corruption scandal, finding out how Australia funded a dictator in the lead up to the Iraq War.

Nest of Traitors (Season 2): Joey Watson is pulled into the world of espionage, attempting to track down an Australian spy who turned to work for the enemy during the Cold War.

Shame Lies & Family (Season 1): A mystery photo of Amelia Oberhardt’s mum exposes the practice of shotgun marriages, forced adoption, and quiet abortions carried out in Australia until the 1980s.

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145 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes145

Newest first

Nov 3, 2025 · 24 min
Uncovered - Infiltrating ‘get-rich-quick’ hustle culture
What happens when a world-famous prankster journalist decides to put all the TikToks, podcasts, and online masterclasses promising overnight riches to the test? British filmmaker Oobah Butler spills the methods behind his latest documentary, “How I Made £1 Million In 90 Days”, a wild ride through the art of turning hype and hot air into cash, faking his way to wealth to expose the reality behind “hustle culture”. Host: Joey Watson Producer: Claudianna Blanco Sound Design: Matt Nikolic See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 27, 2025 · 30 min
Uncovered – Exposing the AFP’s secret use of facial recognition
When it became known that a shadowy facial recognition company called Clearview AI had created a massive database, capable of identifying almost anyone, anywhere, reporters around the globe picked up the trail — working to uncover how this start-up could reshape privacy and policing internationally. Here in Australia, tech reporter Cam Wilson dug into the Australian Federal Police’s documents for years — revealing disturbing details. Read Cam Wilson's Investigations here: ‘World’s most controversial company’ Clearview AI still being used to solve Australian police cases Clearview AI is still collecting photos of Australians for its facial recognition database See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 20, 2025 · 36 min
Uncovered - Hunting Australia's Nazi war criminals (Part 2)
Go inside the courtroom as the Special Investigations Unit fights to deliver justice to three alleged Nazi collaborators living in Australia — men accused of participating in atrocities during World War II. Prosecutor Graham Blewitt takes us behind the scenes of the long, complex battle for accountability, marked by High Court challenges, fading memories, and the failing health of the accused This is Part 2 of Hunting Australia’s Nazi War Criminals. You can listen to Part 1 here. Lifeline: 13 11 14 Further links: Graham Blewitt's book Nazis in Australia Credits: Presenter/Producer: Joey Watson Senior Producer: Claudianna Blanco Sound designer: Kyle Hopkins Executive Producer: Ellen Leabeater See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 13, 2025 · 26 min
Uncovered - Hunting Australia's Nazi war criminals (Part 1)
In the mid 1980s, Australia had to reckon with an uncomfortable truth: that hundreds of suspected Nazi war criminals had made this country their home. They had slipped in after World War II and had been living quietly in the suburbs. Leading the effort to expose them was the Special Investigations Unit. Prosecutor Graham Blewitt was part of the team whose task was to find the men who thought they’d escaped justice. This is Part 1 of Hunting Australia’s Nazi War Criminals. Part 2 out next Tuesday. Lifeline: 13 11 14 Further links: Graham Blewitt's book Nazis in Australia Listen to Secrets We Keep: Lone Actor Credits: Presenter/Producer: Joey Watson Senior Producer: Claudianna Blanco Sound designer: Kyle Hopkins Executive Producer: Ellen Leabeater See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 8, 2025 · 1 min
Introducing Secrets We Keep: Uncovered
From next week, join Joey Watson as he takes you inside some of the most important investigations of our time. Each week, you'll hear stories powerful people hoped would stay buried, by speaking directly to those who lived and breathed them. Subscribe and follow Secrets We Keep, to be the first to hear Uncovered on October 14. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 6, 2025 · 25 min
Jailbreak - Bonus - Antoinette Lattouf speaks to Tim Elliott
Tim Elliott has done what few could - persuading one of Australia's most elusive prison escapees to break his silence. The journalist and author has always been drawn to the hidden corners of people's lives, shaped in part by his own story of privilege and pain, shadowed by hardship and the loss of his father. In Secrets We Keep: Jailbreak, Tim enters the mind of Darko (aka ‘Dougie') Desic, a wildly successful weed grower who staged a bold prison escape and remained on the run for decades. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Tim reveals why eccentric and sometimes ‘dodgy' characters confide in him and reflects on how his family dealt with his father's mental illness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 29, 2025 · 37 min
Jailbreak - Episode 6 - Free Dougie
Darko is free but trapped in the life of a fugitive. He falls in love but can’t reveal his true identity and breaks it off. Life is hard: Darko’s living outside the system now. With no ID or healthcare, he can’t openly travel or seek medical attention. He depends on local support and cash jobs. Once COVID hits, Darko becomes homeless, and decides to hand himself in. Behind bars once again, locals rally for clemency. Will he be set free? As his fate hangs in the balance, he examines his choices and comes to a startling understanding of his remarkable life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 25, 2025 · 54 sec
Coming soon - Secrets We Keep: Uncovered
Brought to you by LiSTNR’s team of award-winning journalists, Secrets We Keep: Uncovered takes you inside some of the most important investigations of our time, with our expanding network of journalists and sources from around Australia and beyond. Every week, we pull back the curtain on the stories powerful people hoped would stay buried, by speaking directly to those who lived and breathed them. The whistleblower who risked everything. The victim who refused to stay silent. The journalist who just wouldn’t let it go. Stories of power, secrecy, and the people who dared challenge both. Secrets We Keep: Uncovered is an original LiSTNR podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 22, 2025 · 33 min
Jailbreak - Episode 5 - The Great Escape
Darko methodically prepares an escape plan, taking months to prepare. As Darko readies himself physically, mentally and logistically, he collects the tools he needs to breakout: bolt cutters, a hack saw blade and new running shoes. After his daring escape, the cops give chase, but Darko miraculously evades them at every turn. Darko returns to Sydney’s Northern Beaches, where he assumes a new identity: “Dougie”, the easy-going handyman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 15, 2025 · 31 min
Jailbreak - Episode 4 - Model Prisoner
Darko’s sent to some of Australia’s most notorious prisons, where he acquaints himself with several underworld figures. Darko’s making the most of his time behind bars when he’s told that once his sentence is complete, he will be deported back to Yugoslavia, then in the midst of a brutal civil war. Going back would’ve meant having to fight in the conflict, so Darko decides to escape and starts to devise a plan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 8, 2025 · 34 min
Jailbreak - Episode 3 - Busted
Darko’s killing it. He uses the proceeds of a successful marijuana crop to buy a new bike, gold, opals and blue-chip shares. A single, fateful mistake gets him discovered by the police, but Darko manages a near escape. Now a fugitive, Darko picks up work on a banana plantation in Coffs Harbour, where his workmates realise there’s more to Darko than meets the eye. After a few months undetected, Darko’s luck runs out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 1, 2025 · 28 min
Jailbreak - Episode 2 - It Was a Boom
After visiting Australia in the 1980s, Darko returns home to Yugoslavia but senses trouble coming. He sees the rise of nationalism and early signs of conflict looming. Darko heads back to the safety of Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Enamoured by the laid-back lifestyle, Darko learns to grow and sell weed. He plans to buy his dream house in Palm Beach but gets greedy. This fit, young, former communist commissar, with a taste for Russian literature decides to stay in Australia any way he can. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 1, 2025 · 29 min
Jailbreak - Episode 1 - You’ve Been Looking for Me
It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon in 2021, when Darko Desic arrives, unannounced, at a police station, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. He claims to have escaped from prison 30 years before and now wants to hand himself in. The police are confused. There’s no record of him on their files. The officers eventually arrest him. When news emerges of Darko’s 30 years on the run, the world is amazed, and baffled. How did he escape? How did he evade capture for so long, living under the noses of the police? And who the hell is Darko Desic? Journalist Tim Elliott tracks Darko down and sits down with him for a tell-all interview. Credits: Writer and Host - Tim Elliott Senior Producer - Claudianna Blanco Executive Producer - Greg Muller Sound Design - Kyle Hopkins Fact Checking - Holly Mitchell See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 29, 2025 · 55 min
Bonus - The 13 year old Australian charged as a terrorist
At just 13 years old, Thomas Carrick was placed under covert surveillance by the Australian Federal Police. Believing he was speaking to ISIS operatives online, Thomas was in fact engaging with undercover officers, conversations that would eventually see him charged with terrorism offences. The AFP knew Thomas lived with autism and an intellectual disability. Still, they pursued him in a way a judge later described as ‘grooming’ him for terrorism. So, was Thomas ever a real threat? Or just a vulnerable boy pulled into a fantasy world by those meant to protect him? In this episode, counter-terrorism expert Peta Lowe - who also features in Secrets We Keep: Lone Actor - unpacks the Carrick case and what it reveals about the growing risk of youth radicalisation in Australia. To hear more content like this, listen to Crime Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 25, 2025 · 3 min
Introducing Jailbreak
In Jailbreak, we hear the extraordinary story of a fugitive who lived for 30 years on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. The reclusive Darko Desic (prolific weed grower, prison escapee and martial arts expert) tells his story for the first time; a story of resilience and discipline. In following Darko’s remarkable journey, Jailbreak explores eternal truths about free will and fate, crime and punishment, and the search for meaning. Jailbreak is an original podcast from LiSTNR. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 20, 2025 · 26 min
Bonus - Joey answers your questions
Why did Joey decide to use the terrorist's name? Where are far-right extremist communities gathering now? In this bonus Q&A episode, Joey answers your questions about making the Lone Actor podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 13, 2025 · 26 min
Bonus - Antoinette Lattouf interviews Joey Watson
Journalist and host of the Weekend Briefing Antointette Lattouf sits down with Joey Watson to go beyond the investigation. Find out how Joey came to the story, and how his family history influences his work. Have a question for Joey? Email secretswekeep@sca.com.au. You can hear more from Antointette every Saturday on the Weekend Briefing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 6, 2025 · 38 min
Lone Actor - Episode 6 - Skull Mask Network
Having spent years tracing the terrorist, Joey is still left with unanswered questions. Parts of the manifesto don’t match the online worlds Joey has investigated — references to revolution, societal collapse, and a call for chaos. Joey’s search leads to a shadowy neo-Nazi terror network that emerged in the years before the attack. Could this be the missing link in the terrorist’s radicalisation to violence? If you have a question for Joey, email secretswekeep@sca.com.au This podcast episode features voices generated using AI voice technology to portray individuals speaking in online chat rooms. These voices do not belong to real people appearing as themselves - they are synthetic recreations used to represent chat room dialogue. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 30, 2025 · 32 min
Lone Actor - Episode 5 - The defence of Europe
After the attack, authorities in Austria learnt that the terrorist had been linked to a high-profile extremist in their country – Martin Sellner. The terrorist had given Sellner a sizeable donation, and had visited Austria four months before the attack. So, the question was asked – did Sellner and the terrorist have contact? However, the Austrian investigation into the links between the pair was compromised. Joey travels to Vienna to find out what happened. This podcast episode features voices generated using AI voice technology to portray individuals speaking in online chat rooms. These voices do not belong to real people appearing as themselves - they are synthetic recreations used to represent chat room dialogue. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 23, 2025 · 39 min
Lone Actor - Episode 4 - The Balkans
Two trips to the Balkans, in South-Eastern Europe might hold the key to the terrorist's mindset in the years before the attack. This is a region steeped in nationalist history and revered by the far-right, and the details of his time here are murky. Joey follows the terrorist to the other side of the world, searching for more clues about his radicalisation, trying to find out if anyone in Europe knew what was coming. This podcast episode features voices generated using AI voice technology to portray individuals speaking in online chat rooms. These voices do not belong to real people appearing as themselves - they are synthetic recreations used to represent chat room dialogue. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.