Secrets We Keep

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 man…

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 …

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 …

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 under…

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 ma…

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.

S…

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 h…

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, societa…

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…

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-…

On the afternoon of the attack, a member of a private Facebook group for Australian extremists comments that the terrorist had been “in the scene for a while”. 

Digging through an archive of Facebook…

The terrorist posted a manifesto and a live stream link on an obscure image board just minutes before the attack, urging users to “do their part by spreading my message.” 

Journalist Joey Watson inve…

In 2019, a 28-year-old Australian terrorist live-streamed himself murdering 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand, sending shockwaves around the world. It was the deadliest act of righ…

On March 15 2019 a gunman opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch, killing 51 people. Officially, he acted alone. But what if that wasn’t the full story?

In Secrets We Keep: Lone Actor, journalist…

How is international commercial surrogacy being sold to foreign intended parents? 

Amelia sends Senior Producer Claudianna Blanco to Colombia to find out. Claudianna talks to experts, industry inside…

Surrogacy is the pointy end of the fertility industry – the last resort for conceiving babies that are genetically linked to their parents. In Australia, the only legal option for surrogacy is via so…

You’ve heard the mistakes the fertility industry has made – so it’s no surprise some people are offering another option. 

In this episode, Amelia Oberhardt dives into the ‘known donor’ movement, of m…

Systemic secrecy and loose record-keeping in the early days of IVF is coming to light, and it's clear that some sperm donors were abusing the system. 

In this episode, Amelia hears from adult donor-c…

In the early 2000s, the advent of DNA test kits opens the Pandora’s Box of conception secrets. As the identities of many previously anonymous sperm donors are suddenly revealed, their biological chil…

An intriguing email propels journalist Amelia Oberhardt to investigate the fertility industry in Australia, its history and methods, and the outcomes for the children born during the early days of IV…