Over 1.3 million Australians download podcasts to their mobile and each year this number is growing. Whether I am going for a walk, driving to uni, cleaning or having a morning coffee I can’t help but browse the podcast charts to find something that piques my interest. It seems everybody and their mum has a new true-crime podcast they are listening to and want to recommend. But there is something about Australian crime podcasts that just ropes me in.
My first experience with Australian true-crime podcasts was the release of The Australian’s “Who the Hell is Hamish?”, a detailed story about a man named Hamish Watson who swindled $7 million dollars from the people around him by being whoever he knew they needed him to be. Unlike watching an episode of 60 minutes or reading a newspaper article, you experience hours with the people involved, get to know them, how they feel and the whole situation. This intimate experience coupled with Australian accents and towns made them feel like my neighbours.
It is this lengthy experience listening to a single show that makes you feel more connected to other people who have listened as well. After listening to ABC’s Unravel True Crime: Snowball I recommended it to a friend, who promptly came back so we could talk about the most shocking/sad/funny parts. We couldn’t believe that parts of the podcast were not straight out of a movie, especially the interesting characters you “meet”. This exchange can exclude those who haven’t listened, as you feel you cannot sum up the hours you have spent listening, learning and understanding those involved, which will only be understood by someone who has listened as well.
While I am in no way an expert of Australian true-crime, when listening extensively to a particular podcast you definitely feel more knowledgeable on the details. When a news show runs an episode on a particular crime story that you have listened to a podcast on, you get the urge to jump in and fill in details that they have left out or explain why certain things occurred. It is easier to then get invested in any updates or reopening of cases, which is another reason why Australian crimes feel more close to home.
The reopening or solving of cases because of a podcast is such a rewarding feeling. Finally being provided with real-world solutions for a story you have been so invested in! A popular podcast by The Australian called “The Teacher’s Pet” created such huge public interest that breakthrough evidence was able to lead to the arrest of Chris Dawson for the murder of his former wife Lynette Dawson. While I used “The Teacher’s Pet” to pass the time when driving to and from uni in my very first semester, it was the same podcast that brought previously silent witnesses forward and created important pieces of evidence that were used to bring justice for a 1982 case. Now this is one of the most download podcasts in Australian history, and is a great example of how such an easily consumable media can be used to spark change.
The action taken after The Teacher’s Pet is more of a best-case scenario when it comes to the public interest and you hope other crimes reach the same conclusion. The Lighthouse documented the unsolved disappearance of Theo Hayze, a backpacker from Brussels in Byron Bay in 2019. When road tripping to Byron Bay earlier this year the podcast seemed like an interesting listen on the way up. It wasn’t until I frequently walked past the club “Cheeky Monkey” were Theo was last seen that I decided to place a pause on my listening. Unlike a news story or article, after hearing his devastated family and friends for hour-long episodes at a time I felt almost connected to their journey. Which is why these podcasts can be used as such an important tool in order to solve cases.
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction and Australian true crime podcasts are proof of this.
Bees and Bells 