69 episodes

Take a journey into the dark depths of the Australian criminal underworld with Australia’s most formidable crime reporter - John Silvester.

Naked City SMH & The Age

    • True Crime
    • 4.6 • 35 Ratings

Take a journey into the dark depths of the Australian criminal underworld with Australia’s most formidable crime reporter - John Silvester.

    73 seconds to a tragic death

    73 seconds to a tragic death

    Tyler Cassidy was a troubled kid. Police officers Colin Dods and Richie Blundell were working an afternoon shift in the Northcote divisional van. Their lives would collide on a balmy summer evening in late 2008 at a Northcote skate park.

    A distraught Cassidy, 15, was in no mood to negotiate with the officers. He refused to drop two knives and kept approaching Dods. He was shot six times, and died at the scene.

    The police involved lived for years with allegations that it was their fault. Vindicated in the Coroners Court of Victoria, they tell John Silvester their story.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 25 min
    The cyber cop chasing the crypto criminals

    The cyber cop chasing the crypto criminals

    Very few people have heard of Detective Sergeant Dion Achtypis - but there may well be no more important investigator in Australia.

    You won’t see him holding a press conference at a murder scene or commanding a squad of detectives. And he doesn’t use a sledgehammer during raids - he gains access in a much more subtle way. He is part of a three-person team working in the present while exploring the future.

    Cyber cop Dion Achtypis sits down with John Silvester to discuss Bitcoin, international crime syndicates and the Underbelly series.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 21 min
    Belinda's partner was beyond help. Now, he helps her save strangers

    Belinda's partner was beyond help. Now, he helps her save strangers

    Belinda Bozykowski was never a police officer. But her partner, Laurie Fox, was.

    On the last day of 2012, Fox took his own life, leaving her with two young sons, a broken heart and a million questions.

    Belinda is as brave as any Valour Award winner. After her partner's death, she completed her midwifery course, cared for their boys, and dedicated a great part of her life to the mental health of first responders.

    It is perhaps the only way she could make sense of something so indescribable.

    Between laughter and tears, Belinda shares her story with John Silvester.

    If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline 13 11 14, Mensline 1300 789 978 or visit www.beyondblue.org.au

    Click on the links to subscribe https://subscribe.theage.com.au or https://subscribe.smh.com.au

     
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 37 min
    Bread, water and the Liquorice Mile: Inside Pentridge Prison

    Bread, water and the Liquorice Mile: Inside Pentridge Prison

    Prodigious armed robber and expert escaper John Killick escaped custody in three states, once in a helicopter hijacked by his girlfriend. 

    Most of the police and prison officers who chased or caged him over more than 50 years are long gone, while John has written five books.

    But the brutality of Pentridge has stayed with him.

    Killick takes host John Silvester inside the giant bluestone walls that hid callous brutality, resulting in angry men being released back into the community. 

    Click on the links to subscribe https://subscribe.theage.com.au or https://subscribe.smh.com.au

    If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline 13 11 14, Mensline 1300 789 978, or the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 27 min
    Kaera was shot in cold blood on a city street, and we blamed her

    Kaera was shot in cold blood on a city street, and we blamed her

    It was early on Monday, June 18, 2007, just as city workers were arriving at their jobs that Hells Angel Christopher Wayne Hudson finally imploded. 

    First he beat and kicked a woman in a strip club before dragging her along King Street. 

    Then he saw his girlfriend, Kaera Douglas, who had just arrived on Hudson's orders to drive him home. He greeted her saying: "Today is the day you're going to die."

    This is a story of unspeakable family violence, the courage of strangers, and it also shines a light on us: and what we see is not that pretty at all. 

    Click on the links to subscribe https://subscribe.theage.com.au or https://subscribe.smh.com.au

    If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline 13 11 14, Mensline 1300 789 978, or the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 26 min
    Kid Currie: Life and death in the Special Operations Group

    Kid Currie: Life and death in the Special Operations Group

    As a policeman, Tony “Kid” Currie lived on the edge. In the SOG he shot and killed one suspect and in a second incident left one with life-altering injuries. Some thought he was a loose cannon and were happy when he resigned.

    Tony and his wife Michelle take us through the shootings and his career in a heartwarming and poignant discussion on living on the cutting edge of law enforcement, life after policing and giving back.

    For years now, they have invested their money, time and passion to present seminars, conferences and small gatherings for cops and their partners designed to turn victims into survivors.Additional recordings from Terry Carlyon and ABC.Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.

    Click on the links to subscribe https://subscribe.theage.com.au or https://subscribe.smh.com.au
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 21 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
35 Ratings

35 Ratings

Bolloncreek ,

Great podcast

Listening from the States but enjoyable to hear the stories behind the headlines from Oz, empathy for both sides of the thin blue lines when appropriate lends authenticity balanced by calling out the thugs. More series please …

skyldpod ,

Good start, then falls flat

First season is great, but subsequent content is droll at best.

ranko1974 ,

Cracking Podcast

One of my favourite Aussie crime journos doing what is now one of my favourite podcasts! Would love to hear an episode of war stories from Skull Murphy…like the time he allegedly pushed a crim down the stairs whilst locked in a gym locker 👀

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