In this two-part exclusive, Joey Watson speaks to the parents of “Thomas Carrick” (pseudonym), a young teenager with autism radicalised by covert Australian Federal Police operatives and later charged with terrorism. His charges were dropped by a Victorian court.

For the first time, Thomas’ parents speak publicly about the systemic gaps that allowed a vulnerable boy to be drawn deeper into danger, the devastating moment they learned the state had pursued a criminal case against a child with significant cognitive vulnerabilities, and how a system meant to protect their son instead put him at greater risk.

Their account, alongside the court’s damning findings, that police conduct fell “profoundly short” of acceptable standards, raises questions about policing, oversight, and how a terrorism prevention program turned into an institutional failure.

Right of Reply:

The Secrets We Keep: Uncovered team contacted the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police for comment.  

The AFP declined to answer our questions and instead referred us to previous on-the-record comments made by Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney in 2024 regarding this matter:

• Senate Estimates LINK
• Parliamentary Joint Committee LINK

Victoria Police Response:

“Victoria Police in partnership with community groups and other areas of government agencies delivers dedicated therapeutic early intervention programs which directly engage with and support individuals assessed as being vulnerable to, or holding violent extremist beliefs. Programs involve case management activity which may include connecting individuals with mentors, psychological counselling, and educational or vocational opportunities.

“Victoria Police does not publicly provide specific details of the operations or programs of this nature. This is partly to ensure we maintain the confidentiality needs of all of those involved. The community can be reassured that we remain committed to working with the community and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies to divert those vulnerable to radicalising towards violent extremism to a different path, assist those who are already holding violent extremist beliefs to disengage, and ensure the safety and security of the Victorian public.”

Victoria Police also claimed that to their knowledge, the Imam assigned to the family through their CVE program did not record without the family’s knowledge or consent.

Credits:

• Reporter/Producer/Host: Joey Watson
• Supervising Producer: Claudianna Blanco
• Fact Check: Holly Mitchell
• Sound Design: Matt Nikolic
• Head of Factual: Clair Weaver

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Hailing from a bikie family to becoming a celebrated cop, former NSW police officer and whistleblower Deb Locke revealed the hidden truth behind Roger Rogerson—once praised as a star detective, but ultimately unmasked as one of Australia’s most corrupt and violent police officers.

Deb shares powerful firsthand insights into the culture of intimidation and cover-ups within the NSW Police Force of the 1980s, her own battle to speak out against corruption, the courage required to confront the powerful, and how her evidence helped dismantle a system built on fear, complicity, and silence.

Credits:

• Host/Producer: Joey Watson
• Producer: Holly Mitchell
• Supervising Producer: Claudianna Blanco 
• Sound Design: Matt Nikolic  
• Fact Check and Archive Research: Lee Chan

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An undercover sting on the Spanish party island of Ibiza involving a far-right political leader, a fake Russian oligarch, cocaine and corruption.

This is the inside story of the Ibiza Affair, and how private investigator Julian Hessenthaler made the secret recordings that brought down a government.

Credits:

• Host/Producer: Joey Watson
• Supervising Producer: Claudianna Blanco 
• Sound Design: Matt Nikolic  
• Fact Check: Holly Mitchell

Listen to Secrets we Keep: Lone Actor - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/secrets-we-keep/id1699106866?i=1000716518474

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When Lorraine Long began logging complaints from patients who claimed to be mistreated by doctors, she uncovered one of Australia’s most shocking medical scandals. Her warnings were ignored, her reputation attacked, but her persistence exposed “the Butcher of Bega,” disgraced gynaecologist and obstetrician Graeme Reeves, who was accused of mutilating and assaulting patients.

In this episode, Lorraine reflects on how she blew the whistle, the personal cost of speaking out, and what her story reveals about a medical system that struggled to protect women.

Content Warning: this episode contains descriptions of botched medical procedures and indecent assault.

Guest Host: Tara Cassidy 

Producer: Claudianna Blanco 

Sound Design: Matt Nikolic  

Fact Check: Holly Mitchell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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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.

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.