Fool Me Twice

In episode 25, Steve Van Aperen and Bradford Oakes explore lies, deception and the relationship between doctors and patients, joined by Dr Nicole Yap , an oncoplastic surgeon specialising in breast cancer surgery and reconstruction. The episode begins with the hosts swapping travel and airport stories, from Brad’s Tasmania gig near Devonport to Steve’s shock at Sydney Airport coffee prices. Their...

Episode 24 sees Brad Oakes and Steve Van Aperen examine political lying, deception and public trust, asking how governments can mislead without always stating an obvious falsehood. They distinguish between direct lies, evasive answers, omissions and “obfuscation”—making an issue deliberately unclear or confusing. The pair also consider whether some lies can be protective or justified, such as with...

Episode 23 of Fool Me Twice features hosts Bradford Oakes and Steve van Aperen in conversation with Rob Blezard, a Victoria Police detective with a 35-year career. Blezard outlines his path from joining the force in 1988 to working ten years in uniform at city, Kew, Heidelberg and Brunswick stations. Brunswick, he explains, was an especially formative posting: busy shifts, experienced sergeants an...

This final episode wraps up the podcast’s “anatomy of a murder” storyline (hear episode 1 , episode 2 and episode 3 ) by moving from the crime scene into offender profiling, suspect analysis and a likely investigative conclusion. Steve Van Aperen, drawing on his policing experience and his work on The Hunters , joins Bradford Oakes for a conversation that balances dark subject matter with their us...

In Episode 21 of Fool Me Twice , Bradford Oakes and Steve Van Aperen return to their ongoing “anatomy of a murder” scenario, using a fictional targeted shooting in a Melbourne laneway to explain how homicide investigations really unfold. They begin by recapping listener questions from the previous episode, including the old detective advice to keep your hands in your pockets at a crime scene. Stev...

In this episode of Fool Me Twice , Brad Oakes and Steve Van Aperen return to their “anatomy of a murder” exercise, using a fictional Collingwood laneway shooting to unpack how real homicide investigators think. Steve begins by answering listener questions from the previous episode, including why an old detective once told him to keep his hands in his pockets at a crime scene. His explanation centr...

In this bonus episode of Fool Me Twice , host Steve Van Aperen swaps the usual format for a behind-the-glass conversation with Morry Morgan, the show’s producer. With co-host Bradford Oakes away, Steve and Morry use the opportunity to revisit how the podcast began, how they first met, and the strange chain of events that eventually led to Fool Me Twice . Steve traces his journey from detective wor...

Episode 19 of Fool Me Twice features Bradford Oakes and Steve Van Aperen exploring what they call “the anatomy of a murder”, a detailed walkthrough of how detectives and forensic investigators approach a homicide scene. The episode combines serious crime analysis with humour and storytelling, giving listeners an insight into investigative thinking and police procedure. Bradford Oakes opens the dis...

In this episode of Fool Me Twice , the conversation centres on the Mandela Effect and the unreliability of memory. Stephen and Bradford explore how people can confidently remember events, sayings and details that are completely incorrect, and why memory can be influenced by suggestion, repetition and personal interpretation. The discussion begins with some listener clarifications from previous epi...

In Episode 17 of Fool Me Twice , hosts Bradford Oakes and Steve Van Aperen explore one of the most provocative and complex topics in modern relationships, cheating, deception, and the psychology that drives it. The episode opens with the usual light-hearted banter between the hosts before quickly shifting into a deeper and more confronting conversation about infidelity. Bradford shares a personal...

In Episode 16 of Fool Me Twice , Bradford Oakes and Steve return, now recording from their newly finished podcast studio in South Melbourne, for a wide ranging and engaging discussion on deception, perception, and human behaviour. The episode opens with Steve reflecting on his recent return trip from China, where a mix of golf, alcohol, and a brief speaking engagement left him both rejuvenated and...

In Episode 15 of Fool Me Twice , hosts Bradford Oakes and Steve Van Aperen unpack the fascinating and often flawed world of alibis. Blending true crime with behavioural analysis, they explore how people attempt to construct believable cover stories, and more importantly, how those stories unravel under scrutiny. Steve breaks down the true definition of an alibi, proof you were elsewhere when a cri...

In Episode 14 of Fool Me Twice , Bradford Oakes and Steve Van Aperen explore deception in everyday situations, beginning with a call from a listener named Jules, who asks how to identify dodgy salespeople. Her question sparks a practical discussion on recognising misleading behaviour in sales. The hosts explain that while many salespeople are honest, the sales process often involves exaggeration o...

Episode 13 of Fool Me Twice, hosted by Brad Oakes and Steve Van Aperen, explores the theme of deception, with a strong focus on truth in advertising, corporate accountability, and how misleading information operates in everyday life. The episode blends humour, personal anecdotes, and detailed explanations to unpack how lies, defined as deliberate, factually incorrect statements intended to mislead...

Episode 12 of the Fool Me Twice podcast features hosts Bradford Oakes and Steve Van Aperen discussing deception in politics, focusing on how politicians lie, why they do it, and how those lies shape public perception. The conversation opens with lighthearted banter about accents and impersonations before shifting to the central topic: the prevalence of lying in politics. Steve defines a lie as "kn...

Episode 11 of Fool Me Twice with Brad Oakes and Steve Van Aperen explores the growing problem of online dating scams and the psychology behind how scammers manipulate people into giving away money. The conversation focuses on deception, catfishing, love bombing, and the playbook commonly used by fraudsters to exploit loneliness and trust. The episode opens with some light conversation during Grand...

In Episode 10 of Fool Me Twice , Steve Van Aperen and Bradford Oakes dive headfirst into the murky worlds of art fraud, AI deception, political deflection, and undercover policing—unpacking how lies work, why they succeed, and what ultimately exposes them. The episode opens with a light-hearted exchange about names, identity, and misdirection, setting the tone for a deeper conversation about how p...

Episode 9 of Fool Me Twice dives deep into the many shades of deceit in sport, with Brad Oakes and Steve Van Aperen exploring how dishonesty can range from subtle strategy to outright corruption. The episode opens with a broader discussion about lying, including how deception is often embedded in everyday life and even professional roles. From there, the conversation shifts into the sporting arena...

In episode 8 of the Fool Me Twice Podcast, comedian Brad Oakes is joined by former police detective Steve Van Aperen for an in depth discussion on lying deception memory and investigative interviewing. The episode examines how professionals distinguish between deliberate dishonesty and genuine human error and why this distinction matters. Steve Van Aperen defines a lie as the intentional act of mi...

Episode 7 of the Fool Me Twice podcast dives deeply into the nature of lying, deception, and the psychology behind why people mislead others, sometimes deliberately, sometimes by omission, and often for self preservation. The episode opens with light hearted banter between hosts Brad and Steve, touching on everyday complaints, injuries, and humour around masculinity, before quickly shifting into t...

Episode 6 of Fool Me Twice explores deception in its many everyday and extreme forms, blending humour, criminology and behavioural science. The conversation opens with a lighthearted discussion about lying what it is, how common it is and how easily people rationalise small deceptions. This theme quickly shifts to modern petty crime, particularly self serve supermarket checkouts, where customers m...

Episode 5 of Fool Me Twice centres on one of Australia’s most infamous criminals, Ivan Milat , using his case to explore how lies, fear, and behavioural deception operate in serious crime. Rather than focusing on sensationalism, the episode examines the mechanics of deception surrounding a serial offender and the long lasting consequences those lies can have on victims, families, and the justice s...

Episode 4 of Fool Me Twice dives deep into the messy, uncomfortable, and often humorous reality of lies, particularly in selling. Steve and Brad begin by defining a lie as a deliberate attempt to mislead someone while knowing the truth, that lying is often professionally useful. From there, the conversation moves fluidly between comedy, psychology, ethics, and lived experience. A major focus of th...

In this episode of Fool Me Twice, Bradford and Steve take listeners inside the mechanics of lying and explain how easily confidence and charm can mislead us. Steve defines a lie as a deliberate attempt to mislead while knowing the truth, then challenges many popular beliefs about how liars behave. He explains that nervousness, lack of eye contact, or awkward pauses rarely signal deception on their...

In Episode 2 of Fool Me Twice, the conversation moves beyond why people lie and into something far more revealing. What do liars actually do differently from people telling the truth? The episode opens with a deceptively simple question most of us ask every day. How are you? What appears to be a polite greeting is often an invitation to edit reality rather than reveal it. Social convention encoura...