Secrets We Keep

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 right-wing extremist violence committed by an Australian.   As journalist Joey Watson speaks with survivors and researchers, he begins to uncover a more complex story. What, or who, led the terro...

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 Joey Watson digs into the digital underworld that shaped Brenton Tarrant — a 28-year-old Australian radicalised online and armed with a global ideology. Joey retraces the steps of the ter...

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 insiders and surrogates to uncover the international daisy chain of brokers and middlemen.   All episodes of By Any Means are available exclusively on the LiSTNR app. If you want to get in tou...

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 someone offering to carry a baby altruistically.   Who are these women who are happy to carry a baby for a stranger? Amelia sends Senior Producer Claudianna Blanco to Tasmania for the Sur...

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 men offering their sperm on Facebook.   Is it better than using sperm sourced through a fertility clinic? And is an unregulated environment of sperm donation...

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-conceived people whose lives have been altered because of secrecy and negligence. From people finding out they have an unknown large number of siblings, to inherited health conditions, and the angu...

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 children’s lives are upended upon learning the truth about how they’d been conceived.  Amelia speaks to Darren, a medical student who’d donated his sperm anonymously in the 198...

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 IVF – when secrecy around conception and anonymous sperm donation was the norm.   Amelia’s starting point is her best friend’s mother – one of the first women to go thro...

Egg donation, sperm donation and surrogacy – assisted reproduction technologies have made it easier than ever to have a baby but created an ethical and identity minefield. From finding sperm on Facebook, to finding out you might have 700 siblings, Secrets We Keep: By Any Means examines the multibillion-dollar fertility industry that fills wombs. Journalist Amelia Oberhardt speaks with parent...

Claire discovers how the Australian Federal Police are embracing FIGG, but with no regulation to safeguard against the privacy concerns which come with increased genetic surveillance. And in the final episode of Should I Spit?, the true market value of DNA databases is revealed and we find out how the personal information amassed by companies like Ancestry is being facilitated by Australia’s...

Claire meets the scientist responsible for the original DNA family history project Michael’s father donated to. He’s a well-known archaeo-geneticist who was attempting to build a DNA family tree of the whole world, with the hope it would bring world peace. This ambitious plan was funded by a Mormon billionaire. A celebrity genetic detective takes on the Angie Dodge case and finds that...

Claire learns the details about the original study which took the DNA samples from Michael’s father; from its religious origins to how the data eventually became part of Ancestry’s database. The police have another investigative lead to Angie’s killer, an image created purely from the DNA taken from the crime scene. Detectives show it to Michael’s family, convinced the kill...

Although Michael is no longer a murder suspect, his male cousins are scrutinised. The Idaho Falls police are trialing a new technology which predicts someone’s physical appearance based on DNA samples. Michael’s sceptical about the science and fears the police are searching deeper in his family to find Angie’s killer. Episode 6 of Should I Spit?  reveals forensic genetic gen...

A man called Chris Tapp has been in prison for 20 years for the death of Angie, but his DNA was never found at the crime scene. For Angie’s mother, Carol it doesn’t make sense, and she goes from initially calling for this man’s execution to being his greatest advocate. Carol then pushes the police to use a new technique of forensic genealogy. However, fears this new technique thr...

Claire attends RootsTech, the world’s largest family history conference to learn why genealogy is such a popular hobby. There, Claire learns how the LDS Church and Ancestry have amassed billions of records worldwide and turned the mapping of family trees into a multi-billion dollar industry.  Meanwhile, Michael continues to investigate how he’s been caught up in the Angie Dodge in...

DNA is the blueprint for life. While police call it the ‘gold standard’ for forensic identification, transnational corporations see dollar signs. Investigative journalist Claire Aird brings the untold story of how your DNA data can land you in a murder investigation, and how this same data is amassed for power and profit. Should I Spit? is the origin story of the multibillion dollar co...

In this episode of Should I spit? , Claire discovers how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is inextricably linked with the history of genetics and genealogy, through the church’s doctrines and rituals. Michael is shocked to learn that he was identified through a blood sample his father donated at his local church.  Michael’s DNA doesn’t match and is cleared by...

Claire travels to Salt Lake City to meet Michael Usry, a Mississippi man who was implicated in the brutal murder of Idaho Falls teen Angie Dodge years earlier. The police suspect Michael because his name, appearance and age match the confession of a man in jail, believed to be his accomplice. Michael is also a horror filmmaker whose dark film features similarities to Angie’s murder. In episo...

While working on a cybersecurity podcast, journalist Claire Aird reads a startling statistic: Ninety per cent of people with European ancestry in the US are identifiable because of DNA data their relatives have uploaded to a family history database. Claire’s curiosity soon becomes an investigation into how our DNA is being used for power and profit. In this episode of Should I Spit?, Claire...

Richard gives an update on Todd Hubers plea hearing and shares two more important stories from women who grew up in the Revival Church movement.   Do you know more? Get in touch secretswekeep@sca.com.au   Lifeline 13 11 14; 1800 Respect 1800 737 732  Looking for what to listen to next? Try Crime In Focus: Killer Charm , the story of how a grandmother from suburban Queensland orchest...

Someone Richard wasn’t sure would ever talk to him is ready to speak. The church is rocked by the news of Pastor Noel’s death, and questions remain about whether new leadership will create change, or continue with the status quo. Richard returns to ex-members of the GRC, who have found support in each other and their families after the isolation of leaving the church. They’ve discovered the antido...

Rumours abound of how Pastor Noel Hollins has used his finances to erase controversies in his church. Richard Baker’s investigation into how the Geelong Revival Centre maintains a tax-free charity status and where it uses its funds takes him to war-torn Sierra Leone. And former GRC Pastor Steve Mills finally goes head to head with Noel Hollins when he tries to protect members of the church. The in...

In the Geelong Revival Centre, men are responsible for the entire family’s salvation. If the father does something wrong, his wife and children are at risk of going to hell. We hear from men who have defied the church’s expectations, despite the threat of physical punishment in this life,and eternal punishment in the next. But those who comply also pay a terrible price for their obedience. And Ric...

As a pastor in the church, Steve Mills watched on horrified as church members shunned or delayed medical care because of Pastor Noel Hollins relentless attacks on science and medicine. When someone is diagnosed with an illness, they are told it is only through prayer—not conventional medicine—that they will be saved. And when people die of treatable illnesses, those left grieving are t...

The Geelong Revival Centre wants the women in its church to be straight out of Proverbs 31 in the Bible: virtuous, god-fearing, and dedicating her life to her husband and family— and to expect very little in return. Unmarried women can’t approach men to date, and they can’t marry without the Pastor’s permission. Those who are seen to fail as virtuous women find themselves interrogated and watched...