REPLAY: Xanthe's 2025 Top Episode - The Horrors of Human Trafficking Networks

In this special holiday episode, Tim & Xanthe step away from the dark and disturbing and turn to some of the more unusual crime stories of the year - the bizarre, brazen and baffling! They’re putting each other to the test, in a series of games, to examine the stranger side of human behaviour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're a new listener or haven't heard this episode, this is Xanthe's 2025 "must listen" episode from February. While many think human trafficking it’s a distant issue, it’s happening closer than we realise - in neighborhoods, cities, and countries around the world, including Australia. In this episode, Tim and Xanthe speak to Matt Friedman - a leading, internationally renowned global expert on modern slavery and human trafficking. From forced labor to exploitation and coercion, Matt uncovers the dark reality of modern slavery and what we can do to fight it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 14, 2025, Bondi Beach became the site of the deadliest terror attack on Australian soil - 15 innocent people killed when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration. Built from eyewitness testimony and deeply personal stories gathered in the immediate aftermath, this series documents how a peaceful Sunday evening gathering became one of the darkest days in Australia’s  history. Through interviews recorded by reporters across the 2GB and Nine News teams, hear raw, unfiltered accounts from the scene; sharing their stories of fear and confusion, but also of remarkable acts of courage, bravery and humanity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the wake of the deadly Bondi terror attack, Tim and Xanthe are joined by Forensic Psychologist Dr Nathan Brooks - a leading expert in ‘lone actor’ violence and mass casualty attacks. Together, they explore what we know so far and why grounding public understanding in verified facts matter. Dr Brooks cuts through speculation and shares his expertise around offenders, methods and warning signs that can be missed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A young woman murdered, a suspect who vanished overseas and a seven-year pursuit of justice that spanned continents. This episode revisits the killing of 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley - murdered on a quiet Queensland beach in 2018 - and the extraordinary international effort to track down her killer. Tim & Xanthe are joined by Nine News reporter Lily Greer,  who followed the case from Cairns to India. Together, they unpack the international manhunt that culminated in Rajwinder Singh’s recent conviction and life sentence, and exactly what it took to finally bring this case to an end.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1920 Alexander Newland Lee murdered his wife and three of his children. His method? Poison. It would later be uncovered he was the nephew of infamous serial killer Martha Needle - AKA ‘The Richmond Poisoner’.Author Dr Samantha Battams - who has written on both cases - sits down with Tim & Xanthe to share her insight into the disturbing threads linking these two generations of killers and the chilling parallels of their crimes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Around the world disturbing cases have emerged from behind the walls of hospitals and aged care homes of nurses and healthcare workers using their caregiving role as a cover for murder. This episode explores how these killers manipulate trust, vulnerability and medical authority to hide their crimes in plain sight. Tim and Xanthe delve into the darkest side of professions built on compassion, and analyses the disturbing psychology that turns caregivers into killers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have innocent mums and dads been jailed for a crime they never committed? That’s the question at the crux of a major new investigation into Shaken Baby Syndrome. In this episode, investigative journalist and host of the podcast ‘Diagnosing Murder’, Michael Bachelard joins us to dissect the science, flaws and potential miscarriages of justice he’s uncovered. Listen to Diagnosing Murder hereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a crime so merciless it shook even the most seasoned detectives and it all started with one photo. In January 2016, Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru were lured to a unit in south-east Queensland where they were tortured, locked inside a metal toolbox and dumped into a lagoon. In this episode, Tim and Xanthe unpack the motivations behind the so-called 'Toolbox Murders' and how justice finally caught up nearly a decade later.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It took one determined journalist to uncover the shocking truth behind this Australian serial killer. In the 1960s, Perth was gripped by fear as a string of random murders and attacks left police and the public baffled - until the arrest of Eric Edgar Cooke, a seemingly ordinary family man hiding a violent double life. But even after Cooke’s capture, two innocent men remained behind bars for his crimes. In this episode, we’re joined by Walkley Award-winning journalist and author Estelle Blackburn, whose relentless investigation exposed the injustice and changed Australian criminal history forever. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.