The seven-episode series Unravel: Juanita tackles one of Australia's most chilling and unsolved true crime stories. In the early '70s, Sydney's Kings Cross was a hotbed of controversy around corruption and high-rise development, and the heart of Australia's criminal underground. Juanita Nielsen moved to Kings Cross where she published a local newspaper and became a vocal opponent in the fight to preserve heritage terraces and affordable housing in the area she loved. Did her activism cost her her life? Did she know too much? Who might have wanted her out of the way? And, after more than four decades, why doesn't her family have answers? UNRAVEL TRUE CRIME is an anthology podcast where, each season, some of Australia's best journalists investigate unsolved crimes.
PRESENTS | Great Aussie Cons
While you're waiting on the next season of Unravel, why not check out this series on Great Aussie Cons made by our colleagues over at The History Listen?Australian history is littered with con artists, grifters and swindlers.Join renowned Australian actor Richard Roxburgh as he tells the stories of these brazen and downright deviant identities who used their charm and smarts to spy, extort and counterfeit.How did they get away with it?Find out by looking for The History Listen on the ABC Listen app.
6/11/2024 • 1 minute, 45 seconds
PRESENTS | Mushroom Case Daily
Follow the case involving accused triple murderer, Erin Patterson, and an allegedly poisonous mushroom lunch. Once the proceedings begin, the Mushroom Case Daily podcast will bring you all the key updates from court. If and when the case proceeds to a full trial, we'll cover it daily.Press 'Follow' on Mushroom Case Daily now to be the first to hear updates from the case.
3/21/2024 • 2 minutes, 30 seconds
INTRODUCING — Firebomb
Chinese restaurants are being firebombed in the dead of night. The police arson squad is racing against the clock to stop the next attack. Along the way, there are buried weapons, secret informers, punks, ninjas, and political manoeuvres. As the rest of Australia celebrates the nation's bicentenary, a campaign of terror is getting underway in Perth. Now, in this deeply personal season of Unravel True Crime, Crispian Chan investigates what really happened after his family's restaurant went up in flames
7/31/2023 • 3 minutes, 40 seconds
PRESENTS – Believe in Magic
Unravel presents the new BBC Studios series, Believe in Magic. This series tells the story of 16-year-old Megan Bhari who set up a charity called Believe in Magic, which gained the backing of global celebrities One Direction. The charity granted wishes to seriously ill children.
But when her supporters were told that Megan herself had a brain tumour, and needed money for treatments abroad, a small group of parents doubted the claims. Further investigations led by Jamie Bartlett (The Missing Cryptoqueen) and producer Ruth Mayer uncover a disturbing story happening behind closed doors.
Search for the podcast and listen to all seven episodes now.
6/22/2023 • 3 minutes, 12 seconds
PRESENTS – Saving The Franklin
Australia's biggest-ever environmental battle was over a wild river in a remote part of Tasmania: the Franklin. Protesters flooded in from all over Australia to stop the Franklin River from being dammed for hydropower.
They stood in front of bulldozers and were jailed for it. But for lots of locals, the dam represented a job opportunity at a time of economic crisis. This fight tore apart communities and captured the attention of the nation.
Today, more people are concerned about the planet than ever before…so in a fight for the environment, this new season of the ABC's Dig podcast investigates: What does it take to win? Search for Saving The Franklin now or find it in the ABC listen app to hear the rest of the series.
4/30/2023 • 3 minutes
PRESENTS – Saving The Franklin
Australia's biggest-ever environmental battle was over a wild river in a remote part of Tasmania: the Franklin. Protesters flooded in from all over Australia to stop the Franklin River from being dammed for hydropower.
They stood in front of bulldozers and were jailed for it. But for lots of locals, the dam represented a job opportunity at a time of economic crisis. This fight tore apart communities and captured the attention of the nation.
Today, more people are concerned about the planet than ever before…so in a fight for the environment, this new season of the ABC's Dig podcast investigates: What does it take to win? Search for Saving The Franklin now or find it in the ABC listen app to hear the rest of the series.
4/30/2023 • 3 minutes
S4 07 | The Morning After
After the confrontation in the supermarket carpark, Ollie is left feeling confused — has he been charmed just like everyone else in this story? Will Lezlie fail to keep her promises to Ollie or leave him and his family hanging?
9/2/2019 • 23 minutes, 35 seconds
S4 06 | Stakeout
Ollie and Simon have criss-crossed California to find themselves parked in a supermarket car park staking out where Lezlie supposedly works. They may only have one shot to talk to her and finally get some answers. It doesn't go the way Ollie imagined.
9/2/2019 • 41 minutes, 48 seconds
S4 05 | Black Widow
Ollie and his brother Simon follow the trail of broken dreams and failed restaurants to Paso Robles, California. It's apparent Lezlie's exploits didn't stop when she left New Zealand. Ollie discovers his former sister-in-law had manufactured an image of a successful restaurateur in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe and New Zealand. Her exotic CV and exciting stories pull a new family into her web — with disastrous consequences.
9/2/2019 • 44 minutes, 29 seconds
S4 04 | Charmed
Following the trail to Lezlie Manukian, Ollie and his other brother Simon end up in California. With a muscle car and loud Hawaiian shirts, the brothers look every bit like '80s TV detectives as they head off on their very first stakeout. But, when the trail runs cold, they decide to chase down a lead at Lezlie's first restaurant in the resort town of Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile, Lezlie's emails become stranger than fiction.
9/2/2019 • 40 minutes, 54 seconds
S4 03 | The Coconut Wireless
Lezlie Manukian's stories about her time in Hawaii usually ended with murderous local mobsters running her off the island. So, to track down his brother Greg's ex-wife, Ollie Wards needs to understand her past. What really happened according to "the coconut wireless"?
9/2/2019 • 41 minutes, 22 seconds
S4 02 | The Great Houdini
Ollie and Greg's dad, David Wards, picks through the clues left behind by Greg's American wife, Lezlie. He realises that the entire family may have been victims of an elaborate con job. David is obsessed with finding answers, launching his own investigations and even becoming a 60-something computer hacker.
9/2/2019 • 43 minutes, 39 seconds
S4 01 | The Girl With The Dragonfly Tattoo
When Ollie Wards' brother Greg marries his American dream girl in New Zealand and they go into business together, it seems like a perfect start to a new life. But only a few months later, Greg is heartbroken, the family home is gone — and so is Lezlie.
9/2/2019 • 48 minutes, 28 seconds
INTRODUCING — Snowball
Ollie Wards' family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. As he embarks on a quest to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now, he opens the door on a mystery that spans decades and across continents.
8/28/2019 • 4 minutes, 26 seconds
BONUS — Seeing Is Believing
Host Gina McKeon interviews film-maker Helen Barrow about her coverage of Belinda Peisley’s inquest and the behind-the-scenes moments that we can’t hear in the audio.
Helen’s one-hour tv documentary WHO KILLED BELINDA PEISLEY? is available on the streaming platform ABC iView. Download the app or visit the website: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/who-killed-belinda-peisley
3/11/2019 • 9 minutes
S3 05 | The Visitor
Some of the most explosive moments in Belinda Peisley’s inquest happen between lawyer Phil Strickland and the man we’re calling Luke. Luke admits to using heroin and to staying on Belinda’s floor from time to time, like a lot of their crowd in Katoomba at the time. He’s got a violent past and a long rap sheet, but denies being a standover man or ever demanding money from Belinda. In the coroner’s court, Luke is grilled about an alleged conversation he had in jail with a fellow prisoner who remembers Luke bragging about smashing Belinda’s head with a rock. Luke denies all these accusations.
3/4/2019 • 39 minutes, 11 seconds
S3 04 | The Best Friend's Boyfriend
Jeremy Ward Douglas was going out with Belinda Peisley’s best friend, Heidi Wailes, at the time Belinda disappeared. The inquest into her death heard Jeremy had a reputation around town as a violent and controlling guy with a short temper who would hang around Belinda’s house, often against her wishes. Heidi says that, after Belinda disappeared, she remembers Jeremy behaving like he knew she wasn’t coming back. The court hears stories from others of Jeremy’s rage and that he allegedly had ideas about where Belinda’s body might be.
2/25/2019 • 27 minutes, 51 seconds
S3 03 | The Best Friend
Heidi Wailes was close to Belinda and says she looked out for Belinda like an older sister would. But a break-in at Belinda’s house just days before she disappeared suggests Heidi might not have always been the friend she claimed to be. Many, including the coroner at Belinda’s inquest, believe Heidi may know more about what happened to Belinda than she is revealing. As pressure mounts in the courtroom, cracks begin to show. We also hear from another person in Belinda’s friendship circle, Wanda Loynds (aka "Storm") who admits to punching Belinda on the last day she was seen alive.
2/18/2019 • 38 minutes, 50 seconds
S3 02 | The Boyfriend
We go inside the courtroom at Belinda Peisley's inquest to hear firsthand the arguments, phone taps and witness testimony. Jason*, Belinda's boyfriend at the time, says he met up with her on the night she disappeared. They had an argument at her house and he left. It's the last time he ever saw her. Jason is from a footy family in the Mountains and his father John* wasn't impressed his son was going out with someone from the so-called 'junkie' crowd.
Hear the inquest testimony from Jason and his father as they answer questions about Belinda's disappearance.
*We've changed their names for legal reasons.
2/11/2019 • 38 minutes, 26 seconds
S3 01 | Belinda
Belinda Peisley's life descended into chaos after her 18th birthday when she received a big inheritance and bought her own place in Katoomba. Her family hoped the house would set her up for life but, instead, her new address became a magnet for a world of drugs and crowd of people who’d turn up at all hours.
Six months later, Belinda disappeared. In the months before she vanished, Belinda told her family she was scared — even that she wanted to change her identity and leave town — but they couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt her.
Join reporter Gina McKeon as she travels to Katoomba to begin to understand what happened to Belinda Peisley.
2/4/2019 • 31 minutes, 55 seconds
INTRODUCING — Last Seen Katoomba
19-year-old Belinda Peisley vanished after she left a Blue Mountains hospital on September 26, 1998. The single mum-of-two disappeared within a year of inheriting a significant sum of money from a relative and buying a house in Katoomba.
1/28/2019 • 3 minutes
S2 07 | Christmas Tree Hill
In the Season 2 finale, Ruby and Neil get the lead they have hoped for — a tip-off from an old law enforcement source about a potential burial site for Trudie Adams.
11/12/2018 • 33 minutes, 25 seconds
S2 06 | The Unholy Relationship
Investigating the link between a career criminal, Trudie ... and a corrupt cop.
11/5/2018 • 38 minutes, 50 seconds
S2 05 | The Big Bad Wolf
Hear the voice of criminal monster, Neville Tween.
10/29/2018 • 33 minutes, 50 seconds
S2 04 | The Green Kombi Van
A completely new theory on what happened to Trudie Adams
10/22/2018 • 35 minutes, 59 seconds
S2 03 | The Hunting Ground
A chilling visit to bushland where abducted hitch-hikers are taken.
10/15/2018 • 36 minutes, 39 seconds
S2 02 | Suspicious Minds
Police begin looking for a motive.
10/8/2018 • 31 minutes, 39 seconds
S2 01 | Barrenjoey Road
A heart breaking search for the hitch-hike girl.
10/8/2018 • 26 minutes, 10 seconds
INTRODUCING — Barrenjoey Road
The story of Barrenjoey Road explores the disappearance of Trudie Adams in 1978.
10/1/2018 • 3 minutes, 50 seconds
S1 Update | More Blood On The Tracks
Allan Clarke investigates other mysterious deaths on the train tracks in regional NSW. To listen to his latest investigation, search for the Background Briefing podcast or listen online: ab.co/19MsLTc
9/27/2018 • 1 minute, 33 seconds
S1 07 | Face To Face
Allan is finally there, in front of someone who might shed light on Mark's last night.
7/8/2018 • 30 minutes, 29 seconds
S1 06 | Revelation
The Unravel team cracks the case wide open with new leads and witnesses.
7/1/2018 • 22 minutes, 16 seconds
S1 05 | The Driver
Fresh evidence that Mark wasn’t alone at the tracks.
6/24/2018 • 31 minutes
S1 04 | Whitewash
The family's hopes for an answer at the inquest fade fast.
6/17/2018 • 29 minutes, 39 seconds
S1 03 | The Boxer
Violence erupts as Uncle Duck and the family confront their number one suspect.
6/10/2018 • 28 minutes, 16 seconds
S1 02 | Foul Play
Mark Haines' family challenge the police investigation.
6/3/2018 • 28 minutes, 16 seconds
S1 01 | Blood On The Tracks
Thirty years of mystery surrounds the death of 17-year-old Mark Haines.
5/27/2018 • 27 minutes, 39 seconds
INTRODUCING — Blood On The Tracks
Blood On The Tracks investigates the suspicious death of 17-year-old Mark Haines, whose body was found on the railway line outside Tamworth in January 1988.
