Secrets We Keep

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:

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

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

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

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