Crime, Actually

Prison Architect - your chance to enter the world of video games and build your own prison, complete with death chamber!

A massively popular game, how does a cultural phenomenan like this sit alongisde criminology and what we might understand about prisons and prison design.

Alex and Kia are joined by Dr Abbie Hartman, a cultural and public historian specialising in video game history (yes, she's absolutely as cool as she sounds) at Macquarie University.

Have you played it? Would you play it? Shoul you play it?

We know, we know it's been a while!

Blame Kia for having two jobs and Alex for proposing and then the need to plan a wedding and two wedding parties!

But we are back and talking about scams and cons!

Because, if you look around the people you know, it's very likely someone you know has been a victim of a scam or a con.

Things are changing, scammers get smarter and it's hard to know where the next con is going to come from.

Shoutout to some of our favourite scam podcasts:

1. Scamfluencers
2. Scam Factory
3. Scamanda
4. Birth Keepers

And many much more!!

NSW courts have become the first to abolish 'good character' references in sentencing.

Alex's response to this was caution, Kia was optimistic - and that represents community views around this change.

So what is it, who could it benefit and where do we still need to ensure that everyone is getting a fair and equal process through the sentencing process?

Are police forces failing 50% of their community?

Alex recently wrote about this for The Conversation. Inpsired by the clashes between police and protestors in Sydney, but also because there have been reviews and reports and media articles on the problematic cultures we see in the police force without much change.

So what's it going to take to have a police force that keeps their entire population safe?

This is what Kia and Alex take a look at today, focussing on reviews in Australia and around the world.

You can read Alex's Conversation piece here: https://theconversation.com/australias-masculine-policing-culture-is-failing-women-and-children-276176

It was the biggest case in Australia, but also the world in 2025.

The trial of an Australian woman found guilty for three counts of murder and one count of attemtped murder after feeding members of her extended family beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms, a highly toxic fungi.

There were podcasts, journalists, documumentary makers, true crime influencers (whatever the heck that is) and authors in the court room.

Three of them whipped a book out at the end of 2025, The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein.

Kia enhaled this book and couldn't wait to talk about it and Alex had been asked a lot about why we were so into this case as it played out, so we've brought a bit of a review and convo on this case togther.

A little update, or not so little update depending on what happens, to our episode talking about jury trials.

After we hit go on that episode (we don't think the two are linked, but you never know) the UK Government released their proposed changes to trials and jury trials across the UK.

Alex has been following the developments closely and takes us through what's planned, why and what flow on we might see in criminal cases across the globe.

You've no doubt heard about the 'criminal gene'.

It is the basis for so many stories in pop culture - TV, movies and books.

It's the idea that there might be a genetic marker that could allow us to know if someone is more likely to commit crime, especially violent crime, than someone who doesn't have this genetic marker.

So is this a work of fiction or something that actually exists?

It's one of Alex's favourite (it isn't) topics, so buckle in!

Do Aussie youth need a cuddle or to sit in the corner and have a hard think about what they've done?

Young people are in all the headlines in Australia at the moment.

On one hand, the social media ban has started locking under 16's out from a range of platforms. On the other, the states are changing their laws to provide "adult time" for offenders who are under 16, in some cases for kids as low as 10.

So how can we be saying youth are vulnerable and need protecting from social media while also locking up 12 year olds in criminal institutions?

Kia and Alex take a look at these two topics together in this little ep.

Some of Alex's recent pieces on youth crime in Australia.

The Conversation - https://theconversation.com/is-australia-in-a-youth-crime-crisis-heres-what-the-numbers-say-270375

ABC Sunday Extra - https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/youth-crime-crisis-castle-law/106108392

Juries seem to be so hot right now!

You can watch countless TV documentaries and series about juries, there are board games, theatre shows, books, movies, the list goes on!

And at the same time, juries are still very much apart of the court system in Australia. You might have received your call up (Kia is very jealous) and have done your civic duty by spending some time on a jury.

When the world is more connected than ever, social media and a 24/7 news cycle make it hard to avoid news, updates and memes about highprofile jury cases - does the jury system still work and what purpose does it serve?

Please find your seat amoungst your 12 jury members, let's get this trial started.

It was better than any TV series or movie.

In 4 minutes they had the world's attention and took off with millions of dollars of historic jewels.

Kia was transfixed, Alex was still reading the football results.

Let's talk the Louvre heist!