Brought to you by LiSTNR’s team of award-winning journalists, Secrets We Keep: Uncovered takes you inside some of the most important investigations of our time, with our expanding network of journalists and sources from around Australia and beyond. 

Every week, we pull back the curtain on the stories powerful people hoped would stay buried, by speaking directly to those who lived and breathed them.  

The whistleblower who risked everything.

The victim who refused to stay silent.

The journalist who just wouldn’t let it go. 

Stories of power, secrecy, and the people who dared challenge both.  

Secrets We Keep: Uncovered is an original LiSTNR podcast. 

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Darko methodically prepares an escape plan, taking months to prepare. As Darko readies himself physically, mentally and logistically, he collects the tools he needs to breakout: bolt cutters, a hack saw blade and new running shoes. After his daring escape, the cops give chase, but Darko miraculously evades them at every turn. Darko returns to Sydney’s Northern Beaches, where he assumes a new identity: “Dougie”, the easy-going handyman. 

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Darko’s sent to some of Australia’s most notorious prisons, where he acquaints himself with several underworld figures. Darko’s making the most of his time behind bars when he’s told that once his sentence is complete, he will be deported back to Yugoslavia, then in the midst of a brutal civil war. Going back would’ve meant having to fight in the conflict, so Darko decides to escape and starts to devise a plan. 

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Darko’s killing it. He uses the proceeds of a successful marijuana crop to buy a new bike, gold, opals and blue-chip shares. A single, fateful mistake gets him discovered by the police, but Darko manages a near escape. Now a fugitive, Darko picks up work on a banana plantation in Coffs Harbour, where his workmates realise there’s more to Darko than meets the eye. After a few months undetected, Darko’s luck runs out. 

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After visiting Australia in the 1980s, Darko returns home to Yugoslavia but senses trouble coming. He sees the rise of nationalism and early signs of conflict looming. Darko heads back to the safety of Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Enamoured by the laid-back lifestyle, Darko learns to grow and sell weed. He plans to buy his dream house in Palm Beach but gets greedy. This fit, young, former communist commissar, with a taste for Russian literature decides to stay in Australia any way he can.  

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It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon in 2021, when Darko Desic arrives, unannounced, at a police station, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. He claims to have escaped from prison 30 years before and now wants to hand himself in. The police are confused. There’s no record of him on their files. The officers eventually arrest him. When news emerges of Darko’s 30 years on the run, the world is amazed, and baffled. How did he escape? How did he evade capture for so long, living under the noses of the police? And who the hell is Darko Desic? Journalist Tim Elliott tracks Darko down and sits down with him for a tell-all interview.  

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At just 13 years old, Thomas Carrick was placed under covert surveillance by the Australian Federal Police. Believing he was speaking to ISIS operatives online, Thomas was in fact engaging with undercover officers, conversations that would eventually see him charged with terrorism offences.

The AFP knew Thomas lived with autism and an intellectual disability. Still, they pursued him in a way a judge later described as ‘grooming’ him for terrorism.

So, was Thomas ever a real threat? Or just a vulnerable boy pulled into a fantasy world by those meant to protect him?

In this episode, counter-terrorism expert Peta Lowe - who also features in Secrets We Keep: Lone Actor - unpacks the Carrick case and what it reveals about the growing risk of youth radicalisation in Australia.

To hear more content like this, listen to Crime Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. 

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In Jailbreak, we hear the extraordinary story of a fugitive who lived for 30 years on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. The reclusive Darko Desic (prolific weed grower, prison escapee and martial arts expert) tells his story for the first time; a story of resilience and discipline.  

In following Darko’s remarkable journey, Jailbreak explores eternal truths about free will and fate, crime and punishment, and the search for meaning. 

Jailbreak is an original podcast from LiSTNR.  

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Why did Joey decide to use the terrorist's name? Where are far-right extremist communities gathering now? 

In this bonus Q&A episode, Joey answers your questions about making the Lone Actor podcast.

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Journalist and host of the Weekend Briefing Antointette Lattouf sits down with Joey Watson to go beyond the investigation. Find out how Joey came to the story, and how his family history influences his work. 

Have a question for Joey? Email [email protected].

You can hear more from Antointette every Saturday on the Weekend Briefing. 

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