In 2023, Malka Leifer was sentenced to 15 years in prison for 18 counts of sexual abuse against Dassi Erlich and her little sister.

Leifer was the sisters' former high school principal, and when whispers of their allegations came to light in 2008, she fled from her home in Melbourne to Israel before any formal complaint could be made. 

It took 70 extradition hearings and 13 years to bring her back to Australia. But finally last year, Dassi was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Leifer was finally going to pay for what she’d done. 

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CREDITS

Guest: Dassi Erlich

You can find out more about her memoir In Bad Faith here.

Host: Gemma Bath

Executive Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producer: Thom Lion

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Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2016, Gypsy Rose Blanchard pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. 

She admitted to planning and orchestrating the stabbing death of her mother Dee Dee at the hands of her boyfriend Nick Godejohn, who was convicted of first-degree murder.

Nick remains behind bars, but in December 2023, Gypsy was released after serving eight years of her sentence. 

This case is about more than just murder. It’s one of the most famous cases involving the alleged diagnosis of Munchausen by proxy - known nowadays as ‘Factitious disorder imposed on another’.

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CREDITS

Guest: M.J. Pack

Host: Gemma Bath

Executive Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producer: Scott Stronach

GET IN TOUCH:

Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stevie Munro is a Senior Correctional Officer with Moree Court Escort services, in charge of things like processing offenders who’ve just been arrested, and escorting them to and from court.

She deals with prisoners from all over Australia, and has seen it all. Kicking, screaming, lashing out, attempted suicide…

She is dealing with people during their most emotional times in prison. But as she will explain, her toughest days have nothing to do with the criminals themselves. 

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CREDITS

Host: Gemma Bath

Executive Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producer: Scott Stronach

GET IN TOUCH:

Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was originally published as part of Mamamia’s Extraordinary Stories podcast.

In the lead-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics, the world began to wonder how and if Peng Shuai would be used in the games, and whether the IOC was going to have anything to say to the Chinese Government about their silencing of the tennis star. So how did the Chinese propaganda juggernaut shift its attention to the global sporting stage? And what happens when the international community’s peak sporting body is accused of silencing a sexual assault survivor?

Plus, we investigate China’s Me Too movement. What does the story of Peng Shuai tell us about feminism in China?

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Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was originally published as part of Mamamia’s Extraordinary Stories podcast.

For three long weeks in November 2021, the tennis community, news organisations and human rights advocates the world over had one question; Where Is Peng Shuai? In the aftermath of a Weibo post detailing allegations of sexual assault against one of China’s top political figures, concerns for Peng Shuai's freedom were escalating swiftly. Then suddenly, proof of life. On this episode, we’ll learn more about the Chinese propaganda machine, and how it’s working to convince the world of Peng Shuai's safety, whilst censoring her story.

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Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was originally published as part of Mamamia’s Extraordinary Stories podcast.

It was after 10 pm, on November 2nd, 2021 when 35-year-old Peng Shuai - China’s beloved global tennis star - sat down and began typing. Truncated sentences of an open letter, detailing an affair and sexual assault involving one of China’s highest-ranking political figures, would go on to rock the international community. It took only a few minutes before the post had amassed thousands of shares, likes, and comments. But within half an hour, it vanished. And moments later, so too did Peng Shuai.

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Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was originally published as part of Mamamia’s Extraordinary Stories podcast.

Belle Gibson spent years lying about her health. From those early skater chatroom claims that she had died on the operating table during heart surgery, to a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, and finally, revelations that cancer had spread through her entire body. She had built a business out of peddling her strategy for treating that cancer; with food. She said it was curing her, and could (for a small fee) cure you, too. But in March 2015, everything came undone, and it wasn't only Belle's followers who wanted answers. The police did too.

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GET IN TOUCH:

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Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was originally published as part of Mamamia’s Extraordinary Stories podcast.

Belle Gibson was travelling to Queensland for a funeral when she was first contacted by Melbourne newspaper, The Age. Reporters were seeking clarification. They wanted to know exactly how much of the money that Belle was making was going to charity. By 2015, The Whole Pantry had become a hugely successful app, blog and book. Belle had always publicly pledged that a sizeable chunk of the money it was making was being redistributed to charities and various worthy causes, but was that true? In this episode of Extraordinary Stories, we’ll learn how it all came crashing down for the so-called 'Wellness Warrior,' Belle Gibson, and how a woman who once provided hope for some of the nation's most vulnerable people, exploited them for cash and clout.

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GET IN TOUCH:

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Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was originally published as part of Mamamia’s Extraordinary Stories podcast. 

Belle Gibson spent years lying about her health. From those early skater chatroom claims that she had died on the operating table during heart surgery, to a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, and finally, revelations that cancer had spread through her entire body. She had built a business out of peddling her strategy for treating that cancer; with food. She said it was curing her, and could (for a small fee) cure you, too. But in March 2015, everything came undone, and it wasn't only Belle's followers who wanted answers. The police did too.

THE END BITS

Subscribe to Mamamia

GET IN TOUCH:

Check out our TikTok here.

Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a summer evening in January 1983, 10-year-old Louise Bell went missing from her bedroom in Adelaide's Hackham West. 

It was a case that horrified Australia, as every parent's worst nightmare became reality for the Bell family. How could a young girl tucked up in her bed in a safe, suburban neighbourhood just go missing in the middle of the night? 

It would take 30 years, and advances in DNA technology, to find out who was responsible for the disappearance of Louise Bell. 

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Supporting audio supplied by ABC South Australia.

CREDITS

Guest: Candice Prosser

Host: Gemma Bath

Executive Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producer: Scott Stronach

GET IN TOUCH:

Check out our TikTok here.

Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.