David Cunningham has long believed his sister Anita and her travelling companion Robin Hoinville Bartram were victims of serial killer Ivan Milat. But new evidence suggests Milat was in New Zealand when the pair disappeared. In a deeply personal interview, David reflects on his lifelong search for answers as Adam examines fresh evidence placing Whiskey Au Go Go bomber John Andrew Stuart in the area and asks whether police have been fully transparent about one of Australia's enduring missing persons mysteries.

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Investigative journalist and podcast host Jay Walkerden joins Adam to discuss Badge of Betrayal, his explosive investigation into disgraced Tasmanian police officer Paul Reynolds. The series examined decades of child sexual abuse allegations, failures of accountability, and the shocking decision to grant Reynolds a police funeral despite concerns about his conduct. Walkerden explains how the podcast helped trigger a parliamentary inquiry into Tasmania Police, exposing deeper questions about institutional culture, transparency, and the protection of vulnerable victims. It's a story of persistence, public interest journalism, and the pursuit of truth.

You can listen to the show here

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In the second part of Adam's journey into super max jails within jails, former bank robber Doug Morgan takes us into Jika Jika, the high-tech successor to H Division in Pentridge Jail. The futuristic concrete and glass division allowed staff to keep inmates under surveillance at all times, but the sterile and dehumanising design took its toll, leading to extreme violence and a protest fire that caused the death of five inmates.

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In this episode of Real Crime, Adam Shand speaks with writer and former Pentridge inmate Ray Mooney about the brutal reality of H Division the notorious “prison within a prison” designed to break the will of men who refused to surrender. Ray recalls the bashings, isolation, rock-breaking yards and psychological toll of a place hidden from public view, while also reflecting on how it shaped criminals, damaged lives and ultimately helped turn him into a writer

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When Sergeant Benedict Bryant was found guilty of dangerous driving over the death of Jai Wright — a teenager riding a stolen motorbike who collided with Bryant's stationary unmarked police car — the verdict sent shockwaves through the NSW Police Force. Bryant didn't go to jail, but the conviction may cost him everything. And the ripple effects could reshape policing across the state.

Adam Shand speaks with Dr. Michael Kennedy, former NSW police officer and senior lecturer in the policing program at Western Sydney University, about what the Bryant verdict really means for the officers on the beat, for pursuit policy and for the future of law enforcement in NSW.

Kennedy pulls no punches. He argues that Bryant was let down by a system that cleared him at every level: Professional Standards, the DPP and the oversight body, before a politically charged prosecution pursued him anyway. Forced to fund his own defence, Bryant opted for a judge-only trial because he couldn't afford a jury. Now he carries a criminal conviction and every commander in NSW is quietly asking themselves the same question: next time, do I give the order?

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He spent four decades as one of Tasmania's most respected detectives, not by working the politics, but by working the streets. David Plumpton retired in 2015 as a detective inspector with Tasmania Police, but his legacy isn't built on rank. It's built on something far rarer: the ability to make the most dangerous, guarded, and ruthless criminals open their mouths.

Adam sits down with "Plumo" to explore a lost art in modern policing - the walk and the talk. Plumpton breaks down the psychology of getting people to talk, his philosophy of "business, nothing personal," and why sincerity is the most powerful tool in any interrogation room. He also reveals why, inside Tasmanian prisons, the word went around: don't talk to Plumpton.

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For nearly six years, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty commanded the New South Wales Homicide Squad, overseeing more than 450 murders, a wave of organised crime killings, and some of the most complex mass-casualty investigations in the state's recent history, including Bondi Junction.

Now retired after a 40-year career, Danny sits down with Adam Shand to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to run one of Australia's most demanding policing units. They cover the investigative "surge" model that put almost every organised crime murder before the courts in a single year; why the first 48 hours has given way to the first two weeks; the psychology of killers who refuse to give up a body — from Bruce Burrell to Chris Dawson; the promise of forensic investigative genetic genealogy; and the unsolved cases that still keep him up at night.

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When Sergeant Benedict Bryant pulled into Henderson Road on the morning of February 19, 2022, he had travelled 800 metres from Redfern Police Station to respond to a serious crime in progress. What followed took 3.9 seconds, and cost him his career, his finances and his freedom.

Adam Shand is joined by Retired Chief Inspector Paul Fownes, who has been supporting Bryant's legal fight and fundraising appeal. Together they examine the detail of what actually happened that morning, the coroner's conduct, the decision to bring in a barrister who had previously prosecuted police over an Aboriginal death in custody, and what this conviction means as a precedent for every officer who responds to a dynamic situation in seconds, with a legal system watching in slow motion.

Paul Fownes Support Page:

https://www.sergeantbryantfight.com/

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