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Witness: Sex, Lies and Streaming

Witness: Sex, Lies and Streaming

news.com.au
Society & Culture

Witness is the home of investigative podcasts for news.com.au

Witness Season 4: Perfect Alibi

Three police investigations and two coronial inquests have failed to find out what happened to Leslie Ball, who vanished more than 30 years ago. Investigative reporters Jo Townsend and Callum Denness have spent two years trying to unravel what happened to the war veteran and grandfather as part of news.com.au's six-part true crime podcast series Perfect Alibi. They’ve tracked down family members and former police investigators, uncovered evidence of fraud, and found links to the Melbourne underworld. They have also uncovered proof they say identifies who killed Mr Ball. 
The podcast launches on August 10, with new episodes dropping every Monday and Wednesday. 

 

Witness Season 3: Sex, Lies and Streaming

OnlyFans promised to change the game and give power back to creators. The reality? Most earn less than $100 a month, while a select few make millions.

When news.com.au journalist James Weir set out to interview Bonnie Blue - the controversial British creator who claimed to have slept with over 1,000 men in 12 hours - he expected a straightforward story about viral fame. Instead, he uncovered an industry built on carefully constructed fantasies, bitter feuds, and inequality that mirrors the broader gig economy.

From private jets and designer shopping sprees to creators struggling to pay rent, Sex, Lies and Streaming exposes the stark reality behind the glossiest success stories. Through unprecedented access to performers, agents, publicists and industry insiders, Weir follows the money trail from Australia to the neon-soaked halls of a Vegas porn convention and finds out who is really winning in the cutthroat world of subscription porn. 

What starts as a hunt for one missing internet celebrity becomes an investigation into the true cost of the creator subscription model - where viral stunts generate headlines, public feuds fuel fortunes, and the line between performance and reality becomes increasingly blurred.

This series contains mature themes and adult content.

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Witness Season 2: William Tyrrell

It’s 10.56am. A family home in Kendall, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Three-year-old William Tyrrell is reported missing. Last seen wearing his favourite Spider-Man suit. Ten years after his disappearance on 12 September 2014, there is still no sign of William. The police believe his foster mother knows something. She denies it. Only one of them can be telling the truth.

Witness: William Tyrrell is the new, landmark investigation from news.com.au. Read more and watch exclusive video contenthere
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If you know anything about what happened to William, please call CrimeStoppers on1800 333 000

Contact us confidentially atwitness@news.com.au

 

Witness season 1: The Missing 49 Million

The story of one Aussie man, the secret code he claimed to find buried in the Bible and 49 million dollars of investors' money that's gone missing.
Gold Coast businessman Alan Metcalfe said his tech company had found the secret to artificial intelligence. He convinced hundreds of people to part with their life-savings but when Alan died, no one knew what had happened to their money. 
Join Alex Turner-Cohen as she tries to find the missing millions, uncovering the wild story behind the company Alan promised would one day be “bigger than Google”.

43 - Digging up the Dead | 6
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  • 43 - Digging up the Dead | 6

    The grave of the prime suspect in the 1993 murder of WWII veteran Les Ball is empty, after his body was surreptitiously dug up and cremated. The bizarre revelation forms the centrepiece of this final episode, throwing a dramatic final twist into a thirty-year cold case that has frustrated Queensland detectives for decades.

    Read more and watch exclusive video contenthere
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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Tue, 25 Aug 2026
  • 42 - The Skull | 5

    Brian "The Skull" Murphy claims David Phillips confessed to Les Ball’s murder. As we investigate the Skull’s testimony, we uncover the ultimate deception: David wasn't the decorated hero he claimed to be, but a master forger hiding a history of violence in plain sight.

    Read more and watch exclusive video contenthere
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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Sun, 23 Aug 2026
  • 41 - The Confession | 4

    A breakthrough shatters years of silence as cold-case detective Liz McNaughton uncovers an alleged confession made by former police officer David Phillips regarding the murder of his father-in-law, Les Ball. We re-examine the contradictory timelines shared with police and Coroners over the years, unpack these shocking claims, and trace how one detective’s deep dive turned a cold case on its head. Note: This episode has been updated; we explain in episode 5.

    Read more and watch exclusive video contenthere
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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Tue, 18 Aug 2026
  • 40 - Follow the Money | 3

    Les Ball’s final days were fraught with financial tension and an unhappy living arrangement centred around tens of thousands of dollars allegedly owed to him by his son-in-law, a former Victorian police detective. In this episode, we trace the convoluted money trail, examine conflicting accounts of these loans, and follow a tenacious Irish cold-case detective as she uncovers a reality that changes everything we thought we knew.

    Read more and watch exclusive video contenthere
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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Sun, 16 Aug 2026
  • 39 - Body of Evidence | 2

    The disappearance of Les Ball is a cold case spanning decades, but a single, forged train ticket has emerged as a pivotal piece of evidence. This crucial detail, alongside conflicting accounts and a meticulously constructed deception, is casting a stark new light on what happened to the 71-year-old just before he vanished.
    In this episode, we scrutinise a heavily debated hospital visit, unpack a trail of suspicious financial behaviour, and follow police as they race to identify whether a burned-out trailer holds the dark secret to Les’s final days.

    Read more and watch exclusive video contenthere
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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Tue, 11 Aug 2026
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