‘The Teacher’s Pet’ returns amidst True Crime podcast boon

Image: The Teachers Pet podcast

Podcasting covers a gamut of topics, but ‘True Crime’ has emerged as one of the most popular. That popularity is also proving to be helpful to those trying to find answers to decades-old murders.

The Australian’s Walkley Award-winning podcast series The Teacher’s Pet has had 27-million downloads and prompted a renewed investigation into the 1982 disappearance of Lyn Dawson.

After generating a groundswell of public interest in Australia and around the world, The Teacher’s Pet has today returned for a second series.

Gold Walkley winner Hedley Thomas explores the latest developments in the investigation, including the police search for evidence at her old home at Bayview on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

The ABC podcast series Trace has also created waves, prompting the Victorian Coroner to re-open the investigation into a 38-year-old cold case.

Mother-of-two Maria James was found stabbed to death at the back of her Northcote bookstore in 1980. A Coronial Inquest two years later found she was killed by a ‘person unknown’.

However, the decision to set aside that ruling follows a series of revelations made on the podcast. Ms James was murdered the day she was to confront a local priest about the abuse of her youngest son.

A separate police investigation has also been launched into the murder that shocked a city.

You can find Trace and The Teacher’s Pet via iTunes or your favourite podcast app.