Lyn and Chris Dawson appear to have the perfect marriage. He's a star footballer and popular high school teacher. She's a devoted wife and mother. They share a beautiful home above Sydney's northern beaches. But when Lyn goes missing, dark secrets are buried. This is no fairytale, but a sordid story of strangely close twin brothers, teenage student lovers, and probable murder. The Australian's Hedley Thomas digs deep into a cold case which has been unsolved for 36 years, uncovering startling new evidence.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
The Poisoned Wife – and a cop who didn’t buy her husband’s story
Journalist Hedley Thomas joins us with a special insight into where his blockbuster podcast investigation The Poisoned Wife is heading. After the 1986 murder of Rosslyn M
Sep 13 16 min
Hedley Thomas’ new podcast investigation, The Poisoned Wife
Who killed Rosslyn McQueen? Today’s launch day for something very special here at The Australian: a new Hedley Thomas cold case investigation. The Poisoned Wife is a podc
Aug 21 19 min
Hedley Thomas’ new podcast: Sick To Death
A blockbuster new podcast from The Australian and our investigative star reporter Hedley Thomas: Sick To Death is the horrifying true story of a surgeon who made catastro
Nov 17 2025 18 min
Listen to Episode 1 of The Gangster's Ghost: Dead Man Talking
The family of slain gangster Stewart John Regan has been frustrated by an unwillingness on the part of the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Unit to share information about it
May 30 2025 43 min
From The Front: Roger Rogerson’s first kill? The mystery of ‘Shotgun Johnny’ Regan
The 1974 murder of ‘Shotgun Johnny’ Regan has never been solved. Now, his family wants answers. That’s where The Australian’s new cold case investigation The Gangster’s G
May 8 2025 13 min
From The Front: Chris Dawson is staying in jail
This is an episode of The Australian's daily news podcast, The Front.
Chris Dawson has suffered another humiliation, losing an appeal against his conviction for the 19
Jun 13 2024 17 min
Listen to episode 1 of BRONWYN
The Teacher's Pet creator Hedley Thomas returns with a new podcast investigation for The Australian.
Subscribers to The Australian and registered users hear episodes o
May 31 2024 1 h 12 min
From The Front: Hedley Thomas’ new cold case podcast, 'Bronwyn'
Where is Bronwyn Winfield? The devoted mum has been missing since 1993 – and the man behind The Teacher’s Pet is on the case.
Go to theaustralian.com.au/bronwyn to li
May 24 2024 20 min
From The Front: The Teacher's Appeal
Christopher Michael Dawson has launched an appeal, arguing Justice Ian Harrison got it wrong — and claiming he’s not guilty of Lyn’s murder.
The Front is covering the
May 13 2024 18 min
Bonus episode: Hedley Thomas talks The Teacher's Pet with Raymond Bonner
Hedley Thomas sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winner and former NYT foreign correspondent Raymond Bonner to discuss his new book, The Teacher's Pet, at Bookoccino book shop
Nov 27 2023 1 h 01 min
From I Catch Killers with Gary Jubelin: Remembering Lynette with Hedley Thomas (Part 2)
Lynette Dawson, now remembered as Lynette Simms, went missing from her Bayview home in 1982. But it would take another 40 years for her husband Chris Dawson to be convict
Nov 18 2023 50 min
From I Catch Killers with Gary Jubelin: Catching A Killer with Hedley Thomas (Part 1)
A school teacher, a missing wife, and the student caught in the middle. The Teacher’s Pet was the podcast that captivated the world.
In this special episode of the I Ca
Nov 18 2023 47 min
Bonus episode: Hedley reads Chapter 1 of his new book, The Teacher's Pet
Listen to Hedley Thomas reading Chapter 1 of his new book, The Teacher's Pet.
The book is published by Pan Macmillan and is available at all good bookstores, and wherev
Nov 10 2023 25 min
From The Front: Three more years for Chris Dawson
Grey, shrunken and hiding his face, Chris Dawson is sentenced for unlawful carnal knowledge of a schoolgirl. Hedley Thomas joins us.
Find out more about The Front podca
Sep 15 2023 18 min
The Front: Inside podcasting with Hedley Thomas and David Murray
Hedley Thomas, Claire Harvey and David Murray reveal how our smash-hit podcasts get made.
Find out more about The Front podcast here and read about this story and more
Sep 12 2023 43 min
Episode 16 - Arrest
Nearly 37 years after Lyn Dawson disappeared, police have arrested Chris Dawson over the alleged murder of his wife, taking him into custody and preparing his extradition
Dec 5 2018 45 min
Episode 15 - Digging
Following an incredible groundswell of community interest ignited by this podcast, September saw a stunning development in the case with police returning to the Bayview h
Nov 29 2018 1 h 29 min
Episode 14 - Decision Time
After 36 long years, failed police investigations, two coronial inquests, and countless appeals from Lyn's family, the case is stronger now - and once again it's in the h
Aug 17 2018 2 h 02 min
Episode 13 - The System
Before the first coronial inquest, police tap phones in the lead-up to digging in a relatively small area around the swimming pool at Bayview, where they find a woman's c
Aug 9 2018 1 h 30 min
Episode 12 - Momentum
The detective Damian Loone escalates his murder investigations, interviewing many witnesses in a quest for the truth. And the area of "soft soil" comes back into focus.
Aug 2 2018 1 h 12 min
Chart trend
Position in the News chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#100#199AugSep
#46
all-time peak
2
days in the top 50 since Dec 2024
Chart positions
Where The Teacher's Pet ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 16, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Loved the reporting, amazing narrator, but it definitely could have been consolidated. Just too many episodes! It started to feel repetitive and I found myself zoning out during the later episodes of the podcast. But still definitely worth a listen!
mangodogemilyhuman · Mar 2026
This is a great story, and very well told. It’s just waaaaaaay too long. They could have cut the number of episodes in half with the same information. I’d be listening to an episode and wondering if I’d already listened to it b/c it was so similar. But, if you like podcasts with MANY episodes, this is a good listen. Again, very well investigated and told. But if you prefer a more efficient story, perhaps not.
JoCoNoCo · Nov 2025
This podcast is well-done but it spends way too much time droning on and on about the same basic facts. I know that true crime podcasts are a great way to deep-dive but this is way excessive. That said I think this is the most outrageous teacher/student crime incident ever. This story needed to be told. And it is told well. Just expect a lot of repetition.
soul24 · Dec 2023
I have listened to a ton of podcasts. When I saw the “repetitive” reviews, I ignored them and assumed they didn’t like going into great detail on a subject. I was wrong. The first roughly 10 episodes all keep repeating the same barebones information, and adds nothing new. I can usually look past a little repetition but this was unbearable. I skipped to the last 2 episodes for the resolution. Kudos for putting the spotlight on an obviously corrupt case. But… this is not a top podcast experience like so many people suggest. This should have been 4 episodes, which includes the resolution.
everydaytrader · Dec 2023
Instead of calling a 30-something male teacher of a teenage student a r*pist and a pedo, they refer to this child as his “lover.” This is disgusting and the creators of this show should be ashamed of how they represent a very inappropriate relationship as almost normal. Abhorrent. Do better.
29 prayers · Feb 2026
This is one of the most boring and redundant true crime podcasts I have ever heard. There is no real investigation. It is basically interviews with a bunch of people that all tell the same tales. I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never does. I skipped several episodes and didn’t miss a beat. Absolutely terrible.
dj5207 · Jan 2025
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of The Teacher's Pet, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
