Secrets of the Underworld

Karen Teasdale grew up in a small village outside Newcastle, raised by a mother with what psychiatrists would later confirm was a psychopathic brain. From the age of four, Karen was beaten with a leather belt, isolated from friends, poisoned, and gaslit so relentlessly she lost all faith in herself. It went on for 48 years. In this episode of Secrets of the Underworld, Neil sits down with Karen to hear how she survived a lifetime of calculated abuse — and how she's finally found her voice. Her story is told in full in her book, Poison Kisses. Get Karen Teasdale's Book Here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Poison-Kisses-Karen-Teasdale-ebook/dp/B0FD85LV7LSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Haley Robson was sixteen years old when she was recruited into Jeffrey Epstein's orbit — approached at a beach resort by a classmate and driven to his Palm Beach mansion under the pretence of a $200 massage. What followed was two years of sexual abuse, coercion and psychological manipulation that would shape the course of her life. In this episode, Neil speaks with Haley about growing up in Miami, the childhood traumas that left her vulnerable, and how Epstein's network systematically exploited girls exactly like her — isolating them, grooming them, and weaponising their own needs against them. Haley speaks candidly about the mechanics of the abuse, the culture of fear that kept victims returning and the part of this story that rarely gets told: how underage girls within Epstein's network were pressured to recruit others.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Megan grew up in Adelaide not caring much about school, not fitting in, and not following the rules — and she never really started. After a drug dealer boyfriend introduced her to a life where everything was paid for, she found her own way to keep it that way. What followed was a decade-long journey through Sydney's most notorious venues — massage parlours, brothels, strip clubs — working under one name and keeping her real life firmly separate. In this episode, Neil sits down with Megan for a raw and candid conversation about what drew her into the industry at 18, the venues she worked at across Sydney's west and Kings Cross, the clients she loved and the ones she didn't and how she eventually walked away without looking back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne Salloum grew up the youngest of ten children in Mount Druitt, Western Sydney — the only Lebanese girl in her school, navigating relentless racism, cultural isolation and the weight of an immigrant family finding its footing in Australia. What followed was a life lived defiantly in spaces that didn't want her — she did it anyway. In this episode, Suzanne opens up to Neil about growing up caught between two worlds, caring for her father from the age of 17 before losing him suddenly, scoring a role on Fat Pizza and why twenty years on she still won't lighten her hair.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In April 2010, 21-year-old Pralav Dhyani was four months into his first voyage as a trainee deck officer when Somali pirates boarded his vessel. What followed was 332 days held hostage off the coast of Somalia — no contact with family, dwindling food and water, guns pointed at his head, and the devastating loss of a crewmate who didn't make it home. Pralav takes Neil inside the moment the shots rang out, the terrifying five-minute window between attack and capture, and what daily survival looked like when hope was rationed just as tightly as the rice. He talks about the crew members who sided with their captors, the staged terror before every ransom negotiation, and the surreal moment a bag of cash floated down from a plane — and the pirates just vanished.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.