sleepers

About sleepers

sleepers Join investigative journalist Bryan Littlely as he pulls back the curtain on Australia's most haunting cold cases. With compelling detail and chilling insights, Bryan is joined by a dedicated ground crew and unexpected allies as they pursue buried truths that authorities have long dismissed or hidden. Each gripping episode reveals never-before-heard details from key witnesses and confidential statements, shedding new light on decades-old evidence and disturbing revelations about police connections, suppressed leads, unsettling tunnels, and possible crime scenes. Featuring exclusive interviews, hidden recordings, and raw, confronting narratives, sleepers bravely challenges the official story and gives voice to the silent witnesses and forgotten victims who refuse to remain in the dark. This isn't just a podcast. It's a relentless quest for justice, a reckoning, and a promise to fight for answers. support 'Leave a Light On Inc.' here (https://www.facebook.com/LeaveALightOninc) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Bryan Littlely & Max Marten

Category

news · society & culture · true crime

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

3 Aug 2025

Latest episode

14 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Sept 2026

   adelaide oval abduction: The Barrels Speak

   Sixteen years after two barrels were recovered from tunnels beneath a South Australian reservoir, the science is moving again. In this episode of Sleepers, Bryan Littlely speaks with forensic scientist, toxicologist, and criminologist Asha Walther from Exhuming the Truth about her independent preliminary examination of material recovered from the barrels. Those barrels have long formed part of an investigative theory surrounding the 1973 disappearance of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon from Adelaide Oval. That theory has never been proven, and there is currently no evidence establishing that either girl was ever inside them. But the barrels are real. The material recovered from them is real. And now new preliminary forensic findings are in . Asha reveals that presumptive testing produced a positive reaction consistent with the presence of blood or haemoglobin-related activity. At this stage, the testing cannot determine whether that blood is human or animal, and no DNA identification has been made. Preliminary pH testing has also found material from the barrels to be acidic. Again, that doesn't establish what substance was present, why it was there, or support any particular theory about how the barrels may have been used. Further chemical analysis is required. Then there's the expanding foam. The unusual material inside the barrels raises another set of questions. What happened to the significant amount of liquid apparently once present beneath the foam? What may have been absorbed into it? And could the chemical composition of the foam itself help establish when it was manufactured or placed inside the barrels? Asha explains how techniques including GCMS analysis may help characterise its chemical composition and potentially narrow its age to a useful timeframe. She also explains why microscopic examination can reveal biological material that would never be visible to the naked eye, particularly after decades of environmental exposure. Most importantly, the preliminary examination isn't where this investigation ends. Subject to the necessary permits and approvals, material is intended to undergo further independent specialist examination through a university laboratory in the United Kingdom. That next stage could include species-specific or human-specific testing, DNA analysis, chemical examination, and further analysis of the expanding foam. Bryan also confronts the question that inevitably follows: after another independent presumptive result consistent with blood, should South Australia Police now receive material from the barrels for further examination? And if these tests eventually produce something significant, how important will the documented chain of custody become? Max doesn't interrupt this time. We leave Bryan and Asha to follow the evidence and explain what the science tells us, what it doesn't, and what needs to happen next. After sixteen years, the next step isn't another theory. It's the science. SLEEPERS LIVE: NEW INVESTIGATIONS Join Bryan, Max and the SLEEPERS team LIVE at the Arkaba Hotel, Wednesday 30 September 2026. Expect new cases, new information, advance developments in current investigations, and the story behind an upcoming hunt through the Adelaide Hills for one very particular item. Doors 6:30 pm | Show 7:30 pm BOOK TICKETS — SLEEPERS LIVE (https://www.stickytickets.com.au/p6h8je?utm_source=chatgpt.com) EVENT DETAILS — ARKABA HOTEL (https://www.arkabahotel.com.au/?bn_event=sleepers-live-true-crime-feat-bryan-littlely-new-investigations&utm_source=chatgpt.com) Always remember – fight like Jo. It's time to rise - #fightlikejo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   17 Aug 2026

   LOST

   What if the witness you've been searching for was there all along? In this special episode of Sleepers, investigative journalist Bryan Littlely sits down with Nicole Morris, founder of the Australian Missing Persons Register, during National Missing Persons Week. For 21 years, Nicole has worked to keep Australia's missing visible. Her register contains thousands of long-term missing-person cases, some dating back to the 1930s, and during last year's National Missing Persons Week campaign her Facebook posts reached an extraordinary 45 million people. Because sometimes keeping a photograph, a name, and a story in front of the public is enough to make somebody remember. And this conversation proves it. Bryan and Nicole explore the disappearance of Joanne Butterfield, the importance of listening to the people who actually knew the missing, and why even decades of research don't always produce a simple answer. Then Nicole tells Bryan about Rhonda State, a 20-year-old mother who disappeared after attending a dance at Camden in 1979. While researching Rhonda's case, Nicole tracked down a woman who told her she had seen Rhonda getting into a car in the car park. Nicole asked what she'd told police. The answer? She hadn't. Nobody had ever asked her. That extraordinary revelation leads to the possibility that Ivan Milat was involved, and raises a much larger question: how much potentially important information can remain hidden, not because somebody deliberately concealed it, but because the right witness was simply never interviewed? Bryan then brings the conversation home to South Australia and the Sleepers investigation into the 1973 Adelaide Oval disappearance of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon. The discovery that Alex Bone and his father, Frank, travelled to the football with the Ratcliffe family, and Alex's recollection of being sent to search for the girls, raise significant questions about the accepted timeline. Nicole immediately recognises the problem. If the timeline is wrong, were investigators asking witnesses to remember the wrong period? Along the way, Bryan and Nicole also discuss Susie Ratcliffe, Leave A Light On, and, for the first time on Sleepers, Bryan explains the story behind the words that have become our signature: #Fight Like Jo. CRIME SCENE VICTOR HARBOR | 21–23 AUGUST 2026 This episode arrives as Bryan prepares to bring together some of Australia's leading true crime investigators, journalists, authors, podcasters and advocates for the inaugural CRIME SCENE Victor Harbor. (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/schedule/) Across three days, Victor Harbor becomes a true crime precinct with live presentations, investigative panels, author appearances, live podcasting and forensic experiences. The 2026 program includes Sally Leydon, Debi Marshall, Derek Pedley, Adam Shand, Suzie Ratcliffe, Max Marten, Bryan Littlely and many more. Part of the proceeds from Crime Scene Victor Harbor supports Leave A Light On Inc. And Sleepers is going live. SLEEPERS LIVE (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/schedule/) Sunday, 23 August 2026 | 11.00 am McCracken Country Club – Convention Centre, Victor Harbor Bryan Littlely and Max Marten take Sleepers out of your podcast app and into the room for a live examination of the cold cases, witnesses and information driving the investigation. Sometimes somebody sitting in the audience knows something that somebody standing on the stage doesn't. Come and be part of the conversation. Crime Scene Victor Harbor (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/schedule/) 21–23 August 2026. Sleepers Live is 11:00 am Sunday 23 August at McCracken Country Club. Tickets are currently listed at $40, and part of the festival proceeds support Leave A Light On Inc. (crimescenevictor.com.au (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/)) It's time to rise - #fightlikejo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   15 Jul 2026

   The Hitchhiker and the Skull

   What happens when someone decides, after years of silence, that it's finally time to tell their story? In this special episode of Sleepers, investigative journalist Bryan Littlely takes listeners behind the scenes of the investigative process itself. You'll hear how one witness's recollection of a hitchhiker seen shortly after Gus Lamont's disappearance led to an unexpected conversation about another missing person, and how that conversation opened the door to an entirely new lead. The second half of this episode follows the real-time journey of information that recently found its way into the Sleepers' investigation. It's a rare opportunity to hear how new material is assessed, why not every lead becomes a case, and why careful listening remains one of the most important tools available to any investigator. If you've arrived here after watching the video shared on Bryan Littlely's Facebook page, welcome. You'll find the direct link to that video HERE Together, the video and this episode explain not just what was discovered, but how information like this reaches Sleepers in the first place. At its heart, this episode isn't about a single witness, a single video or a single cold case. It's about people. People who have carried memories for years. People looking for somewhere they'll be heard. And the belief that every genuine piece of information deserves careful consideration, because behind every unsolved case is a family still waiting for answers. If you have information about any of the cases discussed in Sleepers, we'd genuinely like to hear from you. The Skull Video At the time of posting, all links are current. The Video can be found by clicking - HERE (https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DafGnhozp/?mibextid=wwXIfr) Join Us Live at Crime Scene Victor Harbor (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/) If today's episode has sparked your curiosity, we'd love to meet you in person. Join Bryan Littlely, Max Marten and a host of Australia's leading true crime researchers, investigators, forensic specialists and authors at Crime Scene Victor Harbor (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/)—AUGUST 21-23 2026 - a unique weekend dedicated to investigation, education and conversation. The programme includes Sleepers Live, where you'll experience the investigation in a completely different way, hear exclusive material, and join the discussion. Importantly, proceeds from the event support Leave A Light On, (https://www.facebook.com/LeaveALightOninc/) continuing the shared commitment to helping families and keeping forgotten stories alive. For tickets and the full programme, visit the festival website (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/)- HERE (https://crimescenevictor.com.au/)- that's where tix are available, #SleepersPodcast, #Sleepers, #BryanLittlely, #MaxMarten, #AustralianTrueCrime, #AdelaideTrueCrime, #SouthAustralia, #ColdCasesAustralia, #MissingPersons, #InvestigativeJournalism, #CrimeSceneVictor, #SleepersLive, #LeaveALightOn #FightLikeJo It's time to rise - #fightlikejo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

3.5 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

141 ratings

Contact sleepers

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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