10 episodes
Can I tell you a secret? The Guardian
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- News
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4.5 • 600 Ratings
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It starts the same way... A seemingly innocent message from someone who appears to be a young woman: ‘Can I tell you a secret?’ But as this six-part podcast explores, people are rarely their true selves online – and one man took it much further. What happened when this cyberstalker wreaked havoc across the internet and ruined people’s lives. And why did he do it?Can I Tell You A Secret - a Guardian podcast series about obsession, fear, and the lives we lead online
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The Guardian’s new podcast series about AI: Black Box – prologue
We wanted to bring you this episode from our new series, Black Box. In it, Michael Safi explores seven stories and the thread that ties them together: artificial intelligence. In this prologue, Hannah (not her real name) has met Noah and he has changed her life for the better. So why does she have concerns about him? If you like what you hear, make sure to search and subscribe to Black Box, with new episodes every Monday and Thursday.
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Can I tell you a secret? Ben Roberts-Smith v the media – podcast trailer
We wanted to tell you about another Guardian podcast series from our colleagues in Australia. Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, is suing three of the country’s most trusted newspapers for defamation over articles he says falsely accuse him of war crimes. Whatever the outcome, the ramifications will be immense for public interest journalism, Australia’s military and a man venerated as a modern-day war hero. Search for ‘Ben Roberts-Smith v the media’, wherever you get your podcasts
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Can I tell you a secret? Episode seven: an update
Guardian producer Lucy Hough and reporter Matthew Weaver give an update on the outcome of Matthew Hardy’s appeal
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Can I tell you a secret? Episode six: the winding clock
As the years tick by, journalist Sirin Kale speaks to victims and those who know Matthew to ask whether his stalking will ever truly end
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Can I tell you a secret? Episode five: a mother’s love
Journalist Sirin Kale meets Matthew’s mother to uncover more about his past, and find out what might have motivated him to cyberstalk his victims for so many years
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Can I tell you a secret? Episode four: a reckoning
Matthew’s victims come face to face with him as an attempt is made to stop his torment once and for all
Customer Reviews
Good, with one reservation…
This was a good and necessary series. It really puts into perspective how underestimated the effects of stalking, online and IRL, are. It is shocking to hear how long, how many victims, and how much police attention (and neglect) it took for this case to get the treatment it deserved.
My one reservation, as noted by some other reviewers, is the focus on the perpetrator in a way that seems keen to explain away his culpability, and the lack of pushback on his mother’s narrative. I also think that, given the overindulgence of his autism, it would have been only fair to others with autism to actually produce some more hard stats on the correlation between autism and criminal behaviour. And if there are not the stats to support this narrative, which I doubt there are, to actually make that very clear. Just having a few people with autism make some remarks on this is simply not enough when the reporting was so fixated on this aspect of his personality to explain away his behaviour.
Fascinating, terrifying, and sad
This story of online stalking is fascinating, terrifying, and sad. The complex backstories of the victims and perpetrator are presented. I’d like to emphasise that autistic people are not necessarily more likely to commit crimes like this because I think that the mother and one policeman lean too heavily into this defence. While autism does affect people’s social perception, it doesn’t mean they cannot know right from wrong. The story sounds more like one of addictive and malicious behaviour online, which is sadly not uncommon.
An opportunity to hear both sides
I thought this was a real thought-provoking podcast and an interesting case. Some of the reviews here seem to be made by people who have very little knowledge of real world journalism. The mother is entitled to be heard, I don’t agree with what she said and it made me angry but it is not the journalists fault. They aren’t the police. They are there to hear all sides and report them. Maybe those reviewers should stick to podcasts with less triggering topics for them. Plenty of warnings are given.