The Teacher's Pet

The Teacher's Pet is a 2018 Australian crime podcast that investigated the disappearance of Lynette Dawson. Published by The Australian newspaper, the podcast was hosted by journalist Hedley Thomas and produced by Slade Gibson. As of 2020, the series has had close to 30 million downloads and reached number one in podcast charts in Australia, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. Description Lynette Dawson was an Australian nurse, homemaker and mother. She disappeared without a trace in 1982 and her whereabouts, dead or alive, have never been determined. The Teacher's Pet podcast investigated details of her marriage to rugby league player and teacher Chris Dawson, her disappearance, an extramarital affair between her husband and a 16-year-old school girl, claims of sexual misconduct between teachers and students at Cromer High and other Northern Beaches public high schools, flaws in the police investigation, effects on the families involved and the unwillingness of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge Chris Dawson despite two coronial inquests concluding that Dawson was dead and most likely killed by a known person. Thomas created the podcast and the series was produced by Slade Gibson, former guitarist for the rock band Savage Garden. The series commenced in May 2018 and the core podcast concluded in August 2018 after 14 episodes. When announcing the final episode, Thomas stated that, "The investigating and reporting job has largely been done in examining and bringing to light the new evidence that’s out there," and added that more episodes would be produced when new leads are fully explored. Two further episodes were added in late 2018 as the case evolved; the first covered a new dig for evidence at the Dawsons's former Bayview home, and the second detailed the arrest of Dawson on 5 December 2018 by detectives from the Queensland Homicide squad. On advice from the Office of the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions, and in the interests of a fair trial, The Australian removed The Teacher's Pet from download in Australia in April 2019, prior to the upcoming court case.