LiSTNR launches new season of Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder
Listeners will be taken into a secretive religious group where every aspect of members’ lives are tightly controlled by their hardline pastor in the new season of LiSTNR’s podcast docuseries Secrets We Keep.
Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder, a new nine-part investigation hosted by award-winning Australian investigative journalist Richard Baker, reveals the sinister truth about the pastor who led the Geelong Revival Centre (GRC), a regional Victorian church with tentacles across Australia.
Survivors and ex-members bravely blow the whistle on abuse, violence and sexism from inside the group, which operated under the late Pastor Noel Hollins.
Available now exclusively on LiSTNR, the series exposes how Pastor Hollins led the GRC, which has affiliated assemblies around the world, blended the racist doctrine of the “British Israel” movement with doomsday predictions that Armageddon would soon be upon us.
Pastor Hollins dedicated his life to the movement and convinced followers he had a direct line to God. Under his leadership, members were encouraged to use physical punishment to discipline their children, women and girls were routinely oppressed, and abuse was not reported to authorities.
Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder showcases exclusive audio obtained by Baker as part of his two-year investigation of Pastor Hollins’ teachings. Baker also secured testimony from ex-members who share intimate details of their lives growing up in a highly controlled environment, where a culture of intense surveillance meant everyone reported on each other and normal human urges such as affection and attraction were suppressed and replaced with rules, judgement, fasting and prayer.
According to Pastor Hollins, the answer to any hardship, ailment, fear or desire was simply to ‘Pray Harder’.
“It’s astonishing what these former members have shared with me,” said Richard. “The amount of human wreckage, particularly within families, is shocking and I’ve come away from several interviews kind of numb and in a daze.
“Celeste is a voice you’ll hear in the series. She first came to the church as a vulnerable young girl and later returned as a single mother looking for solace having escaped a world of drug addiction and gang violence. However, the oppressive and controlling nature of the ‘church’ under Noel Hollins meant it didn’t feel like a place of solace, and she became increasingly concerned for the wellbeing of her young autistic son after he fell victim to the church’s practice of using physical violence to discipline children. Now in her early 30s, Celeste has left the church and reconnected with other ex-members to speak out.”
All allegations and experiences in this podcast pertain to those under the control of the assembly of Pastor Noel Hollins. They do not relate to or represent the church under the current leadership of the Geelong Revival Centre.
Pastor Hollins died at age 93 earlier this year.
All nine episodes of Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder are now available exclusively on LiSTNR.
SBS launches new podcast ‘Australia Fair’: The Long Tail of the White Australia Policy
Australia Fair is the new SBS podcast with some challenging history lessons for everyone who calls Australia home, chronicling the key moments contributing to the country’s national identity.
Interviewing academics and high-profile Australians, host Janak Rogers travels back in time to examine everything from ‘blackbirding’ South Pacific Islanders and settling ‘Ten-Pound Poms’, to attitudes towards the first Vietnamese refugees arriving on Australian shores by boat and African youth ‘crime gangs’. The series charts Australia’s growing pains through successive waves of immigration, and our nation’s ongoing efforts to make multiculturalism work.
“Australia Fair is a podcast that examines the contradictions of being a modern multicultural country where some racist attitudes continue to prevail. The podcast looks for ways forward while shedding light on what is, at times, a very dark history,” Rogers said.
“I’ve always thought deeply about my own identity and connection to this country. I was born in Australia, but my mother was an Indian socialite and my father a British soldier. No one looked like me growing up, so I couldn’t help but question whether I belonged here and what it means to be Australian.
“As a storyteller, I also think it’s crucial we consider what stories we tell and who tells them. Australia Fair has a wide line-up of guests who all have a story and a voice in this conversation, from politicians and experts, to refugees, activists, and more.”
Australia Fair is available to listen now on the SBS Audio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LiSTNR and wherever else you stream podcasts.
Black T-Shirts – Henry Innis
Adam Ferrier and Brent Smart this week are joined by Henry Innis, co-founder and CEO at Mutinex GrowthOS, a marketing mix modelling platform designed to drive growth.
The new episode comes live from SXSW Sydney as they discuss measuring the creative output of organisations, improving the memorability of your media and the limitations of MMM’s.
Layne Beachley first guest on Rules Don’t Apply vodcast series from The Growth Distillery
As part of its presence at SXSW Sydney in 2024, The Growth Distillery hosted a series of 10 vodcasts (a podcast with video) hosted by Dan Krigstein and branded Rules Don’t Apply.
First guest on the series was Layne Beachley and Krigstein, Director of News Corp’s The Growth Distillery & The Growth Intelligence Centre, just might have launched the series with the best of an impressive selection of guests.
Here is his introduction to Episode 1 of Rules Don’t Apply:
“This series seeks to redefine the art of the possible because for those looking to navigate what’s next, the rules of today may just no longer apply,” said Krigstein.
“Welcome to what is going to be an exceptional week here at The Growth Distillery where we are throwing the baby out with the bath water.
“I am joined by Layne Beachley AO. Layne, if you have been living under a rock for the last 30 years, she is a surfing legend not just here in Australia but across the globe. She is a seven-time world champion, the only person ever to win that many consecutively.
“Technically eight if we were to count the ones that they’ve given you and pulled back. She’s not only a champion of surfing, what I love about what Lane does is she’s a fierce advocate for equality in sport. She has seen the sporting world change over her time.
“She’s a passionate environmentalist. She’s chair of Surfing Australia as well as a champion for mental well-being. Layne is looking to empower one million people to become more centred, connected and confident through her incredible work at the Awake Academy.
“Her work was recognized in 2015 when she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia and let me tell you that is an achievement, to say the least. She still surfs every day, loves Rosé and she is human, I tell you, because her biggest weakness is hot chips. But of course, she doesn’t mind breaking a rule or two.”
There are many highlights in the 25-minute Rules Don’t Apply interview. Here are just a few.