Journalist Amelia Oberhardt discovered at her mum’s wake a photo of her as a teenager, wearing a wedding ring, standing beside her apparent husband and cuddling an unknown baby.

Trying to find out more, Oberhardt’s journey led to more hidden secrets of 1950-1970s Australia which became Secrets We Keep: Shame, Lies & Family, a new nine part audio docu-series with the LiSTNR News team.

The series delves into hidden pregnancies, shotgun marriages, forced adoptions, the challenges of young women in that time faced with impossible situations and the secrets they leave their families decades later.

Host, Amelia Oberhardt (pictured), said:

“What surprised me during the making of this series, is just how common this story is for so many families and how many are still impacted today. I really hope this series can help to heal these families, because it certainly helped change the way I feel about my mum.”

LiSTNR Head of News and Information, Melanie Withnall, said:

“This first season of Secrets We Keep is a deeply personal journey for Amelia, as well as a companion podcast for anyone seeking to untangle their own family secrets. Knowing the extreme sensitivity of the subject matter, the LiSTNR team has taken exceptional care and applied a best practice trauma informed approach to creating the content.”

The first two episodes of Secrets We Keep: Shame, Lies & Family are available now with new episodes released every Tuesday.