Who the Hell Is Hamish? was an Australian crime podcast by The Australian newspaper reporting on the exploits of serial conman Hamish McLaren. It was hosted by Greg Bearup.
| Who the Hell Is Hamish? | |
|---|---|
 Who the Hell Is Hamish? cover image | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Greg Bearup |
| Format | True crime investigation |
| Language | English |
| Length | 20–45 minutes |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Production | |
| Audio format | |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | 8 February – 21 June 2019 |
| Provider | The Australian |
| Related | |
| Website | Official Webpage |
Overview
editHamish McLaren, born Hamish Watson on 29 March 1970,[1] was a confidence trickster who used several aliases, including Hamish Earle McLaren, Hamish Phillip McLaren, Hamish Watson, Hamish Philip Watson, Hamish Maxwell, and Max Tavita.[2]
Between 2011-2017, while living in Bondi, he stole at least $7.66 million from 15 known victims in Australia,[3] including one he married, and fashion designer Lisa Ho.[4] Overall, his known crimes, in the US, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, and Australia, netted him more than $70 million, given that:
Over three decades and four continents, he stole millions of dollars from the vulnerable and the naïve, using romance, lies and multiple identities to tear lives apart.[5]
McLaren, though investigated and sued numerous times previously, was bankrupted in 2016, and was arrested in Australia in July 2017.[6][2] He pleaded guilty in June 2019 “to 17 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime”.[7] He was sentenced to 16 years, back dated to commence in mid-2017.[8] He will be due for parole in 2029.
Episodes
edit- The Day Max Died - details his arrest in 2017
- Fashion Crimes - introduces his dealings with Lisa Ho
- The Gatsby of the Great Lakes - covers his time as a jet setter in Canada
- The Intern - explains his relationship with his stepson’s 16 year-old girlfriend
- Who the Hell is Phil? - covers his day trading and the killing of his fictional twin brother
- Kevin from Queensland goes to Canada - from a man who knew him as a ski instructor in both countries
- On the Couch with Hamish - interviews with ex-girlfriends, including a professional assessment of him as a sociopath
- The Definition of Evil - highlighting the institutional failures in different countries in preventing his crime spree
- The Reckoning - recorded post-sentencing
The title of the series comes from McLaren’s then girlfriend reacting to his arrest. At the time, she knew him as Max Tavita. After receiving a text message from “Hamish’s brother-in-law”, she stated “Who the fuck is Hamish?”[5]
Reception
editThe investigative podcast was a popular success both in Australia and abroad. It peaked at #1 on the iTunes charts in Australian and the UK and #3 in the US and Canada.[9] It spent a continuous 94 days in the top ten in Australia, with 34 day at #1.[10]
The podcast was a podcast pick of the week by The Guardian, writing "It's incredible to hear how much trust people put in him, but easy to see how they fell for the ruse."[11] The Sydney Morning Herald called it a "Blue Velvet journey into Australian suburbia."[12] It was featured as a favourite true crime podcast of the week by New York magazine. [13]
References
edit- ^ "How designer Lisa Ho helped unpick conman Hamish McLaren's web of lies". www.theaustralian.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b "The photo that undid Australian conman Hamish McLaren". Stuff. 16 September 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "NSW conman Hamish McLaren jailed for 12 years over swindling $7.6 million from 15 victims". SBS News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "The real life faces behind Who The Hell Is Hamish, The Australian's new addictive podcast". Mamamia. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "How conman Hamish McLaren swindled more than $70 million". 7NEWS.com.au. 26 May 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Conman Hamish McLaren jailed for up to 16 years after swindling $7.6m from victims". the Guardian. 20 June 2019. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Serial fraudster who swindled more than $7 million awaiting sentence". www.9news.com.au. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "Heartless conman Hamish McLaren stole $70m from victims". NewsComAu. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "The Australian - 'Who the Hell Is Hamish?' International iTunes Chart Performance". iTunesCharts.net. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ "The Australian - 'Who the Hell Is Hamish?' Australian iTunes Chart Performance". iTunesCharts.net. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ Mumford, Gwilym; Davies, Hannah J.; Verdier, Hannah; Godfrey, Katherine (22 February 2019). "The Incredible True Story of a Globe-Trotting Conman – Podcasts of the Week". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ Wells, Peter (21 February 2019). "Four New Podcasts to Start Your 2019 Bucket List". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ "This Week in True-Crime Podcasts: Is Ron Burgundy a Psychopath?". New York. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.