It is, on the surface, a classic odd-couple pitch: put a Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist in a room with the doctor who became the face of Australia’s COVID-19 response, and ask them to interrogate the world’s most persistent conspiracy theories.
But Conspiracy Cabal is more than a novelty pairing. It may be the most strategically significant new Australian podcast of 2026.
Richard Baker, whose journalism has helped bring down banks, exposed sports doping cover-ups and forced royal commissions, and Dr Nick Coatsworth, whose COVID briefings made him one of the most recognised faces in the country, have spent 18 months developing a show that aims to do something the conspiracy podcast genre has largely failed to do: take the audience seriously.
“My professional brain and my head are so trained to research facts and what evidence there is. Obviously, that’s the essence of investigative journalism. But in my heart, I’m a believer,” Baker told Mediaweek.
The weekly series sees the unlikely duo examine some of the world’s most persistent conspiracy narratives, unpacking where they began, why people believe them, and whether any truth lies buried beneath the speculation.
Rather than amplify fringe claims, the pair say the show is about investigating them – a blend of journalism, research and psychology designed to explore how conspiracy culture evolves in the digital age.
A journalist and a doctor walk into a conspiracy
The idea for the show began in a way that feels almost Hollywood-esque.
“Rich and I actually only met a year ago. We’re managed by the same agent. And she was having a talent get together,” Coatsworth explained to Mediaweek.
“And she manages a lot of people who are, you know, on the stage, I guess. But Rich and I gravitated towards each other as kind of a different sort of talent that she manages.”
Six months later, Baker had an idea.
He called Coatsworth and had floated the concept of a show that would investigate conspiracy theories without ridiculing the people drawn to them.
“It instantly grabbed me,” Coatsworth said.
For the former deputy chief medical officer, the appeal lay in the fact that conspiracy thinking is far more common than many people care to admit.
As he puts it, most people quietly carry their own private curiosities about unexplained events or contested historical moments – questions that rarely get aired in polite conversation.
“We all kind of hide our conspiracy beliefs under a bushel,” he said.
The podcast, he believes, simply creates a space where those curiosities can be explored openly, without the stigma that often shuts down discussion.
“It gives an opportunity for people to engage with it without being called a cooker or a tinfoil hat person.”
The format draws on Baker’s investigative journalism background and Coatsworth’s experience navigating public policy and science during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seeking the “kernel of truth”
At the heart of the podcast is a guiding idea: almost every conspiracy theory begins with some version of reality.
“The word ‘research’ is a real key for this show; Nick and I are both research people,” Baker explained.
“Our tagline is seeking the kernel of truth, and every conspiracy starts with a kernel of truth. What we want to do is tell the story of that, then look at its evolution, and do a bit of a soft fact-check along the way.”
Episodes explore everything from intelligence agency plots and political scandals to health scares and extraterrestrial claims. The goal, Baker said, is to create a space where listeners can question big narratives without being ridiculed.
“We want the show to be a really safe space where people can come and join in and where it’s okay to disagree or have different opinions on the validity of things.”
Why conspiracy theories take hold
Coatsworth said the show is less about debunking and more about understanding the psychology behind why people believe conspiracies in the first place.
“It doesn’t actually matter whether it’s a way out conspiracy – you know, aliens from outer space, or whether it’s something a lot more real for people like, you know, like the COVID pandemic.
“What interests me is how these things can capture us. Sometimes, it captures small numbers of people. Sometimes, many people get captured,” he said.
That fascination with belief systems is also what shapes the episode slate.
The first season includes both well-known conspiracies and more obscure ones – including Australia’s mysterious Westall UFO sighting, which Coatsworth admits surprised even his friends.
“It’s really interesting how few people have heard of some of these major conspiracies in Australia,” he said.
“After we did our episode on the Westall UFO incident, I had a mate who grew up in Melbourne. She’s my age, late 40s. And she texted me and said, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of that story.”
For those not in the know, the Westall UFO incident occurred back in 1966. At the time, hundreds of locals claimed to have seen an unidentified flying object. No real explanation has ever been provided.
Independent podcast play
Conspiracy Cabal has been independently developed and funded by Baker and Coatsworth, with production by former LiSTNR producer Ed Gooden.
The project has been in development for roughly 18 months and is available in both audio and video formats across podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Australian pharmacy and retailer Wholelife has signed on as a launch partner for the series.
For Baker, the independent route was part of the appeal. Investigating conspiracies, even cautiously, can be controversial territory.
For Coatsworth, the balancing act is simple.
“We’ve got to attune our radars really quickly to, you know, what’s real, what’s not, but we’ve both got reputations behind us that, you know, we’ve got to, we’ve got to be cautious with.”