Hedley Thomas has been a journalist for more than 35 years. He focuses on long-form podcast investigations into the unsolved murders of women. In 2017 and 2018, Hedley investigated the suspected murder in 1982 of Sydney mother of two Lyn Dawson by her husband, Chris Dawson. The investigation unfolded in his podcast series, The Teacher's Pet, which has achieved more than 70 million downloads and won a Gold Walkley – journalism's highest prize. In 2021–22, Hedley's third major podcast series, Shandee's Story, investigated the savage stabbing murder of a young woman in Queensland in 2013. The podcast uncovered gross negligence in testing and reporting on crime scene by the State's DNA laboratory, triggering a royal commission inquiry and the current reinvestigation and solving of murders and rapes and other serious crimes. Hedley is the author of Sick to Death in 2007, a book about a dangerous surgeon, Dr Jayant Patel who got a job as director of surgery at a Queensland public hospital despite having been struck off for gross negligence in surgery in the United States. Hedley has won eight Walkley Awards including two Gold Walkleys.