Dear Rachelle podcast is now the top new show on Apple Podcasts, and top episode of the year
The award-winning Dear Rachelle podcast has hit another major milestone after it was ranked as the top new show on Apple Podcasts for the year. LISTEN NOW
The award-winning Dear Rachelle podcast has hit another major milestone after it was ranked as the top new show on Apple Podcasts, and the top episode of the year on Apple’s Top Charts of 2025.
This means it was one of the most popular shows Apple Podcasts listeners heard this year.
Dear Rachelle podcast host Ashlea Hansen said the recognition was “an honour”.
The News Corp Australia podcast — which follows a live investigation into the cold case murder of Rachelle Childs — has reached 4.7 million total downloads and is averaging 6,000 downloads per day.
“This recognition is a huge achievement for everyone behind the scenes, and for everyone brave enough to step behind the microphone to help give Rachelle a voice,” Ms Hansen said. “It’s an honour to Rachelle, to her legacy, and to her family’s unwavering fight for justice. “We’re deeply grateful that so many listeners have connected with Rachelle through the power of podcasting and the journalism that helps keep her story alive.”
Childs, a 23-year-old woman from Bargo, south-west of Sydney, disappeared after work in June 2001.
Her half-naked body was dumped by the side of a remote highway, about 100km from where she was last seen, and set on fire.
Listen to the Dear Rachelle podcast below:
No one was ever arrested over her death – not even the prime suspect, her former boss Kevin Steven Correll, who was suddenly found dead in Thailand from heart complications just weeks after the podcast aired.
He had a history of raping and threatening women.
The lawyer who advised the Dear Rachelle podcast still believes the investigation uncovered enough fresh evidence for the coroner to re-open the inquest into her death.
Media lawyer Justin Quill believes new information including phone data analysis which conflicted with the alibi of the main suspect, as well as evidence from Correll’s daughter – could build a case about Rachelle’s murder.
Former Detective Sergeant Damian Loone, who was critical in helping convict Lynnette Dawson’s killer on the Teacher’s Pet podcast, also said Correll’s death is not the end of the search to find Rachelle’s killer.
“If someone was in fear of saying something to police because of reprisals, perhaps that threat has been eliminated now and they should come forward,” Mr Loone said.
The podcast’s success on Apple comes after it was also recognised recently overseas in New York where it took out Gold in the True Crime Show category at the Signal Awards.
It was a finalist up against major international podcasts by Universal Pictures, Michelle Obama, CNN, and Travis Kelce.
Dear Rachelle also won the award for Investigation of the Year at the 2025 News Awards.
For more information about our investigation or to listen to more episodes, visit dearachelle.com.au.
If you have any tips or confidential information, please contact investigative journalist Ashlea Hansen at dearrachelle@news.com.au.
You can also join our Dear Rachelle podcast Facebook group.
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Originally published as Dear Rachelle podcast is now the top new show on Apple Podcasts, and top episode of the year
