Mark Brandon ‘Chopper’ Read (1954-2013) was a notorious Melbourne underworld figure who admitted to murdering four people, right before he died. But as Alecia and Leigh soon discover, he was also a massive liar.
Alecia and Leigh wade through the lies to try to understand how does one become Chopper? How does he get that nickname and that reputation?
Featuring failure and mediocrity, many institutions (mental, military, religious and penal), Alecia’s flawless Chopper impression, Dr Freud, and yes, some grizzly moments of violence.
SOURCES
Shand, Adam (2025). The Real Chopper: The Man Behind the Legend, Inside and Out. Penguin Books
Mayr, Andrea. "Chopper: From the inside: Discourses of the ‘celebrity’ criminal Mark Brandon Read." Language and Literature 21.3 (2012): 260-273.
Read, Mark Brandon (1991). Chopper: From the inside. Floradale Productions.
Oakes, L. "Guess who's coming in from the cold? An interview with Mark 'Chopper' Read." Psychotherapy in Australia 8.1 (2001): 30-33.
Read, Mark Brandon (2002). Hooky the cripple: The grim tale of a hunchback who triumphs (A. Cullen, Illus.). Pluto Press Australia.
Cartwright, Garth (2013). Guardian Obituary: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/09/mark-chopper-read-obituary
Ubaldi, Simone. "Serial thriller." Monthly, The Nov 2013 (2013): 18-19.
Jackson, Rochelle (2011). Partners and Crime. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin (see chapter by Mary-Anne Hodge).
- Hosted by Alecia Simmonds and Leigh Boucher
- Supervising Producer: Hannah Reich
- Development Producer: Beverley Wang
- Executive Producers: Clare Rawlinson and Eric George
- Head of ABC Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn
- Theme: Martin Peralta
- Artwork: Gabriel Virata-Alves
- Sound Engineering: Brendan O’Neill
