Yes, the undercurrent tragically killed our 17th Prime Minister, but were his days in office already numbered?

Leigh argues that Holt was sinking (politically) before he died. So how did the man whose brief tenure as PM included the 1967 Referendum and the start of dismantling the White Australia Policy lose his audience?

We tell you how we think it all went down and give you the final say on the conspiracies that swirl around his disappearance.

Plus, charisma bomb Gough Whitlam makes an appearance thereby flustering Holt and all of us.

SOURCES

'Prime Minister Harold Holt's Briefcase' National Archives M4298,1

'New Prime Minister and His Wife' Australian Women's Weekly Feb 2 1966

Hancock, Ian (2026). 'Harold Edward Hold' in Australia's Prime Ministers edited by Michelle Grattan (New Holland Publishers)

Walker, Ross (2022). Harold Holt: Always One Step Further (Latobe University Press)

Frame, Tom (2005). The Life and Death of Harold Holt (Allen and Unwin)

Hosted by Alecia Simmonds and Leigh Boucher
Producer: Hannah Jose
Supervising Producer: Hannah Reich
Video Producer: Christian Harimanow
Executive Producers: Clare Rawlinson and Eric George
Head of ABC Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn
Theme: Martin Peralta
Artwork: Gabriel Virata-Alves

Harold Holt: The tragic demise of a people-pleasing PM (part 2)

The Dead Can't Sue

Harold Holt: The tragic demise of a people-pleasing PM (part 2)