From a young age, Cheng Lei had dreamed of becoming a journalist. After ditching a career in finance, her dreams came true when she was hired as a business journalist in China. But that dream turned into a nightmare in 2020 when Lei was arrested by Chinese authorities and accused of sharing state secrets. Hidden away in isolation and denied due process, it would be more than 1,000 days before she would see her kids or family again. 

In this episode of Head Game, journalist and author Cheng Lei reveals to Ant Middleton what it's really like inside China's prison system, and how she kept her self mentally resilient in conditions designed to break her down.

LINKS

• Cheng Lei's book 'A Memoir Of Freedom' is available now
• Watch the Sky News Australia documentary 'Cheng Lei: My Story' here
• Follow Ant on Instagram, X, and Facebook
• Learn more about Ant on his website antmiddleton.com
• Follow Nova Podcasts on Instagram for videos from the podcast and behind the scenes content – @novapodcastsofficial.

CREDITS
Host: Ant Middleton
Editor: Adrian Walton
Executive Producer: Damien Haffenden 
Managing Producer: Elle Beattie

Nova Entertainment acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we recorded this podcast, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. We pay our respect to Elders past and present.