A couple of months ago we held a night for subscribers to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, a conversation with John Silvester, hosted by crime and justice reporter Erin Pearson.

We recorded the whole thing and so for today’s episode, we bring you this special episode with Sly.

In the conversation, Sly shared how he became a journalist and then all the highlights from his long career – from the gangland war in Melbourne and his dealings with Carl Williams, how a Christmas card from Mark "Chopper" Read sparked a long relationship, and what was so different about Erin Patterson, who was convicted - and since appealed - of the notorious mushroom murder case.

You too can have access to nights like this by becoming a subscriber. 

Background reading, watching and listening:

• Sly’s latest column – ‘You’re gunna get it’: How police stared down a double-murderer and prevented further carnage
• A tour of the Naked City: Melbourne's crime secrets revealed by John Silvester