A hypnotist causes chaos on a cruise ship.

Winner Winner by Bri Lee

Read by Indra Liyanaarachchi.

Originally published in The Saturday Paper, over three parts.

Synopsis

Phil is supposed to be on top of the world. Instead, he’s been forced into retirement. He’s stuck on a cruise ship. And thanks to a certain hypnotist, he’s developed some, interesting, new ticks.  

Originally published in The Saturday Paper as a three-part serial, Winner Winner, is a blast from the pandemic past that comes with a social critique that remains just as poignant as it was in the pre-COVID era.    

Listeners are advised that this episode of Unfolded comes with a language and content warning. 

About Bri Lee

Bri Lee is the multi-award-winning bestselling author of acclaimed non-fiction books Eggshell Skull, Beauty and Who Gets to Be Smart. Her journalism, essays, and short stories have been published widely, and she is the creator and editor of News & Reviews. Bri's bestselling first novel, The Work, was published in April 2024 and was longlisted for the 2025 Indie Award for Debut Fiction. Her latest novel, Seed, was just published in October 2025. 

Learn more - bri-lee.com

Unfolded is produced with support from the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin Nation.

The producers would like to pay their respects to the traditional owners, to their Elders past and present, and to acknowledge their storytelling history, which goes back tens of thousands of years.