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Episodes
Matt Hall's life at supersonic speed
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Hall made his first solo flight at 15 years old and has been addicted to life in the air ever since. He became a top gun fighter pilot and after...
The forgotten treasures of desert dwellers
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Archaeologist Julien Cooper digs up the remote deserts of Sudan and Egypt, finding forgotten artefacts, which tell the uninterrupted, thousands-year-...
Billy Bragg — the boy from Barking
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Billy Bragg grew up in working-class Barking, east of London. The expected path was to go from school to the local car factory, but Billy his sights ...
How Rafael Bonachela let his inner showgirl out with Kylie Minogue
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rafael Bonachela was born in the dying years of Franco’s Spain, into a patriarchal culture that didn’t appreciate little boys who wanted to dance...
The power of the extra dad
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Dugald Jellie was growing up in country Victoria, it was dads — his own and his friends' — who opened the world up for him, and as a fath...
Bronnie and the jaws of life
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Firie Bronnie Mackintosh attends emergencies to cut people out of crushed cars and rescue them from burning buildings (R)
Riding for a fall - a portrait of male drive
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a man can't stop his drive and desire for more? Author Andrew O'Hagan dissects the pitfalls of more money, more success and more ap...
The velveteen rabbit at the end of the world
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the decades before Ruth Shaw became a bookseller in New Zealand's Fiordland, she lived the incredible stories of adventure, love and tragedy that...
A Latvian Fairytale
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Brigita Ozolins grew up hearing about the magic of her mother's home country, Latvia. It wasn't until she was in her 50s that Brigita understo...
Naomi and the smudge of luminous stars
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Astrophysicist Naomi McClure-Griffiths was making an atlas of our galaxy when she discovered an entirely new spiral arm of the Milky Way
Sean Fong dominating life on the jiu-jitsu mat
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sean Fong is a para world champion in jiu-jitsu. The 'gentle' martial art has allowed Sean to shatter any illusions that society might have about...
The highs and lows of the ALP
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From its surprising successes to its dismal failures, historian Frank Bongiorno takes you through the wild 130-year history of the Australian Labor P...
Troy Cassar-Daley: the boy from Halfway Creek
10 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Troy Cassar-Daley grew up walking a tightrope between two worlds after his mum and dad broke up when he was small. As a grown man, a trip on a countr...
Troy Cassar-Daley: the boy from Halfway Creek
10 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Troy Cassar-Daley grew up walking a tightrope between two worlds after his mum and dad broke up when he was small. As a grown man, a trip on a countr...
When Bonnie just kept paddling
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Bonnie Hancock stumbled on a book in her local library, she got a gut feeling that refused to go away. And so she set off on a gruelling 12,700k...
Uncovering Tasmania's gruesome past
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cassandra Pybus exposes the secret trade of the skeletal remains of the first people of Tasmania. CW: This episode contains upsetting discussion abou...
Fantastic and fascinating fungi
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fungi have given us many gifts, from penicillin to food, but they can also be quite scary. Dr Alison Pouliot spends her time trying to explain these ...
Chris Haywood's life in character
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Australian actor looks back at his riotous life on camera, from Newsfront to Muriel's Wedding
The soup bar saving lives
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hana Assafiri was a child bride in her teens when she fought her way free of her violent husband. Then she built a new life helping other marginalise...
How our brains use autocorrect
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Margaret Moore is fascinated by our most mysterious organ - the brain. By looking at stroke survivors, she is trying to understand how brains work...
Nick Cave's broken-hearted optimism
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Cave has lived through addiction, love and unthinkable loss. His experiences have changed how he understands hope, heartbreak and optimism (R)
Terry's long goodbye
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Keri Kitay with the story of her devoted, outgoing mum Terry, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at 54 years old
Learning to read with Manisha Gazula
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How headmistress Manisha Gazula radically (and controversially) transformed the literacy, and life, outcomes for her students at Marsden Road Public ...
Mother Courage
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Colum McCann with the story of Diane Foley, whose son James was murdered by the Islamic State (CW: this episode contains descriptions of viole...
ANZAC Day: letters from the front
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For 100 years Australia has been collecting tens and thousands of letters and diaries from deployed service personnel. These are just some of the mov...
How Rhonda defied expectations
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Dr Rhonda Wilson was in year 10, she was told she should drop out of school and settle for becoming "just a mum". This is how Rhonda defied the ...
Dr Sutapa Mukherjee on how to sleep well
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From muscle paralysis and sleepwalking, to the power of our subconscious, Dr Sutapa Mukherjee takes you into the secret world of sleep
The creativity of language, storytelling and the great language recovery by Dr Ray Kelly Snr
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Ray Kelly Snr's grandfather was asked to translate "telephone" into Gumbayngirr, he responded with “muuya barrigi”, or flying breath (CW: ...
Theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama on making peace and living in poetry
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pádraig Ó Tuama survived conversion therapy and exorcism as a young gay man in a church in Ireland, then became a leading peace negotiator and a p...
Carly-Jay on dying, living, and learning to breathe
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Carly-Jay Metcalfe lives with cystic fibrosis, and has faced a double lung transplant, a rare cancer and other huge medical challenges. But through i...
A portrait of Peter Dutton
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Lech Blaine on Peter Dutton, the former policeman who became the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
The secret life of slime mould
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Scientist Tanya Latty on how a single-cell organism, slime mould, can solve complex problems in some remarkable ways (R)
Bettany Hughes takes you to the hottest sightseeing spots of the ancient world
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What was on the "must-see" lists for tourists in 200 BCE? From the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the Great Pyramids at Giza, historian Bettany Hughes...
Finding a new version of family
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist Marina Kamenev on the changing story of our families in the 21st century (CW: discusses donor conception)
Louise Milligan on justice, family and Ireland
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The investigative reporter reflects on her beloved Ringsend relatives and what drives her work holding powerful organisations to account (CW: discuss...
Tom Gleeson: the hard man of Australian comedy
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Gleeson discovered and honed his distinctively caustic, laconic style of humour in some unlikely places (R)
Jellyfish, sharks, grease and goggles: the life of a marathon swimmer
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dean Summers became a long-distance swimmer in midlife. Now he swims with sharks, jellyfish and bioluminescence in wild oceans around the world
The strange origins of our immense oceans
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For writer James Bradley, the ocean is the connective tissue that holds all of life on Earth together. But how did it get here in the first place?
When the family circus comes to town
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From the rodeo to the dining room table, this is a collection of strange, funny and sombre stories from real families
Glennon Doyle's untamed life
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Glennon was the world's most famous Christian mummy blogger when she fell wildly in love with U.S Women's Soccer star Abby Wambach (R)
Ayesha is not an escape artist
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ayesha Jehangir left her rural village to get a better education; she left Pakistan to explore Afghanistan; and she left an abusive marriage to find ...
How Bri Lee became an incendiary
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bri Lee on the brutal series of events which began her life as a writer tackling injustice in our courts, the beauty industry, and in our schools (CW...
Family folklore: spies, secrets and suffering
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Phil Kafcaloudes grew up hearing stories about his legendary grandmother Olga, who became a spy for the British in WWII. When he grew up, he went in...
Jane Fonda - writing her own script
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Fonda's big life has included Barbarella, activism, three husbands, workout videos and hair epiphanies. Now in her 80s, she's devoting her energ...
Oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros' love for Egyptian movies
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The oud virtuoso reflects on his path to the instrument, via a stamp collection and an Egyptian movie starWhen Joseph was 10, his dad swapped an iron...
Crime scenes, lost wallabies, and coal-covered possums
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Best-selling crime writer Candice Fox has written 17 books. But she also has a second life hurtling around Sydney rescuing stranded wallabies, cockat...
The secret world of servos after dark
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
David Goodwin spent years working the graveyard shift at his local service station in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. The grungy work quickly took ov...
Va — the sacred space between us
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Australia's first Pasifika university Professor, Jioji Ravulo was just a boy with the flu when a trip to his father's homeland turned him into a chie...
Anton Clifford-Motopi on finding his full name
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Anton Clifford-Motopi didn't see a face that looked like his until he became a father. And it would take several more years before he learned who he ...
On birds, fathers and fairy possums
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ecologist David Lindenmayer first went into the Mountain Ash forests of Victoria in search of the tiny Leadbeater Possum, and he discovered an amazin...
The death on the pitch which changed Andy's life
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Football tragic Andy Paschalidis was in his 50s when a dear friend and fellow player died during an over-35s soccer game. The tragedy altered the cou...
Jarvis Cocker and the Pulp master plan
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The former frontman uncovered boxes from his adolescence in his attic, and he was amazed at his early, detailed plans to take over the music industry...
Sex, law, and life on Mars
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What would a human settlement on Mars look like? How would humans procreate in space? And what on earth is a 'snuggle tube'? These are all questions ...
From Yale to psychiatric prison: the undoing of a brilliant friend
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Jonathan Rosen was a child he had a neighbourhood friend called Michael Laudor. Their very similar pathways in life dramatically, and darkly, di...
Zoya Patel on horses and homecoming
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Zoya Patel became besotted with horses as a child, she could never have imagined how they would help shape her life and relationships
Shaun's giving heart and thousands of free meals
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Shaun Christie-David's parents came to Australia fleeing civil war in Sri Lanka. By age 13, he knew he wanted to be a banker. But life inside the wor...
Rescuing the forgotten animals of war
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Fillinger has taken his military experience and wildlife rescue charity to Ukraine, where, as a civilian, he evacuates abandoned lions, wolves...
How Ross Gittins found his calling
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After a dispiriting stint as a Chartered Accountant, Ross found his perfect job: explaining the Australian economy, in plain English, to millions of ...
Jodi Rodgers on loving our neurodiversity
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a teenager, Jodi Rodgers got a job as a disability support worker and met a 6-year-old girl who would change her life
Death, with love and dignity
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Pauline McGrath's husband David was diagnosed with a brain tumour, she supported him as he chose a different path to death (CW: discussion of de...
Mary Beard's Roman Empire
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the wildest stories about Roman emperors involve playing the violin while watching the city burn, and appointing a horse as consul. Classicis...
Mic's way out of the woods
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Deeply ashamed of what he had done, Mic Whitty retreated into the Welsh wilderness for almost a year. Eventually an unexpected goal pulled him out of...
Satu Vanksa on faith, love and music
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Satu Vanska grew up in Japan as the child of Lutheran Missionaries. When the family moved back to Finland, she felt isolated and alien. But Satu knew...
Guilty feminist Deborah Frances-White
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The podcaster and comedian on her early life in Queensland, where she yearned to wear a coat; lessons from improv comedy; and how eyebrows were the k...
Trent Dalton on life before Boy Swallows Universe
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a child Trent was a quiet observer of the drama of his family and his neighbourhood. He became an award-winning writer (R)
Brigitte and the seven peaks
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Brigitte Muir's dream to climb the seven highest mountains on each of the seven continents took much longer and cost her more than she expected, but ...
Our hormones and our minds: Jayashri Kulkarni
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Jayashri Kulkarni on her Indian-Australian upbringing and her groundbreaking research into women's hormones and mental healthTo binge even more ...
From ploughs to cash cows: a short history of economics
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Federal MP Andrew Leigh is a former professor of economics who is fascinated by how economics can create magic
A matter of trust
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How Jeanne Ryckmans fell for a dashing Irish Professor who was far from what he appeared to be
The magnificent history of the Huxleys
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Alison Bashford with the story of the Huxley family, who founded one of the great dynasties of the world
The bookbinder's luck
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dominic Riley on how a chance encounter with a bookbinding monk named Brother Bede changed the course of his life (R)
Paul Kelly and the poetry
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Australia's storyteller in song on the poems he's loved since childhood, and how reading and learning great poetry has changed his songwriting (R)
The calligraphy of the outback: the art and life of David Rankin
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Artist David Rankin on his turbulent early life as a the son of a bootmaker, his unexpected path into painting, and his passionate love story with wr...
Crossing Australia with a camel named Delilah
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sophie Matterson spent five years preparing to cross the Australian continent with five camels she caught and trained herself (R)
Nick's land of lizards
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Clemann is one of Australia's leading lizard experts, but took an unconventional path into research. After working for years as a tradie, Nick p...
A party girl gets sober
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Victoria Vanstone was just 13 years old when she had her first drink, and the booze quickly consumed her. It wasn't until she was in her 30s that Vic...
Sue's special classroom
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lowry originally trained as an opera singer, but while living in London she fell in love with teaching children with special needs
Richard E. Grant and his pocketful of happiness
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The actor on the late love of his life, his wife Joan Washington, and the final message she left him (R)
Kira and the real King Kong
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Kira Westaway has been on a ten-year mission to solve the mystery of how, why and when a giant ape called Gigantopithecus Blacki became extinct, a...
The making of Nazeem Hussain
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nazeem Hussain honed his comedy in Melbourne's suburbs in the 1990s. After his father left the family, his fearless mother taught Nazeem how to use h...
The toilet warrior
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Balla was on a business trip to India when he met two young men on a train. They invited him back to see their home, one of the world's biggest ...
She farms, she flies, she castrates bulls
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Ameliah Scott pilots herself around remote NSW to take care of animals and have a cuppa with their owners.
Trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) and me
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a teenager Adele Dumont started pulling out her hair from the root.Eventually she created a bald spot the size of a 20-cent piece at the crown of ...
Jackie goes to Space Camp
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After feeling burnt out, Jackie Carpenter spontaneously applied for NASA's Space Camp. She was the first Australian accepted, and it was the most tra...
Julia Baird's search for grace
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Julia Baird has been sustained through hard times by acts of "moral beauty". In a world marked by division, these gestures have the power to restore ...
Robert Waldinger's good life
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Robert Waldinger on what it takes to live a happy life
Aunty Ruth Hegarty’s life of defiance
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The hardship, cruelty and loneliness of the mission system during the Great Depression didn't crush Aunty Ruth Hegarty's spirit. She found her voice,...
Roger Rogerson: crimes and punishment
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After a life of controversy, crime and corruption, disgraced former police detective Roger Rogerson died last week, aged 83. Peter Hoysted met with ...
Slaying monsters, immortality and sex: the wild ride of Gilgamesh
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Louise Pryke is one of few people in the world who can read the ancient language in which The Epic of Gilgamesh is written. The mammoth, wild tale ...
Deviating demographics with Liz Allen
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Liz Allen is a demographer fascinated by Australia's demographic trends. But her own story is a remarkable case study in deviating from the norm ...
Nancy's muster dog, Mate
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nancy Withers has been breeding and training kelpies for 50 years, but one dog stands out from the rest, and he changed her life forever
The nudist, the vegetarian vicar and Karl Marx's daughter
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
These are just some of the remarkable and quirky people who helped write the Oxford English Dictionary
Jane Perlez's view from Beijing
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At 19 years old Jane Perlez visited China in the middle of the Cultural Revolution. She would return there as a journalist decades later to cover the...
Off-road in the roaring twenties
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1927 Francis Birtles set off on a grand adventure from London to Melbourne, through murderous mountain ranges and blustering blizzards, in a Bean ...
Chess master Irina Berezina’s gambit
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
International Chess Master and champion Irina Berezina credits her incredible chess-trained mind with helping her survive multiple international disa...
Costa Georgiadis — Heart and Soil
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Costa is the friendly face of Gardening Australia, a devotee of composting, keeping chickens and developing insect hotels (R).
Best of 2023 - Dean Laws
08 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dean Laws was in his 50s when doctors told him he had Parkinson's disease. For a time, he was devastated. Then he formed a running crew with his frie...
Best of 2023 - Karin Bäumler
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Some years ago, Karin Bäumler found herself in a fight for her life after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In the thick of it all, making musi...
Best of 2023 - Amar Singh
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amar Singh's sense of belonging to Australia has only grown since he leant into his Sikh faith, growing out his beard and his hair, wearing a turban...
Best of 2023 - Danny Estrin
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Voyager frontman Danny Estrin on his unconventional path from heavy metal to law and the Eurovision grand final