Best The Dark And Unfamiliar Podcasts (2025)

1
20th Anniversary Collection: The male midwife who birthed babies in Arnhem Land 53:10

6h ago53:10

53:10

Male midwife, Christian Wright tells stories of emergency evacuations and surfing with crocodiles while working in remote Indigenous communities, helping Yolŋu women birth their babies. Growing up South of Sydney as one of six boys, midwifery wasn't the occupation Christian Wright expected for himself. At the age of nine he experienced a vision tha…

1
20th Anniversary Collection: The comic genius of Jennifer Saunders 52:54

2h ago52:54

52:54

The co-creator of Absolutely Fabulous says her remarkable career as one of the world's funniest women is all down to a series of happy accidents. When she and her great pal Dawn French were making their first series, French & Saunders, they were given complete freedom by the BBC, including the freedom to fail. Despite a few mishaps along the way an…

1
20th Anniversary Collection: Judy Sharp and the remarkable rise of Laser Beak Man 51:00

3d ago51:00

51:00

When Judy Sharp was told by doctors that her son would never communicate or learn to love, she refused to believe it and set about to secure a brilliant life for her neurodivergent son, Tim. Judy's eldest son, Tim, was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. When Judy was told Tim would never communicate or be able to love she refused to acc…

1
20th Anniversary Collection: How power and fear play out in the dentist's chair 53:00

18h ago53:00

53:00

Sharonne Zaks is not your average dentist. After treating a patient named Anna, Sharonne saw the power relationship with her patients differently. She developed a new branch of dentistry to help care for survivors of sexual assault. Sharonne grew up in a family of dentists, and when she too became a dentist, she developed an empathetic relationship…

1
20th Anniversary Collection: A lion named Christian, and the men who loved him 52:12

2d ago52:12

52:12

In the swinging '60s, Anthony 'Ace' Bourke and John Rendall bought a lion cub from a luxury department store. They eventually released him to his natural habitat in Africa. Footage of their emotional reunion in the wilds of Africa nearly broke the internet, decades later. In 1969, Anthony 'Ace' Bourke and John Rendall bought a lion cub for just und…

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20th Anniversary Collection: Bryan Brown’s ticket from Bankstown to Palm Beach 53:00

3d ago53:00

53:00

Bryan Brown has played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work, and unmistakable presence have been his ticket to the world. Now in his late 70s, Bryan has had more film and television acting roles than he’s had birthdays, and is an instantly recognisable figure on screens around the world. From…

1
20th Anniversary Collection: the story of the unwitting woman behind cell research and 'immortality' 52:42

4d ago52:42

52:42

Henrietta Lacks was the first human being that we know of to get close enough to 'immortality' to touch it. She died more than 50 years ago but her cells live on. 'HeLa' cells were the first human cells to be grown for research, and have been vital in medical advances since the 1950s. But what fascinated science major Rebecca Skloot the most about …

1
27 - Prophetic Passages 1:08:23

11d ago1:08:23

1:08:23

As the party continues to explore the underground passages of Mor Akkros, the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together. Will it lead to more answers or more questions? Find more of the Tabletop Talespinners Network and our sponsors here! Cast: GM - Jee Aelina - Jacqueline Cerridwen - Grace Khuvos - Emma Olwen - Andie Sage - Rosalie Suda - Winter…

1
Wild — Story Collection 48:16

6d ago48:16

48:16

Adventurous spirits take us way out into the world's wild places — stories from across 20 years of Conversations. Travel high in the mountains with Kazakh eagle hunters. Join an endurance horse race across the Mongolian steppe. Feel the edge of darkness, paddling a kayak solo across the Great Australian Bight. These tales of wild landscapes and cre…

1
Teachers — Story Collection 1:00:24

6d ago1:00:24

1:00:24

Memories, motivation and life lessons from those at the front of the classroom - stories from across 20 years of Conversations. Teachers share stories from their life’s work. Facing up to challenging students, sitting alongside a young person in turmoil, making lifesaving decisions for an entire school, and the simple joy of seeing knowledge take r…

1
Digging Up Mum and Dad — Story Compilation 1:00:00

8d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

The secret lives of parents — stories from across 20 years of Conversations. Espionage, Hollywood scandal, a second family, daring wartime missions, and a deadly weapon — revelations unearthed by adult children delving into the lives of parents long gone. Familial mysteries are some of the most spellbinding in our archives, and this collection feat…

1
A Feast of Cooks — Story Collection 51:25

8d ago51:25

51:25

Our chefs and cooks and the food that made them — stories from across 20 years of Conversations. Unforgettable sensory moments from childhood are behind the devotion of some of Australia’s most well known chefs. From Gary Mehigan’s grandfather’s secret chocolate stash, to the aroma of the traditional Cantonese broth, made by Hetty McKinnon’s mother…

1
Maximum McInnes 51:06

10d ago51:06

51:06

A collection of some of the best moments from actor and writer William McInnes — celebrating 20 years of Conversations. The voice of actor William McInnes is unmistakable, whether in larger than life TV roles; or as himself, telling true stories. A firm favourite of Conversations’ listeners, this episode is a collection of highlights from his many …

1
Shipwrecked and alone: surviving the Blythe Star 53:00

11d ago53:00

53:00

At 18 years old, Mick Doleman miraculously survived when his ship capsized in the freezing Southern Ocean off Tasmania. But as he floated in a life raft with his nine crewmates, his ordeal at sea had only just begun.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
Crushing on Aladdin and Nigella Lawson — how Daniel learnt to love himself 51:30

12d ago51:30

51:30

Writer and journalist Daniel Nour on the pressures of his vivacious Egyptian-Australian family, and 'inviting people in' instead of 'coming out'. Daniel grew up in Sydney's Sutherland Shire, the only son of Egyptian migrants. He dearly loved his parents, who taught him how to stand up to bullies, drove him to Tournament of the Minds competitions, a…

1
The walking nun — Sister Clare Nolan on entering the convent and saving lives 50:48

15d ago50:48

50:48

Sister Clare Nolan was the head of nursing at St Vincent's Hospital when the HIV/AIDS epidemic reached Australia. She met with politicians, brothel workers and gay activists in the same room to work out how to save the men under her care in Ward 17 South. Clare was 21 years old when she entered the convent, against her mother's wishes, joining the …

1
Encore: What does a 'disaster specialist' actually do and how do they survive? 52:00

19d ago52:00

52:00

When there's a plane crash, a bomb blast, a flood or a pandemic, Lucy Easthope's phone starts ringing. This is how she stays cheerful and trusts her gut in the face of never-ending disasters. (R) When Lucy was 10 years old, she was at home with her dad watching a Liverpool Football Club match when all hell broke loose. The Hillsborough Disaster, as…

1
Miss Australia, gangland girlfriend, counsellor and criminal: Felicia Djamirze's story 50:42

20d ago50:42

50:42

Felicia Djamirze grew up in the criminal underworld, then became a beauty queen. But her life outside the pageant circuit was mired in the world of drugs, bikie gangs and violence.(CW: graphic discussion of domestic violence and crime) Felicia Djamirze is a counsellor, an advocate for women's justice, a three-time Miss Australia winner and a convic…

1
A Dad's mission to save his daughter, and conquer cancer 50:16

21d ago50:16

50:16

Matt Dun left school at 17 to join the Australian navy as a submariner and later finished his high school certificate as an adult attending TAFE at night.He then trained in biomedical science and was researching childhood leukaemia when his family received some devastating news, their little daughter Josie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. …

1
Teaching Nina Simone how to love me: a daughter's story 52:20

20d ago52:20

52:20

Singer Lisa Simone is the only person in the world who can call Nina Simone 'mommy'. Lisa was the beneficiary of Nina's incredible talent and her affection, but she was also at the mercy of her mother's erratic moods. Lisa is the only child of the legendary singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist Nina Simone. As a little girl, Lisa loved tryi…

1
26 - Nowhere to Hide 1:28:56

25d ago1:28:56

1:28:56

Battered and bruised, the party fights tooth and nail to escape the creatures lurking in the shadows. Meanwhile, Khuvos fights a verbal battle of his own. Find more of the Tabletop Talespinners Network and our sponsors here! Cast: GM - Jee Aelina - Jacqueline Cerridwen - Grace Khuvos - Emma Olwen - Andie Sage - Rosalie Suda - Winter Crew: Dialogue …

1
Encore: The secret world of servos after dark 50:33

26d ago50:33

50:33

David Goodwin spent years working the graveyard shift at his local service station in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. The grungy work quickly took over his life (R). He took the job to support his university studies, but working overnight made study impossible and soon the work took over. From his brightly lit perch behind the anti-jump wires, Davi…

1
Dr Rangan Chatterjee on health and healing in a hectic world 48:00

27d ago48:00

48:00

As a boy, Dr Rangan Chatterjee saw his dad work day and night as a doctor before succumbing to an auto-immune disease. After his father's death in 2013, Rangan had an epiphany about his own future. Rangan rew up watching his workaholic father come home from his first job in a hospital, have dinner, shave and leave for his night shift as a home-visi…

1
The hidden corners of Emma's Hong Kong — fishing villages, beaches and ancestral graveyards 49:18

28d ago49:18

49:18

Novelist Emma Pei Yin ran away from Hong Kong as a teenager to start fresh in Australia. But she found herself repeatedly drawn back home whenever she put pen to paper. Emma grew up in England and Hong Kong. But her life in Hong Kong wasn’t so much about the neon skyscrapers as it was about her family’s ancestral village, tucked away in the New Ter…

1
AFL star Zach Tuohy on his silent struggles as a young father and life after footy 52:06

29d ago52:06

52:06

Zach was still a teen when he was scouted by the AFL in Ireland, beginning a great adventure in Australia, where he fell in love and unexpectedly became a dad. On his way home from training, a 24-year-old Zach would have to pull over on the side of the road to cry before he got home to his young family. Zach Tuohy was just 17 years old when he was …

1
Encore: Janty Blair is the BMW of standup comics 47:00

1M ago47:00

47:00

After a lifetime of nursing and midwifery, Janty Blair discovered her funny bone in her late 50s, following a serendipitous Bumble date (R). Janty's father, Bob, was a staff sergeant in the Australian Army, and so she grew up moving around the country. Home for Janty, a Butchulla, Mununjhali and Woppaburra woman, was really Hervey Bay in Queensland…

1
Leah Purcell's meteoric rise, from the Murgon meatworks to centre stage 52:30

1M ago52:30

52:30

Leah Purcell grew up in a small town caring for her mum Florence. Her options after graduation were nursing or working at the meatworks. But after a push from her meatworks boss, Leah defied her own expectations for herself (R). Leah is now an acclaimed actor, playwright, and stage and film director. She grew up in the Queensland country town of Mu…

1
How a boy from Balmain made caring cool 50:34

1M ago50:34

50:34

Bundjalung man, Jack Manning Bancroft's scholarship to a prestigious Sydney University college showed him a rarefied world that shocked him, and he used his childhood grit to channel his energy into a world-changing project. Jack's mother is Bundjalung artist, Bronwyn Bancroft. Growing up in inner-Sydney, he was intimidated by her artistic drive an…

1
A family secret unearths connection to country 45:30

1M ago45:30

45:30

Yvonne Orley grew up on Aboriginal missions in NSW as the child of the matron and manager. But it turned out that Yvonne had much deeper connections to the country, and the people, that she knew at the time. Although her mother had tried to hide this part of the family story, it turned out that Yvonne herself was a Kamilaroi woman and this was her …

1
Encore: Love, jail, Jesus, and pubs — a tangled tale of four very different parents 52:06

1M ago52:06

52:06

Lech Blaine with the strange true story of his childhood, shaped by love, religious zealotry, and four wildly different parents. CW: descriptions of foster care and child removal. Lech grew up in a big family in country Queensland, where his dad Tom ran pubs for a living. He had six older siblings, who had come to the family as foster kids before h…

1
When a sea change collides with messy midlife 52:34

1M ago52:34

52:34

For journalist Kate Halfpenny, moving to a beachside town during Melbourne's lockdowns seemed like the perfect way to unwind and escape her huge mortgage. Then she had to contend with the triple whammy of perimenopause, her husband's alcoholism and distance from family and friends. For the first time in her life, Kate had an empty house, no job com…

1
Hannah vs Disney, Lizzo and Beyonce 51:01

1M ago51:01

51:01

Hannah Diviney made history in 2022 when she became the first person with a disability to film a sex scene for Australian television. Then she went viral when she confronted both Lizzo and Beyonce over an ableist slur in their song lyrics. When Hannah was growing up, the only people she saw on TV who used a wheelchair like her were Paralympians or …

1
Purity, hypnosis and hiding — how a gay teen survived Opus Dei 52:30

1M ago52:30

52:30

Hollywood actor Tim Pocock was tricked by his dying, devout mother into undergoing gay conversion therapy. After she died, Tim finally learned how to be himself, without fear and self-loathing. Tim grew up under the thumb of his charismatic, pious mother. He went to a school with links to the controversial, secretive and conservative Catholic organ…

1
Encore: my three fathers 50:00

2M ago50:00

50:00

American novelist Ann Patchett reflects on Frank, Mike and Darrell, the men who made her, going a year without shopping and her power to make herself invisible (R) Ann Patchett is an acclaimed American novelist and the owner of an independent bookstore in Nashville. Ann has had three fathers — Frank, Mike and Darrell, who have each provided her wit…

1
Inside the six-day siege of the Iranian Embassy in London 53:30

2M ago53:30

53:30

In April 1980, a group of armed men invaded the Iranian Embassy in London, taking hostages, and issuing demands in the name of a cause almost no one had ever heard of. The 'Group of the Martyr', a collection of Iranian Arabs, wanted independence for their province of Iran, but their demands were impossible for the British Government to meet, and so…

1
Mass murder, cannibalism and insanity — inside Mao's cultural revolution 47:36

2M ago47:36

47:36

China's cultural revolution was murderously violent and culturally devastating; millions of people, artefacts and ideas went up in smoke. So what's fuelling today's Neo-Maoist movement and nostalgia for that period? In 1966, the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong went to war against his own government. What followed was ten years of murderous …

1
How I became a brainwashed cult bride 53:31

2M ago53:31

53:31

Liz Cameron was 18 years old when a stranger approached her in a book shop. It was the beginning of her induction into a cult, and it was an experience Liz barely survived. The process of brainwashing happened gradually, first came the love-bombing and the allure of finding a new purpose in life. Then came the isolation from friends and family, alo…

1
25 - The Outer Rings 1:26:47

2M ago1:26:47

1:26:47

As Khuvos finds out more about what awaits him above ground, the rest of the party ventures further into the depths of Mor Akkros. Find more of the Tabletop Talespinners Network here! Cast: GM - Jee Aelina - Jacqueline Cerridwen - Grace Khuvos - Emma Olwen - Andie Sage - Rosalie Suda - Winter Crew: Dialogue Editing - Aaron Pillen Producer/Sound Des…

1
Encore: the charming Italian narcissist 54:00

2M ago54:00

54:00

When Kerstin Pilz found out that her charming husband Gianni had been cheating on her while he was dying and she was taking care of him, she had to decide what to do next (R) She had fallen madly in love with this Italian man when she was in her 40s. The two married and began travelling the world together. Then Gianni suddenly fell ill. As he was i…

1
Mr. Finch — deathworker in the tapestry of life 52:25

2M ago52:25

52:25

Author Katia Ariel tells the story of Ephraim Finch, a man synonymous with death in the Melbourne Jewish community. He started life as Geoffrey William, the son of a butcher, who would go on to become a master builder before his life became unrecognisable to him. Several years ago, Melbourne author and book editor, Katia was invited to write Ephrai…

1
The mind f**k of pain — retraining your system to tackle chronic pain 52:42

2M ago52:42

52:42

Professor Lorimer Moseley is neuroscientist, who specialises in the complexities and mind-boggling nature of pain - what it is, why it exists, how it works and when it can go wrong. For most of us, pain is a fundamental part of being alive, and staying alive and yet none of us will ever experience the exact same pain as someone else, which makes it…

1
When Peter Greste became the story 53:09

2M ago53:09

53:09

It’s been a decade since Australian journalist Peter Greste became a global news story, spending 400 days imprisoned in Egypt. But he still misses the life he had as a foreign correspondent. Peter and two colleagues were arrested while working for Al Jazeera in Cairo, they were charged with spreading false news and aiding terrorism. Peter then was …

1
Encore: When success, a big house and a loving family aren't enough 51:02

2M ago51:02

51:02

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 applause (R) Andrew O’Hagan is the author of several highly acclaimed novels. His most recent book is a sweeping portrait of modern-day London, a city ‘levitating on a sea of dirty Russian money’. The ma…

1
Ione Skye on surrendering her past and forgiving herself 46:30

2M ago46:30

46:30

The Gen X actor on making peace with her absent father, the ghosts of her Hollywood past and nursing Anthony Kiedis through his drug addiction while she was still a teenager — a relationship she shudders at today. The 1990s It girl was named for the Scottish island where she was conceived, before her enigmatic folk singer father, Donovan abandoned …

1
Our post-American future — what will the new world order look like? 52:00

2M ago52:00

52:00

Defence analyst Hugh White says Australian leaders are in denial about how dramatically the world has changed, and need to get a grip on the deep, troubling forces propelling us into a new order of world power. The balance of global power has changed dramatically over the last 25 years. Even in the last five years, so much has happened - the pandem…

1
The pyromaniac kid who made barbecue his life 48:06

2M ago48:06

48:06

As a child, chef Graeme Stockdale was embarrassed by the smell of sauerkraut and pickles that would trail him from his Polish and German grandparents' home. A transformative encounter with a barbecued duck in Singapore changed his life, though nothing would prepare him for two monumental floods in his adopted region of Lismore, NSW. Graeme was only…

1
24 - The Watchers Emerge 1:24:50

2M ago1:24:50

1:24:50

The group finally arrives at the underground city of Mor Akkros. However, the welcome they receive is not quite the one they hoped for. Find more of the Tabletop Talespinners Network here! Cast: GM - Jee Aelina - Jacqueline Cerridwen - Grace Khuvos - Emma Olwen - Andie Sage - Rosalie Suda - Winter Music and SFX provided by Epidemic Sound…

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Encore: Hormones and mental health with Dr Jayashri Kulkarni 52:16

2M ago52:16

52:16

Dr Jayashri Kulkarni on her Indian-Australian upbringing and her groundbreaking research into women's hormones and mental health (R) Jayashri Kulkarni’s family moved from India to Australia in 1961. They found there were no Indian grocery stores, few spices of any kind, and plain yoghurt wasn’t available. But the Kulkarnis adapted to their new home…

1
Part TWO: Locked up in China — Cheng Lei on cell mates, singing and survival 48:06

2M ago48:06

48:06

Cheng Lei's years in detention in China, on trumped-up espionage charges, go from cruel and isolating, to absurd and romantic when she gets moved into a cell with three other women. The Chinese-Australian journalist was held in detention in China for more than three years, accused of selling state secrets to foreign people and powers. In episode on…

1
Part ONE: Locked up in China — Cheng Lei on state paranoia and staying sane in isolation 49:00

2M ago49:00

49:00

When journalist Cheng Lei was detained by Chinese state security agents, she thought would be freed within the week. Instead, she was held on absurd espionage charges for more than three years, much of that time spent in isolation. When Cheng Lei moved back to the country of her birth after the dramatic opening up of China to the world, she was a p…

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