Stay ConnectedConversations with people who have lived through extreme events. Some stories are dark and twisted, others are light and funny. In all cases, we get an intimate portrait of ‘what it was like’ to be there.
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John Leonard Orr is a convicted arsonist and mass murderer. He is believed to have set nearly 2,000 fires in a 30-year spree, making him the most prolific serial arsonist in American history. But his daughter Lori hasn't always seen him this way. She talks about her childhood memories of seeing John as a hero firefighter. A man who always had a special knack for being the first on the scene.
Contact Lori here for a chance to win a signed copy of her book: Burned.
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When Lorraine Murphy met up with a pig farmer at a cafe in Vancouver, she couldn't have been less impressed. "Willy," as everyone called him, was creepy and smelled terrible. She left and didn't see him again for 12 years — when Willy was arrested as the most prolific serial killer (by body count) in Canada's history.
This is a rerun from 2022 but it's one of our favourites so we're giving it a second play. If you haven't already heard it, you're in for a treat.
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On October 12, 2002, Phil Britten arrived in Bali with his footy mates from Perth. A few hours into their first night, a van packed with explosives detonated outside the nightclub. Phil barely made it out alive. On this anniversary of the Bali Bombing, we reflect on one of Australia’s darkest periods.
Follow Phill on Instagram and check out his site.
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In June of 1993 Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to their third championship victory. A month later, his dad was shot dead and Jordan quit the NBA. Now, for the first time, one of the two men convicted with James Jordan's murder tells his story.
We originally published this story in 2022 but it's a banger so we're giving it a second run.
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In the early 1960s, Melbourne businessman Marshall Gibson salvaged a handful of brass portholes from a shipwreck and gave them to his friends. Over the next few years, many of these men, including Marshall himself, died in a series of strange accidents. In this episode, his son David examines the claim that the portholes were cursed.
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Actress Blake Lively has been facing backlash for her alleged tone-deaf, bullying behaviour. But according to Hollywood hairstylist Emanuel Millar, this is typical behaviour among stars. In this somewhat unusual episode, we're unpacking rudeness in the film industry. Why are so many successful, beautiful people so damn mean?
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Studio 54 remains the most iconic nightclub in history, despite being around for only three years. In this episode, former employee Myra Scheer delves into what made the club so legendary. It's a story about celebrity culture and the vibrant LGBTQ community before the AIDS crisis. But mostly it's about people searching for a place to belong.
Photo by: Miestorm
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An R U OK Day special: Two strangers, each grieving a brother lost to suicide, meet in a support group and have a baby. It's a story that illustrates how there's always hope.
Also this is your annual reminder to frequently check in with your friends and family. Ask how they're really doing. Tell them you love them.
For more information please visit ruok.org.au
If you're concerned about your own mental health please text Lifeline on +61477131114 or visit lifeline.org.au
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Antony Britton, an escapologist and stunt performer, attempted a feat in 2015 that even Harry Houdini couldn't complete—being buried alive. In this episode, Antony recounts the crushing silence of the grave, losing consciousness underground and how the experience changed him.
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Anton Lutz grew up in Papua New Guinea, where he first heard about witch hunts in his 20s. As rates of violence and murder increased, he started to attempt rescue missions for people accused of sorcery. In this episode, he shares some harrowing stories and explains why his optimism for humanity remains unabated.
For more information on sorcery accusation related violence, Anton recommends these two sites:
https://www.stopsorceryviolence.org/
https://www.theinternationalnetwork.org/
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On August 31, 1997, photographer Pierre Suu was outside the Paris Ritz with other paparazzi, waiting for Princess Diana. They were unaware this would be the last time she’d be seen alive. In this episode, Pierre walks us through the chaos of that night and the aftermath for everyone involved.
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Charles Cullen might be the world's most prolific serial killer. He worked as a nurse in various US hospitals during the 90s and early 2000s, killing patients with overdoses of heart medication and insulin. Cullen's colleague, Amy Loughren, explains how she got him to confess while wearing a wire.
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In 1990, band manager Danny Goldberg signed an unknown punk rock band called Nirvana, embarking on one of the most significant journeys of his life. In this episode, Danny shares his experiences working with Kurt Cobain and his efforts to keep the songwriter alive.
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Harold Backer, a 3-time Olympic rower, disappeared in 2015 after telling his family he was going for a bike ride. Days later, his financial advisory clients began receiving letters confessing to losing their money. His friend Kip unpacks what happened to Harold. Why do Olympians so often derail after retirement?
Read Kip McDaniel's long-form article on the case here.
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Aiden Gabor started working for the New Jersey mob as a kid. At 18, he was caught by the police and given a choice: help clean up the city or go to prison. In this episode, Aiden describes life as a police informant, putting away corrupt cops and politicians.
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In May 1970, an Air Force officer named George Burk took off from an airbase with 13 others. Minutes later, the plane suffered explosive decompression and hurtled back to the ground. George describes how luck and brute determination kept him alive.
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This week, we're playing you an episode from one of our favourite podcasts: One Minute Remaining. They're covering the story of murdered lottery winner, Abraham Lee Shakespeare, who in 2006 won a $30 million jackpot and was murdered. Dorice Moore, his friend, received a life sentence for his murder but claims she's innocent. One Minute Remaining hears her side without passing judgment.
We will be back with a new episode of our own next Friday (July 19).
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Kris Hansen was a young chemist working at 3M when she made an unnerving discovery. She was finding 3M's chemicals not only in their workers' blood samples, but in almost everyone worldwide. Shocked, she reported her find to management, and that's when her trouble really started.
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It was 1987 when a detective named Lex De Man first heard of The Family. The police had raided them a few months earlier, but they'd faced no investigation over multiple claims of child abuse. This is the story of how Lex had the cult's leader, Anne Hamilton-Byrne, hauled into court.
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Ben Shenton grew up in a religious sect in central Victoria called 'The Family'. The children were told that their leader, Anne Hamilton-Byrne, was a reincarnation of Jesus Christ and were made to dress alike and bleach their hair. This continued until Ben was 15, when police raided the compound. Ben tells us about his life before and after that raid.
You can buy Ben Shenton's autobiography 'Life Behind the Wire' here.
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Last week, we covered the story of a woman sold into slavery to run scams. This week, we meet the man who rescued her. We're speaking with Judah Tana, who runs the NGO Global Advance Projects. He explains how he ended up at the epicenter of the world's scams industry and how the business is expanding.
Global Advance Projects website is here
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When today's guest boarded a plane to Thailand, she thought she was starting her dream job. Instead, she was drugged upon arrival and woke up in a nightmare. This is her story of survival in a 'scammer farm,' a hidden compound where thousands are forced to run scams. It's a story of endurance and a "one in a million" escape.
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Between 1992 and 1993, seven decomposing bodies were discovered in bushland south of Sydney. The ensuing media storm prompted the state to hastily assemble a police taskforce. Our guest, former-homicide detective Stuart Wilkins, explains how this task force sifted through hundreds of suspects to arrest a road worker named Ivan Milat.
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In 2022, we interviewed a Hollywood producer who predicted that unknown actress Rain Spencer would be the next big thing. Back then, Rain was in an indie film and had 100k followers. Now, she's on her third season of a streaming hit and has nearly a million followers. Today, we ask Rain what it's like slowly becoming a celebrity.
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In 2015, Hurricane Joaquin roared over the Bahamas and sank a cargo ship called the El Faro, drowning all 33 people onboard. It was a mystery how a modern US-flagged ship could sail into a hurricane until its black box was found. In this episode, Julian examines the black box transcript to discover a crew that ignored all their own instincts.
Transcript from the El Faro's black box is here.
The US Coast Guard's report is here.
And here is an article and a book that was hugely helpful in researching this case:
“The Clock Is Ticking”: Inside the Worst U.S. Maritime Disaster in Decades by William Langewiesche
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In 1985, a 17-year-old girl named Shari Smith was abducted from her own driveway and the family's phone started to ring. It was the kidnapper, his voice electronically distorted. He called repeatedly and it fell on Shari's 21-year-old sister Dawn to answer. In this episode, Dawn Smith Jordan recalls what she learned that week about her parents, her sister and her own resilience.
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When someone in the Saudi royal family buys a private plane, they usually want someone to photograph their new toy. And that's where Nick Gleis comes in. For over 40 years he's been photographing private jets for the world's richest people. On today's ep, Nick shares some stories about his clients and talks about the time he accidentally flew into a tornado.
Check out Nick's photos of obscene luxury on his site, here.
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On April 28, 1996, a man named Martin Bryant fatally shot 35 people at the Port Arthur historical site in Tasmania. For siblings Lorraine and Mick Davies, who had grown up next-door to Bryant, the massacre was not entirely surprising. In this episode, they recount the tragedy's long build-up.
Mick Davies is also an actor and comedian. You can follow his work on Instagram.
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In 1991, Ida Sabelis and her partner had sex in an MRI tube, yielding an image that showcased the internal mechanics of copulation and gained global press coverage. Today, we delve into their experience and learnings. What's it like, exactly, to have sex inside a piece of medical equipment?
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Thanks to Hollywood, most of us have some idea of how it looked to live in the past. But historical recreation is a delicate dance. As part of our partnership with Paramount+ for the release of A Gentleman In Moscow, we're unpacking the art of time travel. The show's production designer, Víctor Molero, describes how he couldn't find a historical hotel to film in, so he built one from the ground up. And the hotel they built was a medley of fact and fiction.
A Gentleman In Moscow is Now Streaming only on Paramount+
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Tim and Amanda came home to find their place had been trashed. Someone had broken in, but that's just the beginning. Join us on this very bizarre yet surprisingly funny story of a home invasion.
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Psychopaths are famous for not caring about anyone. But Julian Morgans, host of this show, tries to please everyone. It's a losing battle, so in this episode he asks a psychopath for advice. M.E. Thomas is a lawyer and diagnosed psychopath. She shares her story of losing friends and jobs due to a lack of people pleasing, and shares her tips for caring less.
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When Marie Monville married her high school sweetheart, Charlie, she believed it would be forever. But on October 2, 2006, Charlie committed one of America's worst mass shootings before taking his own life. Today, we ask Marie the big question: what were the signs? Her answers might surprise you.
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In the early 2000s, Matt Bowden spearheaded drug law reform in NZ by selling safer alternatives to meth. His "party pills" made millions, and Matt spent his money shooting steampunk video clips as his rocker alter-ego, Star Boy. On this ep, we hear how Matt set out to make positive change, but inadvertently pioneered a market of synthetic drugs.
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That's how old Steve Carter was when he stumbled upon a photo of himself on a missing person website. Raised in a Hawaiian orphanage and adopted at age four, Steve's biological roots were always a mystery. On today's episode, he tells the story of his own disappearance.
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In 1994, a cancer patient named Gloria Ramirez was wheeled into a Californian hospital, where medical staff began passing out while treating her. Our guest, Dr. Julie Gorchynski, tells us what really happened that night.
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In 1980, an Australian gold prospector named Kevin Hillier dreamed of finding gold. The dream was so vivid he sketched the nugget's shape on paper. Then, 12 days later, he and his wife Bep unearthed a record-breaking nugget with the same shape. Was this luck, a hoax or divine intervention?
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In 1999 the world was captivated by 'The Blair Witch Project,' a low-budget horror film that broke profit-to-cost records. On this week’s episode, co-director Daniel Myrick describes how it felt being at the centre of a cultural phenomenon, and what he learned about achieving dreams.
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Carl Williams is Australia's most famous drug kingpin. In the early 2000s he made untold millions trafficking party drugs while having his rivals murdered. But to his wife Roberta, he was a loving husband. In this special episode for Valentine's, Roberta Williams talks love and loss. Here's what it's really like to be a mob boss wife.
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In July of 2000, a young man named Steven Goldsmith withdrew money from an ATM in Brisbane and vanished. Julian Morgans, host of What it Was Like, investigates the case in an effort to understand the broader phenomenon of people going missing, leading to an unsettling discovery.
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On August 9, 1996, the cast and crew of Titanic ended a big day of shooting with a seafood dinner. An hour later, around 40 people started feeling queasy, including director James Cameron. Later, it would turn out that somebody had spiked the clam chowder with a hallucinogenic drug called PCP or 'angel dust'. In this episode, assistant camera operator Jamie Barber tells us how the crew ended up in hospital, dancing in a conga line.
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Jillian Lauren was working as a New York escort when she was invited to a mysterious audition. The job? Fly to the Southeast Asian nation of Brunei and live in a harem run by Prince Jefri, who was the playboy brother of the richest sultan on Earth. Jillian took the gig, and on this episode, she walks us through her three years of hedonism, cruelty, and opulence on a scale few of us ever witness.
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In May 1999, police discovered eight bodies decaying in barrels in the vault of a disused bank in Snowtown. Three men were later jailed for the murders of 12 people, in one of the longest and most publicised trails in Australian history. And our guest had front-row seats to the whole saga.
Gordon Drage is a former-senior constable with the South Australian police. He'd been sent to Snowtown to investigate stolen property, only to accidentally stumble across the bank vault. He tells us what it was like, and how the experience affected him in the years after.
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In July of 1999 it was the 30th anniversary of Woodstock. The original organisers wanted another festival dedicated to love and peace, but this one became a disaster. The crowd rioted, setting fire to food trucks. Dozens were arrested, including our guest, Calvin Cardwell. On this episode, Calvin and his friend Chad Yantis describe their memories of the riot, and the details that the Netflix documentary, Trainwreck, missed out on.
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In the lead up to Christmas of 1980, three Woolworths stores were bombed around New South Wales. It's a crazy story involving Australia's largest supermarket chain, two larrikin crooks, and a $1 million ransom thrown into the Sydney Harbour. We'll hear about it from two people: Former police officer Allan Duncan who was injured in one of the explosions, and Forgotten Australia podcast host, Michael Adams.
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When abandoned farm houses started catching fire in rural Virginia, police weren't sure what to think. It took five months and almost 80 fires for a couple to be arrested and the story to emerge. In this episode, convicted arsonist Charlie Smith explains how he and his ex-partner lit fires to relax when their relationship soured.
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Lauren Lloyd had just co-founded a Hollywood talent agency when she met a pimply kid from Missouri named Brad. He was in his early 20s, but had a certain confidence that she found mesmerising. She knew instinctively he would be a movie star, and we're spending this episode unpacking what she saw and knew in that moment.
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Vanessa Mitchell thought she was buying the home of her dreams. Sure, it was a medieval prison for English peasants accused of witchcraft, but it was also cute and within her price range. But then her possessions started vanishing and she found a mysterious pool of blood on the floor and three years later she was out, fleeing with her son. This is Vanessa's story of what happened.
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Through the 1980s the Soviet Union poured vast amounts of money into building reusable spaceships for crewed missions. This was the Buran programme, which was cancelled after the USSR collapsed. Today, many of these prototype spaceships are rusting away in Russian military hangars in Kazakhstan. We speak to a man who journeyed to find them.
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In June of 1993 Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to their third championship victory. A month later, his dad was shot dead and Jordan quit the NBA. Now, for the first time, one of the two men convicted with James Jordan's murder tells his story.
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When three business partners bought an ex-P&O cruise liner, they thought they were creating the co-living space of the future. Their plan didn’t work, but they did get to briefly own a 1000-room ship. We’re asking former co-owner Grant Romundt what it was like sailing the vessel to Panama, and how he spent Christmas Day exploring locked rooms and riding water slides.
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When Lorraine Murphy met up with a pig farmer at a cafe in Vancouver, she couldn't have been less impressed. "Willy," as everyone called him, was creepy and smelled terrible. She left and didn't see him again for 12 years — when Willy was arrested as the most prolific serial killer (by body count) in Canada's history.
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In 2008 a man named Terry Kniess guessed the exact price of the finale prize on The Price Is Right and was accused of cheating. But Terry hadn't cheated. He'd just obsessively watched the show until he spotted a vulnerability, and then exploited it. We asked Terry how he did it.
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Colleen Gwynne was a police officer in Alice Springs when one of Australia's biggest murder cases landed on her desk. A British couple named Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees had been attacked by an unknown gunman, and Joanne had survived by running off into the desert—a scene which later inspired the film Wolf Creek. Here Colleen describes how she tracked down the killer.
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Born blind, Matthew Weigman became an angry teenager with a supercharged sense of hearing. This enabled him to use his phone like a hacker uses a computer. Here Matt describes how he used his superpowers to harass celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Eminem, until the FBI caught up with him.
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Jennifer Wynn's job is to make jurors feel sympathy for people who've committed horrible crimes. She talks to us about some of the killers she's met, and how she's come to understand their perspectives and motives after unpacking their tragic lives.
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