Podcasts by The History Listen

The History Listen

Further podcasts by ABC Radio

Podcast on the topic Geschichte

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The History Listen
Sister Edith Blake World War I from 2022-04-19T11:05

Sister Edith Blake’s gripping story, from her training in Sydney to nursing Australian soldiers in Gallipoli, to her tragic death in English waters where Germany had promised the safe passage of ho...

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Buried Treasure - the story of Lake Pedder from 2022-04-12T11:05

Lake Pedder, in Tasmania’s vast south-west region, was known for its pink quartzite beach, its pristine waters, and its rugged beauty. 50 years ago, it became the site for one of the fiercest conse...

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The Benalla Experiment from 2022-04-05T11:05

Australia's least remembered migrant camp for 'unsupported' mothers.

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The job with the best view in the world from 2022-03-29T11:05:31

Working on the Sydney Harbour Bridge isn't for the fainthearted.  Angela Heathcote’s dad Kelly told her adventurous tales of working up high on the famous arches. Years after his passing she meets ...

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William Ah Ket: the first Chinese-Australian barrister from 2022-03-22T11:05

In 1904, William Ah Ket became Australia’s first Chinese barrister. He went on to fight racist laws and social prejudice in and out of court.

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The bay leaves of West Terrace cemetery from 2022-03-01T11:05

The uplifting story of the Baby Memorial at Adelaide's West Terrace cemetery.

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Fight for the Forest from 2022-02-15T11:05

In an unprecedented political move, the Western Australian state government will end logging of native forest. Meet the people who have dedicated their lives to saving these incredible forests.

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Mrs C private detective from 2022-02-08T11:05

A journey back to the mean streets of Brisbane in the 1920’s with feisty private detective – Mrs Kate Condon.

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The lost journal of Jeanne Barret: Part 2 from 2022-02-01T11:05

The continuation of the amazing story of the first woman to sail around the world.

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The lost journal of Jeanne Barret: Part 1 from 2022-01-25T11:05

The amazing story of the first woman to sail around the world.

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Finding Eve Langley, writing a life from 2021-12-14T11:05

Where does the life of Australian poet and writer Eve Langley end and her fiction begin?

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Commemorating James Stirling? from 2021-12-07T11:05

The statue of Western Australia's first governor, Captain James Stirling, in central Perth is hard to miss; there's also a mountain range, a suburban municipality and even a school named after him....

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Caribbean Convicts in Australia from 2021-11-30T11:05

In 1836, the convict ship the Moffatt left Portsmouth harbour in England to travel halfway around the world to the colony of NSW. On board were eighteen convicts from the West Indies, including for...

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Respect! - the 1986 Nurses Strike from 2021-11-23T11:05

In the lead up to Christmas 1986, a battle was fought on the streets, in the hospital wards, and on the tram lines around Melbourne. Nurses, trained to care for the sick with no complaint or questi...

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150 years at the Art Gallery of NSW from 2021-11-16T11:00

For most of its life, the Art Gallery of NSW was dank and dingy. In the 1970s, there was no air conditioning or electric lights in its exhibition spaces. A short history of this institutions' amazi...

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Resonate from 2021-11-09T11:05:13

Nazi collaborator is a label that still resonates in Belgium 75 years after the end of the Second World War.  Peter Lenaerts grew up listening to his grandmother’s stories, about her brother Paul a...

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Brother artist Hosea Easton from 2021-11-02T11:05:02

In 1899 two thousand people attended the funeral of an African-American banjo player in Sydney.  Who was he? How did he come to be in Australia and why was he so loved? Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyande...

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Henson Park: the eighth wonder from 2021-10-26T11:05

History, tragedy, and triumph. Marrickville’s Henson Park is an icon of Sydney's inner west. But before the unshakable Newtown Jets footy fans called it home, the community oval was a giant hole...

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May Wirth: bareback riding queen from 2021-10-19T11:00:05

'I can do things no woman ever did before in the history of the circus business.' May Wirth

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Pentridge prison: a violent past and complicated present from 2021-10-12T11:05

There's a brutal history behind the imposing walls of Melbourne's Pentridge prison, stretching from 1851 right up until its closure in 1997. Today there's a playground, supermarket, cinema and apar...

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The illusory life of magician Esme Levante from 2021-10-05T11:05

Underwater escapes, padlocked trunks and a magic trick featuring a wallaby called JoJo - the story of Esme Levante has it all. Yet for decades the life of this remarkable woman has been overshadowe...

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Ray Denning part 2: stitch up from 2021-09-28T11:05

With nothing to lose, Raymond Denning escapes Grafton prison in a rubbish bin. He has help from prisoner rights groups and an agenda to raise awareness about police corruption. The man-hunt for D...

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Ray Denning part 1: breaking out from 2021-09-21T11:05

The story of one of Australia's most misunderstood criminals. After a traumatic childhood, Raymond Denning jumps from juvenile detention to jail. When an escape attempt goes wrong, a prison warde...

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You are not alone: 100 years of PEN International Part 2 from 2021-09-14T11:05:19

Have writers been imprisoned in Australia for their work?  Most definitely and PEN has worked to have them freed.  In this history of PEN in Australia Arnold Zable tells the story of Cheikh Kone, a...

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You are not alone: 100 years of PEN International Part 1 from 2021-09-07T11:05:45

Writers go to prison for the courageous pursuit of their craft and PEN has been working to get them out.  Melbourne writer Arnold Zable tells the story of PEN International - from its creation out ...

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The curious geologist from 2021-08-31T11:05

How a South Australian geologist named Reg Sprigg helped solve Charles Darwin's dilemma

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Seachange: 20 years on from the Tampa Affair from 2021-08-24T11:00

When a Norwegian container ship - the MV Tampa – rescued 438 asylum seekers from a sinking boat on August 26, 2001 who was to know the political fallout it would leave in its wake?

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Miner Poets - songs and verse from the west coast of Tasmania from 2021-08-17T11:05

We travel to the west coast of Tasmania, to meet the mining communities who carry on a rich cultural tradition of storytelling in poetry and song.  

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Stories from the Archibald from 2021-08-10T11:05

On the 100th anniversary of Sydney's Archibald portrait prize, artist Wendy Sharpe takes a look at some its most controversial moments.

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Whitlam's China chance: the origins of the Australia-China relationship from 2021-07-27T11:05

In the Cold War winter of July 1971 ALP leader Gough Whitlam made an audacious trip to Beijing. This is the story of the events, 50 years ago, that turned Australia towards communist China.  

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Those Bloody Vegos - a short history of vegetarianism in Australia from 2021-07-20T11:05

Early in 2020, a vegetarian version of the iconic Four’N Twenty meat pie hit service stations around the country. For lifelong vego Carly Godden, this re-imagining of an Aussie classic was a sign -...

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Escape from Greece 1941 from 2021-07-13T11:05

One soldier's incredible World War II escape story through southern Europe. Why haven't Australian's heard more about the heroic ANZAC campaign in Greece? ON the 80th anniversary of the Battle of ...

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Yarramundi and the people of Dyarubbin from 2021-07-06T11:05

Dyarubbin, the mighty Hawkesbury River, winds its way along the foot of the Blue Mountains, around the north western rim of Sydney’s Cumberland Plain. Settlement along the river, like much of Austr...

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How hypnosis brought the CIA to Australia from 2021-06-29T11:05:14

Martin Orne was one of the leading psychologists of the 20th century, his specialty was the science of hypnosis. In the 1960s, his scientific method brought him to the University of Sydney, and it'...

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An Object in Time - The Whip from 2021-06-22T11:05

The whip played a central role in the development of Australia. What can it tell us about our society today?

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An Object in Time - The Ginger Beer from 2021-06-15T11:05

The refreshing beverage that revolutionised the law.

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An Object in Time - The Envelope from 2021-06-08T11:05

An envelope is a humdrum communications device – except when it’s full of misinformation, tucked into the pocket of a dead man, and dropped by a submarine off the coast of wartime Spain.

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An Object in Time - The Cup of Tea from 2021-06-01T11:05

The story of how the humble cup of tea came to represent a ruthless British Empire.

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An Object in Time - The Ticker Tape from 2021-05-25T11:05

How did one long, skinny strip of paper plunge the world into the worst global economic downturn history had ever seen?

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An Object in Time - The Train Carriage from 2021-05-18T11:05

The story of the train carriage which propelled the globe from WWI, straight into WWII.

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An Object in Time - The Telephone from 2021-05-14T00:00

This special podcast extra episode tells the story of the world's most powerful, imaginary telephone.

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An Object in Time - The Pistol from 2021-05-11T11:05

This pistol lies at the centre of one of history's most famous duels - Hamilton Vs. Burr.

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An Object in Time - The Umbrella from 2021-05-04T11:05

Umbrellas aren't known for being dangerous, but this one is famous for being deadly.

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The Kitchen Table — Spice from 2021-04-27T11:05

The clove and nutmeg trade not only lead to colonisation, but long before the Europeans arrived, it helped define the language, culture, religion and geographic spread of Indonesia.

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The Kitchen Table - Wine from 2021-04-20T11:05

What's the story behind your favourite wine? This fermented beverage has long been an important part of Australia's social and cultural history, used for ceremonial, medicinal and celebratory purp...

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The Kitchen Table — Salt from 2021-04-13T11:05

Behind your humble shaker of table salt lies a curious and industrious history

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The kitchen table - a taste of the past. Ep 1: Tea from 2021-04-06T13:05



By the turn of the twentieth century Australians were the world’s most obsessive tea drinkers. Four cups with a meal wasn’t uncommon. Where did thi...

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The Kitchen Table - Tea from 2021-04-06T11:05

By the turn of the twentieth century Australians were the world’s most obsessive tea drinkers. Four cups with a meal wasn’t uncommon. Where did this insatiable thirst start? and did it ever really ...

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The Sparrow - a Cold War story from 2021-03-30T13:05



In the early 1950s Adelaide housewife Anne Neill made a life-changing decision: she joined the Communist Party of Australia, and ended up travellin...

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The Little Sparrow - the ASIO spy inside the Communist Party from 2021-03-30T11:05

In the early 1950s Adelaide housewife Anne Neill made a life-changing decision: she joined the Communist Party of Australia, and ended up travelling behind the Iron Curtain and befriending KGB spy ...

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The story of Kevin'the Head'Brennan: Bondi surfing legend from 2021-03-23T11:05

The story of 1960s surfing legend Kevin Brennan charts a young man's path to fame and to premature obscurity set against the backdrop of Sydney's Bondi Beach.

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The Lost Boys of Daylesford from 2021-03-16T11:05

On a clear cold Sunday morning in June 1867, three little boys wandered away from their home near the town of Daylesford, on Dja Dja Wurrung country in central Victoria. Over the next six weeks th...

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The harder they fall - stories of life and death in the South East Forests of NSW from 2021-03-09T11:05:33

Immerse yourself in the sounds and histories of the old growth forests; from logging to woodchipping, protesting and preserving.

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The Train is Back from 2021-03-02T11:05

The Overland is a train whose tracks were once plagued by both squabbling and pandemic. But it is back, although both the plague and the squabbling still exist.

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Who was Jimmy Possum? from 2021-02-23T11:05

There’s a mystery surrounding the elegant and ingenious Jimmy Possum chairs that were made 130 years ago in Tasmania. Did their maker live in a tree trunk?  Did he even exist?  Claudia Taranto goes...

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Windradyne's forgotten war from 2021-02-16T11:05

In 1824, the British waged war against the Wiradjuri people of western NSW. It was known as the Bathurst War and it shook the new colony. But many Australians have never heard of it, or of the hero...

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Australia's greatest miscarriage of justice? The Croatian Six - part two from 2021-02-09T11:05

In 1979 a man named Vico Virkez gave a surprise tip off that would lead to one of the longest criminal trials, and some say, the greatest miscarriage of justice, in Australian history.

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Australia's greatest miscarriage ofjustice? The Croatian Six - part one from 2021-02-02T11:05

The story of six Croatian Australian men who were incarcerated for 15 years for crimes they say they never committed. 40 years later, new evidence has been found in their favour.

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Amazon Acres — Sisterhood under siege from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

When a group of newcomers set up a women-only community in the bush, the neighbours were scandalised. It wasn't long before hostility turned into drastic a...

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A short history of political advertising from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

As the federal election machine goes into full swing, putting the art of persuasion to the test, a timely look back at one of Australia’s most significant ...

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The Bauhaus - a school, a movement, an idea from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

To mark the centenary of the Bauhaus, a trip back to Weimar Germany to explore the story and legacy of the movement

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Punky Reggae Party from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In 1970s London two unlikely parties united in a unique cultural exchange. Rastafarians and punks joined forces, creating new sounds and new friendships. ...

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Driven: the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In 1968 the longest, hardest and richest motor race set off from London bound for Sydney.

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The strange fate of Charles Darwin's ship The Beagle from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Whatever happened to Charles Darwin's famous ship HMS Beagle? A tale of of sleuthing, smugglers, and barrels of rum, set on the Essex coast in England ...

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Shooting the Past - The Glide from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

An arresting photograph has Clare Wright duck-diving into the history of surfing in Australia.

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Shooting the Past — Roughy Justice from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

A fishy looking photograph throws Clare Wright into the deep end of the battle between industry and sustainability.

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Shooting the Past - Alien Nation from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Clare Wright explores the history behind a studio portrait of an Edwardian family, which raises some tricky questions about citizenship, the Australian con...

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All Tragic to the Moon from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Clare Wright unravels the dramatic story within a family photograph that takes us to the searing heart of an Australian summer tragedy: bushfire.   ...

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Shooting the Past — Camp Sovereignty from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

A photograph of two men — one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous — holding hands, leads Clare Wright to investigate the history of Aboriginal resistance in ...

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Shooting the Past — The Ruins of Science from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Clare Wright tries to uncover the story behind a baffling photograph, and finds herself transported back to Australia in the 1960s. ...

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My grandmother the spy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Chana Salman was born to a poor family in Poland, the only one of six children sent to Paris to study medicine in 1930's Europe. Why did she risk everythin...

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The lady of the swamp from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The mysterious disappearance of Margaret Clement, "the lady of the swamp."

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Nobody swung harder: the jazz violin of Stuff Smith from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The story of extraordinary jazz violinist Stuff Smith, who recorded with many musical greats, including Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Oscar Peterson. ...

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Lennie the legend from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

A nine-year-old Victorian boy rides his pony alone, 600 miles to Sydney to be at opening of the new Harbour Bridge.

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Eric Rolls and the Pilliga from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Eric Rolls was a rare combination; farmer, poet, self-taught naturalist and historian. He also wrote Australia’s first true environmental history. ...

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The Cods from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

How a bunch of manual workers from country South Australia battled their way to the Paris Olympics of 1924.

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The sands of Ooldea — Part 2 Kabbarli from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Ooldea's most famous resident was Daisy Bates, also known as "Kabbarli" or grandmother. She lived at Ooldea for sixteen years in a tent, helping to feed an...

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The sands of Ooldea — Part 1 Yuldi from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

On the edge of the Nullabor, Ooldea, with its ancient water soak "Yuldi Kapi", is one of the most important Aboriginal sites in Australia. Trading routes a...

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Dissent and disillusionment: Australians in East Germany from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In part 2, we trace the growing discontent in East Germany in the 1980s. An Indigenous Australian rock band tours East Germany while anti-government protes...

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Who Killed the Kangaroo King? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Andy Komarnicki disappeared without a trace from the south west Queensland town of St George in January 1980. What happened to him? ...

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Inside the Big day Out: flying too close to the sun from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Come on a wild ride through the extraordinary story of the Big Day Out; the festival which, for over two decades, was a summertime rite of passage for musi...

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Diamond Jack, Smirnov and the Pelikaan from 2021-01-26T11:05

A wild ride involving a Russian flying ace, an escape from Java in World War 2, and a missing package of diamonds.

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Heavenly and demonic: the story of the saxophone from 2021-01-05T11:00

Find out why, in its relatively short history, one instrument has offended ideologues, drawn the ire of dictators, and been reviled and outlawed.

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Tupaia, star navigator from 2020-12-22T11:05

In 1768 when James Cook sailed from Tahiti looking for the great southern land, Tupaia, a traditional Polynesia navigator was on board. His knowledge proved invaluable to Cook and his sailing skil...

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Experiment street — the true history of a city lane from 2020-12-15T11:05

It's the early 1900's in Sydney. Fictional Pyrmont resident and neighbourhood gossip Lizzie Absalom tells what really went on in those back lanes.

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Silence at the sugar mill from 2020-12-08T11:05

Every family has a secret, the saying goes. But the Ninnes family had a big one. It wasn't until eldest daughter Mae was 80 years old that she began to talk. And the skeletons came out of the cup...

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Clutha 1970 - the biggest battle over coal you’ve never heard of from 2020-12-01T11:05

A huge coal project by a foreign company. Environmentalists concerned about the impacts. A government talking about jobs. Sound familiar? But this battle happened 50 years ago, when a small group ...

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Australia and the rise of terrorism; a tale of this century from 2020-11-24T11:05

The September 11th attacks in the United States by Al Qaeda changed the way western countries perceived the threat of terrorism. Before the events of 2001, Australia had no national terrorism laws....

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A picturesque colonial landscape from 2020-11-17T11:05

A radio journey into John Glover's 1835 painting A view of the artist's house and garden, in Mills Plains, Van Diemen's Land.

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The Scholar's Hut from 2020-11-10T11:05

In 1881, an extraordinary teacher arrived at Maloga Aboriginal mission. His students changed Australian history. Great great grandson and Yorta Yorta man Daniel James tells the story of Thomas Shad...

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The air of heaven - Australian women jockeys from 2020-11-03T11:05

When Michelle Payne won the Melbourne Cup in 2015 there were three female jockeys who were with her in spirit. They all challenged the male-dominated racing industry, pushed on by the air of heaven.

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Songs of the last convict ship from 2020-10-27T11:05

In January 1868, the last convict ship to Australia, The Hougoumont, docked in Fremantle, Western Australia, off-loading its' human cargo, including a group of Irish political prisoners. This is th...

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Tommy Walker and the bone collector from 2020-10-20T11:05

Ngarrindjeri elder Major Sumner tells the tale of two men from the opposite ends of Adelaide society at the turn of the twentieth century. The fates of fringe-dweller Tommy Walker and State Coroner...

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The Black-Allan Line from 2020-10-13T11:05

Australia's state borders have taken on new significance in this pandemic year. The history of the border between NSW and Victoria is full of strange twists and turns, a murder and some very messy ...

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Only Joking from 2020-10-06T11:05

Comedian David Rose digs into the archives and discovers a very personal story; one about a life lived on stage, the parallels of history, and a surprising family legacy which dates all the way bac...

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Salleh Ben Joned: A Most Unlikely Malay (Part 2 of 2) from 2020-09-29T11:05:23

Malaysian poet and writer Salleh Ben Joned is an incendiary critic with satirical wit, and at nearly 80 he’s become a bit of an underground ‘legend’. Eldest daughter Anna charts the highs and lows ...

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Salleh Ben Joned: A Most Unlikely Malay (Part 1 of 2) from 2020-09-22T11:05:05

Salleh Ben Joned is a witty, fearless and charismatic poet and writer that some have called the ‘bad boy of Malaysian literature’. Come on a wild ride through his life and times with his eldest dau...

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Follow the Flame from 2020-09-15T11:05

It's 20 years since Sydney hosted the Olympics, and one of the most memorable parts of the 2000 games was the torch relay. This story follows the journey of the flame, from the red dirt country of ...

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Alone with J.S. Bach from 2020-09-08T11:05

The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is a lifetime companion for many violinists. And in our time of Covid-19 isolation, his Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin have taken on a new resonance. Th...

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2025: The end of tape from 2020-09-01T11:05

There’s a number going around audio-visual archivist circles, that has many of them worried: 2025. Magnetic tape — from reel-to-reel, to cassettes and VHS — that is not digitised by 2025 might be l...

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Elisabeth Krämer-Bannow: a portrait of the artist in New Ireland from 2020-08-25T11:05

Through the chance finding of an old German book in an antiquarian bookshop we discover the life and work of Elisabeth Krämer-Bannow, an artist and ethnographer who explored New Ireland in 1908.

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Hay's war: when the Japanese came to inland Australia Part 2 from 2020-08-18T11:05:34

A cavalcade of Japanese Prisoners of War, in makeshift 'cages' on the back of utes and small trucks, makes its way across dusty western NSW. Tension in Hay ramps up, peaking on one long night of dr...

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Hay's war: When the Japanese came to inland Australia Part 1 from 2020-08-11T11:05:50

The mysterious war-time drowning of a young woman in the Murrumbidgee River leads Ann Arnold on a trail of drama and suspense, from the Torres Strait to the outback.

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Spies, lies and hairdryers - How a single mum became a double agent in Cold War Australia from 2020-08-04T11:05:11

In the 1950s a romantic proposition from a Russian diplomat transformed Kay Marshall from an admin worker into one of Australia’s most important double agents. It was the beginning of a four-year i...

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Two spoons — the general who plotted to kill Hitler from 2020-07-28T11:05:18

A little known assassination attempt against Hitler cast its shadow over a family in Sweden. Johan Gabrielsson digs deep into the family vault and discovers the complicated truth about one of his d...

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Nah Doongh's story from 2020-07-21T11:05

Nah Doongh's story tells of a life that was lost and found; a life that spanned the entire 19th century and bore witness to the colonisation of Australia. It is also a story of love, loss and one w...

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The Sisters Overseas Service (SOS) from 2020-07-14T11:05

In 1977, the New Zealand government passed the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act which made it virtually impossible for a woman to legally terminate an unwanted pregnancy. Enter the gr...

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Waterloo Bay: that word"massacre" from 2020-07-07T11:05

What happens when a small town puts the word "massacre" on an historical monument?

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Manuscripts Don't Burn: The Master and Margarita from 2020-06-30T11:05

  Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov’s most famous novel, The Master and Margarita, was written during the brutal 1930s Stalinist purges. It has become a cult classic; inspiring artists like Patti Sm...

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The Ferry Plot from 2020-06-23T11:05

Cold war Australia 1949. The enemy was everywhere, and according to many the country was in extreme danger. Enter Diver Dobson, and a drama that entertained and enthralled Australians as they navig...

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Forgotten men of a forgotten war from 2020-06-16T11:00

What would it take to bring home the 43 Australian servicemen still missing from the Korean War?

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A Short History of Soap from 2020-06-09T11:05

A soap opera about soap starring the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis.

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Section 71 - the Race Power bonus episode from 2020-06-05T05:00

An extra episode in the series about High Court cases which have changed Australia. Series producer Jane Lee unpicks the origins and uses of Section 51(26) of the Australian Constitution, which giv...

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Section 71: The Hindmarsh Island Bridge Affair (Part 2) from 2020-06-02T11:05

In the second part of the long running and divisive case known as the Hindmarsh Island bridge affair, the battle heads inside the High Court.

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Section 71: The Hindmarsh Island Bridge Affair (Part 1) from 2020-05-26T11:05

Ever wondered how the term "secret women's business" entered the Australian lexicon? It's part of a bitter legal battle over land, culture and history in South Australia.

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Section 71: Communists, Terrorists and the High Court from 2020-05-19T11:05

How much power does the federal government have to protect Australians from international threats?

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Section 71: The High Court Dog-Fight on Schools Funding from 2020-05-12T11:05

The High Court showdown over religious freedom that could help you understand how schools are funded to this day.

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Section 71: The Tasmanian crime of gay sex from 2020-05-05T11:05

It might surprise you to learn that until 1997, a man could go to jail for up to 21 years for having sex with another man in Australia.

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Never M.O.R.. the audacious audio of Andrew McLennan from 2020-04-28T11:05

Colleagues called him maestro, visionary, experimenter, radio magic man. To long-time close friend, John Bell, he was “Merry Andrew”. This is the story of an unsung legend in Australian broadcast...

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Edie's War from 2020-04-21T11:05



When Penny Bristol Jones inherited a battered trunk full of family objects, she uncovered a rich wartime history in the collection of letters writt...

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Charlie Chaplin’s Funny Walk and Other Music Hall Mysteries from 2020-04-14T11:05



Journalist Fiona Gruber goes on a very personal journey in the footsteps of her great grandfather, Victorian music hall comedian Walter Groves, to ...

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The sands of Ooldea — Part 4 Wankani from 2020-03-31T11:05



The story of how the traditional custodians of Ooldea got their sacred water soak back and the healing of the land.

...

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The sands of Ooldea — Part 3 Mamu from 2020-03-24T11:05



North west of Ooldea in South Australia's Great Victoria Desert is Maralinga where the British exploded seven nuclear bombs. This episode explores ...

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Steely women from 2020-03-03T11:05



Forty years ago Australian women weren't fighting for equal pay, they were fighting for an equal right to work.

This is the story of our n...

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Friends and foes: Australians in East Germany from 2020-02-11T11:05



A Cold War tale of spies, diplomacy and secret police, from Indigenous communities in the Top End to the opera houses of Berlin.
...

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Carving up the Country from 2020-02-04T11:05



Gamilaraay woman Marika Duczynski travels to the Gulf country of north west QLD, then across the Blue Mountains, to western NSW, looking for tree...

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Stamp of war — the end of Yugoslavia from 2020-01-28T11:05



Three teenage girls — a Muslim, a Serb and a Croatian all from Bosnia Herzegovina, are drawn into one of the bloodiest conflicts in post war Europe...

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Guide Alice from 2020-01-21T11:05



Gifted naturalist, ground-breaking photographer and early feminist figure. Guide Alice was Mount Buffalo's most sought after mountain guide.
...

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Mother danced with Göring from 2020-01-14T11:05



A glimpse into the 1930's and 40's through the fragments that remain of one woman's story – socialite, swordswoman, actress and the first woman to ...

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Cooking for assimilation from 2020-01-07T11:05



The discovery of an old recipe book of her Hungarian grandmother's sets Ruth Balint on a family investigation. Between the pages, she uncovers more...

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Amazon Acres — girls' own adventure from 2019-12-31T11:05



A women-only utopia deep in the Australian bush — no men, no meat, no machines. It was a wild ride, complete with rainbows and tiger snakes, sister...

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Escape from Iran from 2019-12-24T11:05



Shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, a young Bahai mother was smuggled out of the country on camelback with her baby daughter.

40 ye...

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Blue Lake – finding Dudley Flats from 2019-12-17T11:05



On the western edge of central Melbourne lies a blind spot: the now industrialised zone was once home to the shanty town called Dudley Flats. Write...

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Dreams of New Mexico - in the footprints of Georgia O’Keeffe from 2019-12-03T11:05



American artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) is an icon, much loved today for her un-conformist spirit and beauty, as much as for her paintings of ...

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The brazen women of silent film from 2019-11-26T11:05



The lives of women at the turn of the 20th century were bound by strict social conventions and rules. These Australian stars of silent film defied ...

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Port Essington, World's End from 2019-11-19T11:05



Dubbed “World’s End” by its inhabitants, Port Essington in western Arnhem Land was the third failed attempt by the British to settle northern Austr...

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The great air race from 2019-11-12T11:05



The amazing story of the 1919 pioneering air race from England to Australia.

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War recipes from 2019-11-05T11:05



During War time food shortages and rationing preoccupied most people  - but the hunger suffered by the prisoners of War was on a whole different le...

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Two stories that weave together war, food and the power of memory from 2019-11-05T11:05



During War time food shortages and rationing preoccupied most people, but the hunger suffered by prisoners was on a whole different level.
...

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The Bomb Lobby from 2019-10-29T11:05



In the late 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, Australia made a brief but audacious bid to enter the nuclear arms race, by manufacturing a bom...

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Claremont: the murders that rocked Perth from 2019-10-22T11:00



Every era, every city has a crime that defines it. For Perth it was the Claremont serial killings.

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Inside the Big Day Out: from Nirvana to nightmare from 2019-10-08T11:05



Come on a wild ride through the extraordinary story of the Big Day Out; the festival which, for over two decades, was a summertime rite of passage ...

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The Compound — trapped in a UN safehaven from 2019-09-17T11:05



Three Western journalists and a UN employee ignored advice to leave East Timor after the country's independence vote in 1999. They recount the most...

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Through Samurai Eyes: solving the mystery surrounding one of Australia's great convict escape stories from 2019-09-10T11:05



When amateur historian Nick Russell stumbled across a set of very old Japanese manuscripts, he unearthed a dramatic tale of convict mutineers, samu...

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Through Samurai eyes: shedding new light on Australia's greatest convict escape story from 2019-09-03T11:05



A dramatic tale featuring pirates, Samurai warriors, a historical detective and a ship of escaped convicts from Australia who washed up in Japan in...

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Secrets of the Mallacoota Bunker from 2019-08-27T11:05



An idyllic town with a hidden surveillance bunker and a secret past. A ruined RAAF base comes to life to tell its story.
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Tales from the Nuyts Archipelago from 2019-08-20T11:05



In these remote islands we uncover a history of whalers, abducted Aboriginal women, and a mysterious human skeleton found on Franklin Island. There...

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Narjong means fresh water from 2019-08-13T11:05



Aboriginal people from the Murray-Darling Basin’s waterways come together to raise awareness and speak up for their country.
...

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Something in the water — the bitter struggle over fluoride in Australia from 2019-07-23T11:05:51



Anonymous threats in the mail and a homemade bomb. International networks of misinformation. A young girl with the gift of song. Three stories that...

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The Wardian Case - the box that changed the world from 2019-07-16T11:00



Have you ever wondered where the plants in your garden originally came from? They were probably transported in a Wardian case. Discover the story o...

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Queensland’s Native Police – grappling with the gaps from 2019-07-09T11:05



The Queensland Native Police had a devastating impact on Indigenous people across the state. We look at how Indigenous families deal with the unkno...

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Queensland’s Native Police – the frontier in my family from 2019-07-02T13:05



Queensland’s Native Police was notorious for its violence against Indigenous people on the colonial frontier. How do descendants of Aboriginal troo...

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The blue man was black: Hans Jonathan's slave saga from 2019-06-25T13:05



In the early 1800s, on the remote East coast of Iceland in a small fishing village, a young man stepped ashore. He was escapee from the Danish slav...

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The War We Forgot from 2019-06-18T13:00



How does a nation forget a wartime catastrophe? When Japan invaded Australian territory in January 1942, hundreds of civilians were left behind to ...

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The surprising story of Wong Shee Ping from 2019-06-11T13:05



The discovery of the first Chinese story written in Australia gives a fascinating and new insight into the early Chinese immigrants of Victoria. Th...

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Last Light: the Valentich Mystery from 2019-06-04T13:00



A young pilot. A distress call. A missing plane. What happened to Frederick Valentich in October 1978?

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The unauthorised history of the sausage sizzle from 2019-05-14T13:05



The ritual of the sausage sizzle soaks deep into the Australian identity. This is the unlikely true story of an Aussie battler that became a hero i...

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