Published by ABC Australia
The History Listen is now ABC Rewind, the home of gripping narrative history series. Dive into true stories told by the people who lived through them.
Listen on Apple PodcastsSunil Badami's mother loved telling him stories of his colourful uncle, India's best-known sceptic, who devoted his life to disproving fraudulent gurus' "miracles" by eating fire, bending forks and floating mid-air. But at the heart of the Sceptic's magic was a disappearing act.
When Nell and Caitlin moved into a century-old shop in the historic suburb of Stockton in Newcastle unexplainable things started happening; a lady with a bouffant hairdo appeared in their loungeroom, books, clothes and electronic gadgets were disappearing, there was the acrid smell of unwashed old men in the kitchen. This paranormal activity went on for years, until they called in a ghostbuster. Our expert panel - sceptic Adam Spencer, psychic Kerrie Irwin and agnostic producer Greg Appel put their claims to the test.
It was supposed to be a hiking adventure, but it ended in an unforeseeable accident that would change Warren and Geert's futures forever. When he was sitting around a campfire on a remote island in Far North Queensland, Warren Macdonald made a life-changing decision. He’d sparked up a conversation with a Dutch hiker named Geert van Keulen, and he decided to follow Geert up a mountain the following morning. It was supposed to be a hiking adventure, but it ended in an unforeseeable accident that would change both their lives forever.
Paulina always knew she had half- siblings around the world. They all shared the same Tongan father. Finding them was the best thing she ever did.
Jim Everett puralia meenamatta - born on Flinder's Island in 1942 - is a man of many selves – philosopher, fisherman, scholar, activist, poet, soldier, filmmaker. When he was sixteen years old, he discovered a hidden part of himself.
When her Parkinson's Disease medication stopped working musician and writer Linda Neil was in a very dark place. But a treatment called Deep Brain Stimulation has allowed her to return to playing the violin, singing, songwriting, living an independent life and riding her pink bicycle.
There’s a government file about my life. A file full of reports. The reports date from 1985 to 2003. That’s 18 years. File 105538. No, I’m not a terrorist or a spy. From two weeks old, to the day I turned 18, I was a foster child. I do not own the file about my life. It belongs to the state of Queensland. But when I turned 18 I wanted answers. What I found rocked me to my core. This is my story.
The Australian instrument that shaped the sound of the 1980s and forever changed how popular music was made. At the start of the 1980s the Fairlight caught the eye of synthesiser pioneers likes Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. By the end of the 1980s it had caught the ear of millions of people around the world, even if they didn't know it.
It's the 1980s, and the first devastating decade of the AIDS pandemic. A young student nurse tests positive for the virus. and this information ends up on the front page of his local newspaper. A tale of fear and prejudice. but also of great courage, and love.
It's 1865 in remote central west NSW. A police office is fatally shot by a man he believes is a Chinese bushranger. But all may not be as it seems. A bushranging tale with a twist
What if the most remarkable of all your ancestors was the one left out of the family tree? Historian Kacey Sinclair and two of Fanny Finch’s direct descendants reconstruct the life and legacy of a Victorian goldfields trailblazer, a woman of colour whose story was hidden for generations.
The Kangaroo dog is unique to Australia. It's a mystery dog with a big story. Born in the early Sydney colony, this deerhound-greyhound mongrel dog was bred to hunt and kill kangaroos. The kangaroo dog was there at key moments in Australia's colonial past - from hunting dog that fed the colony, to bushrangers best mate - to battle dog in the Frontier wars, and family member. The kangaroo dog has seen a lot. What happens when we see history through a dog's eyes?
Where did Jack Karlson learn the lines he delivers in his famous viral video ? This episode unravels the story of a prison playwright and his muse which led Jack to utter those now infamous words “This is democracy manifest.”
Who is the man behind Australia's most iconic internet meme, who famously said “What is the charge? Eating a meal, a succulent Chinese meal? Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest"?
In this extra episode Sisonke Msimang tells stories of First Nations Australians, Rugby and the fight to end Apartheid. When Aboriginal Rugby player Lloyd McDermott refused to declare himself an honorary white for the Wallabies tour of South Africa in 1963 he began a tradition of First Nations Australians using the sport to get under the skin of the country’s regime. But when Glen Ella from the famous Aboriginal Rugby Union playing family joined a Rebel Rugby 7s tour of South Africa in 1985 he broke the sports boycott and almost tore his family apart. Then Rugby brought the nation of South Africa together in a magic moment of reconciliation when Nelson Mandela wore the Springboks guernsey at the World Cup.
After 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela is free and the anti-apartheid movement is full of hope. But as apartheid legislation is repealed and South Africa starts transitioning to democracy, not everyone is happy. Right-wing Afrikaner groups take to the streets with guns and the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party inflicts terrible violence within the black community. There are mass killings and peace talks that keep falling apart; will the country make it across the finish line to free and fair elections? There's an entire system to dismantle and wounds to heal. There’s so much work to be done. What will the new South Africa look like?
The 1980s see South Africa spin out of control as defiance to apartheid and the regime’s crackdown builds. A cultural boycott of South Africa sees international musicians refuse to play there until Paul Simon controversially records his album Graceland with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The world finally gets to hear the vibrant sounds of Zulu music but at what cost to the anti-apartheid movement?
It's 1984, and in Dublin, Ireland, 21 year old shop assistant Mary Manning refuses to sell a South African grapefruit. Her action draws world attention to the campaign to hit Apartheid where it hurts, by crippling the South African economy. At the same time a young Australian seaman starts a global ban on shipping oil to South Africa. How South Africans won their freedom from the racist Apartheid regime, and the Australians who helped them fight for it.
36 min
How South Africa won their freedom from the racist Apartheid regime and the Australians who helped them fight for it. A new leader emerges in South Africa, a young man with radical ideas. Steve Biko’s ‘black consciousness’ movement inspires a generation. His murder at the hands of authorities is a moment of reckoning. When the children of Soweto township are forced to study in Afrikaans, the language of their oppressor, they rebel and set the country on fire with their resistance. Hundreds of them are killed by the regime. Steve Biko’s murder in a prison cell sparks a wave of militant activism, as the government doubles down with more violent raids and arrests. And an Australian diplomat gets swept up in the conflict.
By the 1970s the anti-apartheid movement is growing around the world as protesters find ways to hit the South African government where it hurts most. In Australia, the action takes place in a very public way, by heading onto the sports field. Seven former Wallabies rugby players refuse to compete against the South African Springboks when they tour Australia. As mass protests divide the country, Premier Joh Bjelke Petersen declares a state of emergency in Queensland. First Nations activists join the fight, and even Aussie cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman gets caught up in the action.