Days Like These

Growing up in a small city in south-west China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution led Guojian to join the People's Liberation Army, China’s military.  

He was a doctrinaire solider until an illegal Australian radio station, and a love song, opened his world. 

When Megan met Leon, they thought they were just in for a holiday romance.

But it became a long distance thing. Then it became a real life thing. 

And then it wasn't a thing. Leon had his life sorted out, while Megan felt her real life hadn’t even started. 

They let each other go, they met other people, they had adventures... but eventually, real life and real love collided – but could it work, all those years later? 

One night, fresh from his first big break-up, a 23-year-old Graham Panther is hanging out at a friend’s house when she pulls out a massive bag of weed.  

Together, they decide to cut loose, forget about their troubles for one night.  

But what starts as a light-hearted trip soon sours, as Graham finds himself tumbling into a different dimension. And when he returns to reality, things are not as they used to be. 

Graham created The Big Feels Club as a space to talk about all the big, scary feelings that come with being human. Check them out at https://bigfeels.club/

 **Please keep in mind that this story details one person’s experience regarding choices and medication.

If it raises anything for you, please seek support from a medical professional. And remember, Lifeline can be reached via text or on 13 11 14 at any time of the night or day. 

Emma Jane Holmes is a funeral director by day, but when night falls, her alter ego appears. 

Emma takes our lead reporter Pat Abboud behind the closed doors of a mortuary,

to reveal how the death care industry is dealing with the pandemic and letting us in on her secret double life.

Two men go head-to-head over a set of photographs taken in the Tasmanian wilderness.

The images could rewrite the history of a legendary animal, if only they can agree on what they're looking at.

Here are the images captured by Neil Waters and the Thylacine Awareness Group.

*A previous version of this story claimed that the parties had not met, which was inaccurate and has now been corrected.

At the beginning of 2019, country singer Felicity Urquhart was preparing for a huge year of performing and publicity. She was about to release Frozen Rabbit, her first solo album in a decade. Creating the record had been an extended labour of love for her and her husband, Glen Hannah, also a musician and producer. But the year would unfold in ways that no one saw coming, and the album would mark a turning point in Felicity’s career and her life.  

***Warning: this episode contains content to do with suicide***

When Jane Rowe tries her first hit of heroin, the relief it offers is undeniable. Rebelling against her privileged upbringing, she throws herself into the punk scene of 1970s London, rubbing shoulders with rock stars and moguls.

But when the party's over and Jane's rattled by the aftershocks of addiction, she sets out to rescue the forgotten victims of drug abuse.

A cold-war thriller, set on the streets of Sydney. Our hero, a man only recently promoted from the ASIO mail room to spy-catcher, finds that chasing a KGB operative doesn’t always follow a James Bond-type script.   

Two friends set off on a one-way ticket overseas intending to have the time of their lives. It’s their big adventure before settling down to start “real life’. 

But, in a small village in Nepal, amongst hikers from all over the world, it all goes terribly wrong... and it’s all they can do just to survive. 

To take a look at Athena’s photos and to find out more, head to  www.athenazelandonii.com/

A brother and sister duo face a life-changing diagnosis, a family secret and flooding rains as they race across state borders to make it home. This is a story about the frustrations and fractures of addiction, the loneliness of life in a pandemic and the wonders of long-distance love. 

Mostly, it’s about the ties that bind, and the people who are always there for us, even when you don’t expect it.