By ABC listen
The Real Thing celebrates unique Australian characters.
After cycling the world, Nicolás Marino set off to cross his adopted homeland using pedal power alone. He discovered knowing Australia would require knowing himself. In this last episode of The Real Thing we're on our bikes, as lunch cooks in the...
As a teenager, Lita Lewis was expected to set the example for her siblings. So much so, that she wanted out. In an adult life far from her home and tribe, she’d battle pride and heartbreak alone. By sharing her rebuild of...
A school of fish help the Australian netball team win a Commonwealth gold medal. An introduction to Sum Of All Parts - a podcast that shares extraordinary stories from the world of numbers. Subscribe to SOAP: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sum-of-all-parts/
For International Women's Day, a story about feeling incomplete. Khadija Gbla’s repressed memory of female genital mutilation would surface during puberty. Being an outsider to a ‘clitero-centric’ culture, was a decision made for her. Khadija is up against her mum, her culture, and the health system, as she breaks the silence...
The Real Thing perform live at Woodfolk Folk Festival, Queensland. In between music and magic tricks, Timothy and Mike risk it all by attempting to tell a story they’ve never heard before - live on stage, with improvised music, script, and...
It started as an idea in a Darlinghurst cafe and became the world’s largest short film festival. Tropfest has helped kickstart generations of Australian film careers throughout its 25 year history. While controversy and financial hardship has threatened the event, Tropfest has endured and the picnic continues.
Miranda Gibson was an unlikely candidate to break the record for Australia’s longest tree-sit. The shy Queenslander had never seen a forest until her early twenties. In 2011 she vowed to live in a tree in the Tyenna Valley until it was...
Improbable hairdos, gyrating hips, overstretched jumpsuits, way too many rhinestones, and a whole lot of community spirit. You can't help falling in love with the NSW town of Parkes, where Elvis never left the building.
When Robbie Page discovered surfing it consumed him. The former Pipeline Master views the sport as a martial art. It led him on a global adventure, with stopovers in a Japanese prison, the French President’s home, and now he's tracing his Indigenous...
Christmas; family, food, anticipation. The stakes are high. There's extra pressure for the Williams family, who are only able to get together every second year. But when a tradition goes wrong, the best day of the year turns into a horror show.
A bike ride and a book inspired Stephanie Lorenzo to cut her corporate career short and start a charity. Her passion to end human trafficking helped change young Australians' view on giving. When a crisis threatens everything she’d been working towards, tough...
Gary the goat, an internet sensation, and friend of The Real Thing, has died on tour in Queensland. There's a reason Gary's episode is our most downloaded ever. Gary was a uniquely Australian larrikin and his antics made people laugh worldwide. We first...
Ford vs Holden. Blue vs red. Mate vs mate. There's no sitting on the fence when it comes to motoring's great rivalry. But factory closures are forcing fans to rethink a homegrown passion. The Ford-Holden passion is at a crossroads.
Alison and David Homer were ecstatic when they fell pregnant in 2005. "Finally, I feel part of something of consequence," Dave said. But at 32 weeks, Harper's heart unexpectedly stopped. How they coped with the grief that followed changed their lives.
David Ninness is one of the Cronulla Shark's biggest fans, despite living nowhere near Sydney's Sutherland Shire. When the NRL club was in turmoil he volunteered to resurrect their second mascot, MC Hammerhead. But before he could help cheer his team to...
Sleepy lizards keep popping up in the life of Off Track producer, Ann Jones. So she was curious to speak with Professor Michael Bull. He devoted over 35 years to studying them, in one of the longest running lizard surveys in...
Positively Wilcannia, part 6: stop recording, start feeling. Robert Clayton broke his leg three years ago. The injury set off a chain of events that resulted in depression and drug use. For the 28-year-old to become a stronger member of his family,...
Positively Wilcannia, part 5: a tenacious Barkindji woman grabs every opportunity. Bobbi Murray loves her river, the Boomerangs football club, and the entire Wilcannia family. From a young age she followed her ambition to give back to the town. While the journey has...
Positively Wilcannia, part 4: how The Wilcannia Mob took their river to the world. The Wilcannia Mob's Down River gave us a unique view into life growing up in Wilcannia. Band members, and the town, continue to see positive effects, fifteen years...
Positively Wilcannia, part 3: taking anxiety out of health checks, and Barkindji for beginners. Rugby league is being used to improve men's health in more ways that one. When the town travels to Menindee to support their teams, The Real Thing hitches...
Positively Wilcannia, part 2: Mike and Timothy race to shake up Wilcannia. Timothy and Mike compete in a race to shake as many Wilcannia hands as possible. Along the way they gather a snapshot of the town; learn the Wilcannia shake, meet...
Positively Wilcannia, part 1: The Real Thing is helping put Wilcannia on the map. Wilcannia locals are fighting for the town's reputation, despite numerous social challenges and a complicated relationship with the media. But a recent BBC documentary has been a setback...
Brad Guy went skydiving and his parachute failed. Incredibly, he survived. Although he recovered from the physical injuries, what followed almost flattened him.
Lizzy Gardiner's early life included minimal supervision, late nights at the Dubbo drive-in and a stint in Papua New Guinea. Her unusual experiences made her a perfect fit for the turbulent film industry, where she won an Oscar for the...
Hey, it's Mike and Timothy. The car's fuelled up, the thermos is hot and there's lots of characters to meet. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you can join us on the search for the real Australia. But before we get...
Mark Colvin like you've never heard him. In 1978 the ABC’s renegade youth broadcaster Double Jay premiered an audio experiment called, What's Rangoon to you is Grafton to me. Almost 40 years later, we got back on the Pacific Highway to make...
Deni Gordon's long and varied career includes musical theatre, television and film. While she no longer works in showbiz, an unlikely ten minute voice-over job in 1987 continues to blast out of Australian televisions. Deni is the voice of the iconic Rage...
Nothing on television compares to Rage. For 30 years the biggest artists have beamed weird and wonderful music videos to your living room, and Australia's psyche. Settle into the red couch as The Real Thing explains the history of your favourite music...
One man, one goat and a wide open road. Gary the goat is famous. Millions of fans have watched videos of the farm-animal-cum-cultural icon. Guided by best mate, comedian Jimbo Bazoobi, Gary has crisscrossed the country seeking adventure and making friends. However, fate...
Samantha Beranic was 12 when her Mother told her a secret. This information quickly became a burden that would shadow Sam's life. Eventually the secret would be set free, but its consequences would change her family for good.
Timothy and Mike are performing the podcast on stage. And you're invited! The Real Thing's 10th instalment of their search for the "real" Australia will be performed in front of audiences in Melbourne and Sydney. Mike and Timothy will bring music, a...
Redgum’s ‘I was only 19’ united the Vietnam veteran’s movement in Australia. The song tells the true story of an Australian soldier’s experience fighting in the Vietnam jungle. But before Redgum could create an anthem that changed the national conversation, songwriter John...
Yadu Singh was ‘numb’ when he found out his application for permanent residency was unexpectedly cancelled. The young cardiologist from a small Indian village had fallen in love with his adopted country’s values and people. But what happened next would fuel his...
