

Days Like These
ABC listen
The best story you'll hear all week, told by the people who lived it.
This podcast is no longer in production.
This podcast is no longer in production.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 2, 2021 • 32min
The Grommet and Her Idol Catch a Break
In the rough-as-guts Bondi breaks of the 1980s, rising surf star Pauline Menczer was one of the only women in the water. And, boy, did she pay for it. Hot on the heels of her idol Jodie Cooper, both women discover it's not only big waves that can wipe you out. When they finally face each other in the water, they also take on the conservative, sexist world of professional surfing… and change it forever.

Feb 23, 2021 • 23min
James and The Gruffalo
When Marisa and Peter Skillen set off with their kids for their first family camping trip, they're expecting a peaceful couple of days among the gum trees. But when one of their young twins slips away with only his bumblebee backpack, their dream weekend turns into a living nightmare as they desperately scour the bush to find him before it's too late.

Feb 16, 2021 • 23min
I Want Jenna To Meet Oprah
When a young Jenna Holmes discovers the magic of The Oprah Winfrey Show while channel surfing one afternoon, it cracks open a whole new way of thinking for the Toowoomba schoolkid. The undisputed master of daytime TV becomes Jenna’s guide for life. Chutzpah, visualisation, Celin Dion’s legs... the education Jenna’s getting is a little different to the other nine-year-olds. Can Jenna use what she’s learned to realise her dream of meeting Oprah in person?

Feb 9, 2021 • 27min
Dog Tag Days
During a renovation in Canberra, a World War II dog tag is found in a pile of rubble. This discovery sets off a remarkable chain of coincidence, synchronicity and luck, bringing together families whose long-dead loved ones shared a journey of survival through some of the war's most notorious chapters.

Feb 2, 2021 • 27min
Havi's Ritual Impurity
Havi watches from the car as the Rabbi holds a cloth up to the sunlight, peering at it for answers. It's a moment that will change her life forever... and set her on a new path beyond the stringent framework of the Orthodox Judaism she grew up in... where a complex system of rules shapes every aspect of life, from cradle to grave.

Jan 26, 2021 • 30min
Good Things Come In Trees
Grainne goes to school in 1980s Dublin when it's all nuns and compulsory Irish Gaelic. Not a good place to be dyslexic, especially if you've never heard the word "dyslexia" let alone understand its meaning. Grainne's dream is to be zoologist and to get there she uproots to Australia. Her challenges follow her here, but a developing love of magpies and other native birds helps Grainne find her own voice and, eventually, the people who appreciate her unique read on the world.

Jan 19, 2021 • 27min
The Bicycle Thief's Worst Enemy
Rupert's beloved bike is stolen from his work garage. Stricken and desperate to see it returned, he's put in touch with an obsessive ex-cop who's made it his personal mission to fight bike crime. Working with a motley crew of bike lovers and justice seekers, they'll stop at nothing to get it back.

Jan 12, 2021 • 27min
Secrets Of The Dead
Bill Edgar is a private investigator from Australia's Gold Coast who's become know internationally as "The Coffin Confessor". His popularity soared when his very strange side hustle hit headlines all over the world. Bill says the deceased pay him (before they die) to rock up at their funerals and deliver previously-unsaid "truth bombs" to loved ones. But, what the media blitz about Bill Edgar didn't uncover was the secret he's been keeping all of his life — until now.

Dec 15, 2020 • 29min
The Runner
Carefree and dancing on the podium at a Perth nightclub, aspiring actress/comedian Nikki Britton spies a strapping man with a prominent tongue ring. It's lust at first sight, quickly morphing into a whirlwind romance... then a long-distance relationship. But when her dashing courtier invites her to uproot her life to be with him, Nikki's hit by a curveball that will change her... and provide a lifetime of standup material.

Dec 8, 2020 • 17min
Blood In
Mesmerised by the hard-headed glamour of bikie culture, the son of Afghan refugees finds brotherhood in an outlaw motorcycle club. But when death strikes twice close to Mahmood Fazal, he’s forced to confront his own mortality. Will he be allowed to cut the ties that bind him to Melbourne’s underworld?