Expanse
ABC listen
In 1999 a young American dumped his bicycle and walked out into the Great Sandy Desert in remote northern Australia. He was an Alaskan firefighter, seemingly with everything to live for. So why did he risk it all to go into the wilderness alone? And how do you search for someone who doesn't want to be found?
In 2022, host Erin Parke became obsessed with the saga of Robert Bogucki, which became a media circus and prompted everyone involved to think about life, death and who we are when everything easy is stripped away. It's a story that spans three decades, two continents and a bizarre cast of characters. From booty-wearing bloodhounds, to a larger-than-life, cigar-chomping American named Gunslinger, the search for the missing man became a spectacle in itself.
In season 5, Expanse: Nowhere Man, Erin sets out to discover why some people are pushed to lose themselves in the wilderness on a search for meaning. At a time when so many of us feel lost, just how far would you go to feel found?
New episodes released each Wednesday.
Expanse is an internationally award-winning podcast that explores big stories from across Australia — a vast continent where anything can happen.
In Series 4: Uncropped, host Danielle O'Neal goes from a mosquito-laden lagoon in far north Queensland to the Australian government's classified UFO files, to the US Congress as she seeks to understand what happened, its legacy and why believable people say seemingly unbelievable things.
Spies in the Outback (Series 3) won the Excellence in Radio Broadcasting award at the Northern Territory Media Awards in 2024 for the story of Pine Gap, a secret US/Australian defence base hidden in the outback.
From the Dead (Series 2) won silver in the Documentary: History category at the New York Radio Festival awards. It delves into a wild tale of survival at sea off Tasmania's rugged southwest coast.
Pink Diamond Heist (Series 1) was shortlisted in the New York Radio Awards, Documentary: History category. This season takes you on a rollicking ride through Western Australia on the trail of a diamond heist.
In 2022, host Erin Parke became obsessed with the saga of Robert Bogucki, which became a media circus and prompted everyone involved to think about life, death and who we are when everything easy is stripped away. It's a story that spans three decades, two continents and a bizarre cast of characters. From booty-wearing bloodhounds, to a larger-than-life, cigar-chomping American named Gunslinger, the search for the missing man became a spectacle in itself.
In season 5, Expanse: Nowhere Man, Erin sets out to discover why some people are pushed to lose themselves in the wilderness on a search for meaning. At a time when so many of us feel lost, just how far would you go to feel found?
New episodes released each Wednesday.
Expanse is an internationally award-winning podcast that explores big stories from across Australia — a vast continent where anything can happen.
In Series 4: Uncropped, host Danielle O'Neal goes from a mosquito-laden lagoon in far north Queensland to the Australian government's classified UFO files, to the US Congress as she seeks to understand what happened, its legacy and why believable people say seemingly unbelievable things.
Spies in the Outback (Series 3) won the Excellence in Radio Broadcasting award at the Northern Territory Media Awards in 2024 for the story of Pine Gap, a secret US/Australian defence base hidden in the outback.
From the Dead (Series 2) won silver in the Documentary: History category at the New York Radio Festival awards. It delves into a wild tale of survival at sea off Tasmania's rugged southwest coast.
Pink Diamond Heist (Series 1) was shortlisted in the New York Radio Awards, Documentary: History category. This season takes you on a rollicking ride through Western Australia on the trail of a diamond heist.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 25, 2024 • 36min
03 Uncropped | The UFO files
The Tully phenomena spreads, with unexplained circles starting to crop up around the country. Reports of them all are filed away by the RAAF in the secret UFO files. But, one young UFO researcher is determined to get access to those files and see just what they hold.
Nov 18, 2024 • 35min
02 Uncropped | Who is visiting?
Hoards of people descend on the Pennisi property to take a look at this ‘saucer nest’, sending the family running for cover. Turns out, in the years to come that would be the least of their worries. Rumours of covert surveillance and odd happenings leave the people at the heart of this mystery looking over their shoulders.
Nov 18, 2024 • 27min
01 Uncropped | The sighting
On a hot morning under blue skies, a young banana farmer saw something he couldn’t explain that sent his pulse racing. It looked like a flying saucer and it left behind a mysterious mark. The chain of events it set off would change everything.
Nov 11, 2024 • 4min
INTRODUCING – Expanse S4: Uncropped
In 1966 a Queensland farmer thought he saw a UFO that left behind a real physical mark in some reeds. That sighting set off a chain of events that would haunt him for decades and leave a lot of unanswered questions. Danielle O’Neal delves into what happens when people say seemingly unbelievable things.
May 14, 2024 • 44min
05: Spies in the Outback | The secrets of Pine Gap
Host Alex Barwick hears just how far Pine Gap’s reach is today, uncovers the secrets of stolen land and explores what it means for Australia to have a spy base hidden in the heart of the country. Host: Alex Barwick Supervising producer: Piia Wirsu Sound engineer and producer: Grant Wolter Executive producer: Blythe Moore Additional production and research: Elsa Silberstein Special thanks: Eric George, Robert Mailer, Tim Roxburgh, Jane Connors, Mark Maley, Elizabeth Beal, ABC Alice Springs, and everyone who agreed to speak with us Further reading: David Rosenberg - Inside Pine Gap Brian Toohey - Secret Kieran Finnane - Peace Crimes Desmond Ball - A Suitable Piece of Real Estate
May 7, 2024 • 30min
04 Spies in the Outback | The spy who loved Alice
The Cold War has finally ended but Pine Gap, or ‘The Base’ as it’s become known, is expanding and it’s getting involved in conflicts across the world. Host Alex Barwick finally goes inside Pine Gap and meets a spy who has spent years working within the perimeter.
Apr 30, 2024 • 31min
03 Spies in the Outback | The women get wild
Nuclear fear prompts thousands to flood to Alice Springs in the 1980s to try and close Pine Gap and reveal its secrets. This time the woman are in charge and they don't want Australia involved in nuclear war.
Apr 23, 2024 • 31min
02 Spies in the Outback | Politics, pressure and protest
As the Cold War enters the 70s, it becomes clear that Pine Gap is really a spy base with eyes on the Soviets – and it's putting Alice Springs in the nuclear crosshairs.
Apr 16, 2024 • 30min
01 Spies in the Outback | Selling a space base
In the grip of a crippling drought in the 1960s, Alice Springs sees an economic lifeline when America promises to build a 'space base' on the edge of town. But once Pine Gap's bizarre, oversized golf ball-like structures are finally built, mysterious things start happening - the 'space base' isn't quite what it seems.
Apr 11, 2024 • 4min
INTRODUCING – Expanse S3: Spies in the Outback
When America promised to build a space base in outback Australia in the middle of the 1960s space race, few suspected it would put Australia in the nuclear cross-hairs in decades to come. That space base, just 18ks from Alice Springs, would come to be known as Pine Gap - possibly the most secretive place in Australia.
