Today, "urbex" (urban exploration) is a global phenomenon with millions of videos online. But few people know it all traces back to a group of teenagers in Melbourne. In the mid-1980s, they founded the Cave Clan, formalising the exploration of storm drains and abandoned buildings. In this ep, founding member Dougo explains how the group began, the tragedy that changed everything, and how they’re hoping to bring the Cave Clan back to life.

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In 2018, Brittany Todd was a mother of five living in South Carolina. Then one day she came home to find a stranger inside her house who beat her unconscious and abducted her four-year-old daughter. In this episode, Brittany tells us how they got her girl back.

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In 1983, 38 IRA prisoners escaped Northern Ireland's Maze Prison by hijacking a truck and driving through multiple security gates to freedom. Ringleader Gerry Kelly explains how they pulled off such a stunt, and why he believes escaping was a moral duty.

For a more detailed account of this story check out Gerry’s memoir: Playing My Part

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AIDS devastated America's gay communities through the 1980s. In major cities, up to 50% of gay men were living with the virus, with the median survival rate after diagnosis just 11 months. Mark S. King lived through it all. After moving to Los Angeles in 1981, he watched an entire generation of friends disappear. In this conversation, he reflects on his own HIV diagnosis and miraculous survival, and what those years taught him about life and love.

Check out more of Mark’s work on his blog, spanning four decades of essays: My Fabulous Disease

Follow him on Instagram: mark.s.king

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In 1976, a mysterious illness started killing people in Central Africa. Virus expert Joseph McCormick was flown in to work out what it was and how it spread. This is how the world came to learn of a frightening new virus called Ebola. In this ep, Joe describes how he later discovered that HIV had emerged from the very same corner of Africa. It's a conversation about evolution and how humans and viruses are more connected than you'd expect.

Check out Joe’s book, co-written with his wife: Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC.

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In 1995, Dale Wheatley had just written and produced Don's Plum starring his friends Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. The film was quickly snapped up for a 3-picture deal. But then Leo decided he didn't want it released. Overnight, he and Tobey buried the film and dismantled Dale's friendships. As he explains, it’s a moment he’s never recovered from.

You can watch Don's Plum on Dale’s YouTube here

Dale's memoir, Too Real, is also available on his website here

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Pamela Jones was born into a fringe splinter group of Mormonism. By her early 30s she had nine children, while her husband had five other wives. But one day something inside her broke. In this ep, Pamela describes how she escaped — penniless and illiterate — and built a multimillion-dollar business and a whole new life.

Hire Pamela to speak at your next event here

Read her incredible memoir, The Dirt Beneath Our Door: My Journey to Freedom after Escaping a Polygamous Mormon Cult

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In 1981, an Israeli backpacker named Yossi Ghinsberg met a man in Bolivia who told him about a lost city of riches buried in the jungle. Four of them went into the Amazon to search for the city. Two came out. Yossi tells us how he survived and what he learned about the darkness within.

Hire Yossi to speak at your next event here

Read his incredible memoir, Jungle, here

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On the eve of his 38th birthday in 1998, a lawyer named Stanley Alpert was plucked off the street by three armed men. For the next 25 hours he sat blindfolded in a corner of their Brooklyn apartment, listening to their strange lives play out around him, and carefully absorbing their stories so he could have them jailed, should he ever escape.

For more, check out Stan’s book The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival

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In May 1999, police found eight bodies decaying in barrels in a disused bank vault in Snowtown. Four men were eventually jailed for 12 murders. Former senior constable Gordon Drage was the first to discover the vault and tells us what he saw.. We're re-running this 2023 interview because the youngest of the four, James Vlassakis, has just been approved for parole. It’s a decision that’s being fought out in the South Australian Supreme Court.

If you’re a subscriber, please contribute your episode ideas and questions here.

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Todd Maguire was happy-go-lucky Australian policeman until his girlfriend died by suicide and everything changed. From there, Todd became a heavy drinking undercover cop chasing life-and-death situations to bury his trauma. This is Todd’s story of going to hell but somehow finding his way back.

Check out Todd’s memoir: Donny: An undercover cop with a deathwish.

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