When Australian Story first met inventor Saul Griffith in 2023, he was on a mission to electrify the world, one suburb at a time.
He’d had success in the US, where his bold ideas on energy caught the eye of President Biden, leading to the passage of ground-breaking climate legislation.
At the same time, Saul was bringing his electrification dream to Australia, inspiring local communities to drive the push to renewables.
Now with President Trump in power and climate action measures being dismantled, Saul’s optimism is being tested.
We catch up with him in the US, as he rallies climate campaigners, and back home, where his own community is forging ahead with its ambitious Electrify 2515 project and inspiring others.
“It felt like we’ve changed the national conversation to showing that households matter,” says Kristen McDonald from Rewiring Australia.
"There’s over a hundred groups across Australia now doing similar sorts of work.”
Saul’s message to people is to stay hopeful and keep up the pressure.
“If you’re not maintaining optimism, you’re giving up,” he tells Australian Story. “You just have to keep saying, we can do this.”
I wonder if the ABC will replay one of Richard Scolyer’s episodes next week, following his death on Sunday? Nine already showed a separate 90 minute tribute last night.
When 59-year-old Richard Scolyer died last Sunday from brain cancer, he left a remarkable legacy.
He was a world-renowned pathologist whose work with his colleagues at the Melanoma Institute led to a huge jump in survival rates from the deadly skin cancer.
When he was diagnosed three years ago with an aggressive brain tumour, his friend and colleague Professor Georgina Long devised a novel and risky immunotherapy treatment based on the Institute’s melanoma work.
Despite the risks, Professor Scolyer leapt at the chance to contribute to a medical breakthrough. Their work led them to being jointly nominated as Australian of the Year in 2024.
Richard Scolyer survived far longer than predicted and his experimental treatment will now be tested in clinical trials. Australian Story has followed Richard’s medical and personal journey over three years, including the months leading up to his death.
Despite doctors urging him to slow down, Richard continued to live life to the fullest. Eleven weeks before he died, he cycled 500kms to raise money for cancer research.
“Don’t just lean in, leap in!” Richard told Australian Story in one of his final interviews. “That’s how you can make a difference.”
The ABC has, until recently, been quietly battling what sounds like a voluminous claim brought by former Australian Story producer Ryan Brookhouse.
Brookhouse brought an action against the public broadcaster last year, alleging breaches of the Fair Work Act and Privacy Act. The court hasn’t released Brookhouse’s statement of claim, but his allegations go back over 20 years.
Brookhouse’s claim (was) tossed out by Federal Court justice Wendy Abraham this month.
Australia’s “family heirloom” Play School is turning 60, so how has this iconic show, conceived in the 1960s, endured?
“We all feel like it belongs to us,” says long-time presenter Justine Clarke. “And it’s no accident that it’s still here after 60 years.”
With rare behind-the-scenes access, Australian Story examines the show’s creative process — what’s changed and what’s stayed the same — and reveals the golden rule that’s guided it since the beginning.
Guest writer Benjamin Law takes us through the creation of an episode on the sense of taste, from early development to studio recording, introducing the “brains trust” of Play School.
“These are the minds, the creators, the designers, the series producer, the early childhood specialists who really know what kids need at what age,” says Law.
With insights from past and present cast and crew, we look back on the show’s 60-year history, revisit the controversial decisions that saw it make headlines and ask how it’s evolved to stay relevant.
The episode features interviews with popular presenters Don Spencer, Justine Clarke, Simon Burke, Jay Laga’aia, Rhys Muldoon and Miah Madden.
When a group of Australian Jewish friends decided they would support a newly arrived Muslim refugee family, all their lives would change.
The mother and son from Somalia had been prepared to embark on their new lives in Australia alone.
But when they landed at Melbourne airport last June, Naima Ali Farah and Feisal Abdi Sugal were greeted by a welcoming party who would help them settle into their new country.
Over the year, the group has formed a remarkable bond, bridging religious and cultural differences.
“We are one big family,” Naima tells Australian Story. “In our group, no Jews, no Muslim.”
They were brought together by the Federal Government’s Community Refugee Integration Sponsorship Program, which matches everyday Australians with refugees.
“Every time I see them, I see aunts, I see uncle, I see grandmother,” Feisal says. “They fill the spot in my heart that was empty.”
Together they’ve celebrated religious occasions, shared stories and learned about each other’s pasts, including Naima’s incredible story of survival and resilience.
“There’s been a real sort of cultural exchange,” says volunteer Nicole Schlesinger. “It gives you hope that you can meet people from a different culture, that you can build bridges.”
The ABC’s most prestigious documentary program, Australian Story, has been accused of “insidiously” prying into the intimate details of a dead war hero’s private life while making vulgar claims viewers might think “he was gay” if the soldier’s grieving family didn’t dish all the details of his whirlwind romance with an older woman.
Australian Special Forces veteran Eddie Robertson detailed the disturbing allegations in an online podcast a little over a week ago while discussing the life and legacy of his late friend and fellow commando, Cameron Baird, in a fiery chat with former army infantry paratrooper Sam Bamford.
Robertson claims he tore shreds off Australian Story’s top producers while working with them on a tribute to Baird – who died in a firefight while on deployment in Afghanistan – after being confronted with “smutty” insinuations about his mate’s private life.
Growing up in Western Queensland, Luke Bateman had just one dream: to play in the NRL. But a crippling gambling addiction cost him everything.
Luke showed exceptional sporting talent from a young age and by the time he was 12 years old, he’d been signed by the Canberra Raiders. But a team bonding session at the local casino when he was 18 marked the start of a devastating gambling addiction that saw him lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“In the beginning of 2018, I still had $70,000 or $80,000 in my bank account. And in the space of a month, I had nothing,” he says.
An ultimatum from his parents ended the cycle of addiction. They absorbed Luke’s debts and he repaid them working in his stepfather’s logging business.
He’s since become an advocate for gambling reform, arguing that proposed recent government changes don’t go far enough.
While working for his stepfather, Luke returned to the things that brought him joy – reading and writing. His first video posted to TikTok’s community for book lovers, #BookTok, clocked up a million views overnight and caught the eye of a publisher.
Becoming an author was something Luke had never imagined, and it’s set him on a mission to encourage young boys to take up reading.
When Indigenous teenager Mark Haines was found dead on a train track near the NSW town of Tamworth, his family immediately suspected foul play. The 17-year-old was doing well at school, was popular with his friends and much-loved by his family.
Despite family concerns that Mark’s death was suspicious, the initial police report suggested he’d died by suicide.
“He would not walk out there and lay down on railway tracks,” says school friend Jason Wann. “I knew that something horrible had happened.”
His devoted uncles decided to take matters into their own hands and began investigating.
“It was a cover-up. Right from the word go,” says Uncle Jack Craigie.
The family quickly uncovered key leads overlooked by police which hinted Mark may have been deliberately placed on the tracks. And when they took the story to Indigenous journalist Allan Clarke, a joint 2018 ABC investigation revealed new evidence that contributed to a second coronial inquest.
When the coroner handed down her findings last month, the family felt vindicated.
This new episode looks at fresh evidence from the inquest and hears from Mark’s devoted uncle Don ‘Duck’ Craigie who for decades pursued justice for his nephew Mark.
During the 1970s, 80s and 90s, up to 20,000 Australians, including children, contracted hepatitis C and/or HIV after being transfused with infected blood.
Hundreds died, while others have lived for decades with serious medical consequences.
Tristan Stanley, who lives with haemophilia, was infected with hepatitis C as a young boy and survived.
He’s now on a mission to get recognition from the Federal government for the harm done.
“We’re often told this is a historical issue,” Tristan says. “But … people are still suffering. People are still dying.”
Campaigning alongside him is Tony David, a world-champion darts player whose career ended when he was infected with Hep C through a blood product, and Niel Lake, once a rising star in the AFP who was contaminated through a post-operative transfusion.
While countries such as Britain, Canada and Ireland have launched independent inquiries and established wide-ranging compensation schemes, survivors argue Australia is yet to fully reckon with this dark chapter.
Armed with new evidence and buoyed by the findings of a recent UK inquiry, Tristan Stanley wants accountability and a national apology.
“There’s unfinished business,” Tristan says. “I’ll keep fighting for as long as it takes.”
The award-winning current affairs program turns 30 and is celebrating this milestone with a special extended episode filmed at the Sydney Opera House.
Hosted by Leigh Sales, this episode brings together some of the program’s most unforgettable participants and features musical performances, interwoven with highlights from the archives.
Guests include actor and producer Claudia Karvan, Olympic champion Michael Klim, First Nations community leader Mechelle Turvey, inspirational maths teacher and YouTube sensation Eddie Woo, graziers Gayle and Mac Shann and Australian Story’s founding executive producer Deborah Fleming. Tim Minchin and Alex Lloyd each perform a song, and singer and conductor Astrid Jorgensen leads the audience in a rousing Pub Choir singalong.
When dancer Roz Hervey was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, her daughter, actor Tilda Cobham-Hervey, stepped behind the camera to record her story.
Roz dedicated her life to making art that pushed boundaries. She faced death in the same way. In her final hours, she made an impassioned plea.
"It was a call to arms for us to get the information out there about voluntary assisted dying,” Tilda tells Australian Story.
After being diagnosed with MND in 2022, Roz was determined to “seize the day”.
Roz, her husband Geoff Cobham, Tilda and her brother Huey took on the mission with gusto, spending two years travelling, laughing and finding fun wherever possible.
“She wanted to use what time she had left to celebrate life,” explains Tilda.
“It was great fun, which seems a weird thing to say when your partner’s dying,” says Geoff.
Roz was passionate about the idea of a “good death” and felt having access to VAD made that possible. She wanted people to know the same option was available to them.
“It is so important that people have the opportunity to die with dignity,” Roz says in her final message.
Over his 20-year political career, Barnaby Joyce has been a staunch National Party member. So when the three-time party leader defected toOne Nation last year,he leftvotersshocked, colleagues dismayed, and commentators questioning whether it would last.
In this episode of Australian Story, Joyce explains why he fell out with the party that made him and how he sees his future.
“Itruly believethey thought that this‘toerag’was going to disappear,” he says of his former National Party colleagues. “It’sonly when it becameapparentthat my move to One Nationactually hada real effect that everyone said, ‘Oh, this is outrageous.’”
Joyce’s former colleagues speak candidly about how they view his move.
“Would I describe Barnaby as a rat?,” says former Nationals senator John Williams. ”I’d say a king rat.”
“What drives Barnaby Joyce … is about being the centre of attention,” says former Nationals leader David Littleproud.
Australian Story follows Joyce as One Nation’s popularity soars, scrutiny of Pauline Hanson intensifies and speculation about the party’s leadership continues.
“One Nation is Pauline’s fish and ship shop,” Joyce insists. “Pauline doesn’t have to worry about watching her back."
Also interviewed are wife Vikki Campion, former colleagues, critics and friends.
In a special extended episode, Australian Story celebrates its 30th anniversary in front of a sold-out crowd at the Sydney Opera House.
Hosted by Leigh Sales and introduced by the Governor-General, the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, the 70-minute celebration features some of the program’s best-loved guests and musical artists interwoven with highlights from the show’s extensive archives.
In interview with Leigh Sales are actor and producer Claudia Karvan, former Olympian Michael Klim, First Nations community leader Mechelle Turvey, inspirational maths teacher Eddie Woo, founding executive producer Deborah Fleming and viewer favourites, graziers Gayle and Mac Shann.
In addition, Alex Lloyd performs his 2001 hit Amazing, Tim Minchin performs a heartfelt rendition of Not Perfect and Pub Choir’s Astrid Jorgensen leads the 2000-strong crowd in a rousing version of Goanna’s Solid Rock.
Filmed for broadcast, this extended episode captures the extraordinary mood in the Opera House Concert Hall as fans and dignitaries gathered to celebrate Australian Story’s milestone.
As the Governor-General noted in her introduction: “In a global environment experiencing growing uncertainty, volatility and, sadly, division … it’s Australian Story that still gives us a space, where audiences are uplifted and inspired.”
