Days Like These

Australia is a wild continent with some of the most intense weather on the planet. From massive bushfires to severe cyclones and devastating flooding; extreme weather is becoming part of our everyday lives. How do we take what we’ve learned from our past to better prepare and adapt for our future?

When Anita realises Bendigo's golden dragon will soon be too old to parade, she’s catapulted into the project of a lifetime: build a new dragon, the longest in the world, and make sure the over-a-century-long streak won’t be broken.

Perhaps a peek behind the curtain of America’s dream factory will be the inspiration Miriam needs for her own storytelling journey? The experience proves to be clarifying… just not in the way she expects.

When Brent’s sister is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, he swaps crash dieting for something sustainable. Now he just needs to figure out a way to translate healthy eating beyond his 'āiga and into his community.

Hospitality became a refuge for Jess after the trauma of their childhood. But despite the ostensibly powerful position they find themselves in - calling the shots on the door of Melbourne’s trendiest restaurant - they soon realise this refuge is toxic too.

It’s a recognisable sound for those who frequent inner Sydney: the 75 year old Chinese Australian restaurateur is known for playing his beloved instrument during work hours, wowing crowds of customers over freshly steamed dumplings.

Fee is prepared for a ‘trip of a lifetime' when she lands in Brazil for a tour of the Pantanal wetlands. But when her tour guide asks her for a seemingly simple favour, Fee finds herself in a terrifying situation that she can’t find a way out of.

Ronny is inspired by the power of the songs of slain freedom fighter Arnold Ap, and he too takes up music as his weapon of choice. He sets about writing his own song to strengthen the movement in the hopes his people will see the Morning Star flag raised over a free West Papua

Like so many children of divorce, Sam has pretty much always hated Christmas. Yet, year after year, the Melbourne transplant would return to Western Australia and face his family. Why did he think this year - with his new girlfriend in tow - would be any different?

Sooji wakes up on the concrete of a busy road in Strathfield in Sydney. She’s been hit by a car, but instead of waiting for help to arrive she does the one thing no one expects her to do – she runs.

Now retired, Canberra’s most prominent self described ‘child mime’ recounts a storied career: from falling out of a tree at age seven, to miming through an electrical storm, to unnerving the late great Marcel Marceau… and the day the wheels came off and it all went to sh*t.

Gooniyandi and Gadgerong man Scott Wilson grew up in Broome, WA, steeped in the yarns of his dad riding horses through the Kimberly. But Scott’s not the rugged outdoorsman his old man is, so he escapes into the pages of comics to find some new role models. But why can’t he see any Blak faces in these superhero adventures?

Margie is a go-with-the-flow kind of person, a free spirit. But all good things come to an end...

Jess Walton is a childhood cancer survivor and amputee. For years they've used a prosthetic leg, despite the discomfort. This is the story of how they went from being an ‘inspiring disabled speaker’ to finally saying f*ck the leg.

It’s 1999, and the last Christmas of the century is fast approaching. Geoff Law gets a call from Bob Brown that sends him on a tall task: to decorate the world’s tallest Christmas tree.

Growing up, AJ Lamarque was always just ‘one of the girls’. But in his twenties, he inadvertently joined a very big, very American college fraternity. Strangely enough, this crash course in male friendship — in the strangest of settings — taught him a great lesson.

Many years ago, when MySpace reigns supreme, a young Marty Smiley takes a leaf straight out of the American Revolution playbook and stages a boycott of his high school canteen. The cause? The skyrocketing price of muffins. The unlikely name of his rag-tag group of revolutionaries? The Kids of Liberty.

There are times where you feel like you're just a side-character in someone else's narrative, or maybe you're off-stage waiting in the wings. But then something happens and suddenly you're the main character, the hero — or villain — of your own story.

As the demands of school, teenagerhood, and family life increase, so do the numbers of Vanessa's guinea pig herd.

In this one, Romeo is Kesh. And Juliet is aptly, Jules. And they are fearless.

Beth meets two men in a cafe. They’ve been chatting online for a while, but how will things go in person?There’s a lot riding on this first date, more than romance or short-term fling.

When Laurie Luxe decided to pursue the art of clowning, one name kept coming up: Philippe Gaulier.

Alex doesn't want kids. She's learnt first-hand from the women in her family how hard it can be when relationships don't work out. But then she meets Tom.Tom desperately wants to be a dad and Alex wants to be with Tom, so they come to a compromise: they'll have one child together.But the family Alex ends up with is very different from the one she expects.Reporter Tamar CranswickSound engineer Isabella TropianoExecutive producer Sophie Townsend

Timmy Rubin grew up in Melbourne in the '70s and '80s, the child of two Holocaust survivors who let their children run wild.

When Patricia Santiago moves from Manila to Melbourne, her new schoolmates make fun of her American accent, her Filipino cuisine, her skin colour.

Alyssa Hodges always wanted to be a mum, just not at 19 years old. Then 17 weeks into her pregnancy, her partner left.Overwhelmed and grieving, dating was the last thing on her mind. But a friend suggested she give Tinder a go, as it would be even harder to date once the baby arrived.She didn't expect to meet and start falling for Max Silvy. And she definitely didn't expect to go into labour when they were meant to be having their fourth date.Reporter Hannah ReichSound engineer Tim JenkinsExecutive producer Sophie Townsend

I’m just a girl, standing in front of your media player, asking you to join us for our new season of Days Like These on Feb 14 — where we’re celebrating love. We’ve got a story about a fourth date that ends in a trip to the hospital.Another one about finding out who you are and then finding love; learning to love your inner clown; guinea pig love (yes, you read that correctly); and a story about trams. Trust me, you’ll love it.Presenter: Farz EdrakiSound engineer: John JacobsExecutive producer: Sophie Townsend

Raised in Queanbeyan, Country NSW, Hau Latukefu is a world removed from hip hop’s ground zero in New York City. But like his Tongan heritage, he’s fully immersed in the culture and works hard to find his own hip hop voice.As one half of Koolism, Hau is a card-carrying pioneer in the local scene. And when Koolism is nominated for an ARIA award, Hau comes face to face with another pioneer, the legendary Bronx DJ Kool Herc. Will Hau get the nod of approval from the father of hip hop?

Tiana Penitani played every sport she could when she was a kid. Her family were sport obsessed. But when the family suffers an unbearable loss, she gives it all up. That is, until footy comes calling. This is a story about family, grief and healing. It's also about those times you've just got to take the ball and run with it.

Kelly Eng hasn’t gone on a big family holiday since she was a kid. She’s excited to go to Malaysia for a wedding with the whole gang: her mum, dad, brother, and sister-in-law. But some uninvited guests turn their holiday upside down -- and Kelly is left wondering if she’ll get out of there alive.

Melissa Mason is 35, single, and her biological clock is ticking. But before she dips her toes in the dating pool again, she decides to have one last hurrah and sets out to snag the sexy Irish actor, Paul Mescal. The only catch? He’s a decade younger than her.

Reporter Edwina Storie needs to get from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to Sydney. It’s usually a 10-hour drive, but in the rain, in the floods, who knows? She’s got a delivery to make and a secret to keep, and nothing’s going to stop her.

Join us on the wild adventure of a punk kid turned anarcho-activist, through wild nights, fierce politics, and an afternoon involving a video camera, a bit of permaculture, and some pretty delicate body piercing.

With his rap group Deceptikonz, Taupe Daniel ‘Alphrisk’ Maoate is making noise across Australasia. He’s tight with his bandmates, but they’re in the dark about an important detail – Alphrisk is addicted to ice, and it might just sabotage his career.

Joey Joleen Mataele plays the lead in a story about royalty, tradition and reputation, and how having just one person in your corner can let you lead a life that’s truly yours (and meet Sean Connery in a castle while you’re at it.)

Hey you! We’re back and we can’t wait to share our new collection of stories with you – they’re stories about connection, about finding those people who accept you for just the way you are. From September 13, join us for a new story every week, about the day when everything changed.

Australian hip hop kingpin Hau Latukefu comes face to face with another pioneer, the legendary Bronx DJ Kool Herc. Will he get the nod of approval from the father of hip hop?

An innocent school fundraiser goes awry at Denmark’s LEGO House thanks to 900 ANZAC biscuits and a family meltdown.

When a tsunami threatens to wipe out Kiribati, a young woman returns to her grandmother’s land to reckon with a heritage she’s never truly known.

After a dream wedding, a young wife learns her new husband isn’t what he seems.

Two people fall in love in a cinema and, like all good romantic comedies, there’s a plot twist. As Rudi and Laura find out, staying true to who you are doesn’t necessarily mean staying the same.

A Korean-Australian kid risks everything when he throws himself into the underground world of dance battles.

A talented chef leaves the high-end life to find the donut king – but he's wearing a statement hat she is far from keen on.

This time round on Days Like These, we’re looking at fork-in-the-road moments which lead down entirely different life paths.

At Alice’s 30th birthday, a friend gives a speech that shows a 14-year-old version of Alice – then things go downhill. Will she be cancelled for good?

Tyson Koh’s world moved around nightclubs until the day they were locked up. This is the story of how he battled to prise them open again.

Eunice and her family are part of the tight-knit Plymouth Brethren, and they have an impossible choice to make: follow the leader and go to heaven, or say goodbye to everyone they’d ever known.

Dressed in a dog suit for the TV show Wilfred, Jason Gann has a VIP pass to Hollywood. But can he escape from the dog suit that got him there?

Wing Kuang has been in Australia since she was 17. But before she gets on with her life as a journalist, she needs to prove to a machine she can speak English.

Fran Kelly is offered the chance to meet her idol. But will the reality of meeting a real-life rock legend match her wild expectations?