Australian Story — Season 26

Aired 8 February 2021 • 30 min

16-year-old teen Bob Bramley takes to the skies to break a solo flying record and shine a light on youth mental health, galvanised by the desperate struggles of his two friends.

Aired 15 February 2021 • 30 min

There's a hidden danger lurking in every home and these are the two mothers who've achieved a world first to protect our children.

Aired 22 February 2021 • 30 min

Scientist Veena Sahajwalla is a recycling revolutionary whose bold new ideas are helping reduce landfill. Now she's unveiling her latest brainchild, an invention which turns the discarded into the designer.

Aired 1 March 2021 • 30 min

Unique and outrageous, Jeanne Little was the comedy dah-ling of daytime television in the 70s and 80s. Four months after her death from Alzheimers, daughter Katie reveals some intimate family secrets.

Aired 8 March 2021 • 30 min

Promising young swimmer Shayna Jack was destined for the Olympics until she failed a routine drug test. But is the evidence against her justified or has she been caught up in an over-zealous anti-doping dragnet?

Aired 15 March 2021 • 30 min

Drawing on her own experience of trauma, comedian Magda Szubanski forms an unlikely alliance with teenager Will Connelly, aka Eggboy, to help combat mental health issues in bushfire-ravaged communities.

Aired 22 March 2021 • 30 min

She's the glamorous lawyer representing high-profile clients like Julian Assange and Amber Heard. Jennifer Robinson charts her meteoric rise from small town public schoolgirl to the pinnacle of legal life in London.

Aired 29 March 2021 • 30 min

Sexual slurs, baseless rumours, harassment and abuse - former Federal Labor minister Kate Ellis looks into Canberra's toxic culture, speaking to female politicians from all parties to call out systemic misogyny in parliament.

Aired 12 April 2021 • 30 min

Mao's Last Dancer Li Cunxin and his wife and daughter's dramatic story of sacrifice, questioning and the painful journey towards reconciliation.

Aired 19 April 2021 • 30 min

Identical twins Brigette and Paula Powers are so close they live and work together and even speak in unison. After a chance meeting with Steve Irwin, they now use their unique connection to save injured seabirds.

Aired 26 April 2021 • 30 min

A recent coronial inquest reveals the catastrophic errors made by NSW Police which left teenager Ursula Barwick's fate a mystery for almost 30 years.

Aired 3 May 2021 • 30 min

He's one of Australia's most successful and famous painters. But what has been the cost of fame for the children of acclaimed artist John Olsen?

Aired 10 May 2021 • 30 min

Part two of an inside look at one of Australia's greatest artistic dynasties. In this concluding episode, a court case threatens to derail the family of acclaimed painter John Olsen.

Aired 17 May 2021 • 30 min

The Seekers blazed a trail for Australian music in the 1960s with a number of chart topping international hits. But fame led to fallout and they split at the height of their success. They reunite to reminisce about the ride.

Aired 24 May 2021 • 30 min

Dr Michelle Telfer is a world leader in providing treatment for children and teens with gender dysphoria, guiding them through their first steps towards transitioning. But her work isn't without its critics and controversies.

Aired 31 May 2021 • 30 min

When women's soccer star Rhali Dobson received an on-field marriage proposal, the pictures went viral around the world. It was a story of love, sport and sacrifice – and a heart-wrenching plot.

Aired 7 June 2021 • 30 min

After his wife was murdered while working on call as a nurse in South Australia's remote APY Lands, Keith Woodford has campaigned for a coronial inquest which has delivered some breakthrough findings.

Aired 14 June 2021 • 30 min

An unlikely friendship forged on the tennis court between a homeless man and famous tennis pro leads to lifechanging events and a new beginning.

Aired 2 August 2021 • 30 min

In the first of a two part special, we find out how a gentle kid from Fremantle ended up playing alongside Michael Jordan in the world's greatest team, the Chicago Bulls. Luc Longley's extraordinary story One Giant Leap.

Aired 9 August 2021 • 30 min

From running with the Chicago Bulls to his omission from The Last Dance documentary, Luc Longley sets the record straight.

Aired 16 August 2021 • 30 min

A mother's battle to bring her daughter's killer to account pays off when a coroner's inquest leads to a breakthrough.

Aired 23 August 2021 • 30 min

A daring sea rescue led by the Australian Navy saved 99 people from certain death. Forty years later, the survivors meet their saviours in an emotional reunion.

Aired 30 August 2021 • 30 min

In a case of life imitating art, iconic Aussie actor Michael Caton channels his beloved character from The Castle to fight for the underdog. Caton knows he's in the home straight of his life and wants to make the most of it.

Aired 6 September 2021 • 30 min

One of the nation's biggest cold case mysteries takes a new turn when 'Somerton Man' is unearthed from an Adelaide cemetery in the hope that his DNA might finally reveal the secrets he took to his grave.

Aired 13 September 2021 • 30 min

Dr Jamal Rifi has given up his retirement dreams to fight COVID from his front yard in the middle of the nation's Delta outbreak.

Aired 20 September 2021 • 36 min

The story behind the story of the family at the centre of a tug of war between a small country town and the big end of government.

Aired 27 September 2021 • 32 min

Behind the scenes of the AFP investigation into Australia's biggest insider trading case, where two young men united by deception are brought down by greed.

Aired 4 October 2021 • 32 min

Charlie Veron has spent his career underwater charting the world's coral wonderlands. Now, as the Great Barrier Reef faces its biggest threat, he reveals an audacious rescue plan.

Aired 11 October 2021 • 29 min

Like the characters in his blockbuster novels, author Matthew Reilly is no stranger to persevering through loss and setback. Now he's realising the childhood dream that inspired his career - directing an action movie.

Aired 18 October 2021 • 32 min

Funnyman Max Gillies has been making people laugh all his life. Now at almost 80, he reveals the hidden family grief he has carried with him, and how comic acting became a welcome escape from his troubles at home as a child.

Aired 25 October 2021 • 30 min

The heartwarming next chapter of Australian Story's most popular program ever proves love really does conquer all. Checking in with Gayle and Mac Shann.

Aired 1 November 2021 • 32 min

Athlete, mother of four and reality TV star Jana Pittman talks about her new life as a doctor and her regrets about the period when she was labelled 'Drama Jana'.

Aired 8 November 2021 • 30 min

A Sydney family takes on the Minneapolis police department in a long-running court battle to hold officer Mohamed Noor accountable for the death of Justine Ruszczyk.

Aired 15 November 2021 • 30 min

Lauren Burns fought to find her anonymous sperm donor father. As she becomes a parent, she's back campaigning to make it easier for donor-conceived children to find their biological family, and make donations more accessible.

Aired 22 November 2021 • 34 min

Outspoken Australian of the Year Grace Tame looks back over a tumultuous and life-changing 12 months.