In 2004, a man named Marvin Heemeyer turned a bulldozer into a homemade tank and tore through Granby, Colorado, targeting people he believed had wronged him. One was local newspaper editor Patrick Brower, who barely escaped as the ?Killdozer? demolished his office. Patrick recalls the rampage and what it revealed to him about vigilante revenge.

For more of Patrick's story, check out his book Killdozer: The True Story of the Colorado Bulldozer Rampage

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Chris Smith started experimenting with ChatGPT in 2024 and quickly became hooked. Soon he?d customised the chatbot into a flirty persona he named ?Sol.? What began as curiosity evolved into a full-blown romantic relationship. One that nearly derailed his real-life partnership. In this episode, Chris opens up about how his AI ?affair? began, why it became so intense, and how it affected his family.

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Jill Dodd was a 21-year-old model when she started dating one of the world's richest men. Adnan Khashoggi made billions selling arms to Saudi Arabia and lived in mansions, superyachts, and among an entourage of women. Jill tells what it was like to live inside that fairy tale and the hidden costs that it entailed.

Check out Jill's memoir: The Currency of Love: A Courageous Journey to Finding the Love Within

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In the late 1980s, Steve was a teenage firefighter in a small Australian coastal town. Lonely and looking for connection, he discovered that if he lit a fire in the nearby national park, he could impress the other firefighters by being the first on the scene. In this ep, Steve explains how getting caught and charged with arson saved his life, and possibly countless others.

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On September 11, 2001, Stanley Praimnath was on the top floor of the South Tower when he saw the second plane heading straight for his office. Against impossible odds, he survived and became one of a tiny number of people to escape from above the impact zone. In this 9/11 anniversary episode, Stanley recounts what it was like to be at the top of the World Trade Centre that morning.

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With Brad Pitt back in the spotlight thanks to F1, we?re revisiting a classic episode from 2022. Casting director Lauren Lloyd recalls meeting a young, pimply Pitt in the 1980s and instantly knowing he?d become a star. In this episode, we unpack the making of Brad Pitt as an actor and as a Hollywood institution. Stay listening at the end for a sneak peek of this week's subscriber bonus episode.

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In 2003, a Wall Street trader named John Rusnak was convicted of bank fraud and sentenced to more than seven years in prison. In this episode, John explains how a series of bad bets snowballed into one of the biggest white-collar crimes in US history and why he kept doubling down.

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A family moves into a new home in rural Pennsylvania and starts renovating. Only there's something in the walls that doesn't make sense. What they uncover upends their lives and reveals a fascinating piece of America?s history.

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In 2009, motivational speaker James Arthur Ray hosted a multi-day retreat in Arizona. On the final day, three participants died. In this episode, the property?s owner, Amayra Hamilton, tells us what happened and what she learned about the dark side of the wellness industry.

For more, please check out Amayra's book: Transformation at Angel Valley

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For decades, David Magna worked as a safety supervisor in Canadian slaughterhouses. But then a crisis of conscience turned him from an industry insider to vegan activist. In this episode, we tackle the thing most people would rather ignore: what really goes on inside the meat industry?all through the lens of David?s personal journey.

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As a child, April Balascio noticed that people would often vanish. One time it was a labourer working for her dad, another time it was a young couple in town. Then as an adult, April started googling cold cases in her childhood towns. In 2009 she got a match and called the police. In this episode, April shares the journey of realising (and accepting) her dad was a serial killer.

Check out April's incredible memoir, Raised By a Serial Killer

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In 1995, Carlos de Yarza spent 90 minutes remixing a catchy Spanish song without giving it much thought. That version became 'The Macarena' the world knows today. Carlos joins us to talk about how a quick remix changed his life and created a dance craze known everywhere.

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In 1994, a luxurious ferry called the MS Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea, drowning most of its passengers. Landscape architect Paul Barney was one of the few who survived. In this nail-biting episode, he describes how decisiveness, yoga training, and sheer luck kept him alive.

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In 2019, two children vanished in Idaho, sparking an investigation that became one of America?s biggest true crime stories. At the centre were Chad and Lori Daybell, two religious fanatics with a fixation on the end times. In this episode, we speak with Lieutenant Ray Hermosillo, the detective who cracked the case and uncovered the kids' tragic end.

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When Kevin Briggs joined the San Francisco Highway Patrol, he didn?t expect a key part of his job would be talking people down from the Golden Gate Bridge. In this episode, Kevin shares how he developed a method for these life-or-death conversations, and tells the stories of those he met and the words that brought them back.

Follow Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbriggspivotalpoints/

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In 1991, Shaun Attwood arrived from the UK to find American rave culture in its infancy. Spotting an opportunity, he began importing potent Dutch ecstasy and built a drug empire through his network of dealers and party organisers. In this episode, he tells the story of his rapid rise and hard fall.

Check out Shaun Attwood?s YouTube channel here. His books and social media accounts can be found here.

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A new study gave psilocybin to religious leaders, just to see whether their faith would be affirmed or rattled. In this episode we hear from one participant, Islamic leader Sughra Ahmed, who describes how the trip brought her closer to God but uprooted her belief in organised religion.

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Mary McGriff was 15 when she hitched a ride with a man named Lawrence Singleton. The next day, she lay at the bottom of a cliff, her arms severed with an axe. Somehow, she survived. In this episode, she shares how a voice in her head kept her going. It's a story about refusing to let the monster win.

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This week, we're re-running a classic. When abandoned farm houses started catching fire in rural Virginia, police weren't sure what to think. It took five months and almost 80 fires for a couple to be arrested and the story to emerge. In this episode, convicted arsonist Charlie Smith explains how he and his ex-partner lit fires to relax when their relationship soured.

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In the early 90s, Paul Templer ran a business guiding clients down the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls. One afternoon, he was attacked by a hippo and found himself halfway down its throat. In this ep, Paul regales us with his wild story of survival, moment by moment.

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In 2005, Malcolm Naden murdered two women and vanished into the Australian bush. For seven years he evaded police, until former detective Ricky Hennessy joined the case. In this episode, Hennessy shares how he helped track and capture one of Australia's most wanted men in remote wilderness.

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John DeLorean was a star auto designer in the 1960s, but his own car company?the DeLorean Motor Company?never took off. When a cocaine deal offered a last-ditch lifeline, it ended in a dramatic arrest. In this episode, his daughter Kat DeLorean recounts the rise and fall of the iconic car?and how it found immortality in Back to the Future.

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In 1976, 20-year-old Rob Hunter was a month into his first teaching job at a remote Australian school when an armed gunman abducted him and his nine students. In this episode, Rob recounts the harrowing night they spent as hostages?and their dramatic escape via a high-speed car chase.

Connect with Rob and book him to speak at your school at https://kidnappedteachertalks.com/.

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Last year, 23-year-old British porn star Lily Phillips announced plans to break the world record for the most sexual partners in a day?starting with a ?practice run? involving 100 men. In this episode, she tells us what's motivating her, how her first attempt affected her?and why she?s still determined to go the whole way.

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In the mid-80s, producer Linda Gottlieb heard a friend?s story about ?dirty dancing? at summer camp and urged her to write a script. Despite rejections, budget cuts, and on-set drama, the film became a surprise hit. In this episode, Linda shares why she believed in it from the start?and what she saw that others missed. 

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In 2024, Cass Taulaki fell pregnant to the man of her dreams?a 32-year-old engineer in the Australian Defence Force. Or so she thought. In reality, he was unemployed and wanted for impersonating military personnel and skipping out on multiple families. Cass' TikTok story went viral earlier this year?and now she's sharing the full saga.

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In the early 2000s, musician Nathan Munn moved into a tiny, ornate apartment in Montreal. At first, he and his flatmates brushed off its strange energy?but the nightmares and disturbances wore them down. Now, Nathan believes the apartment just wanted to be noticed.

Check out Nathan's music on Spotify

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In 2012, a cruise liner named the Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people. But Australian couple Rob and Tracy Elcombe survived and the disaster brought them closer.

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The Awá, an Indigenous group in Brazil's Amazon, had no contact with the outside world until recently. In 2010, BBC journalist Justin Rowlatt visited them in their new reserve, created to protect them from loggers. In this episode, he explores how modern pressures are impacting isolated tribes and what his ongoing friendship with the Awá has taught him about humanity.

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In 2009, Kari Ferrell was outed by the media for writing bad checks and robbing trust fund babies across Manhattan. Dubbed the 'Hipster Grifter,' Kari served a year in prison and is now sharing her story. In this episode, she unpacks her motivations, her methods, and what she learned about the psychology of grifting.

Check out Kari's new memoir: You'll Never Believe Me.

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This is the first episode of our new What It Was Like series, SCAMMERLAND. It's based on an episode we did last year, looking at how online scams are run by people living in modern slavery. We start our story with Small Q, a young Ugandan rapper and singer who thought he was traveling to Thailand for a dream job. However, everything changed the moment he stepped off the plane.

Follow our new show SCAMMERLAND on Spotify, Apple and YouTube

Produced by Superreal

Hosted by Julian Morgans @julianmorgans

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In 2015, wellness influencer Belle Gibson was outed for pretending to have cancer. Now she's back in the headlines thanks to a new show on Netflix. In this episode we talk to a woman named Beckii Jones, who once considered Belle a friend. She ran a Facebook group for mothers in the early 2010s when Belle joined and even suggested the name for her infamous app, The Whole Pantry. Beckii reflects on the woman she knew and the parts of Belle that remain a mystery.

Follow our new show SCAMMERLAND. It's based on a two-part episode we did last year on What it Was Like about scammer farms and it's on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.

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Tornado chasing was a niche hobby when Tim Marshall started in the 1970s. But over time, he watched it grow in popularity and then explode into the mainstream with the 1996 release of the film Twister. In this episode, Tim reflects on the times he was lucky to make it home, the friends who didn't, and the "internetization" of his beloved past time.

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Julie Lindahl always knew there was something different about her family. Her German grandparents had fled to Brazil after the war, but she didn't know why. Until she discovered her grandfather was in the SS?the elite guard of the Nazi regime, responsible for some of their worst atrocities. In this episode, Julie explores guilt, accountability, and why confronting the past is the key to healing.

Julie's book, The Pendulum, is available here on Amazon.

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In 2014, Laurence Hearn was drinking too much and struggling to make ends meet. Then he accidentally got stuck in a washing machine. What followed was a series of unexpected events that would ultimately turn his life around. This is a one-of-a-kind tale of Australian larrikinism?told by the man who lived it.

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In 1989, Melissa Fyfe was a high school student in Tasmania when her classmate killed his parents and younger brother. Shocked, the community buried the tragedy, leaving his motives a mystery. Now, Melissa shares what she uncovered when she finally started asking questions.

Trigger warning: this episode contains child abuse themes.

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In 2019, a man named Fraser Harvey nominated himself 'Customer of the Week' at a Melbourne coffee shop. A woman named Harriett Noall retaliated and a game of oneupmanship arose. In this episode, we hear how a private prank accidentally became an internet sensation.

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It was June 1987 and an unknown person had murdered five campers in Australia's remote northwest. In this episode, we speak with Bob Brown, the former leader of Western Australia's Tactical Response Group. Bob and his team were flown into the Kimberley region to find and arrest the murderer. But, as you?ll hear, things didn?t go exactly as planned.

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Mark Edmondson was ranked 212th when he was invited to compete at the 1976 Australian Open. He was a 21-year-old with sideburns, juggling odd jobs to fund his tennis dreams. In this episode, Mark recounts the experience of defeating his idols to win?then accidentally dropping the trophy on the podium.

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In 2003, a pizza deliveryman robbed a Pennsylvania bank with a bomb locked to his neck?a heist that ended in tragedy when the bomb exploded. The mastermind? Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, later sentenced to life in prison. In this episode, we hear from criminologist Kathryn Whiteley who befriended Marjorie behind bars and uncovers how and why this "evil genius" orchestrated such a bizarre crime.

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Myah Morgenstern isn't famous. But when she met actor Tony Revolori, (Spiderman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Scream), she was ushered into a whole new world of red carpets, VIP parties and weird social dynamics. In this episode, Myah describes her real-life Notting Hill experience of dating a celebrity as a non-famous person.

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In the lead up to Christmas of 1980, three Woolworths stores were bombed around New South Wales. It's a crazy story involving Australia's largest supermarket chain, two larrikin crooks, and a $1 million ransom thrown into the Sydney Harbour. We'll hear about it from two people: Former police officer Allan Duncan who was injured in one of the explosions, and Forgotten Australia podcast host, Michael Adams.

This is a rerun from 2022 but it's one of our favourite Christmas throwbacks so we're giving it a second play. If you haven't already heard it, enjoy.

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Sandra Miller wasn't overly concerned when her therapist partner's client admitted to eavesdropping outside their window. Until this client started calling the house, relentlessly. In this episode, we dive into a real life version of 'Fatal Attraction' to learn what happens when a stalker invades a relationship.\

Check out Sandra's USA TODAY best-selling book Wednesdays at One. It's a great read.

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Julian Morgans, host of What it Was Like, gets parking fines all the time. In his own words "I could wallpaper my house with them." But instead of doing that, he's embarked on a scheme to get revenge, while learning a few things about the inner workings of the parking industry along the way.

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Narelle Fraser spent much of her career in Victoria's Rape and Homicide squads, placing her at the coalface of the epidemic of violence against women. In this episode, she walks us through the murder of Melbourne-mother Maria Korp, as a way to explore the mindset of men who perpetrate such violence.

Keep up to date with Narelle and find links to her podcast here

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