Showing results by narrator "Jo Van Es" in All Categories

Everyone dies famous in a country town, but glamorous Vanessa Walton was a shining star. A celebrity since a television commercial when she was a child, Vanessa is back on the front page for all the wrong reasons; after a terrible storm she has been found dead at the bottom of her stairs. At first her death seems to be a simple accident, but anonymous letters are discovered that suggest otherwise–and when 16-year-old Jasmine Landridge claims it is murder, she suddenly disappears. As the police begin to investigate, secrets are exposed and friendships unravel.

Rachel and Rory Sullivan decide to celebrate making it through a tough year by taking their children, Emmet and Bridie, to their first stadium concert. By the end of the night, one of the four has vanished without a trace. As the police investigation intensifies, suspicion is cast on the remaining family members. Everyone has been deceiving one another, but who is to blame for what went wrong? The passing of each hour amplifies their terror that life will never be the same again.

Flushed with triumph on the evening of the best rodeo in the town's history, Amelia is driving the bags of cash into town when she becomes the victim of a terrifying smash and grab. Injured and distraught after her ordeal, Amelia must convince a skeptical detective that her account of what happened does add up and that he must help her track down the real culprits

The O'Shea sisters couldn't be more different. Allison, an obstetrician, has always put others before herself and is torn between her job and young family. Prizewinning film director Bridie hasn't had work in over a decade, though her actor husband is on the brink of stardom. Clare, desperate for a baby, is bereft when her wife leaves her after their latest IVF failure. And Emma, the youngest, has turned to God to fill the aching loneliness in her life. When their only brother Daniel is killed the four women drift even further apart.

The staff of St Margaret's Primary School are hanging by a thread. There's serious litigation pending, the school is due for registration and a powerful parent named Janet Bellevue has a lot to say about everything. As teachers they're trying to remain professional, as people they're fast unraveling. There's Tyson: first year out of Uni and nervous as hell, Derek the Assistant Principal who's dropped the ball on administration, Bev from the office who's confronting a serious diagnosis and Sally-Ann who's desperate for a child of her own. Thank goodness for kids like Lionel Merrick.

In 2014, Gabrielle Stroud was a very dedicated teacher with over a decade of experience. Months later, she resigned in frustration and despair when she realised that the Naplan-test education model was stopping her from doing the very thing she was best at: teaching individual children according to their needs and talents. Her groundbreaking essay 'Teaching Australia' in the February 2016 Griffith Review outlined her experiences and provoked a huge response from former and current teachers around the world.

It's 1863, and Melbourne is transitioning from a fledgling colony to a thriving, gold-fuelled metropolis. But behind its shiny new façade, the real Melbourne can be found in the notorious red-light district of Little Lon, full of brothels where rich and poor alike can revel all night. The most glamorous among them is Papillon, home to the most alluring women in the city.

So many Australian parents are buying the government line about standardised testing of students through programs like NAPLAN and My School, which make them think they are getting results because of rankings and comparisons. But they don’t seem to realise that these new forms of assessment are actually negatively affecting our kids’ ability to gain the crucial life skills and appreciation for learning that have been, and should be, the main aim of teaching.

All farmer Mathew Dunbar ever wanted was to find love and have a family of his own. That’s why, just months after meeting Natasha Darcy, the much-loved grazier didn’t hesitate to sign over his multi-million-dollar estate to her. When Mathew died in an apparent suicide soon afterwards, in a stranger-than-fiction twist, Natasha's estranged husband – who she was once charged with trying to kill – was the first paramedic on the scene.

Radio young gun Alex York is used to knowing—and getting—exactly what she wants. But when she blows up her glamorous career and retreats to a tropical island, for the first time in her life she has no plan, no prospects and, increasingly, no money. Lured back to the real world by the breakfast radio gig of a lifetime, she promises herself she'll never let anyone throw her off course again—not her patronisingly old-school CEO, her network arch-nemesis or even her unexpectedly attractive new boss.

In 1942, country girls Minnie Hodgson and Margot McNee set sail from Perth, Australia for Singapore in search of adventure, full of excitement and keen to do their part working as nurses to the fallen soldiers in a time of war. What they encounter is an army of new friends and the terrors of a city under siege. When the Japanese attack and Singapore falls, they are forced to flee aboard the Vyner Brooke. The ship is bombed, resulting in utter devastation.

In 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged with a series of brutal murders. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims' families, but its impact travels even further—into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes. Highway 13 takes murder as its starting point, but it unfolds to encompass much more. Fiona McFarlane presents an unforgettable, entrancing exploration of the way stories are told and spread, and at what cost.

While walking on an isolated track in the windswept Wimmera, rock-climber Skye discovers the body of a young woman. The body has injuries that suggest a rock-climbing accident, but it's been found more than 5km from the nearest cliffs at Mount Arapiles. Police ask Skye to help them navigate the perilous world of rock climbing as they try to unravel what happened. Skye is secretly thrilled to be part of the investigation, but as it becomes clear that a killer is on the loose, all thrill turns to fear. In the isolated crags of the mountain, stark beauty can conceal horrific truths.

A media commentator, podcaster and academic, with a PhD in dating apps and intimacy, Dr Lisa Portolan has conducted hundreds of interviews and surveys over many years on the question of what love looks like in the digital age. Here she draws on her findings to present strategies to help you navigate the complexities of real-world relationships in order to achieve–and maintain–a successful, committed partnership.

If you struggle with the time and energy needed to manage your money, you’re not alone. So much financial advice is geared toward neurotypical brains. From checking your bank account to impulse spending and budgets that just don’t work out … It’s time to find the strategies that will help you manage your money in a way that suits your brain.

Fourteen years after being diagnosed with endometriosis, Gabrielle Jackson couldn't believe how little had changed in the treatment and knowledge of the disease. In 2015, her personal story kick-started a worldwide investigation into the disease by The Guardian; thousands of women got in touch to tell their own stories and many more read and shared the material. What began as one issue led Jackson to explore how women - historically and through to the present day - are under-served by the systems that should keep them happy, healthy and informed about their bodies.

What if you could train your brain to experience greater happiness, focus, and emotional balance in daily life? What if it took just ten minutes a day? In The Happiness Plan, Dr Elise Bialylew offers a roadmap to a happier life.

The one who expects the world, but never remembers your birthday. The one who constantly ditches your dinner plans when you’re already halfway to the restaurant. The one who leaves you feeling exhausted, used and completely emotionally battered. Why do we let these people into our lives? When is their friendship actually friend-shit? How do we dump these crappy companions? This is the no-bullshit, essential guide for anyone devoting their precious time and energy into maintaining friendships with toxic friends.

In Sex, Lies and Question Time, former MP Kate Ellis looks at what it is really like to be a woman in Australian politics today. In 2017, a survey showed zero per cent of young Australian women would consider entering politics. Zero. In a time when we critically need women in our parliament, and in a country that was an early leader in women's political participation, there is a perception that women and politics don’t mix. Shocking incidents have exposed the sexism that women in politics face from opposition, the media, the public, even their own colleagues.

In 2013, journalist Ginger Gorman was trolled online and terrified, but once the attack subsided, she found herself curious. Who were these trolls? How and why did they coordinate such an attack? And how does someone fight back? Over the next five years, Gorman spoke to psychologists, trolling victims, law enforcement, academics and, most importantly, trolls themselves, embedding herself into their online communities and their psyches in ways she had never anticipated. She uncovered links between trolling, cyberhate and real-life crimes.