Only Human

"I was frantically running down to the river and digging trenches…" says Lucie Levesque who was stuck in the remote wilderness in north central British Columbia when an underground fire began surrounding her wooden cabin and no one was there to rescue her.

If you were asked to ditch your cell phone, social media, the latest news and even contact with friends and family for the adventure of a lifetime, would you do it?

Avid-adventure...

In this episode of Only Human we meet Antonia, formerly Anthony John Pearce. As a young man, Anthony was a handsome singer-songwriter who had no shortage of female attention. Except one day everything changed.

"I've dyed my white hair. At home I don't have to wear a wig," says Antonia Pearce from a cafe in Auckland's bustling suburb of Ponsonby.

In this episode of Only Human we meet Antonia, formerly Anthony ...

A young Rangi Pou was on the cusp of adolescence when his father said it was time he become a man and fend for himself. For Pou, that meant growing up on the streets, getting involved in the world of drugs, gang life and eventually prison. The question is, how does he find his way out and what does it take to get there?

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions involving drugs, violence and suicide and may not be suitable fo...

Today, social media has bridged the gap between distance and human connections, but at what cost? We meet a photographer-turned-influencer whose every waking moment comes with mounting pressure and anxiety driven by pressure from brands and the number of likes on her instagram feed.

In 'Canopy of Dreams,' by photographer Jenny Gao, two men walk beneath rows of lush, hanging ferns as coloured flecks of light bounce off thei...

A young woman uncovers a dark family secret, while facing an invisible battle with depression and the fight to come out the other end.

Warning: this story contains discussion around depression, anxiety and self-harm and may not be suitable for all listeners.

In a series of photographs, Suzie Harris' bare arms are painted gold; the undersides revealing raised thatched lines. And on closer inspection, it is hard to distinguish wh...

Leaving behind everything he'd ever known to help people struggling in his community wasn't something Abubakar (Abs) expected to do in his early twenties. But when war broke out in his hometown he had no other choice.

"It was a mixed emotion," says Abubakar Basman of the decision to join a rescue team when his hometown - Marawi City, in the Philippines - was attacked by members of a terrorist group associated with ISIS, i...