You Can't Ask That - Episode Guide

Misunderstood, marginalised Australians answering anonymous, online questions. Insightful, irreverent and moving this episode sets the record straight of what it's really like to be a wheelchair user.

Insightful, irreverent, moving and unpredictable, this episode sets the record straight about what it's really like to be an Indigenous Australian.

Insightful, irreverent, moving and unpredictable, this episode sets the record straight about what it's really like to be a sex worker.

Insightful, irreverent, moving and unpredictable, this episode sets the record straight about what it's really like to be transgender.

In a world obsessed with appearance and fitting in, it's hard to imagine what it would be like to live with an extreme facial difference. In this brutally honest episode, we talk to people who face this challenge daily.

Not many groups of people in Australia are more feared or misunderstood than refugees. In this episode we hear from refugees about their experience of Australia. The people, the culture and their new home.

Over the past few years, Australia's 'war on drugs' has turned its attention largely to ice. We talk to ice users, both past and present, to find out what the attraction to this drug is all about.

In this episode, we ask children of same-sex parents to address one of the most hotly debated and controversial issues of our time - their life.

We all get old, but how old is too old? In this episode, we ask Centenarians to tell us what it's really like to live to 100 or more.

Women and men tell their deeply personal stories of sexual assault, sharing what happened, how people reacted, whether they got justice and what they did to recover. These are voices and insights you won't hear anywhere else.

Is the idea of fame and fortune all it's cracked up to be? Ex-Reality TV stars tell all about what's it's like to jump head first into the world of reality TV and come out the other side. This is the reality of reality TV.

An unprecedented glimpse into the complex lives of eight Australian former cult members - how they joined, what they were subjected to on the inside, and how they ultimately escaped.

With almost a million Australians currently living with an Eating Disorder, this is a subject that affects many but is still largely misunderstood, this episode of You Can't Ask That puts a human face to eating disorders.

It's Swingers night on ABC's You Can't Ask That asking such questions as 'What was it like losing your swinging virginity?'

Also on the cards, 'What's it like watching the love of your life get pounded, and loving it? Do your parents know? What has banging a bunch of strangers taught you about life?'

When most people think of swinging what comes to mind is keys in a bowl, sleazy men, messy orgies and bitter jealousy. Yet for the nine swingers featured in this episode of You Can't Ask That those stereotypes couldn't be further from the truth. Speaking with jaw-dropping honesty and eyebrow-raising descriptions, no question is left unanswered and no detail off limits. It's a swinging romp... without the clean-up.

Asked how she initially talked her partner into swinging, Megan explains, "If you need talking into it, you probably shouldn't be doing it". She describes dealing with jealousy while watching her partner have sex with someone else, "If it's been very intimate and sensual I have felt jealous. Jealousy is a natural emotion and I think people look at it like it's a negative thing, but it's not. It shows that you really care about the person and the key to overcoming it is just good communication". She continues, "Sex, for me, is so separate to love."

This week You Can't Ask That takes viewers inside the minds of people living with schizophrenia.

With 1 in 100 people worldwide living with a form of schizophrenia, interviewees open up about their symptoms and diagnosis, the voices in their heads, delusions, hospitalisations and treatment. Largely misunderstood, with a lot of negative stereotypes and stigmas, schizophrenia is a complex but treatable mental illness - this episode provides a platform for eight unique Australians to set the record straight about what living with schizophrenia means to them.

"I'm very deeply affected by the question of why it happened to me" explains Richard when asked if his diagnosis was a result of smoking too much weed. He explains that a diagnosis can be attributed to a variety of things, "As with all illnesses there are genetic factors and there are environmental factors. The environmental factors that they look at are things like trauma at birth, drug taking and periods of high stress". He explains that one of the most negative stereotypes about schizophrenia is the idea that everyone living with it is violent, "It's really important to understand only a very small percentage of people with schizophrenia are violent. People who suffer the illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence. Do I want to kill anyone? No. All I want for the world is peace and love."

This week on You Can't Ask That the questions are all about Drag, with guests Courtney Act, Doug Lucas, Maxi Shield, Strykermeyer, Dandrogny, Sexy Galexy and Penny Tration.

Amongst the questions are "Aren't you just mocking women?", "Who hits on you?" and "How is what you do different to the d***heads frocking up on The Footy Show?"

This episode of You Can't Ask That overdelivers on sequins, wigs, glitter and flare. But more importantly, it gets to the heart of gender expression, celebrating the surprising complexities of what it means to live life in Drag.

"Our society agreed on certain ways that men and women should act" explains Courtney Act when asked whether dressing up in drag is mocking women. "I don't ever want to mock women or mock womanhood. I just think the whole concept of gender is a construct that needs to be torn apart".

Tonight in the season final of You Can't Ask That, Priests will address questions on such questions as:

"How can you preach what's right and wrong when the organisation you represent has hurt so many people?"

"Nobody should become a priest because they think it's going to be enjoyable, or fun, or the pay is good, or it's going to be fulfilling", answers Perth Anglican Vicar, Chris Bedding, when asked why he became a priest — "You should only do it because there is an unshakable sense that you're called to it". Yet despite the calling, years of ministry and devotion to his vocation, Chris explains he is not entirely unquestioning in his beliefs, "I doubt every single detail of the Christian faith. I sometimes wonder if I still believe. I think doubt is really helpful. If your life is marked by certainty, there's no way that you are going to be able to be open to people or listen to people."

Asked if he has a sex life Assistant Catholic Priest, Father Marcus Goulding, laughs, "I am a celibate, so the ideal is no". The 25-year-old, who entered the Catholic seminary directly after finishing high school, lives a life very different to most his age. Ordained a year ago, he explains the vow of celibacy is about:

"Giving our hearts to God himself and to God alone, and that includes the body. There is this belief that to be happy you have to have sex — that can bring a lot of happiness but you can live an integral human life in other ways. There are always temptations there but, for me, the thing that sustains my celibacy is prayer — if I spend an hour a day praying I find that I live celibacy easily."

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PS. You Can't Ask That will return in 2019.

Eight survivors of domestic and family violence share empowering reflections of their experiences living in violent, abusive and controlling relationships.

A diverse mix of African Australians are asked outrageous questions about racism, poverty, gangs, and hair. Their answers are anything but black and white.

A subject that is still widely misunderstood, secretive and rarely spoken about in detail, eight individuals reveal the complexities of being born with an intersex variation.

Travelling show people, or carnies as they are colloquially known, have a reputation that precedes them. What is life on the road really like for these Aussie nomads?

What is it actually like to put your hand up, be elected and serve the nation in the House of Representatives or the Senate? Eight former politicians go off-script and share their candid opinions.

What happens when drinking habits become problematic? Eight former alcoholics open the lid and share their sobering truths.

What does being deaf feel like? What do deaf people wish they could hear? Through sign and speech, eight profoundly deaf Australians give a unique insight into their lives.

Eight survivors from eight different disasters go back to the moment of impact, recalling exactly what happened, how they survived and ultimately where their lives are now.

In the season premiere, you'll meet nine firefighters from around the country who'll give you their raw, personal, unfiltered insights into fire, fear, heroism, and more.

From skid marks, unwanted erections, periods, bum towels and inappropriate advances, no topic is off-limits in this funny and heartfelt look at body image, self-love and what it means to chill in the nude.

What does it do to someone, ending a life? In this episode each of the people you'll meet woke up one morning feeling like an ordinary person, and went to bed forever changed.

By the end of this episode, you'll have met eight remarkable people on the autism spectrum, and been given eight unique windows into a world we rarely, if ever, hear about.

Eight people talk about what it's really like to live with HIV. While the disease is no longer life-threatening - or even contagious - with the right medication the fear and stigma it still carries for many is life changing.

In this episode we ask six Olympic gold medalists and one Paralympic gold medalist about winning. Is it all it's cracked up to be? What does it take to be the best in the world? Determination? Obsession? Money? Sacrifice?

We speak to eight Australians who live in public housing to ask them the tough questions, such as: why do you get a house for doing nothing?

In this funny, heart-warming and revealing episode, we speak to kids from around Australia - from the city to the country - about families, friendships, screen time, bullying, sex, death, and the internet.

70 percent of Australian marriages will experience an affair, according to Sexual Health Australia - but not all will be found out. This group bravely take a seat to face some harsh questions sent in from the public.

Ex-Footballers Willie Mason, Ian Roberts, Dean Widders and Dan Jackson join Todd Carney, Brock McLean and Jude Bolton to shed the media-trained responses and get real about the game they love - with all its complexities.

According to SANE Australia, roughly 1 in 50 Australians have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. People with OCD want others to know it's so much more than washing hands or keeping a clean desk.

These eight amputees all have remarkable stories to share about perception and embracing a new version of themselves - the challenges they've faced and what they've gained through their limb loss.

There are over 2600 Australians listed as long-term missing persons, according to the National Missing Persons Coordination Network. Is it better for someone you love to be missing or dead? Their answers might surprise you.

We meet nine empowered women who talk about what it's like to be a lesbian, the fascination and fetishisation of what they do in the bedroom, and what life is like when your world isn't centred around men.

Despite over 200 years of migration history, many Chinese-Australians continue to feel othered, still having to prove that they belong. We meet 8 Chinese-Australians, all with very different stories.

Opportunity, rural life, religion, asexuality - there are plenty of reasons for people to be virgins into their adult life. These Australians explore social milestones, pressures, hopes, dreams and the need for intimacy.

With a discourse that spans from mullets and tracky-dacks to the difference between patriotism and racism, this episode on Bogans strikes at the heart of old fashioned Australiana.

An emotional You Can't Ask That episode on Postnatal Depression, where eight parents explore the shame, public and family pressure, plus the personal guilt that surrounds this often misunderstood and taboo topic.

In this episode, gay men re-examine the definition of masculinity, explore the ins-and-outs of sex between men, and talk about what it's like to find your place in a predominately straight world.

From the pitfalls of 'pretty privilege', to teenage exploitation, unrealistic beauty standards, and mental health issues, eight models share the unvarnished truth about one of the most desired & least understood professions.

'Is your prescription pill addiction a dirty little secret?' is one of the questions the interviewees answer when they talk openly about addiction, doctor shopping, rehab and who is to blame for prescription drug dependency.

Game for anything, our Aussie Porn Stars answer some very eye-opening questions in this episode of You Can't Ask That, as they take us on the journey of what it's like to be involved in porn, and the ethics of the industry.

This episode features people living with dementia. Their all too common - though no less exceptional - stories take us through some complex philosophical terrain There will be laughs, tears, and some mind-altering insights.

This episode looks at Juvenile Detention and questions how we deal with some of the most damaged kids in society. What happens when a child is told they are bad, and can there be rehabilitation in detention?