You Can't Ask That - Season 3

Season 3

Episodes

Survivors Of Sexual Assault
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.

Ex-Reality TV Stars
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.

Former Cult Members
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.

Eating Disorders
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.

Swingers
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."

Schizophrenia
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."

Drag
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".

Priests
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."
-----
PS. You Can't Ask That will return in 2019.
Recently Updated Shows

Beyond the Gates
Beyond the Gates is set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington D.C., and in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States. Here you'll find a posh gated community with winding tree-lined streets and luxurious mansions to call home. At the center of this community are the Duprees, a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty. But behind these pristine walls and lush, manicured gardens are juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered. And those that live outside these gates are watching closely. These are the places where our characters live, love, work and play. Those who have "made it" and those who haven't are all trying to navigate life … and some with more grace than others.

Black Rabbit
Set against the backdrop of New York City's high-pressure nightlife scene, Black Rabbit centers on two brothers who are pushed to the brink by their duty to family and their pursuit of success. Jake Friedken is the charismatic owner of Black Rabbit, a restaurant and VIP lounge, poised to become the hottest spot in New York. But when his brother, Vince, returns to the business unexpectedly, trouble soon follows; opening the door to old traumas and new dangers that threaten to bring down everything they've built. Black Rabbit is a propulsive thrill ride and character examination about the way an unbreakable bond between two brothers can shatter their world and everything in its orbit.

Run Away
Simon had the perfect life: loving wife and kids, great job, beautiful home. But then his eldest daughter Paige ran away and everything fell apart. So now when he finds her, vulnerable and strung out on drugs in a city park, he finally has the chance to bring his little girl home. But it turns out she's not alone and an argument escalates into shocking violence that will shatter Simon's life all over again. His search for his daughter will take him into a dangerous underworld, revealing deep secrets that could tear his family apart forever.

Mayor of Kingstown
Mayor of Kingstown is set in a small Michigan town where the only industry remaining are federal, state, and private prisons, the story follows the McLusky family, the power brokers between the police, criminals, inmates, prison guards and politicians, in a city completely dependent on prisons and the prisoners they contain. It is a stark and brutal look at the business of incarceration.