Beer with Duncan
Honest conversations for anyone who has ever felt like the only one carrying it.
Radio Northern Beaches, streaming now
Press play for the live station. The show airs Saturdays at 9:01am, and the station is worth your ears all week.
Stream directly at rnb.org.au/stream, or in the Community Radio Plus app.
The show
Someone you have heard of becomes someone you understand.
Each week Duncan Schieb sits down with one guest and one honest conversation. He gets past the public face to the person underneath: the chapter that scared them, the thing they rebuilt, the day everything turned. It is recorded on the Northern Beaches, and it is made for the person listening alone who needs to know they are not the only one. Real, kind, beautiful, and never a gotcha.
The name is a hat tip to Slim Dusty's song Duncan. The show carries that same easy invitation: sit down, share something true, and let a conversation do what it does best.
Play the song on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube.
A note from Duncan
Hi, I’m Duncan.
I have lived a big life, full of love and grief, and I have rebuilt more than once. Before we sit down over a beer, I would like you to know who you would be sitting with.
For thirty years, mine was a big, loud, full life. I grew up in rural New South Wales and made my way with a microphone in one hand and a gavel in the other. I have called more than 15,000 auctions, raised over $200 million for causes I care about, and coached more junior footy and cricket than I can count. From the outside, it looked like I had it all together.
Then one of my sons died. The man who made a living holding a room together could not hold his own family up. Grief, I learned, is not something you get over. It is something you learn to carry. What saved me was someone telling me I did not have to be okay, and I did not have to carry it alone.
Slowly, and with a lot of help, my family began to put the pieces back together. Not by hiding the cracks, but by filling them with gold. My kids are my why. I carried the idea for this show for twenty-five years, too afraid to start, and I made it in the end because I wanted them to see their dad begin something, even scared, even late.
Roosevelt said the credit belongs to the one in the arena, not the critic in the stands. I would rather be in it, dust and all.
Beer with Duncan is built on one belief: that vulnerability is not weakness but courage, and that the bravest thing we do is tell a hard story out loud. That is the why. One person dares greatly and shares the chapter they thought too heavy to say, so that someone listening alone at midnight knows they are not the only one carrying it. I will hold your story with care. Come as you are, and we will do this together.
I can’t wait to sit down with you.
Duncan
What to expect when you tune in
- One real conversation, with no rush and no agenda.
- A guest opened up in a way you have not heard before.
- Honesty about the hard chapters, handled with care, never as a gotcha.
- Music that means something to the guest.
- The feeling that whatever you are carrying, you are not the only one.
Ways to listen
The show about saying it out loud. Now you start it out loud.
You don't need to be good with gadgets. If you can talk, you can do this. Ask the speaker already sitting in your kitchen, and Beer with Duncan is in the room with you. Here is exactly what to say.
Say it tonight, and the show starts itself every Saturday.
No remembering, no reaching for anything on a Saturday morning. Tell your speaker one time, tonight, and it starts the show for you every week. Say the line that matches your speaker.
On an Alexa speaker
- Say: "Alexa, play Radio Northern Beaches."
- If she asks where from, say: "on TuneIn."
- That is all. She remembers it for next time.
On a Google or Nest speaker
- Say: "Hey Google, play Radio Northern Beaches."
- If it pauses, add: "on TuneIn."
- Done. It learns your station.
In the app
- Download the Community Radio Plus app. It is free.
- Search for Radio Northern Beaches.
- Press play. Live every Saturday, and any time you like.
Stream or tune in
Press play in the Listen live player above, stream at rnb.org.au, or turn the dial to 88.7 FM or 90.3.
It is free, and you do not need an account for any of it. If nothing happens the first time you ask your speaker, say it once more, slowly. It learns fast.
Episodes
Missed a Saturday? It keeps.
Watch on YouTube
Full episodes with video, plus clips worth sending to someone who needs them.
Listen again on RNB
Radio Northern Beaches keeps the past seven days of programs available to replay.
Follow on Spotify
The podcast, with video. Follow the show and new episodes arrive by themselves.
Be a guest
Have a story you have never quite said out loud?
Beer with Duncan is for people with a hard chapter and something they rebuilt afterwards. You do not need to be famous. You need a true story and the willingness to tell it honestly. You set the pace, you lead on the tender ground, and your story is held with care.
Questions people ask
Good to know
What is Beer with Duncan?
Beer with Duncan is an hour-long, honest conversation broadcast Saturdays at 9:01am on Radio Northern Beaches in Sydney. Each episode, host Duncan Schieb sits down with one guest and gets past the public face to the person underneath. It is real, kind, and never a gotcha.
When is it on?
Saturdays at 9:01am, on 88.7 and 90.3 FM across Sydney's Northern Beaches, streaming at rnb.org.au and on the Community Radio Plus app.
Can I ask Alexa or Google to play it?
Yes. Say "Alexa, play Radio Northern Beaches" or "Hey Google, play Radio Northern Beaches." To have it start itself weekly, say "Alexa, play Radio Northern Beaches at 9am every Saturday," or the same to Google.
Who is Duncan Schieb?
Duncan Schieb is the host of Beer with Duncan. He grew up in rural New South Wales, spent years as an auctioneer and charity fundraiser, and now works in childhood bereavement support. He created the show to help people feel less alone in what they carry.
How can I be a guest?
Write to duncan@beerwithduncan.com to start a conversation. You need a true story of a hard chapter and what you rebuilt afterwards. You set the pace, and your story is held with care.
Where can I hear past episodes?
On Spotify (search Beer with Duncan, with video) and on YouTube at @abeerwithduncan. Radio Northern Beaches also keeps the past seven days available to replay at rnb.org.au.