Beer with Duncan
Honest conversations for anyone who has ever felt like the only one carrying it.
Radio Northern Beaches • 88.7 FM and 90.3
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 believe the most useful thing any of us can do is stay curious, stay kind, and keep learning, especially when the ground shifts. Before we sit down over a beer, I would like you to know who you would be sitting with.
I grew up in western New South Wales, in the black soils around Coonamble. My family ran a stock and station agency, and I learned early by calling auctions, reading a room and looking people in the eye. It was a grounding in trust, resilience and meaning what you say.
That microphone took me a long way from home. I have worked across Australia, the UK, Hong Kong, Asia and the US, calling more than 15,000 auctions across art, real estate, jewellery and antiques. Alongside charities and causes, I have helped raise more than $200 million through major gifts, bequests and events. Every chapter asked me to learn something new, and I leaned in.
In 2020, my son Lachlan died suddenly. That changed everything. 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. Courage is not the absence of fear. Sometimes it is choosing to keep showing up anyway.
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: Charlie, Matilda, Molly, and twins Lachlan and Oscar. They keep everything in perspective.
Based on the Northern Beaches, I have run Auskick with 160-plus kids, served on the board of the Manly Bombers, coached girls AFL and cricket, and mentored through the Raise Foundation. I was also president and a patrol member at South Narrabeen SLSC, and I umpire AFL with my kids, Charlie and Tilly. That community work shapes how I lead, listen and make space for other people's stories.
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: vulnerability is not weakness but courage, and one honest story can help someone else feel less alone. The same thread runs through my keynote speaking, fundraising, leadership and consulting work: growth asks us to learn, unlearn and relearn as the world changes around us.
I carried the idea for this show for twenty-five years, too afraid to start. I made it in the end because I wanted my children to see their dad begin something, even scared, even late. If you bring your story here, I will hold it 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 opening 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.
Where to listen
Find the show
On the radio
Radio Northern Beaches, 88.7 FM and 90.3, across Sydney's Northern Beaches.
Online and on the app
Stream at rnb.org.au, or through the Community Radio+ app.
On YouTube
Watch and subscribe at @Haveabeerwithduncan.
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 on Radio Northern Beaches in Sydney. The name is a hat tip to Slim Dusty's song Duncan, and each episode gets past the public face to the person underneath. It is real, kind, and never a gotcha.
Who is Duncan Schieb?
Duncan Schieb is the host of Beer with Duncan. He grew up in western New South Wales, has called more than 15,000 auctions, helped raise more than $200 million for charities and causes, and now shares conversations about resilience, grief, leadership and change.
Where can I listen?
You can listen on Radio Northern Beaches at 88.7 FM and 90.3, online at rnb.org.au, and on the Community Radio+ app. Episodes are also shared on YouTube at @Haveabeerwithduncan.
What is the show about?
The show is about vulnerability, courage, and change. Guests share a chapter they once found too heavy to say out loud, so that someone listening alone knows they are not the only one carrying it.
How can I be a guest?
Beer with Duncan welcomes guests with a story of a hard chapter and what they rebuilt afterwards. Write to duncan@beerwithduncan.com to start a conversation. You set the pace, and your story is held with care.
Where is it recorded?
The show is recorded on Sydney's Northern Beaches and broadcast on Radio Northern Beaches, the community station serving the area from Manly to Palm Beach.