Compiled by Jasper Baumann and Tess Connery
Cutting through the politics on Blak Matters
LiSTNR’s new original podcast Blak Matters is an exploration of First Nations issues, and why they matter. Published weekly, each episode provides an honest conversation between 104.1 2DayFM’s Michael ‘MC’ Christian, and lawyer, essayist, storyteller, and Wiradjuri and Wailwan woman, Teela Reid.
With the nation celebrating NAIDOC Week, Podcast Week’s Tess Connery caught up with the pair to chat about the podcast, the upcoming referendum, and what they hope people get from Blak Matters.
Whilst the podcast only launched recently, behind the scenes it has been a long time coming for Christian and Reid.
Christian: “We both grew up together in the same country town in Central Western New South Wales, and we were out at our local NAIDOC Week celebrations. Teela was giving a speech and I was hosting the awards night, and after the awards wrapped up, we were all back at Teela’s auntie’s place having a big yarn. It became this really heated political discussion about where things are at in this nation, and where they can possibly go. I texted Teela a couple of weeks later and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do a podcast where we can chat about this stuff?’
“COVID got in the way, everything got delayed, and I’m the most unorganised person in the world – but at the end of last year I texted Teela again and she said ‘let’s do it’. We spoke to the guys here at LiSTNR, they said ‘let’s do it’. And here we are.”
Reid: “This was born out of a couple of mates talking about stuff that really matters to us and our community. The local paper just came out today – the Gilgandra Weekly – and my Nan is on it as the oldest Aboriginal elder in the town, on the front cover. I think that’s pretty momentous this week, and it really is an extension of these conversations that we’re having on this podcast, and why those things matter.”
Thursday will see the pair put out their NAIDOC Week episode, one which both hosts are particularly proud of.
Christian: “We spoke to a Wiradjuri Elder based in Sydney, Millie Ingram, she’s originally from the Cowra area. We spoke to her about what it means to be an Elder, the things that she’s seen in her lifetime, her hopes for the future, and this referendum that’s going to happen later on this year.”
Reid: “It’s honestly the best episode, this episode we have coming out this week brings tears to my eyes – so shout out to our producer Simon as well. It’s so moving. It’s so special. We have a Wiradjuri matriarch who really speaks truth to power, I am so excited to get our episode out.”
It’s a big year for Australians – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – as the country prepares to head to the polls for the Voice to Parliament referendum. When it comes to covering the lead-up to the referendum, there is one clear thing the pair want to do: cut through the politics.
Christian: “The only game plan that we have is to try and sift through the politicising, from both sides, on what this voice could be and what it could do. We want to just have honest and simple conversations, because there are a lot of people that probably still aren’t quite sure of what they’re even voting on and what the voice will be.”
Reid: “We bring it down into plain English so that people can really digest the information and make an informed choice when they get to the ballot box. We also want people to feel really empowered in having conversations about the voice once they do listen to Blak Matters. It’s going to be an enormous year, and first and foremost as a Wiradjuri and Wailwan woman and secondly, as a lawyer, it’s crucial that I play an important role in making sure that we have this conversation based on the facts.”
Christian: “What I would hope is that when everyone is at that ballot box, and they’re ticking their box, they know exactly what they’re voting for. It’s not for us to tell people to vote yes or vote no, that’s everyone’s prerogative to vote whichever way they feel they need to vote. But we want to make sure that when you’re doing it, it’s an informed decision.”
Ultimately, the two hosts say that if people can leave their time with Blak Matters with a little bit more knowledge than they came to the episode with, they’ve done their job.
Christian: “There might be people that listen, that live in big cities who might not even have met a First Nations person in their life. A lot of these issues would seem so far away to them. A lot of the things we talk about – this referendum and the voice to Parliament – it’s not just a First Nations issue, it’s an Australian issue. Hopefully, people listening to this podcast can see that there is a path forward for this country, and if we do it all together, it’s going to be, hopefully, a positive path forward.”
Reid: “I just hope that people feel like they can engage in the conversation more broadly and feel empowered to continue the conversation. So many people from different facets of my life – celebrities, or everyday Australians, or my own family back in my community – are really thankful that they’ve been able to rely on a resource like this that makes the information really digestible and simple within around 20 minutes.”
Bendigo Bank and The Peers Project partner to launch NAIDOC Week podcast series
Bendigo Bank has partnered with Australia’s only BIPOC, female-led podcast agency, The Peers Project to launch NAIDOC week podcast short-series ‘A Yarn with our Elders’.
The new podcast aims to teach listeners to listen more intently and understand more deeply the ways of the world’s oldest living culture. Led by Munanjali Woman, Simone Sexton, the show also aims to instill respect for our Elders and deepen knowledge of First Nations culture, to inspire a fully reconciled Australia.
Simone Sexton, Inclusion specialist at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and Munanjali Woman said: “It is said in our culture that when an Elder passes away we lose an entire library of knowledge and wisdom, the telling of our “Songlines” is transferred verbally by Elders. Podcasting is a modern way of telling and sharing these traditional stories, and a fantastic step forward as we continue to walk together on our journey to reconciliation. As custodians of the oldest continuing culture in the world, the knowledge and wisdom of our Elders is invaluable.”
[Listen to A Yarn with our Elders here]
Australian true crime podcast One Minute Remaining hits two million downloads in nine months since launching
In One Minute Remaining, Jack Laurence speaks with inmates serving lengthy sentences in the United States about their convictions for a range of different serious crimes from arson, robbery, attempted murder and murder itself.
One Minute Remaining has not only been hitting big download numbers but has also been featured at the top of the major charts across Spotify and Apple. It reached number one on Apple’s Australian podcast charts, as well as the number one true crime show on both Apple and Spotify simultaneously at the beginning of this year.
One Minute Remaining has released over 60 episodes and allows numerous incarcerated men and women to tell their stories. Jack looks at the case against them and allows the inmates to tell their accounts of the events that lead up to their incarceration until there’s one minute remaining.
Jack Laurence said: “It’s honestly mind blowing what the show has managed to achieve in the last nine months and I couldn’t be more proud. We’ve not only created a product that people seem to be really enjoying but also a really strong loyal brand following with over 4,000 people interacting with the show in our Facebook group each week.”
[Listen to One Minute Remaining here]
Dua Lipa announces the third season of At Your Service podcast with BBC
Season Three of Dua Lipa: At Your Service will feature conversations with internationally renowned artists, thought leaders and cultural icons.
Episode one launched on June 30th with Amelia Dimoldenberg, the red-carpet interviewer and host of the viral internet show Chicken Shop Date.
Season three of the podcast invites listeners to explore the vast landscape of human experiences, and celebrate the power of sharing stories and insights into the world around us.
Season three’s lineup of guests includes BLACKPINK’s Jennie Kim, relationship expert Esther Perel, star of Netflix’s You and podcaster Penn Badgley, drag icon Sasha Velour and superstar Billie Eilish.
[Listen to At Your Service here]
Josiah Shala and Renee Buckingham see if they can meet In The Middle on their new podcast
Radio anchor Josiah Shala and vegan entrepreneur and radio producer Renee Buckingham will be unwrapping some of the most controversial thought starters to see if they can meet In The Middle on views on relationships, pop culture, politics, lifestyle and everything else in between.
Each week, Josiah and Renee will be exploring and debating topics that society is putting down. In the podcast, they discuss, debate and talk about their opinions on things that are impacting both their worlds and the lives around them.
Renee said: “Josiah and I saw an opportunity to explore our unique dynamic in the form of a podcast. We would laugh about how rare it is to have two mates that are incredibly different with quite opposite world views.”
Josiah said: “It’s so refreshing to have a friend like Renee, we have such polar opposite world views, but our love and respect comes from the same place. We’re taking our chats from the streets to the microphones and hope we can start some interesting conversations. I’m hoping my conspiracies aren’t too much for my green, vegan friend!”
[Listen to In The Middle here]
SBS Audio podcast call-out invites pitches for new and distinctive content
SBS has announced a call out for podcast ideas that feature diverse Australian voices with original storytelling for multicultural, multilingual and First Nations audiences.
Submissions are now open to the public to pitch an idea for a podcast in the categories of news, information or entertainment categories and in any language including English.
Last year’s call-out generated 175 pitches from across Australia, eight pilot episodes and six commissioned projects including BLA.C.K. Medicine, SEEN and The Idiom.
Shortlisted submissions will be invited to work with the award-winning SBS Audio podcast team to further develop their ideas.
Submissions close on Monday, July 31.
