Compiled by Jasper Baumann and Tess Connery
Cornflakes and Crumbs: Three years of Matt & Alex All Day Breakfast
Last month, the Matt & Alex All Day Breakfast podcast celebrated its third birthday – officially marking the point where the pair have been making the podcast for longer than they were on air together for Triple J breakfast.
To chat all things podcasting and birthday celebrations, Podcast Week’s Tess Connery caught up with Alex Dyson.
“It’s an extremely strange feeling,” Dyson says of the fact that the podcast has been running longer than the breakfast show.
“The first three years seemed to go quite slowly, we were getting to know each other and getting up early every morning – maybe it’s just because breakfast radio takes such a toll on the body. Being fresh on All Day Breakfast means it’s less arduous, and we occasionally have a bit more fun. Our words are easier to understand, for sure!”
Three years down the line, Dyson says that there are a few aspects that show how the show has evolved since its inception – although the basics of it have remained the same.
“There have been plenty of tweaks to the nature of it – although it’s still just two dudes talking a little bit of rubbish, don’t mess with the winning formula. Figuring out the right timing for the podcast so it can fit in with people’s lives, figuring out which segments work well, figuring out the way that we incorporate listeners and make sure that they’re at the forefront of every podcast – that kind of thing.”
Matt & Alex All Day Breakfast has a particularly engaged audience, full of listeners who are more than up for going along with whatever idea the pair come up with. In fact, “my favourite part is getting to talk to people,” Dyson says of the podcast’s listeners.
“We’ve been trying to buy a sports team like how Ryan Reynolds bought that soccer team in the UK. Our budget is nowhere near his, but we auditioned a few different sports teams – there was a mixed netball team, there was an indoor soccer team, and a trivia team. We ended up choosing the trivia team in Brisbane. The soccer team is from the Sunshine Coast, so they’re going to drive down and verse our new team in trivia!
“This is the sort of thing that can only happen when you trust the listeners and they trust you. That fun element is really enjoyable to do.”
Speaking of the listeners, there’s another benefit of podcasting that Dyson points out.
“Because it’s curated, some of the dodgy cookers you chat to on Triple J can be discretely discarded! You’ve got an audience of people who want to be there, they have to choose to actively listen, it’s not just overhearing something in the car. It creates this really great environment where, if you listen in and you manage to stick with us through the first weeks of in-jokes, I reckon you’ll have a very, very good time with us.”
The podcast’s third birthday was held on May 3rd at Melbourne’s Comedy Republic – Dyson’s venue that he runs with fellow comedians Rhys Nicholson and Kyran Wheatley. The evening saw the pair present some of their favourite segments to the live audience, as well as a whole lot of laughs.
“We went with the theme of leather, because for a third anniversary, that’s the traditional gift,” says Dyson. “We wore our leather jackets, and Illy was our very special guest – he’s been a guest on the podcast a number of times now. We had signs that people could hold up to chat with us – remember Ready Steady Cook? They had capsicums and tomatoes, we had a rat on one side and a dog on the other so they could vote for various things.
Matt, Alex, and Illy
“Having people come along and hearing their stories and their laughter in person instead of just our own voices is just the most gratifying thing.”
[Listen to Matt & Alex All Day Breakfast here]
Comedy troupe Sooshi Mango join LiSTNR with new podcast
Australian comedy troupe Sooshi Mango has joined LiSTNR with the group’s Sooshi Mango Saucy Meatballs Podcast. The brand-new second season, and the podcast’s back catalogue, are now available on LiSTNR.
Created by Joe Salanitri, Carlo Salanitri and Andrew Manfre, Sooshi Mango has experienced a meteoric rise in Australian comedy. The trio is best known for its comedy skits, live shows, videos and personal take on hot-button topics.
The group has more than 600 million online views of its video skits, almost 800,000 TikTok followers, enjoys sell-out live performances, is celebrating the runaway success of the group’s first music track and is about to launch a restaurant in Australia’s Italian restaurant capital, Lygon Street, Carlton.
In the first episode of the podcast’s new season, the boys try to have their new song Tarantella added to the Hit Network’s playlist by contacting the network’s music director, plus they reflect on their first-ever show in Dubai, and breakdown their struggles with confusing phrases used by Gen Z including how to correctly use the term ‘bussin’.
[Listen to The Saucy Meatballs Podcast here]
NOVA Entertainment launch new health podcast ‘Bounce Forward with Tiffiny Hall’
NOVA Entertainment has launched a new podcast with Tiffiny Hall that promotes a fitter, healthier and more balanced lifestyle. The new original podcast Bounce Forward is available from Monday, June 5.
Bounce Forward is loaded with motivation and education. In each episode, Hall will share what she’s learnt during her 20-year career in the health and fitness industry.
The new podcast is designed to give people ‘realistic optimism’. Hall won’t be telling listeners that they need to run a marathon as it’s more about making healthy habit changes that can fit into your life and help make steps towards your goals.
Tiff Hall is the creator of the TXO Life – an online health and fitness program, a mentor, author and a 6th Dan black belt in Taekwondo. Rising to fame as a trainer on The Biggest Loser Australia, Hall made history as the first pregnant woman to appear on the cover of Women’s Health in 2022.
[Listen to Bounce Forward with Tiff Hall here]
Queensland Police Service launch podcast to open the doors of domestic violence
To mark Domestic and Family Violence Prevention (DFVP) Month this May, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) has launched a five-part podcast series to put domestic and family violence under the spotlight.
Behind the Doors of Domestic Violence, presented by QPS is designed to raise community awareness, empower victim-survivors and bystanders alike and ultimately change the behaviours of those who use abusive and unhealthy tactics within their relationships.
Hosted by Dean Cooper, a Violence Prevention Specialist from the Griffith University MATE Bystander program, the series tells the stories of victim survivors and bystanders, delves into the mindset of an offender, discusses police initiatives, identifies characteristics of unhealthy and unsafe relationships, and speaks to the support services available for those seeking help, for both victims and perpetrators. Tackling difficult questions and a wide scope of subjects, episode guests include friends of victims, officers working in regional communities, men’s reform program facilitators and individuals with lived experience. Mr Cooper said he was pleased to have the opportunity to partner with the QPS on the project.
[Listen to Behind the Doors of Domestic Violence here]
TAFE Queensland launches first ever Australian interactive podcast with Podshape.
TAFE Queensland is the first business in Australia to launch an interactive podcast to enable their international students to find out everything involved in studying overseas. Potential students will be able to ‘choose their own adventure’ picking between chapters in order to only listen to what they’re interested in.
If there is a particular region in Queensland they’d like to explore they can head straight there, choose the subject they’d like to hear about or even learn about what they can do whilst here. From health information, to what to expect during orientation, to learning about Australia’s Indigenous culture it ticks all the boxes.
TAFE Queensland’s A/director, international education, Marty Lock said:
“Choosing to move overseas to study is never an easy choice to make, but this
Australian-first interactive podcast will help people to learn more about our wide range
of study options and campus locations in the hope they feel more confident and
comfortable when choosing TAFE Queensland to help them change their lives and
achieve their career aspirations.”
[Listen to My Interactive Study Journey here]
