Compiled by Tess Connery and James Manning
Another milestone for Howie
Australia’s #1 sports podcast has notched up another milestone. LiSTNR’s The Howie Games this month released its 150th episode. The series, sitting at #15 on the March Podcast Ranker overall (and at #12 on the Australian chart), chose the Mark Howard interview with soccer great turned commentator Mark Bosnich for the landmark episode. (Actually a double ep, split into parts A and B.)
Host Mark Howard has been busier than ever in the past few months as the cricket season ended and AFL started. Howie was also a key part of the recent Shane Warne Memorial where he hosted a segment that interviewed some cricket greats during the MCG service. Howie has also been co-hosting the new Fox Footy Saturday night show Best on Ground.
In the meantime, Howie is off and powering towards his next milestone as he heads for the double ton. Episode 151 is next where he talks with Australian batsman Usman Khawaja.
Listen to The Howie Games here.
Elite sportspeople uncovered in The Long Haul
Earlier this month podcast producer and representation company Ranieri and Co teamed with Headline Productions for a new sports title.
Called The Long Haul, the new podcast series is a compassionate and candid look at the unexpected challenges of being an elite sportsperson, told by some of the biggest names in Australian sport in stand-alone audio documentaries.
Host Emma Murray is a renowned high-performance coach, and she brings her experience to conversations with guests like Cate Campbell, Jack Riewoldt, Clint Newton and Shane Gould who feature in the eight (plus a bonus) episodes.
During the series the podcast investigates the role of soccer/football in the nation’s cultural and sporting identity. “The only countries in the world that have resisted football/soccer are former British colonies,” commented Dr Andy Harper, ex-player and current commentator.
The Long Haul also examines the physical toll of competing at the highest level. “Your whole body is on fire and we want as much of that as we possibly can because it’s a by-product of speed,” explained Olympic champion Cate Campbell.
Also examined is a major scandal that impacted football codes a decade ago. A time when Australia thought their favourite sports were unravelling on a stage in Canberra. “God help us if we ever get another story like Essendon and Cronulla but you’d probably be naive to think that something like that won’t happen again,” said Mick Warner, award-wining AFL journalist at the Herald Sun.
Nova’s Nathan, Nat, and Shaun on podcasting extras
In the most recent radio ratings results, Nova 93.7 continued to own the breakfast slot in Perth, with Nathan, Nat, and Shaun once again #1 after a jump of 2.2 points brought them to the highest overall share of 16.6% – a record high for the show.
Podcast Week’s Tess Connery spoke to the trio for a feature that will be published in full after ANZAC Day.
Perth’s Nathan, Nat and Shaun
When it comes to putting together the Nathan, Nat, and Shaun podcast, the team say that the content is a reflection of what happened on the show rather than specific podcast content – however the podcast gives them one major advantage.
Nathan: “We do cherry pick what’s going to go in there. When we get a chance to do a pre recorded interview with somebody, the gold that you get is unbelievable – and usually you can’t put a 15 minute chat on a show.
“We’ll always put the extended chat in the podcast, because we really get some fantastic things out of our guests, whether they be celebrities, or whether there’ll be someone from a certain industry or just a punter. So we like to add that bonus content into the podcast because we know how important they are now, as part of the whole landscape of radio.”
[Listen to the Nathan, Nat, and Shaun podcast here]
LiSTNR and RiAus launch Huh? Science Explained
LiSTNR and the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) has released their first co-created shortcast, Huh? Science Explained, following a new podcast collaboration agreement.
Huh? Science Explained brings together a new generation of science voices, with journalists from RiAus’s Cosmos magazine answering life’s weird and wacky science-related questions.
From the big – “How old is the Earth? And how do we know?” – to the small – “How does popping candy work?” Huh? Science Explained will tackle them all, in 10 minutes or less.
The hosting line-up includes Amalyah Hart, Imma Perfetto, Matilda Handsley-Davis, and Ellen Phiddian.
RiAus is an independent not-for-profit, based in South Australia, dedicated to connecting people with the world of science, and in February this year announced a partnership with LiSTNR to create, distribute, and commercialise podcasts exclusively on LiSTNR.
[Listen to Huh? Science Explained here]
Fairground F*ckups launches its third season
Season three of the award-winning podcast, Fairground F*ckups will be launching on Wednesday 20th April. The show won bronze in the True Crime category at the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards and it’s sure to be another wild ride for listeners.
This season the pod begins by taking a look at the horrific number of theme park accidents that have occurred as Fairgrounds reopen all over the world after pandemic lockdowns. Other episodes include the tragic Kings Island disaster, a Disneyland special, and as always, an Australian themed episode.
Fairground F*ckups creator and producer, Andrew Menczel says, “this is our most important season yet because accidents at fairgrounds across the world are becoming a real problem that needs attention.”
[Listen to Fairground F*ckups here]
Cate Blanchett interviews Prince William in Audible podcast
Audible has announced a line-up of innovators, activists, and thought leaders, including His Royal Highness Prince William as part of the Audible Original podcast series, Climate of Change with Cate Blanchett and Danny Kennedy.
Across six episodes, listeners will hear long-term friends, award-winning actor, producer, and environmental advocate, Cate Blanchett and climate entrepreneur and activist, Danny Kennedy, explore eco-anxiety and optimism. Leaning into Danny’s experience in clean energy, the pair raise awareness of the emerging technological revolution that’s offering hope in the face of the unfolding climate crisis. Throughout the series, Cate and Danny speak directly to visionaries and trendsetters who are making strides to turn the tide on climate change, from the Navajo Nation in Arizona to the Australian Outback.
Danny Kennedy, Prince William, Cate Blanchett
Prince William joins Cate and Danny in Episode 2 The Disruptive Decade to give an exclusive update about his Earthshot Prize since the first winners were announced last year. Inspired by John F. Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’, which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental Prize and platform to discover, accelerate, and scale ground-breaking eco-solutions to repair and regenerate the planet.
A special extended cut of Prince William’s interview in Episode 2 is available to listen to on YouTube where His Royal Highness discusses the positive innovations the Prize has already highlighted and the progress being made to support and scale their global impact.
[Listen to Climate of Change here]
Phoebe Burgess teases new Vogue podcast
‘I’ve always believed in amplifying female voices and now, I have a microphone’ Phoebe Burgess wrote on Instagram this week.
She also tagged Vogue Australia in the post that included several photos of herself in front of a microphone.
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Funny Business reshuffles schedule to mark second birthday
Funny Business podcast, a pod exploring business culture and performance in Australia and abroad, has officially turned two. To celebrate, the podcast is rebranding and reformatting its weekly program.
The new schedule looks like:
Monday: Guest Episode
Tuesday: Business Porn – Weekly business news + headlines
Wednesday: Wellbeing Wednesday – Robbie answers questions sent in by the community
Thursday: Deep Dive – A deeper look into topics, people + stories (sometimes with guests)
Friday: Hot or Not – Discuss and rate 10 random suggestions sent in by the community (sometimes with guests)
Hosted by Robbie Hicks and Lachlan Bradford, Funny Business is powered by Wellbeing Network.
[Listen to Funny Business here]
