Lagpas Tao by Neen Ramos

When a storm surge swallows a coastal town in the Philippines, a daughter in Sydney receives a shaky phone call from her mother calling from a patchy Wi-Fi. 

The floodwaters would recede, but they can’t take away a daughter’s worry from thousands of kilometres away.

“ I've been so worried about you. I guess what I really want is to be there, even if I don't know how to say it out loud.”

Produced by Aswathi Matthews

Written and performed by Neen Ramos 

Mother voiced by: Liza Caliao

Special thanks to Amanda Caliao, who generously recommended her mom to voice this piece. 

Rapture by Christopher Sammut

After losing his job, a young man in Sydney ends up working at his uncle’s chicken farm, where the daily violence of slaughter and the weight of family expectations trigger a crushing anxiety attack. His only comfort comes from Lorenzo, a Sudanese coworker who offers faith, hope, and an unexpected kind of tenderness in a place built on brutality.

The smell he’s trying to escape isn’t on his clothes - it’s in his bones.

Produced by: Persephone Waxman 

Written and performed by Christopher Sammut 

Sound design by Lana Lusina 

My childhood is split into Inside Outside by Cathy Stirling

What are the small, ordinary moments when you feel safe enough to connect with your body, with others, with place?

Cathay’s childhood is split between two worlds: the fear-soaked “inside,” where her father’s rage fills the air, and the bright “outside,” where magpies call, bare feet hit the grass, and the rhythm of games, laughter, lizards, and sunshine offer a taste of freedom.

And with every step between inside and outside, she begins to realise that light can live in her too.

Production and sound design by Catarina Fraga Matos

Written and Performed by Cathy Stirling 

Mark Williamson voiced ‘Dad’

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Cover Art: Ray Vo

Special shout-out to our volunteers:  Sue, Sharon, Lindsey, Andrew, Ash, and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s episode is all about suspending your disbelief!

Whether you're dressed for a Renaissance Fair or watching a magician and their assistant on stage.  

A Lady Knight by in Kryal Castle by Persephone Waxman 
In our first story, you will follow the Knight, Lady Molly,  into the heat of battle just 10 minutes outside the Ballarat CBD in Victoria. 

Producer : Persephone Waxman 

Supervising Producer: Mark Yin

$5 Magic Show by Mel Bakewell

With just a recorder and $5, Mel Bakewell will not actually pull a rabbit out of a hat, but instead a story of magic in Adelaide.  

Producer: Mel Bakewell

If you love audio stories, the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2026 is now open until November 18. That's next week! An opportunity to take a deep dive into a story idea you are passionate about for six months, with access to mentors and a range of workshops related to all things audiocraft.   

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Cover Art: Ray Vo

Special shout-out to our volunteers:  Sue, Sharon, Lindsey, Andrew, Ash, and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Has a friend ever told you they think you have ADHD?  

In this episode of Peer Review Diagnosis, host Felicity Weaver explores the humorous yet heartfelt world of “peer-reviewed ADHD”. Through personal stories and insights from psychiatrist Dr. Mohsen Mirzaie, she explores the role casual, “peer-reviewed” observations can play alongside formal diagnosis, and how greater awareness can foster understanding rather than offense.

Sometimes, your friends might spot your ADHD before your doctor does - but no, you still can’t try their meds.

Produced by: Felicity Weaver 

Supervising Producer: Shelby Traynor. 

The other voices that you hear in the story are  Maya, Geronimo and Dr Mohsen Mirzaie.  

Cop A Wist by Evie Hilliar

In this story, what begins as a funny story about worsening eyesight unfolds into a vulnerable exploration of sincerity, shame, and the layers we build to protect ourselves. Both tender and irreverent, it’s a rallying cry to strip away the armor, face your fears, and as the speaker dares - “flash them your truths and tell them to love you.”

Performed by Evie Hillier 

Recorded by Zacha Rosen

The Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2026 is open until 18 November. An opportunity to take a deep dive into a story idea you are passionate about for six months and you will have access  to mentors and a range of workshops related to all things audiocraft.  

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to our volunteers: Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew, Ash, and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Halloween. 

A time when many when mischievous spirits are going from door to door saying 'trick or treat?'.

This week is not a trick, but a treat of three haunting audio stories that might just keep you up at night.

Almost A Ghost Story by Yebu ji

There is always good reason to carefully research a place before you there. Our first story, its not just an apartment you have to worry about, but even a blog or a reddit thread can be a haunted space.

That story was produced by Yebu Ji 

Editor was Sayre Quevedo

The Weeping Wall by Mel Bakewell

Our second story definitely falls more into the unexplainable category.  Be wary of those recurring  stains that seem to defy explanation.

Produced by Mel Bakewell

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Highway to Hell by Felicity Weaver

Driving in big cities can be pain. Sydney is not exception. If you drive, or have driven in Sydney then you can probably relate with having to deal with confusing street signs, or the stress of missing your exit ... but this story takes a bit of a diabolical turn.

Produced by Felicity Weaver 

Music by Blue Dot Sessions 

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to our volunteers: Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew, Ash, and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just Breath Man by Ben Haywood 

This story is a step closer to embracing men’s tears and a step away from toxic masculinity.

Ben suffers from depression after knee surgery. Searching for ways to heal online, he finds himself trapped in toxic ideas of masculinity. It’s only when a friend takes him to his breathwork class that he finally breaks down and begins to heal, learning that recovery can come through friendship, community, and space to breathe.

Sometimes, not all healing comes with words.

Sometimes it’s in the silence between breaths, in the rise and fall of your chest, as the world eases and the universe reminds you: you’re safe.

Produced by: Ben Haywood

Supervising producer: Sam Loy 

Music: Blue Dot Sessions

This story was made possible by the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship.

For over six months, Ben worked with an industry mentor and got access to guest workshops on audio craft. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2025, and a very special thank you to Jesse Cox’s family and friends, and to the incredible legacy he left

A very special thank you to our mentors, Karla Arnall, Sam Loy, Cristina Marras, and Miles Martignoni. 

And thank you to our guest facilitators Belinda Lopez, Jay Gasser, Jesse Lou Lawson, Michelle Macklem, Claudia Taranto, Karishma Luthria, Mike Williams, Dan Semo, Tiffany Dimmack and Cinnamon Nippard. 

Applications to the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2026 are live! Apply here. Applications close November 18.

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Events and Partnership Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to our volunteers: Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew, Ash, Emma and Miles.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So what do gaming and immigration have in common? 

The Love Game by Wing Kuang

In our second story from the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2025, Wing Kuang guides us through a love story of two gamers,  one in Melbourne and one in Shanghai, navigating the complexities of long-distance relationships and the bureaucracy of Australia’s immigration system. 

Produced by Wing Kuang 

Supervising Producer: M. Cristina Marras

This story was made possible by the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship.

For over six months, Wing worked with an industry mentor and got access to guest workshops on audio craft. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2025, and a very special thank you to Jesse Cox’s family and friends, and to the incredible legacy he left

A very special thank you to our mentors, Karla Arnall, Sam Loy, Cristina Marras, and Miles Martignoni. 

And thank you to our guest facilitators Belinda Lopez, Jay Gasser, Jesse Lou Lawson, Michelle Macklem, Claudia Taranto, Karishma Luthria, Mike Williams, Dan Semo, Tiffany Dimmack and Cinnamon Nippard. 

Applications to the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2026 are opening up soon! Watch this space!

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Events and Partnership Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to our volunteers: Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew, Ash, and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wanted: Dunnart Alive by Xanthe Smith

This week, a story about searching, both for the elusive Sandhill Dunnart and for a long-lost connection.

Xanthe revisits her childhood memories of meeting ecologist Sue Churchill, whose stories of the rare marsupial stayed with her for decades. From Sue’s years of digging pitfall traps in the desert to becoming the world Dunnart expert, their conversation explores Australia’s fragile biodiversity, the politics of conservation, and the search for something in the unknown - something you might never even find.

Produced by Xanthe Smith

Supervising Producer was Karla Arnall

This story was made possible by the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship.

For over six months, Xanthe worked with an industry mentor and got access to guest workshops on audio craft. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2025, and a very special thank you to Jesse Cox’s family and friends, and to the incredible legacy he left.

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Events and Partnership Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to our volunteers: Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew, Ash, and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, some beef, friendship, and strange run-ins with some humans and creatures.

Magpie by Millie Jones

In this story,  a stroll through suburban Mudgee turns into an encounter with the swooping monarchs of the blue gums. 

Here’s your ultimate how-to-survive-magpies manual. 

Tip: If you cross paths with a magpie, skip the two-hands-above-your-head surrender - just give a friendly nod and keep walking with dignity.

Produced by: Millie Jones 

Sound design by: Ramon Briant

Gordons Bay by Lucie Towers 

Gordon’s Bay was a beach under the rule of a fearsome “King of Crabs.” 

Among the seaweed and tide-washed rubbish, Lucie scavenged for lost toys and trinkets, treasures in her eyes. 

Today, the bay is pristine and beloved.

Watch out, King Gordon may still be lurking.

Produced by: Lucie Towers 

Sound design by: Hethre Contant

Cockroach by Jin Hien Lau

In our third story, what begins as a chance encounter with a cockroach on an escalator spirals into a wild story of movie nights, pop culture, and a swarm of roaches bursting out of a DVD case. 

It’s proof that even cockroaches can steal the show and your pizza.

Produced by: Jin Hien Lau 

Sound design by: Gregory Thorsby 

Raindrop Tiara by Giddy Pillai 

In this story, a rainy-day memory becomes a fairytale when a stranger shares his umbrella and walks the narrator home. 

To the stranger with the umbrella: we hope you enjoyed Giddy’s song and know that you’ve been great.

Special thanks to the City of Sydney for supporting this event. 

Event producers were Phoebe Adler-Ryan, Evie Hilliar, Fionn McCabe, Gabe Clark, and Patrick McKenzie. 

These stories were from the live storytelling event Extra(Ordinary) Tales, presented by All The Best and Read To Me. It's a storytelling night that brings together audio and visual artists to explore the magic, humour, heartbreak and mystery hidden in everyday life.

And a special thanks to the City of Sydney for their support for this event.

And we have another free Extra(Ordinary)Tales at the Greensquare Library on the 14th November.

Get your tickets here!

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Events and Partnership Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout out to our volunteers, Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew, Ash and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dome Sweet Dome by Year 8 students 

In this story, Year 8 students  imagine a world where meteors poison the skies and zombies spread from Bankstown to Campbelltown. Trapped inside a glass dome with zombies banging on the walls outside, they piece together what makes life worth living.

And in the end, humanity is saved by Kendrick Lamar’s zombie-proof backboard and a slam dunk from LeBron James.

Written by: Year 8 students 

Produced by: Year 8 students and Philip Wilcox.  

Sound design and production by: Milku.

Apocalypse, Then ? by Jake Dean 

In our second story, the world collapses the day before Henry’s short story is published in The New Yorker. Henry, a jaded Adelaide teacher, embarks on one final mission: to find proof his masterpiece exists. Joined by Felix, a naïve but enthusiastic survivor, they sail amidst chaos, navigate a turbulent friendship, and grasp at fleeting glimpses of hope in a post-apocalyptic time.

Literary glory, baked beans, and not killing the man who saved your dictionary - the ultimate survival guide for a writer at the end of the world.

Written by: Jake Dean 

Performed by: Adam Dunn. 

Produced by: Jane Messer.  

Audio engineer: Martin Gallagher. 

It’s part of a fabulous live storytelling show and podcast called StorySALOON

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Events and Partnership Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout out to our volunteers, Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew, Ash and Emma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Black people can be disabled: breaking the cycle of disability stereotypes - Khadija Gbla by Carey Scheer 

From surviving a civil war in Sierra Leone to classrooms in Australia, Khadija carried chaos in her body long after the bombs stopped.

Her autism was dismissed as a cultural difference by white Australians, scorned as “not Black enough” within her community, and punished by chronic pain no one believed. For years, the world told her she was broken — until her diagnosis gave her the power to name who she had always been.

Now, as she raises her autistic son, she also heals her younger self — creating a better world for them both, and for others yet to come. 

Perhaps, the real danger was never their difference, but a world that refused to see it.

Produced by: Carey Scheer

Featuring: Khadija Gbla 

For more stories like Khadija’s, check out the Purple Orange podcast. 

Untitled by Keras Marszalek

“ Growing up, gay and Muslim felt like oil and water, two parts of himself that were never meant to mix, but he carried both at school, at home, and in prayer.”

This story follows Kaan’s journey navigating the clash between his Turkish Muslim upbringing and his identity as a gay man. From hiding behind humour and secrecy to finding the courage to come out, his story reveals both the weight of religious guilt and the relief of honesty.

“Faith told him who he was supposed to be. His heart told him who he already was.”

Perhaps, faith guided Kaan in his prayers, but truth set him free.

Produced by: Keras Marszalek 

Special thanks to Janak Rogers. 

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Events and Partnership Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Artwork by Annie Hamilton

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout out to our volunteers Ray, Sue, Sharon, Lindsay, Andrew and Ash

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.