All The Best

Home is more than just the house we live in. 

This week on All The Best, what home means for different people. 

Up first, Annemarie shares the importance of her grandparent’s house, a hub of family activity and a home for many.

In our second story, Sam shares the story of how she avoided making a place her home, until a chance meeting made her rethink everything. 

This week’s stories were all originally read at SPUN Stories, a live storytelling event in Darwin, showcasing extraordinary stories from the Northern Territory. SPUN also has a podcast. To listen, Search SPUN STORIES on your favourite podcast app.

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This week we’re bring you ‘Online Identities,’ an episode from 2016. With Elon Musk taking on the mantle of Twitter CEO, there has been a renewal in conversations about the future of social media and the uses of platforms like Twitter. As a result, we wanted to take the time to bring back this exploration of online identity – maybe it’ll remind us all that if Twitter does implode, it won’t be the end of the world.

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It’s 2016, so it’s more than likely you have an online identity. In fact, you may struggle to remember a world without the  internet, without a way for your followers to echo your political views, to see what you had for lunch, and to keep up to date on how #blessed you are. But what’s behind the profile pics and status updates? And what can we learn about our real world selves from it?

This week we’re dedicating the entire episode to a feature-length documentary, a beautiful and in-depth look at who we become online from Melbourne-based producer Jess Fairfax.

Executive Producer: Selena Shannon

Vic State Coordinator: Bethany Atkinson-Quinton

Presenter: Michael Brydon

Image: Flickr creative commons user Jared Cherub

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This week we’re bringing you a story from the podcast ‘177 Nations of Tasmania’. 177 Nations is the creation of Mark Thompson, who started the project during Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 after reading the Australian Census and discovering that there are 177 different nationalities represented in Tasmania.

We’d like to note that the interview we are featuring was recorded in early 2021.

Melika From Iran 

Melika shares the story of her and her husband’s decision to emigrate to Australia and the different ways she has fallen in love with Tasmania.

In this episode of the podcast Mark hopes to challenge people’s preconceived notions about Iran and its people.

Producer: Mark Thomson

All The Best Credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart

Social Media Producer: Timothy Nguyen

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

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This week we're bringing you stories from Critical Disdain. They're a newsletter that describes themselves as 'A weekly newsletter of new work from nobodies'.

Bad Dad Christmas by Caitlin O'Connor

In our first story listeners are taken through a guided meditation where they'll experience Christmas from a paternal point of view.

Written by: Caitlin O'Connor

Read by: Zara Gudnason

Make My Day by Isabella Wilcock

For our next story, an exploratory piece about the pervasiveness of grief and death within the mundanities of life.

Written and read by: Isabella Wilcock

The Taste of Lead by Luke Piva

Our final story is a piece about the places a man may go when driven past his limits.

Writing and music by: Luke Piva

Luke Piva Twitter

All The Best Credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart

Social Media Producer: Timothy Nguyen

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

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In celebration of All The Best reaching 500 episodes, we’re looking back into the archives and replaying episodes that, while recorded in years past, remain relevant today.

This week we're bringing back an episode that aired in 2021, 'Age of Activism'. Coal mining is still a much-discussed topic around the country, with flooding and other natural disasters showcasing a need for climate action. In 'Age of Activism' we hear directly from protestors at Adani's Carmichael coal mine, focusing on a pair of unexpected but incredibly staunch activists.

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Grandparents Rae and John are fighting for climate action. Since their retirement, they’ve ditched the caravan for the picket line and have participated in more non-violent direct actions than they can count.

‘Age Of Activism’ By Jordyn Beazley 

Inspired by the youth climate strike, there is a new growing cohort of people joining the climate fight – our grandparents. Gifted with the golden years of time and wealth for some, many older Australians are using their retirement to become full-time climate activists. But there is much more to these grey nomads turned activists than waving signs at protests. In this story, Jordyn Beazley follows two grandparents on an epic protest mission to barricade one of the most infamous sites in Australia’s climate crisis debate – the Adani Carmichael Coal mine.

Producer: Jordyn Beazley

Supervising Producer: Rachel Fountain

Additional Supervising Production: Mell Chun

Music: Pulsating Brain, Lobo Loco – Sourced from The Free Music Archive.

All The Best credits:

Production Manager: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Host: Maddy Macquine

Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart

Social Media Producers: Matilda Fay and Angela Moran

Images: Provided by Jordyn Beazley

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This week we're sharing stories from a collaboration with The Bold Source, a magazine led, curated and designed by creative young people in the city of Brimbank.

My Beautiful Mind by Haylee Bisset

In our first story, Haylee reads a powerful poem about her mind and shares the inspiration behind it.

Producer: Haylee Bisset

Supervising Producer: Ollie Krusec

Media Representation of Young People by Lani & Shani

In this story, Lani and Shani explore the negative ways young people are represented in the media, and what they're doing to change this.

Producers: Shani and Lani Nguyen

Supervising producer: Mell Chun

Lavish by Lauri Pavlovich

Lauri reads a poem about the importance of self care, and the radical nature of that act.

Written by: Lauri Pavlovich

This collaboration was supported by a quick response grant from the City of Melbourne. 

Issue Three of the Bold Source is our now.

All The Best Credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart

Social Media Producer: Timothy Nguyen

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

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In celebration of All The Best reaching 500 episodes, we’re looking back into the archives and replaying episodes that, while recorded in years past, remain relevant today.

This week an episode that aired in 2018, ‘Work In Progress’. This week much of the country observed the Labour Day public holiday. Also known as May Day, Labour Day was created to celebrate the achievements of the labour union movement and the evolution of worker's rights. This episode, characterising the worker experience from a couple of viewpoints, felt like a perfect choice.

Today workers across the country are still taking important industrial action against things like wages not increasing with inflation and the rising cost of living. Standing in solidarity with the Labour Union movement is still as important as it was when Labour Day was first celebrated.

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As we get to work, you’ll hear about our previous work experience and our ability to remain calm under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

‘Dodgy Jobs’ by Angela Moran

When Sarah arrived in Melbourne from Belgium on a working holiday visa she was told it would be easy to find a good part time job. Instead she found a thriving environment of underpaying cash-in-hand jobs with little to no security. Lucky she’s got a good sense of humour and was willing to share a few stories from her unsuccessful attempts to earn a decent crust.

Supervising Producers: Nina Enever and Bec Fary

Music: ‘Mountain’ by Text Me Records/Bobby Renz, ‘Beer Belly Blues’ by John Deley, ‘Jazz Organ Trio Cool Blue’ by Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions, ‘Travel Light’ by Audionautix .

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‘Brunching Above My Weight’ by Lee Robinson

Working in the hospitality industry involves more than just serving smashed avo on toast. Erin McConchie is a writer and comic artist who began drawing her most cringeworthy customer moments.

Supervising Producer: Sarah Mashman

Music: ‘Retro Soul’ by Bensound, ‘Kobo Cafe’ by Uncan, ‘Enigmatic’ by Bensound, ‘Coffee Morning’ by Olga Scotland, ‘Torture’ by VYVCH

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All The Best credits:

Executive Producer: Allison Chan

Victorian State Coordinator: Jordan Fennell

Host: Samantha Groth

Episode Mixer and Compiler: Jess Meier

SYN Community Coordinator: Victor Mims

Community Coordinator: Chloe Gillespie

Social Media Producer: Matilda Fay

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In celebration of All The Best reaching 500 episodes, we’re looking back into the archives and replaying episodes that, while recorded in years past, remain relevant today.

This week we’re bringing you ‘Coast to Coast’, an episode that first aired in September 2012. For many people, the ocean rouses a sense of excitement and adventure, a chance to do something that hasn’t been done before. Enjoy these stories, inspired by the place where the land meets the sea.

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Stories ahoy! All the Best brings you intriguing tales from the high seas. A South American geologist’s rough-and-tumble journey on a raft to Australia leads to a life-changing encounter with Gough Whitlam. And, the real Puberty Blues: a young girl tries to join the blokey surf culture of the 1970s- but an initiation rite in the water goes terribly wrong.

That Summer of ’75
Forget the TV series and the book: the real Puberty Blues started in the summer of 1975. Shé Hawkes was 14, and had begun doing something absolutely outrageous on the beach. Shé- a girl- had started to surf. It wasn’t something that the other surfers were going to let her get away with.

These days, Shé is a writer and academic: read her piece about women breaking into the surf culture of 1970s Australia, and a fictionalised version of her summer of ’75.

Interview, recording: Kate Montague
Edited by Belinda Lopez
Music credits: Room with a view (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 3.0; Instrumental – Restoration (Dan Warren) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; Instrumental – The Buddha (Dan Warren) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Sea Hitchhiker
In 1970, Gabriel Salas had just finished his university studies in Chile and thought he’d try and hitchhike around South America. But what was meant to be your average graduate road trip turned into an adventure across the sea. It also led to a fateful meeting with Gough Whitlam, just as Chile turned from democracy to dictatorship.

See photos and read more about Gabriel’s Salas’ adventure in this blog post by Zacha Rosen.

Produced by Zacha Rosen
Music credits: Jupiter The Blue (gillicuddy) / CC BY-NC 3.0; Opening Doors (Jamie Evans) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; El barzón (Los Amparito) / CC BY-NC-SA 2.5; Spring Rain (Aaron Ximm) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Presenter: Georgia Moodie
Features Executive Producer: Belinda Lopez
Executive Producers: Giordana Caputo, Eliza Sarlos, Jesse Cox

Picture Credit: Gabriel Salas’ La Balsa raft after being located and towed into Mooloolaba Boat Harbour, Mooloolaba on 5 November 1970. Courtesy of Heritage Library, Sunshine Coast Council
Music credit: Skitzin by Shining Bird. Free download here.

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The workings of the animal kingdom are foreign to many of us. This week we bring you stories that delve deep into the hidden world of cats and later in the episode, the hidden world of bees. 

Community Cat Careers by Ryan Pemberton 

A group that works at the dead of night, saving lives, Community Cat Carers’ mission is to reduce the overpopulation of street cats Sydney-wide, through our rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing program.

They are a not-for-profit, volunteer based rescue who are committed to a No Kill policy. 🐾

A warning, this story contains some talk of harm to animals.

Producer: Ryan Pemberton 

Supervising Producer: Mell Chun 

Music: Original score by Ryan Pemberton and additional music sourced from Blue Dot Sessions. 

You can find out more about Community Cat Careers, donate and sign up to volunteer at https://community-cat-carers-inc.raisely.com/

Queen B by Elina Godwin

There are very good reasons why the Queen Bee, is *the Queen*.

Producer: Elina Godwin 
Original Sound Design and Composition: Elina Godwin

All The Best Credits
Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart
Editorial Manager: Mell Chun
Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart
Social Media Producer: Timothy Nguyen
Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In celebration of All The Best reaching 500 episodes, we’re looking back into the archives and replaying episodes that, while recorded in years past, remain relevant today.

This week we’re bringing you ‘Endometriosis’, an episode that first aired in March 2020. Reproductive health for people with uteruses is still an area that is under-researched, with people still finding it difficult to have their symptoms taken seriously and diagnosed. We’d also like to note that the language used in this episode around endometriosis isn’t inclusive of everyone who experiences the illness.

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‘Endometriosis’ by Erin Dick

18 months ago, Erin was told she had an incurable illness. Unexpectedly, the diagnosis came as a relief.

Endometriosis is an illness that affects 1 in 10 Australian people. Tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found where it shouldn’t be. It’s often painful, can cause infertility, and it can take years to receive a diagnosis. Endo is a chronic illness with no cure.

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month – Erin shares her story about living with endo, from diagnosis and surgery, to the day-to day of chronic illness.

Correction: this story contains a description of endometriosis as “the presence of endometrial deposits outside the endometrial cavity.” The correct definition is: “the presence of tissue similar to the lining of the uterus found throughout the body.”

You can find out more about endometriosis by visiting Endometriosis Australia’s website, or their Facebook page.

Producer: Erin Dick

Supervising Producer: Britta Jorgensen

Music: ‘Stillness’, ‘Alchemical’, ‘The PI Sleeps’, ‘White Filament’, ‘Felt Lining’ by Blue Dot Sessions.

All The Best credits:

Executive Producer: Ryan Pemberton Victorian

State Coordinator: Jordan Fennell

Host: Maddy Macquine

Episode mix and compile: Elina Godwin

Community Coordinators: Chloe Gillespie and Danni Stewart

SYN Community Coordinator: Lee Robinson

Social Media Producer: Matilda Fay

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.