All The Best

Everyone loves a four day weekend! This week we’re joining in a birthday celebration, Easter egg hunts, a belated Lunar New Year dinner and creative backseat antics on family road trips. This episode is a repeat from 2018 when Samantha Groth was the host.  

‘Are we there yet?’

In our first story we discover how Jordan and her family make it through a six-hour road trip.

Producer: Jordan Fennell

‘We’re going on an Easter egg hunt’ 

The Easter long weekend wouldn’t have been complete without an Easter egg hunt.

Producer: Britta Jorgensen

‘Made in a hurry’ 

We celebrate Passover and endure a character building exercise in the pursuit of a story.

Producer: Zacha Rosen

Music: Ave Roma Sonatori Te Salutant by Armando Trovaioli, The Lutz Police Militia by Alexandre Desplat, Jálale [Instrumental]‎ by Mexican Institute of Sound

Thanks to Newtown Erskineville Anglican Church for letting Zacha cover their graveyard tour. Even though he lost all the tape.

Thanks to Joseph Ware, Samantha Groth, Karishma Tanvi, Angela Moran, Martyn Reyes and Yvonne Lam for their recordings of their long weekend.

All The Best credits

Production Manager: Danni Stewart

Host: Danni Stewart & Samantha Groth

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Tegan Nicholls & Danni Stewart

Social Media Producer: Emma Pham

Community and Events coordinator Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shakespeare called it the 'main course in life's feast' and Edgar Allen Poe thought of it as 'a little slice of death'. Some people love sleep, some find it difficult and some walk around and do weird stuff in their sleep without even realising.

While You Were Sleeping

In our first story, a conversation with a friend prompts Terri to ask her father about her childhood sleepwalking habit. She discovers some funny and spooky stories about her younger self, and figures, we must know more about the science of sleepwalking these days, right?

Producer: Terri Cowley

Supervising Producer: MJ Bakewell

Music and Sound Effects: Freesound.org

Sleep Tight

In our second story Paige deliberately deprives herself of sleep to understand more about the experience of insomnia and how it affects the brain. Don't try this at home!

Producer: Page Leacey

Supervising Producer: Bec Fary

Music: Sleep Tight (drone stem and synth stem), Quantum Sleep (light version), Soft Wired (light version) all sourced from Extreme Music.com, ‘Souls of Mischief (instrumental)’ by 93′ Til Infinity

All The Best credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Lochie Stevens 

Social Media Producer: Emma Pham

Community and Events coordinator Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Love can be a powerful force, a call to action that unifies us and empowers us in the most difficult of circumstances.

Sunny and Peter by Conor Sweetman  

Sunny and Peter led parallel lives. One in Ireland. The other in the United States. They both suffered injustice and tragedy. Then they found each other, and their healing could finally begin.

Producer: Conor Sweetman

Supervising Producer: Dan Semo

Music: Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound

For The Love of Blackfullas by Chelsea Watego

“It has always and only ever been love that binds us to each other and which fuels the fights we are forced to take up” says Chelsea Watego. This week we are talking about love and injustice, and it’s hard to talk about injustice without addressing the injustices in our own country, especially those faced by Aboriginal people in our own flawed legal system.

Our second story is an essay by Munanjahli and South Sea Islander academic and writer Chelsea Watego on the power of Black love.

CW: This story includes descriptions of racism and the names of people who have passed.

Written and read by Cheslea Watego

Edited by Mell Chun

This piece was originally written and recorded for The Sunday Paper.

All The Best credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Niko Plaskas

Social Media Producer: Emma Pham

Community and Events coordinator Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on All The Best we’re exploring the inner workings of the human mind. 

AIMI makes a Podcast by Danni Stewart 

AIMI is the host of a new podcast called Deep Meditations but she’s not your regular podcast host. Ryan set out to make a podcast produced entirely by Artificial Intelligence and AIMI is the result. 

Producer: Danni Stewart 

Subscribe to Deep Meditations wherever you listen to podcasts.

Lucid Dreaming by Peter Quattrocelli

Is it possible to control your dreams while you sleep? And if you could, what would you do? In this story, Peter finds out how wearable devices can help us harness our sleep in the hopes of achieving both the practical and the fantastic.

Producer: Peter Quattrocelli

Music: Epidemic Sounds

All The Best credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart

Social Media Producer: Emma Pham

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In books and films, trains are the setting for great journeys, romantic encounters and perilous adventures, but in our daily lives, they are just public transport; dirty, noisy and crowded. This week we have stories about trains and the very different places they hold in our imaginations.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode includes some heavy content and reference to suicide. Please listen with care. 

If you need support you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the suicide callback service on 1300 659 467. 

'Sidelines'

In our first story, Selina describes the scenes she witnessed on the Wynyard to North Ryde train line.

Producer: Selina Springett

'Steam Trains and Small Trains'

Our editorial manager, Mell, was in regional Victoria over the weekend, and encountered a handful of trains and train enthusiasts.

Producer: Mell Chun

'At The End Of The Rail'

In our last piece, Tim walks the tracks with his father and unpacks Australian mythology, masculinity, land and violence from a child's perspective. This poem is the opening to Tim's forthcoming verse memoir, ‘your father was a bastard’. You can find more of his work at timloveday.com

Written and Read by Tim Loveday

Sound Design: Mell Chun

All The Best credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Lochie Stevens

Social Media Producers:  Emma Pham

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on All The Best we’re exploring why we crave touch from each other and how that connection can be like a kind of therapy.

‘My Pre-COVID Cuddle’ by Lee Robinson

The lockdown rules last year left many feeling disconnected and devoid of physical contact. Now more than ever, some of us just want a hug.

Before COVID was a thing, Lee Robinson paid a visit to cuddle therapist Sarah Belle to explore the benefits of platonic touch in a 1-on-1 cuddle session.

This story was made as part of a series exploring Australians with interesting jobs, called Do Quit Your Day Job.

Producer: Lee Robinson

Supervising producer: Evrim Şen

Music: ‘Peacoat’, ‘Astrisx’, ‘Slimheart’ and ‘Diatom’ by Blue Dot Sessions

The Power Of Touch With Ms G by Jess Nitties 

Jess gives us a glimpse into the work of dermal therapist Geraldine Healy professionally known as Ms G Skinlife. Ms G highlights the power of connection through human touch and tells us about how she opens her doors to treat people with cancer for free each week. 

Producer: Jess Nitties

Music composed by Jess Nitties (pka Sparrows) @sparrowstunes

All The Best credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Sebastien Fijac

Social Media Producers:  Emma Pham

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we're cooking up a feast. Homemade noodles, thick and stretchy, boiled in lamb broth. Fresh egg tarts with warm, silky smooth custard, all washed down with a good glass of wine.

Dark Cherry, Limestone and Meat by Eugenia Zoubtchenko

Eugenia explores the rich universe of wine tasting

Music: ‘Corkscrew’ by Oren Ambarchi

Releasing Steam by Karen Cheng

Karen, a self-proclaimed cooking enthusiast, realises she doesn't know how to make food from her home country of Hong Kong. She enlists her dubious dad to teach her some of his favourite recipes.

Producer: Karen Cheng

Supervising Producer: Lea Redfern

Music: Leaving on a Jet Plane by Peter, Paul and Mary, Seven Years by Norah Jones and Lee Alexander, Sunrise by Norah Jones and Lee Alexander.

You can listen to the full version of Karen's story here.

Rewind, Replay by Claire Cao

Adult siblings make hand-pulled noodles for their parents. And as they pull and stretch the dough, the daughter reflects on her family, her hopes and her fears.

Storyteller: Claire Cao

Sound design: Persephone Waxman

Claire first told this story at Boundless festival of Indigenous and culturally diverse writers. You can listen back to All The Best episode #481 to hear more performances from the festival. 

All The Best credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Donny Janks

Social Media Producers:  Emma Pham

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mardi Gras Season is upon us so this week on All The Best we're asking the question, 'what does queer liberation look like?'

Our first story is a rerun from early 2018. In the months following the marriage equality plebiscite Ange talks to different LGBT+ people about their relationship with labels.

'Call Me Ange' by Angela Glindemann

Producer: Angela Glindemann

Supervising Producer: Bec Fary

Sound design: Lee Yee and Amy Hanley

Our next story comes from SPUN, a live storytelling event in the Northern Territory.

'My Birthday' by Teddy Suphannabutt

Written and performed by Teddy Suphannabutt

Supervising producer: Johanna Bell

All The Best credits

Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart

Social Media Producers:  Emma Pham

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we sadly bid farewell to our wonderful host Helenna. To round off her time at All The Best, Helenna is sharing of her favourite stories with us. 

'Get Behind Me Satan' by Mark Yin

In our first story, Mark asks the question 'Is Satanism a religion'? and finds out about the politics and misconceptions surrounding this organisation along the way.

Producer: Mark Yin

Supervising Producer: Evana Ho

Music: Winking Fox Music, GeriArt, and Sscheidl.

'Jellyfish' by Amalyah Hart

In this next story, Amalyah describes the weird and wonderful world of jellyfish and what warning signs they hold for our environment.

Producer: Amalyah Hart

Supervising Producer: Mell Chun

Music: Peloton and At the Crown/City Whistle by Merriware (Used with permission). Additional sound sourced from BBC Sound Archive.

'Exploration of Darkness' by Cristina Marras

In this last story Cristina explores the meaning of darkness through a series of conversations with friends.

Producer: Cristina Marras

Music by Epidemic Sound

Image from Unsplash

All The Best credits

Production Manager: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Host: Helenna Barone-Peters

Episode Mix and Compile: Thomas Phillips 

Social Media Producers:  Emma Pham

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever visited a place that really gave you the creeps? This week we’re going on a road trip, sharing stories of spooky places around the country.

📍 Our first stop is Jenolan where MJ and her sister had the worst sleep of their lives. 

Producer: MJ Bakewell.

📍 Up next we’re stopping off in Mudgee where Danni stayed at the oldest house in town. 

Producer: Danni Stewart 

📍 For our third stop we’re heading to Glenrowan where Daniel saw a very cursed animatronics show. 

Producer: Daniel Semo

📍For our final stop we’re ending our spooky journey in Canberra, Sam’s hometown which she discovers has a very haunted history. 

Producer: Samantha Groth 

Supervising Producer: Allison Chan 

All The Best credits

Production Manager: Danni Stewart

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Host: Helenna Barone-Peters

Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart

Social Media Producers:  Emma Pham

Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya Josifova

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.