All The Best

What do libraries mean to you?

All The Best partnered with the State Library of NSW to mark 200 years and to celebrate 60,000 years of storytelling. The live storytelling event was the Special Collections: A night of live storytelling at the Library Bar at the State Library of NSW. 

We heard so many beautiful stories on the night from the storytellers and the audience!

This is  just part 1! Look out for part 2!

History or Hoarding? by Rachael Cusick

In this first story, Rachel Cusick tells us about the whispers from the library quarters that go beyond the books you see on the bookshelves. 

That story was performed live by Rachel Cusick.  

What's really cool about this is that it was also a sneak peek into a new ABC podcast hosted by Annabel Crabb. 

You can listen to the first few episodes of  the podcast here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/history-or-hoarding-with-annabel-crabb

Three Poems by Nathan Mudyi Sentance

Award-winning Wiradjuri poet Nathan Mudyi Sentance returns to the site of his first job to read some poems that were connected to his time working there, where he noticed how libraries record and can rewrite culture.  

The poems were We Refuse to Be Shooed, The Diary That Lied and Too Quiet for the Living

Written and performed by Nathan Mudyi Sentance.  https://archivaldecolonist.org/about/

Write a letter by Rania Omar

Libraries are not just passive places; they are places to act. 

In this last story, we hear from another poet, Lebanese-Australian storyteller and activist Rania Omar, who urges us to etch ourselves into the personal and political page.

Written and performed by Rania Omar 

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Kwame Slusher is our Production Manager

Catarina Fraga Matos is our Community & Programming Manager

The All The Best Executive Producer is Mel Bakewell

Imogen Brosnan is our Digital Media Trainee

Patrick McKenzie writes our newsletter, and a special shout-out to all our amazing volunteers 

Shining Bird composed our theme music, and Annie Hamilton designed the artwork

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you hold on to the ones that you love? Is it through shared experiences or through objects?

This week, we hear about a grandad’s love for Christmas, we sit in the garden with Pappou, listen to a mum deciding where to put her grandma’s inherited item, a granddaughter remembering moments with her grandmother, and the small things that remind a granddaughter of her grandma. 

Between the stories, some of the  All the Best team share their own grandparent memories. (You have to listen! No Spoilers!)

Papou’s Garden  by Olivia Thoma

Olivia walks and talks with her Papou through his garden, and she sees how it helped him to make a new home.

Producer: Olivia Thoma

Featuring: Yiangos Thoma, with contributions from Andreas and Chloe Thoma

I’ll Always Remember by Rae Zhang

Sometimes it's not objects or recipes but ... a song.

When her grandmother's memory starts to fade, Rae realises that that its okay for her grandmother to forget, because she will always remember.

Producer: Rae Zhang 

Featuring: Jing Xiang

 Translation: Haozhen He

These stories were produced as part of a media unit at the University of Sydney - special thanks to Lea Redfern.

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Kwame Slusher is our Production Manager

Catarina Fraga Matos is our Community & Programming Manager

The All The Best Executive Producer is Mel Bakewell

Imogen Brosnan is our Digital Media Trainee

Patrick McKenzie writes our newsletter, and a special shout-out to all our amazing volunteers 

Shining Bird composed our theme music, and Annie Hamilton designed the artwork

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As adults, we think we’re too old for fairytales… but they hold such important lessons about strength, transformation and compassion. 

In this episode we listen to modern fairytales… a modern rendition of the ugly duckling, and a transformation in an enchanted forest.

Water Off a Swan’s Back by Persephone Waxman

In a modern retelling of an ugly duckling, Persephone reminds us that its all just water off a swans back.

Written & Produced by Persephone Waxman

Sound design and score by Julian Smith Gard

The Voice Actors were Persephone Waxman as Swanathon; Gabrielle Angelone as Sweenie; Sofia Morreale as Diana; Thomas Von Rein as Duckworth; Marceline Di Bartolomeo as Dr Ribbit; Mark Spencer as Geese 1; Alex Clouston and Thomas Khulmann as Geese 2 and 3

This story was produced as part of audio fiction collective Script Roulette, who are based in Naarm and want you to make radio plays with them. Check out https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/2026/festivals-and-series/play/script-roulette-podcast or their on their insta @scriptroulettepodcast

Where The Water Knows Your Name by Luca Gambirasio/Sound Commons Project

A wanderer takes a sip from a magical forest stream and wakes up in someone else’s feathers.

Because we all need to be taken care of sometimes, because really, we are all just reflections of one another. 

That story was produced by the Sounds Common Project  Find more of their work 

Writer, voice over, and composer Charity Rosario 

Producer and composer Luca Gambirasio 

This story was produced as part of All The Best’s 24 Hour Radio Race back in November 2025. 

Check out some previous episodes on the radio race https://allthebestradio.com/featured/617-beneath-the-surface/ ,  https://allthebestradio.com/featured/676-mirrored/  and the second story, Hook, Line & Sinker in https://allthebestradio.com/featured/622-sunburned/ 

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos 

Production Manager: Kwame Slusher

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins 

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to all our volunteers

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Firsts by Kwame Slusher

There are some firsts that not everyone shares, like going to an almost abandoned kafeneio in Marrickville, or being a chopper pilot. 

Sometimes, we just need a little adrenaline rush and a little courage to step outside ourselves and see what surprises await.

Produced by: Kwame Slusher

Dobrinja by Dan Semo

For some, home is filled with laughter; for others, it brings tears, or memories of the people who shaped us.

But for Dan, returning to his childhood home after 30 years, it felt distant and unrecognisable, its history revealed only in fragments.

“Room tour, old stories, fresh raspberries …  there was no blood, only a small mark ect straight to the heart.”

Produced by: Dan Semo for Audio Flux Circuit 04.

The First Test by Phoebe Steley 

We often imagine high school girls’ drama as something straight out of Mean Girls: petty, gossipy, and a little vengeful. Sometimes, we expect resolutions to look like the movies, too: tearful confessions, heartfelt apologies, maybe even a closure.

In this story, Charlotte and Izzy show us how conflict can be very different and how it brought them closer.

Often, the other person values the friendship just as much as you do…

Produced by: Phoebe Steley 

 I am the first by M. Cristina Marras 

Marble stairs echo. Voices fall silent. A great hall looming over. 

The family stood in rows of chairs, uneasy, the girl advanced as her world and their slowly widening.

“I cannot tell them that it's okay, that they are legit, that they do not have to hide behind. I am the first person in my family to be awarded a university degree.” 

Produced by: Cristina Marras for Audio Flux.

Meet me at the punchline by Ramon Briant

The recipe for a good laugh is a good punchline.

The question is: how can you make your punchline punching when it is in another language?

In this story, a successful first attempt to crack a joke in Spanish.

Note: This won’t make you a foreign-language punchline master, but you’ll get a few dad jokes - just as worthy for a laugh.

Produced by Ramon Briant

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Kwame Slusher is our Production Manager. 

Catarina Fraga Matos is our Community & Programming Manager

The All The Best Executive Producer is Mel Bakewell. 

Imogen Brosnan is our Digital Media Trainee,

Patrick McKenzie writes our newsletter, and a special shout-out to all our amazing volunteers 

Shining Bird composed our theme music, and Annie Hamilton designed the artwork. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From maintaining traditional handcrafting techniques to dressing up in the metaverse, to the evils of the fast-fashion industry.

Digital Fashion by Ariana Rigazzi 

Could online fashion shows be a sustainable future?

As the line between our physical and virtual lives continues to blur, a new world of fashion is starting to emerge ... and it exists entirely online

Produced by Ariana Rigazzi  

Supervising Producers: Persephone Waxman & Dan Semo. 

Produced as part of a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, the Science Gallery and All The Best in 2025. Special thanks to Louisa Lim. 

Can traditional handicraft survive fast fashion? by Zhian Zhou 

Leanne O’Sullivan is the founder of Kimono House in Melbourne. While living in Japan, she fell in love with traditional Japanese handicrafts like Sashiko and Boro.

 Produced by Zhian Zhou 

 Supervising Producer: Persephone Waxman. 

Forced Fashion by Natalie Yeoman

Natalie explores the forced fashion industry by following the production of one hoodie, from China to Bangladesh, and back home to Australia, and the exploitative work practices that come with it.

Produced by Natalie Yeoman

This story was made as part of USYD’s Radio and Podcasting unit. Special thanks to Lea Redfern. 

Want more from All The Best? Check out our Substack for a little bit of BTS!

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos 

Production Manager: Kwame Slusher

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins 

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to all our volunteers

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don’t talk about the water by Alissar Seyla

In this episode, we look at the concept of the homeland and diaspora.

That tension between familiarity and unease.

A young woman reflects on experiences in her homeland, Lebanon, and abroad, and struggles to find safety in either of those places amid escalating war.

Now, it is time to talk about the water.

Written and produced by: Alissar Seyla

Sound Design by: Tala Issaoui  

This story was originally commissioned by Debris Magazine for Issue 06: No! The co-editors were Jon Tjhia and Cher Tan. You can find out more about Debris Magazine here.

You can also check out the previous episode featuring the co-editors, John and Cher, here, featuring other excerpts from Issue 6.

Want more from All The Best? Check out our Substack for a little bit of BTS!

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos 

Production Manager: Kwame Slusher

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins 

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to all our volunteers

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Conservation Champion for Cheetham by Sandra Wilson

Bernie McCarrick, a former Parks Victoria ranger and site manager of Cheetham Saltworks, reflects on his role in transforming a former industrial site into a thriving wetland ecosystem. Alongside insights from Dr Mike Weston, the story reveals how careful water management and decades of on-the-ground knowledge sustain critical bird habitats.

Produced by: Sandra Wilson

Supervising Producer: Sarah Mashman. 

Key’s Matchstick Grasshopper by Ruijie Tang

In this story, the matchstick grasshopper’s grand comeback.

Following efforts led by Ary Hoffman to rediscover and protect the matchstick grasshopper — a species thought to have disappeared from Victoria after decades of habitat loss — his team draws on historical records and fieldwork to track the insect to a surviving population and begin the delicate process of rebuilding its numbers through conservation and translocation.

Produced by: JJ Tang

Supervising Producer: Thomas Phillips

Special thanks to Louisa Lim. 

Water Trial by Renate Millonig

Amid a devastating algal bloom along South Australia’s coast, Renate shares a haunting poem capturing the grief of witnessing mass marine death. 

“ In every breath we share, in every drop we drink.”

Written and Read by: Renate Millonig

Recorded by: Mel Bakewell.

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos 

Production Manager: Kwame Slusher

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins 

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to all our volunteers

Protest_Zara_Day_22-03-2009.wav by eraylik -- https://freesound.org/s/69954/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Stone, A Knife, A Flame by Joshua Santospirito

Washing, scrubbing, rinsing, drying, wiping, wetting, drying. These mundane acts led Joshua to reflect so much more.

Through his kitchen, the everyday collides with resistance and violence, as he invites us to question what it means to act in the world.

Tip: Listen to this while washing your dishes for the immersive thought process.

That story was written and performed by Joshua Santospirito as part of a graphic storytelling event run by Papercuts Comics Festival on Kaurna  Land in 2025. 

Crime of Ration by Miles Mazzocato 

Putting pressure on ourselves to be perfect is a common thing…sometimes at the expense of yourself and those around you.

In this story, an apprentice’s obsession with being a perfect cook quietly begins to take over everything else.

Remember, sometimes it takes more than techniques to make a perfect steak an enjoyable meal.

Written by Miles Mazzocato. 

Performed by Chloe Spanos and Helen Grimley. 

Sound design by Miles Martignoni.

Recorded by Ewan Maccoll at Extra(ordinary) Tales, a live storytelling collaboration between All The Best and Read To Me supported by the City of Sydney. 

Story 3: Lentil Tahini Stew by Snack Syndicate

Need dinner ideas? A Tahini lover? You are at the right place.

In this story, a recipe becomes a love language in this warm, sensory piece from Snack Syndicate, where lentil tahini stew is more than just a dish—it is a joint creation shaped by two lovely voices.

Time to get some tahini.

That story from the archives was produced by Snack Syndicate. It was originally commissioned by Debris Magazine for their issue The Urge To Know.

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos 

Production Manager: Kwame Slusher

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins 

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to all our volunteers

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes moving forward is all about realising that you’ve got the power to write your own narrative. 

This week you’ll hear stories about people facing down their own internal narratives that threaten to keep them quiet and small.  

Like a Preacher by Idayat Jinadu 

As a young girl, Idayat is scared to speak her mind. She stutters. But as she becomes an adult, she grows to realise her stutter isn’t an impediment, and that it’s time she claimed her voice, like a preacher. 

Produced by Idayat Jinadu. 

Sound design by Mel Bakewell

The Supervising Producer was Evana Ho. 

Ayla by Carey Scheer

This next story is from the amazing Purple Orange podcast that centers  narratives around people living with a disability. 

Ayla Regione spent years hiding her deafness, trying to “keep up”, and pushing through without asking for what she needed. When barriers got in her way, she blamed herself.

Produced by Carey Scheer 

And an extra special thanks to Ayla Regione for sharing their story.  

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos 

Production Manager: Kwame Slusher

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to all our volunteers 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we focus on Khaled’s story, which offers insight into hope amid conflict. From Yemen to Tasmania, Khaled recalls his journey through university study and creative pursuits in a very different environment from the one he once called home. 

Khaled from Yemen by 177 Nations 

That story was from the 177 Nations Podcast. 177 Nations is produced by Mark Thompson from Lutruwita, so-called Tasmania. 

Edits for this episode were by Ruijie Tang and Mel Bakewell. 

You can hear more episodes of 177 Nations wherever you get your podcast, or by checking out Mark’s site here.

If you want to know more about what’s happening at All the Best, check out our Substack! It’s a round-up of all our activities ... with a little bit of BTS.

All The Best Credits

Host: Gabriella Accaria

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos 

Production Manager: Kwame Slusher

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout-out to all our volunteers.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.