All The Best

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.

This week’s episode is one of those love stories that spans years and countries. 

177 Nations of Tasmania: Ana From Panama 

First, Ana fell in love with ballet at her home in Panama City. 

This passion for dance will take her all over Cuba in the Caribbean, where, at an arts college, she would meet her second love, Elias.  

This beautiful story will take you from the closed borders and cancelled flights of COVID to seeing Anna as a young mother in Tasmania trying to make a new life while preserving her culture and identity. 

This story was originally published on 177 Nations of Tasmania, produced by Mark Thomson. To hear the full episode, head to www.markthomsonmedia.com or search ‘177 Nations’ wherever you get your podcasts.

With additional editing by Jespher Wen.

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.

This week, two adventures into the uncharted seas of life.

Serendipity 海上的人 by Sharon Wongosari

After her lupus diagnosis, Sharon lost what she once held most precious: career opportunities, productivity, and the efficiency that once defined her. Yet in losing them, she discovered a self beyond those qualities and began to reclaim her life.

She now credits her friends, family, and her spiritual guide - Mazu, the Taoist ocean goddess she prays to.

As red crescent blocks strike the ground, fortune poems are revealed, and prayers are answered. 

We are all 海上的人 (people on the ocean), drifting through uncharted seas, carried by chaotic waves of serendipity.

Produced by: Sharon Wongosari

Supervising Producer: Dan Semo

Antarctica by Dylin Hardcastle

At 17, Dylin faced her first psychotic episode, learning too early that life is both fragile and finite. 

Then writing became her vessel, carrying her from psych wards to Antarctica, where she witnessed glaciers breaking, whales surfacing, and history dissolving into the sea. 

Her story is a reminder that even at the edge of endings, the tide always carries us toward more life.

Written and performed by Dylin Hardcastle 

music by Elizabeth Jigalin

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.

This week, stories about what’s going into your mouth.

Avocado by Michael Sun

This story follows Michael’s bizarre coming-of-age journey - stuffed with avocados, awkward dates, and complicated moments with his mom. Born with a big mouth and having a “stronger-than-average immune system”, he went on to claim a Guinness World Record by devouring 20 avocados in a minute - and then so much more.

So, are you ready to devour 21 avocados in a minute?

Produced by Michael Sun 

Supervising producer was Allison Chan

Sound design by Mia Hull

Eating and Order by Rania Omar

This story traces Rania’s journey through a lifelong struggle with eating disorders, shaped by racism, sexism, and impossible beauty standards.

From childhood fears of food as an enemy, to panic attacks in the snack aisle, to a bowl of shish barak she made for herself, Rania slowly learns to reclaim her plate, her body, and her joy.

You are not just what you eat, you are who you are.

Produced by Rania Omar

Supervising producer was Sophie Ellis

Additional mixing by Zac Pennington.

Dark Cherry, Limestone and Meat by Eugenia Zoubtchenko

This is a story with lots of fermenting, sipping, and the drinkers ‘ahhhh’.

Navigating the vineyard with Eugenia, we witness the magic as each barrel brews fermented potions of raspberries, dark cherries, smoky earth, and even fairy floss.

P.S Next time, if a friend accuses you of being an alcoholic, be sure to tell them you are just ‘oenophilic’.

Produced by Eugenia Zoubtchenko

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programs and Community Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Artwork: Ruijie Tang 

Mixed and Compiled by Emma Higgins

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird

Special shout out to Ray, Sue, Lindsay, Andrew and Ash

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s episode takes us through a war and typhoons in South East Asia and the Asia Pacific. 

This week’s episode takes us through a war and typhoons in South East Asia and the Asia Pacific. We learn what a typhoon looks like through the eyes of a child and how even a story of war can be used to talk about the ones we love.  

Tubig Lang 

The first story takes us to the Philippines, where Merlinda sits down with her brother’s children—her niece and nephews —and learns to see the destructive power of typhoons through their innocent eyes. 

Written and Performed by Merlinda Bobis

Supervising Producer Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Sound Design by Tala Issaoui

We Are Gathered Here Today

In our second and final story, Annabella helps her mother reach back through time to (re)member and retell her story of the Vietnam War.  

Written and Produced by Annabella Luu

Supervising Producer Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Sound Design by Ramon Briant

All The Best Credits

Host: Kwame Slusher

Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell

Programs and Community Coordinator: Phoebe Adler-Ryan

Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie

Artwork: Ruijie Tang

Photo: Children survivors of superstorm Yolanda or Haiyan. At the Cabalawan Transitional Shelter, Tacloban, Philippines, 2015

Mixed and Compiled by Emma Higgins

Theme Music composed by Shining Bird 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.