In this episode, we plumb the unconscious realms of the Braided team, from their earliest memories to their recent, quarantine dreams.

Georgia Wilmott gathers the dreams of her fellow Braided producers, along with some of her own, to bring us one fantastical, giant dream. ‘Dominoes With Toast’ takes you into our personal dream-tributaries, and to the collective dreams we make together, while we are apart.

Every morning, when Georgia wakes, she has a story to tell. She is a prolific, vivid dreamer. But while she’s always had an interest in our nightly odysseys, she decided, during Covid19, to bring us a portrait of dreams under lockdown.

Vivid dreams have been a well-reported phenomenon of lockdown the world over. Many have noticed a change in the tone, quantity or content of their dream, spawning twitter hashtags like #quaran-dreams, #coronadreams, and #pandemicdreams. Confined to our homes, the far reaches and landscapes of dreams may be the furthest we venture; they are, after all, the places in which we can freely move.

Also this episode, we hear the second instalment of Reggie’s Update: missives from their desk during lockdown. Reggie reflects on the past, a time when they were standing in the front yard of youth services. 

Credits:

Memories from Georgia, Danny, Reggie.

Dreams from Georgia, Reggie, Jenny, Udhara and Danny.

With music from Danny Hillyer.

‘To be honest it’s driving me slightly insane. I feel like the world is collapsing … I understand why we have to do it, I just feel like it’s harder day in, day out…’ — Reggie

In this first episode of Braided Season 2: A Little Life During Lockdown, the show’s producers reach out to one another across a quieter, hushed city bracing itself for the uncertainties of the weeks ahead. They speak of their days, their fears; the work they miss; the physicality of friends, or of getting one’s hair braided. ‘But I feel more connected to people through this [pandemic] than I do apart.’

This is the sound of Braided in lockdown, as the makers share news of their buzzing fridges; the saving grace of Animal Crossing; and the peculiar camaraderie of this solitary time.

Join hosts Matisse Laida and Agum Maluach as they introduce you to the other members of the Braided team: Georgia Willmott, Reggie Chang, Kim Handley, Danny Hillyer, Mary, and Elijah Augustine.

Scattered around Melbourne’s inner and outer suburbs, the group connect over phone calls, video chats, and for virtual story meetings that become as much about themselves and each other, as the stories they’ll go on to tell throughout the series. These are, after all, stories from lockdown—the things that have occupied their hours, their thoughts; the things they have chosen to hold up to the microphone—to shed light on, as it were, in darker times.Also this episode, we hear the first instalment of ‘Reggie’s Update’, one of many missives from Reggie’s desk you’ll hear throughout the season. The update for the month of May makes mention of a meteor shower, a queen bed, and a tenor saxophone.

Welcome to Braided Season 2: A Little Life Under Lockdown, launching August 5th 2020. This season, we bring you six episodes that take you inside the homes and lives of a group of young people, set against the backdrop of Melbourne in the early months of the coronavirus lockdowns. 

Welcome to Braided Season 2: A Little Life Under Lockdown, launching August 5th 2020. This season, we bring you six episodes that take you inside the homes and lives of a group of young people, set against the backdrop of Melbourne in the early months of the coronavirus lockdowns. 

In our season 1 finale of Braided, we hear from Aaron B as he recounts how his past experiences have shaped who he is today. Music has always been a part of Aaron’s life, from singing as a child to learning how to play guitar as a teenager, it’s been a way to communicate thoughts and feelings without having to just use words.

In this heartfelt episode, we take a journey through Aaron’s repertoire and hear the how these songs score the events of his life, showing the unique ability of music to share our inner pain to the outside world.

How can we communicate what we can’t see? It’s a problem we run into a lot with talking about mental illness since – unlike a broken arm or leg – there’s no straightforward way of physically representing emotional pain. So, how can we make these feelings more relatable, and thus understandable?

In this episode of Braided, Georgia Willmott asks two participants what would happen if their mental illness, as a character, entered their house. Alongside 2 participants, we embark on a journey into a tangible representation of their mental illness, hearing the physical and emotional aspects of their “guest” and how it affects their lives.

All of us experience reality differently based on our backgrounds, experiences and relationships, and mental illness can make it even more difficult to discern what’s going on for ourselves and other people. This episode, however, questions our pre-existing understandings of mental illness in an effort to better understand – and empathize – what people go through.

Home Invasion was produced by Georgia Willmott with mixing and editing help from Michelle Macklem at Artful Dodgers Studios in Melbourne, Australia.

Georgia would like to thank her family, friends and her social worker for supporting her through the making of this podcast. She couldn’t have done it without them and their wisdom. She would also like to thank the participants and the crew for being courageous and amazing. This was definitely a work of collaboration and everyone involved either indirectly or directly are very much appreciated. 

If anyone has listened to this and feel like might need mental health support, here are a few suggestions to get started:

headspace – an Australian non-profit organisation for youth mental health. Check out the website and you can contact the nearest centre to you.Kids Helpline – Australia’s only free, private and confidential 24/7 phone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25. Call 1800 55 1800 or check out the website. Beyond Blue – an Australian independent non-profit organisation working to address issues associated with mental disorders. Check out the website for more details. Lifeline – a non-profit organisation that provides free, 24-hour Telephone Crisis Support service in Australia. Call 13 11 14

Braided is hosted by Agum Maluach and Aaron B.

For more information on this episode, visit braidedpodcast.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates and extras.

Music can act like a backing track for our lives, providing context and insight into our pasts and memories. For Dut Garang, songwriting is a way to talk about his stories and the people in his life. He collaborates with his friend Cassie to make these stories come to life through sound.

Dut’s song “Up All Night” is an exploration of an important relationship in his past, but with a very present emotional sensibility. As Dut and Cassie write and record this song, this piece reflects on the role music plays in our lives. How do we communicate our stories through lyrics and melodies?

Up All Night was produced by Dut Garang with Joel Supple at Artful Dodgers Studios in Melbourne, Australia.

Braided is hosted by Agum Maluach and Aaron B.

For more information on this episode, visit braidedpodcast.com.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates and extras.

About a year and a half ago, Kaeleb Ngatai was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. He’s struggled with the ups and downs of depressed periods throughout his life, but this diagnosis put a new name to something that’s a part of him. Being diagnosed hasn’t meant that Kaeleb’s found the cure to an illness; instead, it’s marked the start of a slow process that recognises a gift he’s had all along. He’s getting closer to knowing who he is and the potential of what he can do – even if it’s not always a clear path forward.

In this episode, Kaeleb takes us through that journey and how its affected his perceptions, sense of self and connection to the world around him, asking: how do you find yourself … when you don’t feel like yourself?

The Bipolar Experience was produced by Kaeleb Ngatai with Jon Tjhia at Artful Dodgers Studios in Melbourne, Australia.

Braided is hosted by Agum Maluach and Aaron B.

For more information on this episode, visit braidedpodcast.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates and extras.

Australia is a country full of immigrants and contains a vibrant culture of young people from overseas working and traveling throughout the country. But what attracts people to come here?

Udhara was born in Australia so she doesn’t quite get the appeal of actively choosing to move here. But now in her twenties she’s encountered and befriended many people who’ve moved to Melbourne from overseas, and she’s continually curious about why.

In this episode, Udhara searches for explanations and tries to answer a daily pickle: why choose to move to Australia despite the insurmountable odds and effort it takes to stay?

Daily Pickle was produced by Udhara Samarasekara with Michelle Macklem at Artful Dodgers Studios in Melbourne, Australia.

Braided is hosted by Agum Maluach and Aaron B.

For more information on this episode, visit braidedpodcast.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates and extras.

A desert flower must be strong and robust to survive, able to withstand roaring winds and drought-filled days. But it also offers optimism to those who encounter it; it shows the possibilities of life even in the harshest environments.

Zeinab Mourad relates to this flower. Even though she was born in Australia and hasn’t lived anywhere else, the climate here can feel, at times, unkind and raw. But it’s finding strength in herself and the symbols that inhabit her life – like the flower – that have given her the fearlessness to pursue a life full of meaning. From the poetic to the personal, Zeinab ruminates on what it means to truly be ‘Australian’ in a nation founded on violent colonial myth, asking those around her, what is home?

Like the desert flower, Zeinab’s exploration of home asks, how do you find hope in an environment that feels hostile?

The Ocean and the Desert Flower was produced by Zeinab Mourad with Bethany Atkinson-Quinton at Artful Dodgers Studios in Melbourne, Australia.

Braided is hosted by Agum Maluach and Aaron B.

For more information on this episode, visit braidedpodcast.com.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates and extras.