A comment at a funeral pushes Toby Hemmings to discover what his grandfather, Bill Hoddinott, recorded on reel-to-reel tapes back in the 1960s. What he finds are fragments of Aboriginal languages from long ago – can you revive a language from such little material?

Remember my words

Eavesdrop on life as it's lived. Earshot brings you intimate stories exploring the human experience.

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Full of hope, botox and impossible dreams, beauty queens are judged on their beauty, sincerity and smarts. They promise world peace in exchange for fame, fortune and adoration. That’s the pact contestants make with the faceless owners of glittering pageants.

An Unattainable Promise | Beauty queens who want to save the world

Oscar Berry is 24 and has a rare genetic disorder, speech disability, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. He might have a “dodgy chromosome” as his mum Kim says, but he’s gregarious, lives for the gym and his weekend activities, and is dying to move in with his mates. But when Oscar got his new NDIS plan in April, those dreams blew apart.

A Promise Frayed | When Oscar was promised the world

Imagine facing death with no next of kin and no funds to pay for your funeral.  In Victoria you’ll end up in the care of Alan Barr at the Old Ballan Cemetery. He’s made a promise to people like this, who often become State Trustees, to provide a dignified end to their lives.

When Miyuki Jokiranta finally finds her friend, Monika, a State Trustee who died during the pandemic, she meets Alan, the keeper of the forgotten souls

A Silent Promise | The keeper of forgotten souls

Promise me you won’t walk out of our restaurant, quit on our kids, run from our poverty, ignore our autism, ADHD or alopecia, or be defeated by our pandemic-induced loss of home and income.

If author Naomi Hart had known the marriage vows that had tripped off her tongue so easily 14 years ago would come to mean all this, would she ever have said them in the first place?

You will laugh, cringe and cry as Naomi and her husband Gregory share the story of their marriage.

A Promise Stretched | Marry me marry my ADHD

Susan Lester inadvertently entered a world of political and corporate corruption when she was made the promise of a lifetime by one of Tasmania’s most powerful businessmen. 

When she signed a contract with Edmund Rouse to paint 200 watercolours of birds she had no idea it would be a decision that would overwhelm her and her artistic career.

Remember my words

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