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Do you like scary stories? This week we go trick-or-treating! Though, to be honest, it's probably more trick than treat.    Permission To Call by Lindsey Vassallo  Lindsey shares an eerie story about a phone call. Performed by Lindsey Vassallo Sound design by Catarina Fraga Matos  Music from Nicked by Blue Dot Sessions    The Urn by Jay Gasser Sometimes not knowing what is under the surface is a good thing.  If there were an urn buried in your backyard, would you know about it? Produced by Jay Gasser Features: Natalie Ngo   Sleep Paralysis/Duppy by Kwame Slusher  Sometimes the line between dreaming and the real world is hard to discern.  Sometimes an experience can feel so real that it probably doesn't matter.   Produced by Kwame Slusher  Music from Arizona Moon by Blue Dot Sessions   An Un-haunted Story by Nili Javid  Sometimes, no matter how much you want it to happen, that other-worldly experience just never happens for you.   Performed by Nili Javid  Sound design by Kwame Slusher  Music from Curious Kepler & Delgadezo by Blue Dot Sessions  Special thanks to Melanie Bakewell and Catarina Fraga Matos for support on this story.   Pssst...there is still time to register for the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2027   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Theme Music composed by Shining Bird And a special shout-out to all our volunteers!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"...as an act of justice doing and expressing how much I care for them, and I guess also the sacredness of all life in witnessing and experiencing multiple genocides and affrontations of, like, what's happening on these lands I think navigating grief as an act of love maybe gave me a sense of autonomy and being able to move through with a, with a bit more grace and not letting it subsume me all of the time." -  Shareeka Helaluddin    This week we are showcasing our final story from the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship (JCAF).   In this special episode, we observe grief and the cultural nuances around the way we observe the passing of a loved one. We also have an extra-special interview before the story with Shareeka and a surprise guest! We also have an extra-special interview before the story with Shareeka and a surprise guest! (Extra special thanks to Dhaksh Raj Sooriya for coming into the studio.)😎 Content warning: This story covers themes of grief, genocide, colonial erasure, alongside life transitions and loss.   A Litany of Heavenly Bodies by Shareeka Helaluddin  How do we feed our hungry ghosts, of futures forgotten and unlived?  A sonic archive of mourning and reprieve assembled from field recordings, intimate conversations, voice notes, grief songs and multilingual fragments. This work asks what it means to make grief an act of justice - to consider whose lives are grievable, whose deaths are remembered, and what happens when communities reclaim or reinvent the rituals that have been displaced by colonial violence and isolation.   CREDITS  This story was produced, sound designed and composed by Shareeka Helaluddin and the  Supervising Producer and JCAF Mentor: Farz Edraki  This story features the voices of Nawa Sybico; Dhaksh Raj Sooriya; Rajani Helaluddin Artwork by Kata szász-komlós  Special thanks also to Darren Lesaguis and Priya Panchalingam.   JCAF Credits Our gratitude and thanks to the friends and family of Jesse Cox, and to everyone who made JCAF 2026 possible. JCAF 2026 Fellows: Ramon Briant, Shareeka Helaluddin, Tessa Campisi and Anna Outridge JCAF 2026 Mentors: Ian Walker, Farz Edraki, Liz Keen and Jon Tjhia Workshop Facilitators: Janak Rogers, Belinda Lopez, Jon Tjhia, Camilla Hannan, Sophie Townsend, Mell Chun, Wing Kuang. Special thanks to our executive producer Mel Bakewell! Psst ... if you have an impactful story to tell, apply now to our Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship!   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher All The Best Intern: Nili Javid  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird And a special shout-out to all our volunteers!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is this Tolstoy quote from Anna Karenina, "All Happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."  I've always struggled with this binary. This idea of happiness or unhappiness as somehow being fixed states. No nuance.  I think real families, ones outside Russian fiction, exist on a more complex spectrum.     Notes To A Sister by Anna Outridge  Sisters Anna and Jordyn are house-sitting for their parents for two weeks. This is the longest time they’ve spent together in ten years. As they inhabit the rooms once occupied by younger versions of themselves, they reflect on the memories they shared in this home, the things that brought them together, and the things that tried to pull them apart. Producer: Anna Outridge  Co-producer: Jordyn Moore  Mentor and Supervising Producer: Jon Tjhia  Original score and composition: Kenneth King @kenny_king_music This story was made possible by the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship.  Special thanks to Daniel Nasrealla for the final mix.     JCAF Credits Our gratitude and thanks to the friends and family of Jesse Cox, and to everyone who made JCAF 2026 possible. JCAF 2026 Fellows: Ramon Briant, Shareeka Helaluddin, Tessa Campisi and Anna Outridge JCAF 2026 Mentors: Ian Walker, Farz Edraki, Liz Keen and Jon Tjhia Workshop Facilitators: Janak Rogers, Belinda Lopez, Jon Tjhia, Camilla Hannan, Sophie Townsend, Mell Chun, Wing Kuang. JCAF Program Facilitator: Mel Bakewell   Psst ... if you have an impactful story to tell, apply now to our Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship!   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher All The Best Intern: Nili Javid  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird And a special shout-out to all our volunteers!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship takes us outside.  There is some change we can’t do anything about, some change that we can, and some change that feels so big that for some it's hard to see where they fit within it.    I think the story is about how different kinds of people interpret and integrate their experience of change in a landscape that they love and know well. And I think that landscapes are more than just physical places. I think they exist in the collective imaginary made up of all the different stories and memories that many, many people hold of a place. -  Tessa Campisi View From A Mountain in Motion by Tessa Campisi  Perched on the edge of the Victorian Alps, up a long, winding road, lies an old, granite plateau which these days is known as Mt Buffalo. Beyond its physical geography, Mt Buffalo lies someplace out there in the collective imaginary, held together by a patchwork of memory and story. But things are changing in the Alps, and what was once known edges towards the unfamiliar. If we  look out across the arc of time, from the deep past through the present, and nudge our gaze towards the future – what do we see? And where do we see ourselves.     CREDITS  Producer: Tessa Campisi  Mentor and Supervising Producer: Liz Keen  Featuring: Jacqui Durrant; Anna Langford; Keith Brettargh; John Dalbosco; Anthony Romano Music by Blue Dot Sessions  Archival Audio: “A Kiss by Lake Catani” by Johnny Wade and His Hawaiians (1939); “Alpine Playground” (1963), Australian Tourism Development Commission. Archival audio from the ACMI Collection, Australian Centre for the Moving Image.    This story was produced with the support of the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship. –  JCAF Credits Our gratitude and thanks to the friends and family of Jesse Cox, and to everyone who made JCAF 2026 possible. JCAF 2026 Fellows: Ramon Briant, Shareeka Helaluddin, Tessa Campisi and Anna Outridge JCAF 2026 Mentors: Ian Walker, Farz Edraki, Liz Keen and Jon Tjhia Workshop Facilitators: Janak Rogers, Belinda Lopez, Jon Tjhia, Camilla Hannan, Sophie Townsend, Mell Chun, Wing Kuang. JCAF Program Facilitator: Mel Bakewell   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher All The Best Intern: Nili Javid  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird And a special shout-out to all our volunteers! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we are featuring our first story from our Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2026!  More than 15 Years ago, Jesse Cox co-developed an incredible audio narrative program on fbi.radio called All The Best.   JCAF is an audio mentorship program, pretty one-of-a-kind, championing the kind of work and spirit our show's co-founder upheld and honouring his legacy.   After the Storm, Episode 1 - Arrivals by Ramon Briant  Ramon brings us a Black Mirror-esque vision of Sydney.   In 2075, a jaded ex-revolutionary is called back to Australia to complete his mission, but must avoid detection and navigate the world he left behind to be reunited with the ones he loves. After The Storm is an original audio fiction written and produced by Ramon Briant. The mentor and supervising producer was Ian Walker.  Starring:  Indiana Kwong as Alex, Tabitha Lafernis as the Robots Voice and Ad woman, Vinay Seethamraju as the customs officer, Catarina Fraga Matos as the news reader, Aileen Hyuyn as Sonia and Ramon Briant as Forest.  This episode was produced with the support of All The Best and The Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship.    Shout-outs! Thank you to the friends and family of Jesse Cox, and to everyone who made JCAF 2026 possible.  Our  JCAF 2026 Fellows were Ramon Briant, Shareeka Helaluddin, Tessa Campisi and Anna Outridge The JCAF Mentors were Ian Walker, Farz Edraki, Liz Keen and Jon Tjhia The Workshop facilitators were Janak Rogers, Belinda Lopez, Jon Tjhia, Camilla Hannaan, Sophie Townsend, Mell Chun and Wing Kuang.  And the Program facilitator was our executive producer, Mel Bakewell.   Pssst! Applications for the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship 2027 are open. Just head over to the All The Best Radio website. Keep an ear out for the announcement of JCAF listening party to hear excerpts from the JCAF 2026 participants.     Join ATB! If you are looking to jump-start your radio career, applications for a Digital Trainee to go between All The Best at fbi.radio and The Wire at 2SER are open.   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher All The Best Intern: Nili Javid  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird And a special shout-out to all our volunteers! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sooooo ...  the best way to think of this episode is a bit like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.   But instead of there being a bereaved scientist obsessed with resurrection, we have a monster of a story stuck together from different audio body parts made by audio makers from all over the world.   Our Programming and Community Coordinator Catarina Fraga Matos breaks down the way the audio corpse works:     Here's how the audio corpse works. Storytellers received a prompt to create a short audio story up to three minutes long. But here's the catch. The prompt they receive, it's only the last 10 seconds of the story that came before. So they take that tiny fragment and use it as an inspiration for an entirely new piece that has to be made in 48 hours, and that continues the story in some way.   Special shout-out to M.Cristina Marras for kicking off this idea for All The Best and to our amazing All The Best Intern Nili Javid for stitching all the audio corpses together.   Head Produced by M.  Cristina Marras  –  Neck  Monster by Felicity Weaver, Oliver Seymour and Carrie Zhang  Production and sound design by: Felicity Weaver and Oliver Seymour Written and narrated by: Carrie Zhang  Music/SFX: Pixabay; Pixabay; Pixabay; Pixabay  – Chest Produced by Silvi Van Wall  – Arms  Produced by Craig Garrett  Music/SFX: Freesound Community; Epidemic Sound (ES); Pixabay (Universfield; Soul Serenity Sounds; Dragon-Studio; PWLPL); Library of Congress (USA); BBC Sound Archives (via the BBC Sounds and BBC Rewind platforms). All other SFX found and/or recorded and produced by Craig Garrett. –  Hands The Birds by Alice Garner  Producer: Alice Garner Cellist: Alice Garner Voice Actors: David Bowers, Alice Garner  – Torso “Stop, Think, What's That Sound?” by Lindsey Vassallo, Imogen Brosnan, Dina Dewnarain, Liliana Occhiuto Produced by: Lindsey Vassallo; Imogen Brosnan; Dina Dewnarain; Liliana Occhiuto Sound Design by: Lindsey Vassallo; Liliana Occhiuto  Voice Actors: Lindsey Vassallo (Commissioner); Imogen Brosnan (Agent 945); Dina Dewnarain (French woman); Simba Nguyen (Train Conductor); Henry Ung (Entrance Guard) – Legs Produced by Jay Gasser  – Feet Produced by Hethre Contant   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher All The Best Intern: Nili Javid  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird And a special shout-out to all our volunteers! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speculative fiction is all about reimagining the world.  Taking something ordinary, turning it upside down, and asking, 'What if?'   Pigeon Empathy by Alby Bennett So, quick question ... How do you feel about pigeons?  Pigeons - basic, don’t you think? Scuttling about, cooing vacantly. But in this here audio fiction, they have a secret life. Producer Alby says: “Prepare to emerge from Pigeon Empathy with a new perspective on not only pigeons, but reality itself.”  Producer: Alby Bennett Tutor / Supervising Producer: Danni Stewart Voicework: Benji Mckay Music: Blue Dot Sessions (Corner Store; Highway 104; Lakkalia; No Two Ways) SFX: Beating wings.wav by juskiddink; BIRDSong_Park.Pigeons.Cooing.Flapping wings.Human voices.Traffic 3_EM.wav by newlocknew.; Creepy static fade out into a low hiss from microphone by PantherK.; Domestic Dove Coo by haulaway.; Static Burst 2 by SilverIllusionist   iPad by Joyce de Badts Have you ever had someone you care about no longer be a part of your life and you wonder what they are up to?  Producer: Joyce de Badts  Voicework: Helena De Groot Supervising Producer: M. Cristina Marras     The Looking Glass by Keyari Page This last story comes from our second annual 24-hour radio race. The premise is that a number of audio producers gather at fbi.radio or online and are given a theme.   They spend a little time brainstorming… and then they have  24 hours to have a story finished and submitted.  The theme for this race was Mirrored.  In this audio science-fiction story, Keyari Page explores the idea of someone facing their own reflection.    Extras  You can check out  our Mirrored episode here And here are more  stories from our 24 Radio Race on our Substack   And if you really love audio challenges we are having a listening party for our recent audiocorpse.    And ... pssst ...  if you'd like you'd like to work with the All the Best team and The Wire we are hiring a new Digital Trainee!   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher All The Best Intern: Nili Javid  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird And a special shout-out to all our volunteers!     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we explore taking unnecessary risks, being in the wrong place at the wrong time and how you and your friends can remember the same events very differently. Like very, very differently.    The Medina by Patrick Lazzar Our first story takes us to Egypt.  When the hustle and bustle of the Medina, a chaotic market in the heart of the city centre, becomes all too overwhelming, a stranger offers to show Seamus and his friend Alex  a "secret leather market." Producer: Patrick Lazzar  Supervising Producer: Nicholas Doring  Featuring: Seamus McDyre Tutor: Camilla Hannan     Routine Traffic Stop by Eleanor Crosby-Hardman In a small Victorian town, Craig, on his way to work, finds himself in the middle of a real-life police drama and ends up on the other side of the car crash of a lifetime. Producer: Eleanor Crosby-Hardman Peer Supervising Producer:  Ellie Starkiss Featuring: Craig Hardman Tutor: Dylan Bird   As We Remember It by Alannah Kein Have you ever had that experience where you realise that your memory of an event doesn't match anyone else's version of the story? April 10th, 2026. A night in Adelaide city for Gather Round. As they retraced one night, their stories of the event began to conflict in surprising ways. Through a seemingly simple story of friends, football and beverages, this audio piece explores a bigger question. Are our memories a record of the truth, or simply the stories we come to believe as such? Producer: Alannah Kein  Peer Supervising Producer: Saro Blaikie Featuring: Michaela Kein; Leo Hemsley; Abhay Narsai Tutor: Dylan Bird   Don't forget to check out our Substack! All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher All The Best Intern: Nili Javid  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Episode Tile: Jennifer Ibe And a special shout-out to all our volunteers!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we are exploring the liminal spaces. Looking for answers between what we think that we know and the unknown spaces.  Between Two Worlds by Olivia Wright What’s your take on card readings, psychics and traditional understanding of fate and spirituality?   Producer Olivia takes on a journey to explore the realm of psychics and why people are drawn to them. Producer: Olivia Wright  Supervising Producer: Thomas Phillips  Featuring: Michelle Buckley; Callum Moloney Navigating a grief by Isaure Duruy  Sometimes new understandings of the world can come through dealing with the passing of a loved one.  Theo talks to producer Isaure about his experience of the passing of his mother from cancer.   Producer: Isaure Duruy Supervising Producer: Thomas Phillips  Featuring: Theo Schwartzmann Funeral Trees by Fionn McCabe Coming to see the world in a new way can come from a simple misunderstanding.   Fionn’s attempt to explain the death of a loved one to his son creates a new and beautiful understanding.    Written and read by Fionn McCabe Producer: Zacha Rosen    This story was originally published on Or It Didn’t Happen, an audio fiction radio show from fbi.radio’s archives.    Stargazing by Jiali Hong Do you ever just sit still at night and just look at the stars?  It's probably pretty hard to do if you live in the city, but if you get out of the city, into the bush on a clear night, you might be surprised at what you can see.   Producer Jiali interviews Sam, a 26-year-old astrophysicist who drives outside of the cities to chase stars in the night sky.  Produced by Jiali Hong Featuring: Sam  Supervising Producer: Mell Chun  Music:  Youtube Free copyright/ Bilibili Free copyright If you are looking for more stories like this 🙂! Stargazing, Navigating A Grief, and Between Two Worlds were produced by students at the University of Melbourne, in collaboration with the Centre for Advancing Journalism. Special thanks to Louisa Lim, Thomas Phillips, Dan Semo, Mell Chun and Persephone Waxman. You can hear more student stories from this cohort over at The Yarn.    All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Digital Trainee: Imogen Brosnan (Thank you so much, Immi!) Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Episode Tile: Jennifer Ibe And a special shout-out to all our volunteers!     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we return to the theme surveillance.  Looking beyond what it feels like to be watched but, also what it like to do the watching.     Behind Me by Xuanmeng Cai Xuanmeng explores the theme of hyper-vigilance. examining why women feel unsafe on their way home after dark, how the body responds to possible danger, and why this fear has become such a familiar part of everyday life. Producer: Xuanmeng Cai  Supervising Producer: Persephone Waxman  Featuring: Vivian Chen; William Hua; Jordan Liu Music/SFX: BBC Sound Effects; Blue Dot Sessions    Watching From Far Away by Xinnang Wang Xinnang examines that murky area or parental surveillance. She speaks to speaks to Xiaoqi Chen, a master’s student at the University of Melbourne, about family expectations, silence, independence, and how “watching” slowly changed from one-sided into mutual care. Producer: Xinnang Wang Supervising Producer: Thomas Phillips  Featuring: Xiaoqi Chen Music/ SFX:  Cobwebbed from Purple Planet; A Greater Love from Purple Planet   Uber by Ruonan Yang Have you ever thought of what it might be like to be an Uber driver?  Through personal experience and a conversation with fellow rider Shirley Wang, Ruonan reveals how surveillance shapes life in the gig economy. Producer: Ruonan Yang Featuring: Shirley Wang   Mt Rothwell  by Alexandra Nevill  Alexandra Nevill investigates how one sanctuary is doing things differently. Using surveillance as a tool to restore biodiversity, and deal with disruptors. Producer: Alexandra Nevill Featuring: Sheryl Nettleton, Field Officer at Mount Rothwell Safe Haven; Matthew Singleton, COO of Odonata   The stories in today’s episode were produced as part of a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, The Centre for Advancing Journalism, and All The Best. You can tune in to more stories like these on the Centre for Advancing Journalism’s podcast The Yarn.    All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Digital Trainee: Imogen Brosnan  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Episode Title: Izzy Boustead And a special shout-out to all our volunteers! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would the mixtape of your life sound like? What were the key moments that you think made you the person that you are today? In this episode, students from the University of Melbourne share some of the key moments that have defined their lives or the lives of the subjects they interviewed.         The First Champion by Erielle Sudario Are you an anime fan? Have you heard of Beyblade? In this story, Jon recalls to Erielle Sudario the moment he became the first Beyblade champion in Victoria and how the game has evolved 20 years later,   Producer: Erielle Sudario  Supervising Producer: Thomas Phillips  Featuring: Jonathan Ng Music and SFX: Pixabay; NoCopyrightSounds; Shiny Tech by Kevin MacLeod.    Beyond Dessert Virality by Megan Nicole Yin How do you feel about social media-driven food trends?  In this delicious story, Megan explores the nexus between virality and desserts in the city of Melbourne.  Producer: Megan Nicole Yin Supervising Producer: Thomas Phillips  Featuring: Jiwoo Kim, Callista Ann,  Jerry Naing Music: Bodytonnic;  Vacant Distillery SFX: Connie; Carisa Ong       A Soccer Club Called Home by Sihan Ren Home is where the heart is ...  or, in the case of this story, it's where the football is. Sihan tells a beautiful story about belonging and finding your place.    Producer: Sihan Ren Supervising Producer: Persephone Waxman  Featuring: Mark Baker  Music and SFX: Blue Dot Sessions and BBC Sound Library        Streaming by Hope Kloppenburg Hope Kloppenburg reports on her own experience as a streamer who struggles to find balance between superficiality and connectivity within her streams and moves towards fostering in-person relationships. Listeners are advised that this episode contains coarse language and profanity.   Producer: Hope Kloppenburg   These stories were produced in partnership with the Centre for Advancing Journalism and the University of Melbourne. Special thanks to Louisa Lim, Thomas Phillips, Persephone Waxman, Dan Semo and Mell Chun. You can find more student work from this series over at their podcast, The Yarn.   All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Digital Trainee: Imogen Brosnan  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Episode Title: Jess Lobb And a special shout-out to all our volunteers!       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is there a spot near a body of water that feels like home to you? You know, like a stream, a lake or a river? This week is a reminder that these natural spaces that we come to value are our responsibility and we have to protect them.     Flying Fox by Thomas Phillips  A flying fox colony roosts in the trees by the banks of the Yarra. Meet the scientist trying to understand them.  Produced by Thomas Phillips.  It was originally commissioned and aired on BBC’s Short Cuts    If I have to see it, you have to see it too by Mel Bakewell  An aquatics instructor, caravan park manager, citizen scientist, community advocate - Lochie Cameron has worn many hats living by the coast that grew him up. His latest one has him pocketing seawater samples in the race to understand the cellular algae devastating the oceans and marine life along the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.  Production, sound design and field recordings by Mel Bakewell.  Featuring: Lochie Cameron \Music by Blue Dot Sessions.  This story was shortlisted for the 2026 HearSay Audio Prize.      A creek love story by Rob Law A symphony of voices guide us along the tributaries of Campbell’s Creek, on Dja Dja Wurrung country.  Produced, sound production, field recordings and music by Rob Law Featured voices: Steve Higgins, Aunty Kath Coff, Ian Higgins, Otto and Ralph Maguire-Law, Cassia Read, and Rob Law. This story was recorded on location on Dja Dja Wurrung land.  This story was also shortlisted for the 2026 HearSay Audio Prize.    All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Digital Trainee: Imogen Brosnan  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Episode Tile: Jennifer Ibe  SFX: Rock-pool by the Ocean by Mings -- https://freesound.org/s/172512/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 And a special shout-out to all our volunteers! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is about observation, self-awareness and awareness of the world, of course,  surveillance.   A special shout-out to the audio unit of the University of Melbourne.   Bird Watching by Lewis Weir  In our first story, we are immediately reminded that there are many ways to experience the world. Jack O'Leary teaches us in this next story that bird watching is more than what you can see.     Produced, written and edited by Lewis Weir Supervising Producer is Daniel Semo.  Interviewee is Jack O’Leary   Team Selection by Harry Robertson Sometimes you are the one that is being watched, or in the case of this story, being scrutinised. Harry takes us into the anxious world of team selection by the Fitzroy Football Club.   Produced by Harry Robertson Music by Cherly Kacherly Interviewees were Gus Conheady, George Reed,  Sam Buckley, Hamish Adams, Annabel Phillips, Jack Dalton, Tim Butler, Tom Butler, James Butler, Sophie Arnold.   Watching Over Those Sleeping Rough  by Matt Melia  Surveillance can sometimes be transformed from a weapon into an act of care.   Grassroots activist group Footscray Community Response has been vocal in its advocacy, countering what they see as the punitive, surveillance-centric approaches of local authorities with acts of community and solidarity in addressing homelessness. Producer Matt Melia  Supervising producer Thomas Phillips Interviewees: Monty Green & Matt   Kelp Restoration  by Theoné van der Merwe In our final story, we continue this idea of surveillance as an act of care.  Theoné van der Merwe heads out onto Port Phillip Bay to follow Victoria's first golden kelp restoration project and meet the people working to bring these underwater forests back to life. Producer: Theoné van der Merwe Interviewees:  Prue Francis,  Scott Breschkin, Chris Gillies Music by Purple Planet        All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Digital Trainee: Imogen Brosnan  Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins  Cover Tile: Jess Lobb Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Special shout-out to all our volunteers     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is all about reducing your screen time and taking a look around your local.  This could just be observing the places and things around you, or trying to hold onto memories of what was.   Roaming David by Nili Javid  Roaming David, follows a local legend of North Melbourne, @roaming_david on Instagram, who documents the small but fascinating quirks of North and West Melbourne. Production and sound design by Nili Javid Supervising Production by Mark Yin  Music by Moby Gratis and Finally Punk  SFX: Yarra trams     On the ground by Cappy Hall  This one is all about being grounded.   Cappy revisits a place from their past, a place they go all the time, and a place that they miss.    Production and sound design by Cappy Hall  special shout out to the audio unit a the University of Sydney and Danny Stewart.  Music: Phase Purple by Blue Dot Sessions SFX: Wind Chime Noise and Wind Chime Ambience Extended via Pixabay; Dog Bark 1 and Dog Bark 3 by AtoMediaDesign; Dog Bark 2 by jess90; Dog Bark 4 by TheKingOfGeeks; Dog Pant byJKata; Dog Pant 2 byTrashcan_Studios; Neighbour Party by AlienXXX; Bathhouse by George_Papargyris; Korean Bank Ambience by tweeterdj via Freesound     All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Digital Trainee: Imogen Brosnan  Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Special shout-out to all our volunteers   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is a fit check.  Sort of ... This week is all about the ways that we choose to present ourselves to the world. Whether we are looking for affirmation or planning to go against societal expectations.   Bring a hat  by Sam Elkin  Our first story was originally Performed as part of QueerStories live storytelling event in Mparntwe last year.   Sam explores a space between gender affirming care and hair … or hair loss.   Written and performed by Sam Elkin  Special thanks to NTWF and 8CCC 102.1fm. You can hear more performances from the night by checking out the NTWF podcast.  The Clippers by Mel Bakewell  Sometimes hair as a social symbol is just a little too much to bear, and maybe its better to go against expectations and just chop it all off.   Produced by Mel Bakewell  Music: Myrian by Blue Dot Sessions    The Subtle Art of Chill Guy Nicknames by Jay De Leon Lagman  But it's not just all about who has hair and who doesn’t. Sometimes it's just the way you present yourself to the world. And the way the world lays claim to you in response with ancient art of nicknames.   You know the whole Romeo-and-Juliet-whats-in-a-name thing? Well for Jay a name, or at least a nickname, can be everything.   Writer, illustrator: Jay De Leon Lagman @saturjaysunjay Sound Designer: Matthew Forbes That story was recorded live as part of an All The Best x Read To Me live storytelling event, ExtraOrdinary Tales in 2025, supported by the City of Sydney.  All the Best Credits  Host: Gabriella Accaria Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos  Production Manager: Kwame Slusher Digital Trainee: Imogen Brosnan  Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins  Theme Music composed by Shining Bird Special shout-out to all our volunteers     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.