Three Canberra podcasts that remind you why you don’t want to live anywhere else
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Audio is my friend. Many of my activities have me on my feet or in charge of a vehicle—neither of which are conducive to reading.
Audiobooks have gotten me through long travels*, and the rapid rise of podcasting fills those times when I want an entire episode to accompany an activity—length being important.
* travel—(verb) to go from one place to another, typically over a distance of some length—in case you forgot!
Recently, I’ve been drawn to some Canberra produced and themed podcasts which I cannot in all good consciousness keep to myself in a year where my focus has been so parochial. It is nice to be reminded what’s on offer in your own backyard.
Secrets from the Green Room
Recommend activity: 5 km walk or make risotto
Irma Gold is an author, book editor and champion of the ACT writing community through her work as an Ambassador for the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge. Dr Craig Cormick is an award-winning author, science communicator and has been Chair of the ACT Writers Centre in years past.
Both Irma and Craig epitomise the very meaning of giving back to the Canberra arts community, evident again through their new podcast Secrets from the Green Room. Each episode has Irma or Craig interview an author, uncovering how easy it is to write a book and become an overnight success—I’m kidding!
In the first episode, Irma interviews Anna Spargo-Ryan, author of The Gulf, The Paper House and winner of The Horne Prize 2016 for her essay The Suicide Gene.
Irma’s intimate understanding of the trials and tribulations of being an author creates the perfect space for Anna to reveal her sliding door moments that determined her direction, and at one stage turned Twitter into a publishing auction house.
The first season, episodes available every few weeks, will include our own best-selling Canberra authors Chris Hammer and Karen Viggers.
Curious Canberra
Recommend activity: Empty dishwasher or mix a cocktail
Curious Canberra is a podcast from ABC News Canberra which answers those quirky questions, abundant in our nation’s capital.
Short, snappy, and adorable, these brief episodes pack a punch with all the curiosities that Canberrans know so well.
From ‘Did corpses get washed into Lake Burley Griffin following the Queanbeyan flood of 1974’ to ‘Can the ACT Government name your baby for you’, this is a 24-episode eclectic mix of curiosities.
Bite-sized, informative, and just enough information to make you the ultimate Canberra know-it-all at your next dinner party.
podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/curious-canberra
The Canberrans
Recommend activity: Commute home or waiting for takeaway delivery
Disclosure: Yes, I am publishing this podcast review in the very media outlet that produced it. By virtue of that you can be assured my views are impartial because if it were terrible, I would have used ‘conflict of interest’ as an excuse to write nothing!
Emma Macdonald is The Canberrans whisperer in these perfectly poised and enlightening episodes featuring some of Canberra’s finest citizens.
ABC Newsreader Dan Bourchier confirms why he is such a refreshing presence in the news, revealing the key things for him in journalism are an enquiring mind in asking questions, and the ability to listen to answers—with an emphasis on listen.
I was hesitant at first listening to Dr Sophie Lewis, ACT’s Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, fearing another insight into a dystopian future, but then didn’t want the episode to end.
Our 2019 ACT Scientist of the Year shares her vulnerabilities and validates how we felt during our choking summer, then talks about a bright future in which we can all participate.
And that bright future will be led by Wiradjuri woman Dhani Gilbert, who at 16 was ACT Young Canberra Citizen of the Year and is now studying at ANU.
Her connection to country has her studying science, environment, and sustainability and, like me, you won’t believe you are listening to an 18-year-old.
Canberra—we are in good hands!
podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-canberrans-a-hercanberra-podcast
