ABC NewcastleCast

All the news recently has been so downbeat, so today we're off to the pub. We've still got a show to do though, so Kia and Laurise have volunteered to try some zero alcohol wine.

What's the worst thing you get on holiday? It's not the cheap singlet you overpaid for, it's not the bad sunburn, it might actually be foot and mouth disease that could destroy literally all Australian livestock farming.

Your milk might be about to have a price explosion - but for many farmers here in dairy country, we've had it pretty good for a while. And did you know you can spell TYPEWRITER with the top line of your keyboard? The world of typewriters is being explored by a big fan in Muswellbrook

This podcast started off with an idea and left Kia with a personal disaster. Just another day in this unforgiving rain. Can you make life easy around Newcastle's potholes? We find someone to help.

Newcastle's famous Bar Beach is much loved, but giant storms and a surging king tide has washed the sand back to the rocks. Kia and Laurise on the scene to talk it out. And the University of Newcastle's latest graduates with their passion of speech and Sri Lanka.

Newcastle and the Hunter are facing a huge threat - a bee collapse. Starting weeks ago, more of the 'Varroa mite' bugs are beginning to be found and a US biotech company emailed the pod with their experiences of this nasty plague. And despite the rain and cold, a Kingfisher found in a backyard at Ellalong has lit up social media - but how rare is the bird in the Hunter?

Kia sits down with local reporter Madeline Lewis on a weekend that didn't stop for the Newcastle Floods with rescues and a nervous wait for many. Towns became islands, livestock rescued and how people dig in when the odds are against them.

Sure, it's been a time for the Upper Hunter. But besides floods, we're getting texts about birds. And a man with a chainsaw.

Bulga is a much loved village of the Upper Hunter and the locals know a thing or two about the country. Including how to fight a flood. And Bulga is praising two lifesaving heroes as they rescued a baby and mum from rising floodwaters. It's been a hectic 24 hours for Bulga

Flooding. Yet again, the Hunter's heroes swing into action as we go on the ground in Singleton and the Hunter Valley where we're bracing for more flooding from the swollen Hunter river.  We hear from the publican at Wollombi, and Upper Hunter reporter Bridget Murphy in a soggy Singleton.

Let's face it - we've googled our symptoms before going to a medical professional. Before we write out our last will and testament based on the results, one Hunter pharmacist reckons come in and ask. And Chloe Woodburn would know, she's in a competition to be the best! And how do Catholicism and Indigenous Australians interconnect. We find one woman's journey to bring her culture and her faith tog...

Hunter Stadium is home to 35,000 screaming Newcastle Knights fans every home game, but beyond the game, can the stadium host international acts? And as Kia and Laurise find out, it's been done before. Also, University of Newcastle students are hitting the road in a big bus to go west across the state, with a mission to learn more about the world's oldest continuous living culture.

The Steve Irwin has been saved for the second time in its life by Kerrie Goodal who never saw her life working with ships taking this turn. And this week has been tense. The outbreak of the contagious 'Varroa Mite' has not just beekeepers on edge. Farmers everywhere, already recovering from an incredible wet autumn are now on high stress waiting on what is next

A new program to help rehome greyhounds in a Hunter Valley prison is bringing more than hoped for inmates and companions. And as the last mass vax clinic shuts in Newcastle, a plea from one long Covid sufferer that the pandemic still has a while to go.

The Census is out - and the Newcastle region has had a surge in people saying they don't have a religion. In sharp focus is the Anglican Church, which lost thousands of followers from the last Census - but Newcastle's Anglican Diocese is already making changes. And are you trying to get into #vanlife? Seems you're not the only one, but the lack of vans is for a very good reason.

Kia and Laurise are taking action on a decent shop for fresh goods in Newcastle, on a budget. And we ask locals how they're shopping fresh while not blowing the bank balance. And remember Daisy the goat that went missing last week ? She's back!

Bees are life - and an outbreak of a nasty mite could bring disaster to Australia's bee population. We go on the ground to talk with Hunter beekeepers after the varroa mite outbreak in Newcastle

This episode talks about mental ill health and eating disorders. Please listen with care and if this raises anything for you, know Lifeline is there to help on 13 11 14 If you've tried to access mental health support in the Hunter you'll know books are closed and wait times are long. We asked for your stories and this is what you told us about what you've found as you've tried to access local ment...

It’s the big dream we’d all love - and for one Newcastle local and his Swedish bride they're heading around the world on a boat called 'Merewether' And Newcastle needs foster carers and one Dad needs you to know that you can do it!

A much loved member of the Branxton community, Daisy the Goat, has been stolen from a local store. And Branxton has swung into action, with a massive social media appeal to get back one of its iconic members of the community. And Newcastle's latest basketball sensation is taking on the likes of Lauren Jackson as the heads to the USA to hit the court.

With all the technology improvements in our lives, why has the scrutiny of umpiring lifted beyond bearable in our community sports? Referees in one Newcastle sports league are fed up, so the league is taking swift action to bring it under control And if you're driving past Muswellbrook's Campbells Corner tonight, you'll see a splash of yellow. Find out why 7 year old Brooklyn is making a differenc...

You're riding peacefully through National Park when you sense you're not alone. This is what happened to Jason Poole, cycling in the Mount Royal National Park in the Upper Hunter, as vicious dogs appeared out of nowhere, keen on bringing him off the bike and who knows what next. And what rewards do volunteering bring you? For Newcastle's Matt Heseltine, his young life has been changed for the bett...

Learn how one school in Maitland is learning how to make a possum skin cloak and how one brewery in Dungog is making beer for Ukraine... with just a hint of beetroot.

Mt Arthur coal mine near Muswellbrook is set to shut, with the announcement coming in the middle of an energy crisis. Back in Hamilton, we take a trip to check out the Orange Sky laundry van.

How did Park Run change Alex and Courtney's lives forever? And is hiring designer dresses for special events the new big thing round Newcastle?