All Aussie Hour

Sick of crying in every episode, Josie decides to take a different approach, telling Mel some of the weird stories of how iconic Aussie treats were invented. CREDITS: Good Food by Besha Rodell https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/news/the-history-of-the-lamington-an-australian-icon-20171219-h07f36   Mashable by Johnny Lieu https://mashable.com/2017/01/05/chicken-salt-history-australia/ News.com.au...

This week, Mel gets all zoological (??) on Josie, telling her about the Centennial Park eels - disgusting ocean slugs who travel all the way from Sydney to... New Caledonia to breed. Confused? Listen up for the story of the sex eels. CREDITS: Centennial Parklands website, by Sam Crosby https://www.centennialparklands.com.au/ SMH, Heath Aston, 2011 https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/a-...

This week for Spin Us A Yarn, Mel's dad Bill Mason guest stars (against his will) to tell us all about the time he lived next door to an Aussie rock icon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Josie surprises Mel with the story of the incredible rise and horribly tragic fall of Australia's sexiest ever, bonafide rock god Michael Hutchence, frontman of iconic band INXS.  Wine pairing: Chateau de Roquefort Corail Rosé, from the south of France where Michael had a house. Want to avoid the zest? Skip straight to 15:18. CREDITS: The Guardian by Jenny Valentish: https://www.theguar...

This week Mel surprises Josie with the story of Schapelle Corby, a regular Gold Coast gal who became one of the most famous Aussies of the 00s when she was arrested, then jailed for allegedly smuggling drugs. Wine pairing: Not wine this week! Instead, we sipped the signature cocktail from Laneway Bar & Dining (sadly closed), Mercedes Corby's restaurant - vodka, lime and kombucha. 100% would dr...

It's our first minisode! Spin Us A Yarn is the place for YOUR stories. This week, Rikki tells us about her great-great-grandad (we think), who wandered into a marshy bog and got stuck there - for days. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aquatic mystery enthusiast Josie talks Mel through the nightmarish story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, two American divers who were left behind by their dive tour boat on QLD's Great Barrier Reef in 1998. Wine pairing: a not-tart rosé from The Hidden Sea Wines. Want to avoid the zest? Skip to 32:30 Credits: All That’s Interesting by Kara Goldfarb https://allthatsinteresting.com/tom-eileen-lonergan  ...

This week, Mel explains the Cowra Breakout to Josie - when hundreds of Japanese POWs escaped an Aussie prison and ended up on the run in the bush. Wanna skip le zest? Skip straight to 17:00. CREDITS: Cowra Fact Sheet, National Archives Of Australia https://web.archive.org/web/20081010165202/http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs198.aspx Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.g...

Josie and Mel (via Zoom) discuss the life story of Captain Moonlite (aka Andrew Scott), an 1800s Irish-born larrikin who may or may not have been Australia's first gay bushranger. Wanna skip le zest? Skip straight to 21:22. CREDITS: A Guide To Australian Bushranging https://aguidetoaustralianbushranging.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/captain-moonlite-an-overview/ The Monthly by Jeff Sparrow https://www....

This week, Alisha Aitken-Radburn joins us as a special guest! The Bachelor In Paradise hero and friend of the podcast tells Josie and Mel about the disappearance of Paddy Moriarty from Larrimah in the Northern Territory. CREDITS Lost In Larrimah Podcast, Kylie Stevenson & Caroline Graham https://www.theaustralian.com.au/podcasts/lost-in-larrimah/news-story/b1903af0830eaca37ed6173a5e6763da A Do...

This week is all about Mel and Josie's favourite Aussie group - the Country Women's Association. Not only do these ladies make a mean scone, they've also contributed heaps to the nation - and have some hectic rules for their fruit cake competition. Credits: The Week, 1922 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/192982648 The Telegraph, 1922 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/177884213 C...

Tasmania tragic Josie takes Mel to her favourite state as she recounts the incredible story of the Beaconsfield mine collapse and rescue mission that gripped Australia for two weeks back in 2006. To skip the zest, head straight to 26:50. Credits: Sydney Morning Herald, 2006 https://www.smh.com.au/national/timeline-of-beaconsfield-mine-disaster-20060501-gdnggy.html   Australian Geographic, 2013 by...

This week, Mel takes Josie through the Wittenoom disaster, where asbestos mining turned deadly for generations and left a town at critical contamination levels - and completely abandoned. Wanna skip the zest? Head to 18:00. Credits: ABC Pilbara, Gian De Poloni, 2018 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-12/australias-deadliest-ghost-town-wittenoom-a-tourist-hotspot/9987328 The West Australian, Tom Z...

If you thought Waltzing Matilda was just an old timey bush ballad, think again! Josie tells Mel all about the spicy love triangle that inspired Banjo Paterson's iconic tune. Wanna skip the zest? Head to 29:07. Credits: Slim Dusty - "Waltzing Matilda": https://youtu.be/FqtttbbYfSM ABC Conversations - "Waltzing Matilda - The Story Behind the Song": https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/07/15/404...

This week, Mel tells Josie the story of Rodney Fox, a South Australian spear fisherman who, after being horrifically mauled by a great white shark wound up making a whole business out of diving with the creatures themselves. Wanna skip the zest? Head to 17:35. CREDITS: Traveller.com.au, 2006 https://www.traveller.com.au/great-white-fever-5zfw ABC interview, 2002 produced by Peter Lindon https://we...

Josie loves a crime, and goes (not very far back) in time to 2011, telling Mel all the gritty details of the insane Mosman collar bomb attack on 18-year-old Madeleine Pulver. Credits: Sydney Morning Herald, 4 August 2011 with reporting from AAP, Glenda Kwek and Nick Ralston https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bomb-device-attached-to-mosman-schoolgirl-was-a-very-very-elaborate-hoax-20110804-1icbe.h...

Mel tells Josie all about The Hydro Majestic Hotel, the fanciest place in the NSW Blue Mountains area with a quirky history of being a sanatorium, WWII soldier respite centre and... home of 25,000 crabs? Credits: The Hydro Majestic Hotel website https://www.hydromajestic.com.au/ Dictionary Of Sydney https://dictionaryofsydney.org/ In Daily, Caroline Berdon https://indaily.com.au/eat-drink-explore/...

Aquatic Tale Enthusiast/Whale Fearer Josie tells Mel about a pod of killer whales who worked for a company of human whalers in Eden, NSW back in the 1800s. Credits: 2014 Scientific American blog by Bec Crew https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/the-legend-of-old-tom-and-the-gruesome-law-of-the-tongue/ 2010 Sydney Morning Herald article the King of the Killers by Steve Meacham https:/...

Mel and Josie are back, babey! In the first episode of their brand new podcast (you might remember them from their first podcast All Aussie Mystery Hour), Mel dives straight into one of the spiciest tales from Australian politics - that time our sexy Prime Minister Gough Whitlam got himself dismissed. Whoopsie! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.