Ratbag with Mel & Sam

Hey rats!! Welcome to another Ratbag episode. In today’s episode we begin with the near impossible game where Mel tests Sam to see if she can tell the difference between a text from Sam, or from Mel’s girlfriend Sara. Our hotline asks the question 'what are the rules when it comes to online dating ettiquite?' and then there’s a wildly unnecessary unpacking over which celebrities top and which don’...

Hiiii cutie pies!! Happy Ratfood day to one to all. Hope ya ready for a lil nibbleeee on some silly silly stories in this giggly, giggly ep because we have packed them IN today. We open the ep unpacking Lucy’s cruise romance (can’t beLIEVE we missed the opportunity for a joke around Lucy Bain/Bain Marie but - here we are!!) and we absolutely FAIL to craft her the perfect message. Sammy then opens...

Well hello there bbys! Thanks for joining us again! In today's episode Sam gets inspired by Tyra Banks' recent Hot Ice Cream venture which encourages a conversation around inventions and the ones we need, and really do not need. Our hotline asks us the vital question 'what cars would musical theatre characters drive?' and someone get the cast of Matilda OFF the e-scooters please!!! We then head to...

Can’t believe we’re here you guys. We’ve arrived. It’s 2026, and we PERSONALLY couldn’t be more thrilled to see you all here! Thank you so much for joining us over the past year - we can’t wait for another lap round the sun with us in your ear holes chatting shit! In today’s Ratfood, we chat all things from our attitudes towards 2026 and how we feel entering her, to the colour and words of the yea...

Hello there rats and welcome to the new year... well... the week of the new year!!! In today's episode we bring back our 'ins and outs' for 2026, and from Mel's desire for us to chat to our neighbours and Sam's interest in bringing 'toe socks' back, our lists are packed! We then reflect on the year that was, the highlights, the lowlights and the things we are grateful for (a huge one being you) in...

Your plate is stacked high with leftover ham. Things are lethargic. The fan is whirring in the corner of the room. All bets are off. Nothing counts for anything. Welcome to the Interim. Rats rats rats. This is our giggliest Ratfood in a whiiiiiiile hehehe. Let us guide you through the most CAVENOUS week in the calendar year - the week between Christmas and new years. We chat all things from a reve...

Ho, ho, ho!!! Happy Holidays rats and welcome to the SECOND (yeah the tradition!!) Ratbag Christmas Special! In today's episode we begin with a much needed unpacking of the Glee Christmas Episode, be prepared, Mel has pages of notes. We then sing the 12 days of christmas but fill in the blanks with what we would gift eachother and, can't lie, we definitely present different projects to one another...

Hi beauties.  It’s been a really dark and heavy week in Australia this week. We hope that this half hour of silly, light chats can help to provide the tiniest reprieve. We are sending an extra bit of love to all our listeners this week after the atrocities that occurred in Bondi on Sunday night. We love you.  In today’s ep, Mel goes innnnnnnn on some of her silliest tales from her incred...

Well HIIIII rats! Thanks for joining us yet again! In today's episode Mel brings her heated list of her current gripes with technology, and from forms and their inability to accept an apostrophe, to maps hating when you 'add a stop' we hope this list feels cathartic. We then get right into a listener story involving a ghost and Mel tries her best to pretend she belives in ghosts, and let's just sa...

Hello angels! Wishing you a very ratty Thursday as we prepare for our 24 hour livestream (HELP). Today we are chatting about the ‘Angel tree’ trend that has been saturating our eyes on TikTok, the ins and outs of ‘giving’ as someone with a platform, some of the ways in which we are choosing to use our platforms this holiday season and what happens when a fandom name just doesn’t stick? We also go...

Hello there ratties! Another Monday, another Ratbag, gotta love a routine! In today's episode we venture down the metaverse and unpack the hillarious ways users have 'misread social cues' and from a driving instructor becoming a headrest to a prison guard completely misreading the vibe, these entries are just too good. Our 'Bring Bring Bitch!' Hotline opens up a gorgeous reflective space for our l...

Hello cutie patooooooties. Wishing you a very ratty Thursday! Today we are going IN on some never-before-discussed topics that split the nation. We thought there was only one right way to do many of these things but today we learn that HALF THE WORLD IS FUCKED HONESTLY. We’re talkin’ pyjama storage. We’re talkin’ hot plates. We’re talkin’ the politics of reclining a chair on a plane. We’re talkin’...

Hey hey darlings! Boy oh boyyyyyy are we keen for this week's episode, you are truly not ready for our guest today... she's a doctor, an author, a content creator, a sex historian and the face of 'Kinky History'... she is truly iconic, please welcome to the pod Esmé Louise James!!! In today's episode we basically just let the genius that is Esmé's brain wash over our rat heads as she shares many i...

Yes rats. We teased it. You waited. We could not fit anything else in this episode because it’s WICKED WEEK! So we present to you our unpacking of Wicked For Good. Spoilers ahead of you haven’t seen the film yet and are going to, save this episode and come back to it. Please hit us with your thoughts, we wanna hear them because here at the house of Mel & Sam we livveeeee to unpack musicals!! S...

In today’s episode Sam brings an ancient artifact along to the studio for Show & Tell, also known as the Primary School Self Portrait Tea Towel. A listener then asks Mel & Sam for advice when it comes to auditioning, and from camera set up to picking your line reader, we hope the advice we share helps you even just a little! Whether you know absolutely nothing about the Slime Community or...

Hello rats it’s time for another Ratfood and this week Mel is taking us right back to the 200 seater high school lecture theatre… yes we are chatting !!The Musicals We Did In High School!! From the productions that should not be done in High School that we unfortunately did, to Sam being banished to the wings and being denied an on stage moment, this episode is packed with enough tales to fill you...

Hello rats and welcome to another episode of Ratbag! In today’s episode Mel unleashes the ultimate ranking of the Arnott’s Assorted Creams and this segment, to our surprise, unlocks an Oreo conspiracy and a horrible realisation about Teddy Bear Biscuits, a staple in the O'Brien household. Our hotline brings a listener dm (ps - thank you for these please keeo em coming!!), who seeks some advice aro...

Guys. Nobody panic. But simply EVERYTHING has changed. Samantha Andrew attended the DOG LOVERS FESTIVAL and loved every. Single. Second of it !!! Love makes you do crazy things, and in today’s ep Sammy tells us all about her weekend at the dog festival (can’t even believe I’m writing these words right now), whilst Mel leans in to her gaming influencer alter ego. We also chat crash outs and moments...

Hey rats!! Welcome to another episode and today we are taking the 'swing' practice in musical theatre to a whole new medium and assigning the perfect covers/swings for the pop stars of today. Then we discuss, probably to an academic We then take the time to unpack the gayest instruments in the orchestra and we go in hard thanks to a listener dm for our 'Bring Bring Bitch! Hotline'. We then share o...

Hiiiii cuties! Welcome to this week’s Ratfood (on the road!) Sammy is coming to us live from her currently-falling-down hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam and Mel is coming to you live with sleepy eye bags from her living room. This week, it’s a gorgy laid back catch up vibe as we chat all things Halloween weekend, ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ (Sydney Theatre Company), a misunderstanding on the Yarra Bridge with...

Heyaaaa! Welcome to another ep of 'Ratbag' with the ONLY Mel and Sam you need to know in your lifetime. To open the episode Mel brings to the pod studio, the other Mel and Sam duos that exist online and their business ventures. From witches to teachers, the collection is eclectic, and truly perfect. Our "Bring Bring Bitch!' Hotline inspires a conversation about the perfect movies that are yet to b...

A YEAR OF THE POD. Can you believe it, Rats?? We can not BELIEVE that we’ve been doing this for a year and we’re oh so grateful for every single one of you that has joined us so far - whether that be for 1 episode or 105 episodes. Today to celebrate we are going IN on our ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 9 thoughts - because it wouldn’t be a Mel & Sam pod without a shameless reality TV deep dive! We tal...

Trick or TREAT you absolute rat heads!!! Welcome to the first EVER Halloween episode of Ratbag, and by Halloween episode, we mean, the first segment is Halloween based. Hell yeah. In today’s episode, Sam brings the best of the best costumes that are copyright free, found on the internet and riffed on today for your pleasure. Once going through the selection, Mel and Sam then toss around their own...

Hey cutie patooties!! Welcome to today’s Ratfood where we’re chatting allllllllllllll about the Madagascar penguins most recent successful project (aka the HEIST of the Crown Jewels at The Louvre). Mel has all the details and we are SCREAMING at how it all went down. We also chat the girlification of RACV on the precipice of Mel finally getting her license (shout out to that dexy), SKIMS new relea...

Study pads out. Phones down. Welcome to your lecture. Today we will be going in deep on the 'Courtney Take Your Break' effect that rose to cultural relevance in musical theatre a few years ago. If this means nothing to you, don't you worry by the end of this episode you will be noticing this moment in every musical you watch. We then take the time to both share our coming out stories in our 'Bring...