The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are increasing their podcast library with three new series, the relaunch of the popular Real Footy, and expansion of the weekly news podcast Please Explain.

The expanded podcast library follows on from the success of The Last Voyage of the Pong Su in October 2019 which won the podcast category at the Victorian Quill Awards.

“Podcasts are a key part of our commitment to high-quality, independent journalism. They build on the excellent journalism we publish every day and add another layer of content for our readers to engage with,” said Herald editor, Lisa Davies.

The Age editor, Alex Lavelle, said: “Our podcasting team has grown as part of our strategy of engaging new audiences and catering for the expectations of our subscribers. It was great to see our latest investigations podcast, The Last Voyage of the Pong Su, win a Quill Award last week, building on the success of Phoebe’s Fall, Wrong Skin, and our regular Please Explain and Real Footy podcasts.”

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have a proven record with podcasting, collecting several awards over the past few years.

Wrong Skin was named Podcast of the Year at the 2019 Australian Podcast Awards and Phoebe’s Fall, the Herald and Age’s first investigative podcast, won the 2016 Radio Current Affairs category of the Victorian Quill Awards and the NSW Kennedy Award for Outstanding Radio Current Affairs. Both Wrong Skin and Phoebe’s Fall also won gold medals at the New York Radio Festival.

Good Weekend Talks
Good Weekend Talks will join the podcast library from this month, bringing the weekend lifestyle staple to life for readers’ ears. The podcast will showcase the magazine’s best features, narrated by professional voice actors, followed by a discussion between editor Katrina Strickland and the magazine’s writers such as Jane Cadzow, Tim Elliot, Melissa Fyfe and Konrad Marshall.

“The aim is to add another layer to our storytelling, discussing the most compelling issues raised in our features and introducing listeners to the writers and writing process behind them,” Strickland said.

“Ash Barty, the anti-vaxxer movement, Scott Morrison’s Pentecostal church, the Melbourne doctor who mapped the clitoris and the man who runs the AFL are just some of the subjects that will be covered on Good Weekend Talks.”

The Televisionaries
The Televisionaries will also launch in March, discussing all things television and streaming: from the buzziest shows online to the guilty pleasures we watch in secret.

Host Louise Rugendyke, editor of S at The Sun-Herald, hosts a lively discussion each week with the best TV writers at The Age and Herald, including Michael Idato, Paul Kalina and Kylie Northover.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald culture editor, Matthew Burgess, said: “The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are renowned for in-depth coverage of quality television, from the popular Guide and Green Guide weekly sections to daily news coverage online.

“We are keen to bring our passion and expertise about television to a new platform, in a fun and informative podcast from our top TV critics. They live and breathe television and are the authorities on what you should be watching and why.”

Naked City
In April, Naked City will see John Silvester, Walkley Award-winning crime writer, columnist and co-author of the best-selling books that formed the basis of the hit Channel 9 series Underbelly, return to the gangland wars. Delving into the archive of tapes and interviews spanning his four decades in crime reporting, Silvester will take us on a first-hand journey through some of Australia’s most notorious underworld crimes.

“I have been covering crime in Australia since 1978 and in the Naked City podcast I will take you deep into my world, where you will hear from the key players in some of our most notorious and infamous cases,” said Silvester.

Real Footy
Returning for its fourth season, Real Footy brings listeners all the stories behind the AFL: reviewing, previewing and analysing footy in the way only The Age and Herald know how. Join host Michael Gleeson and regular guests Caroline Wilson, Jake Niall and Jimmy Bartel as they unpack all things footy. It hits all good podcast services on March 16.

Please Explain
Please Explain, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s weekly news podcast hosted by national editor, Tory Maguire, cuts through the noise and gives listeners insight into the stories that drive the nation. In 2020, the podcast series will be expanded with different specials to complement the existing weekly upload.

Over summer, Please Explain presented a special six-part series on climate and weather.

Please Explain is available every Thursday.

Podcast Library

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su
A North Korean dictator, bags of heroin, drug lords, spooks, sailors, Australian cops and a web of lies: Come aboard The Last Voyage of The Pong Su.

Wrong Skin
Wrong Skin: a relationship banned under traditional law. An investigation into an unsolved suspicious death and a missing person in the Australian outback.

Phoebe’s Fall
A major investigation into the death of Phoebe Handsjuk, who was found at the bottom of a garbage chute in a luxury apartment building.

Flight of Fancy
Fun, funny and wise: Flight of Fancy with Ben Groundwater is an exploration of all things travel, for those with a thirst for seeing the world.

For more information:
Miranda Ward
Communications Manager
miward@nine.com.au

Friday, March 13, 2020