Australia's oddest stories, told one host to the other.
Mel and Josie run All Aussie Hour as a storytelling exchange: one usually arrives with an Australian yarn, and the other reacts as it unfolds. The subjects include the Emu War, the 2018 strawberry needle spiking incident, Heath Ledger and Aussie Rules footy, with detours into weddings, hens weekends and whether Big Bird is creepy.
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All Aussie Hour runs on a dependable arrangement. One host shows up with a story, and the other hears it and reacts. Mel and Josie swap those roles, and they have been talking into microphones together for a long time, by their own account going back to All Aussie Mystery Hour in 2018 and later The Zest Is History. The subject list is broad and very Australian. There are episodes about the Emu War, the strawberry needle spiking incident and the Whiskey Au Go Go fire, alongside Heath Ledger, Dave Grohl and one titled 'Aussie Rules Footy: People With Tight Shorts On Run Around A Lot'. The Whiskey Au Go Go episode shows how much detail a story can carry. Its thread runs through John Andrew Stewart, a known criminal jailed in 1936 for attempted murder, who later spread rumours to club owners, reporters and detectives about Sydney criminals wanting to extort Brisbane nightclubs. Toward the end of 1972, as the hosts tell it, he told a reporter an empty club would be firebombed first and the Whiskey Au Go Go next, during peak trade. The episode closes with the pair saying they may return to it if an inquest produces an answer. Even here the mood stays loose, and doing research that week earns a proud congratulation. The strawberry story is framed through the hosts' own history: it dates to September 2018, the year they launched their first podcast together. Other episodes lean warmer and more nostalgic. In the Heath Ledger conversation the pair stay on his teen film based on The Taming of the Shrew, say nobody else could have played the part and praise his chemistry with Julia Stiles. 'Emergency Mini Episode: Dave Grohl' is a different animal, an unplanned and chatty reaction to celebrity news that turns into a case for apologies in plain, personal words rather than sanitised PR phrasing. The hosts say having thoughts and feelings is the core of the podcast. Digressions are constant and clearly welcome. A description of emus as flightless, human-sized and alarming on foot turns into a verdict that Big Bird is a bit creepy, Cookie Monster is pure of soul and Oscar the Grouch owns his darkness. Life updates, from a sister's wedding to Kate's hens weekend to a drive back to Lajamanu, open several episodes. The frame stays consistent. Episodes include an acknowledgement of Country for Nipaluna and for Lajamanu on Gurindji country, where the show is recorded, followed by an intro line that starts in the croc-infested waters of the NT. The footy episode stops for a catch-up after a long hiatus, retelling where the pair came from for anyone who has lost track. They sign off together with 'that's it', sometimes adding 'hooroo'.
Made for: Suits a listener who wants Australian history, mysteries and pop culture told as loose, jokey conversation between two longtime co-hosts, and who enjoys the tangents as much as the facts.
What sets it apart: Australian history here is told between two people, not narrated: one host carries the story and the other reacts. That lets a nightclub firebombing sit in the same feed as a Big Bird tangent and a Dave Grohl emergency episode.
G’day mates and welcome to All Aussie Hour, the new podcast from Melissa Mason and Josie Rozenberg-Clarke. You might remember them from the hit podcasts All Aussie Mystery Hour and The Zest Is History, and to be quite honest their new offering is… basically the same.Each week, one host will spin the other a yarn from Australia’s rich and, let’s face it, completely batshit past. Strap in for zesty tales, weird mysteries and potentially even some research!Proudly Produced by DM Podcasts
An emu impression tells you what kind of Australian history yarn you're getting from Mel and Josie.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A loose, funny Australian chat about emus, their alarming speed, and their hard-to-forget sounds.
All Aussie Hour finds its spark in a very particular comic question: what happens when Australia meets a huge, fast, flightless bird that seems funny from a car and far more alarming up close?
A clear, uneasy account of how warnings preceded the Whiskey Au Go Go fire without preventing disaster.
All Aussie Hour frames the Whiskey Au Go Go fire through the warnings that came before it, following John Andrew Stewart's claims about a coming fire as they reached reporter Brian Bolton, the police commissioner, and the police minister before Torino's was destroyed while…
Mel and Josie turn Dave's softened wording into a lively, funny argument about remorse and public language.
All Aussie Hour turns an emergency episode into a close read of celebrity language, with Mel and Josie circling Dave's phrase "a child born outside my marriage" and what it does rhetorically.
A warm, unruly look at Heath Ledger's early fame, restless ambition, and lasting place in public memory.
All Aussie Hour frames Heath Ledger through an early career already straining against its own momentum: the teen-film visibility of 10 Things I Hate About You, the charge Mel and Josie find in that performance, and the turn toward The Patriot as another round of teen roles began…
Black Hills history, told on location.
Vegas history with a barstool pulse.
Connecticut history with national echoes.
Texas history, sourced and road-tested.
Maine history, widened through public talks.
All Aussie Hour's Emu War episode turns the 1932 Western Australian bird campaign into a story about soldier settlements, wheat prices, and Lewis guns.
All Aussie Hour's "The Strawberry Needle Spiking Incident: A Very Fruity Mystery" tracks the 2018 Queensland strawberry scare after Joshua Gain posted a Facebook warning about Berry Obsession berries from Woolworths Strathpine.
All Aussie Hour's Mel and Josie cover the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go fire in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley, where 15 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning after two five-gallon drums of petrol were lit in the foyer.
All Aussie Hour turns Dave Grohl's Instagram statement into a long reaction to the phrase "born outside of my marriage" and the line "earn their forgiveness." Mel and Josie say the wording sounds like ChatGPT, not accountability, and keep returning to "own your shit" versus deflection.
["Josie traces Heath Ledger from Perth to 10 Things I Hate About You after an opening of hens-weekend chaos, pregnancy monitoring, and car trouble.", "Heath Andrew Ledger was born on April 4, 1979, in Perth, WA, and Sally named him after Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights.", "The episode follows him through Peter Pan at Guildford Grammar, a three-day drive to Sydney with Trevor De Carlo, Sweat, Home and Away, and Raw.", "The biggest payoff is the 10 Things I Hate About You casting story, where Lisa Zane and Matt Amato help him land Patrick."]
Mel and Josie of All Aussie Hour retell the Campbelltown legend of Frederick Fisher, a transported English convict and landowner.
Mel and Josie resume their Sydney 2000 Olympics series after a long chat about television and Breathe Right nasal strips.
All Aussie Hour hosts Mel and Josie open a two-part look at Sydney 2000, recalling the city’s 1993 Olympic bid and their childhood memories.
The hosts introduce their podcast about bizarre and mysterious stories from Australian history, acknowledging Indigenous lands and their own podcasting journey.
The hosts banter about their dog and introduce a thriller series called Chloe, setting up a comedic historical storytelling episode.
Hosts Melissa and Josie banter before diving into a bizarre historical story from Australia's past.
Melissa and Josie share a humorous story about a cockroach encounter in the bedroom, blending personal anecdotes with historical trivia.