The Yarn
The Yarn is a podcast showcasing work from The Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne. It features original reporting by students, content from The Citizen publication, as well as talks and events held by the Centre.
Episodes
To mark World Press Freedom Day, we're dedicating an episode of The Yarn to journalists in danger. We speak to reporters and media experts about navigating war zones, covering authoritarian regimes, and why exposing the truth is often a matter of life and death.
This episode was created by Isaure Duruy, Jiali Hong, Xue Xue, and Olivia Wright.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, we're hearing about what keeps people up at night — and what keeps them hopeful in the face of despair. Student activists, marine ecologists, and other change makers share their tactics for turning fear into action.
This episode was created by Eamon Leggett, Theone Van Der Merwe, Fan Chu, and Yixin Zhang.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Donating used clothes might seem sustainable, but Australia's textile waste is causing an environmental catastrophe in Fiji.
This week on The Yarn, reporter Shayal Devi explains how “waste colonisation” is harming the pacific nation.
Show Notes:
Shayal Devi's reporting for The Citizen
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To most Melburnians, urban seagulls are noisy pests. But why did these once coastal creatures abandon their seaside habitats in the first place?
This week on The Yarn, reporter Luisa Bonazzoli explains the human-led changes forcing gulls into cities.
Show Notes:
Luisa Bonazzoli's Feature for The Citizen
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For the final episode of our Passion Project series, we’re hearing from trailblazers, trendsetters, and leaders. From a woman motorsport racer smashing her industry’s glass ceiling, to a music teacher rekindling passions for a neglected genre.
This episode features reporting by Aimee Watson, Molly O'Farrell, Nina Bartholomeusz, Katya Ewing, and Vivien Frischknecht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Next in our Passion Project series, five stories about communal care. In this episode, a former cult member guides others to freedom, an ICU doctor supports burnt-out colleagues, and an anorexia survivor helps those in recovery.
This episode features reporting by Eliza McIntosh, Celina Lahdo, Sanober Bhavnagri, Charlie Williams, and Jenson Galvin.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this week’s episode of Passion Project, we’re entering the DIS-comfort zone.
We’re investigating extreme hikers who rebel against modern life, elite athletes struggling with burnout, and others who push themselves to the absolute limit.
This episode features reporting by Grace Viney, Berit Anna Rojer, Kezia Tan, and Rose Beattie.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nude movie screenings might sound perverse, but this one-of-a-kind experience has been selling out Melbourne cinemas. It's just one of the hyper niche interests we're exploring in this week's episode of Passion Projects — our new series about outliers, trailblazers, and the pastimes they love.
This episode features reporting by Lachie Carroll, Cathy Yee, Mia Leys, Cassia Cunningham, and Rachel Ferro.
Today, we’re sharing a talk from Pulitzer Prize-winning war journalist Chris Hedges, who believes the Western media is complicit in the Gaza genocide.
Chris spent two decades covering war zones in places like Iraq, Sarajevo, and Gaza. He’s also the author of more than a dozen books. His most recent is A Genocide Foretold: Reporting on Survival and Resistance in Occupied Palestine.
In front of a live audience...
The Labubu craze might be baffling to some, but their relentless popularity has led to a thriving black market for counterfeits, or “Lafufus”.
This week on The Yarn, reporter Ashleigh Wyss explains how these low-quality fakes could be putting kids in danger. Her investigation on this issue was copublished by The Citizen and CHOICE.
Show Notes
Ashleigh's investigation for CHOICE
See omn...
From bread tag collecting to rocket building, the first episode of The Yarn’s Passion Project series delves into the world of immersive hobbies. Across five stories, our reporters investigate interests that blur the line between leisure and purpose, and question why women are treated differently in certain fan communities.
This episode features work by Jamille Jayoma, Shaid Sasalu, Aditi Acharla, Jalina Camer...
Pacific newsrooms are in crisis. US funding cuts, the rise of artificial intelligence, and constraints on press freedom are just some of the threats to the region’s journalists.
On this week's episode of News Bites, Louisa Lim discusses the future of Pacific media with Solomon Islands journalist Dorothy Wickham and Fijian journalist Shayal Devi.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
Who gets to shape the story? That’s what journalist Nour Haydar has been asking in relation to Australian coverage of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
On this week’s episode of The Yarn, we’re sharing her AN Smith lecture from December 2024. It’s a searing critique of the Australian media’s double standards, and its failure to “meet the moment”.
Since then, the Gaza health m...
First, Artificial Intelligence took our jobs. Now, it's deciding how we're recruited into the ones that are left.
For today's episode, Sarah Jensz discusses her reporting on this new—and barely regulated—industry practice. She also speaks with legal experts, including Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay, who is pushing for urgent reforms to curb algorithmic discrimination.
Show Notes:
Thousands of Little Penguins nest along the southwest coast of Victoria, but their colonies are constantly threatened by energy companies pushing to conduct seismic surveys.
Fearing these shockwaves could devastate local marine life, citizen scientist Carli Reeve rallied her community to protect them. Her grassroots campaign ultimately forced the plans to be scrapped, if only for now.
Our reporter Theoné van der Merwe ...
Nature is like a time capsule. The cyclical rhythm of healthy ecosystems can outlast entire civilisations.
This week on The Yarn, two environmental stories take us back to postwar Germany and prehistoric Australia. We hear how fragile ecosystems have stood the test of time — and what’s at stake if we lose them forever.
These audio documentaries were originally produced by Thomas Phillips for Short Cuts, a Fa...
In the final episode of Distraction, we explore how a well‑timed distraction, often thought of as a mindless time sink, can become tools for mindfulness, connection, and creativity.
Featuring stories by Guilia Scenna, Ying Wan, and Georgie Preston.
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Whether powered by pixels or pure imagination, gaming offers players a way to forget the outside world. But when the stakes become real, is it really just a game?
This week on The Yarn, we’re bringing you stories about the comforts and consequences of gaming, how it helps some players cope, and how it can leave others more drained than when they logged in.
Featuring stories by Dylan Claringbold, Olivia Tan, and Bobbi Hewitt.
For the third episode of Distraction, we explore the psychological benefits of hobbies — and investigate whether leisure time is divided equally.
Featuring stories produced by Elliot Rodriguez, Molly Frew, James Worsfold, and Sarah Jensz.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
They say that if something is free online, then you’re the product. So are we controlling technology, or is it controlling us?
This week on The Yarn, we’re bringing you stories from both sides of the spectrum. From the dangers of social media addiction, to harnessing technology as a tool for good.
Featuring stories by Brandon Kearns, Ellen Cutler, Yuqi Zhao, and Yang Li.
See omnystudio.com/listener for...
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