Compiled by Tess Connery
Dialling up the sass – and the laughs – with Luke & Sassy Scott
Luke and Scott O’Halloran became TikTok famous for their hilarious sibling squabbles. Now, on their podcast Luke & Sassy Scott, they are sharing all the details behind their outrageous videos and their extremely personal stories – they even reveal info that they haven’t told their mum.
In the weekly episodes, the brothers take part in a series of pranks, hear crazy stories from fans, and Scott often lets loose with a typical Scott spray.
When asked how the podcast came to be, and what made them say yes to signing on, Scott told Podcast Week’s Tess Connery that “It’s almost a chicken and an egg thing.”
Scott: “I got to a point where I was sick and tired of being pranked all of the time, but obviously our audience were loving hearing from us and loving our antics. I just knew there was so much more to mine and Luke’s and our family’s relationship, then just me being set up and pranked.
“So that was one part of it, the other part of it was that LiSTNR contacted us, and were a dream organisation to work with. They’re incredible SCA. we had a call with Sam Cavanagh and he was like, let’s go for it. It couldn’t have happened more perfectly.”
The pair well and truly have got video nailed, with 3.4 million followers on TikTok and over 100 million likes of their videos. But podcasting is a different beast, and working without visuals can be an interesting transition.
Luke: “I almost feel like we’re better suited for a podcast style. In videos you get a minute to showcase a story, whereas the podcast is a lot more open. There’s a lot more talking and it’s more jokey.”
Scott: “We can give depth, we can give context to who we are. Everyone’s got a sense of who we are on TikTok and other platforms, but Luke and I get along in that studio better than we do at Mum and Dad’s house! For some reason, it brings the best out of our relationship.”
The pair agree that one of the biggest perks of the podcast is being able to give audiences a deeper look at who they both are.
Scott: “People would come up to me in the street and just go, ‘Oh my God, you’re always yelling, you’re so passionate,’ and I’m like, that’s only 1% of who I am. You get to see me for one minute across the week in one little video.
“Luke and I have so many other levels to who we are as people. We’re able to tell stories about what we’re passionate about individually, we reminisce on really fucking wild times growing up, and it’s felt nice and to be able to share more of who we are.”
Luke: “Whenever anyone asks about childhood, I struggle to think of any form of memory – so we also asked for the followers to send in their stories, which are hilarious. We’ll ask for sibling squabble stories or the worst thing a sibling has ever done to you. They’ll send in these ridiculous stories, and and then it triggers your own memories.
“Someone’s talking about adoption, and then I remember that our uncle was adopted and we never knew, and then we’re talking about that – and then we think, ‘are we even allowed to talk about that?’”
Luke & Sassy Scott is beginning as a run of six episodes, but the pair are open to continuing it for as long as listeners will have them – and as long as they’re having fun.
Scott: “We say that we thought only our Mum wanted us to succeed, but LiSTNR have given us a red hot shot. They’ve given us two microphones, an incredible rockstar production team, and six weeks. We all felt was enough time to give people a new look in to Luke & Sassy Scott, and we feel that if we knock it out of the ballpark, then perhaps we’ve got a little bit more leeway to say to Sam ‘Come on, give us a year or two year contract.’ But we think six weeks is enough time to figure out whether we’re going to be good at this.”
Luke: “Or if we’re even going to enjoy it!”
Looking ahead, the pair are aiming for the stars with the podcast.
Scott: “We know based on the first episode that people received a really well, and we’re very happy.
“In the future? Let’s have the number one podcast in the country by the end of the year!”
[Listen to Luke & Sassy Scott here]
Greg ‘Rusty’ Rust celebrates 100 episodes of Rusty’s Garage
Award-winning motorsports broadcaster Greg ‘Rusty’ Rust has celebrated 100 episodes of his automotive podcast, Rusty’s Garage, on LiSTNR.
For more than five years, Rusty has interviewed some of Australia’s and the world’s most elite riders, drivers, designers and even pilots about the machines that fuel their passion. Now, to celebrate the milestone, Rusty hands over the podcast keys to fellow sports broadcaster and friend, Mark ‘Howie’ Howard, from LiSTNR’s The Howie Games podcast, for a special one on one interview.
Rusty said: “I’ve enjoyed this podcast journey immensely; it’s been among the most rewarding things I’ve done in over 20 years in the media. I have discovered just how much I enjoy conversations, especially about stuff I have loved since I was knee high.
“I am very grateful to our foundation partners and those who have been regular sponsors with us over the first 100 episodes. The loyalty and passion for this podcast from our partners and listeners is unrivalled.”
[Listen to the 100th episode of Rusty’s Garage here]
How Hutchy secured Garry Vee for The Sounding Board
Craig Hutchinson, and his co-host of The Sounding Board Damian Barrett, have secured Garry Vaynerchuk (aka Garry Vee) on a forthcoming episode. The Podcast Ranker Top 100 series will feature Vee in a spin-off series they are launching called Winter Interview Series for McDonald’s.
The three-episode Interview Series launches next week with Nine journalist Nick McKenzie as the first guest. Damo has long been a fan of McKenzie’s, a reporter he dubbed “the Winx of journalism”.
Hutchy has been mounting a campaign to get Vaynerchuk on The Sounding Board ever since the digital media guru released details of his Australian tour. Helping secure his appearance on The Sounding Board was donation of $10,000 made to the McDonald’s supported charity Ronald McDonald House.
Vaynerchuk’s appearance on the podcast will be a must-listen for people unable to get to his live shows next month. The tickets for his tour start at $150 and climb to an eye-watering $2,000 for a premium meet and greet package.
The co-hosts have set their sights on securing the incoming AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon as the third guest for the Winter Interview Series.
On this week’s episode of the podcast, Damo ranked his top 10 movies featuring journalism:
10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
9. Spotlight
8. Broadcast News
7. All the President’s Men
6. Citizen Kane
5. The Post
4. Kill the Messenger
3. The Paper
2. Nightcrawler
1. Network
The Sounding Board is produced, engineered and edited by the multi-talented Jane Nield for Sports Entertainment Network.
[Listen to The Sounding Board here]
Guardian Australia launches special podcast series on the Voice referendum
Guardian Australia has announced the launch of a special podcast series on the voice referendum. The episodes will run in the Full Story podcast feed fortnightly until after the referendum.
Each episode of The Voice Ask Me Anything will feature questions from listeners being answered by a panel of elders, journalists, constitutional experts, academics and more.
Hosted by Walkley award-winning journalist and Ngiyampaa Weilwan woman Laura Murphy-Oates, the series works to cut through the noise of the campaigns.
“I think people have real questions about the Voice, and are craving in-depth, thoughtful answers from people who best understand the issues. This is the place to find it,” says Murphy-Oates.
The series will dissect the key issues surrounding the voice referendum, featuring Indigenous Australians throughout. The first episode will feature Guardian Australia Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam, journalist Kerry O’Brien and 2023 Young Australian of the Year for Queensland Talei Elu.
The Voice Ask Me Anything will tap into Guardian Australia’s established podcast audience to distribute analysis and information to as wide an audience as possible. Full Story reaches over 230,000 unique listeners with more than 840,000 downloads of episodes each month.
The Voice AMA is funded by the Barlow Foundation. All philanthropically-funded journalism at the Guardian is created with complete editorial independence.
[Listen to The Voice Ask Me Anything here]
Queen of the Con returns to Investigate RHOSLC’s Jen Shah
The newest season of AYR Media and iHeart’s podcast Queen of the Con debuted on Thursday, July 20. Season four, titled Queen of the Con: The Unreal Housewife, is a deep dive into the life and crimes of former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member Jen Shah.
New episodes drop weekly, every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app and all major podcasting platforms.
Featuring exclusive interviews with childhood friends, former neighbours, ex-employees, as well as several of Shah’s victims and the federal agent responsible for putting her behind bars, the eight-part series uncovers new details about the housewife-turned-convict’s backstory, rise to fame and the spiral of decisions and events that ultimately led to her arrest and conviction. The first two episodes premiered this morning, with new episodes dropping every Thursday on all major podcasting platforms.
TV producer and “con hunter” Johnathan Walton investigates and hosts the podcast, and executive produces alongside AYR Media founder Aliza Rosen. Attorney and popular YouTuber and podcaster Emily D. Baker, who has covered the Jen Shah case extensively via her channels, is featured heavily throughout the series and also serves as consulting producer. The series is distributed by iHeartPodcasts.
[Listen to Queen of the Con here]
Paper Moose launch new podcast, The Mucky Middle
Hosted by Paper Moose founder Nick Hunter, The Mucky Middle is a fireside chat with business leaders about their experience growing purpose-led businesses while ensuring the commercial realities.
The first episode of The Mucky Middle features Oscar McMahon of Young Henrys, who shares his experience growing the B Corp brewery into one of Australia’s most popular beer brands, drawing parallels to his past in rock’n’roll touring.
Says Nick Hunter: “Brands approach us to help them navigate the challenges and unknowns of balancing doing good while turning a profit, which we’ve dubbed the “Mucky Middle”. Everyone’s experience is unique, but what comes across in all the chats I’ve had is the satisfaction they get when the balance is right.”
Paper Moose is one of Australia’s few B Corp creative agencies and is dedicated to sparking positive change through creativity. Their active client roster includes Australian Ethical, Felix Mobile, Pukka, OzHarvest, Brighte and the NSW Environmental Protection Agency.
Produced and recorded entirely in-house at Paper Moose, episode one of The Mucky Middle is streaming now wherever you get your podcasts.
[Listent to The Mucky Middle here]
Social Capital Matters dives into how strong stakeholder relationships are critical to business success
Business leaders must focus on working with stakeholders to truly understand their needs and build the relationships that will help them navigate a marketplace fraught with reputational crises, declining trust, and increasing scrutiny. This is a common thread of insights revealed by thought leaders in the latest podcast series from Asia-Pacific strategic communications advisory firm, Baldwin Boyle Group.
A brand-new podcast series, Social Capital Matters, explores how companies can build trust and retain cultural relevance while balancing the often-competing interests of employees, customers, communities, and investors. Hosted by Kylie Taylor, group managing director of Baldwin Boyle Group, the series features change-agents from around the world, as they share on how business leaders can operate with integrity while tackling everything from social and environmental issues, culture wars, generational power shifts, stakeholder activism to a disengaged workforce.
Commenting on the new initiative, Taylor said, “Increasingly, organisations are held accountable, and we are seeing this more through the power of social media. This signals that the need to engage with people openly and honestly has never been more important.”
[Listen to Social Capital Matters here]
New series of James Valentine’s Head Room launches on the ABC listen app
ABC Radio Sydney Breakfast presenter, James Valentine, is back with a reimagining of his podcast, Head Room.
Head Room: The Beliefs series will see Valentine speak to fascinating and high-profile Australians who reveal why they do what they do, and what they believe.
Across 12 episodes, Valentine will sit down with guests to talk about the beliefs, principles and core values that underpin everything they do. It’s all the big questions, and all the other stuff – from the serious ‘Do you believe people can change?’, and the spiritual ‘Do you believe in an afterlife?’ to the light-hearted ‘Which are better, cats or dogs?’.
Guests include:
George Miller – filmmaker and Mad Max director
Clare Wright – historian and professor of history at La Trobe University
Richard Fidler – broadcaster and writer
Danielle Woods – CEO of the Grattan Institute
William Barton – composer, musician and vocalist
Cathy Wilcox – cartoonist, best known for her work for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
James Valentine said: “We all have a belief system – whether religious, political or ethical. It’s our beliefs about life, people, and the world that inform the choices we make.
“In this series, we get to explore unexpected aspects of people you might think you know well and find out what beliefs have shaped them and their work – I believe you’ll be very interested in their beliefs.”
ARN launches iHeart Tassie as it continues its regional news expansion
ARN has announced the next phase of its regional news expansion plans with the launch of iHeart Tassie, a weekly news series delivering in-depth coverage of current issues impacting the local Tasmanian community.
Produced and presented by Hobart 7HO breakfast newsreader Britt Aylen, this thought-provoking news series launches on air tomorrow and can be heard each Friday morning across ARN’s heritage Tasmanian stations. Additionally, each 20-minute episode is available as a weekly podcast providing on-demand access for audiences.
The inaugural episode of iHeart Tassie is titled “Tassie, The Roadkill Capital” and delves into the alarming statistic of half a million animals that tragically lose their lives on Tasmanian roads each year.
Aylen said: “I am honoured to be part of the iHeart Tassie news series. This platform allows us to bring attention to crucial local issues that deserve broader awareness and share local stories that matter to Tasmanians. Through in-depth investigation and storytelling, we aim to engage and educate our audience, fostering a stronger sense of community and understanding.”
