Podcast Week: Peacock Politics, NRL kick-off, Investigating Maddie

• New Peacock Politics podcast change of pace for sports broadcaster

Adam Peacock goes from Canberra to Washington & Westminster

Adam Peacock is a household name for watchers of Fox Sports, however you don’t immediately associate him with the innermost works of Canberra and the finer points of the democratic process.

When we got the new PodcastOne host of Peacock Politics on the line, the first question we asked was “Which Adam Peacock is this?”

“It’s the real one,” he laughed to Mediaweek.

Peacock said the concept of this podcast idea developed last August when Australia lost another prime minister before his term was up.

“I have always had an interest in politics and I thought to myself to have to go through this upheaval in Canberra again was so weird. A little later I thought about an idea for a podcast to guide viewers through how our political system actually works.”

He is right that many people now how things work, but we don’t always get to delve into the framework of why certain things happen. “The people at Fox Sports were good enough to let me do it and go exploring.”

His PodcastOne connection came via Mark Howard of The Howie Games who gave Peacock an introduction to the platform decision makers.

Peacock said he has a very neutral view in Peacock Politics when it comes to topical discussion about the left and right. “I wanted to find out from all sides about what their ideals are and how they would make the system work within that framework.”

The first eight episodes are now available from PodcastOne and the first episode we listened to was Dr Keith Suter on the genesis of our political system. (Suter says it is often referred to as the “Washminster” system.)

Others guests so far include:

Former speaker Anna Burke on the House of Representatives.

Natasha Stott Despoja on the Senate.

Professor John Warhurst talks about the left and the right in Australia.

Graham Richardson discusses the ALP, Christine Milne on the Greens, Amanda Vanstone on the Liberals and Corey Bernadi on Australian Conservatives.

“Corey is the only current politician I have spoken to so far because I didn’t want them to be conflicted. He doesn’t really care about the consequences of what he says.”

Peacock is planning to drop more episodes as we edge toward a federal election. “I am looking forward to covering the day-to-day workings of politics after initially covering the framework. We will look at the Canberra bubble and ask about winning election strategies and examine the media cycle.”

Listen to Peacock Politics here.

Football podcasts multiply as season commences

As the NRL season kicks off today, there are plenty of NRL-associated podcasts to choose from. The NRL has a suite of podcasts to choose from as do most NRL clubs plus broadcasters covering the sport.

NRL Fantasy Podcast: This is sponsored by youi. It offers listeners the latest NRL Fantasy info, team news, late mail and trade tips with the NRL Fantasy Podcast now coming out twice a week in 2019.

Chris Kennedy and Dom Brock take listeners through all the key selections, the best buys and traps to avoid.

Alicia Newton gets some breaking news on a potential early return for Jordan Rapana, listeners learn why Vil Kikau is going vegan and which Wests Tiger cub is likely to benefit from the injury to Chris Lawrence.

Brad Preston and Andrew Molinaroli judge NRL Fantasy line-ups, giving their expert opinion on the best keepers to own and what tweaks and adjustments listeners can make before kick-off.

Listen to the NRL Fantasy podcast here.

Other popular NRL podcasts include Nine’s Six Tackles With Gus, The Daily Telegraph’s Official SuperCoach podcast and Fifth And Last NRL podcast.

Nine.com.au launches investigative news podcasts with Maddie

Nine.com.au has launched its investigative news podcast series with Maddie, a nine-part examination of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the three-year-old British girl who vanished in Portugal in 2007.

Maddie is the culmination of two years of work on the McCann mystery by senior nine.com.au journalist, Mark Saunokonoko.

“It’s a fascinating case, but after more than a decade not all the evidence has come to light and Maddie is still missing,” Saunokonoko said. “We’ve pulled together all aspects of this case and a podcast seemed the most appropriate medium to really explore this well known yet not fully understood story.”

The podcast comes nearly 12 years after Madeleine McCann disappeared and explores what could have happened to her.

“Maddie was a huge undertaking for Nine.com.au, which included interviewing those close to the case across three continents,” said Simon King, editor of Nine.com.au.

“It demonstrates the commitment of Nine.com.au to strong original journalism and creating content that engages our audience, as proven by Maddie’s quick rise to the top of the iTunes Podcast chart. [Where it currently ranks #1.]

“We get asked why do this story now? The answer is pretty simple. First, an innocent girl is still missing and, as you will hear Mark reveal, not everything has been done to find her.

“Second, the case is complicated and it really does require and deserve a multi-episode investigation to properly examine what could have happened to Maddie.”

The podcast is supported with a content hub for listeners who want to read up on the case, look at images including maps of the resort Maddie was last seen in, and view the McCanns’ apartment from which she disappeared.

Listen to Maddie here.

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