The five best podcasts of 2022
Journalist and radio trailblazer Stephen Stockwell (Bachelor of Journalism ’08) shares his must-listen podcasts for 2022.
Audio recorders come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The one I had been taught how to use about 15 minutes before was about the size of a Gameboy. My headphones were plugged into one end while a microphone dangled from the other.
It was mid 2007 and I was in a Journalism in Sound course inside the Forgan Smith building at UQ’s St Lucia campus. Because all I’d ever heard was that people hate the sound of their own voice, I was reluctant to hit play.
In the end I was more surprised than anything. I sounded a bit higher than I had expected, but it wasn’t unbearable. I could at least listen to myself, and I guess that’s how it started.
From here I was making radio stories as assessment every couple of weeks.
Around the middle of semester, the News Coordinators from 4ZZZ, Bronwen and Danielle, gave a guest lecture.
They invited us to volunteer, and two days later, at 9am on a Thursday morning, I was reading the headlines on air.
I’d started studying journalism because I wanted to write, but from this point on it became pretty clear that audio was where I was going to be.
I spent more and more time at 4ZZZ, immediately applying things I learnt from UQ. Even though my attendance dropped, my grades improved.
I loved 4ZZZ because of the freedom I had there and the creativity it encouraged. I learnt fast and everything moved pretty quickly for me after that.
I spent about five years at zed before flying to north-west Western Australia to work as a Rural Reporter for the ABC.
After two years there, I was tempted back to the east coast by a job with triple j’s current affairs program Hack.
I’ve now come full circle though. I’m back at 4ZZZ as manager, offering others the freedom and encouraging the same creativity that ignited my passion for sound.
Even though I’m not formally studying anymore, I’m still learning.
I’m always listening to different podcasts to find new ways to drag people deeper into stories. These are some of my current favourites.
Stockwell's must-listen podcasts of 2022
1. Planet Money
Planet Money is my go-to podcast and I’m rarely disappointed. It tells the story of the economy through people and simple explanation. It always manages to find such a wonderful human story in the mess of economics, and I love how it finds a story in the everyday and brings you along for the ride.
2. Have You Heard George's Podcast?
Yes, that’s really the name. Fun, isn’t it? Have You Heard George's Podcast? follows London-based artist, George the Poet, his friends, family and people as proxies for racism, inequality and psychology. This tells a story in the most interesting and immersive way I’ve ever encountered, so you really need to check it out.
3. All the Best
All the Best is produced by community radio station FBi in Sydney. Each episode features stories from emerging producers based around a broad theme. Check it out to hear the people who’ll be making your favourite podcast in 5 years.
4. Ukrainecast
Ukrainecast is probably the timeliest podcast I’m listening to at the moment. It’s produced by the BBC and has been publishing daily updates of the war in Ukraine. It provides excellent access to correspondents and experts, but it can feel more like a radio show than a podcast.
5. Doomscroll Remedy
When your feed is filled with crushing news, conspiracy theories and existential threats (climate change and a pandemic, anyone?), life can seem pretty overwhelming. In Doomscroll Remedy, we’re going deeper to understand how we got ourselves into this mess — and what we can do to get out of it. You’ll get a glimpse into the lives of people affected by the curliest issues, and meet the people trying to solve them.
Teaming up with UQ on a podcast
Stockwell has brought his radio panache to a new UQ podcast that tackles the curly issues keeping you up at night. It's called Doomscroll Remedy.
My love of storytelling is what piqued my interest in Doomscroll Remedy. When I first came on board, the idea was to explore the work of UQ researchers and find out how they’re developing solutions to some pretty big problems – some things I personally wanted to know the answers to. That’s what I got, too, although not quite in the package I was expecting.
I had naively expected simple answers, but there really aren’t any. There are still solutions – it just turns out you have to work for them, which is really satisfying when you get there.
As well as those solutions, I think you’re going to really enjoy the personal stories in Doomscroll Remedy too.
The researchers are great, but the people we speak to who’ve experienced bushfires or are living with anxiety make it really easy to understand why research in these spaces is so important.
I hope this podcast helps you understand how we can find our way through some problems that might seem completely insurmountable.
With any luck, it’ll help you put your phone down at night, making it a little easier to sleep and cutting off that endless scroll before it begins.
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