Weird Crap in Australia
Welcome to Weird Crap in Australia, a podcast hosted by Holly and Matthew Soall, a husband-and-wife team digging into the strange, fascinating and occasionally downright bizarre history of Australia. Holly is a social historian, and Matthew is a pop-culture obsessive. Together, they explore the stories Australians have been telling about themselves for generations — from ghosts, monsters, UFOs and true crime to disasters, animals, places, technology, censorship, popular culture and the weird corners of everyday Australian life. But Weird Crap in Australia isn't just about the weird bit. Every strange story has a history behind it, and Holly uses each episode to dig into the social history surrounding it: what Australians believed, how we lived, what frightened us, what entertained us, who was being left out of the story, and how the Australia we recognise today was shaped by the people who came before us. Matthew brings the pop-culture perspective, looking at the way these stories have been transformed through film, television, books, music and the wider culture. The result is Australian history without the dusty textbook. Did you know a full firefight between MPs and soldiers took place inside Sydney's Central Station in February 1916 — and you can still find the bullet holes in the pillars? Did you know one of Australia's convict ships was waylaid by Americans during the aftermath of the American Revolution in 1815? Did you know Australia has a dinosaur called Qantassaurus, and that many of the fossil expeditions that uncovered Australia's prehistoric past during the 1970s and 1980s were sponsored by corporations rather than the government? Did you know Chinese Australians played a significant role in the Victorian Gold Rush — and that the goldfields helped introduce Chinese food to Australian communities? There's a lot of history in this country. Some of it is taught in school. A lot of it isn't. We think the stories that have been forgotten, ignored or simply never made it into the textbook are worth telling. Because if we're going to understand Australia — and where we're going — we need to understand where we've come from. New episodes release at 12pm AEST/AEDT every Monday. *** All sound and voice clips used are © their respective owners. Main Theme music – Kevin MacLeod "Slow Ticking Clock" – Kevin MacLeod Used under a Creative Commons license. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/weird-crap-in-australia--2968350/support.
Episodes
Was it a tragic drowning, or is there more to the story? From the circumstances of Holt’s disappearance to the conspiracy theories that have persi...
What happened to Frederick Valentich? Was it a UFO encounter, a tragic aviation accident, or something else entire...
From historical accounts and reported encounters to strange descriptions of these mysterious beings, Holly and Matthew explore the stories surrounding two of Austral...
The investigation took a strange turn when a scrap of paper bearing the words “Tamam Shud” — commonly translated as &ldqu...
But how much of their fearsome reputation comes from their actual behaviour, and how much has grown through popular culture and legend?
Join Holly and Matthew as they explore Austral...
The operation proved far more difficult than expected, as the birds scattered and evaded the soldiers attempting to cull them. What was intended as a practical response to a farming problem became a...
The murders shocked Australia and became infamous internationally, casting a shadow over the country's reputation as a destination for adventurous travellers. The case al...
Despite an extensive investigation and a conviction, Falconio's body has never been found. The case attracted international attention, with unanswered quest...
The investigation revealed a disturbing pattern of manipulation, torture, and murder that shocked the nation. The case became known as the “b...
The case shocked the nation and raised difficult questions about the violence, the investigation, and the dangers of travelling through remote areas.
Join Holly and Matthew as they explore the ...
What do the statistics tell us about missing persons in Australia? From disappearances in remote areas to cases that remain unresolved, Holly and Matthew explore the numbers behind missing persons cases and the realities that those figures represent.
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Join Holly and Matthew as they explore the history of the kickboxing kangaroo, from early references to boxing kangaroos to its place in Australian sporting culture and popular imagination.
What does Pine Gap actually do, and what role does it play in international intell...
Newspaper reports of eerie lights and supposed hauntings offer a glimpse into the stories associated with this vast stretch of Australian bushland. Other accounts describe shadowy figures an...
The case became one of Australia's most controversial legal proceedings. Lindy's conviction was later quashed, and subsequent findings recognised that Aza...
Sightings have been reported across the country, from Victorian forests to remote bushland elsewhere in Australia. But do these elu...
At the heart of the conflict were competing political interests, disputes over authority, and the p...
After the attack, investigators examining the station found chemical residues and sheep remains that raised suspicions of nerve-agent te...
Witnesses have described lights that appear to move erratically, drift across the horizon, or seem to follow people travelling through the region. Explanations range fr...
Operating around the Sydney region in the colony's earliest years, Caesar repeatedly evaded capture before his life came to a violent e...
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