StoryCraft

Ben Hart

A show about the art and science of storytelling. Every episode, host Ben Hart chats with someone who knows stories deep down in their bones: journalists, communications experts, campaigners. It's a podcast for anyone who wants to be a better storyteller, has an interest in what makes stories tick or just loves a good yarn.

Episodes

  1. Oxfam wants an overwhelmed public to care about climate justice. This is how they’re doing it.

    02/10/2023

    Oxfam wants an overwhelmed public to care about climate justice. This is how they’re doing it.

    Technical note: We experienced a few hardware issues while recording this episode, which is why it doesn't sound as crisp or polished as our usual work. Do not adjust your headphones. Australians are deeply concerned about climate change. They’re also ready to take action to address it. But does that commitment extend to caring about climate justice? A lesser-known aspect of the climate debate, climate justice is all about ensuring that those who’ve contributed the least to the problem – developing countries and disadvantaged people everywhere – aren’t lumped with the most extreme impacts of climate change. The good folks over at Oxfam Australia have gone all-in on the fight for climate justice. But they’ve also run into a problem: Most of their supporters view Oxfam as an international aid organisation, not an environmental agency. Oxfam realised they needed a story to draw a link between climate justice and caring for the disadvantaged. But they didn’t know how to tell it. Enter Fireside Agency: a comms agency for those doing good in the world (and, as it happens, publisher of StoryCraft). On this week’s episode, we look at a recent project that Fireside undertook to craft Oxfam a narrative – one that would make people care about climate justice. We sit down with Oxfam’s Nina Crawley, who asked Fireside to develop a story that inspired people to take action. And we hear from Penny Burke, of Whereto Research, who shares some hard-earned insights about behaviour change campaigns. Looking for more on the art, craft and science of storytelling? Check out our sister website The Story – a free resource for anyone interested in honing their storytelling skills.

    50 min
  2. Claire O’Rourke says stories of hope can save us from a climate disaster

    11/07/2022

    Claire O’Rourke says stories of hope can save us from a climate disaster

    When faced with a crisis of hope in the wake of the devastating Black Summer bushfires, Claire O’Rourke felt compelled to act. Recognising that millions of other Australians also felt overwhelmed by the scale of the climate crisis, she filled her first book, Together We Can, with hopeful stories of people taking action to preserve a healthy and habitable planet for future generations. As an exercise in storytelling, Together We Can tackles the most critical communications challenge of our times – how to discuss a complex, overwhelming and scary problem like the climate crisis in a way that inspires people to become part of the solution. In a frank and wide-ranging interview with StoryCraft host Ben Hart, O’Rourke outlines the rise of ‘constructive journalism’, where stories that empower audiences with solutions to problems are prioritised over breaking news and drama. Backed up by a belief that anyone can create the conditions for positive systems change, O’Rourke outlines the pathways for all of us to become better climate communicators, and how to avoid falling into common traps. Listen via the player above, or subscribe to StoryCraft on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Links: Paul Hawken: Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One GenerationDamon Gameau: The RegeneratorsCate Blanchett and Danny Kennedy: Climate of Change podcastPositive News

    45 min
  3. Changing the story of pop's greatest hitmakers - with Matthew Denby

    11/25/2021

    Changing the story of pop's greatest hitmakers - with Matthew Denby

    For decades, a compelling falsehood held sway in serious discussions about popular music: rock bands, with their “real” instruments and gritty vocals, were authentic artists, while pop stars, whose synthesiser arrangements and choreographed music videos belied their artificial nature, were not. It’s an argument former magazine writer Matthew Denby never bought into. And as the success of his recent podcast shows, he’s far from alone. Titled ‘A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman’, Matt’s podcast offers an oral history of pop music's biggest hit factory, made up of the trio affectionately known as SAW. For nearly 10 years, SAW dominated the charts, producing hits for Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Bananarama and virtually every other quintessentially ’80s outfit in between. Their music was among the first to bring elements of the gay club scene into the popular domain. But while SAW found millions of listeners across the globe, they were largely ignored (if not flat-out derided) by music's cultural gatekeepers. In this episode of StoryCraft, Matthew explains why he and his co-host Gavin Scott wanted to rewrite this particular chapter of music history, and wrestle with the question of who gets to write the first draft of history in the first place. Looking for more on the art, craft and science of storytelling? Check out our sister website The Story. Follow The Story on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. StoryCraft is powered by Fireside, a communications agency for those doing good in the world.

    30 min
  4. Why Australia needs more Indigenous-told stories - with Rhianna Patrick

    11/18/2021

    Why Australia needs more Indigenous-told stories - with Rhianna Patrick

    For much of our nation’s post-white settlement history, the voices of Indigenous Australians have been largely missing from the story of who we are and where we’ve come from. This omission is all the more tragic because of the rich history of storytelling that exists in Indigenous culture. For nearly 20 years, Rhianna Patrick was one of the leading Indigenous voices on the ABC, documenting the experience of our First Nations communities on programs like AWAYE! and Speaking Out. But the responsibility of carrying these stories and working in a mainstream media landscape built on colonisation took a heavy toll and she left the ABC in 2020. In this episode, Rhianna talks to host Ben Hart about the differences in the way Indigenous Australians approach stories, and what non-Indigenous storytellers can learn from the care and respect that sits at the heart of this approach (Hint: things might take a bit longer, but the payoff is huge). Rhianna also talks about her new role at Australia’s only 100 per cent Indigenous owned and operated media organisation Indigenous X, why there’s a growing interest in stories from a First Nations perspective and why mainstream media organisations need to do more than just increase the headcount of Indigenous journalists in their newsrooms. Looking for more on the art, craft and science of storytelling? Check out our sister website The Story. Follow The Story on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

    36 min

About

A show about the art and science of storytelling. Every episode, host Ben Hart chats with someone who knows stories deep down in their bones: journalists, communications experts, campaigners. It's a podcast for anyone who wants to be a better storyteller, has an interest in what makes stories tick or just loves a good yarn.