How not to cover a radioactive incident
4/27/202620 min
In 2003, fire trucks, ambulances and hazmat crews descend on Merewether High School in Newcastle after reports of a radioactive incident. No one is speaking to the media — except a 14-year-old student who’s just been given a mobile phone. Matt Bevan is live on the scene.
Recorded live at Newcastle Writers Festival, Matt revisits a mystery from his past: the bizarre series of events that led to his first ever live radio cross.
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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAnnabel Crabb0:00
[upbeat music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more. [upbeat jazz music] Hello, I'm Annabel Crabb. Now, I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder exactly, but I do hang on to things. It's not just you and me. Australia's oldest library is crammed with stuff that isn't books. Terrible paintings, old menus, human hair. Is this history or hoarding? Come and have a rummage through the story of us told by our stuff. Search for the History or Hoarding podcast on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
Matt Bevan· Host0:37
This podcast was produced on the lands of the Awabakal and Gadigal people. [upbeat music] G'day, Matt Bevan here. This is If You're Listening. Today, we're taking a break from the news cycle to bring you something a little bit different. This is part of a live show we did last month at the Newcastle Writers Festival, which we called If You're Listening: Declassified. I was joined on stage at Newcastle City Hall by my producers, Pat Sunderland and Adare Sheppard. Each of us brought original stories that had never been heard before on the podcast or by each other, stories that we hadn't been able to squeeze into the news cycle. You'll hear Pat and Adare's stories next week, but first, here's the story I told about the truly bizarre sequence of events that led to my first ever appearance on live radio.