History Lab

Mar 25 2025 36 ep. 24 mins 111

History Lab Podcast artwork

History Lab || exploring the gaps between us and the past || This series is made in collaboration by the Australian Centre for Public History and Impact Studios at the University of Technology, Sydney.

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3. Faces Today: Indigenous Artists Return the Gaze

Mar 25 2025 41 mins

Colonial portraits have long dictated how Indigenous people were seen. But Indigenous artists continue to challenge that power. Through satire, reinterpretation, and resistance, they’re using art to question history—and reshape the future. In this episode, historians Kate Fullagar and Mike McDonnell speak with contemporary Indigenous artists who are confronting t

2. Facing Off: From Botany Bay to Aotearoa

Mar 25 2025 37 mins

In this episode, historians Kate Fullagar and Mike McDonnell revisit Bennelong’s portraits to examine how colonial art encountered Indigenous identity. Indigenous scholar Jo Rey, a Dharug woman, challenges these depictions, questioning their accuracy and impact. The conversation then expands to the Pacific, where Māori scholar Alice Te Punga Somerville discusses the s

1. Facing Empire: A Long History of Representing Others

Mar 25 2025 40 mins

Bennelong, a Wangal man of the Eora nation, was among the first Aboriginal people to travel to Europe and return. As a crucial interlocutor between his people and the British colonists, he navigated two worlds but the way he was depicted in colonial portraits raises complex questions. In one, he appears in traditional body paint. In another, years later, he is dressed in European c

Introducing: Unsettling Portraits

Mar 22 2025 2 mins

Can colonial depictions of Indigenous people tell us anything useful about the past? How do Indigenous people today feel about these enduring images? Unsettling Portraits is a three-part series exploring the history of portraiture and colonialism, alongside contemporary First Nations responses. Indigenous artists and historians in Australia, the Pac

What's coming in 2025? History Lab update and previews with Tamson Pietsch

Mar 20 2025 6 mins

If you're an old friend, hello and thank you for hitting play. If you're a new listener, welcome. History Lab, as many of you will know, was Australia’s first investigative history podcast. We've made five seasons so far, and our tagline is exploring the gaps between us and the past. And while you notice that from season to season our storytelling style changes, we're s

On the Edge: a layered history of Sydney's South Head

Jan 15 2025 28 mins

A special History Lab episode with a soundwork that explores the history of Sydney's South Head, followed by an interview with the maker Sinead Roarty and Director of the Australian Centre for Public History at UTS, Tamson Pietsch. About the soundwork: On the Edge The Gap at South Head in Sydney's eastern suburbs is a place of extreme beauty. It is also famous for being Australia's

Introducing... Hey History!

Jun 17 2024 3 mins

We've got a new history podcast for you and the kids in your life, called Hey History! With immersive, sound rich storytelling and Australia's top historians and experts, dive into key events in our history. Find out... How did First Nations people learn on Country? How does learning happen today? What really when Captain Cook and First Nations people met at Kamay Botany Bay?

6. Last Drinks

Sep 04 2023 19 mins

In 1887 there were no less than 22 hotels in Darlinghurst. Over the next century and a half, the character, culture and clientele of Darlinghurst pubs evolved. This story explores the impact on Darlinghurst of two episodes of liquor licensing restrictions in NSW: six o’clock closing and the Sydney lockout laws. Image: Royal Sovereign Hotel, corner Darlinghurst Rd and Liverpool

5. Room With A View

Sep 04 2023 18 mins

Terraces, flats, squats, bedsits, mansions, towers, camps and hostels: in Darlinghurst, housing is a mixed bag. This audio story explores the range of lifestyles afforded by Darlinghurst’s dense diversity of dwellings. Image: Pad with a View, Kings Cross 1970-71 (Photographer: Rennie Ellis © Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive) Credits This audio story is a production of

4. Pandemic Times

Sep 04 2023 16 mins

At St Vincent's Hospital, the Sisters of Charity have been delivering care to the people of Darlinghurst since 1857. This audio story visits St Vincent’s during three historic public health emergencies: the Spanish Flu, the HIV/AIDS crisis and COVID-19. Image: Sister and nurse with home visitation car, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney (Courtesy of the Congregational Archives of