Skip to content
From The Embers podcast artwork

PODCAST · society

From The Embers

by Community Broadcasting Association of Australia

In 2020, the first series of From the Embers premiered, focusing on communities across Australia who had faced fire and smoke and homes destroyed in what was one of the most difficult summers has ever seen, the 2019-20 bushfire season.In 2022, From the Embers 2: Phoenix returns to several places featured in the first series, including Mallacoota, Kangaroo Island, and the forests of the Far north of New South Wales to explore how communities are recovering from the fires and the issues that stem from trauma and isolation, coupled with the strength gained when so much is lost.This series will also visit new communities who are recovering from floods and seemingly never ending COVID lockdowns.Created in partnership with community radio stations, and the generous support of the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, Paul Ramsay Foundation, The Minderoo Foundation Fire and Flood Resilience Initiative, and the Monash University's Fire To Flourish program.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Sep 12, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. A Change in the Landscape

    Four Emergency level bushfires burned over one weekend in Western Australia in February 2022. With roughly 30% of WA agricultural land, most farmers are prepared for fire at any time. But when one comes, they rely heavily on volunteer farmers and locals who form the Bush Fire Brigade. On February...

  2. Rising Rivers

    Day after day of intense rainfall fell across south east Queensland In February 2022, breaking riverbanks, swamping roads and flooding homes. The city of Brisbane experienced one of the worst floods on record. In three days alone, Brisbane received 80 per cent of its annual rainfall as people...

  3. Roofs above Water

    Ever increasing record high flood levels are marked on the side of Lismore’s flood levee. Lismore, a town in Northern New South Wales is dissected by two major rivers. When there’s heavy rainfall, water flows down from the surrounding hills, slowing at the bottom and spreading across the...

  4. Right Fire Wrong Fire

    One and a half million hectares of Yuin Country was destroyed by the 2019/2020 mega fires in the South Coast of New South Wales. These fires killed countless animals, plants and insect species - some of which are now on the brink of extinction. Many members of the South Coast Yuin Community call...

  5. Disappearing Swiftly

    The fires that tore through the South Coast of New South Wales in 2019/2020 hit towns on the coast and in the bush. Within the community, homes were lost, some experienced events that left them traumatised and all inhabited a devastated landscape. Animal habitats were also affected and when both...

  6. Framing Disaster

    Two years on from the massive fire that tore through Mallacoota, a tiny coastal town in Victoria, the camping grounds are full again, koalas can be spotted in the crowns of eucalypts and the landscape is green with epicormic growth. But the town is dotted with empty lots where houses once stood…

    more
  7. The House on the Hill

    Residents in Lobethal fled their properties for safety in December 2019, not knowing if they’d return and find their houses still standing. Adelaide’s Cudlee Creek fire filled the air with black smoke and destroyed 85 homes over 10 days. As the recovery rolled-out, the pandemic crept in…

    more
  8. When Lightning Strikes Twice

    Severe storms and fire are a part of life on Kangaroo Island. But the firestorms that blasted across the Island’s landscape in January 2022 were unlike anything ever seen before, and forbode of a changing climate. Two years on, birds and mammals are only just starting to return to fire-ravaged...

  9. From the Embers Season 2: Phoenix Trailer

    In 2019, major fires surged across Australia lasting until rains and floods extinguished them in 2020. Most remember this as the worst season Australia had experienced. From the Embers season 2: Phoenix revisits towns explored in the first series, taking listeners to the east Coast of Australia…

    more
  10. Bird in the Sky

    The roads to Omeo were closed as fires surged towards the small East Gippsland town. Locals retreated to the Recreation Reserve to camp in outbuildings and halls clustered around the football field. Then out of the heavy smoke, birds appeared, chinooks and blackhawks offering an escape to some of...

  11. Should I Stay or Should I Go

    What does a “properly defended” house look like? Is it a bunker in a hill? A mop and bucket at every corner? Do you just need a hose and access to a tap? Across Australia during the bushfire season, a repeated message is that people should only stay if they’re prepared to fight the fires,, but as…

    more
  12. Shelter at the Beach

    First the road closed. Then on the morning of New Years Day, night came and the skies turned red. Images from the coastal town of Mallacoota went viral as thousands of people sheltered on the wharf, the beach and in the caravan park that overlooks the lake. And during that time, the community…

    more
  13. The Glowing Island

    Kangaroo Island is the oldest bee sanctuary in the world and home to one of the last disease-free koala populations in Australia. At the end of 2019, two lightning strikes lit up the bushland at Flinders Chase National Park, resulting in uncontrollable firestorms that tore across the island at...

  14. Records, Pets and Knickers

    When a fast-moving fire started in Cudlee Creek in the Adelaide Hills, residents throughout the region had to stop, drop what they were doing and return to their homes to defend, evacuate, or take shelter. If they chose to flee to safety, they faced another tough decision - what to take with them...

  15. The Fire and the Flood

    People move to Cooma for the landscape, to walk through forests, to farm, to be embraced in a small community that welcomes outsiders But in the summer of 2019, danger was lurking in the hills around Cooma and as the year ticked over, Cooma was visited by an unexpected disaster. Guests: Yvi…

    more
  16. The Mosquito Army

    Early in the bushfire season, the town of Mongarlowe was encircled by flames and cut off from outside support. The town was facing encroaching fires so vast and severe that in other circumstances support teams of extra fire trucks and crews, emergency services and much more would have been sent…

    more
  17. Home and Housed

    Early data placed the number of wildlife lost in the recent bushfires at over a billion. The impact of Australia’s recent fire season on wildlife has been devastating. Before the fires hit their zenith, wildlife carers and rescuers- some defending their homes and properties at the same time, were...

  18. Radio Saves the Day

    A transistor radio and couple of batteries kept people connected during the bushfires as they listened to the constant emergency alerts. But in between the official messages are the human ones. Five presenters working across two regions share their experience of the recent summer of fire and what...

  19. From the Embers Season 1 Trailer

    CBAA's documentary series From the Embers, takes listeners to the very heart of nine communities affected by the recent bushfire crisis. From the Embers is an important reminder to us all of the essential role that storytelling plays in ensuring we allow those affected to be honoured and heal...

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.

No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.

Showing of matches

No topics indexed yet for this podcast.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

In 2020, the first series of From the Embers premiered, focusing on communities across Australia who had faced fire and smoke and homes destroyed in what was one of the most difficult summers has ever seen, the 2019-20 bushfire season.In 2022, From the Embers 2: Phoenix returns to several places featured in the first series, including Mallacoota, Kangaroo Island, and the forests of the Far north of New South Wales to explore how communities are recovering from the fires and the issues that stem from trauma and isolation, coupled with the strength gained when so much is lost.This series will also visit new communities who are recovering from floods and seemingly never ending COVID lockdowns.Created in partnership with community radio stations, and the generous support of the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, Paul Ramsay Foundation, The Minderoo Foundation Fire and Flood Resilience Initiative, and the Monash University's Fire To Flourish program.

HOSTED BY

Community Broadcasting Association of Australia

Produced by Andrew Morris

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does From The Embers have?

From The Embers currently has 19 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is From The Embers about?

In 2020, the first series of From the Embers premiered, focusing on communities across Australia who had faced fire and smoke and homes destroyed in what was one of the most difficult summers has ever seen, the 2019-20 bushfire season.In 2022, From the Embers 2: Phoenix returns to several places...

How often does From The Embers release new episodes?

From The Embers has 19 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to From The Embers?

You can listen to From The Embers on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts From The Embers?

From The Embers is created and hosted by Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.
URL copied to clipboard!