This week’s guest on Out of the Question is the comedian and TV host, Tom Ballard. You all know Tom from Triple J, multiple hosting and guesting engagements on the ABC and Channel 10 as well as the iconic Tonightly with Tom Ballard. We talk about that here. There’s also his stand up and his book, I Millennial. And now he’s back with a new Melbourne…

Too much has happened since Dave O’Neil recorded this episode of Another 10 Questions back in the peak pandemic days of November, 2021. The point of Another 10 Questions was to invite guests back onto the pod as a catch up or check in. And since Dave was on the very first episode of this podcast back in 2015, there was a lot to talk about. Most lis…

This week’s guest on Out of the Question is the comedian Mel Buttle. I’ve been a long-time fan and this is our first ever chat. I particularly love her Mum character, which she occasionally releases on social media. We talk about the genesis of that here. We also talk school, jobs, growing up in Queensland and the Great Australian Bake Off which Me…

“I feel like I'm a very, very big energy in a world that wants you to be a little bit smaller.” - Nikki Britton. This week’s guest on Out of the Question is the comedian Nikki Britton. Apart from her live work, you might have seen Nikki on Have You Being Paying Attention, The Project and How to Stay Married. She’s returning to the Melbourne Interna…

This week’s guest on Out of the Question is writer, comedian, and musician, Sammy J. It’s a great chat. How could it not be? We talk about Sammy’s start in comedy, some of the formative shows he was involved in as a writer performer, the sitcom he created with Heath McIvor called Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane, and then his transition to politica…

This week, I’m extremely excited to have Osher Günsberg on the show. Most people know him from hosting the Bachelor and it’s associated spin offs I was more an Australian Idol guy who loved the on screen chemistry shared by Osher and James Mathison. But that’s just me showing my age. During our conversation, we talk about all that, as well as his r…

This week’s very special episode of Out of the Question is a Wilfred reunion episode with my fellow Wilfred creator, Jason Gann. We talk about the origins of Wilfred and where Jason is in his life right now. I met him as an acting student at the University of Southern Queensland. After graduating, he performed for the Queensland Theatre Company and…

My guest this week is satirist, humourist, author and stand up – Titus O’Reily. Titus used to be called Alex Twomey. He was a corporate guy who specialised in crisis and issues management. As we discover in this interview, Alex started writing a blog while still working in his office job and gave himself the pen name “Titus O’Reily”. The blog was h…

This week’s guest is my long time pal and work colleague, Sarah Wilson. Sarah is a multi-New York Times and Amazon best-selling author, podcaster, international keynote speaker, philanthropist and climate change advisor. She founded the I Quit Sugar movement – a digital wellness program and 13 award-winning books selling into 52 countries. And in 2…

I’ve been lucky with the content offered by the guests on this podcast – but this guy has an unusually inspiring story. Working class boy, becomes a political operative at 19, works his way up to being an advisor in the Rudd and Gillard Governments before pivoting to cricket commentary and becoming one of the best-known cricket broadcasters in the …

This week’s guest on Out of the Question is writer, comedian, and musician, Andrew Hansen. He’s the member of The Chaser who sings and sometimes gets into trouble for the lyrics he sings. I think he’s hilarious in the style of a shorter Cleese or a stronger jawed Tim Brooke-Taylor – while, at the same time, being completely his own thing. He’s also…

This week’s guest is the former Western Bulldogs great, turned AFL commentator, turned radio host, Luke Darcy. In 2002, Luke was awarded the AFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award, the Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year Award, and the Herald Sun Player of the Year Award. He represented Australia in the Internationa…

Welcome to the 100th episode of Out of the Question, the show formerly known has 10 Questions. It’s been a wild 100 episodes recorded over seven years – the most recent 50 coming a lot quicker than the first. I’m not going to mention individual episodes, but I want to thank all the guests who have come on and revealed their most personal stories an…

It’s been seven years since I last interviewed Ash Williams for this podcast. Back then, the former Hughesy and Kate co-host had recently returned from LA, where he’d made guest appearances on Anger Management, The Exes and You’re The Worst. He also sold photos of his feet, appeared in tickling videos and worked as a shirtless waiter at a gay bar. …

It was a treat for a sports nuffy like me to interview the football and cricket commentator, Mark Howard. I think Mark, or Howie’s as he’s commonly referred to, is one of cricket’s strongest ball-by-ball commentators. He’s always prepared. He’s got insight. And he brings out the best in the former stars offering special comments. During our chat, I…

This week’s guest is one of the enduring stars of Australian comedy. He’s good-hearted, infinitely likeable, smart and funny. I speak, of course, of the great Peter Helliar. I’ll take it for granted that we all we Peter best for his on air partnership with Rove McManus as well as his work on Skithouse, Before The Game, co-hosting The Project and hi…

This week’s guest has been part of our lives for decades. The high school debating star studied law, science and maths at university before winning Raw Comedy and embarking on a stellar radio career – first on Triple J and then on 702. I speak of course of the guy who hates being called “a math’s genius”, Adam Spencer. Still, Adam’s pretty good at …

This week we’re talking to the playwright, author, and Guardian columnist, Van Badham. Over the course of our chat, we cover her humble beginnings to early steps as a playwright at the University of Wollongong to studying theatre in Britain and having multiple award-winning plays staged over there, to her residency at the prestigious London Academy…

I’ve met this week’s guest many times over the years – generally at gigs or in the green rooms of TV studios, and I never waste the opportunity to tell her how great she was on the iconic late 1980s early 90s sketch show, The Big Gig, or the spoof hospital soap opera, Let The Blood Run Free. I speak of course of the legendary Jean Kittson. INnmore …

It was quite an emotional day when I interviewed this week’s guest, the former rugby international turned best-selling author, Peter FitzSimons. Because it was the day after my father died. I’ve written about my Dad, Desmond Zwar, a lot on social media. He was the author of 20 non fiction books, including The Loneliest Man In the World about Rudolf…

This week’s guest is Andy Lee - one half of Australia’s most popular comedy duo ever. He and Hamish Blake started off doing TV and radio at university, before making their commercial radio debut on Fox FM doing the 10pm-to-midnight slot on Mondays. We discuss that in this episode as well as their network TV debut on Channel 7’s The Hamish and Andy …

This week’s guest is one of the elders of podcasting in Australia. Back in 2010, he and Wil Anderson started making the podcast TOFOP – as well a collaborating on other podcasts, including the enduring and iconic, Two Guys One Cup. He’s also a well-known actor, starring in Blue Heelers, McLeod’s Daughters and Home and Away. I speak of course of Cha…

This week’s guest on Out Of The Question is Masterchef judge, Andy Allen. Andy was an elite basketball player and full-time electrician before becoming a Masterchef contestant and then winner, in season 4. After that, he became a trainee chef at Three Blue Ducks restaurants, head chef at their Rosebery establishment, and then a co-owner of the grou…

Our guest this week is the brilliantly laconic comedian Dan Connell. I first saw Dan perform at Dave O’Neil’s Fun House in around 2014 and was immediately struck by his super-relaxed delivery and use of old school lexicon. Dan grew up in the rugby league heartland of Bateman’s Bay on the New South Wales South Coast, which was hit by the terrifying …

The lawyer-turned-comedian and television creator, Nazeem Hussain. If you’re anywhere near TikTok you’ll see that Nazeem’s sketch shows Legally Brown, which first screened on SBS, and Orange is the New Brown (Channel 7), have gained a whole new, obsessively loyal audience. But Nazeem’s not thinking too much about creating any television right now. …

Pretty excited to have the British comedian Mark Watson on the podcast this week – not only do I find him hilarious, but I also like the way he explores the formats in which comedy can be presented. He’s won Perrier awards, Time Out Critics Choice awards and been nominated for Barry Awards at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He’s appear…

Pretty excited to be interviewing a duo this week. Possibly, Australia’s funniest duo. They are Melbourne Comedy Festival favourites, they’re winners of the Edinburgh Fringe Perrier Award, and they made two hilarious seasons of their sitcom on the ABC. Throughout this interview with Colin Lane and Frank Woodley we talk about how they started off as…

Annabel grew up on a farm, graduated from the University of Adelaide, became a journalist at the Adelaide Advertiser and moved on to The Age where she worked in the paper’s London bureau. Then, when she returned to Australia in the mid 2000s, she wrote books, won Walkley Awards and also appeared on quiz shows (Randling) and panel shows (Gruen). And…

This week has been a hell of a week for anyone living in the flood effected Northern Rivers region of NSW, so I thought it was appropriate to talk to author, comedian, and now Green’s candidate for Richmond in northern NSW, Mandy Nolan. All week she’s been helping the rescue effort in the region, so I was lucky to get her on Zoom for a chat. She’s …

Our first guest under the new Out of the Question moniker is the screenwriter and satirist, Chris Taylor. Post university, Chris started off as a cadet journalist for ABC news in Melbourne before moving back to Sydney and writing full time for the Chaser newspaper. He soon became a fully-fledged member of the Chaser and was a distinctive voice in a…

The smart, talented and hilarious Chrissie Swan. She was an advertisting copywriter before going on Big Brother in 2003. After that came a stint on regional radio in Queensland, then Vega and Mix FM in Melbourne, and now Chrissie, Sam and Brownie on Nova. In between, there were long term TV stints on The Circle, Can of Worms and The Great Australia…

I first came across the Adelaide-raised Anthony “Lehmo” Lehmann when he teamed up with Wil Anderson for their national drive show Wil and Lehmo. I loved his work on Before the Game where he cracked football-wise alongside Dave Hughes, Peter Helliar, Andy Maher and Samantha Lane. Since then, he and Joe Stanley took Gold FM’s breakfast show to number…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. Australian audiences know her best for her work as “Patricia Saunders” on Love Child, “April” on No Activity and the showstopping “Stevie” on The Other Guy. But since m…

Welcome to our short 10 Questions spin off, The Top Three. I choose a topic and ask guests to list their three favourite things about it. On this episode, comedian Lawrence Mooney details his top three beverages. Get the full series here - https://www.patreon.com/10QuestionsWithAdamZwar Socials Twitter - Adam Zwar Facebook - Adam Zwar 10 Questions …

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. This episode’s guest is one of my favourite comedians, Lawrence Mooney. I love Lawrence because he says the things I dare not think. He’s an actor, a writer, a stand up…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. After starring on such Australian TV shows as Moody Christmas, Strange Calls and Offspring, Patrick Brammall co-created the Stan hit No Activity with Trent O’Donnell. T…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. Today we’re joined by former advertising copywriter turned social commentator turned novelist Jane Caro. \It’s impossible not to feel wiser after a conversation with Ja…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. Writer, director and producer, Trent O’Donnell, is one of Australia’s most prolific comedy creators – co-creating such shows as Review With Miles Barlow, Moody Christma…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. Those who only know today’s guest Ed Kavalee from television are getting just a fraction of his personality. His close friend, Josh Lawson, used to call him the unoffic…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. The first politician I ever interviewed – way back in 1993 – was the former leader of the Australian Democrats, Cheryl Kernot. And I’m delighted she could join us here.…

I’ve known Dil, as he is often called, from around the comedy traps for quite a few years and watched him graduate from open mics to headlining, and from bit parts in TV shows to main roles. I last spoke to him in 2015 before I moved to LA and while I was gone he released two hour-long comedy specials, won a Logie and lost more than a third of his …

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. More thrills and spills from my chat with Kate Langbroek. Socials Twitter - Adam Zwar Facebook - Adam Zwar 10 Questions with Adam Zwar is produced in part by Nearly Med…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. Our returning guest is my old friend Kate Langbroek, whose bold and hilarious banter is one of my favourite things about Australian broadcasting. And she’s a great writ…

Adam's book Twelve Summers is out now. Twelve Summers is the story of those big memories and the big matches that accompanied them, told by one of the funniest writers in Australia. Legendary Australian batter and captain, Gregory Stephen Chappell. When I was growing up, I used to wear a t-shirt with his face emblazoned on it. I also had a Greg Cha…

This time we revisit one of our most popular guests, my friend, the comedian, broadcaster, architecture enthusiast and design aficionado, Tim Ross. Most of Australia knows Tim from his stage, radio and TV partnership with Merrick Watts. But more recently, he’s travelled the world performing live shows with a focus on architecture and design. I was …

Arguably Australia’s most popular comedian over the past 25 years. He’s played to packed houses all over the country and hosted radio shows on Nova, KIIS and now on 2Day FM. TV shows he’s either hosted or been a regular on include Hughesy We Have A Problem, The Project, Before The Game and of course ABC’s, The Glass House. During our chat, he talks…

I’ve known Meshel Laurie for more than 30 years. She was easily the funniest and most talented person in the first year of her acting course at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. I distinctly remember her doing a monologue for her end of year assessment and having the whole auditorium in hysterics but for some reason the lecturers …

Matt is one of the most recognisable faces in Australia due to his role as a judge on Masterchef. But his story started in England, going to boarding school, then the University of Kent before following his father into journalism. Matt wrote about television in Britain before the company he worked for sent him out to Australia to write about TV her…

Welcome to a special episode of 10 Questions – called “Another 10 Questions” - which gives me a chance to have guests return to the podcast. On the first episode is Dave O’Neil, who was the first guest on the show back in 2015 – 64 episodes ago. Dave O’Neil’s a veteran comic, radio host, screenwriter and definitely the person who gets name-checked …

Dave grew up in Geelong, took his first steps into stand-up comedy in his early 20s, and his gift of the gab was quickly recognised by Nova and then Fox FM – where he hosted various shows including the top rating Fifi, Dave and Fev. On television, he hosted This Week Live and appeared on such shows as Talkin’ About My Generation and Hughesy We Have…