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Change the Story

23 episodes listed below

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Systems change, told through community experience.

The gist

Change the Story connects policy argument with lived experience, moving from early learning reform to First Nations language revival and belonging. Its episodes favor grounded examples over abstract optimism, asking what actually helps communities change stubborn systems.

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About Change the Story

Change the Story is built around a plain but difficult question: what does it take to change systems that keep failing people? Its recent episodes answer through children’s policy, early learning, Indigenous education, language, Country, and belonging. The show has a public-policy spine, but it does not stay trapped in institutional language. It brings personal testimony into the same frame as budgets, reform announcements, research, and political resistance. That gives the series its force. Evidence matters here, but the show repeatedly asks why evidence is not enough. In the Life’s Lottery episodes, Jenny Whelan and Glenn Davis examine how children can be placed at the centre of policy rather than treated as an afterthought. The discussion returns to detention, out-of-home care, universal early learning, and the distance between what is known and what governments still choose to do. Other episodes shift the microphone toward First Nations and diaspora voices. Leela Smith’s episode on backing Indigenous kids foregrounds strengths, education, culture, and what is working. Kirsten Gray and Tim Goodwin bring lived and professional perspectives to that conversation. The My Language My Country episodes widen the register again. Carmine Gentile reflects on Uluru, Country, silence, and the way place can change perception. Amanda Mors-Miley speaks about Samoan identity, migration, family, language, and the care involved in acknowledgement of Country. Lachlan McDaniel’s work with Wiradjuri language revival points to language as memory, practice, and connection. Elaine Laforteza frames that conversation with attention to colonial and frontier violence, language loss, and the need to listen carefully. The show is serious without becoming remote. It suits listeners who want social change treated as lived reality, not slogan or spectacle.

Made for: For listeners interested in public policy, First Nations perspectives, early childhood reform, community work, and the lived realities behind social change debates.

What sets it apart: Change the Story pairs careful policy discussion with first-person community experience, keeping evidence, culture, Country, and practical reform in the same conversation.

In their own words

People working to change systems from the ground up — community leaders, researchers, activists and practitioners. Through short series and conversations, you’ll hear big ideas, urgent debates, and practical examples of community-led solutions in action. This podcast was previously called Life's Lottery, and relaunched in 2026 as Change the Story. Produced by UTS Impact Studios.

children at the centre of policyearly learning reformFirst Nations education and culturelanguage revivalAcknowledgement of Countryout-of-home care and detentiondiaspora identity and belongingevidence and political change

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Episodes

  1. 1

    2. Possibility thinking (Life's Lottery)

    This episode of Change the Story, formerly Life's Lottery, features hosts Jenny Whelan and Glyn Davies discussing disadvantage and new approaches to social change with guest Charlie Ledbeater, a systems thinker.

    ·29m·2 clips
  2. 2

    8. Kids and the Federal Budget (Life's Lottery)

    This episode analyzes how the federal budget prioritizes children's wellbeing, explores the concept of a child-centred budget, and discusses the impact of funding decisions on issues like education, health, and poverty.

    ·31m
  3. 3

    4. Collective impact: communities driving change (Life's Lottery)

    This episode explores the collective impact model through Logan Together as a community-led approach to addressing structural poverty and social disadvantage in Australia.

    ·37m
  4. 4

    14. A better start: game-changing preschool reform in NSW & VIC (Life's Lottery)

    This episode analyzes recent game-changing announcements by the New South Wales and Victorian governments to fund universal early learning for children in the year before school, discussing their significance for child development and workforce productivity.

    ·26m
  5. 5

    13. Evidence is not enough: a review of Backing Kids (Life's Lottery)

    This bonus episode reviews season two of Life's Lottery Backing Kids, highlighting the frustration with the gap between evidence and policy implementation regarding children's welfare in Australia.

    ·27m
  6. 6

    22. Ethical belonging [My Language My Country]

    Amanda Mors-Miley discusses her Samoan identity, language challenges, and the importance of using culturally appropriate acknowledgements of country that address colonisation's impacts on indigenous people.

    ·30m
  7. 7

    17. Acknowledging Country in Our Mother Languages [My Language My Country]

    This episode explores how to connect with First Nations peoples and cultures in Australia through diverse languages, challenging the English-centric view and emphasizing the importance of acknowledging traditional lands.

    ·26m
  8. 8

    9. Building blocks for life: public health and kids (Life's Lottery)

    This episode explores how a public health perspective can address the widening inequalities in children's wellbeing, exacerbated by COVID-19, featuring Professor Sharon Goldfeld's insights on sustainable policy solutions.

    ·32m
  9. 9

    7. Children in the national conversation (Life's Lottery)

    This episode explores how Australia can better value children by putting them at the center of public policy and funding, featuring interviews with the National Children's Commissioner and a young person.

    ·34m
  10. 10

    12. Children at the centre: looking overseas (Life's Lottery)

    This episode explores the international status of children, highlighting significant improvements in areas like poverty reduction and survival, while addressing ongoing challenges such as inequality and conflict.

    ·39m
  11. 11

    10. A pram walk from every home: the case for a universal early learning system (Life's Lottery)

    This episode explores the challenges faced by young parents, particularly teen mother Ebony Curtis, and discusses the importance of support systems like the Brave Foundation in providing education and parenting resources.

    ·35m
  12. 12

    20. Waking up languages [My Language My Country]

    This episode explores the revival of First Nations languages in Australia, featuring Lachlan McDaniel's efforts to learn Wiradjuri and discussing how language connects to country and cultural identity.

    ·29m
  13. 13

    18. Multilingual homes [My Language My Country]

    A Fijian speaker discusses the emotional significance of using her native language to acknowledge country in Australia, connecting it to ancestral ties and cultural identity.

    ·28m
  14. 14

    5. The challenge to philanthropy (Life's Lottery)

    This episode features an interview with Susan Urang, CEO of the Pew Charitable Trusts, discussing the role of philanthropy in addressing social disadvantage, using data in politicized contexts, and the future of charitable foundations.

    ·36m
  15. 15

    11. Strong in culture: backing Indigenous kids (Life's Lottery)

    This episode explores what First Nations children need to thrive, focusing on strengths and education with Indigenous leaders sharing their perspectives.

    ·38m
  16. 16

    21. Learning Together [My Language My Country]

    Neema Madnani shares how delivering an acknowledgement of country in her native Sindhi language deepened her connection to her Indian heritage and sparked meaningful intergenerational conversations with her father and grandmother.

    ·27m
  17. 17

    19. Listening to Country [My Language My Country]

    The host shares a transformative experience at Uluru in Australia, where a sudden rainstorm revealed new plant life and prompted deep reflection on nature and existence.

    ·29m
  18. 18

    16. Introducing My Language My Country

    This episode introduces a podcast series exploring how multilingual acknowledgements of country create connections between migrants and First Nations peoples in Australia, addressing colonization and identity.

    ·4m
  19. 19

    15. Life's Lottery becomes Change the Story

    This episode introduces the podcast's rebranding from 'Life's Lottery' to 'Change the Story,' focusing on exploring how communities and activists work to address systemic inequality through grassroots efforts and institutional change.

    ·3m
  20. 20

    1. On merit (Life's Lottery)

    This episode introduces the podcast 'Life's Lottery' (later 'Change the Story'), focusing on rethinking disadvantage and merit in society.

    ·33m·3 clips
  21. 21

    3. Parents in prison (Life's Lottery)

    This episode explores the impact of incarceration in Australia, focusing on women in prison and their families, using audio from Darwin Correctional Centre to highlight personal stories and systemic issues.

    ·34m·3 clips
  22. 22

    Introducing season 2: Backing Kids (Life's Lottery)

    This episode introduces Season 2 of Life's Lottery, focusing on how to address child poverty and inequity in Australia through better policy and public investment to ensure all children thrive.

    ·2m
  23. 23

    Introducing Life’s Lottery

    Oct 18, 2021·2m