Poets Joel O'Connor and Sean Stanyer join the Rambling lads to chat about the launch of Millennium Poets, an anthology of poetry celebrating the vibrant poetry scene that was born in Bendigo in the early 1990's and transformed into the Millennium Poets scene around Fitzroy in the late 1990's.

This is a story of how a small but vibrant and inclusive arts scene has crossed decades and generations, and how the creativity and passion of individuals can transform a community.

The Millennium Poets Anthology launch is being held at the Empress Hotel in North Fitzroy on Saturday 28th March at 3pm. Entry is free but RSVP required here.

To purchase a copy of the Millennium Poets Anthology click here.

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Scott and Brian are once again joined by Geelong broadcaster and community radio advocate Rob Cameron. Rob updates the lads on progress at 94.7 The Pulse including the important role it is playing is given local people on the fringes of society a voice.

Together they also discuss the decline of the Liberal Party, Brian and Rob's love of sheep shit, and Scott's aversion to pumpkin.

In a bonus ending to the episode Brian reviews the most recent 5 Aussie albums that Scott lent him during the previous episode.

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Local DJ and vinyl collector Darren O'Mullane AKA DJ Dread joins the mission to assist with Brian's vinyl journey with a deep dive into the origins and emergence of Australian punk music in the late '70s and early '80s.

Darren brings along a bunch of albums that reflect the importance and influence Aussie punk music had on the world scene. Together they chat about the Australian music scene in that era and Scott chimes in with 5 albums from his own collection that represent the uniqueness of the Australian music scene of that era.

A must-listen for anyone into independent Aussie music, vinyl collecting, or music lovers in general.

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Richard Broome AM is Emeritus Professor of History at La Trobe University and the author of twenty books on Australian and Aboriginal history.

Richard chats to Brian and Scott about his long and distinguished career, how through a series of "sliding door" moments he found his way to becoming one of Australia's most respected academics of Aboriginal history, including how stumbling upon an article in a copy of the Sydney Morning Herald from the early 1900s about the first major, world-renowned prize fight between a black and a white man in Sydney led him down a rabbit hole that defined the rest of his career.

This is a fascinating conversation about the importance of understanding history and how serendipitous moments in our lives shape our careers and the directions our lives take.

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Steve Hassell has lived a life moving up and down the East Coast of Australia following work, love and footy.

About 10 years ago, while living in Newcastle, Steve and his wife received the call no parent wants to receive; their eldest son Jarrod, who was living in Melbourne at the time, had passed away unexpectedly and in tragic circumstances.

Steve opens about how he deals with the loss of his son, how everyone deals differently with grief, and how other people have reacted differently (and often awkwardly) to his and his wife's personal grief.

Steve also chats to Brian and Scott about how a boy from Rochester ended up living in Melbourne and travelling to Bendigo each weekend to play footy for Sandhurst Football Club, his love of sailing, and how COVID lockdowns lead to him jamming at the Sleepy Hollow Blues Club in Geelong.

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Mark Lee is a veteran of the Victorian Police Force. Over his 45 year career he has served in a wide range of roles including station chief at 6 different stations, and served under secondment to the Australian Federal Police where he led the first deployment to East Timor to train the local police force after they gained their independence from Indonesia. Mark also served in the Solomon Islands and Iraq where he also trained the local police force.

Mark is also driven to serve his local community in volunteer roles. He is the current President of the Geelong RSL, and chairs the board of Community Voracity; the umbrella organisation for the Power in You Project.

In this episode Mark chats about a fascinating career and we delve into a range of topics including leadership, community service, veteran welfare, and dealing with trauma.

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In the first recorded episodes of 2026 Scott and Brian catch-up sans-guest and reflect on some of their favourite Rambling moments from 2025.

They also chat about the impact of the Victorian bushfires, the wash-up from the 2025-26 men's cricket Ashes Tour, how bureaucracy gone mad resulted in Australia's most ridiculous roundabout, and the what Trump's ongoing insistence of doing whatever the hell he wants might mean for the future of the world order.

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If you know of a bloke with a great story or who is doing great things in our local community we would love to chat to them. Shoot us an email with any suggestions to ramblingthepod@gmail.com

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Mark Zocchi is the founder and director of Brolga Publishing, an independent publishing company based on Victoria's Surf Coast.

Mark has worked closely with well known Australian identities such as Hazel Hawke and Mal Walden to publish their life-stories. His company has published over 1000 titles including fiction, history, biographies, self-help, and children's books.

This conversation is a fascinating insight into the world of publishing from someone who has spent his entire career in the book business.

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To learn more about Brolga Publishing visit their website here.

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