What if the fairy tales we grew up with weren’t as innocent as they seemed? Once Upon A Lie podcast explores the sinister origins of the world’s most beloved fairytales.
Produced by Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting (GDRP) students at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, Once Upon A Lie takes listeners – across five episodes – on a voyage across centuries to uncover how these fairy tales evolved, why they still enchant us today and the dark truths that lie beneath ‘happily ever after’. From Cinderella to Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast, the podcast reveals unknown cultural, historical and psychological threads behind the stories that have endured for generations.
Audiences will step into the shadows of the stories we thought we knew; where love, loss and moral warning intertwine in ways far darker than we were ever told.
AFTRS GDRP students Annabelle Moore and Mark Williamson (hosts) and Kelly Monisse (narrator), will bring the stories to life with rich sound design and voice acting providing a modern retelling of the fairy tale based on its original meaning.
Jo Henwood, Co-founder, Public Officer and ‘Ring Maiden’ of The Australian Fairy Tale Society, will also help explain these fairy tale origins and the adaptations each tale has gone through over time to get to how we know them today. The podcast kicks off with an exploration into our glass slipper heroine ‘Cinderella’.
Industry mentors Jen Goggin (Lecturer at AFTRS and Founder of You’ll Never Believe Productions), Kate Pattison (Social Media Director, The Idea Cult), Chris Marsh (Senior Lead, Future State Sound Design and Audio Production at LiSTNR Original Podcasts, SCA) and Lindsey Green (Executive Producer, LiSTNR) have provided guidance and mentoring to the group of AFTRS students who have collaborated on the podcast.
Jen Goggin said: “I laughed, I learned, and I questioned what we’ve been thinking telling children these horrific tales! The Once Upon a Lie podcast fed my curiosity, while giving me the best type of podcast escapism. With its mix of immersive storytelling, interwoven intriguing facts and comedic commentary, it made the oldest stories in the world feel fresh and fascinating. A real creative feat by the podcast production team behind it.”
Sound Mentor Chris Marsh added: “From a sound design perspective … taking on the world of fairy tales retelling and reimagining them opens up so many opportunities for rich, immersive, layered sound … but is also no easy task. A challenge these students are attacking head on!”
Students who collaborated on this podcast are: Lachlan A’Court, Aspen Beilharz-Smythe, Rachael Bourke, Molly Brookman, Lee Chan, Catarina Fraga Matos, Rebecca Graham, Leroy Jones, Dania Jordan, Micah Kickett, Cate McKenzie, Annabelle Moore, Kelly Monisse, Nathan Roach, Karl Svikis and Mark Williamson.
Previous AFTRS students podcasts such as I’m at A Crossroad – 2023 (Best Factual Podcast for Radio Today) and Craze – 2022 (People’s Choice in the Indie Category for Radio Today’s Podcast of the year), so the bar is set high for the team.
Listen to the podcast on Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, Apple and all other major podcasting platforms.
To keep up to date, follow: Instagram @onceuponaliepodcast and TikTok @onceuponaliepodcast