It's been a stratospheric rise for comedian, Aaron Chen. Getting his start in stand-up, he won a heap of fans starring in Fisk, and his charming stint on Taskmaster. But at the top of his game, he left Australia to start again in New York City. For his Take 5, Aaron shared one song from a pivotal time in his comedy career. Arcade Fire – 'Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)' This is one of the Best Bits from Take 5. You can hear the full episode here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/take-5/aaron-ch...
Jan 19, 2026•12 min
If you grew up in Australia in the 1980s then you probably grew up with Young Talent Time. It was a springboard for so much talent, and one of its biggest stars was Dannii Minogue. For her Take 5, Dannii shared the one song she loves the most from her sister Kylie Minogue's epic catalogue. Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue – ‘Kids’ This is one of the Best Bits from Take 5. You can hear the full episode here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/take-5/dannii-minogue-take-5-catalyst-songs/104...
Jan 12, 2026•10 min
What do Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and Kendrick Lamar have in common? Jack Antonoff. The decorated producer has made a name for himself shaping some of the biggest albums in the world. For his Take 5, Jack Antonoff shared how he brings an artist's vision to life. Waterboys – The Whole Of The Moon This is one of the Best Bits from Take 5. You can hear the full episode here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/take-5/jack-antonoff-take-5-turning-points/103591368...
Jan 05, 2026•10 min
Irish artist CMAT has got it all: the voice, the songwriting talent, the charm. Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, (aka CMAT), has been shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and counts Elton John as a fan. Her Euro-Country songs capture heartbreak with a healthy dose of humour, which is why she gravitated towards country music in the first place. Gary Stewart – 'She’s Actin' Single (I’m Drinkin' Doubles)' This is one of the Best Bits from Take 5. You can hear the full episode here: https://www.abc.net...
Dec 29, 2025•11 min
Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes has lived quite the life. Hitting Number 1 around the world in 1997 with their debut album, he recently shared what was going on behind the scenes at that time, in his beautiful and devastating memoir, Unlovable. When he joined Zan Rowe to Take 5 back in 2024, he shared a whole new side of one of Australia's biggest stars. Peter Gabriel - 'Love To Be Loved' This is one of the Best Bits from Take 5. You can hear the full episode here: https://www.abc.net.au/lis...
Dec 22, 2025•11 min
Angie McMahon is the kind of songwriter who stops you in your tracks. With two albums under her belt, her most recent record Light, Dark, Light Again is about cycles and the patterns that repeat and renew throughout life. This concept of cycles inspired Angie's Take 5 theme of 'revolution songs' and she responded to it beautifully. Joni Mitchell - Circle Game (live at Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles 1974) This is one of the Best Bits from Take 5. You can hear the full episode here: https://w...
Dec 15, 2025•11 min
It's not definitive, but here are some of the best moments from Take 5 this year: The legendary Richard Fidler threw back to the early days of the Doug Anthony All Stars. Gordi's brilliant third album Like Plasticine gave us an insight into her experience as a doctor on the frontline during the pandemic. Comedians Matt Okine and Denise Scott celebrated Season 2 of their much-loved TV show Mother and Son. Lorde made a triumphant return with her fourth album Virgin. And best-selling author Trent D...
Dec 11, 2025•56 min
Hearing TV On The Radio talk about music is as fun as it sounds. When the New York band first emerged they were like nothing we’d heard before. A mash of genres and sounds and for many, the sound of tomorrow, today. 10 years on from their last album, the band are back on the road again. And on their first visit to Australia in a decade, they joined Zan Rowe to Take 5. It’s the only interview they gave while here, and they really went in on the theme of 'future sounds from the past'. Want to dig ...
Dec 04, 2025•36 min
Do you remember the first time you heard Franz Ferdinand's 'Take Me Out'? The way it began, then completely flipped less than a minute in? It was such a thrill, one that has never dulled in the two decades since. Six albums later, the Scottish band explore the thrill of living on their latest record, The Human Fear. How human fears drive us on, bolt us into action, give us a thrill. It was ripe for a big convo on Take 5. And frontman Alex Kapranos was up for the challenge. Get ready for a brilli...
Nov 27, 2025•46 min
Trent Dalton is a master storyteller. His debut novel Boy Swallows Universe is an international bestseller, it was turned into a Netflix series and recently voted as Australia’s #1 read of the last quarter century, in Radio National's Top 100 books . A Walkley Award winning journalist, Trent followed this stunning debut with several other works of fiction, and a collection of Love Stories from the streets of Brisbane. And now he has a new novel, Gravity Let Me Go, for us to sink our teeth into. ...
Nov 20, 2025•55 min
If you’ve ever lost touch with a friend or been heartbroken by a platonic breakup, Stella Donnelly’s new album is for you. Documenting the end of a friendship, it’s a brutally honest, heartbreaking, and hopeful record so many of us can relate to. And Zan couldn’t wait to talk with her all about it. Stella is one of the best songwriters around today. She has always shot from the hip, told it like it is, and been unafraid to share the truth. Hearing her speak about the songwriters who do the same ...
Nov 13, 2025•38 min
Justine Clarke is a legend. For most of her life she’s been in ours; as a child actor who graduated to a lifelong career on the big and small screen and into an acclaimed theatre actor. For the last 20 years she’s probably been entertaining your kids, as a regular on Play School and ARIA winning singer of many children’s albums. But running parallel to all of this, has been music. Way before she stepped into roles on Mad Max and Home and Away, music was her lifeblood. With our annual Ausmusic Mo...
Nov 06, 2025•37 min
Oasis are undoubtedly the biggest band to rise out of Brit Pop. And it’s hard to describe how massive their return is. For years, the public fighting between the Gallagher brothers suggested they’d never come back. And one day, they did. Oasis have been playing all over the world to stadiums of screaming fans, young and old. And as they finally return to Australia, we’re celebrating by sharing a Take 5 for the ages from the archives. A couple of years ago Zan Rowe sat down with Noel Gallagher in...
Oct 30, 2025•46 min
Get ready to laugh, cry, and go head-to-head with two of Australia's most loved comedians. Denise Scott and Matt Okine are Mother and Son (the remix). And as the second series comes to a close on ABC TV and ABC iview, I roped them in to Take 5. A bit out of the ordinary, but oh boy, they embraced it. This is beautiful and hilarious Take 5, and you’re gonna walk away from it feeling all the richer. Denise Scott and Matt Okine's song choices: 1.Neil Young - 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' 2.Bruce...
Oct 23, 2025•41 min
Paul Kelly is a national treasure, who's written the soundtrack to our lives. Road trips, first loves, heartbreak, our very sense of identity; he’s explored it all over more than 40 years and 30 albums. But who are the songwriters that tickle him? And what place do they take him to? That was the theme I gave PK, when I invited him to Take 5. And you’re about to dig into an extraordinary conversation, about place, time, family, and the mystery of song. Paul Kelly's song choices: 1.Kinks – 'Waterl...
Oct 14, 2025•58 min
Jarvis Cocker has had a dream run. As founding member and lead singer of Pulp, he hit the highest of the highs during Brit Pop in the 90s, before embarking on a solo career that was just as celebrated. A few years ago he published a different kind of memoir called Good Pop, Bad Pop, which visually catalogued his stuff and told his story through its memories. And within that was revealed the Pulp Masterplan, a manifesto by young Jarvis of what a band would look, sound, and be like. Much of it cam...
Oct 07, 2025•1 hr 3 min
At the age of 16, Lorde went #1 across the world. She was catapulted from the suburbs of Auckland to the Grammy's stage, winning Song of the Year. 12 years and four albums later, she's continued to defy expectations as a pop artist and is one of the most gifted songwriters of our time. This is an episode of Take 5 that was filmed for the TV series, but this podcast is an extended edit - capturing even more stories, insight, and sounds. It's an incredible conversation with one of the most thought...
Sep 30, 2025•1 hr
You’re about to learn a whole lot more about Kevin Bacon. The prolific actor has been on our screens for more than 40 years. It was his breakthrough part as Ren in Footloose that got him attention, but he was just getting started. Acclaimed roles in Apollo 13, A Few Good Men, The River Wild, and Mystic River would follow. In fact his filmography and range is so broad he literally had a game made up about him – Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon – where you could connect any Hollywood actor to him in six...
Sep 23, 2025•47 min
You’re about to see a side to Aaron Chen you’ve never seen before. You might know him as George in Fisk, or Guy Montgomery’s sidekick on Spelling Bee. Maybe you cheered his win on Taskmaster Australia season 3. He’s also an acclaimed stand-up comic. But when I sat down with Aaron in his new home in New York City, I got a totally different sense of what makes him tick. This podcast is a companion to the TV episode you can see now on ABC iview . But here, you’re getting a whole lot more. More stor...
Sep 16, 2025•56 min
As one-fifth of the Spice Girls, she's one of the most famous people on the planet. But you wouldn’t know it. The Liverpudlian's down to earth beginnings define who Mel C is today. Take 5 is back on your screens for a fourth season on ABC iview , and we kicked off the series with Sporty Spice. In a beautiful HIFI bar in east London, we unpacked her remarkable story… of a kid who daydreamed about the pop stars she’d one day become friends with. This is the story of the Spice Girls you haven’t hea...
Sep 09, 2025•1 hr 1 min
The transgressive trailblazer celebrates 25 years since The Teaches of Peaches. A boundary-blurring blend of electroclash, sex-positive feminist themes, and fun. It would become a defining album of the early noughties, and kick off a career that made our heads spin time and time again. Peaches has been pushing the boundaries and conversations around gender and sexuality since the beginning, and she’s someone I always relish sitting down with. So I’ve dug into my Take 5 archives this week to a ch...
Sep 05, 2025•28 min
Take 5 with Zan Rowe is back on your screens from Tuesday 9 September, and Season 4 is our biggest yet. Kevin Bacon Melanie C from the Spice Girls Lorde Paul Kelly Comedian Aaron Chen (Fisk, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee) Pulp's Jarvis Cocker Across this new season, you’ll hear revealing, funny, and deeply personal conversations with some of the most fascinating artists around. Each guest takes on a theme and chooses five songs that speak to it, and what unfolds is always unexpected. Li...
Aug 29, 2025•5 min
Mac DeMarco has long been loved for his laid-back guitar noodlings and so called “slacker” rock. He sometimes calls it "jizz jazz", but whatever it is, it’s gained him a loving fanbase across the world. For the past few years, Mac has moved away from traditional albums in favour of brain dumping huge swaths of music – a lot of it without lyrics. But now he’s returned with an old school album, and for him he says it’s capturing the essence of where he’s at right now. What matters. On the day he r...
Aug 22, 2025•39 min
Bert McCracken from The Used shares 5 songs that 'got him through'. The frontman and founding member of The Used found his tribe through music, and he’s gathered a huge community of fans over the last 25 years. It's the occasion of that quarter century that’s taking them around the world, to play out their first three albums in full night after night. It’s why I invited Bert to Take 5. His music has helped so many people overcome the hardest of times, you can see people’s faces and memories as t...
Aug 15, 2025•37 min
It’s been five years since Meg Washington released an album of original songs, but that time hasn’t been wasted. Starring in Bluey as Calypso, and co-writing the Paul Kelly inspired film How To Make Gravy have dominated her last little while. But now she’s back with GEM, and it’s a welcome return. When talking about the album, Meg said she conjured a treasure island while writing these songs, finding music as an oasis, and that was the catalyst for her Take 5. What she revealed, was a deep love ...
Aug 08, 2025•36 min
Sophie Payten has had a wild five years. Better known as Gordi, she’s been living all over, put music on hold to work her day job as a doctor during the pandemic, and has been reassessing her place and space in the world through it all. It’s been that long too, since her last album, and she’s captured the intensity, beauty, and whirlwind of her experiences on Like Plasticine. Ahead of her third album dropping, I invited Gordi to Take 5. I was thinking it’d be a lil album preview, what I got was ...
Aug 01, 2025•43 min
Patience Hodgson is no stranger to the Hottest 100. As lead singer of The Grates, she is certified alumni – with 8 entries and plenty of memories with her beloved band. And as we celebrate a special Hottest 100 of Australian songs , who better to wear their love of local on their sleeve. I roped Pae in for a pre-party and she delivered; not just with incredible songs but a peek behind the curtain of the beautiful community in the Australian music scene. The Mavis’s – 'Cry' Violent Soho – 'Covere...
Jul 25, 2025•39 min
Howlin’ Pelle is a joy to be around. As the longtime lead singer for Swedish garage rock legends The Hives, he brings big energy on stage and off. The band are known for their live shows, and their forthcoming new album is one they wrote with a stadium sensibility in mind. So when The Hives returned to Australia for the first time in 10 years, I asked him to choose his blockbuster songs. From AC/DC to Outkast to Billie Eilish, this is a fist pumping, heart filling conversation about music's powe...
Jul 18, 2025•31 min
Yorta Yorta man Tom Forrest knows how to spin a yarn. Better known as Outback Tom, he’s amassed hundreds of thousands of fans on social media with his bush recipes and know how. Often joined by his Grandad, he shows his beautiful backyard of the Kimberley, while entertaining us with his charm and smarts. Tom’s a real renaissance man, he’s one of those people who tries his hand at everything… curiosity and drive are the cornerstones of his life. And whenever I cross paths with him, he lights up m...
Jul 11, 2025•41 min
This week, I’ve pulled out a special Take 5 from the archives, when Ngaiire joined me to explore songs without boundaries. Ngaiire has long been one of Australian music's most treasured voices. Having lived and travelled across many places, she draws on these experiences to shape her distinctive sound.Music has always been a big part of Ngaiire’s life. As a child of the 90’s, she grew up listening to pop songs in Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, then Australia. She would find a connection parti...
Jul 04, 2025•30 min
