Annabel Crabb to host ABC’s History Or Hoarding? podcast

The ABC has today launched a new podcast hosted by Annabel Crabb for ABC listen.

As part of a collaboration with the State Library of New South Wales – Crabb – an amateur historian and library enthusiast – delves into the remarkable, surprising and sometimes strange items hidden deep within the institution’s vast collection.

Across eight episodes, the series takes listeners behind the scenes of the library’s secret stacks as it marks its 200th year.

Accompanied by producer Rachael Cusick (formerly Radiolab) and researcher Julia O’Shea, Crabb is surprised to discover that of six million items in the library’s collection, only two million are books.

Crabb said “There are seven underground floors beneath the library, and the stuff down there is wild. Alongside treasures like Matthew Flinders’ hat or a ribbon from the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening are the more unexpected finds – fruit sticker collections, century-old menus and even a confronting amount of human hair. Every object has a story attached.”

“But most of all, it’s a story about the people preserving these items in an effort to capture our collective memory – and how subjective those decisions can be. What we choose to keep says as much about us now as it did two centuries ago.”

Jessica Radburn, Head of ABC Audio on Demand, said “We often underplay the incredible value our cultural institutions offer us. Their impact goes beyond cataloguing and preserving; they are society’s memory palace. Who better than Annabel Crabb to uncover the stories, characters and objects behind our institutions in this enlightening and often laugh out loud funny journey through the hallowed stacks of the State Library of NSW in this first season of History Or Hoarding?”

Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, NSW State Librarian, said “The State Library of NSW has been a place of curiosity for 200 years, with a history as rich – and sometimes as unexpected – as its world-renowned collections. Beneath the building, our underground stacks hold everything from rare journals and maps to surprising gems. We were thrilled to invite Annabel Crabb and Rachael Cusick behind the scenes to explore this wonderfully curious and complex place, alongside our expert staff, for History Or Hoarding? I can’t wait for audiences to hear what they discover.”

History Or Hoarding? is produced by Rachael Cusick for the ABC in collaboration with the State Library of New South Wales.  Episode 1 is available now with new episodes dropping each Wednesday on ABC listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image supplied.