Monash University’s What Happens Next? podcast series has been recognised in the second annual global Signal Awards alongside other high-profile podcast creators including Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and leading production companies such as Netflix, Warner Bros. and iHeartPodcasts. Hosted by Monash academic and commentator Dr Susan Carland, What Happens Next? won a gold award in the Sustainability & Environment (Best Individual Episode) category for its 77th episode, “Is Food Insecurity Getting Worse?”.
The award recognises individual episodes focused on any facet of sustainability, ranging from climate and environmental issues to greener cities and housing. The podcast also won the Listener’s Choice Award in the same category.




As a gold winner, the episode has been singled out as the best in the industry in its category – among the highest-scored work of nearly 2,000 entries from some of the biggest creators in the industry. This is the second consecutive win for What Happens Next?, which won a gold and bronze award in the 2022 Signal Awards. Alongside Dr Carland, the episode features world-leading guest experts including dietitians Dr Suzanne Kleve and Dr Liza Barbour, plant scientist Professor Roslyn Gleadow and Ian Carson AM, a Monash alumnus and co-founder of food rescue organisation SecondBite.
“Is Food Insecurity Getting Worse?”, which premiered in the podcast’s seventh season, discusses the ways that climate change is threatening staple crops and triggering natural disasters that pressure supply chains already challenged by global events such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The result is a perfect storm, reducing access to reliable food sources even for the most privileged and making it increasingly difficult for the average Australian family to put high-quality, culturally relevant food on the table.
The production team behind What Happens Next? includes executive producer Angela Patrick, producer Stephanie Summar, editor Sunny Leunig and videographers Tristan McLachlan, Justin Oleyar and Warren Clark. What Happens Next? is available on all major podcast platforms. The Signal Awards recognise and celebrate the people and content that raise the bar for podcasting globally.