Each episode was more compelling than the last. Devastating and hopeful and challenging, beautifully interwoven, masterful. - Vanessa Milton, ABC broadcaster.
Dr Gretchen Miller is a well-known voice on the national airwaves and an internationally recognised media professional. Her latest awards include Australian Podcast of the Year for The Lawyer, the Sniper & the NSW Police, and best PhD thesis in the faculty of Arts, Architecture and Engineering at UNSW in 2022. Gretchen's passion is environment and science communication. With the climate crisis our greatest existential threat, she wants to use positive communication to help people come to terms with climate change, and feel they can make a difference. Her intention is to convey environmental engagement and solutions in ways that are both accessible and forward thinking.
After 20 years as a documentary feature maker working across ABC RN, in 2018 Gretchen left to freelance and study, researching the power of podcasting for environmental communication. Her PhD citizen storytelling digital site, The Rescue Project, includes a podcast series and considers how and why we enact moments of environmental rescue in the face of climate disruption. You can read the thesis here.
During this time she also began a podcast consultancy. Her most recent work is the groundbreaking, double award winning podcast, The Lawyer, the Sniper & the NSW Police. She approached and then worked closely with Climate 200, during the last Federal election profiling 16 climate-focused independent candidates for The Independents. She also made the discussion series At Risk in the Climate Crisis for WSU, two series of Climate Resilience for Local Government NSW, and two series of Wildlife Heroes for the Foundation for NPWS . In 2020 Gretchen made a signature series for ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science called Reimagine STEM.She began and continues a legacy, occasional podcast series for the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre (Sax Institute) on cross-discipline solutions to chronic disease: Prevention Works, with 20+ episodes.
Gretchen helped set up the highly successful podcast teaching unit at the University of Sydney over 2018 and 2019 and has run several podcasting workshops, presented panels at conferences like the Australian IUCN and Australian Science Communicators.
Gretchen's documentary series The Silent Forest went to air to 40 million listeners on the BBC World Service in 2017. She has also been heard on France Culture, Deutschlandradio, the Third Coast festival in the USA and was runner up at the prestigious Prix Italia.
Gretchen has been an innovator in creating deep stakeholder relationships through many collaborative online projects and has a proven track record in devising and delivering multi-platform story-telling projects with high profile public, national outcomes, such as The Trees Project (including a documentary, 40 short stories by ABC audiences, and a book, In their Branches, Harper Collins, 2014).
As a writer on trainer wheels I have found the confidence to publish my work through the encouragement and tireless editing of Gretchen. Her work is outstanding and through the collaborative process of 360 documentaries and Pool, a group of regional and city based writers, poets, musicians and artists continue work together sharing ideas and positively critiquing. Gretchen has created an online community across Australia. Apart from being an avid RN fan, I really enjoy the complexity and intelligence in Gretchen's radio documentaries. - Lindy Collins, artist.
Gretchen saved the day when we needed science communication/story telling training for researchers working on a particularly complex project. Gretchen took a group of reluctant scientists and gently brought out their personalities and best stories so that their dedication, research topic and expertise could be shared with a wider audience. It was quite awe inspiring. - Vanessa Barrett, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney.
Gretchen began her journalism career with five years at The Sydney Morning Herald and worked at ABC RN from 1997-2017. She has produced most of ABC RN's best loved daily radio programs, guest lectured at various universities, and won several Australia Council grants including for two live performances at the Sydney Opera House. A former music composer, she's also a mentor and facilitator of other artists and environmental podcast makers. She is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Her philosophy is to dig deep, with a light touch.
Listen to Gretchen's work here, and read testimonials here.