The Moth has the makings of a magical podcast experience

From a loungeroom in New York City to a global storytelling phenomenon, The Moth was made for podcasting.

The Moth, a not-for-profit organisation, runs events all over the US and the world. Picture: iStock

“Thank God, if there’s one thing the Irish do right, it’s death.”

Speaking at The Regent Theatre in downtown Los Angeles in 2017, Mary Kate O’Flanagan all but disappeared into the black backdrop, save for her shock of red hair and equally bright lipstick.

She told, in that delicious Irish lilt, the story of her beloved father’s unexpected death and the decision made by his six daughters to defy Irish tradition and carry his coffin from the wake on their shoulders.

“In the solidity of those Irish traditions, handed down generation from generation, I felt such comfort and I realised why they never change, but there was one tradition that just wouldn’t work for us,” O’Flanagan said.

That story – told in less than seven minutes but with wit and grief and heart – floored me when I stumbled across it some years ago. And still, every now and then, someone will ask, “Have you seen the one about the six Irish sisters?”

It was recorded at an open-mic event hosted by The Moth, a not-for-profit organisation that runs events all over the US and the world, though its spiritual home is New York City.

You probably saw it in that season finale of Girls, where Lena Dunham’s Hannah Horvath is warned against taking her notes to the stage when her name is called.

Because that’s how The Moth’s events run: storytellers submit their yarns about a given topic ahead of time and 10 are selected at random on the night. Notes are forbidden, yet stumbles and stuff-ups are rare.

Events have been running since 1997, and large chunks of the archive have been given a second life online.

So of course – of course – The Moth makes for a magical podcast experience.

Twice a week, compilation episodes of stories from The Moth’s global storytelling events drop into The Moth Radio Hour podcast feed. The Peabody Award-winning broadcast has itself been on the airwaves in the US since 2009, but – with the advent of podcasting – it’s gone global.

Themed episodes cover everything from heartbreak to women’s basketball and family dynamics. A heartfelt story about the unifying power of an Italian nonna’s bolognese sauce, as told by Melbourne man James Gallichio, was enough to bring me to tears – and make me kinda hungry, actually.

A rotating cast of Moth producers and ­curators host the episodes, their deep knowledge of its archive on full display.

Each host brings their own unique perspective to the episodes through the commentary and extra content woven between the live stories. Best of all, recipes, photos and all manner of additional material are available to view on The Moth’s website – with the exception of that bolognese recipe, which Nonna Gallichio took to her grave.

Kristen Amiet is the producer of The Australian’s daily news podcast The Front. The Moth Radio Hour is available now wherever you listen to podcasts.