The F.F.S. needs explaining because that acronym in our title could be used a bunch of ways (FACTS! Google its meaning and prepare to be inundated) anyway you’ll obviously work out which way we’re using it by the time you get to the end of the episode. To start though, let's use the potty mouth version of the acronym F.F.S. for the recording of our intro because some rando living near Em decided today was the day to fire up their woodchipper and start feeding it with a forest's worth of woody victims. Obviously this was a HUGE distraction for Em, she did however soldier on with absolutely no mental side quests, not true, but we did get across the latest update on our hunt for a podcast studio (preferably one nowhere near a bloody woodchipper) the news isn’t good so far, so the search continues. We do however have some VERY good news, Em will give you a teaser of something very special that we’re currently working on that is coming up soon, squeeeeal!! It’s totes exciting, after that it’s into the reason we’re here, to find out what tickled Em and her best friend Michael’s interests this week, and we start with a true goddess of the highest order, the Queen of Pop, Miss Janet Jackson. ‘Janet Jackson’ is the name of a brand new 4 part documentary now screening on Stan that covers her life and career to date. Em and Michael have all of the thoughts, feels and memories of which dance routines they’d thrust their way through in high school too. It’s safe to say that if Janet Jackson's album listens haven’t already exploded on Spotify, they DEFINITELY will after you listen to this episode. After we sample some Janet highlights and get our gush on, we’ll re-open the book on the ‘Sex and the City’ spinoff ‘And Just Like That’. The final episode of the new season arrives this week, and with news that it’s been confirmed for a second season, Em and Michael have complex feelings to share. Naturally those feelings won’t ever be stopping them from watching it, but they’re still gonna air their gripes and attempt to try and explain how important the original series was to them in comparison to the new series. Then we need to talk all of the awkward on display at Scott Morrison’s National Press Club appearance this week. Serial pest Peter Van Onselen dropped a blindside at the event revealing he had leaked texts from Gladys Berejiklian and a party colleague, where she called Scott a “horrible, horrible man” and her colleague went even further saying he was “a fraud and a psycho”. It’s a wild thing to witness the entire thing going down, so many blinks and awkward facial expressions. Em and Michael break it all down, plus Em reveals the greatest thing she found out about opposition leader Anthony Albanese. Finally, we’ve got voicemail from an Emsolator who needs advice on a husband who’s living his life like a big kid, you better believe Em has all of the advice to offer and the full reveal on what the F.F.S. in our title stands for, so settle in for a lovely chill with your podcast pals and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it sweaty in here? You bet your deodorant absorbing pits it is! We really got our sweat on recording this episode, so why not make our episode title sweat soaked as well. A heads up for Emsolators listening from outside Australia, it is currently summer down under, the world is on toast environmentally, so of course the heatwaves we’ve been experiencing around the country feel biblical and never ending. On top of that, Em’s husband Scott decided to turn off the air conditioner, ruining any chance of Em finding a cool spot to record today’s intro. Luckily for us that means we get a heat affected retelling of that story as part of the intro. There’s more sweat to be found across the rest of the episode too. There’s the kind of sweats you get trying to tackle subjects that may trigger or upset people, and there’s also the sweat you leave in the spot you choose to sleep, whether that be a bed…or a nest of clothes and towels, more on that later. To get things started we’ve got a close contact from within the Emsolation team with Coronavirus to reveal, there’s also all the untapped excitement of the dinosaur stuffed celebrations for Elio’s 3rd birthday to cover off as well.That’s another tick for the sweat factor index of this episode, for reference, just imagine how sticky you’d get when you’re outdoors in 30 degree plus heat in a fully enclosed, head to toe, dinosaur costume. Once that’s sorted we need to get stuck into two things that have stuck out for Em and Michael this week, the first of those is to talk about how some people still think it’s okay to celebrate Australia Day. Everyone in this country should be well across how deeply it hurts First Nations people to celebrate a date that reminds them of generations of trauma, suffering and injustice for them and their ancestors. The resources to educate yourself are out there and it’s time we all came together to create a fair and truthful relationship with First Nations people and ensure a better future for them and their children based on justice and self-determination. The second thing Em and Michael wanna tackle is the reaction Australian of the Year recipient Grace Tame received this week after she refused to smile in a photo op with our Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Grace has achieved so much since receiving the honour and Em and Michael are keen to give her props for all she’s achieved and respect for always sticking to her resolve not to be silent anymore. Some sections of the media aren’t as keen and they’ve been given some truly superb truth bombs as a result, you’ll hear our favourite clapback within. Finally we have the dilemma shared on social media of the girlfriend who discovered that her boyfriend doesn’t own an actual bed when she went to his house for the first time. It would seem he prefers to sleep in a nest fashioned from clothes and towels on his floor, he also doesn’t wash the clothes and towels he sleeps within EVER, it’s a lot to process. So are Em and Michael into the nest idea, does it need some tweaking, and how often exactly do Em and Michael change and wash their own bedsheets? All of those questions will get answered, with a lot of deep gasps thrown in. We’ve also got some more lovely messages from the Emsolation answering machine to listen back to as well. So find a spot that’s perfectly chill and give yourself over to the podcast equivalent of ear caviar, which now that I’ve typed it, sounds kinda revolting, but you get the idea, it’s top choice listening with an abundance of sweaty talk thrown in, so stick it in your ear holes whenever you can and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you miss us? Probs not because we did give you a bunch of interviews for our Summer Series, but then again, probs did a little bit right? Let’s face it, nothing beats our unique offering of mental side quests, wang chat, pop culture such and such, and all of the other things we deem worthy of cramming into your listening holes. So if you're ready to allow us to shove more of that into your head in, get excited and have at it ASAP. We’re returning with a host who has been chewing at the bit to get back in front of the microphone. Yes, Em did have a magnificent holiday break, but she also had a bunch of things she was itching to reveal and talk about, like the fact that we’ve got an actual office space this year. Ya huh true story, so instead of doing this podcast from inside the roof of Em’s place over Zoom, we will now have an actual office with all things Emsolation under one roof. We’re also hitting the upgrade button on the podcast too, the first part of that upgrade involves giving you the chance to interact with the pod by leaving messages and questions on the Emsolation answering machine to use on the show. There’s a bunch of other things we’re working on too, including more live Emsolation recordings online for you to watch. First though we need to get Michael back in the room so Em can talk a smidge about the Omnicron variant. Some of us are throwing caution to the wind and hitting up a sweaty festival, others are choosing to do their socialising with care, and even others are picking and choosing who can and can’t go out, whilst also not doing much of anything, and pretty much pretending lockdown continues. Naturally Em is the latter, Michael is the former, so no real surprises there. Here’s a surprise for you though…Em is honesty, truly, LOVING the new ‘Sex and the City’ spin off ‘And Just Like That’. That’s not to say that she doesn’t have issues with it, together Em and Michael will detail all of their issues, what is working for them, and even which character they’d happily watch step off the footpath and into traffic. Then it’s onto their review for Lady Gaga’s new movie ‘House of Gucci’, which feels like it's been a very long time coming. Em’s daughter Marchella also witnessed the film, so naturally she’ll also be stepping up to the mic to talk through the highs and the abundance of magnificent lows as well. There’s a LOT to work through and we promise you’ll get all of the things you’d expect of an Emsolation movie review, and also a bunch of stuff you never realised you needed too, HUZZAH! Finally we’ve gotta talk about the celebrity break up of Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet, this will also give you everything you’d expect PLUS a whole lot more you never expected…or even asked for. So prepare yourself for Em’s eroticly charged mental side quest where Jason and Lisa somehow end up getting it on with Lisa’s ex husband Lenny Kravitz, on a beach, with a rotating bed, and a LOT of patchouli, it’s a delightful journey. Once again, now is the time to run, with as much purpose as you can muster, to your nearest headphone or speaker, to hit play and get lost inside your very first, totally on point episode of Emsolation for 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anyone feeling burnt out right now? If the image of a once mighty gum tree with the centre all hollowed out and scorched from a bushfire springs to mind, then the answer is probably “yep”, or a drawn out “duuuuh”, or even a “no shit Sherlock”. Thankfully this episode will give you some much needed relief, insights, advice and recognition for all you’ve been navigating over the last few years. Jamila Rizvi has been a friend of Em’s for a very long time, in fact Em describes her as “possibly one of the most impressive humans I know”, she’s also an author, a presenter, an academic, a speaker and a gender equality advocate who spends her days trying to help make other people’s lives better. She’s smart, generous and also happens to be one of the busiest people Em knows, and she does all of those things while dealing with a brain tumour, which understandably affects every part of her life. Together Em and Jamila will work through why they both have such stupidly high productivity standards, how they’re trying to manage them down into something resembling normal, and what they do that’s purely for fun. Jamila has also previously had a career working in politics, so Em’s fully excited that there’s a touch of politics talk about the upcoming election too. Finally, there’s an inspiring discussion around how both Em and Jamila work to try and help women not be in the foetal position crying at 2am and questioning everything they hold dear. Together they wanna encourage everyone to share their weaknesses and vulnerability with the people around them, to build more honest connections, that also leads to both of them revealing what was going through each of their heads when Jamila organised a gathering of inspiring women for lunch recently. Basically there’s a lot for you to digest and enjoy within, so find a comfy spot and get set for an amazing, insightful and thoroughly enjoyable conversation, that will sit with you for a very long time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you ready for more delightful chit chat action with another glorious big feeling light seeker? We bloody well hope so, this time around Em is sitting down to talk with actress, writer, director, playwright, composer and all round legend Virginia Gay. If you love a medical drama as much as Em does, then you no doubt first heard of Virginia via her performance as Gabrielle Jaeger on ‘All Saints’. Since that debut she’s also appeared as Frances James on ‘Winners and Losers’, appeared on stage and screen and even performed her own cabaret show ‘Dirty Pretty Songs’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Naturally Em adores her and as she considers her to be “one of our people” she couldn’t wait to sit down and talk all of the things. All of the things included much talk about Em’s experience on ‘The Masked Singer’. As a singer Virginia was mad keen to find out how it all works, Em was also wondering why Virginia hasn’t taken the plunge and done the show herself. Aside from that we also get amongst a bunch of chat around pantomimes and why they aren’t a thing in Australia, Virginia is working hard to change that. We also cover how the pandemic has left them feeling untethered and how they’ve both learnt so much and have changed for the better as a result of everything we’ve been through over the last 2 years, there’s props for all of us within too. In fact there’s so much good chat around those learnings that you’ll really connect to and get so much out of. Just prepare yourself for a wide ranging and delightful conversation that’s guaranteed to see you come out the other side feeling renewed and also taking home a heap of great advice as well. There’s also a healthy supply of potty mouth on display and a surprising amount of whispered moments too, so if you like that sort of thing, added bonus. So get your headphones out, or ask your smart speaker to hit play, and get your listen on at your earliest convenience, enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a conversation that Em has been wanting to give you for ages, she even made it onto the wall of peeps Emsolation are obsessed over during our recent live Christmas special. As regular listeners to Emsolation would know, Em and Michael have a rather large obsession with Melissa Leong and her co-hosts on Masterchef. In fact, there’s entire sections of the podcast devoted to how she manages to eat the food Masterchef contestants deliver, without making us want to cringe, that’s an actual skill in itself. Melissa is also a skilled pianist who was actually on track to go to a conservatorium of music, she’s also a former athlete with a bunch of degrees and she’s high on Em’s list of people you need to know more about. As Em describes her “she’s a fully formed, raw, emotional, intelligent, authentic human who’s genuinely trying to do her best in the world”. This conversation is filled to the brim with amazing insight, and will leave you thankful that she exists and is out in the world doing her thing. Em does reveal to Melissa how obsessed we all are by her graceful TV eating, which is met with a very subdued and not at all creeped out thanks. They also discuss some behind the scenes moments from the upcoming season of Masterchef and how they both approach the world as openly and honestly as they can. It’s an amazing chat that covers so many incredible topics and we promise you’ll come out the other side of it feeling like you’ve learnt heaps and be in a better place because of it. So nestle into your favourite relaxing space and plug in for another entertaining edition of our summer series of life changing conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s bonus episode time, ya huh we’re dropping an extra episode this week, which is why we’re sitting here awaiting your listening pleasure on a Tuesday! I know right, so exciting, anyway this naturally means that Em will be back, as per usual, on Thursday for an amazing little chat with Melissa Leong from Masterchef. Today though it’s all about giving Em’s high school bestie, Michael Lucas a chance to get his chat on with one of his friends and coworkers, Stephen Peacocke. Stephen came to prominence for Aussie viewersplaying a local river boy called Brax on the TV soap ‘Home and Away’. Michael knows him better from playing the characters he created for his own shows, like tradie Ben on the drama series ‘Five Bedrooms’ and as the ex AFL player turned sport reporter, Rob Rickards on Michael’s award winning series ‘The Newsreader’. Stephen is an actual unicorn according to Michael and his costar Kat Stewart, you’ll find out why plus hear more about how he got to where he is now. You’ll also get to hear Michael reveal his theory on why he’s still so down to earth, even though he’s won multiple Logies and appeared in major Hollywood movies. There’s even some behind the scenes goss from the forthcoming season of ‘Five Bedrooms’. So find your favourite chill out zone and prepare to get to know the man behind some of Australian TV’s favourite knockabout blokes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello and welcome to a very special series of life changing chit chats to get you through the Christmas and New Year period. Over the next few weeks Em Rusciano (and Michael Lucas does one all by himself too) sit down for a series of amazing conversations with incredible people whose power and magic they want you to experience. All of them have a stack of experience and wisdom that’s worth sharing, so we’re super excited to deliver them to you over the next four weeks. We begin with Anthony Field, he’s a musician, actor, songwriter and producer, who is better known as the leader of ‘The Wiggles’, or the Blue Wiggle. He naturally had a huge influence on Em’s life, not only by helping to entertain her three children as part of The Wiggles, but also for his honest and open conversations about his battle with chronic pain and depression. So settle in for a wide and varied chat between the self described Leopard Print Wiggle and the original Blue Wiggle, Anthony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the podcast edition of the very first LIVE episode of Emsolation, yes our Sunday Crowdcast of ‘A Very Emsolation Christmas’ LIVE has been converted into this magnificent montage of audio delights. Obviously if you weren’t there to witness this special one off event, we’ve got you covered…mostly. Naturally there were a few moments that only worked visually, hence they don’t appear, plus Em and her band performed hits from her appearance on ‘The Masked Singer’ and a bunch of Christmas tunes as well, but we can’t include them either because of copyright issues. So really, if you wanna experience the entire thing, you’ve still got until this Sunday to buy a ticket and watch it before it disappears forever, link in the bio of the Emsolation Podcast page on Instagram. Inside this special Xmas edition of the podcast you’ll hear more behind the scenes goss about Michael’s time at the AACTA Awards, plus Em gives Michael the chance to give the speech he would have given, if he’d actually won his nomination for best writing. Then we move through a grab bag of spicy treats, all worthy of pleasuring your ear canals. We start with the glorious news that Pete Davidson has been spending time with Miley Cyrus. It should be no surprise to any of us that both Em and Michael are mad keen for them to hook up for reals, and for Pete to call it quits on continuing to contractually pretend he’s dating Kim Kardashian. Then we gotta talk through the return of ‘Sex and the City’ with the debut of the new spin off series ‘And Just Like That’, which despite Em and Michael’s assurances would remain spoiler free, actually ends up becoming a huge spoiler filled rant, with a totes realistic and honest clapback for anyone who still thinks they can live on this planet and avoid all the spoilers, NOT. EVER. GONNA. HAPPEN. We also talk through 50 Cent trying to sex shame Madonna, which eventually opened up a very confronting can of worms for lovers of Nancy Reagan, and quite easily the comment of the podcast from one Michael Lucas, you’ll know it when you hear it. Once we’ve gathered ourselves back into some form of composure, it’s onto the Emsolation Awards of 2021, where Em and Michael will go through the nominees and announce the winners of three standout categories for Emsolators. They are ‘Best Conspiracy of 2021’, the equally important ‘Best Performance by a Penis in 2021’ and finally they’ll announce the ‘Overall Winner of 2021’. Lastly, to see ourselves out, Em and Michael get a chance to answer a few tricky questions, as requested from Emsolators as they watched the recording live. So grab your headphones and settle in for the kind of Christmas celebration you’d expect, when your sassy Auntie, and her camp best friend, rock up with a few gins under their belts, and decide not to take any prisoners in their efforts to make sure this family gathering is as chaotic and glorious as we all crave it to be. Job well done and Merry Christmas lovelies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yaaaas, we are an award winning podcast and it’s all thanks to YOU! We wanna give massive props and thanks to each one of our lovely Emsolators who took the time out to slip a vote in for Emsolation in the People’s Choice Award category at the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards. We’re excited to announce we came 2nd, which clearly isn’t the top slot, but we actually don’t even care, the fact that our audience got us to the second posy is a win for us, so huzzah for that. Naturally we’ll start this episode off with a bit of one on one time with Em, she’s got more thanks to deliver into your ears, plus a full rundown of all the planning she’s been doing for the Live Christmas Spectacular ‘A Very Emsolation Christmas’ we’re delivering this weekend. She’s also keen to reflect the fact that her high school bestie and co-host of this podcast, Michael Lucas, was about to head off to his version of the Oscars, to see if his TV show ‘The Newsreader’ can win most of the 16 nominations they’ve secured in the 2021 AACTA Award. You’ll find out the end result within the podcast, Em made sure she took time out to record an update with highlights for the latter part of the podcast. Before all of that though Em needs to talk pre-award show jitters with Michael, they both have nervous reactions to the pressure of an award night, some more than others. So expect an explosive update on how both their bodies conspire against them, there will be blowouts of the worst possible kind to reflect on, so prepare yourself for more groin related chit chat, standard. Em will also take us through some of the behind the scenes heckers moments from her time in Sydney at the Australian Podcast Awards. There was an ex breakfast show co-host in the room, way too many podcasters squeezed together in a super spreader scenario, and the number of wines a mum usually consumes when she’s freed from her family for 48 hours. If you haven’t heard the highlights from Em’s time on stage presenting two awards, you’ll get all the best and most chaotic bits within. Then we gotta talk about all the fiercely talented women who are all being tipped for an Oscar next year, there’s Lady Gaga in the House of Gucci, Nicole Kidman being Lucille Ball, Kirsten Stewart doing Lady Di and a bunch of others all being touted as the next big winner. Obviously Em and Michael are at fever pitch already, they might need sedating ahead of the actual event, Em even locks in a rock solid prediction on who will eventually take out the Academy Award. There’s also some more love to pour on the show ‘Succession’ and in particular the actor who plays the troubled son Kendall Roy, Jeremy Strong. Em and Michael are both in awe and totally shook by what he brings to the role, so expect much frothing over him and his quirky traits. Finally you’ll get an extra appearance from Em as she delivers all the updates and highlights from Michael’s wins at the AACTA Awards. So prepare to send your ears to a place that’s decked out in wall to wall red carpets, an explosive bleed now and then and random celebrity name dropping at every turn too. Trust us, you’ll be exhausted from trying to pick them all up, boom tish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices