Three seasons in, it’s safe to say the Housewarming podcast has struck a chord with the share house generation. We talked to hosts Marty & Nat to learn more.
Comedy podcast Housewarming is hosted by best mates, housemates, and ex-colleagues from SBS, Marty & Nat. Currently on its third season, the duo has been sharing the wildest sharehouse stories from just about everyone, from Sydney illustrator Struthless to Olympic bronze medalist Harry Garside.
The podcast is hilariously relatable, but it’s also a savvy exploration of the real estate market, for those trapped in the seemingly endless cycle of shared living. Check out our interview with the hosts below.
HAPPY: Hi Marty & Nat, thanks so much for chatting today, and a huge congrats on the success of your podcast, Housewarming!
MARTY: Thanks.
NAT: Yeah cheers.
HAPPY: I’ve lived in four different sharehouses over four years, so your podcast is scarily relatable, as it has been with so many people. You two met at a Byron Bay festival and eventually moved in together, but what kicked off the idea to create a podcast dedicated to the harried stories of shared living?
MARTY: There are a few reasons why actually, the noble reason is, there are a lot of people who are locked out of the housing market and many are living in share houses into their 40s. Everyone has a story about a crazy housemate or evil landlord and so we wanted to make a podcast for people to share those stories while we share our own. It’s a rent vent.
NAT: The non-noble reason is that our landlord kicked us out of our home just as the pandemic hit and this whole project has really been made out of spite. It’s a spite pod.
HAPPY: You both have bountiful experience in the Aussie media world, as writers, hosts, comedians, and much more I’m sure. Were there any valuable nuggets of experience from your careers that helped form the basis for Housewarming?
MARTY: It’s all storytelling. This is just another form. Housewarming has a been good outlet for us amongst the other work we do. We record it in our house, Nat’s just got to come downstairs to record. We definitely both bring our experience into production but not everything is transferrable. I’d like to say my recent work in investigative journalism has helped, but I’m not sure it has. Who knows though, there’s some shady shit that goes on in the real estate business. Maybe I need to bust that wide open!
NAT: As a comic, it’s my duty to hold a mirror up to society and it’s a job I take very seriously. This is more than a comedy podcast. It’s culturally important and I think this is our magnum opus.
MARTY: I can get behind that.
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HAPPY: Just like you guys, we’re also based in the inner west. Other than nangs and indoor plants, why do you think so many people end up in sharehouses here?
MARTY: Because the houses are old, falling apart and the rent is relatively cheap in comparison to the beaches. It’s the same in Melbourne and Brisbane, young people move out of their parents’ homes in the outer suburbs to live like sewer rats in the inner suburbs. A majority of your wage goes to rent, so it’s good to be surrounded by other people in your financial lane.
NAT: I did some mental calculations based on the rent I would be paying and the cost of Ubers to get to and from home. I could find a cheaper place to live way out of the city but if I was gonna go out or turn up to a comedy gig then the Uber ride home after hours is super expensive. Instead, I can drink myself stupid and stumble home in under 30 minutes.
HAPPY: You’re underway into Season 3, what are your goals with the podcast moving forward?
MARTY: We hope to use the money we earn from this podcast to purchase our first home. At the rate we’re going we would need to do this podcast for approximately 374 years to save up enough for a deposit on a home.
NAT: We also hope people listen to everything we say and then do the exact opposite.
HAPPY: Over the course of Housewarming, you’ve had some incredible guests, and with them, some incredible stories. Are there any share house stories from the podcast that are especially unforgettable?
NAT: I think my favourite caller was Lindsay who lived in the US. She had a neighbour who would constantly play the Pink Panther theme song on saxophone. She was great.
MARTY: Recently, Nat had the unusual experience of having his inner Karen come out when he was dogged by a Facebook Marketplace seller. He’d organised to get a second-hand TV. We were on the way to pick it up but as we were driving there the seller alerted Nat to the fact that he’d sold it to someone else. Nat retaliated in some very petty ways which you can hear in this week’s episode.
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HAPPY: Now, some quickfire questions. Three words each to describe the ideal housemate?
MARTY: DTP (Down To Party), easy-going, a ‘giver’.
NAT: Clean-freak, comfortable in silence, never around the house
MARTY: That’s way more than three.
NAT: You used an acronym! Fine. What about ‘tidy, silent and… missing’?
MARTY: You want to be responsible for a missing person in our house.
NAT: What’s another word for never around?
MARTY: Yeesh.
NAT: Absent!
HAPPY: Three words each to describe the worst possible housemate?
NAT: I guess it would be the opposite of the previous answer so messy, talkative, and present.
MARTY: Stingy, volatile, moocher.
HAPPY: Reckon Housewarming will ever throw a legit housewarming party?
MARTY: It’s obviously our dream.
NAT: You tryna get an invite?
HAPPY: Yes, absolutely.
Listen to more of Marty and Nat on the Housewarming podcast below:
