The definition of taboo differs; however, it’s generally subjects that make you feel uncomfortable, that you wouldn’t bring up at the dinner table, in pleasant company, with strangers or even your boss. Once something is taboo, must it to be avoided altogether, or do our opinions change over time? A Canberra podcasting duo are trying to answer that in their new show, Twoboo.

Co-presenters Melanie Skinner and Sean Costello hosted their first show, Taboo, on the University of Canberra radio station when they were students. For two hours once a week they discussed issues that were topical at the time.

“Death was one that I think we were having friends who were experiencing relatives who were passing away and trying to unpack the discussion around death,” Melanie says.

The show continued for six months, during which time they invited experts to join them to be heard by those on campus and in the residences. According to Melanie, the young couple probably had a privileged view of the world.

“Other people were very open about talking about these things, whereas for us the way we were brought up, you didn’t talk about death very much, it was sort of like a thing that happened. Sex was really taboo,” she says.

The pair met in high school and were dating when they started the original show, later going on to marry. Now with teenage children of their own tackling similar issues in very different ways, they thought 20 years is a good time to revisit ideas of taboo.

“Everyone’s got a little computer in their pocket and they can potentially see anything,” says Sean.

“I think that they are grappling with such big issues at a much younger age,” adds Melanie.

From the podcasting studio at Woden library, the husband-and-wife duo reconnect with their original guests to see if their feelings have changed and how the subject matter has evolved. They decided to revisit six key subjects, including sexual assault, pornography, and death.

The original death episode was just the pair talking, so for the new version they spoke with Churchill Fellow and death doula, Rebecca Lyons. Attitudes towards death have changed over time, with natural burials now an option, and more people wanting to manage their deaths at home for both personal and financial reasons.

“[Rebecca] had an interesting connection. She said a lot of baby boomers had their kids at home, they wanted home birth, and now they want home death,” says Sean.

On the topic of pornography, one of their most memorable original guests was Robbie Swan, a national lobbyist and co-founder of the Sex Party.

“He did bring giveaways and videos and things,” smiles Melanie. “That was one of our most popular [shows].”

People came rushing from the university café to get goodies from the man who had some pretty strong views on censorship of explicit materials. At the time, he was pushing for a new classification, Non-Violent Erotica for the new format, DVD. He was also opposed to a proxy server that could filter content coming into Australia.

“He has softened his views a little bit in terms of thinking ‘oh, maybe we do need to think about some sort of regulation’,” says Sean.

“Our kids are learning about sex watching porn and that’s not healthy relationships, and so if they think that is sex that is a real worry; you don’t treat people that way,” says Melanie. “Maybe there needs to be another boring range of sex where it is about the relationship and trust.”

While they’ve found most of the topics aren’t taboo anymore, they think society hasn’t perfected discussion around some issues, like sexual assault. However, improvements have been made, such as active consent now being taught as part of the curriculum, and the development of a male survivors of sexual assault organisation.

“Conversations around male survivors of sexual assault has improved over the 20 years. Probably the same progression hasn’t happened for female rape as it has for male rape but previously, it was very hung up on ‘am I gay? Was he gay?’,” Melanie says.

Sexually transmitted infection views have changed; HIV doesn’t create the dread that it used to. Twenty years ago, the podcasters spoke with a sexual health expert from the AIDS Action Council. Though no longer in that role, he says preventive medications have changed how people have sex.   

“Don’t use protection is the common view now, including in the homosexual community, which is where the fear really began. He said the new taboo, in some ways, is wearing a condom,” says Sean.

Expanding the new series is possible, exploring such taboos as sex in aged care facilities, whether sex workers should be included in NDIS plans, and online romance scams.

“People who have actually been scammed don’t want to tell people because it only happens to old people,” Sean says.

Sean may be recognised around town as creator of the Capital Yarns book and website, which involved people suggesting three Canberra things around which he would weave a story. You can find some of Sean’s stories and more information on the Twoboo podcast on the Capital Yarns website.

Listen to Twoboo anywhere you get podcasts or visit capitalyarns.com.au/twoboo

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