The Yarn

This is the first episode in our new three-part series, Somebody's Watching - and it’s about Screentime. In this episode, we meet people who perform for the screen. But in the economy of attention, both performers and watchers are being surveilled. We meet a streamer who games in front of thousands, we visit a cafe built on viral dessert pastry stuffed with pistachio and wrapped in marshmallow, and we are introduced a cat who has learned to high five for the camera. We also are shown how we can be seduced into loving this surveillance, by a decade of our own data, gift-wrapped and handed back to us.
Stories by Hope Kloppenburg, Yuyao Zhao, Megan Nicole Yin and Siena Kinkela. Hosted by Preeshita Shah.
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On Chinese social media, political influencers risk censorship with every post.
On today’s episode of The Yarn, we speak to feminist content creators from China and Australia about their differing experiences, both online and in real life.
This episode was created by Rachel Liu, Jinghe Huang, Yufei Li, and Zijun Qi.
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Food can provide far more than just sustenance. For many, meals are a pivotal link to memory, identity, and belonging.
On today’s episode of The Yarn, our reporters explore the transformative power of food. They speak to a gardener growing Chinese vegetables in Australia, a baker building community through a cake club, and others who turn to food for multifaceted nourishment.
This episode was created by Kunfan Bai, Zhenxi Zeng, Zhoujun Cai, Qianrui Lu, and Ruiying Tang.
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This week on The Yarn, we explore the benefits of volunteering.
Volunteers from aged care homes, food delivery programs, and elsewhere explain how small contributions can make a big difference in their local communities.

This episode was created by Tianxiao Zhou, Sophie Sewell, Yuqing Hao, Lijing Zhu, and Shumin He.
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Melbourne’s Teddy Bear Hospital might sound childish, but it’s where medical students practice vital skills (albeit with stuffed animals as patients). It’s one of several unorthodox learning methods explored in this week’s episode of The Yarn.

This episode was created by Erielle Sudario, Lewis Weir, Yuxuan Qiang, Zongqi Liu, and Tongfei Zhang.
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