Defining narrative change: a case study of the decolonising podcast Ask the Specialist: Larrakia, Tiwi and Yolŋu stories to inspire better healthcare

Mainstream media in countries like Australia often perpetuate dominant narratives rooted in settler-coloniser culture, legitimising existing power dynamics and reinforcing inequities. However, in recent decades as the media landscape has fragmented, control over the dominant narrative has loosened and independent podcasters have emerged as powerful agents of narrative change. Narrative change is an emerging field of action research that has grown from social justice activists who believe that personal stories have the power to shift hearts, heads and eventually policies that maintain inequities. However narrative change as a concept is undefined in peer-reviewed literature. Drawing inspiration from Critical Race Theory and Freirean pedagogy, this paper argues key tenets from these two decolonising theories to be considered foundational to narrative change. By examining the utilisation of ‘counterstories’ and ‘problem-posing education’, the paper aims to provide insights into how podcasters can effectively foster intimacy between First Nations peoples and White Australians and change the narrative settler colonisers have perpetuated. To explore these concepts a podcast titled Ask the Specialist: Larrakia, Tiwi and Yolŋu stories to inspire better healthcare will be presented as a case study.