Karl Stefanovic is preparing to launch a new independent podcast, marking what he described as a fresh chapter after more than two decades on breakfast television.
The 51-year-old Today host, who this year would reach 21 years in early morning TV, said the move into long-form podcasting was driven by curiosity and a desire for deeper conversations beyond the tight time limits of breakfast television.
“I’m a student of the media,” Stefanovic said in an interview with news.com.au.
“I’ve been consuming, you know, podcasts and vodcasts for a number of years. And in my mind, I’ve been going, I want to do that, but where is my niche?”
Unlike his television work, the podcast sits outside the Nine network and is being launched as an independent project. Stefanovic said the format gave him freedom to explore a wide range of topics and guests.
“I have such a broad spectrum of things that I’m curious about,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s about, because I don’t know what I’m about, you know, on any particular day.”
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The podcast is set to feature extended interviews across sport, politics and culture.
Early guests include Pauline Hanson and UFC champion Alexander “The Volk” Volkanovski, with the first live episode launching on Sunday, January 25, followed by the Volkanovski interview on January 27 ahead of his UFC fight in Sydney.
Stefanovic said the show was not aimed at a single demographic and was intended to appeal to both men and women, with a conversational and informal style.
Away from broadcasting, Stefanovic said the past year had been a period of reflection. He said he took a six-month break from alcohol, which brought unexpected clarity.
“I had six months off drinking last year because I thought, you know what? There’s so much going on in my life right now that I wanted to get, you know, a bit of free air,” he said.
“As the weeks went on, I got so much clarity of thought,” Stefanovic said. “And it gave me, you know, a real self-empowerment that I didn’t need it.”
However, he has not given up alcohol entirely.
“I’m not saying that I’m going to be, you know, without alcohol,” he said. “I’m a quintessential Aussie guy. I love going to the pub occasionally.”
Stefanovic also credited his wife, Jasmine Yarbrough, with providing stability as he balanced work, family and new projects.
“She’s there at the end of the day when things are really tough,” he said. “She’s a warrior.”
As a father of four, Stefanovic said he had become more conscious of letting go as his children grew older and navigated an uncertain world, particularly given the challenges of having a well-known parent.
For Stefanovic, the podcast was not an escape from television, but an expansion of his career.
“The Karl Stefanovic Show that exists when it launches is not necessarily going to be The Karl Stefanovic Show in five or six months,” he said.
“There’s creativity that comes with having clarity.”
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