Images by Yasmin Suteja/Culture Machine //

Marty Smiley and Nat Damena unpack the highs and lows of share house living in their new poddy.

Unless you’re fortunate enough to have super nice parents (or super loaded parents) chances are you’ll spend at least a large portion of your twenties in share houses. I guarantee at some point you’ll end up navigating hermit housemates, questionable landlords, slimy real estate agents and the difficult world of leftover politics. If you’re over 18 and yet to run into any of these issues, you should buy yourself a lottery ticket cos you lucky.

It’s these delicate suburban ecosystems that housemates and hosts of the Housewarming podcast Marty Smiley and Nat Damena, along with their guests, will be chatting about in their new ear/brain tickler. It’s an idea that came about after the duo were left standing with their microphones in their hands after moving into a new place during the covid lockdowns of 2020.

“Marty and I were kicked out of our home and forced to look for a new place to live while we were in the middle of the pandemic,” Nat says. “During the lockdown we were spending a lot of time with each other and our other housemates. We realised there were so many great stories to uncover about share house living and there wasn’t really anyone talking about it! So lo and behold, a podcast baby was born.”

You’ll recognise a bunch of their guests too, with Froomes, Struthless, Becky Lukas, Betoota Advocate and more stopping over to swap stories about their various co-living arrangements. Episode one features comedian/actress Nina Oyama who shares some anecdotes that caught the lads off guard. “It was also surprising to find out when Nina Oyama told us she would feel comfortable in a bin, it meant she literally dumpster dived her entire youth,” Nat says.

Season one episodes will be out every Wednesday until May! Check out their first ep above: