This is a list of programs that have been broadcast by Australian national youth radio station Triple J. For a list of current and departed presenters, see List of Triple J presenters.
On weekdays, Triple J broadcasts at least five mainstay programs; on weekends and during the summer holidays, variants of these programs are broadcast with different presenters and time slots.
Hack is a half-hour segment broadcast during Drive. In 2023, it was announced long-running late night program Good Nights would be axed– this show would previously have followed Hack, but now the final hour of Drive succeeds it. [1]
Breakfast is Triple J's flagship mainstay program. It began in the late 1980s, with hosts Russell Thorpe ("Rusty Nails") and then Maynard fronting the time slot. In the early 1990s, Helen Razer and Mikey Robins hosted the program– they are retrospectively considered one of the station's most popular duos ever. [2]
Adam Spencer and Wil Anderson hosted from 1999 until 2004. The pair were known for their unconventional sense of humour, highlighted by regular segments including Mary from Junee, Essence of Steve, and Are You Smarter Than Dools? [3] In 2005, Jason Whalley and Lindsay McDougall ("The Doctor"), of the duo Jay and the Doctor from Frenzal Rhomb, took over as hosts of Breakfast. For 2007, former Lunch presenter Myf Warhurst joined the duo as a permanent member of the Breakfast team.
In 2010, Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson, former hosts of Weekend Breakfast, took over as hosts of Breakfast. In December 2013, Ballard resigned and was replaced by Matt Okine in January 2014. The duo anchored the program until 2016.
Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton took over from 2017 to 2019, and their chemistry saw them transfer over to Nova FM's breakfast program in 2020 to host Ben & Liam . [4] In 2020, Coda Conduct members Sally Coleman and Erica Mallett took over Breakfast, but resigned in November later that year. [5] Bryce Mills took over for the remainder of 2020, and was joined by Ebony Boadu until 2022.
Triple J has several genre-specific programs broadcast typically once per week. In 2025, these shows include:
Previous programs that have been discontinued or moved to Double J include:
Live at the Wireless is a weekly segment that broadcasts live performances from gigs and festivals around the country. [24] The recordings are later made available online, and are sometimes published to streaming platforms by the artists.
Like a Version is a Friday weekly segment during Breakfast which features musicians and bands performing two songs; one original and one cover of the artists choice. The segment was created by Mel Bampton as part of the morning show Mel in the Morning. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, Like a Version went on hiatus for the first time in 16 years. [25]
Currently hosted by Ash McGregor, Home and Hosed is the flagship Australian music program on Triple J where significant airtime is given to unsigned musicians. The show also includes interviews with musicians, premieres of new releases, and gig guides, and is broadcast most weekday evenings. [26] Home and Hosed is the successor and replacement for the Australian Music Show , which was hosted by Richard Kingsmill from 1991.
Triple J used to issue compilation albums on CD for several of its specialty music programs, including The Racket, [27] House Party (until 2017), [28] Hip Hop Show (from 2005) and Home and Hosed (from 2003 to 2006), [29] as well as for its Like a Version (from 2005 to 2021) [28] and Live at the Wireless (until 2010) formats. [29]
Triple J has their own independent news team, specifically covering news and issues that are relevant to young Australians, such as education and climate change, as well as general music news. A short news break is delivered on the hour during weekdays, and every half-hour during Breakfast.
The station's flagship current affairs program, Hack , is broadcast every weeknight during the Drive time slot. It is hosted by Dave Marchese. Young people across the country are encouraged to text or call in for discussion among a panel of experts depending on the relevant news topic. [30]
Triple J broadcast Talkback Classroom from 1998 to 2003, a program where secondary school students from around Australia interviewed various prominent politicians, business and community leaders on current affairs issues. The program now airs on ABC Radio National.
Beginning in 2005, The Graveyard Shift was a late-night music and talk show that used to be broadcast on Saturday overnights from 1am.
The Hook Up is late-night talk show launched in 2016 with discussions and interviews about sex and relationships. [31]
The weekly J Files show has had two incarnations over the years. From 1996 to 2003, it was a three-hour late weeknight show hosted by Richard Kingsmill. Each show was topical; it might feature an artist, a particular year in the past, or songs with a certain theme. Examples of themed shows include cats and dogs, New Zealand bands, and banned songs. From 2003, The J Files was a one-hour Saturday afternoon show, hosted by various Triple J presenters, specifically focused on one particular artist. The final episode was aired in November 2007. On Thursday 21 August 2014, The J Files made its debut on digital station Double J.
Beginning on 27 October 2008, Chris Taylor and Craig Reucassel co-hosted a comedy program centred on the 2008 United States presidential election entitled The Race Race . The programme aired at 17:00 weekdays until the wrap-up episode, which aired on 5 November 2008, after the elections had concluded.
The program derived its name from the fact that Barack Obama, the first African–American to be nominated by a major American political party for president, was running a formerly exclusively white political race against the white Republican candidate, John McCain. The program became the number one podcast in Australia, and Triple J released a number of commemorative Race Race T-shirts which featured the show's catchphrase "I Like Pie".
Restoring the Balance was broadcast sporadically on Sunday afternoons during 2004. The primary concept behind the show was a satire of the contrasting political views between the conservative Australian Howard government, and the left-wing government-funded Triple J radio station. The show suggested that the station was forced to broadcast a segment of right-wing political views in order to "restore the balance."
From 2005, John Safran and Father Bob Maguire co-hosted Sunday Night Safran , a late-night talk show interviewing international guests, generally discussing serious topics like religion and politics.
This Sporting Life (TSL), which ran from 1986 to 2008, was a parody of sporting panel programs, created and hosted by actor-writer-comedians John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver (under the pseudonyms Roy Slaven & HG Nelson). As well as sport, the duo cast a wide comedic net that encompassed the worlds of entertainment, politics and celebrity. TSL was remarkable as one of the few successful comedy programs that was substantially improvised.
The longest-running show in Triple J's programming history, TSL commanded a large and dedicated nationwide audience. Special editions of TSL were broadcast to coincide with the NRL and AFL grand finals (The Festival of the Boot) as well as for all three of rugby league's State of Origin series matches. (see Roy and HG's State of Origin commentary). In 2009, after 22 years at the ABC, the duo left to work for the commercial rock station Triple M.
Today Today was the name given to the drive show in 2004 and 2005, hosted by Chaser members Chris Taylor and Craig Reucassel. The show's name was derived from Today Tonight , a controversial Australian TV current affairs show screened on the Seven Network. Their humour was in a similar vein to CNNNN and The Chaser , being more politically driven. One of their more popular skits was "Coma FM", a parody of commercial radio stations.
Triple J has had several comedic radio plays: