Welcome To Patchwork

How long can you refrain from opening a package delivered to your house? Josh managed several hours and a car trip, which Dion considers admirable restraint and Christian considers a moment that stopped being a moment about a decade ago. Is there any wonder left in a parcel arriving at your door, or have we ordered that feeling out of existence? And what do you do with a person whose reaction to everything you say is the same small noise? Christian has been thinking about it. Where does sincerity actually live in a conversation — and is there a way to tell someone their work isn't good enough without borrowing authority from someone further up the chain? And can you see your partner's side of an argument while still thinking they're wrong? How can you tell if a congratulations is genuine? And when you sing along at a party, are you enjoying the song or informing the room that you know it? Christian caught himself mid-performance and hasn't let it go since. Plus: whether anyone can judge a haircut from the mirror at the back, the mystery of smart hairdryers, and Josh's system for remembering the names of people he's just met. It is written down allll in a note. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do people think you look your age? Christian's been forced to find out the hard way after a shaving mishap wipes out an entire winter's worth of beard growth in one accidental swipe - and the office small talk that followed was brutal. Does more hair genuinely buy you a few extra years of guessing wrong? And is "you look different" ever actually a compliment? Then: how much is too much when it comes to eating a meal that's gone slightly wrong? Josh commits to a week of pre-made dinners that turn out to have a distinctly gritty problem, and refuses to let it stand between him and sunk-cost dinner satisfaction. Where's the actual line between "this is fine" and "this needs to go in the bin"? Finally, a full audit of small talk - who's naturally good at it, whether confidence is doing more work than substance, and Josh's awkward run-in with a very senior colleague that neither party walks away from unscathed. Plus: is it ever appropriate for a stranger to comment on the size of your shopping order? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you eat a piece of gum that's been rattling loose in your pocket for a week? Dion has strong feelings on the matter, plus a backstory involving bulk-buying half a kilo of gum pellets to avoid the little plastic tubs. There's a genuine attempt to establish exactly where the hygiene line sits and whether a hard outer shell is doing any of the work Dion thinks it is. Then: what actually makes a piece of free stuff worth taking? A branded hoodie, a tiny sample-sized chocolate, a keyring from a movie premiere, a suspiciously political tote bag - a working rulebook is proposed for when a freebie is a genuine win and when it's just future landfill with your name on the guilt trip. Hand-me-downs, it turns out, operate under a completely different set of rules. Finally, Josh is put on trial over why he hasn't visited Dion's new place yet. Is there a real obligation to see a friend's new house, or is it just inherited social pressure none of us have ever questioned? And is there a statute of limitations on a housewarming? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh admits he doesn't know his grandfather's name. Doesn't know when he was born, doesn't know where he lived. Is that fair enough, or is it something he should know? More clear-cut is Josh never computing that his parents had grandparents. Then Josh gets thanked for a birthday gift he had absolutely nothing to do with. His housemate Georgia did all the work, and Josh signed his name on the card. How do you redirect the thanks without making it weird? And are you allowed to accept praise you didn't earn? The boys then design a tiered membership system for group gift contributions, complete with font size proportional to donation. Plus: when the sun is beaming into someone's eyes during a chat, whose responsibility is it to call it out? Remember to follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork And for a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you a rule follower, or is a warning sign more of a suggestion? Josh finds himself stuck behind a temporary fence on a coastal walk while everyone in front of him just strolls straight past it - is that healthy scepticism of authority, or something else entirely? Is a road sign a genuine safety measure, or the government covering its own back? And does "keep off the grass" deserve more respect than any other sign in existence? That same instinct tests Dion on a much smaller scale - a single "no photos" sign on one table at a busy craft fair - and then in a far more personal way, when he walks out of an accessible toilet to find someone waiting who actually needed it. Elsewhere, Christian has very strong feelings about what his newborn son should call him, and an equally strong belief that his partner is getting it wrong. Plus: the great debate over whether you should split up from your partner while wandering a market, and the particular heartbreak of watching someone drift off mid-way through your favourite scene. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dion ordered himself something at Hungry Jack's by tacking it onto Josh's order, and Josh has been holding onto the receipt ever since. The boys try to work out whether the principle is worth more than the money ($6.90 to be exact). Then Christian wants to know: if you change tables at a restaurant, should the same seating order be kept? And should you take your water glass with you when you move tables? What about the menus? What is the waiter's responsibility? Plus: Josh is sick of people asking if he has enough leg room in the back of a car. God it must be tough being so tall! For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week. Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh has run the numbers on his 40th RSVPs and discovers what every host secretly suspects: a "maybe" is a "no", a non-reply is a "no", and even the yeses can't be trusted. Then Dion gets pulled into the strange social grey zone between a Marketplace transaction and a friendship. The buyer wants to grab a coffee. Is it a networking move? A genuine friendship bid? And how long can you sit on a reply before silence becomes the answer? Plus: the awkward etiquette of buying something expensive off a stranger, and where the most reasonable place is to meet. We upload all our episodes to YouTube so check us out there if you haven't already: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon and get a bonus Patch every off week. Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh drops a chopstick at a restaurant and, without thinking, flags down the waiter for a new one. Dion and Christian are baffled. To them, you pick it up, you wipe it, and then you keep eating. To Josh, that's grub behaviour! We try to work out where the line is between sensible hygiene and prissy fussing, and whether wiping a fork on your t-shirt actually does anything. Then Christian gets pulled up over a request he made in a work meeting: He asked people to turn their cameras on. We try and establish when the camera-off culture took hold, and whether eating during a meeting is a fair play or rudeness of the highest order. Plus: would you rather eat a Dorito in its current form, or shaped like a Pringle and stacked in a tube? Christian thinks Pringles have figured something out the rest of the industry hasn't. The episode closes with the three of us trying to recreate a Vangelis instrument with our noses. You'll know the bit. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If someone offers you a hot cross bun and it arrives without fruit, have you been deceived? Christian thinks his mum needs to manage expectations better. Josh argues hot cross buns have evolved into a category, like pizza, and you should be able to ask for the variant you want. And Dion wonders why a baker's dozen exists in the first place. The boys settle nothing. Josh has booked himself into a 40th birthday predicament. He sent a “save the date” to roughly 70 people, assuming unlimited capacity, lost his original venue, and now has to work out how to politely tell people they may no longer be invited. Should plus ones be welcome only if he's met them? And how big a bar tab is reasonable? Plus: Christian is shopping for a storage cabinet for his records and gets derailed by a contact form that auto-populates "can you tell me more" into the subject line. The boys workshop the perfect email subject line for every occasion, including bookings, complaints, and inquiries. Surnames or first names? Commas or vertical bars? Order numbers above or below the "hi team"? Watch us on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, because you don't follow enough useless rubbish on those platforms! www.linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week. Sign up at: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you take a sandwich from a shared platter and discover you hate it, are you allowed to throw it out, or are you obligated to keep eating? Josh found himself in this exact situation with a salmon sandwich and chose to power through, whilst retching. The boys try to work out what kind of brain damage leads a man to that decision, and whether finishing your plate is a matter of politeness or a personality flaw. Then Christian recounts one of the happiest mornings of his life. It somehow involves an aimless drive through Templestowe, calling an eyebrow threading place from out the front of the eyebrow threading place, and then the worldly experience he had at a car wash cafe. Plus: what counts as a prized possession? Dion has a 1942 love letter and a pair of war-torn stockings. Christian has the silver tray his grandparents won for the driest fruit in Victoria. And Josh has his gaming PC. The boys try to work out whether age, effort, or sentimentality is what makes something prized. And Dion's pelvic floor physio has diagnosed him as a literal tight ass. Watch us on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, because you don't follow enough useless rubbish on those platforms! www.linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should you accept a "congrats" for buying a house? What about moving into a rental? The boys try to work out where the line sits between earned achievement and a windfall you didn't quite deserve. Then a debate about gift vouchers - specifically, the ethics of giving someone a voucher worth less than the service it's meant for. And should you have to factor in a plus-one when buying someone an experience? And at what age should your mum stop paying your bills? Christian has thoughts, and a confession that will SHOCK you. Then it's an age-old question of closing doors quietly. Dion has been trained since childhood to move through a sleeping house like a ghost. Are tiptoes actually quieter, or are heels just an unfairly loud bone? Plus: Is the job of cleaning a bench really done if you've left it wet? Guess the idiot who has strong opinions about this! Watch us on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook , because you don't follow enough useless rubbish on those platforms! www.linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian notices that some of the old European men in his neighbourhood have netted their fruit trees - but left others completely uncovered. Does that mean the uncovered ones are fair game? At what point does abundance become an invitation? And is it trespassing if you're just grabbing a lemon? The boys try to draw the line between community generosity and petty theft, working through the hierarchy of who deserves the fruit first. Dion wouldn't bat an eye if someone took his basil. Josh isn't buying it. A doorbell sketch is attempted and immediately derailed. Then Josh recounts the delicate social purgatory of being at his partner's friend's 50th birthday and hearing the words "let's get going" - only to spend the next twenty minutes hovering politely while she fires up new conversations on the way out. What's your role when the exit has been called but nobody's actually leaving? Do you engage? Do you hover? And is ordering another drink a signal that you've given up, or the smartest move available? Plus: Can you say you've read a book if you've only listened to it? Dion gets into an argument with a near-stranger about audiobooks and immediately regrets it. Christian confesses to a recurring six-month Kindle cycle. And the boys wrestle with the strange shame of not being a reader - and whether "I'm enjoying this book" is the loophole we've all been looking for. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why won't Josh commit to an arrival time? When he says "I'm 25 minutes away," is that best practice or is it just forcing everyone else to do maths? And at what point does "I'm heading off now" become a riddle? This week, a friend's shirt button pops off and ignites a surprisingly heated argument about what counts as a basic skill. Can you sew a button? Should you be able to? The boys try to define where the line sits — is it about complexity, or whether you can pick it back up after years of not doing it? Cooking makes the list. Knots spiral into nautical territory. Christian can't tie things off. Dion can't navigate his own neighbourhood. Josh floats the idea that sweeping is so intuitive it barely qualifies. And somehow, the question of whether you should know where the studs are in your own walls becomes genuinely existential. Plus: Dion steps in dog shit and it becomes a full strategic debrief. Stick or tap first? Is a leaf ever acceptable? Josh nervously pitches the pebble method. Christian insists on hot water from the laundry tap. And the group reflects on the golden age of stepping in dog shit — and why it just doesn't happen like it used to. When did YouTube become our parents, and how long until prompt engineering is the new sewing a button? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're back! After 160 days away, a refreshed studio, and some very big life updates, we ease back into the important stuff - like underwear. Josh is staring down the barrel of doubling his underwear usage, and he doesn't like it. Christian walks us through his two-pair rotation system while Dion tries to map out the maths. How many pairs do you own? When do you retire a pair with a hole in it? And would you ever donate used undies? Then we revisit the night Christian and Josh went to see The Presets and split up at the toilet block. What followed was a ten-minute standoff where both men were absolutely certain they were standing in the most logical spot. Josh chose the path of travel. Christian chose the thoroughfare. Neither could see the other. We ask: when you lose someone outside a bathroom at an event, where do you stand? How long do you wait before giving up? And does going back to the group without them count as a confrontation? Finally, Christian reveals he's been reading his text messages aloud while typing them — and wonders whether that's a courtesy or a cry for help. Plus: the etiquette of being on your phone in someone's company, Josh's $40 Aldi smartwatch that can't tell the time, and whether 151 is a prime number (it is). Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After eight years, 150 episodes and approximately one and a half Bibles worth of words, Christian, Dion and Josh gather to celebrate the tangled quilt they’ve been slowly unravelling since 2017. This very special Patch, recorded live on YouTube on September 10, 2025 , is best experienced by watching rather than listening. Here's a link to the YouTube livestream recording . How have three friends managed to keep a podcast going for nearly a decade without ever truly learning how to knit, sew, or grow as people? Can a single WhatsApp message — “So we record tomorrow night?” — spark eight years of overthinking? And is it possible to look back fondly on a show that has spent more time debating calendars, microwaves and recycling etiquette than producing anything of real value? Across Patch 150, Christian, Dion and Josh: Look back on their early days — dodging vacuum cleaners in borrowed boardrooms, dreaming up terrible theme songs, and accidentally almost making a current affairs show. Revisit iconic segments like Oh Wow , complete with a very special surprise cameo. Discover that some opinions can change (you probably shouldn’t throw a full jar of kimchi straight into the bin) while others remain uncomfortably fixed (like how to microwave leftovers without scorching your fingertips). Play a chaotic round of Patchwork Trivia Reflect on eight years of shared milestones: house moves, breakups, pandemics, and the strange intimacy of a community built entirely on dissecting the minutiae of life. Listen to Patch 150 and find out whether we crossed the line from nostalgia into self-indulgence. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We begin with Josh’s so-called “worst idea ever”: a heated debate about monitor timeout settings that morphs into a discussion about energy saving, screen burn, and whether you can feel your password in your fingers. Then Dion unveils a mysterious crack on his phone’s screen protector—but can’t recall how it happened. Josh is appalled. Christian is strangely sympathetic. Later, we find ourselves in a crowded venue with Josh, hyper-aware he’s blocking a walkway but too polite to say anything. Do you instinctively manage group positioning in public spaces, or would you rather blend in and suffer silently? Finally, Dion tries to eat a chip. But how loud is too loud? We ask: can you tell how noisy your own chewing is? Do you pace your bites? Would you buy concert-proof lolly wrappers? Plus: silent ten-pin bowling, mismatched perceptions of sporting ability, and a surprise theory about crowd flow and height. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Dion back on the mic, we begin by questioning his curious choice to take place his call in another room but on speaker. This quickly turns into a debate about phone etiquette, hands-free habits, and whether Dion’s long-standing fear of mobile radiation is paranoia or just good prep. We also examine the strange acoustics of speaker mics, the performance of whispering taxi drivers, and the phone-in-bra technique favoured by certain mums. Next, we tackle the strange panic that sets in when a rogue soccer ball rolls your way at the park. Josh recounts a high-pressure moment in Princes Park where he had to choose between a casual pass or a full-blown toe-bash. Do you prioritise style or accuracy? Should you stick to the sport’s rules when returning the ball? And is there a small part of all of us that hopes we’ll be immediately recruited? Finally, we chew over one of life’s most quietly stressful conundrums: where do you throw away chewing gum when there’s no bin around? Flick it, wrap it, or pocket it for later disposal? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From coughing fits to crusty sourdoughs, this episode is made entirely of scraps - old notes, fleeting thoughts, and the kinds of ponderings that once felt too small, too odd, or too unworthy to make the cut. But today, they shine. In this rapid-fire, patchwork-style patch, we discuss: The weird intimacy of bringing a list of topics to dinner Why Christian thinks fridges have made us forget the meaning of "fresh" Is putting found items higher really helping the original owner? Emojis vs. "haha" - which carries more social weight? Nonno throws out a brand new phone, but keeps 1997 soft drinks The stress of coughing while trying to finish a story Walking past a housemate: acknowledge? ignore? perform? The violent pain of sourdough and how to eat it safely “Myriad” reasons to hate people who know they're using “myriad” correctly So grab your blunt knife, lift that lost glove to eye level, and join us as we stitch together a new patch - out of scraps. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian finally gets his ear pierced — but what does it mean to permanently alter your body? Is it self-expression, a longing for transformation, or simply an overdue homage to a bodybuilding uncle from childhood? Meanwhile, Josh is quietly seething at his neighbours who refuse to bring their bins in — but is it really about the bins, or about the unspoken social contract we all silently agree to uphold? When is it okay to make a fuss? Why do some people seem completely unaware of the space they take up in the world? And is there such a thing as a “gateway piercing”? We also ask: do we secretly believe there’s virtue in pain? Are people with spatial awareness just more evolved? And at what age does it become acceptable to accept candy from a stranger? Whether you’re lying down clutching your partner’s hand before a piercing, or gently nudging your neighbour toward a more aesthetically cohesive streetscape — join us as we sew a new patch into our quilt of friendship. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Dion away, Christian and Josh settle in for a two-hander that begins with Christian’s recent holiday — and the logistical challenge of who would feed the cats. Christian reveals he enlisted six different friends (including Josh) and provided an extensive PDF detailing every aspect of Moe and Gus’s care. We unpack the line between thoughtful preparation and over-engineering. Is it helpful or excessive to include things like backstories, indexes, and optional enrichment activities? Should you instruct friends to “play with the cats”? And why do pets seem to get more detailed care notes than actual children? We also explore how people interpret instructions differently and what makes a favour feel like a burden versus a shared act of community. Is it overkill to create a video walkthrough of how to reach your lockbox? Or is it actually a kindness? Later, we shift into kitchen territory to tackle one surprisingly divisive question: should you stir your drinks with a fork or a spoon? Christian swears by the fork for Metamucil, Josh agrees (in this one case), and the debate expands. Does the utensil depend on the drink? Should we be rinsing and reusing, or are we just transferring wet teaspoons into dry coffee jars? Along the way, we challenge the usefulness of whisks, praise the versatility of silicon spatulas, and call for an overhaul of salad tongs — especially when time spent tonging for capsicum might be socially judged. Also in this patch: talcum powder confusion, Pyrex nostalgia, and a cat who may now have a job. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.