About me

Hi there, I'm Joel Rheinberger, author and broadcaster.

I have seven books you might want to check out:

ZeitHeist - after the ecological apocalypse, the banks and corporations that ruined the planet build an island paradise for themselves. And a group of Aussie thieves are hired to crack the place open.

The Poppy Lu Series - a young pilot learns to fly without a plane and joins the world of super heroes. Three books so far: (1) Suddenly Super, (2) Surprisingly Super and (3) Seriously Super.

The Hopping Ghost - a wee Scottish vampire finds herself in deep trouble in 1920's Shanghai.

Chick Magnet - a crime caper with a number-crunching assassin tracking down stolen drugs.

Discipline - a modern fantasy about an apprentice to a black magician.

When I'm not writing, I talk for a living on ABC Radio. (But for the record, this blog is purely personal.)

Some of my interviews get played right around the network, so if you live in Australia you've probably heard my voice. Often doing silly things, like getting naked on the radio or brushing a dead whale's teeth.

I also created and presented a long-running ABC podcast called Nerdzilla, which was about comics, computers, sci-fi, super heroes, games, gadgets, and geeks.

Before my time at the ABC, I was a copywriter. I won some awards for it, including a couple of New York Medals.

When I'm not typing or talking, I play games with my friends and teach Loong Choo Kung Fu.

I live in Hobart, truly the most beautiful city in the world, with my equally beautiful wife Iris and my son Louis.

I have an author page on Facebook.

I post on Mastadon now and then.

You can also find me on Blue Sky, Threads and Instagram.

And I would love to email you! Please join my list. 

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The shocking secret behind cosplay costumes

I swore I'd never use the word "shocking" in a headline, but this story deserves it.

While working for Nerdzilla at the Australian Movie and Comic Expo in Melbourne, we stumbled across the the secret horror behind so many cosplay costumes.

If it's got fur or leather, chances are it came from a cruel  and controverial source.

Andrew Hogan takes you inside the industry supplying this immoral material to cosplayers.

(Four Corners, eat your heart out.)

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Dancing cosplayers at Oz Comic Con

Let's make some cosplayers do the Running Man challenge, shall we?

This footage comes from Oz Comic Con in Melbourne.

I was there to interview some cool people, like Robert Patrick from Terminator II and Samuel Anderson from Doctor Who.

But there are so many people wandering around in amazing costumes, it just seemed a shame not to put them on video. Doing something silly. For no good reason.

If you've never been to a con before, it's a hell of a lot of fun. Here's a little guided tour of the event, which I originally put out on the Periscope app.

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My Radio Reel

I've been in radio for my whole adult life.

A couple of times I've strayed away from the industry, but I'm always drawn back to it. There is an energy and intelligence in radio that I love.

The first half of my career was spent writing and voicing commercials. But then I began working for ABC Local Radio, where I've done just about every job they have to offer.

Here are some highlights.

For the most part I'm a Producer and Presenter, which means that I organise programs, interview people, and go out into the field with a microphone to record reports.



I am also the creator of an ABC podcast called Nerdzilla, which is made by nerds for nerds. It's all about comics, computers, cosplay, sci-fi, superheroes, geeks, and games.

I make it with my friend Andrew Hogan and we're quite proud of it. It's very silly and a lot of fun.



And I sometimes make more scripted stuff.  I was the Producer for a terrific Radio National series called Blogdaddy. And I made this series called Tech Mate, which is about explaining technology. (Like I said, I am a nerd.)

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