From dropping F-bombs to selling out venues, podcast star Luisa Dal Din reveals how she and her best friend turned their banter into a commercial radio deal.
STORY BY – ADRIENNE TAM
As co-host of the top-rated comedy podcast We Mean Well, Luisa Dal Din was “a little bit nervous” when she and her best friend, Jack “Jarch” Archdale, made their move into radio in June. Their podcast, which began in 2022, captured the attention
of radio executives at Triple M, leading to their own national drive home show, Lu & Jarch.
“In the podcast, anything bad we say it’s like, ‘cut that’, whereas with the live element on radio, we did both drop an ‘F-bomb’ within the first month,” Dal Din tells Stellar with a laugh.
“But we’ve learnt very quickly not to now. We’ve done the opposite in that we’ve gone from podcasting into traditional media, and people usually go the other way around.
“We were a bit worried at first because sometimes the podcast can be a bit rogue, but we’ve found our feet.”
As well as the radio show, the pair have continued to co-host We Mean Well, which means they’re producing five radio shows, two podcasts and two episodes on the subscription-based platform Patreon – a total of nine shows per week.
But despite the enormous number of hours they spend chatting to each other, Dal Din, 31, insists that she and Archdale never run out of things to talk about, explaining that their point of difference in a crowded podcast market is their sibling-like dynamic.
“I know heaps of amazing female duos, and I think it’s nice to have a male/female duo where it’s like a brother-sister vibe. So we can give each other a bit of shit but it’s always from a loving place because we’re such good friends.”
Originally from New Zealand, Dal Din – who took speech and drama classes at school and went on to do a bachelor of broadcasting, radio and journalism – admits that she was the loud kid at school.
“I’ve always known from a young age that I liked making people laugh, and talking and singing was definitely one of my favourite things to do,” she recalls.
She moved to Sydney six years ago after getting a “half producer, half on-air” role at the Hit Network and then produced Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa breakfast show before starting her own podcast.
While their friendship is purely platonic, Dal Din and Archdale have found themselves at the centre of persistent romance rumours.
“We spend Monday to Friday with each other,” she points out. “We live around the corner from each other. My partner, Lachy [Smith], gets along so well with him.
“I get along so well with Jarch’s wife [Stephanie Allen]. We’re so lucky that it all just fits. Both our worlds sort of collide, [so it] has been awesome to witness everyone just getting along so well and having so much fun.”
Their content may be all about honesty and relatability, but Dal Din is mindful of oversharing. “I do share a lot, but I know what not to share,” she says.
“There are some things that are personal. You’ve got to sometimes keep friends’ names out of the funny stories, stuff like that. And Jarch is the same. We’re very respectful.”
The 31-year-old says that while she’s living her dream career at present, she does have her sights set on other horizons.
“I’m obviously so happy where we are, and I’d love to see where the podcast and radio show go. But I’d also love to dip my toes into TV, whether it’s hosting or something like that; that would be awesome.
“And I would love to start a product that I’m passionate about. I haven’t got that far yet, but I’m sort of thinking about [what] I can do – maybe something girly.”
In the meantime, Dal Din and Archdale have more work packed into their already full schedules. Their first We Mean Well live shows begin this November, with events in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland.
“We have a show at the Opera House, which is a bucket list kind of thing,” she says.
“You never expect you’re going to be performing at the Opera House. My friends and family will come to the Auckland show so that’s awesome, too.”
Like when she started in radio, there are nerves, Dal Din admits.
“We’ve opened for a country music artist before but we’ve never done live shows with just Jarch and I, which is kind of scary. But it’s also a really safe space, because our audience from the podcast or radio are coming. So it’s our community and our audience who are there to see us.”
Looking back on her accomplishments so far, Dal Din says she feels humbled and awed.
“I always dreamt of doing what I’m doing now, but to the scale that it has got to, so young – I’m so grateful,” she says. “Eight-year-old me would be going, ‘What the hell?’
“If I could tell anything to my younger self, it would be: ‘Be confident, be yourself.’ And, as lame as it sounds, ‘Reach for the stars.’”
Lu & Jarch airs nationwide weekdays from 2pm on Triple M. The We Mean Well live tour starts on November 3.
See the full shoot and interview inside Stellar via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland) and Sunday Mail (SA).
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