Marc Fennell

Marc Fennell
Fennell in 2012
Born
Sydney, Australia
EducationSt George Christian School
Occupations
  • Technology journalist
  • author
  • radio personality
  • TV presenter
Years active2002–present
Websitemarcfennell.com

Marc Fennell is an Australian technology journalist, television presenter, radio personality, and author. He became known as co-anchor of The Feed on SBS Television, and as of October 2026 is the host of Mastermind (TV), No One Saw It Coming (podcast), and Stuff the British Stole (audio and TV). He was also the host of Download This Show (audio) until 2025. His most recent show is the three-part documentary for ABC Television, entitled The State of Man, which looks at how boys and young men are influenced by the Internet.

Early life and education

Fennell was born in Sydney, to Shirley Vasanthee Nair and Paul Fennell. His mother, a school teacher, was a Chitty Indian-Singaporean who immigrated to Australia in 1980 while his father, a photographer, was of Anglo-Irish descent, with Fennell's paternal grandparents having left Ireland in 1960. His parents met while attending university.

He completed his Higher School Certificate in 2002 at St George Christian School.

He attended the University of Technology Sydney, but left after eight weeks to join SBS's youth show The Movie Show.

Career

Film criticism

In 2002, Fennell was a winner of the first AFI Young Film Critics Competition. He then became the film critic and reporter for Sydney radio station FBi Radio from 2003–2006.

During this period Fennell was selected as one of four presenters of SBS's The Movie Show in mid-2004. Fennell remained with the show until June 2006, when the show went on hiatus, returning in a different format (and with a different team) in 2007.

Fennell covered cinema across the ABC Radio Network including ABC Local Radio and the national youth broadcaster Triple J.[citation needed] He presented the weekly movie segment on the Network Ten morning program The Circle from 2010 until it was axed in August 2012.[citation needed]

Fennell also regularly produced digital projects exploring cinema culture, including Bollywood For Beginners: a series for SBS Television about the history of Bollywood. He also co-produced a web series about movie trailers, Coming Sooner, with Nick Hayden and Nicholas McDougall.

Significant shows

Fennell presented and reported on Hungry Beast, a comedy and current affairs program that aired on ABC1 from 2009 to 2011. He primarily covered digital media, popular culture, gaming, and technology. Fennell was one of nine members of the team to be selected by Denton to develop online content for Zapruder's Other Films. Prior to Hungry Beast Fennell had worked with another of the presenters, Dan Ilic, developing a YouTube parody of the Freeview launch as part of their live comedy show Massage My Medium at the 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Fennell hosted the ABC's technology radio program Download This Show from 2012 to 2025, which examined the latest developments in social media, consumer electronics, digital politics, hacktivism and online privacy. The program aired on Radio National, ABC Local Radio Digital and throughout Asia Pacific on Radio Australia. In 2012, iTunes Australia named Download This Show the best new podcast, and it won Best Audio Program at the Australian IT Journalism Awards ("The Lizzies") many times. It won Best Outlet in the 2023 Lizzies.

Marc Fennell anchored the SBS current affairs program The Feed from 2013 to its conclusion in 2022. In addition to his main role co-hosting, Fennell's prerecorded segments became a feature of the show, most notably his interviews with film and television stars. In 2020, Fennell won a Walkley Award for documenting the theft of museum specimens.

Fennell became an inaugural co-host of the weekly ABC television show India Now on 30 May 2022. The show, which presented "news, culture and politics from India and the subcontinent" is made by the creators of Planet America and China Tonight. The show was aimed at an Australian audience and it is hosted by Australians with Indian heritage. A second season began in April 2023.

Fennell created the ABC and CBC podcast series Stuff the British Stole which has since spawned a television series airing in Australia from November 2022 and Canada in January 2023. The third series of the show premiered in Australia on 9 June 2026.

From February 2021, Fennell began hosting the Australian version of Mastermind, replacing Jennifer Byrne. As of October 2026 he continues to present the programme.

Other work

Fennell has also regularly produced reports on technology for programs on ABC News 24 including News Exchange (ended), The Drum, Weekend Breakfast and the Technology Quarter (ended).

In 2019, Fennell created It Burns, a podcast series covering the global race to grow the hottest pepper. In 2020 he produced Nut Jobs, a podcast investigating $10 million worth of nuts stolen from California.[citation needed]

In September 2021, Fennell hosted the Australian version of The School That Tried to End Racism for ABC Television. In December 2021, Fennell presented Framed, a four-part SBS documentary investigating the theft of Picasso's painting The Weeping Woman.

In June 2023, he presented The Kingdom, a feature-length SBS documentary which investigated his former Pentecostal religion, in particular the successes and controversies of the Hillsong Church and the rise in new megachurches in Australia. Later that year, he presented his three-part investigation The Mission: The Strangest Art Heist You Never Heard Of about art works stolen in 1986 from the New Norcia Monastery in regional Western Australia.

In July 2025, Fennell started a new podcast highlighting interesting parts of history called No One Saw It Coming. In August 2025 he appeared as a contestant on Claire Hooper's House of Games. Fennell hosted Tell Me What You Really Think, a four-part series which premiered on SBS in October 2025. In the series, Fennell and guests discuss sensitive topics at a dinner party.

Fennell created, produced, and presented a three-part documentary series for ABC Television titled The State of Man, which was directed by Melissa Maclean, who also co-executive produced. Commissioned by the ABC, it aired on ABC TV and iview from 13 October 2026. Its focus is how boys and young men absorb the concept of masculinity, in particular via the Internet. It looks at the "manosphere", and one of its observations is how the COVID-19 pandemic led more boys to interact online while isolated from live interaction with their peers and others. The last episode looks at possible solutions to the more pernicious influences that boys may be exposed to online.

Publications

Fennell's books include:

Accolades

In 2020, Fennell was a joint winner of a Walkley Award in the category "Television/Video: Current Affairs Short (Less Than 20 Minutes)", for an episode of The Feed titled "Stuffed: Inside Australia's Biggest Museum Heist". Also awarded by the Walkley Foundation, he was a co-winner of the June Andrews Award for Arts Journalism, for The Mission in 2024. He has also been a finalist in several other Walkley Awards, in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

As of October 2026, he has been nominated for a Rose d'Or three times. He has also won eight New York Festivals medals; a James Beard Foundation Food Journalism Award (for It Burns); a Canadian Screen Award; an Asian Academy Creative National Award; ; two AWGIE Writers Guild Awards; three Australian International Documentary Conference Awards; an Association for International Broadcasters Award; and several Webby Awards.

Personal life

Fennell married Madeleine Genner, and they have two children.

References

  1. ↑ "Marc Fennell: That Modern Universal Guy". My City Life. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "'Where are you from?' raises many questions". Brisbane Times. 12 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "A family story hidden in plain sight". TheGenealogist.
  4. ↑ Rocca, Jane (17 August 2024). "Marc Fennell 'counts his blessings' when it comes to his mother-in-law". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. ↑ NSW, Board of Studies Teaching and Educational Standards. "2002 Higher School Certificate – Board of Studies Teaching and Educational Standards NSW". www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Successful Australians who didn't go to university". Work Skills. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  7. 1 2 Petersen, Freya (3 June 2004). "SBS adds a youthful twist in sobriety for that movie show". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. p. 7.
  8. ↑ Cunningham, Katie; Cunningham, As told to Katie (18 October 2022). "Three things with Marc Fennell: 'I'm a massive nerd, but Star Trek matters to me'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  9. ↑ George, Sandy (23 March 2006). "Credits roll for Movie Show". The Australian. p. 42.
  10. ↑ Browne, Rachel (6 May 2007). "Joy for film buffs as show goes on". Sun Herald. Sydney, Australia. p. 16.
  11. ↑ Williams, Tom (14 May 2017). "Marc Fennell Announces Departure From Triple J". Music Feeds. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  12. ↑ "Tearful finale as The Circle bows out in style | TV Tonight". Tv Tonight. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  13. ↑ Hamilton, Alicia (20 March 2012). "Bollywood for Beginners". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  14. ↑ Totten, Sanden (11 September 2012). "How movie trailers evolved from an afterthought to an art form". KPCC. Retrieved 30 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ↑ Jackson, Sally (12 April 2010). "Digital natives held to spin new web". The Australian. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  16. ↑ Blundell, Graeme (30 May 2009). "Is this the future of television?". The Australian. Retrieved 8 March 2010.[dead link]
  17. ↑ Ilic, Dan (21 April 2009). "Marc Fennell & Dan Ilic in Massage My Medium (Or How to Save TV in 55 minutes)". MICF. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  18. ↑ "Wrapping up the world in tech for 2024, and Marc Fennell's last show!". ABC Listen. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  19. ↑ Fennell, Marc (20 February 2012). "Download This Show Homepage". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  20. ↑ Croucher, Geoff. "Radio Australia Programme Guide". Radio Australia. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "Working with Sound: Marc Fennell". Australian Audio Guide. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  22. ↑ "Lizzies 2024: Finalists & Final Updates". ACN Newswire. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  23. ↑ "The Feed". Special Broadcasting Service. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  24. ↑ Quinn, Karl (25 May 2022). "SBS dumps youth-focused current affairs show The Feed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  25. ↑ "Marc Fennell". Special Broadcasting Service. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "Marc Fennell, Ninah Kopel and Joel Stillone". The Walkley Foundation. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  27. ↑ "Brand new series INDIA NOW! to air on ABC". TV Blackbox. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  28. ↑ Knox, David (6 May 2022). "Marc Fennell to host India Now!". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  29. ↑ "India Now!". Media Spy. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  30. ↑ Erin Wen Ai Chew (30 May 2022). "ABC's India Now! Is The To Go To For Understanding What Is Going On In India And The Subcontinent". BEING ASIAN AUSTRALIAN. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  31. ↑ Knox, David (11 April 2023). "Returning: India Now!". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  32. ↑ Dart, Chris (6 January 2023). "Stuff the British Stole host Marc Fennell wants to shake up our 'cultural amnesia'". CBC Television.
  33. ↑ Marsh, Walter (31 October 2022). "Stuff the British Stole: Marc Fennell's TV series wades headfirst into colonial quagmires". The Guardian.
  34. ↑ "Stuff The British Stole with Marc Fennell returns for an epic third season on the ABC this June". About the ABC. 12 May 2026.
  35. ↑ "New Mastermind season with Marc Fennell as host to premiere Feb 22". Mediaweek. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  36. ↑ "Mastermind Australia TV Show". Nine.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 October 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  37. ↑ Marc Fennell (26 March 2020). "What's the best place on the internet?". Download This Show (Podcast). Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  38. ↑ Pobjie, Ben (14 April 2019). "Q&A: Marc Fennell on fire, The Feed and finding people-first stories". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  39. ↑ Wells, Peter (3 June 2020). "A tough case to crack: Marc Fennell's nut theft investigation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  40. ↑ Houston, Melinda (15 September 2021). "Marc Fennell: 'Racism doesn't have to be a big scary word'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  41. ↑ "Don't miss Framed: an art heist that's almost too wild to be believed". The Guardian. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  42. ↑ Knox, David (16 May 2023). "Airdate: The Kingdom". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  43. ↑ Clare Rigden (22 October 2023). "Marc Fennell's doco series for SBS, The Mission, looks at an art crime that took place in New Norcia in 1980s". The West Australian. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  44. ↑ ""History is inconsiderate" – New Marc Fennell history mystery podcast No One Saw It Coming". radioinfo. 31 March 2025. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  45. ↑ "Episode 27 – Claire Hooper's House Of Games (Season 1, Episode 27)". Apple TV. 27 May 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  46. ↑ Low, Lenny Ann (15 October 2025). "Marc Fennell thinks we're in an 'era of fragility'. His new show aims to change that". The Age. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  47. ↑ "The State of Man". New Mac. 1 October 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  48. ↑ Lambert-Patel, Tarla (19 October 2026). "Marc Fennell on boys, the manosphere and why parents can't solve this crisis alone". Women's Agenda. Archived from the original on 21 October 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  49. ↑ Valdez, Marvin (21 October 2026), Marc Fennell Takes On The Manosphere In The State Of Man. – DNA, retrieved 28 October 2026
  50. ↑ "Marc Fennell Kills Your Weekend (working title)". HarperCollins Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  51. ↑ Fennell, Marc (November 2015). Planet According to the Movies. HarperCollins Australia. ISBN 978-1-4607-0479-0. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  52. ↑ "Stuff the British Stole by Marc Fennell". Penguin. 23 June 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  53. 1 2 "Marc Fennell". Berry Writers Festival. 20 September 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  54. ↑ "Marc Fennell, Ninah Kopel and Joel Stillone". The Walkley Foundation. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  55. ↑ "Winners announced for 2024 Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism". The Walkley Foundation. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  56. ↑ "Finalists announced for 2021 Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism". The Walkley Foundation. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  57. ↑ "Finalists announced for 2022 Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism". The Walkley Foundation. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  58. ↑ "Finalists announced for 2023 Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism". The Walkley Foundation. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  59. ↑ Leggatt, Johanna (30 August 2018). "Raising kids in the #MeToo age, one being Max (12) and Sophie (10) potato". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2021.