Rebecca wanted Brisbane to have its own ‘live talk show’, so she started one

November 9, 2026 — 5:18pmRebecca Levingston conducted a lot of memorable interviews during 20 years at ABC Brisbane.There was the time Powderfinger called in from the van taking them to the soundcheck for their final show before the band retired – not permanently, as it turned out – in 2016. Or when the puppet Agro and his manager, Jamie Dunn, came by the studio and cracked her up.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese laid on the charm by suggesting that Rebecca herself should win a Gold Logie. And then there were the parents whose son had suffered a fractured neck in a rugby game.Former ABC radio host Rebecca Levingston is hosting a live talk show called The Room. Jared Vethaak“They spoke so gently and eloquently about the road ahead for them,” Levingston says. “I was always amazed at anyone who had been through a traumatic situation and then was able to share that story in the hopes of helping someone else along the way.”Levingston finished up as Mornings host on 612 ABC Brisbane in 2023, taking a redundancy and travelling through Europe with her family. They skied in France, ate pizza in Naples, and looked at more churches and museums than her sons would have liked.“Travel makes you see your own city through different eyes, right? Makes you appreciate it. I love Brisbane, I love Australia, I love Queensland, and all of that fed into, what am I gonna do next?” she says.The answer was something drawing upon her decades of experience in teasing out people’s stories in a live context.“I want Brisbane to have a live talk show,” she says. “I think we should have a permanent, iconic talk show in our city that locals love, people from interstate know about, and internationals want to be on,” Levingston says.So she is launching it herself this month. The Room opens with two gigs at Kingston Butter Factory and two at the Brisbane Powerhouse, each with a different line-up of special guests.Her subjects will range from arts figures like ballet legend Li Cunxin and costume designer Leigh Buchanan to Olympian and podcaster Libby Trickett and comedian Matt Okine.Each show will have a musical guest like Amy Sheppard (Sheppard), Patience Hodgson (The Grates) or Ben Ely (Regurgitator).Levingston began her 20 years at the ABC as one of the producers on Richard Fidler’s Conversations.Jared Vethaak“I love a tight show. Not more than 90 minutes, no interval. You get in, you have great conversation, great ideas, you have your buttons pressed a little bit, you get some live music, and then you’re out,” she says.“Because stories and human connection are what light me up. I know what it feels like to be in a room with someone who is telling you about their life. And that makes me feel good about being with people and not scrolling. It’s very hard to ‘AI’ real-life stories.”Her inspirations are the talk show greats: Michael Parkinson, David Letterman, Andrew Denton, Graham Norton and Oprah Winfrey.Levingston grew up in North Queensland, studied hotel management, and lived in Japan, the USA and the UK before returning home to study journalism.She began her 20 years at the ABC as one of the producers on Richard Fidler’s Conversations, and it had a profound impact on her subsequent career.“Richard said to me once, ‘Bec, you’re the kind of person who can talk to anyone.’ I took that as a real compliment,’” Levingston says.She would go on to anchor Breakfast, Drive, Weekends and Evenings. Mornings was her longest gig at five years, through COVID.“It was intense. I think it was my job, if you’re listening to me on radio, to feel like you’ve got the information that you need, you’re gonna be alright, here’s the latest number of COVID cases, and we can still have a laugh.”The Room is an opportunity to call in favours from a wealth of contacts, but also to celebrate the city.“There’s a smorgasbord of talent in Brisbane,” she says.“It’s like a great dinner party conversation after you’ve had a couple of glasses of wine and it’s just like, let’s go, let’s talk. Tell me about the time that you nearly died, or you were terrified, or you were stupidly in love or something really mundane happened, but it just sticks in your mind.”Since finishing up at the ABC, Levingston has been piecing together a career in hosting and corporate comms, trying different things in a process she calls “the rollercoaster”.“I’m just hanging on and trying to enjoy the ride. I had a very smooth ride at ABC, and now this is a different chapter. I don’t know exactly where I’ll end up, but I’m hanging on.”Rebecca Levingston presents The Room at Kingston Butter Factory on Sunday, November 15 at 2pm (Matt Okine, Libby and Georgie Trickett and Chris Cobb) and Sunday, November 22, 2pm (Nick Earls, Lachlan Stuart, Li Cunxin and Amy Sheppard); Brisbane Powerhouse, Sunday, November 28, 2pm (Leigh Buchanan, Ben Southall and Ben Ely) and 6pm (Harvey Lister, Yaron Lifschitz and Patience Hodgson).Get alerts on significant breaking news as happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.From our partners