Do we like Ryan Jon Dunn?
Our score: 6 out of 10. A clean run with no harm or misconduct found, held back from higher because there's little on record about his views on the big issues.
Ryan Jon Dunn is half of the Toni and Ryan Podcast, the Melbourne comedy duo that turned a COVID-era side project into one of Australia's biggest shows. He studied commerce at Swinburne, played beach volleyball for the uni (winning gold at the University Games) and first spoke into a microphone in the student radio studio.
The origin story is a good one. He and Toni Lodge met on a summer fill-in slot at KIIS Melbourne, made a demo, posted clips to TikTok and got swamped with requests for the full show. About a year in they quit their jobs, because the station wouldn't give them their own show, so they made their own.
From there it was a rocket: a Spotify exclusive in 2022, then back to independence with a multi-year Acast deal in 2024. By then they had over 700 episodes and more than three million monthly downloads, and they said no to commercial radio offers. In 2025 they won the audience-voted People's Voice Award at the Webbys in New York.
On the harm check, honestly, there's not much to report. We searched for anything on LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants, climate or health claims and found no controversy, no apology-worthy moment and no dodgy collaborators. The show's commercial work that turned up, like a 2026 M&M's tennis promotion, is pretty harmless. To be fair, it's a gag-and-banter show, so we have little of his own stated views to go on, and that's why this isn't a higher score.
On the good-person side, no lawsuits, allegations or complaints against him or the show turned up in our searches. The pair describe themselves as very alike, with the same sense of humour. Coverage also shows a lighter community streak: a Melbourne event where fans handed over unwanted clothes was reported as going to recycling or a charity program, though the charity wasn't named.
So where does that leave us? A likeable independent creator who built something from nothing and hasn't put a foot wrong in the public record we could find. If he ever puts his views on the big stuff on the record, we'd revisit. Until then it's a comfortable yes to seeing him live.