Category: Special interest
Bluejuice frontman Jake Stone shares some of his vocational history with creative pursuits in music and comedy, following from a discussion of Jake's special interest in martial arts and how it relates to his experiences of school bullying. The song excerpt opening this episode is 'Act Yr Age'. Other songs and videos discussed can be found at wideopenairexchange.com. The comedy and music chat starts at 36:27, if you've already heard the radio broadcast about martial arts.
Oula Ghannoum is a Lebanese-Australian Muslim who has happy memories of Ramadan evening festivities during her childhood in Tripoli. Oula kindly provides an introduction to the religious and cultural significance of Ramadan for the interest of non-Muslim listeners and shares insights about how Ramadan is observed. This includes a description of prayer rituals at mosques and street food fairs and about Sawm (fasting) and Zakat (charitable giving).
Julia Beveridge is a former Superyacht crew worker with experience as a steward and deckhand. Julia reflects on this vocational experience and comments on the accuracy of the reality TV show 'Below Deck'. The audio montage from Below Deck comes from a few seconds of various episodes of the program owned by Bravo TV. The theme music is derived from ‘Tuesday Morning’ by The Pogues written by Spider Stacy.
Catching up with film enthusiast Davis Rivera about what we've seen at the cinema in the past year and our recent streaming habits. We also draw on Davis' academic studies of film at the University of Oxford for an analysis of why 'Jeanne Dielman' (pictured) topped the critics list of best films of all time in the once a decade Sight and Sound poll.
Emma Bellamy shares what's involved in her crystal bed healing practice and the qualities that are ascribed to chakras in her wisdom tradition. This conversation was conducted in a spirit of agnostic curiosity and openness to learn about different world views and theologies.
Natalie Clays had a vocational calling after quitting smoking at an Allen Carr's Easyway seminar and made a mid-career change from a successful corporate role to helping other people to quit smoking. Natalie is Director and Facilitator for Allen Carr's Easyway operations in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada. I also credit Allen Carr's methods for my own success (Christine Gallagher) with quitting smoking tobacco and quitting drinking alcohol, and we share those experiences.
Melanie Junghans took up ocean swimming while recovering from a foot injury a few years ago and now she does charity ocean swim events with Can Too, a non-profit organisation raising money to fund early career cancer researchers. Mel swims regularly as part of an ocean swim community and enjoys the mindset of it and the variety of ocean creatures that she sees. The song featured in this episode is 'The Swimming Song' by O'Shea.
We are seeking to feature intergenerational conversations with people aged in their 90s who have some aspect of their vocational history or a special interest that would be a good fit for the Wide Open Air Exchange. Do you know someone who would be interested in sharing their experiences and insights? Find more information at wideopenairexchange.com
Michael Jones has been reviewing movies for a morning radio segment since 1997 and here he shares his approach to film reviewing, what kinds of movies he enjoys, what it is about the cinema experience that appeals to him, some formative experiences watching movies, and other experiences and interests.
Tim Ritchie got his first radio gig as a school student and went on to carve out a place for innovative music on the radio as a broadcaster and music curator in a career spanning 46 years to date. Tim shares insights from his vocational experiences, including how being an introvert made him suited to radio and being a club DJ, along with philosophical thoughts on the meaning of life. This episode contains short excerpts of music by Prince Far I, Robert Johnson, Status Quo, Captain Beefheart, Centriphugal, Derek and the Dominos (and The Pogues in our theme).
On hearing the news of the death of Angela Lansbury, I recorded this personal reflection about her influence as a role model of someone doing great work later in life. I quite often remind myself that I've not yet reached the age that Angela Lansbury was when she made Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and I think of what could be possible in the next few decades of my vocational life. Coincidentally I had been thinking of Angela Lansbury before going to bed last night and woke up to the news of her death this morning, Sydney time. I expect there will be others making similar reflections, but here's mine all the same. Thank you, Angela Lansbury, for being a role model of someone who happily did not retire.
12-year-old identical twins Jaimee Rose Lynne and Jesse May Lynne share what it's like being a twin, and their mum Ali Gunn provides insights as a parent of twins. Jaimee and Jesse help us to understand their special bond as well as the challenges of being compared to your twin. We get to know Jaimee's and Jesse's individual personal qualities, values and interests, and also hear about their experiences with modelling and acting including on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder.
Professor Paulo Ferreira is a physiotherapist with a PhD in management of low back pain and a researcher in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. This conversation includes insights from research on psychological interventions for lower back pain and draws on evidence of the importance of good sleep, exercise and functional movement, and maintaining social connections if you’re someone who’s managing lower back pain. NB. 150min exercise referred to in this conversation is per week.
Jeremy Ray is a video game critic aka "Junglist" and content strategist for the blockchain tech company Enjin. You'll hear about Jeremy's aptitude for problem solving and his interest in systems exploration which are qualities that have informed some of his vocational choices. We also discuss Jeremy's use of the Zettlekasten system of note taking and his research interest in the relationship between wait time and toxicity in gaming. Jeremy has been a guest on the Wide Open Air Exchange a few times and most of his episodes were archived along with the first few years of the program when the Wide Open Air Exchange found a radio home at 2SER 107.3FM in 2022. This conversation introduces Jeremy to new listeners who have recently found the program and covers new topics as well.
Max Mahood shares his special interest in the multimedia music genre Vaporwave
Chris Farquharson shares insights from a lifelong interest in boating and most recently in his experience as a volunteer with the Sydney Heritage Fleet helping to restore and run heritage boats. After being born in Zambia, Chris was raised on the west coast of Scotland and the south coast of England and he now lives on the east coast of Australia.
Ann Bridges is a birth educator, registered nurse, doula, clinical hypnotherapist and author of the book Gentle Birthing which is a practical guide for having a positive birth experience through the power of thought and preparedness.
An introduction to TikTok as a forum for special interests and for community-building. Tracy Taylor aka everydaytrace joined TikTok during the first Covid lockdown and found communities of like-minded people in comedy and lesbian TikTok channels.
Discussing movies with small town themes with Davis Rivera and with thanks to our contributors from around the world: Astrid (Poland), Lachlan (Australia), Betsy (United States), Natalie (England), Chanan (Israel), Rachael (Australia), Anne-Marie (Australia).
A virtual meeting of the Wide Open Air Exchange Film Club with guest Davis Rivera. Thanks to everyone who contributed reviews and comments for inclusion in the discussion.
'A Country Practice' was a popular family drama which aired on Australian television from 1981 and into the early 90s. There has been a place for nostalgia television during the Covid shut downs and my guest, and sister, Anne-Marie Gallagher has been keenly re-watching ACA in recent months. Anne-Marie shares insights about some of the beloved characters, production history, and social themes which were addressed in a progressive way for the time.
Talking sci-fi and fantasy fiction with author and comedian Sam Bowring. You’ll hear about some of the thinking behind Sam’s Broken Well Trilogy and his approach to writing his latest book, Scharlette Doesn't Matter and Goes Time Travelling.
Film scholar Davis Rivera shares his favourite films of the 2010s including narrative films, documentaries and a couple of exceptional stand-out series. Davis has kept a record of his personal ratings of films since he was aged 13 and has a database of more than 3000 film ratings. These are his picks of the decade.
A nostalgia trip for those who lived through it and a cheat sheet for those seeking an introduction to the premise and characters of the TV series Beverly Hills 90210. This conversation with pop culture aficionado Liz Marques is a primer for watching the reboot, BH90210.
Answering questions asked by Year 8 students from Christian College, Geelong about the processes of creating a podcast. The students are researching, scripting and recording their own podcasts for a Digital News unit of study.
A guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Jeremy Ray, Managing Editor for FANDOM. If you’re interested in The Avengers but the thought of catching up with 23 movies is stopping you from investing any time in the series this conversation should help you get on board. You'll find an introduction to some of the Avengers characters and a snapshot of the story arcs across the three phases of Marvel movies.
As a follow to the previous episode about having a baby and discussions of conception and breastfeeding is this special including excerpts from conversations with previous guests with related specialist views.
Reproductive geneticist Nada Kubikova speaks about declining fertility, miscarriages, and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis which can be used during IVF to identify embryos affected by genetic defects (recorded Feb 2017). At the time of recording Nada was a doctoral researcher within the Institute of Reproductive Sciences at the University of Oxford.
Dr Julie Smith is an Associate Professor at the Research School of Population Health at ANU who has been an expert advisor to the World Health Organisation. Julie speaks about some of the evolutionary health benefits of breastfeeding and public policy contexts and impacts of the hospitalisation of births and emergence of milk formula (recorded Sept 2017).
Insights about professional tennis from player development to life on the circuit and coaching and management approaches as well as some of the basics of what are the grand slam tournaments and court surfaces. Jaslyn Hewitt-Shehadie from Tennis Australia is National Academy Manager, Talent Development Manager and Wellbeing Ambassador for New South Wales and a former professional player who shares her expertise and personal experiences.
Dread, surrealism, trash and a good dose of slasher movies—a discussion of films appropriate for the Halloween season. Davis Rivera is a programmer for the Austin Film Society and a cinephile with an MSt in Film Aesthetics from the University of Oxford.
Reviews of some of my favourite music performances from live studio sessions by Durand Jones & the Indications, Dub FX, Grieves, The Milk, Shakey Graves and Daryl Hall with Chromeo.
A conversation about some of the techniques of beer brewing and the flavour profiles of different beer styles with master brewer and Director of Dad and Dave's Brewing, John Dumay.
A celebration of sad songs with music aficionado Angus Huntsdale. Angus explains the appeal of listening to sad songs and shares some of his favourites by Perfume Genius, Dirty Three, Elliott Smith and Weddings Parties Anything.
Ecologist Dr John Martin from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney discusses some of the history and benefits of citizen science which involves public participation in research projects. John also shares advice for individuals interested in studying ecology and thoughts on intervention research methods such as trapping animals for study and tracking.
Broken Hill is a mining town in outback Australia. The red dusty landscape of its surrounding regions has been a backdrop for numerous films including Mad Max 2 and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It is the only heritage listed city in Australia and a place with a thriving arts scene. Locals Andrea Roberts and Bonnie Fitzpatrick share their knowledge of Broken Hill's history and culture and memories of growing up there.
Dr Marilynn Davis is a professional educator of outdoor leaders in first response strategies for mountaineering accidents and other pre-hospital care. Marilynn has volunteered with Teton County Search and Rescue in Wyoming and she featured on the television program Backcountry Rescue on the Outdoor Channel.
The education sector in Australia is producing five times as many graduates of video development courses than there are jobs in the industry. Many of the graduates end up working for poker machine companies. Jeremy Ray discusses his research on this subject for a feature article published in GameInformer magazine
A discussion of gaming and the video game industry with Jeremy Ray a.k.a. Junglist. Jeremy is best known as a video game critic and a journalist with interests in game and industry development. Among his accomplishments, Jeremy co-created Good Game on ABC television and 5 inch Floppy for GameArena and he recently became Managing Editor of FANDOM in Australia.
Geeking out over the career and music of The Beatles with Chris Bayne from the Oxford Beatles. We discuss The Beatles story from their early years and chronologically through each of their studio albums 1963-1970. Chris also shares details about a theatrical production the Oxford Beatles are developing for the 50th anniversary of the Sgt. Peppers album this year.
Windex Pete is a New Orleans local who plays a washboard percussion instrument. We met in the Tremé neighbourhood on the street where he appears in the Cee Lo Green video for 'Music to My Soul'. Pete tells stories about some of the many famous people he's met including the Jacksons and Mick Jagger. He explains zydeco music and plays other songs including the soundtrack to his first slow-drag dance with a girl. We also share personal experiences of quitting smoking and the deaths of our fathers.
Radford Ellis is a Memphis singer known for his Elvis tribute on Beale Street. Radford knew Elvis for many years from care-taking at Graceland, initially cutting the yard. He was a confidant to Elvis, sometimes sitting on the roof together talking all night. Radford was also a body-double decoy for Elvis after concerts a few times. A musician in his own right, Radford was so often compared with Elvis that he was compelled to perform his songs. Music in this episode is used courtesy of Radford Ellis.
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