On World Refugee Day, we hear about a social enterprise that is connecting refugees and new migrants with career coaches and mentors. Yvonne Kelly is a recruitment specialist and careers coach with 25 years experience who founded a social enterprise called Glow Up Careers that trains corporate coaches and mentors to help nurture diverse talent.
Category: WOAE podcast
Media presenter and writer James Jennings
A conversation with James Jennings about some of his many encounters with the creative people he's met or interviewed over the years as a film and music journalist, including Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cyndi Lauper, Ice Cube, Grandmaster Flash, Mark Ronson and others. James is a host of The Australian Ghost Whisperer podcast and you'll hear about his experiences with the supernatural and paranormal.
Workplace diversity and inclusion
Research by academics from Business Schools at UTS and Macquarie University finds that Diversity and Inclusion programs in organisations may actually be perpetuating inequalities. Professor Alison Pullen is a Professor of Gender, Work and Organization at Macquarie University and a chief investigator in this ARC research project.
Danny Chifley aka Banga
Talking comedy, hip hop and radio with MC and broadcaster Danny Chifley aka Banga. It takes a few minutes to wrangle the conversation from Banga comedically riffing about his form as an altar boy to getting deeper into his experiences with music creation and radio broadcasting. Banga has been making music for more than 20 years including hip hop with Chaos Maths and Dirtbox Kings and more recently making electronic, ambient and experimental sounds with Vape Dadz.
Boating and maritime heritage, Chris Farquharson
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.
NLP and machine learning, Professor Massimo Piccardi
An introduction to Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning with Professor Massimo Piccardi including a discussion of some of the applications of NLP and how machine learning relates to artificial intelligence. Professor Piccardi is Head of Discipline, SEDE Signal Processing and Analytics at UTS and leader for the Big Data Analytics program of the Global Big Data Technologies Centre.
Musical artist Yirrmal Marika
Yirrmal shares insights about his new music, community connections, culture and country in North East Arnhem Land and his experience developing his song writing as a new generation artist.
Birth educator and doula Ann Bridges
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.
Podcast news and previews
An update on what's happening with the Wide Open Air Exchange podcast schedule at the moment, and previews of forthcoming conversations with doula Ann Bridges (about gentle birthing) and with music radio presenter Tim Ritchie (feat. music of Robert Johnston, Status Quo, and Centriphugal). Subscribe to receive forthcoming episodes via iTunes or Stitcher or Spotify or your preferred podcast platform.
A lunar lesson with Selwyn Holland
Learning about the Moon in the week of the full moon before Easter. Science and maths educator Selwyn Holland is our guest fielding questions about the origins of the moon, how it effects the tides, and what explains the changing visibility of the moon from Earth.
Hospital volunteer Bernadette Gallagher
Insights from a long-serving hospital volunteer who has shared many profound experiences with people in their final days of life in palliative care wards. Bernadette Gallagher had been a volunteer for more than 30 years in Sydney hospitals, including as a patient escort and giving pastoral care, until the Covid pandemic put that on hold. Like other seniors who volunteer, Bernadette would like to return to her meaningful work and community connections.
Material culture and museology, Matthew Connell
Matthew Connell's early interests in science and culture led to a 30+ year career as a museum curator specialising in computing and mathematics. We hear about Matthew's early influences, his thoughts on the relevance of museums and material culture, and his concerns about the trappings of technology.
TikTok creator Tracy Taylor aka everydaytrace
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.
Scriptwriter and author, Clare Atkins
Clare Atkins shares her experiences of scriptwriting for television and researching for novels as well as insights from her role as a development executive assessing proposals for new television programs.
Plant scientist, Oula Ghannoum
Plant physiologist Associate Professor Oula Ghannoum is working on solutions to problems of climate change and food security. Her research aims at discovering ways of enhancing photosynthesis and optimising protected cropping. As well as explaining her research interests, Oula shares personal and vocational experiences such as migrating to Australia from war-torn Lebanon and how being vision-impaired informed some aspects of her career choices.
Artist Tom Swain aka Dript.
Visual artist Tom Swain aka Dript shares his experience of discovering an expression through art after struggling at school with ADHD and dyslexia. Tom shares his experience of realising he’s an artist and the stories behind some of his artworks.
Nixon in China 50th anniversary
Jingdong Yuan was a student in China when US President Richard Nixon made an historic visit for diplomatic meetings, and these days he's an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney specialising in China's defence and security policy and Asia-Pacific security. In these respects Jingdong is the perfect guest for discussing the historical significance of the event as well as the legacy of the visit in the context of current US-China relations and China's place in the world.
Immunologist Dr Kumi de Silva (not about Covid!)
Dr Kumudika (Kumi) de Silva is a senior immunologist developing vaccines for livestock and advocating for cultural diversity in higher education leadership.
Philosopher Dr Tim Dean
Dr Tim Dean describes his approach to philosophy communication and explains his interdisciplinary research on the evolution of morality including some of the ideas explored in his book, How We Became Human: And Why Need to Change
Carpenter Allan Killick
Allan Killick is a carpenter and joiner with more than 37 years experience as a contractor in the construction industry. You'll hear a discussion of the culture of worksites and the importance of mentoring when learning a trade.
Getting educated about Aboriginal histories
A resource for learning about the ongoing impacts of colonialism on First Nations peoples
Astronomer and astrophysicist Sarah Caddy
Sarah Caddy is an astronomer and astrophysicist working on the Huntsman Telescope. Includes foundational knowledge about the universe, ideas about life on other planets, and the potential for space tourism to change humanity for the better.
Music composer and cabaret performer, Tim Hansen
Tim Hansen is a music composer, youth arts tutor, and satirical cabaret performer. Tim advocates for investment in the arts and is optimistic that Covid lockdowns have reminded people of the value of shared cultural experiences.
Sharing some news…
The Wide Open Air Exchange is now a radio program on 2SER. Click through to hear what this means for the podcast.
Film Club discussion: small town movies
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).