How a blind adventurer has seen more than most of us: Nick Gleeson
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Nick Gleeson has achieved more in his life than most people could dream of. He climbed to the summit Mount Kilimanjaro, climbed beyond Mount Everest’s base camp, ran the New York marathon three times, made it onto the state cricket team of Victoria, carried the Olympic torch, and represented Australia in athletics. He also crossed the Simpson Desert and a part of Lake Eyre National Park – all while being blind since age 7.
On this episode Nick shares his amazing life story, and chats about how he managed to turn tragic events in his life into a positive attitude that has helped him fulfil dreams that most people with the gift of sight might never be able to cross off their bucket lists. The athlete and author is a truly remarkable soul and listening to him talk about his adventures and other passions, such as art, fills you with joy and happiness.
Here you can find out more about Nick´s adventures:
http://nicholasgleeson.com.au/
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Chrissie Goldrick (Editor-in-chief at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic
Circling the earth in a tiny flying “bathtub”: Michael Smith (Part 2)
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Michael Smith is a passionate pilot and movie enthusiast who runs a number of cinemas and owns a tiny flying boat. Both helped him to fulfil his lifelong dream to fly the old Rose Bay to London route operated by Qantas in the 1930s and ’40s. He embarked on a several-month-long journey in his “flying bathtub” and extended his trip to eventually take him around the world. Michael did all this without any sponsors and out of pure passion for adventure, which ultimately won him the Australian Geographic 2016 “Adventurer of the Year” award for the first-ever solo circumnavigation in a plane. The trip almost took his life, and in this episode we share his harrowing story and travel into parts of the world that are well and truly off the grid.
Here you can find out more about Michael´s adventure & work:
http://www.southernsun.voyage/
https://www.screenswithoutborders.org/
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Liz Ginis (Managing Editor Digital at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
Circling the earth in a tiny flying “bathtub”: Michael Smith (Part 1)
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Michael Smith is a passionate pilot and movie enthusiast who runs a number of cinemas and owns a tiny flying boat. Both helped him to fulfil his lifelong dream to fly the old Rose Bay to London route operated by Qantas in the 1930s and ’40s. He embarked on a several-month-long journey in his “flying bathtub” and extended his trip to eventually take him around the world. Michael did all this without any sponsors and out of pure passion for adventure, which ultimately won him the Australian Geographic 2016 “Adventurer of the Year” award for the first-ever solo circumnavigation in a plane. The trip almost took his life, and in this episode we share his harrowing story and travel into parts of the world that are well and truly off the grid.
Here you can find out more about Michael´s adventure & work:
http://www.southernsun.voyage/
https://www.screenswithoutborders.org/
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Liz Ginis (Managing Editor Digital at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are warned that this episode may contain stories and names of deceased persons.
Lyndall Ryan´s interest in the history of Australia has grown since her early days as a scholar researching the history of Tasmania and the consequences of the “Black War” for the local Aboriginal people. Through her work, the historian became heavily invested in the survival stories of Indigenous Australians and the frontier wars, which included acknowledgment of massacres in the early days of the nation. Her research and expertise in the field got her involved in the legendary “History Wars” during the 1990s and early 2000s with other historians. In 2017, Lyndall gained worldwide exposure after she and her team at the University of Newcastle in NSW published an interactive online map of massacre sites in Australia. The map went viral and since its first release has turned into a national project in which Australian´s are helping to tell the whole story of the nation’s past.
Here you can find out more about Lyndall’s work and look at the map:
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/lyndall-ryan
https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/map.php
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Angela Heathcote (Digital Producer at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
How to survive sailing solo around Antarctica: Lisa Blair
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Lisa Blair is the first woman to sail solo and unassisted around Antarctica. The dangerous journey took her 184 days to finish and almost killed her when her mast broke in the middle of nowhere in giant seas. The courageous sailor survived the incident to fulfil her dream and tell her incredible story. It made her not only grow as a sailor but as a person. Since then she’s added another record to her belt: the first woman to circumnavigate Australia on her own. And as if all this isn’t enough, plans for a new adventure are already underway.
Here you can find out more about Lisa´s adventures:
https://lisablairsailstheworld.com/
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Liz Ginis (Managing Editor Digital at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
How Australia transmitted the Apollo missions broadcast: Andrew Tink
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In his book “Honeysuckle Creek – The story of Tom Reid, a little dish and Neil Armstrong’s first step” author Andrew Tink sets the story straight about Australia´s role in the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in 1969. In this episode he talks about Tom Reid, the mind behind the operation of the famous “Dish” near Canberra and how Tom and his team saved the world wide live broadcast of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon and his very personal connection to the man that made it all happen in the tracking station in Honeysuckle Creek.
Here you can find out more about Andrew´s work:
http://andrewtink.com
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Chrissie Goldrick (Editor-in-chief at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
Building an Ark to protect Australia´s Wildlife: Tim Faulkner
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Tim Faulkner is well known for his passion for Australian wildlife and his conservation work with the Australian Reptile Park. He’s also a highly energetic TV personality who’s trying to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction with the “Devil Ark” protection program. Tassie devils are getting wiped out by an aggressive and infectious cancer, and trying to protect a few of them in an enclosed territory might be the only hope for their survival. Tim also talks about his fascinating life, the start of the Ark program and its huge success, which has led to its extension – using the “Ark” to protect other endangered native species. He also reveals the details of the difficult and labour-intense process of running an anti-venom program – for most of Australia´s venomous spiders and snakes – to save human lives. Tim reckons since the late 1950s the program saved roughly about 20,000 people.
For more info visit https://reptilepark.com.au
Or follow Tim on Instagram @timswildlife
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Chrissie Goldrick (Editor-in-chief at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
How 10 minutes a day can change your life: Di Westaway
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Di Westaway is the leader of her so called “tribe” of 40,000 Australian women who found a way to be active, enjoy nature and the outdoors even after becoming working or full-time mums caught up with every day life struggles. Di wanted to escape that hamster wheel and founded Wild Women on Top, an organisation that helps women to achieve their goals, whether that’s a long hike with like-minded friends or conquering a high-altitude summit in some remote parts of the world. Strength lies in numbers and that’s why the Fred Hollows Foundation jumped on board from the very beginning. Together they have managed to raise more than $20 million for good causes.
Here you can find out more about Di:
www.wildwomenontop.com
www.hollows.org
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Liz Ginis (Managing Editor Digital at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
Shark lady and dead set Aussie legend: Valerie Taylor
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Valerie Taylor is the Grand Madame of Australian nature filming and to this day a passionate diver and wildlife advocate. Together with her husband Ron Taylor she produced some of the most iconic nature films about sharks and other marine wildlife. From their days as professional spearfishing champions the couple became wanted experts in their field of filming and swimming with sharks. This led to Hollywood knocking on their door in the mid 70s and asking for their help in making Steven Spielberg´s breakthrough film “JAWS” – one of the most iconic, successful and genre-breaking films of all time. On this episode Valerie shares some stories of her unique life, from her childhood in New Zealand during the war to her present passionate engagement for the environment.
Make sure to check out Valerie´s latest children’s book “Melody the Mermaid”.
This episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Chrissie Goldrick (Editor-in-chief at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
How an inventor is fighting the war on waste: Veena Sahajwalla
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Professor Veena Sahajwalla is also known as “the waste queen” and the inventor of the world’s first e-waste micro factory. Her mission in life is to find new ways to deal with our massive waste problems. Her ideas of reviving waste gained huge popularity through the successful tv-program “war on waste”. In this episode she shares her story from her childhood in India to becoming a recycling guru and professor at the University of NSW.
Here you can find out more about Veena´s work:
www.newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/fighting-war-waste
This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Angela Heathcote (Digital Producer at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com).
You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic.
