Humanising Men

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1 week ago

Driftwood The Musical With special guest: * Tania de Jong AM … in conversation with Bill Kable Something unusual for listeners today. Our guest is Tania de Jong who tells us about a new production called Driftwood The Musical. Tania happens to be the creator and producer of Driftwood The Musical as well as being one of the stars on stage. For her choice of song we have the special pleasure of bringing you a song Tania wrote and performed herself. The story of Driftwood concerns Tania’s grandparents who survived Nazi atrocities in Vienna and eventually became artistic treasures in their adopted country Australia. Podcast (mp3)

Driftwood The Musical #2026 #Grandparents #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

2 months ago

So You Think You Know What’s Good for You? With special guest: * Dr Norman Swan … in conversation with Bill Kable Our health is such an important topic for all of us, maybe the most important. But as our guest in today’s program Dr Norman Swan points out this sometimes leads to unnecessary worry about doing the right thing for ourselves. In fact the topic of what we should be worrying about is the one that comes up most often from his audiences. In his new book So You Think You Know What’s Good for You? Australia’s most trusted medical practitioner tells us what really is good for you and as a bonus what is bad for you. Norman’s popularity over so many years is due to his ability to present the up to date research in a friendly non-technical manner, with even a dose of humour thrown in. All that comes out when we get to speak with him. What is more, Norman often illustrates points by drawing on his own experience which adds to the authenticity. Podcast (mp3)

So You Think You Know What’s Good for You? #2026 #InternationalPerspectives #MentalHealth

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

2 months ago

A Bloody Good Rant With special guest: * Thomas Keneally AO … in conversation with Bill Kable In the book A Bloody Good Rant you might expect from the title that this is going to contain some wild and extremist views. However on the contrary except for some well-deserved and unapologetic criticism of one group of economists, you will not find in this book that sort of ranting and raving. It is instead Tom Keneally writing with intimacy and insight and an invitation to share his insight and humanity. Podcast (mp3)

A Bloody Good Rant #2026 #Grandparents #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

3 months ago

The Kindness Revolution With special guest: * Hugh Mackay AO … in conversation with Bill Kable When we looked forward to 2021 we also looked back on the disaster of the national bushfires season of 2019/20. That changed us but we did not expect the floods and then the ongoing impact of Covid 19. Our guest today is Hugh Mackay who has been listening to what the community thinks and says for over 60 years as the country’s pre-eminent social researcher. Hugh draws on this immense experience to see where the community is now and what comes next. It may turn out that The Kindness Revolution is Hugh’s last non-fiction book to grace our book shelves so we should all listen up. In his usual articulate way Hugh sees that the horrors of 2020 and 2021 have in fact set the scene for a kindness revolution. Podcast (mp3)

The Kindness Revolution #2025 #InternationalPerspectives #PoliticalActivism

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

3 months ago

Bad Boy Boogie With special guest: * Jeff Apter in conversation with Bill Kable Bon Scott as his name might suggest was born in Scotland but after his parents signed up to be £10 Poms he arrived in Australia at the age of 6 to a new life. That short life was filled to the brim and Bon provided plenty of his own commentary on his wild adventures before and during his time with the world beating rock band AC/DC. Our guest today is writer Jeff Apter the author of Bad Boy Boogie, a new book published by Allen & Unwin. Jeff is very familiar with the AC/DC story having previously written about other members of the band the Young brothers and original bass player Mark Evans. When we speak with Jeff again today we are able to go behind the scenes to find out how Bon fitted in so quickly and easily with the Young brothers in their closely guarded troupe. We find out more about the real Bon Scott, his wild side where a party could go on for days but also how many women who came into his orbit described his as a real gentleman. Podcast (mp3)

Bad Boy Boogie #2025 #CelebratingMen #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

4 months ago

Far from Home With special guest: * Rosie Ayliffe … in conversation with Bill Kable All Hell broke loose on that night in 2016. When we speak with Rosie Ayliffe about her book Far from Home we hear firsthand how her loving 20 year old daughter Mia was put in harm’s way in a backpacker hostel. We hear how Mia and another backpacker who tried to protect her were both killed by another resident in the middle of a psychotic episode. What made it even worse is that Rosie was far away on the other side of the world in England when this nightmare unfolded. Rosie’s dreams of a future life involving her daughter Mia were gone. Rosie thought that her daughter was working in a healthy environment on a farm in outback Queensland in order to comply with the Australian government’s visa requirements for an extended stay in Australia. After being told by the local Police in England about her daughter’s tragic death Rosie decided immediately to come to Australia and get to the bottom of what had happened. Podcast (mp3)

Far from Home #InternationalPerspectives #MentalHealth #PoliticalActivism

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

5 months ago

Secret & Special With special guest: * Dr Will Davies … in conversation with Bill Kable Will Davies has been on the program before, bringing us inside stories from The Great War. Today we get to discuss Will’s new book Secret and Special. We hear about a boys’ own adventure story that started at a beautiful part of Sydney and which took our adventurers on a dangerous trip to Singapore harbour. They were on a night mission to put limpet mines on some ships in port. The unsuspecting Japanese occupiers of Singapore never knew what hit them. The difference from most adventure stories is that this is all true and draws on the meticulous research of Dr Davies that we have come to expect. Podcast (mp3)

Secret & Special #2025 #InternationalPerspectives #PoliticalActivism

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

5 months ago

The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes With special guest: * Dr Sara Webb … in conversation with Bill Kable The title of this program may look as though it will make us doom struck or at least a little gloomy but strangely it does not. This might have something to do with our guest who is so bright and cheery talking about these biggest of the biggest of issues. Dr Sara Webb has written The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes (That Could End the World) for a general audience who will be able to get a better understanding of where we have come from and where our Earth and humanity itself will go. Today we talk about what has happened in the distant past, in fact when time began. An amazing number of things had to go just right for the universe as we know it to exist. This goes back to the laws of physics as explored in the recent past by Albert Einstein. Who knew that if the forces between the atomic particles were different, the matter of which we are made simply would not have formed? Podcast (mp3)

The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes #2025 #CelebratingMen #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

6 months ago

Dead Centre With special guest: * Robin Bowles … in conversation with Bill Kable In the Northern Territory of Australia there have always been strange, spooky happenings. The disappearance of British backpacker Peter Falconio can be added to the list with so many fascinating elements and weird explanations offered. This real life story has even resulted in a horror movie being produced with some clear references to what happened on that lonely road right in the centre of the Australian mainland in the middle of the night in July 2001. What we do know is that after driving off at night with his girlfriend Joanne Lees in completely unknown and wild country Peter Falconio went missing and the only explanation we have is from that girlfriend whose behaviour was to say the least unusual. After becoming interested in the case after a telephone call from a friend, Robin Bowles entered the scene and did her usual thorough research. This included more than 50 hours with the accused and interviewing many of the main players. We get a glimpse into a world of criminals, forensic experts, seedy drug underworlds, worldwide media networks and the realities of high profile, high stakes legal process. Podcast (mp3)

Dead Centre #2025 #Discrimination #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

6 months ago

A User’s Guide to the Mind With special guest:  * Prof Ian Hickie AO … in conversation with Bill Kable We often hear about the rise in the rate of depression and anxiety in our community. The stigma of poor mental health has been reduced significantly so that sports stars such as Greg Inglis can now go on television and discuss their personal battles with depression without fear of any repercussions. But even when so many people are opening up about their mental health battles there are questions we are left with. These might include what can be done to improve mental health without lining up for perhaps a year to see a Psychiatrist? What are the signs to be wary about? This is where Professor Ian Hickie enters the picture as we speak with him today. This new book A User’s Guide to the Mind is written along similar lines as a good health guide for our physical health. It is written with all ages in mind and can be dipped into for particular topics. Podcast (mp3)

A User’s Guide to the Mind #2025 #Depression #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

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8 months ago

Saving Lieutenant Kennedy With special guest: * Brett Mason … in conversation with Bill Kable Most Australians have some knowledge of the turning point in the Pacific war when the fear of invasion lessened. Most of us know something of the heroic story of Lieutenant John F Kennedy or JFK as he became known. Brett Mason in his book Saving Lieutenant Kennedy fills in the gaps in this amazing and hugely consequential story. These events literally changed the history of the world because if JFK had not survived it is conceivable that nuclear conflict could have erupted in the years that followed. The story happens to involve an Australian who was also heroic, namely Lieutenant Reg Evans of the RAN. Reg Evans operated behind enemy lines knowing that if they were to be betrayed he would certainly be tortured and killed. Evans relied on his Solomons Islands friends who faced the same threats in what they were doing. Evans and JFK were two very different personalities brought together in August 1943 in a way that echoes the discovery of Dr Livingstone in the African jungle. JFK’s words on being discovered on an uninhabited island of the south Pacific? “Man, am I glad to see you!” Podcast (mp3)

Saving Lieutenant Kennedy #2025 #CelebratingMen #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

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10 months ago

Max With special guest: * Alex Miller … in conversation with Bill Kable Those who fought against the Nazis in World War II were necessarily shadowy figures. It was a matter of survival. For Max Blatt who lived the latter half of his life in Australia those shadows stayed with him until the day he died. Even 20 years after his death those shadows and mysteries still shrouded his life story. But our guest today the award winning writer Alex Miller was not content to leave the story in the black hole of Nazi atrocities. For Alex and all of us these stories need to be explored and revealed if the community as a whole is to get over being so damaged by events in the not so distant past. Despite the sadness and tragedy in Max’s family this story becomes one of survival, friendship, mentoring and most of all love. Podcast (mp3)

Max #Discrimination #FalseAllegations #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

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11 months ago

The Godmothers With special guest: * Monica McInerney … in conversation with Bill Kable When we speak with Monica McInerney she still sounds like she has lived all her life in South Australia. In fact she has become a local in Ireland over the last twenty plus years and knows very well the country around Dublin which is a big part of her new book The Godmothers. The book could be used to promote the Irish countryside with its beautiful scenery and warm welcoming pubs. We also visit England and Scotland which is a welcome adventure when travel has become so restricted for all of us. But the main appeal of this story is that we learn about families, relationships and the often unforeseen consequences of our actions. In particular we are let in on some family secrets and different ways they are treated. Some secrets are bound to go to the grave while others can hardly be called secret since everyone in the family knows them. Monica delves into the personalities of her characters and finds that everyone has a story, everyone has flaws and some are not very nice people. Along the way we get to question our own ethics. And there are surprises in store right to the last page. Podcast (mp3)

The Godmothers #2025 #Fatherlessness #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

11 months ago

The Platoon Commander With special guest: * John O’Halloran … in conversation with Bill Kable John O’Halloran was an unlikely war hero. With the assistance of Ric Teague John tells his story for the first time in The Platoon Commander: The extraordinary story of the man who led Australia’s most decorated platoon of the Vietnam War. Coming from Tamworth in country NSW John was called up in the first conscription ballot. But before doing his compulsory medical he was involved in a street accident which badly damaged his foot which should have ruled him out as medically unfit. However with a bit of help from a local medico he got over that first hurdle and soon distinguished himself in training. John was made Platoon Commander and at the age of 21 he was sent to Vietnam. In that war-torn country he now had enemy soldiers shooting at him, trying their best to kill him. And the men under his command were dependent for their lives on his decisions under fire. Podcast (mp3)

The Platoon Commander #2025 #CelebratingMen #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

11 months ago

ALIVE With special guest: * Dr Gabriel Weston … in conversation with Bill Kable In her absorbing new book called ALIVE Doctor Gabriel Weston looks in admiration at the incredible work 11 organs of our body do to keep us alive. Gabriel tells us that if the space permitted she would have liked to examine at least another 14 organs but we do get to investigate the most interesting. Somehow Gabriel manages to talk about body parts without making even the most squeamish feel uncomfortable. This is clear when the book begins with a post mortem description that is very detailed. Gabriel is also able to deal with the genitals in a very matter of fact way that generates more light than heat. What comes out most strongly in ALIVE is the sense of wonder that Gabriel feels when describing what the organs of the body do. Gabriel first felt this as a child when she was likely to go towards an accident or medical emergency. The feeling grew when she was invited to attend a surgical procedure but seemed thwarted when her maths and science abilities were not up to the standard required for entry into medical studies. So Gabriel studied the subject she was good at namely English literature. Luckily for all of us she found a way into medicine and found her true calling. Podcast (mp3)

ALIVE #2025 #InternationalPerspectives #Relationships

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

11 months ago

How Fear Works With special guest: * Prof Frank Furedi … in conversation with Bill Kable Frank Furedi says that fear is the principal motivating force in the 21st Century. We see fear being used by all sides in politics; we see it in the family dynamic; we see it in the young with their fear of missing out (or FOMO). And yet at the same time we do not call it out because to some degree we have been sensitised to its operation. Once an expert like our guest today points out the use of fear we can see it everywhere and if it is not going to take over our lives completely we need to take some time-honoured steps to counter its influence. As Frank Furedi tells us, fear can be distinguished from anxiety which is also a major problem in the Western world with so much of the population in the grip of anxiety and depression. Podcast (mp3)

How Fear Works #2025 #FalseAllegations #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

1 year ago

Woodstock 50 Years On With special guest: * Glenn A Baker … in conversation with Bill Kable Glenn A Baker is a father of six children and a grandfather of 12. For those of us whose memories extend a little he is the music guru so he is a very special Dad to be on our program. Glenn is here to tell us about an adventure he had lined up for those with a special interest in a particular seminal event and rock music generally. Yes to our surprise it is more than 50 years since that massive and unplanned gathering of over 500,000 people in upstate New York listened to the cream of the world’s musicians playing in a concert, some concert. The Woodstock concert went for three and half days. It was recorded for records, tapes and later CD’s. It was also a major feature film that was issued soon after the event and many years later re-issued in a Director’s cut. In 2019 Woodstock was honoured again when Glenn A Baker lead a tour group to Max Yasgur’s dairy Farm in Bethel New York near the town of Woodstock and many other locales famous in rock’n’roll history. Podcast (mp3)

Woodstock 50 Years On #2025 #InternationalPerspectives #Relationships

Humanising Men

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1 year ago

The Healthy Baby Gut Guide #2025 #BabiesandToddlers #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

1 year ago

Friday on My Mind With special guest: * Jeff Apter … in conversation with Bill Kable George Young made his name internationally by writing with his best mate Harry Vanda a song we can all sing along to more than 50 years after its release. So it was a…

Friday on My Mind #2025 #BoysRitesofPassage #InternationalPerspectives

Humanising Men

@humanisingmen.bsky.social

1 year ago

The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes With special guest: * Dr Sara Webb … in conversation with Bill Kable The title of this program may look as though it will make us doom struck or at least a little gloomy but strangely it does not. This might have something to do with our guest who…

The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes #2024 #CelebratingMen #InternationalPerspectives

Bipolar Awareness ~ Stop the Stigma

@stopthestigma.bsky.social

1 year ago

From the Ruck With special guest: * Gordon Bray AM … in conversation with Bill Kable Our guest today is part of a select group of legends. Peter FitzSimons has described Gordon Bray as ‘more than a sporting icon’, Gordon is no less than ‘the soundtrack…

From the Ruck #2024 #CelebratingMen #InternationalPerspectives

Bipolar Awareness ~ Stop the Stigma

@stopthestigma.bsky.social

1 year ago

Surviving Adolescents With special guest: * Elly Robinson … in conversation with Bill Kable All parents realise on leaving the maternity ward that there is no manual that comes from the hospital with instructions for a new baby. The parents just strap themselves…

Surviving Adolescents #2024 #BoysRitesofPassage #InternationalPerspectives

Bipolar Awareness ~ Stop the Stigma

@stopthestigma.bsky.social

1 year ago

Blue Swan Events (formerly Sound Tracks Travel) With special guest:     • Raymond Hawkins … in conversation with Bill Kable There is a word for the special mystical feeling we get when we look at the stars in the heavens or listen to some ethereal music and that word is “numinous”. Unfortunately…

Blue Swan Events (formerly Sound Tracks Travel) #2024 #IndigenousMenampFathers #InternationalPerspectives

Bipolar Awareness ~ Stop the Stigma

@stopthestigma.bsky.social

1 year ago

Origin Story With special guest: * Dr David Christian … in conversation with Bill Kable It doesn’t get any bigger than this! In his book Origin Story: A Big History of Everything our guest David Christian traces human history arising from the Big Bang…

Origin Story #2024 #Depression #InternationalPerspectives

Bipolar Awareness ~ Stop the Stigma

@stopthestigma.bsky.social

1 year ago

Driftwood The Musical With special guest: * Tania de Jong AM … in conversation with Bill Kable Something unusual for listeners today. Our guest is Tania de Jong who tells us about a new production called Driftwood The Musical. Tania happens to be the creator and…

Driftwood The Musical #2024 #Grandparents #InternationalPerspectives