Max Heerey didn’t know what he was getting into when he invited a fellow Hobart (Aust) runner out for a jog late in 2020. As it turned out, he had just organised a date with Grace Tame, who was named Australian of the Year 2021 just a couple of months later. In this So...podcast episode, Max talks publicly for the first time about his relationship …

Melbourne based public, performance and contemporary artist, Brett Ashby talks to John McKenna on ‘So…’ podcast about flowing, ‘rolling’, and growth through art, creation, and connection. In his 15-year journey as both a local and international artist, Ashby opens up about how his artistic practice and connections helped him to discover his own sto…

Why are all television newsreaders blonde? This is something Antoinette asked herself when she was at the gym almost 4 years ago and confronted with a sea of blonde newsreaders across every news show that was being broadcast. She looked from the TV to the people in the gym and saw people of all cultural backgrounds. She saw that the media was faili…

International students in the Australian news and media often carry the negative connotations of being "foreign", "problems" that are "exploited". Belle Lim is here to challenge that stereotype. Coming from Malaysia at the age of 17, Belle completed a Bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences with honours as the Gold Medallist, received the pres…

CONTENT WARNING: Violence against women and abuse. Violence against women is a major global public health problem. In Australia, one in six women have experienced violence from an intimate partner and more than one woman a week dies as a result of violence against women. PhD candidate Amy Warren and John discuss how this important issue is being ad…

In Australia we live in a world of 'Royal Commissions'. Currently, the conversations are around the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (known as the Disability Royal Commission). To dive into this further, So...Podcast is joined by two prominent people in the disability advocacy and trauma-info…

Children's author and illustrator Trace Balla has always had a great fascination with trees and nature. Growing up, if she felt lonely she found companionship and comfort in the tree that grew in her garden. She called this her 'tree friend'. Trees, Trace says, have seen a lot and felt a lot. They carry a natural wisdom that is difficult for humans…

In Australia we rely on the Western media to hear about what's happening across the globe. It shows us filtered versions of important world events and the voices of people these news stories are about can often be missed. Rugare Gomo, founder of the Gomo Foundation, joins the So...Podcast to bring some of these voices to listeners everywhere. Rugar…

It may sound like a contradiction, to have a chat about being more quiet. But that's exactly what John does with Christine Jackman in this podcast. Christine's 20-year career as a journalist took her to New York as a foreign correspondent and Canberra, where she worked in Australia's National Press Gallery, covering federal politics. Then she was h…

The creative behind I've Never BIN to Me (YouTube) joins the So...Podcast to talk about the power of music. After taking inspiration from the viral Facebook page 'Bin Isolation Outing', which encouraged individuals in lockdown to fancy dress while taking the bin out, Danielle Matthews decided to put her spin on 'dressing up' to take the bin out.She…

In this episode John chats with Simon Kneebone - a cartoonist who's work has been featured in a number of places, including many social and community organisations. Simon had his start as a cartoonist by simply doodling and drawing pictures during his time at university. Someone he had studied with remembered his drawings, and offered him a job. Th…

John and Oscar Trimboli, who is what some might call a professional listener, discuss the finer points of listening. Oscar is an expert in communication whose goal is to create 100 million deep listeners worldwide. He highlights how listening starts with you, and not with the speaker. Discover how you can listen better, how you can prepare yourself…

Alix Sampson a young, bisexual and socially innovative woman from the inner north of Melbourne, Australia joins the So...Podcast to talk about her community connection project that (literally) walks the talk. Brunswick Sole Mates, was an idea that Alix "birthed organically" in response to issues that had been challenging her local community.She lov…

John Mckenna talks to Dr Edward Upjohn MB.BS MMed FACD FACMS, a dermatologist in Melbourne, Australia, about different types of skin cancers and treatments.Dr Edward Upjohn talks about the three different types of skin cancers and how to potentially identify them: · Melanoma· Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC)· Basel cell carcinoma (BCC) Your General P…

When you walk past hard rubbish on the street, what do you see? Meg Renou doesn't just see a pile of junk, she sees inspiration. She describes herself as a bowerbird due to her love of collecting discarded objects and giving them a new and different life John talks to Meg about her reclaimed, reformed and restored art business that she runs in Melb…

This episode covers a sensitive topic. Before you listen please be aware that we are discussing suicide, the impact of suicide and resources surrounding suicide prevention. John talks with Shayne Connell, the CEO of LivingWorks. LivingWorks is an organisation that has been running for over 40 years and is focussed on suicide prevention. Shane belie…

How can technology keep your loved ones in Aged Care safer and more connected? John O'Callaghan from Acsess Health talks about his game-changing products in Aged Care support. Acsess Health was founded in 2004 and are innovative leaders in using technology to improve accessibility. In this episode we dive into the world of technology, how it can em…

During the conversation with Philip Liu, who is a strong advocate for international students, we covered the following areas •Conscious and unconscious racist perceptions towards people of Asian descent. •Be yourself, don't change because of peer pressure •How international students in Australia can remain resilient and not feel like they need to s…

"I'm not shaking your hand mate, I don't care who you are." This is one of the quotes that stuck in my mind, as I was producing this episode you are about to experience. It's a response from a client who was interacting with a Chief Executive Officer from an Australian Disability Service Provider. The CEO acknowledged "that sometimes you just got t…

Tim Ferguson and I had a funny chat, to be expected, as he is a professional comedian. (From his website cheekymonkeycomedy.com) Tim is a widely acclaimed comedian, writer and producer. He's toured the world performing stand-up and musical comedy, co-writing dozens of live stage comedy shows and light entertainment programmes. What made this conver…

Christina Canters from Podcast Services Australia and producer and host of 'Stand Out Get Noticed' podcast joined me to talk about "Supporting those who are missing out on podcasts" Christina's insights into understanding the podcast audience enriched our conversation which focused on people who are not listening to podcasts and why. Christina and …

In the spirit of staying connected during these times, the following 12 recordings are from individuals who live with disabilities such as, Schizoaffective disorder, Deaf Blindness, Cerebral palsy, Oculocutaneous Albinism, physical and intellectual disabilities and want to share their own personal message to the world.What's evident for me after li…

Samantha Lovrich is the co-founder of Legal Tech Helper and legal operations coach. In this interview we talk about the importance of lawyers stepping into the shoes of their clients, the role of open questions and deep listening to build empathy, and the role of coaching and mentoring to create better culture in legal teams. We also discuss the ro…

Tom Valcanis is a copywriter and journalist that sells words.He writes words for businesses, not-for-profit, and more so they can get their point across as effectively as possible.In this intriguing interview we touch on how making writing simple means more people can understand. That, and anyone can be a writer!We covered topics such as how if you…

Brent Phillips is a proud third generation deaf Australian.He identifies himself as Culturally and linguistically Deaf. Brent is also an Executive Director - Language, Partnerships & Innovation at Expression Australia.It was an insightful interview that focused on Brent's views of the Deaf culture in Australia, ranging from myths to misassumptions.…

Annie Whitlocke is a Death Elder and Palliative care liaison coordinator at Buddhist Council of Victoria.To be honest, I went into this interview with a sense of discomfort and also a mix of excitement.My favourite part of our chat was hearing about the Tonglen meditation practice.Tonglen Meditation is Tibetan meditation style which means giving an…

One of Bruce Bromley's (from Equal Access Group) favourite phrases is"Everyone, Everywhere, Everytime" especially when it comes to addressing accessibility for people with disabilities in Australia.This fascinating interview touches on the many aspects of what physical access to the built environment is all about.It's definitely not just about repl…

You can never over emphasize the importance of compassion and humanity, especially when it's a not for profit organisation, where outcomes are measured by the quality of people's lives.Yes, organisations should have a Vision and Mission that feeds a strategic plan, but it shouldn't override the purpose of fairness and human rights. Dorothy, Geoff a…

The holiday bug will definitely bite you after Kerry Willliams from Accessible Accommodation explains how her business continues to develop a great resource that provides information for people with physical disabilities looking for suitable holiday accommodation.Kerry also shared with me how her Facebook page is being used as a great communication…

Eliza Tipping talks with me about her book she is writing on the different aspects of divorce, from a personal perspective and her findings after 12 months of research in Australia.Eliza shared how her journey about the support she had and how writing played an important role in having a amicable divorce outcome.…

It was great getting Terry Laidler's take on a range of topics ranging from the resilience of children in Australia and the impacts of family breakdowns and the role the community plays.So... John Mckenna Podcast

Camellia Sayed from Volunteering Victoria along with Marnie Higgs talk with me about the Victoria ALIVE project which aims to improve disability Inclusion in the volunteering community sector.We also covered the broader topics about the pros and cons for services & people with disabilities when considering volunteering.For more details, go to volun…

Mum, Dad & I talk about their journey as parents of a child with a severe physical disability, which is me :) - 1962So... John Mckenna Podcast