Batting the Breeze

29/30 April 1975 - Vietnam War: The fall of Saigon - 50 years ago todayHow would you react if you had commandeered a Chinook helicopter and were flying over the South China Sea with little fuel, nowhere to land, your wife and children were on board and you're being hounded by North Vietnamese determined to bring you down?That's the situation that confronted Ba Van Nguyen in the last 24 hours of the fall of Saigon on 29 April 1975. Ba's son Miki was in that Chinook and talks with great passion, humour and humility about that unforgettable day and his extraordinary father.Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/ba-van-nguyen-the-last-flight-outATTRIBUTIONS Pro Sound EffectsVidevoWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

What does an astronaut fear most? Believe it or not, it's not dying. What tricks do you play on yourself to get to sleep the night before lift-off? What do you feel when you are standing in front of 180 feet of rocket which is about to propel you into space?  Why would you eat at least one meal on the ceiling of the space shuttle each mission?Jim Wetherbee is one of NASA's most distinguished servants. During his 20-year career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jim successfully completed six space shuttle missions. He is the only astronaut to have commanded five missions and to have piloted five space shuttle landings.Today marks the 35th anniversary of Jim's first trip into space, 9th January 1990.  I was keen to talk about that first flight into space on the orbiter Columbia. I wanted to hear about the marvel of being launched into the ether with 7 million pounds of thrust under your seat, of seeing space, of experiencing weightlessness and all those other firsts that came with the trip. It's a poignant detail that the first space shuttle disaster in 1986,  Challenger,  occurred just after Jim had joined NASA, and that his sixth and last space shuttle flight was the one that preceded the second and final space shuttle disaster, Columbia, in 2003.  Jim talks candidly about his role in the aftermath of Columbia.Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/jim-wetherbee-beyond-gravityWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Your son has a life expectancy in the 20's. What are you going to do about it? Today's guest is the embodiment of triumph over adversity, as are her family. Emma Hallam's life is marked by extraordinary resilience in the face of overwhelming personal loss, culminating in the diagnosis of her son Alex with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  Duchenne is a life-limiting, aggressive form of progressive muscle weakness. I'll leave Emma to clarify exactly what that means for Alex and the family.But, as alarming as the prognosis proves to be, this is not a story of hopelessness and self-pity. On the contrary, it's a candid story of how to turn whatever life throws at you into a force for good. For Emma, that meant channelling her energy into creating the charity Alex's Wish, aimed at funding research and raising awareness for this muscle-wasting disease. Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/alexs-wish-for-duchenne/We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

If I suggested that you spend nine months away from home and family and sail 32,000 miles around the world the hard way around (ie against prevailing winds and currents), what would you say? And suppose I then told you that eight of your crew had never sailed before and, by the way, Hurricane Michael would be waiting to greet you? Well, that's what happened to adventurer, author and - to some - mad person Manley Hopkinson.  As one of the skippers in the 2000-01 BT Global Challenge, the world's toughest yacht race, Manley guided his 40-ton 72-foot steel cutter and a part-trained but very spirited Team Large through storms, doldrums and everything in between.  They took everything in their stride until they came face-to-face with Hurricane Michael, an event that would test Manley's sailing expertise and leadership skills to the limit.Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/hurricane-michael-and-the-compassionate-captainWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

In 1993, Chris Moon MBE was taken prisoner while clearing landmines in Cambodia by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, the most feared and brutal regime in the country's history. No Western prisoner had ever survived.  Chris managed to keep his emotions in check and used his early-life farming experiences, army training and plenty of guile to attempt to take control of a situation that was stacked heavily against him and his team. After trekking through the stifling, malaria-infested Cambodian forest for two days, the outlook was not good; the Khmer Rouge commander was planning to shoot the prisoners and burn the vehicles. But then... Chris encountered Mr Clever.Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-khmer-rouge-mr-clever-and-me/We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

If you ever seriously considered a career as a TV Anchor, you had better listen to this episode first. Elizabeth Pearson Garr has been there.  After growing up at Stanford and studying at Harvard, she ventured out to the wilds of Billings, Montana to become a TV anchor for KULR-8, an NBC affiliate.  Within a few hours of her first day, the noon anchor went off sick and Elizabeth was reading the news - for the first time!  Spoiler alert: it didn't all go to plan.  Listen in to a hilarious day in the life of a local TV Anchor - more clamour than glamour.Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-tv-anchorWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

 WARNING: Today's episode contains adult themes, specifically sex trafficking and human trafficking, so please take that into account.  Amanda Blackwood is a gem.  She's fun. She's full of life. She's also a survivor of human trafficking. Amanda engages in a raw and intimate conversation about her experiences of forced drug prescriptions as a child, subsequent sexual abuse by strangers and relatives, and repeated trafficking by men she thought she could trust.  Amanda talks about her multiple escapes and discusses how she successfully turned her life around to find happiness and dedicate her life to raising awareness about human trafficking and helping others recover. Show notes:   https://www.battingthebreeze.com/inhuman-traffickingWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

In 1958, Sir Patrick Hine was part of a team of elite RAF pilots, the Black Arrows, who broke the world record for an aerobatic display manoeuvre that has never been equalled - and might never be.  The Black Arrows performed a 22-plane loop twice in front of a euphoric Farnborough Air Show crowd.  Sir Patrick later became Air Chief Marshal of the RAF and Joint Command of the British Forces in the 1990 Gulf War, but looks back at that 1958 feat with great pride and considers it one of his proudest career moments.Head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/twenty-two-black-arrows to see actual footage of the 1958 world record-breaking 22-plane loop by the Black Arrows!All audio extracts of the Black Arrows Hawker Hunters in the episode are from a live recording captured in a wonderful film named "The Story of the Black Arrows" provided courtesy of Ian Stark at VIT Media.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

The America's Cup - the pinnacle of professional sailing and one of the oldest and most prestigious trophies in international sport. The 2003 America's Cup: 10 teams, 1 winner. What was it like to be a competitor in one of these elite teams? Simon Fry has experienced the thrills and spills, the highs, the lows, the fierce rivalries and the extreme physical demands of the sport first-hand.  Originating in1851, when the schooner "America" triumphed in a race around the Isle of Wight, the America's Cup has since become a symbol of sporting excellence and innovation.  Its enduring legacy lies in its ability to capture the imagination of sailors, spectators and investors. Simon talks with passion about the America's Cup's rich history and his part in it.Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/battling-the-breeze-in-the-2003-americas-cupWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Do you pride yourself on your infallible memory? Well think again. Memories about ourselves and the events of our lives are nurtured by our Autobiographic Memory and, shockingly, it turns out that it is unreliable by design. Our story centres on Brian Williams, America's one-time No. 1 news anchor.  He reported from the front line in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War when the Americans were hunting down weapons of mass destruction.  He braved Chinook helicopter missions within firing distance of enemy lines and returned to America a hero. Twelve years later, it all came crashing down.  We find out why with some help from Dr Andrew Dunn, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University,  with specific research interests in perception, developmental psychology and memory.   We discover what really happened to Brian Williams and reveal the wonder of Autobiographic Memory, its fallibility and its role in helping us to flourish as social animals.Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/grounded-by-an-autobiographic-memoryWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Documentaries such as Blue Planet and The Great Reef have brought new wonder and awareness into our living rooms. Former Royal Navy underwater bomb disposal expert turned submarine pilot Mark Taylor now explores the planet's oceans as an integral part of the subsea documentary filmmaking community.  He has seen eels dip into lakes 750 metres under the ocean, witnessed mud volcanoes on the sea floor and come face to face with a giant squid 10 metres long with eyes the size of basketballs.  He also spent many hours submersed with his childhood hero, Sir David Attenborough, filming for Blue Planet II and describes the comraderie and lifelong bond that resulted from it.Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/our-blue-planet-up-close-and-personalWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

In October 1988, the Hong Kong police executed Operation Clinker and achieved the largest ever drug haul in Hong Kong history.  Bill Renwick was undercover with the team of four who heroically overcame two of the drug syndicate on a ketch somewhere on the edge of the South China Sea. Think of The French Connection meets Popeye with a sprinkling of Keystone Kops, and you have all the ingredients for this fabulous story.Check out show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/operation-clinkerWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Can you imagine a silence so intense that brushing your teeth could be painful? Argentinian-born Nico Marino is a traveller.  It's in his roots. Having travelled on his bicycle across Europe, Asia and Africa, he decided to settle in Australia. To get to know his new homeland, he decided to go for a bike ride - from West to East - Perth to Sydney - right across the heart of the Australian Outback.  An Outback Odyssey. He experienced a heightened awareness of the emotions we take for granted - fear, wonder, solitude and silence.  Check out the show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/outback-odysseyWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

It's 1968. The Vietnam War is at its fiercest. Robin Bartlett is a platoon leader with the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry Division.  Robin's platoon is deployed on regular helicopter combat assaults, sometimes twice a day.  Getting into the Landing Zone is perilous - so is getting out.  Robin recounts the day when his helicopter had ascended to 1500 feet,  received gunfire and then moments later, the engine cut out.  What followed was pure terror.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/vietnam-war-helicopters-and-historyWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Rebecca Bratspies, New York environmental and human rights lawyer, shared with me the extraordinary and inspirational life story of Jackie Robinson, the first black player in US Major League Baseball, back on April 15 1947, after crossing the Baseball Color Line. Having written "Naming Gotham - The Villains, Rogues and Heroes Behind New York's Place Names", Rebecca was able to share stories of many other characters who have been commemorated on New York bridges, tunnels, parkways, boulevards and parks. But why did they commemorate the rogues as well as the heroes?  For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/beyond-the-baseball-color-lineThanks to Scott Beckwith for his fantastic song "Mercy" used throughout this episode.  Mercy (Scott Beckwith - American Bandwagon, track 04) By Parking Lot Music is licensed under a  Creative Commons License.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Forced to escape from a war-torn Sri Lanka with his family and move to London, Pradeep Kumar Sachitharan experienced a life of crime as a London teenager before his love for weightlifting gave him discipline and prospects.  After a chance discovery of the benefits of qualifications, Pradeep embarked on an educational whirlwind through six universities leading to vice president of a biotech worth $1.6 billion.  After a chance meeting in a Suzhou hotel in China, things got even better.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/chronicles-of-a-serial-dropoutWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Today was a quickie just to let you know that Batting the Breeze is taking a short break. But don't worry; behind the scenes, everything is still going strong. I'm busy lining up amazing guests to share their experiences with you and putting the final touches on our long-awaited weekly newsletter. This breather gives me a chance to reflect on what's working, gather feedback, and make improvements. I'd love to hear from you, so drop me an email at steve@BattingtheBreeze.com with your thoughts and suggestions.  A huge thanks to our incredible guests for trusting me with their stories, and a big shout-out to you for supporting the show. Before we return, could you do me a favour? Head over to Apple Podcasts or your preferred platform and leave a review with a few words (yes, that's what the algorithms like!). Let's spread the word and share these amazing stories with more people. Thank you so much! Take care, and I'll be back very soon.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/podcast-pyjamasWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

During the Vietnam War, a group of courageous women embarked on an extraordinary mission to uplift the spirits of American troops stationed far away from their loved ones. The Donut Dollies. With unwavering bravery, they ventured into war zones armed only with warm smiles. Their story often goes unheard, but not for my guest today, Penni Evans, who left college at the end of December 1969 to find herself in Vietnam by the March of 1970. She was 22.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/donut-dolliesWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

At 22, Brad, an Aussie thrill-seeker, invited his family to watch his first skydiving experience. It was nearly his last. The thrill turned to panic as the first parachute failed to open.  Then the unthinkable happened and panic became terror. The reserve parachute also failed to open. Brad and his instructor were plummeting to earth at terminal velocity. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/parachute-roulette We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Jazz musician Rick DellaRatta witnessed the 9/11 attacks from a rooftop in New York City. While watching the unfolding tragedy in front of him, he was inspired to write a poem which later became known as "Jazz for Peace”. Rick didn't realise it at the time, but Jazz for Peace would become a worldwide movement promoting peace, garnering international recognition and support, most notably from Barack Obama and the United Nations who acknowledged its impact.  Rick shares memories of this extraordinary journey.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/jazz-for-peace We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

President John F Kennedy arrived in Dallas, Texas, on November 22nd, 1963, appearing to be in good health; almost exactly three hours later, he left the city in a casket.  Those two facts are the only things most Americans agree upon concerning that tragic weekend. If you think you know who was responsible, you're in for a surprise. History matures over time. New witnesses come out of the woodwork as the veil of secrecy is steadily lifted. Sara and Katanna found those witnesses - and recorded their testimonies.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/jfk-and-the-lone-starWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

“Opera singing is a civilized version of what you were doing when you were a baby. We scream like a little baby. That's what opera singing is all about.” Simona Mango did clarify that you have to scream the right notes of course! Simona reveals the secrets of being an opera singer, overcoming stage fright and what to do if you forget your lines.  She also explains her unique perspective as an opera singer to help others “free the voice of their soul” as a life coach. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/freeing-the-voice-of-your-soulWe love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

If you have ever considered how you could reconnect with nature, here's your answer – through bees.  Have you ever wondered why bees make honey? What does a drone do all day long? Why should we care about the health of our bees? Paula Carnell is a bee consultant and honey sommelier looking to create a buzz about health. She says that bees are Mother Nature's way of connecting nature with humanity, “What's happening to the bees is inevitably happening to us as well”.  For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/honeybees-herbalism-and-humans.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

What have a psychiatrist, a psychic medium, a bodyguard, a WWII survivor, a remote settler and a parliamentary candidate got in common? They all feature in today's episode. The podcast has now passed 25 episodes, so it felt like a great time to look back.  Check out this compilation of the best bits of some of our earlier episodes.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/curiosity-calls-1/We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." Today I had the privilege to meet one person with autism. Stuart Carlson is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder but he is defined by his extraordinary musical ability.  He is a concert violinist and composer. I tried to understand the contradiction between the very earthly challenges that Stuart and his family face every day and the apparent ethereal effortlessness with which he communicates through his violin - I couldn't.  For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/symphony-of-a-mind/We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Today's guest spends a lot of time in his garden. But he cultivates voices rather than plants. Tim is a voice actor and his garden is where the real magic happens - in his voice booth. It's his own personal oasis, except instead of palm trees and coconuts, he has microphones and soundproofing foam.  Find out about the life of a voice actor as well as meeting a few of Tim's friends; Liam Neeson, King Charles III, David Attenborough, Sean Connery and Nelson Mandela. His impersonations will make you green with envy. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/confessions-of-a-voice-actor/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

The story of the Vietnam War has been told many times in many different ways. But how often have you heard what it was like on the ground for infantry soldiers walking The Trail - that daily grind of cutting through the jungle in pursuit of the enemy?  The unbearable heat, leeches, C-rations, booby traps, ambushes and counter-ambushes. It's a gripping and terrifying story which my guest Robin, a Vietnam Veteran, tells with passion and surprising humour. It's a story that must be told over and over again so that we never forget. Welcome Home, Robin.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/vietnam-war-the-trail/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

In August 2000, the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea, resulting in the loss of all 118 crew members. At the time, the UK Royal Navy's submarine rescue team was one of the best-equipped in the world, and they offered their services to help save the trapped crew. Access was denied. Today's guest, Mark, was part of that team. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/access-denied-the-kursk-submarine-rescue-story/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

It was a mad moment in Australian political history;  The 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis - but don't let that title put you off!  It's a story of double-crossing, conspiracy theories, the CIA, Australia - a mature world democracy - without a government, demonstrations, dissent and a country in crisis.  And all, perhaps, because Gough Whitlam was out to lunch.   For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/gough-whitlam-was-out-to-lunch/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Dating can be hard enough. But imagine you had been involved in a life-changing accident, were adapting to a new life in a wheelchair and were ready to pick up from where you left off with… boys.  Date Me is such a story of a young girl who experiences the highs and lows of human interaction. Find out how she takes back control. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/date-me/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Cats have 9 lives. Fred Rutman has at least 20. One night in May 2009, he died - three times. That summer, he died another 17 times.  Find out how this incredible story led to a new life of intermittent fasting.  You will be surprised at the results.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/repeatedly-dead-fred/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Here's the definition of insanity for you: throwing in a good job, leaving behind a salary and travelling 10,000 miles across the globe to follow a hunch, a seed of an idea.  Then driving around the States turning up in a bar to interview complete strangers and asking them deep personal questions about themselves.  That's what Ken did. Find out how he got on.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-jar/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Can you imagine selling all your worldly possessions, your house, your car, your furnishings and reducing your ownership of ‘things' to a 22-inch suitcase and a backpack? Well, that's exactly what today's guest did, leaving Arizona to travel the world as a digital nomad.  Find out how she did it.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-arizonian-nomad.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Having previously spoken to near-death experience witnesses, I was keen to uncover how science viewed this extraordinary phenomenon.  I tracked down data scientist David Gerrelli. I wasn't expecting what I heard.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/better-the-devil-you-know.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Can you imagine what it's like to breathe through someone else's lungs?  Alastair Henry does.  In 2020 he had a double lung transplant at the age of 75. He's only too aware of his responsibility to the donor, to make the best of this gift of extra life. Alastair shares his story and thoughts on organ donation.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/double-trouble/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

How are your communication skills these days?  No, I don't mean public speaking or standing up to make a presentation.  How are you communicating with your spouse, your children, and your postman?  Brenden Kumarasamy, the founder of MasterTalk and top communications coach, shares some simple tips for us all. He's a blast, by the way.  His comments on introverts are hilarious (and I'm one!)For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/extroverts-dont-need-any-help/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Have you ever wondered if Margaret Thatcher ever met Sir Winston Churchill?  If you search, you'll find that nobody really knows.  However, one person does know; Edmund Murray, Churchill's last bodyguard.  Also, What happened when Winston Churchill demanded to see his bodyguard's latest paintings?For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/edmund-churchill-and-thatcher/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Edmund Murray was Winston Churchill's last bodyguard and as such he witnessed situations and events like no other. What happened when Mrs Onassis, Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy ended up on the yacht Christina at the same time?  What really happened to Churchill's budgerigar?For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/edmund-churchill-and-onassis/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Have you ever found a handwritten inscription behind an old bathroom cabinet and not stopped to read it? In that case, you may be kicking yourself by the time you've finished listening to the series of events which uncovered the life of one of Winston Churchill's closest confidants - his last bodyguard.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/winston-churchills-last-bodyguard/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Have you heard of secondhand embarrassment? Imagine you're sitting on a train next to a toilet with an automatic opening door.  And then, for no reason, it starts to open.  Think this could never happen?For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/secondhand-embarrassment/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

In the 50's and 60's, a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland released the psychedelic drug LSD to encourage research of possible beneficial effects for psychological struggles or psychiatric illness. Psychedelic drugs were subsequently outlawed. Most people don't realise that there is a legal, much safer option to achieve non-ordinary states of consciousness today. Neil Harris explains.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/a-holotropic-journey/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

If you've retired, are nearing retirement or have ever considered what life looks like after work, you may want to listen in. Alastair Henry provides an alternative to seeing out your days cutting grass and playing golf.  And if you haven't contemplated any of this, well listen in anyway. It's a charming story.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/awakening-in-the-northwest-territories/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

At the last count, 221 million people have migrated, ie moved from their “country of usual residence”; that's 3.5% of the world's population. Of these, just short of 80 million were forcibly moved from their homes as refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced. But there are many that move to join their families, to study or to seek a new life.  I was lucky enough to catch up with one such person seeking a new life.  She's a gem. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/from-belarus-with-love/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Have you ever visited a psychic medium? Perhaps you're a little tentative?  Or perhaps you think it's all hocus-pocus.  You may be surprised on all three counts.  For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/is-anybody-there/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

My guest today ran for the UK parliament in 2019.  Spoiler Alert - he didn't get in! That was the year when the UK was devouring itself on the subject of Brexit.  Listen to his hilarious account of fighting to become an MP and find out what advice he would give to anyone thinking of doing the same.  [WARNING: This episode includes 1 expletive at 06:57]For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Listen to the tragic story of a young man and his family, and how the law fails families like this time after time. Also, listen to his subsequent fight for justice and find out how you could play a small part in helping. [WARNING: Contains adult themes.] For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/marsys-law/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Have you ever had that experience where life was ticking over quite nicely, and everything felt normal? And then something happened, and suddenly life wasn't normal anymore. What about if that something was that you died?For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/misfit-in-hell-to-heaven-expat/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

EPISODE 3:  If you need a lift, listen to the story of David Figueroa.   He was born with cerebral palsy in Puerto Rico with very little chance of creating a fulfilling life for himself.  Take a look where he is now, and how the love of two mothers helped to get him there.  Inspirational.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/a-tale-of-two-mothers/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

EPISODE 2:  On the 3rd September 1939, Neville Chamberlain broadcast the news that Britain was at war with Germany.  Accounts of war time have been well documented, but what was it like for the children living under the constant threat of German bombers?Enid Bottle was five years old on that day.  Now eighty-eight years old and living in the South of England, she recalls vivid memories as if they were yesterday.  For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/a-childs-eye-view-of-world-war-ii/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

EPISODE 1:  Welcome to Batting the Breeze, the podcast for the Infinitely Curious! This introductory episode provides a summary of what you can expect from our podcast.  It's a place where we share stories, invite others to share stories, and sometimes just talk.And that talk could be about anything. Quite often, there will be subjects you've never thought about thinking about. They may be relevant to a piece of history, stir the emotions, or perhaps bring a message of hope and inspiration. Whatever the subject, we're always looking to be informative, amusing, or thought-provoking - or hopefully all three.Each episode is just 10 minutes long, but we've got some longer uncut versions on the website show notes and on YouTube.For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/hello/.We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!