Voodoo Medics

Episode 1 is published Sunday 19th April, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This Australian bush fire season has been unprecedented. In this podcast you will hear harrowing accounts of survival and the incredible acts of bravery and kindness which are helping the town of Malua Bay in southern New South Wales on the path to recovery. A new episode is released every Friday afternoon, search Mates Under Fire and follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The journalist behind The Daily Telegraph's Voodoo Medics investigation Kristin Shorten chats about the project and how it went from a discussion in a Bali bar, to becoming Australia's top news subscription series. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The bullet that ricocheted into Rowan Robinson’s throat and killed him missed his body armour by millimetres. Just hours earlier, the 23-year-old Special Forces engineer, who was on his second deployment to Afghanistan, had rung his parents Peter and Marie before the mission, like he always did. They sat down with The Daily Telegraph for a candid chat about their son. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Signaller Sean McCarthy had thoroughly prepared for the worst before he was killed by a Taliban IED in Afghanistan, even organising a touching gift for friends back home in the event of his death. His parents David and Marty sit down with Kristin Shorten for a heartfelt chat about their son. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Corporal Tom Newkirk had an advantage while settling into life after 10 years in the military; his wife Kate who also deployed overseas as a medic, assisting tsunami-affected Indonesians in Sumatra. The medic couple forged a strong connection, helping each other adjust to life after the military. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Former military psychologist Clint Marlborough has described combat medics as “unflappable” soldiers who in most cases, walk away from trauma “feeling fine”. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chad Elliott was one of the first Australian soldiers to be seriously wounded in Afghanistan. It is a day that the former commando describes as both vivid in parts but “a bit blurry”, and above all “pretty chaotic”. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you couldn’t be saved by a medic in the field in Afghanistan, you weren’t going to be saved. It’s that simple, according to 20-year Australian Defence Force veteran Bram Connolly who deployed to the Middle Eastern country twice during his 15 years in the Special Forces. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The differences between Afghanistan and Australia became clear on the operating table for Voodoo Medic Brad Watts who has described the difficulties of treating injured women civilians. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeremy Holder patched up dozens of civilians and soldiers while deployed as a combat medic in Afghanistan and now his battlefield experiences are helping save lives at home, including the life of NSW Police Officer Jonathan Wright. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Despite 14 “invigorating” years in the military, the deaths of three soldiers on the battlefields of Afghanistan sent Major Dan Pronk into a tailspin. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mark Donaldson was the first Australian to be awarded a Victoria Cross in almost four decades, but the former SASR Operator claims he was a "professional bum" before joining the ADF in 2002. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The role of a combat medic has changed dramatically over the decades with war zone healers tasked with keeping up or becoming a burden. Voodoo Medic Corporal Jody Tieche explains the “ditch medicine mentality” of the elite specialist forces group and how they gain the respect of the soldiers they look after. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sergeant Jonathan Walter sits down with Kristin Shorten for a chat about his time in Afghanistan and East Timor, receiving a Nursing Service Cross and Bar, and treating Signaller Sean McCarthy after an IED explosion in 2008. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.