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What does heartbreak sound like to you? This week’s stories are about heartbreak… whether it’s the loss of a loved one, the loss of who you once were…or a relationship that didn’t work out. Sounds of Heartbreak In our first story, Lee explores the sounds of different kinds of heartbreak and whether they can become sounds of healing. Produced by Lee Chan. The Supervising Producer was Phoebe Adler-Ryan Kobi Dog Fionn explores the different ways one can cope with the loss of a pet. Written and performed by Fionn McCabe at live graphic storytelling night Read to Me, on 9 March 2024 at Sydney Town Hall. Musical accompaniment by Martin Peralta. Recording by Zacha Rosen. Find more info about Read to Me by visiting their insta @readtome_ and more of Fionn’s work at https://www.fionnmccabe.com/ Support emerging producers, artists & creatives by hitting follow or subscribe wherever you get your Podcasts. Make, meet and learn with All The Best - follow our Substack for audio workshops, events and pitching opportunities. All The Best Credits Host Kwame Slusher Executive Producer: Phoebe Adler-Ryan Editorial Producer: Melanie Bakewell Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie Image Credit: Lindsey Vassalo Mixed and Compiled by Emma Higgins Theme Music composed by Shining Bird See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today we have the pleasure of speaking with former Australian Ballet dancer Brooke Cassen. On Season Three of Talking Pointes, I spoke with Brooke on what became one of our most listened-to episodes of all time. Today, Brooke returns to the podcast to speak about the success of her episode, and we chat about how she opened up about promotions, and—often a taboo topic in dance—what it means if you don't get promoted and how you deal with that, which is the reality for most dancers in the industry. Because we are focusing on health this season, Brooke and I then discuss the injuries she suffered during her career, how she recovered both physically and mentally to return to the stage. We then discussed the Australian ballet's response to the media storm earlier this year when a Sydney Morning Herald review described dancers of the Australian Ballet as looking “unusually thin.”Brooke continues to direct and teach at her studio in Rose Bay in Sydney for class times. And to sign up, head to studio sixninesix.com au or you can find them on Instagram @studio696x. And you can follow all of Brooke's wonderful adventures on her Instagram @brookecassen.Brooke and I recorded our conversation on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation to whom we pay our greatest respects. Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint. Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. And for the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com. Talking Pointes is produced on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects. Production dream team ✨Hosted by @byclaudialawsonProduced by @fjordreviewAdditional Production @clinttopicSound & Editing @outputmediaStudios @brightsidesydney@sawtoothstudios
When North Korea hacked Alejandro Caceres, he expected the U.S. government to rush to his defense. When they just shrugged, he took matters into his own hands. This week we bring you an episode of the CLICK HERE podcast from Recorded Future News and PRX.Credits:CLICK HERE is hosted by Dina Temple-Raston and this episode was produced by Sean Powers, Cat Schuknecht and Jade Abdul-Malik, edited by Lu Olkowski and fact checked by Darren Ankrom. It contains original music by Ben Levingston, with some other music from Blue Dot Sessions. The staff writer is Lucas Riley, and the illustrator is Megan Goff. Martin Peralta is the sound designer and engineer. CLICK HERE is a production of Recorded Future News and PRX.SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It's mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.
Today we're speaking with the quite incredible Evie Ferris. Evie was born in Cairns in far north Queensland, and she's a proud Taribelang and Djabugay woman. Growing up, Evie danced alongside her sister, a talent so bright that by the age of 12, her family, including two of her five siblings were moving south to Melbourne. She joined the Australian Ballet School, and on graduation was accepted straight into the company. She's only the second Indigenous Australian to ever join the Australian Ballet. But this isn't the end of Evie's glorious story. In this wondrous interview, Evie described her life in dance, about finding her voice and about the pride but also the pressure that comes with being an Indigenous dancer. We also talk about the moment she met “Blue Wiggle” Anthony Field in a Sydney Opera House Green Room, and how she went on to become the first Indigenous Australian to become both a ballerina and a member of the Wiggles.Evie continues to split her time touring and dancing with both the Australian Ballet and The Wiggles. For Australian Ballet Performances tickets and times, head to australianballet.com.au, or you'll find them on Instagram #AusBallet. For The Wiggle shows and tour dates, head to the wiggles.com, or find them on Instagram @thewiggles. And to follow all of Evie's adventures, find her on Instagram @evieferris. Evie and I recorded our conversation remotely, with Evie dialing in from Melbourne on the land of the Kulin people. Talking Pointes is recorded and produced on Awabakal and Gadigal lands, to the owners of all these lands we pay our greatest respects. Talking Pointes is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they're released. And if you like us, please leave a five star review. Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. And for the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com. Production dream team ✨Hosted by @byclaudialawsonProduced by @fjordreviewAdditional Production @clinttopicSound & Editing @outputmediaStudios @brightsidesydney@sawtoothstudios
Do we need more green homes? Or is sustainable housing more about the communities we live in rather than the homes we build? Guests: Gordon Noble and Caitlin McGee, research directors at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures Producer and co-host: Wendy Frew Executive producer and co-host: Lawrence Bull Editorial consultant: Sharon Davis Sound designer & mix engineer: Martin Peralta
This week we head to Boston, where I'm speaking with Boston Ballet's legendary principal dancer, John Lam. John has the most incredible story: His Vietnamese parents were refugees who settled in the US and John, together with his brother and sister grew up in relative poverty in California. Traditional family values meant education was key in John's family, but he accidentally found dance as a young boy when his daycare offered it as an extra activity. And from there, the love affair began. John went on to train at Canada's National Ballet School, and on graduation was offered a position at the Boston Ballet. In this wondrous and beautiful conversation, John talks about the joys of dance, about finding his sexuality and the moment he came out to his parents. But we also talk about more about navigating race and racism in ballet, about meeting his husband, becoming a dad to their two boys, and John's hopes that his parents will one day see him dance.Trigger WarningThis episode discusses ideas around suicide. For help for depression and anxiety, turn to Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.auTalking Points is produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Wanegal peoples to whom we pay our greatest respects. Talking Points is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they're released. If you like us, please leave a five-star review. On the next episode of Talking Points, you'll hear from Dana Stephenson.Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. For the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com. Production dream team ✨Hosted by @byclaudialawsonProduced by @fjordreviewAdditional Production @clinttopicSound & Editing @outputmediaStudios @brightsidesydney@sawtoothstudios
Is greed fundamental to human nature? Or can we have a society where it doesn't pose a threat? Guest: Dr Nathan Kettlewell, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Technology Sydney Producer and co-host: Lawrence Bull Co-host: Laura Corrigan Editorial consultant: Sharon Davis Sound designer & mix engineer: Martin Peralta
Molly, ecstasy, MDMA: whatever you call it, this drug is blowing up. Some say MDMA can be a legitimate medicine to treat conditions like PTSD. But others reckon it's a dangerous drug that can fry your brain, and even kill you — from just one bad pill. Who's right? That's what we're snorting up today. We talk to psychiatrist George Greer, public health researcher Prof. Joseph Palamar, former DEA special agent James Hunt, and neuroscientist Prof. Harriet de Witt. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsMDMA2023 This is an updated version of our MDMA episode from a few years ago. Chapters: In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Chapter 1: Cops and club kids (05:02) Chapter 2: Therapists try MDMA (09:05) Chapter 3: Your brain on MDMA (15:36) Chapter 4: Can MDMA cure racism? (20:33) Chapter 5: Can MDMA Cure PTSD? (23:14) Chapter 6: Is the MDMA comedown real? (26:40) Chapter 7: Can MDMA damage your brain? (30:06) Chapter 8: Can MDMA kill you? (33:22) Chapter 9: Buying MDMA on the street (37:54) Chapter 10: Conclusion This episode was produced by Heather Rogers and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Shruti Ravindran, Kaitlyn Sawrey, Rose Rimler, Joel Werner, Nick DelRose and Michelle Dang. Edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, Ben Kuebrich and Diane Kelly. Sound design by Martin Peralta, Haley Shaw and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, So Wylie and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we reached out to for this episode, including Prof. Jerrold S. Meyer, Prof. Niamh Nic Daéid, Dr Brian Earp, Dr. Carl Roberts and Dr. Matthew Baggott. An extra thanks to Lucy Little, Johnny Dynell, Jesse Rudoy, Joseph Lavelle Wilson, and the Zukerman family. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
For our Season Three bonus episode, we speak again with the divine Dana Stephensen. Dana and I initially spoke about 18 months ago, and in that conversation we covered Dana's journey into the Australian Ballet, managing her hyperthyroidism and weight gain. We talked about promotions, meeting her now husband Lachie becoming a mom and returning to the stage. This time I speak to the newly retired Dana Stephensen, who after 19 years dancing with the Australian Ballet finally gave a farewell performance at the Royal Opera House in London. In this hugely inspiring episode, we reflect on the depth and the bravery of Dana speaking about postnatal depression after the birth of her twins, how she returned to the stage as a mom of three and clawed back both her confidence and sense of self. But we also talk about the struggles of juggling tour life with Lachie and her three children and how she came to the decision to retire before finally turning to her thoughts for the future.Dana now lives in Brisbane and is settling into life with her husband Lachie and their three children. While she's newly retired from the Australian Ballet, Dana made a surprise appearance with the company in their Brisbane season of “Swan Lake.” You may catch her here and there as she continues to guest with the company. For Australian Ballet tickets and show times, head to their website, australianballet.com.au, or you can find them on Instagram at @ausballet. And to follow all of Dana's adventures, you can find her on Instagram @danastephensen.We are thrilled to be sponsored by Energetiks. Energetiks specialise in creating sustainable, world class dancewear for the stars Energetiks is offering Talking Pointes listeners a 20% discount [available until the end of March 2024]. Listen for the code in the episode. Shop their extensive range online at energetiks.com.au or energetiks.com if you're listening from the US. T&Cs APPLY. @energetiks @energetiksusaTalking Pointes is produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Wanegal peoples to whom we pay our greatest respects. Talking Pointes is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they're released. If you like us, please leave a five-star review.Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. For the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.
This week we head to Boston, where I'm speaking with Boston Ballet's legendary principal dancer, John Lam. John has the most incredible story: His Vietnamese parents were refugees who settled in the US and John, together with his brother and sister grew up in relative poverty in California. Traditional family values meant education was key in John's family, but he accidentally found dance as a young boy when his daycare offered it as an extra activity. And from there, the love affair began. John went on to train at Canada's National Ballet School, and on graduation was offered a position at the Boston Ballet. In this wondrous and beautiful conversation, John talks about the joys of dance, about finding his sexuality and the moment he came out to his parents. But we also talk about more about navigating race and racism in ballet, about meeting his husband, becoming a dad to their two boys, and John's hopes that his parents will one day see him dance.We are thrilled to be sponsored by Energetiks. Energetiks specialise in creating sustainable, world class dancewear for the stars Energetiks is offering Talking Pointes listeners a 20% discount [available until the end of March 2024]. Listen for the code in the episode. Shop their extensive range online at energetiks.com.au or energetiks.com if you're listening from the US. T&Cs APPLY. @energetiks @energetiksusaTrigger WarningThis episode discusses ideas around suicide. For help for depression and anxiety, turn to Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.auTalking Points is produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Wanegal peoples to whom we pay our greatest respects. Talking Points is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they're released. If you like us, please leave a five-star review. On the next episode of Talking Points, you'll hear from Dana Stephenson.Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. For the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.
Today we're speaking with the quite incredible Evie Ferris. Evie was born in Cairns in far north Queensland, and she's a proud Taribelang and Djabugay woman. Growing up, Evie danced alongside her sister, a talent so bright that by the age of 12, her family, including two of her five siblings were moving south to Melbourne. She joined the Australian Ballet School, and on graduation was accepted straight into the company. She's only the second Indigenous Australian to ever join the Australian Ballet. But this isn't the end of Evie's glorious story. In this wondrous interview, Evie described her life in dance, about finding her voice and about the pride but also the pressure that comes with being an Indigenous dancer. We also talk about the moment she met “Blue Wiggle” Anthony Field in a Sydney Opera House Green Room, and how she went on to become the first Indigenous Australian to become both a ballerina and a member of the Wiggles.Evie continues to split her time touring and dancing with both the Australian Ballet and The Wiggles. For Australian Ballet Performances tickets and times, head to australianballet.com.au, or you'll find them on Instagram #AusBallet. For The Wiggle shows and tour dates, head to the wiggles.com, or find them on Instagram @thewiggles. And to follow all of Evie's adventures, find her on Instagram @evieferris. Evie and I recorded our conversation remotely, with Evie dialing in from Melbourne on the land of the Kulin people. Talking Pointes is recorded and produced on Awabakal and Gadigal lands, to the owners of all these lands we pay our greatest respects. Talking Pointes is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they're released. And if you like us, please leave a five star review. Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. And for the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.We are thrilled to be sponsored by Energetiks. Energetiks specialise in creating sustainable, world class dancewear for the stars Energetiks is offering Talking Pointes listeners a 20% discount [available until the end of March 2024]. Listen for the code in the episode. Shop their extensive range online at energetiks.com.au or energetiks.com if you're listening from the US. T&Cs APPLY. @energetiks @energetiksusa
It's likely that every single one of our listeners knows the name Cooper Nielson. He briefly broke Jody Sawyer's heart in the cult ballet movie Center Stage, and yet today, we speak with the man who played that role, Ethan Stiefel, who is far more interesting than the notorious Cooper Nielson. Ethan was born in Pennsylvania, and his father was a prison warden, and like many men before him, he was introduced to ballet by watching his sister's dance class. But by age 15, he had been accepted into the School of American Ballet where he trained with the likes of Rudolph Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Upon graduation, he was accepted into the New York City Ballet, but the adventures didn't end there.In this wondrous conversation, Ethan talk so candidly about his life and career. We talk about his early years rising through the ranks at the New York City Ballet before defecting across the Lincoln Center Plaza to join American Ballet Theater as a principal, and Ethan and I cover so much more. We discuss what it's like for American men to grow up dancing in the US, how he became artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, managing a long distance relationship with his now wife, Gillian Murphy, and taking some time off for himself. Finally, we talk about playing Cooper Nielson and his new venture as the artistic director of the American Repertory Ballet.Ethan continues to live with his wife, Gillian Murphy, and their son in New Jersey in the US, while curating the new era of the American Repertory Ballet. For performance times and tickets, head to their website, arballet.org, or you can find them on Instagram, @arballet. While Ethan doesn't have Instagram, you can follow many of his adventures through his wife's Instagram. Gillian Murphy, also a principal dancer at ABT, @gillianemurphy. Ethan and I recorded our conversation remotely with Ethan dialing in from New Jersey on the East Coast of the US.We are thrilled to be sponsored by Energetiks. Energetiks specialise in creating sustainable, world class dancewear for the stars Energetiks is offering Talking Pointes listeners a 20% discount [available until the end of March 2024]. Listen for the code in the episode. Shop their extensive range online at energetiks.com.au or energetiks.com if you're listening from the US. T&Cs APPLY. @energetiks @energetiksusaTalking Points is produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Wanegal peoples to whom we pay our greatest respects. Talking Points is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they're released. If you like us, please leave a five-star review. On the next episode of Talking Points, you'll hear from Evie Ferris.Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. For the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.
Welcome back to Talking Pointes. This season we're back with another 10 beautiful conversations with some of the world's most extraordinary dancers, choreographers, and artistic directors. I'm your host Claudia Lawson.For our summer season bonus episode, we're catching up with the divine Emma Watkins. In season one, Emma and I spoke about her life growing up in Sydney. We spoke about her early dance years, about injuries and auditions, and then being selected to be the first ever female Wiggle. We spoke about Emma's passion for Auslan, her PhD, and we also spoke about love, surviving endometriosis, and fertility. To hear that conversation, just scroll back to episode six of season one, and we'll also put the link in the show notes.Today, nearly 18 months on, Emma and I speak about what her life is following her departure from The Wiggles. We speak about her new character, Emma Memma, and what it's like to be on the precipice of handing in her PhD. We also speak about her marriage to new husband Olly, and her plans for the future.We're just quickly interrupting this episode to let you know that we're delighted that Emma's bonus episode of Talking Pointes is sponsored by Energetiks. Energetiks are a sustainable, Australian-made brand that specialize in creating world-class dance wear for the stars of tomorrow. Perform and feel your best at every stage of your dance journey in Energetiks premium, high performance fabrics. You can see their entire range online at energetiks.com.au. For all Talking Pointes listeners, there's a 20% discount on all Energetiks products. Just use the code EMMA20 at the checkout. The offer's available until the end of August, 2023.Host @byclaudialawsonTranscript:Claudia Lawson: Hello.Emma Watson: Hello.CL: In the lead-up to this interview, I was trying to get the timing of our last chat, which was about 18 months ago. You were newly engaged to Olly, and happily dancing as a Wiggle.EW: That's so long ago. It feels like a whole nother lifetime ago now.CL: Yeah. I think our chat was sort of mid-2021, so we were in the deep dark Sydney lockdown. A few things have changed since then.EW: Yeah, lots of things have changed, and it really does feel like a completely different chapter now.CL: I bet. Can you talk us through, I assume, an epic decision to leave The Wiggles? Can you talk us through the decision-making process and your head space leading up to that call?EW: I think through the lockdown, multiple times, I had a lot of time to focus on my thesis, which essentially was going on the whole time I was touring and performing. It's been part of my life for most of the time anyway. But because we weren't touring as much, I did have a little bit more time to sit and think, and reflect, and write. It really started to make sense for me that this particular part of research that I had been embarking on was needing to be finished. Probably 18 months ago when we spoke last time, it probably should have been finished then.CL: How long have you been doing your PhD?EW: I guess when you ask anyone that's doing a PhD, it's a bit more extended than what was originally planned. I'm doing my PhD through Macquarie University, so it's a bundle approach where you do a master's and then you do your PhD.CL: Oh, I see. Yeah.EW: The master's is helpful, yeah, because you're kind of doing a little bit of the PhD first.CL: So you sort of step up. Yeah. Okay.EW: Yeah. Currently, it's probably been about five years altogether, which probably isn't as long as some people do their thesis for. But it does feel like most of the research that we have been doing has been going on for over a decade anyway, so it has been a real conscious decision to put the line down now, which I've been told many times in the last month.CL: When is the line?EW: The line is at the end of March. I feel like I shouldn't say that in case I don't get there.CL: Oh, Dr. Watkins.EW: It feels positive yet. Yeah.CL: Okay, so lockdown happens. It's the first time that really you haven't toured with The Wiggles in almost really a decade. It was an extensive touring program that they had. Is it sort of like COVID gives you this moment to pause?EW: Absolutely. Of course, the pandemic is positive and negative. It has different effects on lots of different people. I really can't talk for everybody, but in terms of my situation and stopping traveling after 10 years constantly, I think my body just didn't know what to do with itself. For the first time, it was like, “I think we're on a body holiday.” That was actually something that I needed so much, but I didn't realize. Not just for a dancer and having a moment to stop, which kind of feels contradictory because you don't really ever want to stop your body, because then sometimes it can go into breakdown, which has happened to me as well, but at times it does release you and give you some sort of freedom to start again. I mean, now, 18 months on … Even just the original stopping during the pandemic, my body felt a sigh of relief, but now, 18 months on, it's completely different again.CL: Is it really? In what way?EW: Look, I'm probably not as fit as I used to be in terms of show fitness, but my body is definitely reacting differently because it's not under pressure of being in a car for a million hours, driving, on a plane every second day. There's definitely something different about … my body feels that it is not as restricted. That, in a way, I feel like I'm learning ballet back at square one. I'm training online with a beautiful teacher over Zoom. Which, we met through the pandemic, over Zoom. I've been training with her ever since. So ever since we started talking, that's when I met her.CL: Wow. So, what, you're taking weekly ballet classes?EW: Essentially, three times a week with her.CL: Wow.EW: Because I live now in the country, which is also very different to where we were 18 months ago in a really tiny apartment in Sydney. Because we were in the lockdown in there, that was a real time. Not for us as a couple, but you just get so cramped if your body can't move more than 10 meters and you can't go outside. I think now that we've moved south of Sydney and we have a little bit of a backyard, it's instantly completely different.CL: Okay, hang on. I feel like we are-EW: I know. Sorry.CL: … PhD. No, we are country moving. It's all the topics I want to hear about. But first of all, let's head back to that word retirement, from The Wiggles. I mean, it's an epic word to say out loud. When did it start creeping in?EW: The word itself?CL: Yeah. Just even to make that announcement or to think this could be a reality.EW: I guess I never thought about the word retirement, even though it was yelled at me over the street. I'd be taking the dogs for a walk and people were like, “Congratulations on your retirement.” I'm like, “Really?” I guess I understand the use of the term because I was stepping away from that particular role. But for me, it more felt like an internship that was really important to the way that I was forming my critical thinking and performance mode. I was like, “Okay, that's that chapter, but I think some of the research that we've been working on is really important, that we need to focus on now so that we can act on it in the future if we ever want to make children's content, or any content, really, for that sake, from this point forward.” So I understand that retirement, I guess it was a bit overused because I'm certainly probably too young to be retired, and couldn't retire anyway. We need to work. Certainly retiring from the role, but it more felt like a chapter, for me.CL: Yeah. Maybe that's a perception from the outside. Because your personality and the character Emma Wiggle, there was so much overlap, that perhaps from the outside, it was like, “How difficult must it have been to step away?” But maybe not so much from the inside.EW: No, definitely hard. Yeah. I think for me as a person and a personal journey, it's taken this long for me to separate myself from that personality as well. You don't realize how inextricably embroiled they become. Because we were so fortunate to bring our own characteristics and hobbies and interests to the role, it was a part of me, and it will always be a part of me. Absolutely.CL: Was it scary?EW: Yeah, I think it always is. We had lots of discussions, particularly with Olly and I. We ended up reflecting on a lot of people in the performance industry, particularly dancers who might have grown up only dancing and having that as their one goal. Because a dancer's life, in some schools of thought, is quite short, when they don't perform anymore, or when they have retired from the company, they're still so young. Because that becomes such a big part of their identity, yeah, how do you move on from that? I think for some people it can be quite debilitating.CL: Oh, absolutely. That passion that they've had, where do they go? Yeah.EW: Yeah. But actually, I think it might be the opposite. I just feel completely free, as in …CL: So good.EW: I feel like, now, there was … There's lots of different thoughts in my head about this next chapter. It's not just specifically about work or career, it's also about having time to spend with family, and having time to spend at home and sit down and have a cup of tea. Some of those things I forgot about over the 10 years. So being able to reconnect with friends that I hadn't seen for over a decade was also something that I never had time for. It's been an eye-opening experience. Also, that we now have time to talk to people. Just take a moment to connect with families, through our work as well, but also in the new neighborhood that we are a part of, and find out what people are really looking for in the world now.CL: Yeah, it's interesting that you say that about the retirement because I suppose you also had a second passion bubbling along in the background with your PhD. Some of the people I've spoken to who have found retirement so difficult is because ballet or dance or performance has been there.EW: Is everything.CL: Yeah, they're everything. And then when they stop or their body stops, where do they put that energy or that passion?EW: Absolutely. Emma Wiggle was everything to me. I didn't think about anything else but her. I was just infatuated with that experience and the journey, and always wanting to try and improve her. I had such a good chunk of time to really work on it, as well. It's not really normal for people to play one character for a decade.CL: Yeah, that's so true, isn't it?EW: Yeah. I had to really think about that as well. It's also not normal to be photographed in the same outfit for decades. I didn't realize that either. So, all of a sudden stepping away from that role, and then initially, obviously, focusing on the thesis. And then all of a sudden being approached to do other projects, and wearing different costumes and being a different … I just was like, “Wow, I didn't know that this was possible.”CL: You step away to do the PhD or to focus more on the PhD, does Emma Memma feature in that thought process?EW: Not at the time when I stepped away. We knew that … One of the outcomes of the research is to practically put in place what we've been researching.CL: Okay, can you summarize?EW: Yeah.CL: Just for your supervisor's approval. What is your PhD looking into?EW: My supervisor's going to be crying right now. I love her to pieces. She's the best thing since slice bread. For some reason I can't articulate it, which is probably the reason why it's still going. My PhD is about creative integration of dance, sign language, and film editing. Really, it's about a comparison between people who use sign language and people who might grow up as trained dancers, and what are the similar skills that they both have? Sometimes they are in our subconscious or they're not known, they become techniques of intuition. Essentially, we have really similar qualities, but there is not a lot of crossover between people who use sign language and dance, and not a lot of dancers who use sign language.But I feel like it's really silly, this is not in the PhD, the word silly, I feel like it's really strange that we don't have more crossover in those fields because we could really learn from each other. From a dancer's point of view … This is too long, obviously, for a clarification. For a dancer's point of view, if your career is very short, then you can apply your skills as visual detailed professionals to be learning sign language, and actually help in the workforce where we have such a lack currently right now in the deaf workplace.CL: As you say that, I'm thinking of those classic scenes from the ballet where the princess comes on. She invites the entire courtroom to dance. And then there's that classic arms above your head, spin the-EW: Yes, roly-poly.CL: Roly-poly.EW: Yeah, “Come and dance with us.”CL: “Come and dance with me.” And then there's the bow to say, “Thanks, everyone.” You're so right, they communicate through their use of their hands, their arms, their face. And yet, why is that not translated into skills with Auslan? Because actually-EW: Unbelievable.CL: Yeah. I mean, of course, I imagine people who are hearing impaired completely understand what those dancers are gesturing, but why wouldn't we integrate that?EW: One of the challenges is music. I think music becomes a really big barrier for both sides. People that are deaf and people that are hearing, I think people that are hearing, this is a generalization, will think that it's not possible for somebody who's deaf to join in. Whereas people that are deaf don't really … There are some schools of thought that music isn't part of the community, but that actually is not quite true for everybody. It's not really about music in the aural sense, but music is actually movement. Even if you were playing an instrument, you have to move your body to play the instrument. Essentially, my argument is that, “Music is movement, so let's get rid of the barrier, bring down the wall, and let's have a party because we know things that each other knows. We use them without thinking about it, so let's embrace it.”CL: Emma Memma is your new children's character that you have launched. Did she evolve out of the PhD as almost like a test case?EW: Yes, that's right. Yep.CL: That's your data collection, isn't it?EW: Yeah.CL: I love that.EW: Yes, Emma Memma is an outcome of the thesis, but it wasn't known to me at the time when I decided to leave. I just knew that I needed to do the thesis, essentially.CL: With Emma Memma, what are you hoping to bring to your audiences with her?EW: It's really interesting that we're even doing this interview at the time because I'm definitely writing the thesis now. I'm definitely a hundred pages in. It's-CL: This is a discussion, right?EW: I really honestly feel that this is just a piece of sand in a very big beach. I don't think that Emma Memma solves all the problems for integrating these visual elements. The reason why we chose this avenue is because, A, we have experience in children's entertainment, but B, also because it's the easiest platform to try a very simplistic test. With Emma Memma, some of our music, well most, is only based on two words and two signs. You can't really do a test without having such strict controls. Again, I'm talking about a test, but it's not really. We have given ourselves the boundary to create music with very little English, spoken English or sung English, so that we can make sure that the sign that's matching it is completely understood. And then we just go from there. So all of the songs on our first album … We only have two.CL: So Wednesday and Wombat, and then going on an airplane. Okay, I'm starting to see the theme here.EW: Yeah. There's some reviews like, “Ah, why is this so simple? It's so boring.” I completely understand that viewpoint, but that was actually our goal. We're like, “How simple do we need to go for everyone to understand this sign?”CL: Wow.EW: Essentially. Yeah.CL: I love that. That the songs are too simple, and you're like, “No, no, no, no, no. This is for the PhD.”EW: Yeah, this is a goal. What's interesting touring … we're not really touring, but performing in front of a group of people, which at most times was only about a hundred people at a time, just so that we could … I mean, for me, all I'm doing is watching people. In that space of time, which might have been an hour, we were doing a few songs and then meeting every single family that was in the room. For most of the time, it just shocked me how many people in the audience picked up the signs straight away without knowing the song. That's the key. Because all of these songs that we've put out in the last 12 months are not very … It's not widespread. A lot of people don't know them. It's not like singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” a nursery rhyme that is quite common.We were bringing completely new songs to an audience that some of the people obviously had listened because they had followed us, but some people, you think parents, particularly dads who … they just happened to be there, they obviously are not listening to me on social media, and that is fine. But in the space of the room, they could join in because they knew that it was only one or two signs, and then did it straight away. That's what I was watching the whole time. I was like, “Wow, everyone's copying.” It's only two signs. And then, for us, it's really about that movement or that dance choreography that's embedded in Emma Memma, or in any of the songs, is actually a sign. It's not just an irrelevant dance move. That's become very clear to me over the last 12 months.CL: Sorry. I remember in our last chat you had said … I think it was that you were hopeful that every person could just sign, “Do you need help?”EW: Yeah. We haven't done that song.CL: Yeah, that's the next album.EW: See how many words that is, do you … Yes.CL: You can't get to four yet.EW: Not yet.CL: Was it hard? I mean, you came into The Wiggles in an established brand, and then you sort of took it to far higher highs with Emma. Was it a tricky process or was it difficult to launch from scratch on your own?EW: I've actually just found it really interesting. I guess I don't really have any expectations of being some sort of a success, or worldwide success. It's not really about that for us. It really-CL: Kind of surprising to hear you say that because you're obviously so well loved around the world as Emma Wiggle. No thoughts that it might go well?EW: I mean, we'd love it to, but I think that's got to be dependent on whether the content is usable. Yeah, of course, we totally could have decided to just do children's entertainment for the sake of it, or work in any other region. I mean, what's interesting about the last year was that I worked on so many different projects that weren't even related to children's entertainment. I went back and taught at my high school. I was tutoring online. I've been doing sign language interpreting course. I was so lucky to do Lego Masters. None of that stuff is in the same region, really.CL: No. And then you did The Masked Singer. You've done Reef School.EW: Yeah, Reef School. Some really beautiful projects that that's also been alongside this. This really, it has been such an amazing, I guess it's almost like a workshop. Honestly, we've met some incredible families that I guess have been hungry for some content that provides accessibility within their family structure. We met a beautiful … we met lots of amazing families, but we met a family in Perth. The grandmother came with her grandchildren. I think she came with her daughter as well. She was signing to our deaf consultant who was there, Sue. Sue was horridly waving at me across the room. I came over, and then we were signing with the grandmother. The grandmother signed to me. She's like, “You have no idea, I've not been able to watch a show with my grandchild prior to this.” I was like, “Oh, wow, that means a lot.” I think that's something that hasn't left us, because now we've realized how important it is to embed sign language foundation in this movement. Because it should be. It just doesn't make sense to me why it …CL: Are you fully fluent in Auslan?EW: No, but I have … That was very quick, wasn't it? I don't know if you can … You'd have to be signing for decades, I think. I just know so many people who sign beautifully that I wouldn't be able to call myself fluent. But I have my diploma in Auslan, and I'm doing my interpreter's course. Essentially, one of the criteria is fluency, so I can have a conversation quite easily. All of our classes are in sign language for three hours at a time.CL: Wow.EW: So yes, we can converse in sign language, as we should be able to, but I still forget signs. I can't express myself sometimes. I think that's the frustration with being a student. Maybe ask me again in 10 years.CL: What actually sparked your initial interest in signing and Auslan as a non-deaf person?EW: Yeah, that's a good question. I've been asked that question a lot this year. Because mostly, people are exposed to somebody that is deaf through their family. 95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. So for those parents, that's the first deaf person they might meet. The reality is quite weird, but there are lots of people who learn sign language just because they are interested in the culture and the community. I happened to have a friend at my primary school, we were probably about seven or eight, and her brothers are deaf. We would go to their house and play. That's my first exposure to sign language. I think I was just infatuated with it then. Because I was like, “Oh, what are they saying? What are they doing?” Watching my best friend sign to them, I was like, “Oh, can you show me?” so it just really snowballed from there.I tried to learn sign language through high school, and after high school and through touring. It was so difficult because you needed to be there in person. I'd enrolled so many times and wasn't able to complete the course because I then went away on tour. So through the pandemic, again, another really strange positive to this story, was that the course was changed to be online. Then I completed an assessment test and was really, I guess, quite lucky, because I'd also been continuing discussions with my deaf friends and my deaf network. So I didn't have to start from scratch. I was able to go to certificate three and four and do them at the same time. And then did my diploma. And then here we are in the interpreter's course.CL: It's so incredible what you're going to bring to that community, but also to the entertainment and the dance community. It's just so incredible because, actually, you're bringing something to both. Actually, it's funny that you just mentioned dance [inaudible 00:26:35]. As I was looking at all the things that you've done last year, and especially going on The Masked Singer, remember our chat about all your auditions singing? I just was actually … I had a wry smile, and I thought, “Now you're being really recognized as a singer.”EW: Okay, this is just … Okay, when they approached me to do The Masked Singer, I was like, “Great. I think I can do that in the mask because then I don't have to face anyone.” The whole time we were filming, I was nervous as ever, but I knew that nobody knew who I was. Well, that's what I thought, but obviously I was way too obvious. And that's okay. That's okay. I wasn't clever enough to change my voice because I was so stressed about the singing, and that's fine. But then when you take the mask off, the head off, I didn't remember that you had to sing. So when I was revealed and I took the mask off, having a chat with Osher, and like, “Everything's cool,” then they're like, “Okay, here's the microphone,” I think I did nearly wee my pants, and I wasn't really ready. Yeah, I wasn't ready.CL: So you thought the zombie head was just hiding your …EW: Absolutely.CL: But it was so cute because you had the turned out little first position.EW: So silly. Why did I do that? Why? I look back now, I'm like, “What was I doing? Why?”CL: Personal life. Obviously huge amounts of change as well since we last spoke. You've married Olly. Can you tell us about that day?EW: Well, it was pretty lovely. But as Olly and I are, we're pretty casual. The wedding was in very regional Victoria at a homestead that was quite close to Olly's grandfather, who was the eldest participant at our wedding. We wanted to make sure he could be there, so we were asking a lot of other people, friends and family, to travel past Warrnambool, which is very far away in our eyes, when you live in Sydney. Or Brisbane for that matter. It was just a lovely … It was just a really lovely day. It just felt like a garden lunch.CL: You've moved out of Sydney.EW: We have.CL: Good? What's it like?EW: It's so good. We've moved to the Southern Highlands to a place called Robertson. I guess I can probably name the town because it sounds like everybody knows that I live here now.CL: Yeah, I think it's fairly widely reported in the media, I've got to say.EW: It is such a beautiful part of the country. We moved down here for so many different reasons, but my parents are down here, my sister's down here. We're all a lot closer than we were before. Particularly after the tour, we wanted to make sure that we could see each other more often. And we love animals and nature, and we do have lots of animals at home. Yeah, it's basically a farm stay.CL: Wow. Was there any adjustment moving out of the city?EW: You don't realize how weird it is until you go back to the city. During 2022, I was driving to Sydney to do some filming and some work, The Masked Singer and the like.CL: Oh, yeah. Yeah.EW: Every time I drove into Sydney, my shoulders would raise up near my ears. I'm like, “Oh, the traffic and people.” I just became a grandmother instantly, within about two months. I was like, “There's so many people.” You just don't …CL: So noisy, no parking.EW: The Robertson post shop is basically the highlight of my life, where you can drive straight up to it and walk in and talk to the person and then drive away. There's no line. There's no issue. You get parking every time. You don't have to even pay for parking. It's completely different.CL: And then you said at the start when we were chatting that you thought your body had gone through a sort of … Did you say breakdown since …EW: Oh, as in it had a break. My body was happy. But then it also, I think as dancers have, when you're not doing as much as you used to do physically, your body starts to go into a bit of … I can't describe it. I've basically realized that my feet strength and some of my bones were starting to have a moment. I do now have arthritis in one of my feet.CL: Do you?EW: It's actually starting to heal, surprisingly. So I think it was just a moment where it was like, “We need to stop. Now we're going to turn into a snowman, and now we're okay.”CL: Also, you were touring eight plus months a year and performing every day. I mean, there's just no way you can even maintain any training regime.EW: You can't.CL: You can't maintain.EW: You actually can't.CL: No.EW: No, it's just not possible. But obviously, now, with a different training regime, not doing as much physical things that I was doing before, but different things that are helping my body stay at least flexible and strong, my body's so different. My body's moving better now than it was before.CL: Really?EW: And I'm just not moving it as much as I used to.CL: Wow. And the endometriosis?EW: Well, that's the same thing. It's just unbelievable.CL: Is it really?EW: I must have had so much stress on my body, not just physically doing things, but I think that the traveling was really knocking my body around. Of which I kind of knew, but didn't really know. It was only sometimes in the last year when I'd catch a plane. I haven't really been on a plane that much in the last 12 months. And then getting off the plane and my body absolutely going into meltdown.CL: Really?EW: Like, “Wow, okay. It really doesn't like a plane.” So now I know that it doesn't like a plane.CL: Right. That extended sitting and just everything that comes with that.EW: I think it's the pressure. I think it's the cabin pressure. Yeah. So now, again, there's more controls. Now I can actually work out what the problem … what setting it off all the time.CL: You've got that time to watch how your body responds.EW: You've got that time to have a moment after a plane. Whereas before, I'd get off the plane, and then instantly be on stage. My body would be like, “Help, help, help, help.”CL: Wow.EW: But now I know what's going on. Obviously, I've got on a plane this year. It's okay. You just have to manage it and know. You just have to be nice to yourself.CL: Yeah. I often thought of that when the Emma Memma costume launched. I remember you saying when … Emma Wiggles costume, none of us knew that you had endometriosis. And I don't think you knew.EW: No.CL: So just managing that behind the scenes in a career that is so performance based.EW: Yeah. My costume is a lot cooler now. It's just a whole different material.CL: Perfect. Breathable.EW: It's amazing. Yeah. Completely different. Yeah.CL: Amazing. What are your hopes for this year?EW: Oh, there's so many hopes. I mean, the first hope is submitting the thesis.CL: Dr. Watkins. I love it.EW: Oh, I can't even think about it. I just know that it's going to come back with revisions. That's okay. You just have to accept that. It's not about that. It's just about doing a good job in terms of presenting the research. So that hopefully we can build on it in the future, or it helps other people acquire some other skills. But for Emma Memma, we're hoping to film our very first TV series, as in a long-form TV series. So we've been in lots of different discussions with different parties across the world. It's just been trying to make the right decision about who we might want to partner with, that's going to understand the nuances of sign languages around the world as well. We want to make sure that we partner with the right people.CL: Because around the world, they don't speak Auslan. Auslan is …EW: Auslan is only used in Australia. There are some similarities with New Zealand sign language and British sign language. But for most of it, that's the beauty about sign language because the culture is embedded in the language. You can see the different culture when you watch different sign languages across the world. So that's really important for us. But also, we are very, very fortunate. We're in a pre-literal audience space where we can use iconic shapes as well, gestures, mime, dance. So that mixture and that balance is what we're trying to write now into proper video scripts to prepare us for a TV series. Yeah.CL: Wow. Any other post-doctoral …EW: What do you do with it? I mean, again, all of the research that's part of the PhD is really informing us about Emma Memma, but also other projects. We have been very fortunate, again, to be approached to do lots of different creative collaborations. As soon as I receive any kind of email, you just look at it straight away and you're like, “Is this accessible to my friend?” And then that gives us a really good indication about whether we should choose it or not as well. I wouldn't want to do anything that … For example, Sue, my friend, I wouldn't want to do anything that she couldn't have access to as well. That's really important for me.CL: Wow. This is a strange question to perhaps end with, but you are just such a delight. Every time I've spoken with you, had any interaction, the way that you must have to hold yourself when you're in public because children recognize you. Does Emma Watkins ever have a moment of angst? Do you get cranky, Emma?EW: I really only get upset if my animals are sick. I literally go to the goats every morning. If one of them's having a moment, I come, I'm like, “Why are they sick?” That's really my only moment of frustration is having animals that are sick when I don't know what's gone wrong.CL: Wow. Because you just seem to have such a positive outlook on life. You have such … it would seem, such beautiful relationships with everyone that you deal with. It's just, what an asset to all the communities that you work with.EW: Thank you. I guess we can't really complain. We're very lucky.CL: Emma Watkins, thank you so much. I can't wait to see what you do this year. Just all the best for you and Olly as well.EW: Thank you so much.CL: If you'd like to hear more about Emma's life, you can find our full conversation in the show notes. For Emma Memma tour dates, songs and updates, you can find her on Instagram @emmamemmamemma. To continue to follow all of Emma's life adventures, you'll find her on Instagram as well @emmawatkinsofficial.Emma and I recorded remotely, with Emma dialing in from Robertson, the land of the Gundungurra and Thaua people, with recording and production on the land of the Awabakal and Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects. Talking Pointes is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the episodes as soon as they're released. And if you like us, please leave a five star review. Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing by Martin Peralta at Output Media.This is our final episode of our summer season. We cannot thank our guests enough for sharing their stories and lives, and all of their vulnerabilities. To our beautiful audience, thank you once again for your overwhelming response. Season three of Talking Pointes is in the works and will be available wherever you get your podcasts later this year. In the meantime, if you've enjoyed the series, please hit five stars, and subscribe or follow to be notified of when new episodes are released. If you'd like to follow along, you'll find me on Instagram @byclaudialawson. For all your ballet and dance news, head to fjordreview.com.Images: Emma Watkins as Emma Memma. Images courtesy of Emma Watkins.
Daniel Riley is the newly appointed artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre. Daniel is a proud Wiradjuri man of Western New South Wales. He grew up around Canberra, inspired by the Tap Dogs, learning contemporary dance, ballet, and tap. But it was a chance encounter with ADTs founder, Elizabeth Cameron Dalman, which changed the direction of Daniel's life to one of pursuing dance as a career. He ultimately headed north to study dance at Queensland University of Technology and following graduation and various adventures building his craft around the globe, Daniel joined Bangarra Dance Theatre, where he spent the next 12 years performing, choreographing, and honing his creative skills. In this incredibly open interview, Daniel talks about his childhood in dance, about being bullied, the impact of First Nations' dances, and how he's gearing up to take the helm of the Australian Dance Theatre in 2022.Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, additional production by Penelope Ford, with editing and sound production by Martin Peralta. And for the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.
The incredible Frances Rings, Bangarra's Associate Artistic Director, joins us on this episode of Talking Pointes. A descendant of the Kokatha people, Frances was born in Adelaide and spent her childhood traveling, dancing, and living all around Australia while her father worked on the railways. However, it was a teacher at her boarding school in Queensland that spotted her talent, and encouraged her to audition for NAISDA, the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association.And so at 18 years of age, Frances boarded a Greyhound bus and traveled the 12 hours to Sydney. In this beautifully raw and personal interview, Frances talks about her journey into dance, her incredible career with Bangarra, and finding confidence in her own body. But Frances talks about more than that. Her onstage connection with the late Russell Page, becoming a mum, and the pressure but also the importance of not only being a female leader, but a First Nations female leader in dance in Australia.Listen here or find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.For our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners, this episode of Talking Pointes contains the names of people who have passed. Please pause now, if you'd prefer not to hear their names. The Page family have given Bangarra Dance Theatre permission to use their names for the purpose of this interview. And just a trigger warning for this episode, we discuss issues around suicide, so if you'd prefer not to listen or read, please press pause or stop reading now. Your host and producer is Claudia Lawson, additional production by Penelope Ford, with editing and sound production by Martin Peralta. And for the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.
What is hypnosis? Is it mind control? Are some people just faking? We're revisiting this episode in which we explore the science of hypnosis and take Science Vs to the edge of consciousness. In the service of journalism, Wendy tries to get hypnotized at a comedy club and in a doctor's office. We talk to comedian Jim Spinnato, Prof. Philip Muskin, Prof. Amanda Barnier, and Prof. Amir Raz. Find our transcript here: bit.ly/sciencevshypnosis This episode was produced by Heather Rogers, Michelle Dang and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Kaitlyn Sawrey, Austin Mitchell, Diane Wu, and Shruti Ravindran. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser, Caitlin Kenney and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta and Peter Leonard. Music written by Martin Peralta, Bobby Lord, Peter Leonard and Emma Munger. Thanks to Alex Blumberg for being the man that spoke pretty often in the end … and Jonathan Goldstein from the very amazing podcast Heavyweight for being our CIA agent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Daniel Riley is the newly appointed artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre. Daniel is a proud Wiradjuri man of Western New South Wales. He grew up around Canberra, inspired by the Tap Dogs, learning contemporary dance, ballet, and tap. But it was a chance encounter with ADTs founder, Elizabeth Cameron Dalman, which changed the direction of Daniel's life to one of pursuing dance as a career. He ultimately headed north to study dance at Queensland University of Technology and following graduation and various adventures building his craft around the globe, Daniel joined Bangarra Dance Theatre, where he spent the next 12 years performing, choreographing, and honing his creative skills. In this incredibly open interview, Daniel talks about his childhood in dance, about being bullied, the impact of First Nations' dances, and how he's gearing up to take the helm of the Australian Dance Theatre in 2022.Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, additional production by Penelope Ford, with editing and sound production by Martin Peralta. And for the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.
"It's never finished, but you get closer and closer to 'I'm happy with this'". Martin Peralta is one of Australia's most sought after sound designers, having worked on ABC podcasts including Trace and Unravel, as well as Gimlet's Science Vs, and many others. In this episode, he outlines his work processes, his secrets for finding the right sound design and how to use music in podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The incredible Frances Rings, Bangarra's Associate Artistic Director, joins us on this episode of Talking Pointes. A descendant of the Kokatha people, Frances was born in Adelaide and spent her childhood traveling, dancing, and living all around Australia while her father worked on the railways. However, it was a teacher at her boarding school in Queensland that spotted her talent, and encouraged her to audition for NAISDA, the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association.And so at 18 years of age, Frances boarded a Greyhound bus and traveled the 12 hours to Sydney. In this beautifully raw and personal interview, Frances talks about her journey into dance, her incredible career with Bangarra, and finding confidence in her own body. But Frances talks about more than that. Her onstage connection with the late Russell Page, becoming a mum, and the pressure but also the importance of not only being a female leader, but a First Nations female leader in dance in Australia.Listen here or find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.For our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners, this episode of Talking Pointes contains the names of people who have passed. Please pause now, if you'd prefer not to hear their names. The Page family have given Bangarra Dance Theatre permission to use their names for the purpose of this interview. And just a trigger warning for this episode, we discuss issues around suicide, so if you'd prefer not to listen or read, please press pause or stop reading now. Your host and producer is Claudia Lawson, additional production by Penelope Ford, with editing and sound production by Martin Peralta. And for the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.
Victor Pineda conversó con el actor Martin Peralta sobre su participación en la nueva serie de Netflix, Somos, y nos contó sobre por qué es importante que este tipo de historias se cuenten en la televisión, especialmente ahora, en el que México vive una nueva etapa de educación por los medios de comunicación. También nos hablo sobre la fotografía, que es uno de sus pasatiempos favoritos.
We’re heading into a big summer, with more places and — ahem — people opening up. So we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes about feeling good. Maybe you’ve heard about this magic button in the vagina that can cause amazing orgasms. What’s going on with it? Join us on a hunt for the elusive G spot. Our guides: Prof. Beverly Whipple, who introduced America to the G spot in the 1980s, and Prof. Helen O’Connell, a urologist and expert on female sexual anatomy. Get the transcript here: https://bit.ly/3bGtui5 Credits: This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman and Heather Rogers, with help from Austin Mitchell and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Caitlin Kenney, Blythe Terrell, Annie Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Fact checking by Michelle Harris and Taylor White. Production Assistance by Dr. Diane Wu and Shruti Ravindran. An extra big thanks to Dr Lola Pellegrino, Andreas Montoya Castillo, Rose Reid, and Radio National’s The Science Show. Sound design by Matthew Boll, Martin Peralta and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Peter Leonard and Emma Munger.
Firstly welcome back to SameSame Different, this is Western Sydney Podcast.For the launch of Series 2, we are very honoured to be highlighting a recent study undertaken by the LGBTIQ Domestic and Family Violence Interagency, Western Sydney University and ACON.Home Is Where Our Story Begins explores family, community, and belonging for sexuality and gender diverse people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. It looks at the lived experiences of sexuality and gender diverse people in Greater Western Sydney.We are joined today by ACON representative Eloise Layard - Community Health Promotion Officer specialising in Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence and Community Intern Erdem Yigiter both of whom were involved in the research.Our host, the ever-faithful Harshi, joins us again after for another series... welcome back Harshi! We know there are many complexities within communities relating to being from a CALD background and being sexuality and gender diverse. We want to shine a light on the beautiful diversity that exists, helping to create safe and welcoming spaces and services for everyone in Western Sydney.We celebrate and support all diversity, and we hope that this episode will educate listeners and start conversations and promote conversations that allow education and learning within our CALD community.For more information on today’s episode, contact Marketing at Western Sydney MRC.Background reading and links:Say it out Loud Report Home is Where our Story Begins reportMarriage Equality in AustraliaACON is a fiercely proud community organisation, striving to be a global leader in community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and gendersIDAHOBIT 2020 event - watch the launch of Home is Where our Story Begins reportLiverpool Sexual Health ClinicWestern Sydney Migrant Resource Centre, a proud Welcome Here memberInclusive Communities Network.We would like to say a huge thank you to Martin Peralta from Output Media for creating our theme music.
Firstly welcome back to SameSame Different, this is Western Sydney Podcast. For the launch of Series 2, we are very honoured to be highlighting a recent study undertaken by the LGBTIQ Domestic and Family Violence Interagency, Western Sydney University and ACON. Home Is Where Our Story Begins explores family, community, and belonging for sexuality and gender diverse people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. It looks at the lived experiences of sexuality and gender diverse people in Greater Western Sydney. We are joined today by ACON representative Eloise Layard - Community Health Promotion Officer specialising in Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence and Community Intern Erdem Yigiter both of whom were involved in the research. Our host, the ever-faithful Harshi, joins us again after for another series... welcome back Harshi! We know there are many complexities within communities relating to being from a CALD background and being sexuality and gender diverse. We want to shine a light on the beautiful diversity that exists, helping to create safe and welcoming spaces and services for everyone in Western Sydney. We celebrate and support all diversity, and we hope that this episode will educate listeners and start conversations and promote conversations that allow education and learning within our CALD community. For more information on today's episode, contact Marketing at Western Sydney MRC. Background reading and links: Say it out Loud Report Home is Where our Story Begins report Marriage Equality in Australia ACON is a fiercely proud community organisation, striving to be a global leader in community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders IDAHOBIT 2020 event - watch the launch of Home is Where our Story Begins report Liverpool Sexual Health Clinic Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre, a proud Welcome Here member Inclusive Communities Network. We would like to say a huge thank you to Martin Peralta from Output Media for creating our theme music.
Autism, seizures, and overloaded immune systems - could these really be side effects of vaccines? From the archives, we bring back our dive into the science to find out how safe vaccines really are. We spoke to public health researchers Prof. Dan Salmon and Prof. Amy Kalkbrenner and neurologist Prof. Ingrid Scheffer. Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2IVgabd Selected References: The National Academies (aka Institute of Medicine) report on vaccine safety A report on the genetic underpinnings of epilepsyThis study looked for neurologic disorders after the MMR shot in half a million kidsThis one looked at all children born in Denmark between 1991 and 1998 Credits: This episode has been produced by Heather Rogers, Wendy Zukerman, and Shruti Ravindran. Production help from Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited this week by Blythe Terrell and Annie-Rose Strasser. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, with help from Rose Rimler. Sound design by Martin Peralta. Music written by Bobby Lord. For this episode we also spoke with Dr. Saad Omer, Dr. Neal Halsey, Dr. Paul Offit, Dr. Frank DeStefano, and Prof. Alison Buttenheim. And an extra thanks to Bonnie Stanway, Ivona Stamatoska, Reese and Walter Ludwig, the Zukerman Family, Joseph Lavelle Wilson and - of course! - Leo Rogers.
This week, Annie and Elah share an episode from one of their favorite podcasts, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Sum of All Parts. For years, Robert Schneider lived the indie rocker’s dream, producing landmark records and fronting his band, The Apples in Stereo. And then, he gave it all up...for number theory. Host Joel Werner tracks Robert’s transformation, from a transcendental encounter with an antique tape machine, to the family temple of a mysterious long-dead mathematician, Ramanujan. Find more episodes of Sum of All Parts. CREDITS This episode of Sum of All Parts was produced and hosted by Joel Werner. Sophie Townsend served as story editor and Jonathan Webb served as science editor. Sound engineering by Mark Don and Martin Peralta. Undiscovered is reported and produced by Elah Feder and Annie Minoff. Our senior editor is Christopher Intagliata, our composer is Daniel Peterschmidt, and our intern is Kaitlyn Schwalje. GUESTS Robert Schneider, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Emory University Ken Ono, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Mathematics, Emory University FOOTNOTES Hear more Sum of All Parts, and see pictures of Robert and Ken at Ramanujan’s family temple. Robert Schneider and Ben Phelan’s article about Ramanujan, Encounter with The Infinite, was a huge inspiration for this story. Read it in The Believer. Listen to Ken Ono talk about Ramanujan and a biopic based on his life — The Man Who Knew Infinity — on Science Friday. Read about the new musical scale Robert Schneider devised, based on natural logarithms.
This week, Annie and Elah share an episode from one of their favorite podcasts, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Sum of All Parts. For years, Robert Schneider lived the indie rocker’s dream, producing landmark records and fronting his band, The Apples in Stereo. And then, he gave it all up...for number theory. Host Joel Werner tracks Robert’s transformation, from a transcendental encounter with an antique tape machine, to the family temple of a mysterious long-dead mathematician, Ramanujan. Find more episodes of Sum of All Parts. CREDITS This episode of Sum of All Parts was produced and hosted by Joel Werner. Sophie Townsend served as story editor and Jonathan Webb served as science editor. Sound engineering by Mark Don and Martin Peralta. Undiscovered is reported and produced by Elah Feder and Annie Minoff. Our senior editor is Christopher Intagliata, our composer is Daniel Peterschmidt, and our intern is Kaitlyn Schwalje. GUESTS Robert Schneider, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Emory University Ken Ono, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Mathematics, Emory University FOOTNOTES Hear more Sum of All Parts, and see pictures of Robert and Ken at Ramanujan’s family temple. Robert Schneider and Ben Phelan’s article about Ramanujan, Encounter with The Infinite, was a huge inspiration for this story. Read it in The Believer. Listen to Ken Ono talk about Ramanujan and a biopic based on his life — The Man Who Knew Infinity — on Science Friday. Read about the new musical scale Robert Schneider devised, based on natural logarithms.
Can they help with back pain or anything else? We talk to chiropractor Carl Cleveland III, physical therapist Anita Gross, neurophysiologist Dr. Marcello Costa...and Kaity Sawrey’s parents. Check out our full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2P3g7NW By the way… Gimlet’s doing a holiday pop up shop selling t-shirts and stickers. So show your support by getting your very own Science Vs tee shirt! Check it out at sciencevs.show/shirt. Credits: This episode has been produced by Rose Rimler, Wendy Zukerman, with help from Shruti Ravindran and Heather Rogers. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord. For this episode we also spoke to Dr. Richard Deyo, Prof. Tim Mirtz, Prof. Gregory Whitcomb, Dr. Adam Cifu, and Julie Knaak,-- Thank you for your insights. An extra big thanks to Rachel Ward, Emma Morgenstern, Christina Sullivan, Jasmine Romero and Phoebe Flanigan. As well as Alex Ward, Russell Gragg, Fiona Croall and Judy Adair. Also, a shoutout to the Sawreys! Thank you, Bill & Chris. Selected readings:A history of DD Palmer and chiropractic, which Carl co-wroteAnita’s review on spinal manipulation and neck painThe UK evidence report on manual therapyJAMA editorial on spinal manipulation and lower back painClinical guidelines on treating lower back pain from the American College of PhysiciansAn analysis of neck manipulation and strokeAnd of course….this
Everyone’s got a myth or two about birth control they want cleared up. Like... is 'pulling out' AKA withdrawal really such a bad idea? Does the pill change your brain? Are IUDs safe? And why isn’t there a pill for men, already?! We ask gynecologist Dr. Amita Murthy, neuroendocrinologist Dr. Nicole Petersen, men’s health researcher Prof. Robert McLachlan and a whole roomful of experts on sex -- teenagers. UPDATE 05/12/17: We have updated this episode to further emphasize that the pre-cum studies are only very small. Use withdrawal at your own peril! Check out our full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2P5creH Selected readings:The Guttmacher report on unintended pregnanciesNicole’s research on the brainThe Nurses’ Health Study results on oral contraceptivesA history of the Dalkon ShieldThe latest on male contraception Credits: This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Shruti Ravindran, Heather Rogers and Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Extra editing help from Alex Blumberg and Eric Mennel. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord. An extra thanks to Dr Aparna Sundaram at the Guttmacher Institute, Dr Sarah Prager, Prof Brittany Charlton, Dr Lisa Iversen, Prof James Trussell, Dr Sara Holton. Big thank you to Libby Shafer and all the Chicago teens, plus Jonathan Goldstein and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.
Molly, Ecstasy, MDMA... whatever you want to call it, it's all the same thing. This week, we’re turning up the bass and checking out what does it do to your brain. Is it bad for you? Could it be a potential medicine? To find out, we talk to public health researcher Prof. Joseph Palamar, DEA special agent James Hunt, and neuroscientist Prof. Harriet de Witt. Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2YEl1V2 Selected reading:Harriet’s paper on MDMA and feelings of rejectionJoseph’s paper on club kid hairThis big British report on the risks of ecstasy Credits: This episode was produced by Heather Rogers, Wendy Zukerman, Shruti Ravindran and Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, Rose Rimler and Ben Kuebrich. Sound design by Martin Peralta and Haley Shaw. Music written by Bobby Lord. An extra thanks to Johnny Dynell, Jesse Rudoy, Brian Earp, Prof. Jerrold S. Meyer, Prof. Niamh Nic Daéid and Dr. Carl Roberts.
Americans spend billions of dollars on vitamins and supplements, but are they worth it? We look at the science behind some of the most popular supplements with nutritional epidemiologist Prof. Katherine Tucker, neuroscientist Dr. Simon Dyall, and medical researcher Dr. Mark Bolland. Our Sponsors: G Suite | WP Engine Credits: This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers, and Shruti Ravindran. Production assistance from Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Blythe Terrell with help from Alex Blumberg. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord. An extra thanks to the Zukerman Family, Joseph Lavelle Wilson, Chris Giliberti, Jasmine Romero, Matthew Nelson, Stevie Lane, Dr Harri Hemilä, Stephanie from the New York State Library and Dr Rajaprabhakaran Rajarethinam. Selected Reading:The history of fortified foodsThe Institute of Medicine Report on calcium and Vitamin DSurvey on vitamin shopping habits in the USSimon’s paper on Omega 3 and spinal cord injuries in ratsMark’s work on calciumThis whopper of a study on multivitamins Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2rlrpnZ
All over the world people report sightings of big, hairy, human-like beasts, so could Bigfoot really be out there... somewhere? We ask Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Prof. Bryan Sykes, Prof. Todd Disotell, and the Round Rock, Texas, Department of Parks and Recreation. CORRECTION: In a previous version of this podcast we said Dr Meldrum works at the University of Idaho. He actually works at Idaho State University. We've updated this episode with his correct title. Our Sponsors: Cole Haan | WP Engine | Sundance Now Listen to Gimlet's newest show, Uncivil wherever you get your podcasts Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Pocketcasts Credits: This episode has been produced by our senior producer, Kaitlyn Sawrey, as well as Wendy Zukerman, Rose Reid, Heather Rogers and Shruti Ravindran. Production assistance from Rose Rimler. Edited by Blythe Terrell and Annie-Rose Strasser. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design by Martin Peralta. Music written by Bobby Lord. And a big thank you to Dr Michael J Hickerson and Professor James L. Patton for his 7 PAGE document describing the last large mammals discovered by western scientists in North America, suffice to say, Bigfoot wasn’t on the list. Selected Reading:Paper on Bigfoot reports in North AmericaBryan’s paper on Bigfoot hairsA review of the human family treeJeff Meldrum’s book Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2LyEOQn
We need to ditch fossil fuels. Can America go 100% renewable by 2050? Does the technology already exist? We speak to Prof. Mark Delucchi, Prof. Christopher Clack, and Prof. David Connolly. UPDATE: Since this episode was published, Tesla have unveiled a prototype of a electric semi truck. Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/38ku2a4 Our Sponsors: Tushy | Wordpress.com | TuneIn Credits: This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers and Shruti Ravindran. Production help from Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited this week by Blythe Terrell and Annie-Rose Strasser, with extra help from Rachel Ward. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design by Martin Peralta. Music written by Bobby Lord. For this episode we also spoke to Professor Vijay Modi, Professor Mark Jacobson, Dr Gorm Bruun Andresen, Professor Willett Kempton, Dr Dylan McConnell, and Dr Jane CS Long. And an extra thanks to the Zukerman family. Selected reading: Mark Jacobson and Mark Delucchi paper showing that the US could be run on 100 percent renewable energy.Christopher Clack and his team’s paper criticising Mark’s workSurvey published this year of more than 100 energy experts on the future of renewables.National Renewable Energy Lab’s look at Renewable Electricity Detailed report on California’s energy future
Last week we explored the science behind vaccine safety. This week we try to understand where these fears came from, and why they persist. We speak to three historians: Prof. Nadja Durbach, Prof. Elena Conis, and Prof. Robert Johnston. And a concerned mom named Noelle. Check out our full transcript here: http://bit.ly/355DlZz Our Sponsors: Cotton Inc + Madewell | Spotify | Sundance Now's Riviera | Wordpress.com Credits: This episode has been produced by Heather Rogers, Wendy Zukerman, and Shruti Ravindran. Production help from Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited this week by Blythe Terrell with editorial assistance from Alex Blumberg, Annie-Rose Strasser and Lynn Levy. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, with help from Rose Rimler. Sound design by Martin Peralta. Music written by Bobby Lord. For this episode we also spoke with Russ Bruesewitz, Prof. Sharon Kaufmann, Prof. Alison Buttenheim, Barbara Loe Fisher, Sally Mendelsohn, Prof. Mary Holland, Prof. Paul Jackson, Prof. Michael Willrich, Julie Livingston and Kari Christianson. Thanks to Gimlet producer Luke Malone, the whole Zukerman clan, Joseph Lavelle Wilson, and Leo Rogers. Selected references:Dr. Robert Mendelsohn’s book, Confessions of a Medical Heretic, Nadja Durbach’s book, Bodily Matters, Vaccine hesitancy paper Paul Offit’s book, Deadly Choices
Autism, seizures, and overloaded immune systems. Could these really be side effects of vaccines? This week, we dive into the science to find out how safe vaccines really are. We also talk to public health researchers Prof. Dan Salmon and Prof. Amy Kalkbrenner and neurologist Prof. Ingrid Scheffer. Check out our full transcript: http://bit.ly/2PrqtX3 Our Sponsors:Cole Haan | Google Cloud, Maker of GSuite | Ziprecruiter | WPEngine Credits: This episode has been produced by Heather Rogers, Wendy Zukerman, and Shruti Ravindran. Production help from Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited this week by Blythe Terrell and Annie-Rose Strasser. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, with help from Rose Rimler. Sound design by Martin Peralta. Music written by Bobby Lord. For this episode we also spoke with Dr. Saad Omer, Dr. Neal Halsey, Dr. Paul Offit, Dr. Frank DeStefano, and Prof. Alison Buttenheim. And an extra thanks to Bonnie Stanway,Ivona Stamatoska, Reese and Walter Ludwig, the Zukerman Family, Joseph Lavelle Wilson and - of course! - Leo Rogers. Selected References:The National Academies (aka Institute of Medicine) report on vaccine safety A report on the genetic underpinnings of epilepsyThis study looked for neurologic disorders after the MMR shot in half a million kids This one looked at all children born in Denmark between 1991 and 1998
Juice cleanses, fancy foods, sweat, charcoal, and colonics-- is there a scientifically proven way to ‘clean out’ your system? This week, we dig in deep to the science of detox and turn ourselves into guinea pigs for a juicing experiment. We talk to a passionate proctologist named Prof. Graham Newstead, as well as nutrition researcher Prof. Stella Volpe and toxicologist Dr. Susanne Ramm. Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2LEsSwr Our Sponsors: Cole Haan | Google Cloud, Maker of GSuite | Cotton Inc + Madewell Credits: This episode has been produced by Shruti Ravindran, Wendy Zukerman, and Heather Rogers. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, with help from Rose Rimler. Sound design by Martin Peralta. Music written by Bobby Lord. Extra thanks to Lynn Levy, the Zukerman Family, Joseph Lavelle Wilson, Torey Armul, Dr. Naveed Sattar, and Dr. David Juurlink. Selected ReferencesOn the inability of activated charcoal to absorb wind, aka the ‘poo in a blender’ study Review paper on the dangers of colonics Why liquids don't make you feel very full An investigation of capsaicin, aka the spice in spicy food, for weight loss
Are chocolate, coffee and red wine actually good for us? Reading the news it seems that one day they are helping us live longer, and the next day they are giving us heart attacks. So what’s going on here? Host Wendy Zukerman and DJ/senior producer Kaitlyn Sawrey explore the science live on stage, with interview clips from Prof. Bruce Ames, Prof. David Sinclair and author Aidan Goggins. This show was recorded live at The Bell House on Thursday, March 23rd, 2017. If you want to listen to the Q&A after the show, sign up to become a Gimlet member for $5 a month. If you sign up for a year, you can receive a Science Vs t-shirt! Our Sponsors:Cloudflare - To learn more visit cloudflare.com/sciencevsWordpress - go to wordpress.com/science to get 15% off a new websiteHello Fresh - For $30 off your first week of meals go to hellofresh.com and enter the promo code SCIENCEVS30 Credits: This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers, Diane Wu, and Shruti Ravindran. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser. Fact checking by Diane Wu and Ben Kuebrich. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, and mixed by Austin Thompson. Music written by Bobby Lord. Extra thanks to Martin Peralta, Rachel Ward, Eric Mennel and the Bell House, and live show art by Alice Lay (which you can see at facebook.com/sciencevspodcast) Further Reading:JAMA Review - Are antioxidant supplements associated with higher or lower all-cause mortality? David Sinclair’s Study: Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie dietAlcohol and coronary heart disease: a meta-analysisCoffee Meta-analysis: Coffee consumption and mortality from all causes…Habitual chocolate consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease among healthy men and women
There’s an intriguing body of research that suggests the power of antidepressants doesn’t come from chemicals in the drugs, but from the power of placebo. Not everyone agrees, though. We speak to researchers and medical professionals on either side of the debate, and some wedged in-between -- Prof. Peter Kramer, psychiatrist and author of Ordinarily Well: the Case for Antidepressants; Prof. Irving Kirsch, psychologist and author of The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth; psychiatrist and radiologist Prof. Helen Mayberg; and psychiatrist Prof. Gregory Simon. Crisis Hotlines:US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (2755)US Crisis Text Line Text “GO” to 741741Australian Lifeline 13 11 14Canadian Association for Suicide PreventionOur SponsorsCasper - Get $50 towards any mattress by visiting casper.com/sciencevs and use the promo code SCIENCEVSThird Love - Go to thirdlove.com/sciencevs to start your free trialWealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free.Credits This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers, Shruti Ravindran, and Diane Wu. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta and Matthew Boll. Music written by Bobby Lord and Martin Peralta. Selected References2008 study suggesting that antidepressants are not much better than placebo for people suffering in severe depression.2016 study suggesting that antidepressants were way better than placebo in treating people suffering from severe depression. 2016 study on how drug companies under-report side effects in clinical trials. 2003 round-up of the most common side-effects of antidepressants. 2013 study which uses brain imaging to try to pinpoint whether patients would respond better to medication or psychotherapy.
Get out your tweezers and magnifying glass - this week, we’re investigating forensic science. There are a slew of scientific techniques that forensic experts use to solve crimes. But how reliable are they? We’re putting forensic evidence under the microscope. To help us crack the case, we talk to Assoc. Prof. Sibyl Bucheli, attorney Chris Fabricant, former crime lab director Barry Fisher, Dr. Itiel Dror, and Assoc. Prof. Patrick Buzzini. Our Sponsors Hello Fresh – To get $35 off your first week of deliveries visit hellofresh.com and enter promo code “ScienceVS” Frank & Oak – Go to frankandoak.com/science to get your first outfit for $79 (a pair of pants and a shirt). Wealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free. Credits This episode has been produced by Shruti Ravindran, Diane Wu, Austin Mitchell and Heather Rogers. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord. === Original video: https://soundcloud.com/science-vs/forensic-science Downloaded by http://huffduff-video.snarfed.org/ on Fri, 21 Oct 2016 14:36:32 GMT Available for 30 days after download
In these cases, emerging DNA evidence and the smell of death (yes, really) pushed the boundaries of what was technologically possible. But how reliable are they? To find out, we go to a body farm and talk to Assoc. Prof. Joan Bytheway, Asst. Prof. Sheree Hughes-Stamm, Matt Young, Dr. Arpad Vass, and Asst. Prof. Donovan Haines. Our Sponsors Lenovo – See how Lenovo is revolutionizing data center technology. Modcloth - Enter promo code SCIENCEVS at checkout to get $20 off an order of $100 or more! Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “SCIENCE VS” to get 10% off your first purchase. Wealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free. Credits This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Shruti Ravindran, Diane Wu,and Heather Rogers. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Thanks to Joseph Lavelle Wilson, Will Doolan and Beth McMullen. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta and Matthew Boll Music written by Bobby Lord. Selected References 2009 National Academy of Sciences and 2016 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reports on forensic science. How DNA is transferred in trace evidence. Report on error rates in DNA forensic analysis. Study that showed dogs could pick up the smell of a corpse 667 days later. Call to arms on improving forensic science: editorial. Scent of death - Belgian paper that found three out of four of Dr Arpad Vass' “human specific markers” in other animals.
There are a slew of scientific techniques that forensic experts use to solve crimes. But how reliable are they? We’re putting forensic evidence under the microscope. To help us crack the case, we talk to Assoc. Prof. Sibyl Bucheli, attorney Chris Fabricant, former crime lab director Barry Fisher, Dr. Itiel Dror, and Assoc. Prof. Patrick Buzzini. Our Sponsors Hello Fresh – To get $35 off your first week of deliveries visit hellofresh.com and enter promo code “ScienceVS”. Frank & Oak – Go to frankandoak.com/science to get your first outfit for $79 (a pair of pants and a shirt). Wealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free. Credits This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Shruti Ravindran, Diane Wu, Austin Mitchell and Heather Rogers. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord. Selected References 2009 National Academy of Sciences and 2016 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reports on forensic science Overview of forensic entomology Amendt et al, “Forensic entomology,” Naturwissenschaften, 2004 Study modeling precision of dating time of death from flies Faris et al, “Forensic Entomology: Evaluating Uncertainty Associated With Postmortem Interval (PMI) Estimates With Ecological Models,” Journal of Medical Entomology 2016. Review paper on bite mark analysis Clement et al, “Is current bite mark analysis a misnomer?” Department of Justice review of Brandon Mayfield case Context can change how fingerprints are read Dror et al, “Contextual information renders experts vulnerable to making erroneous identifications,” Forensic Science International, 2006. Hair microscopy can lead to incorrect matches Houck et al, “Correlation of microscopic and mitochondrial DNA hair comparisons,” Journal of Forensic Science, 2002.
Since 2015 there have been Zika outbreaks reported in sixty countries. So, where did Zika come from? What happens when you get infected? How worried should you be?And why has Zika has become such a problem recently? To find out, we speak to Assoc. Prof. Desiree LaBeaud, Dr Cathy Spong, Dr Andrew Haddow, and New York Times health reporter Donald McNeil Jr. Credits This episode has been produced by Diane Wu, Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers, Caitlin Kenney, and Shruti Ravindran. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta. Music written by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Our Sponsors Prudential – Download the MapMyRun app and join the Prudential 4.01K challenge. When you do, pledge to save at least 1% or more of your annual income for retirement and run and log 4.01K to be eligible to win a prize. Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “SCIENCE VS” to get 10% off your first purchase. Wealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free. Selected ReferencesFirst case of Zika reported in Nigerian girl N. McNamara, Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1954.Donald McNeil Jr’s recent book on Zika epidemic McNeil, DG “Zika: The emerging epidemic,” W. W. Norton and Co, 2016Interactive history of Zika from the World Health OrganizationZika virus may linger in the vagina Prisant, N et al “Zika virus in the female genital tract,” The Lancet 2016Estimated risk of microcephaly if you get zika when pregnant is between one and 13% Johansson, M et al “Zika and the Risk of Microcephaly,” New England Journal of Medicine, 2016First report that Zika can be spread through sex (confirming Andrew Haddow's hunch over a beer in Senegal) Foy, BD et al “Probable Non–Vector-borne Transmission of Zika Virus, Colorado, USA,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2011U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommendations on ZikaWorld Health Organization recommendations on Zika
This week, we explore the science of hypnosis, and take Science Vs to the edge of consciousness. In the service of journalism, Wendy tries to get hypnotized at a comedy club and in a doctor’s office. We talk to comedian Jim Spinnato, Prof. Philip Muskin, Prof. Amanda Barnier, and Prof. Amir Raz. Credits: This episode has been produced by Heather Rogers, Wendy Zukerman, Caitlin Kenney, Austin Mitchell, Dr. Diane Wu, and Shruti Ravindran. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser. Fact Checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta. Music written by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Thanks to Alex Blumberg for being the man that spoke pretty often in the end… and Jonathan Goldstein for being our CIA agent… and if you like his CIA agent you’ll love his new show Heavyweight. It’s out next week and you can subscribe now. Selected References2013 paper reviewing 100 journal articles on hypnosis Kihlstrom, JF, “Neuro-Hypnotism: Prospects for Hypnosis and Neuroscience,” Cortex, 2013.Is hypnotizability a genetic trait? Maybe, but it’s complicated Raz, A, et al. “Neuroimaging and genetic associations of attentional and hypnotic processes,” Journal of Physiology, 2006.Script for the Stanford test of hypnotizability Weitzenhoffer, AM and Hilgard, ER. “Stanford hypnotic susceptibility scale, Form C.” 1962.Highly hypnotizable people can be hypnotized to not recognize their own reflections Connors, MH et al. “Using hypnosis to disrupt face processing: Mirrored-self misidentification delusion and different visual media,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014.There's more to hypnosis than expectation Lifshitz, M et al. “Can expectation enhance response to suggestion? De-automatization illuminates a conundrum,” Consciousness and Cognition, 2012.Brain study of a hypnotized man responding to suggestion that his leg is paralyzed Halligan, PW et al. “Imaging hypnotic paralysis: implications for conversion hysteria,” The Lancet, 2000.1955 CIA memo on hypnosis, 1960 CIA report on hypnosis
Join us on a hunt for the elusive G-spot. Our guides: Prof. Beverly Whipple, who introduced America to the G-spot in the 1980s, and Prof. Helen O’Connell, a urologist and expert on female sexual anatomy. CreditsThis episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers, Caitlin Kenney, Austin Mitchell, and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Fact Checking by Michelle Harris.Production Assistance by Dr Diane Wu & Shruti Ravindran. Extra thanks to Lola Pellegrino, Andres Montoya Castillo, Rose Reid, Radio National’s Science Show -- they make a podcast. It’s great. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta. Music written by Bobby Lord.And be sure to check out our producer Austin Mitchell’s podcast Profiles:NYC. Selected References1981 study identifying G-spot in 47 women . . . but not confirming that it leads to orgasm Perry and Whipple, “Pelvic Muscle Strength of Female Ejaculators: Evidence in Support of a New Theory of Orgasm,” The Journal of Sex Research, 1981. Note: not freely available. Report of the first modern dissection of the clitoris O’Connell et al, “Anatomical relationship between urethra and clitoris,” Journal of Urology, 1998.Everything besides the clitoris is just a shade of gray in the MRI O’Connell et al, “Clitoral anatomy in nulliparous, healthy, premenopausal volunteers using unenhanced magnetic resonance imaging,” Journal of Urology, 2005. Comprehensive account of clitoris anatomy O’Connell et al, “Anatomy of the clitoris,” Journal of Urology, 2005.Review of research on the G-Spot and cliteralurethrovaginal complex Jannini et al, “Beyond the G-Spot: clitourethrovaginal complex anatomy in female orgasm,” Nature Reviews Urology, 2014. Note: not freely available.
People are going bonkers for organic, but what are you really getting when you buy them? Better taste? Fewer toxic chemicals? A cleaner environment? Farmers Mark, Andy, and Brian Reeves, nutritional epidemiologist Dr. Kathryn Bradbury, Ass. Prof. Cynthia Curl, and Prof. Navin Ramankutty help us sort it all out. Credits: This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers, Lynn Levy, Caitlin Kenney, Austin Mitchell, and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Editing by Annie-Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Production Assistance by Diane Wu and Shruti Ravindran. Special thanks to Stevie Lane and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixing by Martin Peralta, Austin Thompson and Haley Shaw. Music written by Bobby Lord. Selected Resources:Organic vs conventional tomato taste test Johansson et al, “Preference for tomatoes, affected by sensory attributes and information about growth conditions,” Food Quality and Preference, 1999Nutritional analysis of organic vs organic food Smith-Spangler et al, “Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives?: A Systematic Review,” Annals of Internal Medicine, 2012.2012 USDA report on pesticide residues in organic produceLargest (620,000 women) long-term (9 year) study of how eating organic food affects human health -- focusing on cancer Bradbury et al, “Organic food consumption and the incidence of cancer in a large prospective study of women in the United Kingdom”, British Journal of Cancer, 2014Biodiversity is higher on organic farms “Tuck et al, “Land-use intensity and the effects of organic farming on biodiversity: a hierarchical meta-analysis,” The Journal of Applied Ecology, 2014.Nitrogen leaching is higher per unit product on organic farms Tuomisto et al, “Does organic farming reduce environmental impacts? – A meta-analysis of European research”Crop yield on organic farms is on average 75% that of conventional farms Seufert et al, “Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture,” Nature 2012If we want to feed the world without cutting down more forests, we’re going to need more vegetarians Erb et al, “Exploring the biophysical option space for feeding the world without deforestation,” Nature Communications, 2016On combining organic and conventional farming techniques Letourneau et al, “Crop protection in organic agriculture,” Chapter 4 of Organic agriculture: a global perspective, 2006.
In last week’s episode, we learned that around 30,000 Americans die each year from guns. This week, we examine possible solutions. Do better background checks, buybacks, and gun registration lead to fewer shooting deaths? What happened in Australia after they got rid of all the guns? To find out, we talk to gun shop owner Bob Kostaras, former ATF special agent Mark Jones, Prof. Philip Alpers, and Prof. Peter Squires. Credits: This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Heather Rogers, Caitlin Kenney, Austin Mitchell, and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Editing by Annie Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Production Assistance by Diane Wu, and Shruti Ravindran. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixing by Martin Peralta and Haley Shaw. Music written by Bobby Lord. Crisis Hotlines:US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (2755)US Crisis Text Line Text “GO” to 741741Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14Canadian Association for Suicide PreventionUK & Ireland: Samaritans 116 123 Selected References:Background Checks for Firearms Transfers, US Bureau of Justice, 2009 Including details on federal gun purchase regulationsIssues with the current US background check system, plus recommendations for improvement Wintemute, “Background checks for firearm transfers: Assessment and recommendations.” Violence Prevention Research Program, UC Davis. 2013. States with more comprehensive background checks, including better reporting, have lower rates of gun homicide Ruddel and Mays, “State background checks and firearms homicides,” Journal of Criminal Justice, 2005. Most prisoners incarcerated for a gun-related offense did not buy their gun from a licensed dealer Harlow, C. “Firearm use by offenders”, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, 2001. How much of violent crime in Sweden can be attributed to people with severe mental illness? About 5% Fazel and Grann. “The Population Impact of Severe Mental Illness on Violent Crime.” Am J Psychiatry, 2006A study of how gun laws in Australia changed gun homicide rates Chapman et al, “Association Between Gun Law Reforms and Intentional Firearm Deaths in Australia, 1979-2013”, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2016.
The gun lobby says firearms keep us safe by protecting us against bad guys and reducing the crime rate. But, what does the science say? We find out how many times a year guns are used in self-defense, how many times they’re used to murder someone, and what impact guns have on the crime rate. To do that, we speak with Prof. David Hemenway, Prof. Helen Christensen, Prof. Gary Kleck and New Jersey gun-range owner Anthony Colandro. Credits: This episode has been produced by Caitlin Kenney, Heather Rogers and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Production Assistance by Austin Mitchell. Sound design and music production by Martin Peralta and Matthew Boll, music written by Bobby Lord Crisis hotlines: United States: US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 1-800-273-TALK (2755) Online chat available US Crisis Text Line http://www.crisistextline.org/textline/ Text “GO” to 741741 Australia: Lifeline https://www.lifeline.org.au/ 13 11 14 Online chat available Canada: Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention http://suicideprevention.ca/thinking-about-suicide/find-a-crisis-centre/ See link for phone numbers listed by province United Kingdom: Samaritans http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us 116 123 (UK and ROI... === Original video: https://soundcloud.com/science-vs/guns Downloaded by http://huffduff-video.snarfed.org/ on Mon, 08 Aug 2016 18:24:57 GMT Available for 30 days after download
We find out how many times a year guns are used in self-defense, how many times they’re used to murder someone, and what impact guns have on the crime rate. In this episode we speak with Prof. David Hemenway, Prof. Helen Christensen, Prof. Gary Kleck and New Jersey gun-range owner Anthony Colandro. Credits: This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Caitlin Kenney, Heather Rogers and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Production Assistance by Austin Mitchell. Sound design and music production by Martin Peralta and Matthew Boll, music written by Bobby Lord Crisis hotlines:US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (2755). Online chat available.US Crisis Text Line - text “GO” to 741741Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia). Online chat available.Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention - see link for phone numbers listed by provinceSamaritans 116 123 (UK and ROI)Selected References:2013 US Mortality Statistics - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (published 2016)Gary Kleck’s defensive gun use survey Kleck & Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense with a Gun”, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1995Survey of virgin births in the US Herring et al, “Like a virgin (mother): analysis of data from a longitudinal, US population representative sample survey”, BMJ, 2013David Hemenway’s defensive gun use analysis using National Crime Victimization Survey Hemenway & Solnick, “The epidemiology of self-defense gun use: Evidence from the National Crime Victimization Surveys 2007-2011”, Preventive Medicine, 2015Analysis of suicide rates and methods in Australia Large & Nielssen, “Suicide in Australia: meta-analysis of rates and methods of suicide between 1988 and 2007”, The Medical Journal of Australia, 2010John Lott’s study on right-to-carry laws and crime rates Lott & Mustard, “Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns”, Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics, 1996National Research Academies Panel which found guns don’t increase or decrease crime Wellford, Pepper, and Petrie, editors, “Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review”, The National Academies Press, 2005US Crime statistics, 1990-2009 (US Dept of Justice, FBI)
20 years ago, four dying people were able to access the Northern Territory’s world-first law to help them die more mercifully, before the law itself was extinguished. By the end of 2016, over 100 million people on three continents will be able to access such laws – the most recent places to adopt them being America’s most populous state, California, and Canada. Since that Northern Territory law was overturned in 1997, nearly 30 attempts to create a new one here in Australia have failed. But as the tide of history turns in favour of assisted dying, how much longer can our politicians continue to ignore the call for change? Bob Hawke, left, and Heather Bell — Photo credits: Bob Hawke by Eva Rinaldi (CC-BY-SA); Heather Bell, supplied The old arguments that have held such sway – about the elderly and the vulnerable being unsafe under these laws – no longer hold. Over a decade of experience in Europe, and nearly two decades in America, have shown us that the safeguards do work: that good laws can be created to help the few, and protect the many. In this final episode, drawing on what has worked best overseas, I’m going to tell you what I think that law for assisted dying in Australia should look like. Plus, we’ll hear from two significant stakeholders who both support a change in our law. One, a former Prime Minister. The other, the one major medical body that does officially support assisted dying. Tellingly, they’re the ones who see the suffering of patients every day and up close – the nurses. 'I think it is absurd that euthanasia is not legal within this country. It doesn't meet any requirements of morality or good sense.' Former Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Richard Di Natale In March 2016, Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale put forward a bill, co-sponsored by representatives from all the major parties, aimed at restoring the right of the Northern Territory, ACT and Norfolk Island to legislate for voluntary euthanasia. Here, he discusses the reasoning behind the bill – and the tactics required to create political change on this issue in Australia. Know more Video: 'Q&A: Facing Death' – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 9 November 2015 Article: 'Bob Hawke calls for euthanasia to be made legal in Australia', by Calla Wahlquist – Guardian, 12 April 2016 Podcast episode: 'Andrew Denton asks, can Australia legislate for better death?' – Conversations with Richard Fidler, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 23 February 2016 Research paper: 'How should Australia regulate voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide?', by Ben White and Lindy Willmott – Australia21, November 2012 Essay: 'The right to die or the right to kill?: The argument against euthanasia', by Karen Hitchcock – The Monthly, December 2015–January 2016 Letter: In response to Karen Hitchcock's article (above), by Ian Maddocks – The Monthly, February 2016 Opinion: 'Assisted dying: the difficult conversation we need to have', by Ian McPhee – Age, 2 February 2016 Video: 'Andrew Denton has a new lease on death' – from Sunrise, Yahoo!7, 22 February 2016 Article: 'Medically assisted death weeks away in Canada', by Susan Delacourt – ABC News, 2 March 2016 Article: 'Push to restore voluntary euthanasia in NT, ACT and Norfolk Island', by Helen Davidson – Guardian, 1 March 2016 Speech: 'Voluntary Euthanasia', by Andrew Leigh MP – as spoken in House of Representatives, Parliament of Australia, 17 August 2015 In this episode Bob Hawke Doctors: Cathy, Vic, Andrew, Sarah and Paul Coral Levett Karen Hitchcock Heather Bell Richard Chye Leigh Dolin Michael Williams Marshall Perron Nancy Elliott Paul Russell Liz Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Hope There's Someone' (Antony and the Johnsons), 'Death Don't Have No Mercy' (Reverend Gary Davis), 'Further On (Up the Road)' (Johnny Cash), 'Into My Arms' (Nick Cave), 'Underneath the Stars' (Kate Rusby), 'The Parting Glass' (The Wailin' Jennys) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Bec Fary and Jon Tjhia. Thank you Thanks to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Paul Russell — Photo: Supplied My search for the truth about assisted dying began when I was invited to attend the HOPE International Symposium in Adelaide, featuring anti-euthanasia speakers from around the world.* There, I heard dire warnings about what was happening in Belgium, the Netherlands and Oregon – where laws to help people die already exist. At their heart lay two key accusations: that the safeguards don’t work, and that the elderly and disabled were threatened. I took careful note. Many months later – having taken off overseas to see if their warnings held true, and spoken to experts worldwide – I sat down with HOPE’s founder and director, Paul Russell, to talk through what I’d learned. * HOPE director Paul Russell has pointed out that he did not invite Andrew Denton to attend a HOPE symposium in May 2015 but rather that he agreed for Andrew to attend. We are happy to correct the record. 'I think what concerns me most is the stuff that you almost can't prove, you know.' Paul Russell, founder and director, HOPE: preventing euthanasia & assisted suicide Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Know more Editorial: 'Final certainty' – Economist, 27 June 2015 (source) Opinion: 'The tide is turning in Australia's euthanasia debate', by Peter Singer – Age, 2 March 2016 In this episode Paul Russell Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode is 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Camilla Hannan. Thank you Thanks to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Of all the arguments against assisted dying, the most heartless I’ve heard is this: Suicide is legal. Why do you need assistance to do something that you can do yourself? Every time I hear that thought expressed (and I’ve heard it more than once while making this podcast), I’m astonished at the ease with which the people saying it manage to completely overlook the suffering of the people they’re talking about. In this episode, we’re going to meet one of those people: father of two, Lawrie Daniel. At 50, and stricken with MS, what does it mean to Lawrie to be told, ‘suicide is legal – what’s stopping you?’ Lawrie and Rebecca Daniel at home — Photo: Andrew Denton 'Through MS, I've pretty much lost my fear of dying, because sometimes I think there are things that are worse than death.' Lawrie Daniel Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Know more Review: 'Book review: Kevin Yuill, "Assisted Suicide: The Liberal, Humanist Case Against Legalization"', by Iain Brassington – Journal of Medical Ethics blog, 3 July 2013 In this episode Kevin Yuill Lawrie Daniel Rebecca Daniel Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Loneliness #3 (Night Talking)' (Arcade Fire), 'Our Own Roof' (Nils Frahm), 'All Farewells Are Sudden' (A Winged Victory for the Sullen), 'They Move on Tracks of Never-ending Light' (This Will Destroy You) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Bec Fary. Thank you Thanks to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
The repeated call by opponents of assisted dying is that the elderly and the vulnerable must be protected from coercion. In this, they are right – and there are many safeguards built into existing laws overseas which do exactly that. But what of the elderly described in this episode by two of Australia’s coroners: rational men and women from loving families – who, faced with an irreversible and painful decline into death, are deciding to kill themselves violently instead? Left: Joan Upton (with cake) pictured with her children Greg, Annette and Robert. Right: Philip Nitschke — Photos: Supplied If the law offers them no other way to end their suffering, who could be more coerced than them? And yet, on these vulnerable Australians – including beloved mothers, fathers, partners and grandparents – the opponents are silent. This silence needs to be challenged. It’s time we talked about Australia’s dark little secret. 'They all know it – including doctors. They know that this person is screaming for help but no one is going to answer this call. Not in this society. So they have got to die alone.' Victorian Coroner John Olle, appearing before the Parliament of Victoria's 2015 Inquiry into End Of Life Choices Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Frances Coombe Robert ‘Brownie’ Brown was a much-loved and prominent figure in South Australia’s environmental conservation movement. Faced with a life of physical decline, where he could no longer do the things that were important to him, Brownie made the decision to end his life. Unusually, the 94-year-old left a note for the coroner – emphasising that he didn’t want depression listed as the cause of his suicide. Andrew spoke with South Australian Voluntary Euthanasia Society president Frances Coombe – a woman to whom Brownie was a close friend and mentor for over six decades – about the grim choice being made by many elderly Australians. Know more Transcript: 'Standing committee on legal and social issues: Inquiry into end-of-life choices' (PDF), including statements by coroner John Olle – Parliament of Victoria, 7 October 2015 (source) Interactive: 'The big sleep', by Julia Medew – Sydney Morning Herald, 12 January 2016 Article: 'Shaw family calls for Victorian Government to consider assisted death laws', by Julia Medew – Age, 16 February 2016 Article: 'Brighton couple found dead in 'suicide pact'', by Lucie Morris-Marr – Herald Sun, 13 November 2015 (paywall) Opinion: 'Somebody kill my grandmother. Please', by Sian Prior – Age, 13 November 2015 Opinion: 'My mother euthanased herself. Was it empowerment, or despair?', by Nikki Gemmell – Australian, 16 January 2016 Opinion: 'Andrew Denton has fallen for the doctors' spin on the euthanasia debate', by Fiona Stewart – Brisbane Times, 8 November 2015 Article: 'Philip Nitschke: I don't judge people at all if they want to die', by Melissa Davey – Guardian, 27 December 2015 Article: 'SA coroner calls for debate about elderly people who end their lives alone', by Simon Royal – ABC News, 7 February 2015 In this episode Joan Upton Annette Upton Marshall Perron Mark Johns John Olle (re-enacted by Andrew Martin) Philip Nitschke Kevin Yuill Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'I Am Piano' (Peter Broderick), 'Quiet' (This Will Destroy You), 'Says' (Nils Frahm), 'She/Swimming' (Moon Ate the Dark), 'Portrait Gallery' (Luke Howard), 'They Move on Tracks of Never-ending Light' (This Will Destroy You) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Bec Fary and Jon Tjhia. Thank you Thanks to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Assisted dying has no more committed opponent than the Catholic Church. They have thrown resources, and the full weight of their political influence, against it wherever it has been proposed. That’s why the words of Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher – one of Australia’s most senior Catholic clerics, and a man who commands the ear of many politicians – are worth listening to. Archbishop Anthony Fisher, debating ethicist Peter Singer at Sydney Town Hall, 13 August 2015 — Source: YouTube Listen closely, and what you’ll hear is a masterclass in FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. The same seeds sown by opponents of assisted dying to great effect down the years. What lies inside those little seeds of FUD? In this episode – for the first time – we’re going to find out. 'I think it's almost unheard of that the elderly feel more as a burden and the opposite is true. They feel empowered by this, it strengthens them.' Joeri Veen, spokesperson for ANBO – a peak body representing the Dutch elderly – discussing the impact of euthanasia laws on ANBO’s members Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: interview with Tom Keneally Tom Keneally is one of Australia’s best-loved and most successful authors – and a former Catholic seminarian. Here, he discusses the belief of some Catholics that pain can purify, and that suffering redeems the soul. Know more Video: 'Q&A: Facing Death' – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 9 November 2015 Article: 'FactCheck Q&A: Were 550 babies killed last year under Dutch euthanasia laws?', by Colleen Cartwright (reviewed by Lorana Bartels and Jan F. Koper) – The Conversation, 16 November 2015 Opinion: 'Assisted dying: Sorting the facts from the half-truths and the misleading statements', by Ross Fitzgerald – Age, 15 December 2015 Video: 'Lord Carey on Assisted Dying – July 2014' – Christina Summers, 19 August 2015 Website: Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia Video: 'Euthanasia debate: Professor Peter Singer versus Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP' – Sydney University Catholic Society, 13 August 2015 In this episode Anthony Fisher Nancy Elliott Catherine Glenn Foster Nick Cooling Alex Schadenberg John Fleming Henk Reitsema Kevin Yuill Joan Hume Illya Soffer Pierre Gyselinck Bob Joondeph Joeri Veen Mie Moerenhout Cheryll Brounstein Eduard Verhagen Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Untitled #8 (Popplagith)' (Sigur Rós), 'Hold Me Through' (Luke Howard), 'I Might be Wrong' (Radiohead) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Bec Fary and Jon Tjhia. Thank you Thanks to field producer Emily Sexton, and to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Ray Godbold is a palliative care nurse faced with terminal cancer – but he doesn’t want to die in palliative care. Robyn and Ray Godbold — Photo: Andrew Denton Ray knows what some doctors prefer not to admit. He knows that, even in palliative care, not everything can be taken care of; that a patient’s choices about how they die are very limited; and that, sometimes, their dying involves a wildness nobody can predict. What Ray doesn’t know is that his own death will turn out to be everything he was hoping that he and his family would be spared. 'I've been there when lots of people have had terrible deaths. No matter what palliative care people say, the last 24 to 48 hours of somebody's life can be completely unexpected.' Ray Godbold Ray and Robyn Godbold's children: Tara, Ella and Rory — Photo: Andrew Denton Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Ray at Tullamarine Airport — Photo: Robyn Godbold Know more Article: 'Right to die: Dr Rodney Syme hands patient Ray Godbold life-ending medication', by Konrad Marshall – Age, 11 May 2015 Multimedia feature: 'Into the darkness', by Konrad Marshall – Age, 13 November 2014 Article: 'Dying with Dignity campaigner Ray Godbold farewelled by family', by Konrad Marshall – Age, 19 August 2015 Article: 'The right to die at home', by Chris Fotinopoulos – Saturday Paper, 5 December 2015 Transcript of testimony (PDF): 'Standing committee on legal and social issues: Inquiry into end-of-life choices', by Rory Godbold and Tara Szafraniec – Parliament of Victoria, 29 October 2015 In this episode Ray Godbold Robyn Godbold Ella Godbold Rory Godbold Tara Szafraniec (née Godbold) Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Life Story' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'Longplay' (Luke Howard), 'Familiar' (Nils Frahm), 'We're All Leaving' (Arcade Fire), 'Abandon Window' (Jon Hopkins), 'Ain't No Grave Going to Hold Me Down' (Charlie Parr), 'untitled #1 (vaka)' (Sigur Rós) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Jess Fairfax. Thank you Thanks to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Associate Professor Richard Chye is the director of the Sacred Heart palliative care unit at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. A gifted physician and teacher, he is also a hugely influential figure in palliative care in Australia. Apart from being a member of various state and national committees, he’s a board member of Palliative Care Australia – the peak national organisation. Responding to my request, Richard invited me to spend a week with his team to see what they do – and to discuss the subject of assisted dying. Two things stood out as I watched the doctors and nurses of palliative care go about their work: the compassion and care from everyone as they helped people to die in often complex circumstances; and just as apparent, a deep resistance to the thought of assisted dying. Exactly how deep I didn’t realise – until I sat down to speak with Richard. Shayne Higson (second left), pictured with her sisters and their mother Jan (farthest right) who died of brain cancer: 'I thought that [with] terminal sedation … there would be no suffering, but that's not right' — Photo: supplied 'Love has got many ways of operating, I think … and I believe that assisting someone to die can be a loving act.' Professor Ian Maddocks, first Chair of Palliative Care at Flinders University, and first President of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Palliative Medicine Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Know more Letter: From Ian Maddocks – The Monthly, February 2016 Article: 'Euthanasia isn’t a substitute for palliative care at the end of life', by Richard Chye – Sydney Morning Herald, 9 November 2015 Article: 'Andrew Denton: Doctors shouldn't look away when dying patients are suffering', by Andrew Denton – Sydney Morning Herald, 10 November 2015 Blog post: 'Denton lacks understanding of dying process – a social worker’s perspective', by Elissa Campbell – Palliverse, 13 November 2015 Video: 'Even the best palliative care can't always help' – Dying For Choice, 19 September 2013 In this episode Richard Chye Ian Maddocks Shayne Higson Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes '21:05' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'You Know Me Well' (Sharon Van Etten), 'The Shooting' (Nils Frahm), 'All of Me Wants All of You' (Sufjan Stevens), 'Videotape' (Radiohead) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Bec Fary. Thank you Thanks to Stanley Street Gallery, and to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Speaking with doctors in Belgium, the Netherlands and Oregon, I’d learnt that in those places, palliative care and assisted dying are seen as things that go together – and assisting a patient to die may sometimes be the ultimate offer of help for those beyond the skills of even the most dedicated palliative care experts. Spencer Ratcliff had never witnessed such pain as he saw during his partner Deb's final days – pain which palliative care staff were unable to relieve: 'I said, "What are we supposed to do? Just sit and watch her scream herself to death in pain?"' — Photo: Andrew Denton Back home in Australia, the law forbids assisted dying. Without a law to protect or guide doctors and nurses, I wondered: how does palliative care here deal with those same kinds of patients? Richard Chye is the director of palliative care at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. When I asked him if I could spend a week in his unit to learn what it is they do, I was upfront with him. I told him I believed there should be a law for assisted dying in Australia – not a subject often raised within their walls – and that it would be one of many things I’d like to discuss with him and his team. To my surprise, and to his credit, he agreed. By the end of that week, two things struck me about the doctors and nurses of Sacred Heart. First: their deep commitment to, and compassion towards, their patients. And second: the universal acknowledgement of how hard they found it when a patient was beyond their help. 'I think we do provide dignity and good care, and the majority of the time, symptoms are managed well. But there are occasions when a symptom isn’t controlled, or someone has a rough journey – for whatever reason, you know – and you do think about that.' Nursing unit manager Ken Webb Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Alex Broom Alex Broom, Professor at Sociology at the University of NSW, spent six months embedded in a Catholic hospice. His was the first study in Australia to explore patients’ views on assisted dying. What he got was a unique insight into the gulf that exists between many patients’ expressed wish for help to die, and the response they receive. Know more Article: 'The speech on dying you were prevented from hearing', by Michael Short – Sydney Morning Herald, 26 May 2015 Article: 'OPINION: Time to act on medically assisted dying', by Brian Winship – Newcastle Herald, 19 June 2015 Blog post: 'Denton lacks understanding of dying process – a social worker’s perspective', by Elissa Campbell – Palliverse, 13 November 2015 Video: 'Even the best palliative care can't always help' – Dying For Choice, 19 September 2013 In this episode Nancy Fran Nam Therese Compton Ken Webb Philip Redelman Spencer Ratcliff Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes '23:17' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'In the Deep Shade' (The Frames), 'We're All Leaving' (Arcade Fire), 'They Move on Tracks of Never-Ending Light' (This Will Destroy You), 'Black Sands' (Bonobo), 'Petra' (Blue Dot Sessions), 'All of Me Wants All of You' (Sufjan Stevens), 'Says' (Nils Frahm) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Jon Tjhia. Thank you Thanks to Stanley Street Gallery, and to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
The success of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act – at 18 years, the world’s longest-running law of this kind – puts two things into sharp relief. Firstly, the increasingly desperate attempts of opponents to discredit it. Secondly, the truth they don’t want you to see – that this law works, and exactly as intended. How that law came to pass in such a religiously conservative country stands as a masterclass in public policy, and one that set the template other US states have since followed. Brittany Maynard: 'I would like all Americans to have access to the same healthcare rights' — Source: YouTube The most significant of these was California, which in 2015 adopted Oregon’s law – thanks in no small part to a woman named Brittany Maynard. Brittany was just 29, and dying of brain cancer, when she left her home in California to go and live in Oregon, where the law offered her a choice about how she died. Her decision to use her dying days to campaign publicly for a similar law in California made her a household name, with her videos attracting over 16 million views on YouTube. As he signed California’s End of Life Option Act into law, Governor Jerry Brown – a Catholic – said: ‘I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn’t deny that right to others.’ 'I think we do a much better job because of this law. It’s done exactly what it’s supposed to, and more.' Leigh Dolin, former president of the Oregon Medical Association Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Peg Sandeen Peg Sandeen is the executive director of the Death With Dignity National Center in Portland, Oregon. Here, she describes how Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act works, and the campaign to take it to other states in America. Know more Article: 'Twenty Years of Living with the Oregon Death with Dignity Act', by Eli Stutsman – GP Solo vol. 30 no. 4, 2013 Report: 'Oregon's Death with Dignity Act – 2014' – Oregon Public Health Division, 2015 Radio: 'California: Euthanasia' – The Law Report, ABC RN, 27 October 2015 Video: 'Brittany Maynard Legislative Testimony' – Brittany Maynard/CompassionChoices (YouTube), 31 March 2015 Article: 'Terminally Ill Woman Brittany Maynard Has Ended Her Own Life', by Nicole Weisensee Egan – People, 2 November 2014 Video: 'Brittany Maynard's mother: Help me carry out her legacy' – The Telegraph (YouTube), 22 January 2015 Article: 'California's governor has signed a bill legalising doctor-assisted dying' – Economist, 6 October 2015 In this episode Eli Stutsman Derek Humphry Leigh Dolin Kevin Yuill Alex Schadenberg Nancy Elliott Catherine Glenn Foster Katrina Hedberg Daniel E. Lee Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Haust' (Ólafur Arnalds), 'Dead Radio' (Rowland S. Howard), 'The Puritan' (This Will Destroy You), 'Petiatil Cx Htdui' (Aphex Twin), 'LSD' (ASAP Rocky), 'I Might be Wrong' (Radiohead), 'Between Stones' (Blue Dot Sessions) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Jon Tjhia. Thank you Thanks to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Shortly after arriving in Belgium, I learned of ‘Laura’ – a 24-year-old woman who had sought the right to be euthanised after years of unrelieved mental suffering. Immediately, I heard alarm bells. My gut reaction? A 24-year-old who’s not terminally ill? Surely there’s a point at which a society says ‘no: you have too much life ahead of you for us to help you die’. If you’d asked me to tell you the point where it began to feel uncomfortable, this was it. After years of deep isolation, Marjorie Vangansbeke went to ULteam in pursuit of euthanasia. Instead, she came away with a diagnosis that helped her re-embrace her life — Photo: Emily Sexton The days that followed, where I talked with some of Belgium’s leading psychiatrists and physicians, were amongst the most intense I’ve ever experienced. Emotionally, I couldn’t shake the thought that this didn’t seem right. But intellectually, I wondered: is there more here than I know? To be honest, I toyed with not including this story in the podcast: it is so fraught with ambiguity and nuance that I feared it could easily be misunderstood. But two things persuaded me to continue with it. Firstly, that it was the people treating this young woman who had alerted me to her case. They wanted me to look at it – to try and understand. And secondly? A meeting I had, two hours out of Brussels, with a man whose sadness was so intense it was almost visible. The story he told me would change my understanding of the world. It led me to a question I had never considered before: what if the offer of euthanasia could actually save lives? Pierre Pol Vincke and his daughter Edith who, after 18 years of severe mental illness and many denied attempts to seek relief through euthanasia, took her own life while in a psychiatric ward — Photos: supplied 'She realised that she was already dead, and whenever she asked for help for euthanasia, the answer of the doctors was to condemn her to stay alive.' Pierre Pol Vincke Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: interview with Dirk De Wachter Psychiatric euthanasias are the most difficult, and in some quarters, the most disputed of all forms of assisted dying. Here, Dirk De Wachter – one of Belgium’s leading psychiatrists, and author of the best-selling Borderline Times – discusses the complexities of a practice that he nonetheless cautiously supports. Know more Video: '24 & ready to die' – Economist, 10 November 2015 Article: 'Belgian bishops, pros agree: no euthanasia for "psychological suffering"', by Jonathan Luxmoore – CatholicPhilly.com, 11 December 2015 Article: 'A commentary on "Euthanasia for psychiatric patients: ethical and legal concerns about the Belgian practice" from Claes et al.', by Lieve Thienpont and Monica Verhofstadt – BMJ Open, 5 January 2016 In this episode Marjorie Vangansbeke Lieve Thienpont Luc Proot Pierre Pol Vincke Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes '20:17' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'Tunnel' (Luke Howard), 'Familiar' (Nils Frahm), 'Dedication, Loyalty' (Nils Frahm), 'Hand, be Still' (Ólafur Arnalds), 'White Night' (Ludovico Einaudi) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Jess Fairfax. Thank you Thanks to field producer Emily Sexton, and to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
If there is an epicentre for anti-euthanasia sentiment, it’s Belgium – home to what are often described as the most liberal euthanasia laws in the world. Here, people of any age – even, in some circumstances, children – can be euthanised. Allegations are made of a euthanasia culture that has become so uncaring that the elderly are regularly despatched without their consent. The word ‘murder’ is sometimes used. Arsène Mullie speaks to Andrew Denton — Photo: Emily Sexton Tom Mortier — Photo: alexschadenberg.blogspot.com Yet for all these claims, since Belgium’s euthanasia law was introduced in 2002, public support for it remains phenomenally high (over 80%) – and there has been no procession of Belgians coming forward to complain about what the law has done to their families. Which is why Tom Mortier’s story is so powerful. Alleging the wrongful death of his mother under this law, he has put a human face to the slippery slope. Tom’s story is being used around the world as the ultimate cautionary tale about the fluidity of Belgium’s laws. There’s no doubting the pain that he feels. But is it a true reflection of a law – and a society – gone wrong? 'How can you say that you don't want to help if you're in palliative care? What do you do then with patients who want euthanasia? How can you say to a patient who suffers, "keep suffering, tomorrow it will be better"?' Arsène Mullie, retired senior palliative care physician, Flanders Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Marc Desmet No doctor comes to the question of euthanasia lightly. In Belgium – a predominantly Catholic country – questions of faith, morality, and ethics often collide. Here’s palliative care physician, and Jesuit, Marc Desmet discussing his own complex relationship with euthanasia. Know more Article: 'Attitudes towards assisted dying' – Economist, 27 June 2015 Article: 'The death treatment', by Rachel Aviv – The New Yorker, 22 June 2015 In this episode Tom Mortier Yves Desmet Arsène Mullie Alex Schadenberg Jan Bernheim Margaret Otlowski Luc Proot Kevin Yuill Jacqueline Herremans Lieve Thienpont Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'We Disappear' (Jon Hopkins), 'B1' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'A2 (Max Cooper remix)' (Nils Frahm), 'Abandon Window' (Jon Hopkins), 'Hunting Bears' (Radiohead), 'I Might be Wrong' (Radiohead), 'Against the Sky' (Harold Budd and Brian Eno), 'Hammers' (Nils Frahm), 'The Mighty Rio Grande' (This Will Destroy You) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Bec Fary. Thank you Thanks to field producer Emily Sexton, and to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
For those who hold out the Netherlands as a textbook case of a ‘slippery slope’, they see a law originally designed to help the terminally ill – but that has now ‘slipped’ to include those who aren’t. But the Dutch law wasn’t written to deal only with certain diseases; guided by doctors themselves, it was deliberately created for people whose suffering is ‘unbearable and untreatable’. Barbara Heetman: 'My mother had to say totally from her own brain, heart, whatever, ‘I want this."' — Photo: Emily Sexton This might include, for example, people with long-term, corrosive illnesses such as multiple sclerosis or motor neurone disease. In some circumstances, it may even include people with Alzheimer’s. But if the basis of your law is that only a mentally competent adult can request euthanasia, how do you deal with cases where that competence is unclear? Barbara Heetman’s mother, Jeanne, applied to be euthanised before losing herself in the fog of Alzheimer’s. Her request was considered by the End of Life Clinic (Levenseindekliniek) that specialises in complex euthanasia requests. The many steps Jeanne had to go through to prove she was mentally competent provide a powerful demonstration of the care with which Dutch euthanasia law is carried out – and an equally powerful rebuttal of claims of a slippery slope. Gerrit Kimsma: 'We are being transparent and I think we have a good system. We should be proud of it.' — Photo: Emily Sexton 'It is not something doctors like to do; they don’t. If you can get around euthanasia as a doctor, you will do it, because it costs you.' Mariska Koster, a Dutch doctor, describing the impact of being involved in a euthanasia death Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: interview with Willie Swildens Willie Swildens-Rozendaal has chaired the Netherlands’ euthanasia review committees since their inception. Here, she takes you through how they operate, and the safeguards built into the system. Know more Article: 'Attitudes towards assisted dying' – Economist, 27 June 2015 Article: 'The Last Day of Her Life', by Robin Marantz Henig – New York Times Magazine, 14 May 2015 In this episode Mariska Koster Theo Boer Steven Pleiter Gerrit Kimsma Eric van Wijlick Barbara Heetman Alex Schadenberg Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Four' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'In Utero' (subaske), 'B1' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'Me' (Nils Frahm), 'For' (Nils Frahm), 'L$D' (ASAP Rocky), 'Slow Show' (The National), 'Hands, Be Still' (Ólafur Arnalds) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Thank you Thanks to field producer Emily Sexton, and to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
The Netherlands’ euthanasia laws are the longest-running in Europe. Surprisingly, the drive to create them didn’t come from politicians; it came from doctors. Recognising that, like doctors in many countries (including our own), they were already assisting people to die, they pushed for a law that would bring the practice into the light – protecting both them and their patients. The Hoffman sisters, interviewed in this episode — Photo: Emily Sexton In Australia, we hear lots of dark things about the slippery slope the Dutch are sliding down. Critics suggest that their euthanasia laws have spawned a system of legalised killing that is now running out of control. But what we never hear are the voices of the Dutch themselves. So I decided to go there to find out, first hand, how this system works – and if it really is out of control. After all, this is a country where euthanasia not only has support across the political spectrum and from all the major medical bodies – but also has one of the highest levels of public approval in the world. Perhaps there’s more to these laws than we’ve been told? 'It only lasted five minutes, but when I think back about it, it feels like a whole life – because we had this humour and this pure love feeling in the house. And I know for sure, and I can say with a hand on my heart, this is exactly how mother wants this.' Marian Hoffman – describing the euthanasia of her mother, Gret, who was dying of cancer Eric van Wijlick and Andrew Denton — Photo: Emily Sexton Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: interview with Rob Jonquière The Dutch Right To Die Organisation, known locally as the NVVE, is 160,000 members strong – bigger than any political party in the Netherlands. They are essentially the patient’s advocates, advising them about their end of life choices and arguing for their rights under the law. Listen to former NVVE chief executive (and at the time of this interview, their interim director), Rob Jonquière. Know more Article: 'The Right to Die' – The Economist, 27 June 2015 Article: 'Euthanasia on the rise in Netherlands', by Xavier Symons – BioEdge, 10 October 2015 Article: 'The Last Days of Annie Bus: A Chronicle of Dutch Euthanasia', by Laura Höflinger – Der Spiegel, 4 February 2015 In this episode Alex Schadenberg Theo Boer Henk Reitsema Susan Hoffman Marian Hoffman Eric van Wijlick Gerrit Kimsma Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'I Might be Wrong' (Radiohead), 'Life Story' (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm), 'Loftið Verður Skyndilega Kalt' (Ólafur Arnalds), 'Says' (Nils Frahm) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Camilla Hannan. Thank you Thanks to field producer Emily Sexton, and to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Opponents of assisted dying in Australia want to leave things as they are, because of the worrying things they claim might happen if we did have a law. But what about the worrying things that actually are happening because we don’t have one? 'They find themselves often initially charged with murder and … I don't think that society needs or requires that.' Former Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions, John Coldrey Left to right – Cathy Pryor; her mother Anne; her father Peter — Photos: Supplied It is illegal in Australia to aid or abet a suicide, no matter the circumstances. This is, rightly, so that people aren’t encouraged to take their own lives when they are deeply vulnerable, or for someone else’s personal gain. But it doesn’t take into account people like former Tasmanian nurse Cathy Pryor. In the space of six months, Cathy assisted both her grievously ill parents to die. She was charged with, and found guilty, of attempted murder and assisting a suicide. Cathy went to jail until a judge decided that both were clearly acts of compassion, and allowed her to walk free. The record shows Cathy is a convicted criminal. But should she ever have faced trial? According to former Victorian Director Of Public Prosecutions, John Coldrey, it is inappropriate that someone acting out of love should have to go through what Cathy went through. As a judge, Coldrey has himself been faced with similar crimes. He recounts his emotional decision to let Victorian man Alex Maxwell walk free after assisting his cancer-stricken wife to die. In a society when there is no law for assisted dying – but where people are being assisted to die anyway – Coldrey is just one of many who believe that our law around assisted dying needs to be reconsidered. Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Bill and Stuart Godfrey In 2004, Tasmanian man Stuart Godfrey was charged with assisting his mother, Elizabeth, to die. He faced a maximum sentence of 21 years in jail and received a 12 month suspended sentence conditional on good behaviour. Stuart hasn’t spoken publicly since the day he left court. Now, he breaks his silence. Know more Research sources: Do Australian Doctors Assist Patients to Die? Article: 'Nurse set to appeal over conviction', by Maria Rae – The Examiner, 20 December 2005 Article: 'Assisted suicide case prompts calls for euthanasia law review' – ABC News, 20 December 2005 Article: 'Police question Nagambie GP over "lethal dose" to help patient die', by Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie – The Age, 18 December 2015 Article: 'Having a choice about how and when my mum died would have provided her with comfort and peace', by Rachel Friend – Daily Telegraph, 15 November 2015 Article: 'Dear Mum, sorry I didn't kill you', by Tracey Spicer – Sydney Morning Herald, 13 June 2013 Video: 'Dangers of Legalized Euthanasia? - Tony Abbott' – FORA.tv, 6 April 2009 Video: 'IQ2 Debate: Should Euthanasia Be Legalized?' – FORA.tv, 2 March 2009 In this episode Cathy Pryor John Coldrey Coral Levett Rodney Syme Margaret Otlowski Marshall Perron Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Hold Me Through' (Luke Howard), 'The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)' (Sunn O))) and Boris), 'Hand, Be Still' (Olafur Arnalds), 'Dysnomia' (Dawn of Midi), 'We (Too) Shall Rest' (Olafur Arnalds), 'Burial on the Presidio Banks' (This Will Destroy You), 'I Might Be Wrong' (Radiohead), 'Weatherman Accountable' (Big Noble), 'Videotape' (Radiohead) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Jon Tjhia. Thank you Thank you to Stanley Street Gallery in Sydney. Thanks also to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
According to Canadian anti-euthanasia campaigner Alex Schadenberg, Melbourne doctor Rodney Syme is a threat to society: a ‘cowboy’ and ‘the worst of the worst’. Why? Because for over a decade now, Syme has been publicly assisting terminally and chronically ill patients to die – despite the threat of jail for doing so. How did a respectable 80-year-old urologist come to be a law-breaking cowboy? Melbourne urologist Rodney Syme — Photo: supplied 'I thought: what is ethical about me being able to end my own suffering but my patients have to go on?' Rodney Syme Sandra Morris and Albert Leonzini, both featured in this episode — Photo: Emily Sexton It began 40 years ago, with a patient of his who was dying of kidney cancer. Her name was Betty. Syme could hear her screams from the foyer of the hospital. He didn’t know how to help her – but his conscience was pricked. Syme knew that, as a doctor, if he were in the same kind of pain, he could find drugs – or help from other doctors – that would mean he didn’t have to suffer like Betty. He began to wonder: why should he have access to this help, but not his patients? Over the last two decades, Rodney Syme estimates that he’s helped more than 100 people to die. Assisting a suicide carries a maximum five-year jail term in Victoria. But, despite publicly challenging the police to charge him, no charges have yet been laid. In late 2015, on national television, Syme admitted that he had helped Point Lonsdale man Steve Guest to die. He continues to provoke the law in the hope that a new and more compassionate one can be written: one that allows people with unbearable and untreatable suffering to request assistance to die. Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Sandra Morris Through Rodney Syme, Albert Leonzini – dying of motor neurone disease – has obtained the lethal, illegal drug Nembutal, which offers him the opportunity to be in control of how he dies. But for all the peace of mind it offers, it still takes great courage to decide to use it. Albert’s partner of 40 years, Sandra Morris, tells what happened next. Know more Audio: Steve Guest calls Jon Faine on 774 ABC Melbourne in 2005 Article: 'The speech on dying you were prevented from hearing', by Michael Short (with a transcript of Rodney Syme's speech) – The Age, 26 May 2015 In this episode Alex Schadenberg Rodney Syme Albert Leonzini Sandra Morris Catherine Glenn Foster Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Says' (Nils Frahm), 'Abandon Window' (Jon Hopkins), 'You Know Me Well' (Sharon Van Etten), 'Remedios The Beauty' (Oren Ambarchi), 'Fall Out' (Mount Kimbie), 'Dissolved Girl' (Massive Attack), 'John My Beloved' (Sufjan Stevens) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Thank you Thank you to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
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