Shows
Oblivious Witness"You’ve got to put yourself out on the edge of the cliff, waiting to catch the wind."The artist is presentThere’s something incredibly special about recording a conversation in a podcast guest’s own home. For this episode, I was lucky enough to sit with Australian artist and illustrator Jeremy Ley in his studio, which is attached to the beautiful home he shares with his partner and two children in Kerobokan, Bali. During our conversation, Jeremy often picked up books or artworks he’d created, or pointed to boxes of memorabilia from his mum and his late wife. It was like having a brief and beautiful glimpse into his spectacularly creative and philos...2025-05-161h 31
Oblivious Witness"Change is hard for me but I love the idea of a new life."I always love speaking with people who follow their curiosity to create a life filled with movement and change, and those conversations are even more intriguing when the people I’m speaking with have made it their life’s work to encourage other people to seek adventure too.Alison Emerick is an American photographer, writer, and accidental expat navigating life abroad with two small children. She shares insights on family travel, expat life and parenting abroad through her Instagram and Youtube channel. This year she’s moving her family from Bali to Portugal to embark on a new European advent...2025-05-021h 05
Oblivious Witness"Curiosity is the closest thing to life force that we have."A week, six decades (and three continents) in the life of a truly brilliant writerSo far this week, Peter Godwin has launched his beautiful new book in the US, been interviewed at his NYC launch party by Booker Prize winner Marlon James, and been featured in the New York Times. And today here he is on the Oblivious Witness podcast, talking with me about Exit Wounds: A Story of love, loss and occasional wars, which focuses on his changing relationships with the three women who shaped his life. It was an incredible honour to...2025-04-111h 13
Oblivious Witness"When we reclaim Aphroditic power we become untameable"What happens when you forge your own pathMaya Vassallo di Florio was born into a family of doctors and dentists, and it was assumed by everyone around her that she’d follow in the footsteps of her family. Her parents were shocked when she declared that she wanted to study journalism, even more shocked when she moved on to drama, and completely alarmed when she became a priestess and temple keeper. Maya, however, always single-mindedly forged her own path, and after years of fighting for recognition, she’s become a respected speaker, author and mentor of sacr...2025-03-291h 17
Oblivious Witness"For all who are trying to find a place among flags and nations"Spend some time with the artistAs much as I want you to hear this conversation with the incredibly talented Robin Block, I have a suggestion… Head to Robin’s website first! I was lucky enough to see Robin on stage at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival before I had the privilege of meeting him in person for this conversation, so I know that his music and mesmerising sensory performances are a wonderful introduction to his life and work. Please go and have a look then hurry on back!I love talking to people abou...2025-03-141h 08
Oblivious Witness"The darkest side of life, and the brightest... I have seen both."At the age of 25, Ali Reza Yawari has seen a very great deal of lifeThree weeks after he was forced to flee his native Afghanistan at the age of 15, Ali found himself isolated and alone in Indonesia, a country he couldn’t previously have found on a map. He has now been in Indonesia for ten years, and his citizenship status is still unresolved.From his earliest days in a detention facility, Ali recognised that he and the people around him needed a reason to wake up in the mornings. The children needed something to do, an...2025-02-271h 26
Oblivious Witness"Putting down roots doesn't mean giving up wings."Welcome to Season Two of Oblivious WitnessHow’s 2025 been for you so far, folks? What a wild ride we’re all on… I hope you’re all OK and managing to white-knuckle your way through the turmoil.Would you agree that the world is feeling more dangerously divided than ever? I’ve never felt more strongly that we need to hear people’s individual stories to remind us that when it boils down to it, we’re all striving towards the same goals - fulfilment, happiness, and a world that’s safe for ourselves and for future g...2025-02-141h 08
Oblivious Witness"Be slow to judge"I LOVED every second of this conversation with the wonderful Charlene Ng, and I’m so thrilled to leave it with you as the last episode in this first season of the Oblivious Witness podcast.Charlene was born in Hong Kong, has Canadian citizenship, and studied in the United States from the age of 15. Her elite education, which culminated in a degree in Cultural Psychology from Stanford University, left her with incredible tools for establishing an impressive career, but also with a harsh inner voice that told her that perfectionism and being “the best” were the only valid measures of suc...2024-11-151h 37
Oblivious WitnessOn standing out from the crowd in one of the world's largest nationsAida Mustafina was born in a small city in the world’s ninth largest nation, Kazakhstan. When Aida was growing up, young girls were generally taught that their primary goals should be to respect men, and to value their own roles as good wives and mothers. Aida’s parents, however, were extremely progressive, and encouraged their daughters to make their own way in the world. When Aida was eighteen, her father accompanied her to China, where she started a new life and eventually became a reluctant role model for other young women who’d come from similarly tradit...2024-11-081h 01
Oblivious Witness"I feel like I'm in the book, not just reading the back of it."I’m so thrilled to have another Dutch guest on the Oblivious Witness podcast! And I have to highlight a thing that would have filled my Dad’s Dutch heart with joy… There’s conversation in this episode about a close encounter with Dad’s all-time favourite musician, André Rieu! Following in the footsteps of her adventurous parents, Tanya Busquet has lived in many places across Europe, the Caribbean, the Antipodes and Asia. She’s seen life from many different perspectives, sometimes moving between extremes, like when she went from years of living on a budget as a backpacker...2024-11-011h 06
Oblivious WitnessMy Dutch friend Linda LiTwenty years after my own family left post-war Netherlands in search of a better life, Linda Li’s family found refuge there after fleeing the hardships of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.Linda’s family were the only Chinese people in a small Dutch village near the German border, and racial taunts were an unavoidable part of Linda’s childhood. Linda and her brother and sister helped their parents to run a Chinese restaurant in the village, then during a five-week holiday in China, Linda became interested in Mandarin, and eventually decided to become a translator. She spent summer...2024-10-181h 01
Oblivious WitnessLiving the life unexpectedI knew that Amy Devine was a kindred spirit the first time I met her in Beijing, China, but it was only as the months went by and I heard more of her story that I recognised why I felt such a connection.Amy Devine was brought up on a council estate in the UK, and like me, she ended up living a life of international adventure almost by accident. Amy’s childhood exposure to addiction and domestic abuse led her to a degree in criminology. After she graduated she moved to China, where she started teaching En...2024-10-1156 min
Oblivious WitnessWhen a life looks like a movieHello, Oblivious Witnesses!If you have your hands free while you’re listening to this episode, head over to Instagram and check out the beautiful work of documentary and portrait photographer Lyra Lintern. Lyra’s stunning photographs give us an insight into the way she sees the world and the way she lives her life, and are the perfect visual accompaniment to her words. Lyra Lintern is an anthropology graduate whose interest in people and how they live shines through in everything she does. Having spent the covid years living in China with her family, Lyra...2024-10-041h 15
Oblivious WitnessOn living passionately and refusing to pick a laneThe first time I met Corinne Canuel-Jolicoeur was on a bus travelling from Beijing to the Great Wall of China. The friend who introduced us happened to mention that we were both into writing, and that was it… The rest of the journey to the starting point of our hike went by in a beautiful blur, as Corinne and I talked about our many creative projects and passions, and I realised that I was only scratching the surface of the stories that Corinne has to share about her extraordinary life and career.It’s impossible to spend time...2024-09-271h 14
Oblivious WitnessYoung, philosophical and feministFeminist icons take many formsIf I had a vote in whose name should be added to icons of the feminist pantheon, I’d be casting my ballot for Chinese philosophy professor Xiaojiao Cui.I was introduced to Xiaojiao when I was looking for someone to teach me about the ancient Chinese text, the Tao de Ching. Within minutes of meeting Xiaojiao in a cafe in Beijing, I could see that beneath the warm and empathetic exterior, lies not only a fierce intelligence and an insatiable curiosity, but also a quiet determination to live a li...2024-09-201h 00
Oblivious WitnessThe many, many lives of Masooma KacheloThe first time I met Masooma Kachelo she was wearing a multi-coloured wig, fitted jeans and a white fluffy jacket with inbuilt flashing lights. And that was just the first of SO MANY spectacular incarnations of her that I’ve witnessed! Masooma’s life has been characterised by movement, change and adaptation. Her story contains moments of darkness - please be warned that there are conversations in this episode about trauma, addiction, abduction and depression - but there is always a rich thread of light, humour and beauty running through it.Masooma has reinvented herself more...2024-09-131h 26
Oblivious WitnessWelcome to the Oblivious Witness PodcastAt last! The long-awaited podcast!For 35 years I’ve been travelling the world, seeing extraordinary things and documenting my experiences. I’ve often thought, as I’ve talked with the incredible people I’ve been lucky enough to meet, “If only I could share this conversation with the world.” And now I can, and I’m so thrilled to share the first of those conversations with you today.Where I’m coming fromI recorded the first season of Oblivious Witness when we were still living in Beijing, and I’m bringing it to you from our ne...2024-09-061h 17