Shows
A Lap of Caulfield ParkDavid Smorgon, businessman and adviserAt its peak, in the early 1990s, Smorgon Consolidated Industries was one of the largest and most diverse family businesses in Australia.David Smorgon estimates that there were 25 family members across three generations working in the business, whose origins can be traced to a kosher butcher in Lygon Street, Carlton, in 1927.On top of that, there were another 200 family members who didn’t work in the business, but who were nevertheless involved as direct and indirect shareholders.The company was broken up in 1995 and the family members went their separate ways when it ca...
2022-03-2339 min
A Lap of Caulfield ParkJulie Szego, journalistOn the final Lap of Caulfield Park podcast for 2021, Ashley Browne is joined by fellow journalist (and fellow The Age alumnus) for a broad discussion and occasional deep dive into the news and views of the day and the year.On the agenda are:- Memories of working for The Age and why she left.- The weekly column that Julie still writes for the newspaper.- COVID. Did 2021 become even harder to navigate than 2020? And what were her coping strategies?- Her strong views on public versus private education and wo...
2021-12-1341 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkPaul Fink, stroke survivor and podcasterWhat is it like to be 34, having just had your first job, just starting your dream job and then having it all ripped out of your grasp by a shocking, life-altering event?In the latest Lap of Caulfield Park podcast, stroke survivor Paul Fink tells Ashley Browne of his journey over the last eight years, from bending over to pick up his son from his cot, to not setting foot inside his house for the next six months. Following his stroke, Fink underwent four brain surgeries and was in a coma for two weeks. He s...
2021-11-2533 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkCara Davies, entrepreneurTalk to people in start-ups and one of the first questions is usually about the so-called ‘lightbulb’ moment. For Cara Davies, the fitness-obsessed CEO of Steppen, it was the regular trips to the gym, but then having no real clue what to do once she walked through the door.In the latest Lap of Caulfield Park , Davies tells Ashley Browne about the genesis of the app that is making fitness training more accessible than ever for young people. “I would walk into the gym and I had no idea what to do. No idea. I...
2021-11-1130 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkBrae Sokolski, racehorse ownerWhat runs through the heart and mind of the owner of a runner in the Melbourne Cup?Brae Sokolski, the owner of race favourite Incentivise, walks Ashley Browne through what his lead-up to the 2021 Melbourne Cup race is likely to be. (Note: this interview was recorded prior to the Cup). “I’m actually fairly even-tempered (until) probably an hour before the race and then the nerves start to hit,” he said. “When the horses are in the mounting yard 15 minutes before the jump that’s when I really start to struggle and when they’re mill...
2021-10-2831 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkAdam Faigen, restaurateurAnyone who has worked in hospitality will tell you running a restaurant or cafe is a tough gig. Margins are small, customers are fickle and competition is fierce. Add a pandemic into the mix – including mandated closures – and it's proved near impossible for many restaurateurs.Adam Faigen knows this better than most. For the past two decades, Adam has owned and operated several cafes and 'smart casual' restaurants in Melbourne's inner south. He's seen food trends come and go as well as the rise of food delivery giants Uber Eats and Deliveroo. But nothing could prepare him for...
2021-10-1443 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkJosh Kay, television researcher/producerFor more than two decades, Channel 7's sports broadcasters and presenters have come to rely on the knowledge of one producer: Josh Kay. Every weekend during the AFL football season – and every four years for the Olympics – Kay serves up pages of research to help shape compelling and entertaining television coverage. Not suprisingly, Kay is a walking stats machine, capable of listing off obscure sporting facts and figures from the past to present day. It's as if the job of sports producer/research was made for him – and yet life very nearly took him down a different path.
2021-08-2638 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkLibbi Gorr, broadcasterIf you were at home on a Friday night in the early 1990s, chances are you were watching Live and Sweaty. The popular sports television show launched the media careers of many a young Melbourne articled clerk turned comedian Libbi Gorr (and her onscreen persona Elle McFeast ). As a roving reporter, panellist and eventual host of the show, Gorr/McFeast won a legion of fans for her witty takedowns of sports stars, politicians and anyone else that came into her path. In the years that followed, Gorr rode the waves of Australia's capricious media and enterainment industry. S...
2021-08-0537 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkDean Cohen, Chief Executive Officer of Flying FoxA decade ago, commerce student Dean Cohen began a regular soccer meetup with a boy who had autism. Although Dean's exposure to people with autism was limited, the experience changed him. Dean soon he became committed to creating a more inclusive world for people of all abilities.In 2014, under the banner Camp Sababa, Dean and a group of youth leaders began hosting fun-filled camp experiences for young people with disabilities in the Jewish community. Fast forward seven years and Dean now heads a fully-fledged organisation, Flying Fox, with 10 paid staff, 26 camps each year, and an ever-growing waiting...
2021-07-2237 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkKim Rubenstein, legal scholar and advocateIf you've been watching ABC's Q&A in recent years you might have come across the erudite legal scholar Professor Kim Rubenstein. Kim is an expert on citizenship and in recent years she's been called upon to explain the complex and problematic subject of Australia's citizenship laws. Listen to Kim talk for just a few minutes, however, and you'll quickly realise she speaks with clarity, avidity and intelligence on a range of contemporary and historical matters. In July 2021, she celebrates the publication of her new book: The Vetting of Wisdom: Joan Montgomery and the Fight for PLC. I...
2021-07-0841 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkBram Presser, writerDreadlocked and heavily pierced, Bram Presser cuts an unique figure in Melbourne's relatively staid Bagel Belt. The lawyer and criminologist made a name for himself in the late 90s and early 00s as frontman of the punk rock band Yidcore. The band became a cult hit in Australia and Israel, playing covers of Jewish and Israeli songs. It was during a tour of Israel with Yidcore, that Presser plunged himself into the lost world of his Holocaust surviving grandparents. He set out on a writing project that led him on an eight year odyssey to uncover their f...
2021-06-1738 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkJemima Montag, racewalkerA chance encounter with the sport of racewalking in Little Athletics changed Jemima Montag's life forever. By her own admission, Montag was "so bad" at other track and field events but racewalking called for something different: stamina, faultless technique and steely focus. Blessed with slow-twitch muscle fibers, the Brighton girl (in Melbourne's south-east) quickly dominated the long-distance discipline. In 2018, she suprised Australia and the world by claiming a gold medal in the 20 km walk event at the Commonwealth Games. In recent years she's continued her rise: reaching the top 10 in the world and now, less than two m...
2021-06-0333 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkNatalie King, curator and writerIn the mid 1980s, Natalie King was in her late teens; she was restless and searching. Uninspired by law school and unsure of what to do 'when she grew up', King undertook a gap year to Italy. The experience proved transformative. She fell in love with Florence's legendary musuems and galleries and returned to Melbourne with a better idea of what to do next: curatorship. In the 30 plus years since, King has gone on to become an internationally recognised art curator, specialising in contemporary art and visual culture. In 2017, she was appointed to curate the Australian Pavilion a...
2021-05-2032 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkMichael Shafar, comedianWhen Michael Shafar graduated from high school with a teriary entrance score of 99.95, a world of study options lay before him. The Mount Scopus College alumnus choose a challenging route: a dual degree in Law and Biomedical Science. For a period it looked as if a conventional career as a lawyer or doctor beckoned. But a deeper passion for stand-up comedy – first ignited during high school debating – was calling Shafar elsewhere.In 2016, Shafar reached the Grand Final of the prestigous RAW Comedy National. The following year he sold-out his show, Jewish-ish, at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Soon...
2021-03-3131 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkWilliam Mora, art dealer and son of Mirka MoraFew people can lay claim to changing a city forever – it's food, art and culture – but Mirka Mora can. The Holocaust survivor fled war-torn France for Australia in 1951. Together with her husband, Georges, she brought a cosmopolitan sensibility and aesthetic missing from dour, provincial Melbourne. In a 60-year artistic career she painted on canvases big and small and collaborated with everyone from VicRail to fashion designers Gorman. Mirka's life reflected her art: bold, energetic and colourful. A new exhibition of Mirka's work tells both her life story and legacy through paintings, sound recordings and film. William Mora, her son and ar...
2021-03-1124 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkDr Leah Kaminsky, physician and writerLeah Kaminsky is a rare breed: a medical doctor and an award-winning writer. She combines a career treating patients in a busy general practice clinic, with writing poetry, fiction and non-fiction. In fact, she's been doing it for over three decades – all the while raising three children. Leah's work explores memory, medicine, science, ethics and the end of life. Her debut novel The Waiting Room won the Voss Literary Prize and was shortlisted for the Helen Asher Award. Her second novel, The Hollow Bones won the 2019 International Book Awards in both Literary Fiction and Historical Fiction categories and the 2019 Bes...
2021-02-2630 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkDr Leah Kaminsky, physician and writerLeah Kaminsky is a rare breed: a medical doctor and an award-winning writer. She combines a career treating patients in a busy general practice clinic, with writing poetry, fiction and non-fiction. In fact, she's been doing it for over three decades – all the while raising three children. Leah's work explores memory, medicine, science, ethics and the end of life. Her debut novel The Waiting Room won the Voss Literary Prize and was shortlisted for the Helen Asher Award. Her second novel, The Hollow Bones won the 2019 International Book Awards in both Literary Fiction and Historical Fiction categories and th...
2021-02-2530 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkLindy and Eddie Tamir, film festival directorsWhen Lindy and Eddie Tamir embarked on their first date together, aged 15, they went to the movies. Two abiding passions were sparked that day: cinema and a romantic partnership. After respective careers in fashion and property development, the Tamirs (married with kids in tow) embarked on a mission to save ailing cinemas across Melbourne. After successfully reviving the Classic Cinema in Elsternwick, they took the reigns of the Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) an annual event that's become an institution in Australia's Jewish community.
2021-02-0439 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkAshley Browne, sports journalist and podcast hostFew people get to realise their childhood dreams but Ashley Browne has. Our podcast host has spent much of his working life writing about Australian Rules football. His media career began at The Age newspaper but these days he's senior writer at the Footy Record – one of the country's longest running magazines. Not a bad effort for a kid who was told he would never make it as a journalist. In this special episode of A Lap of Caulfield Park – the final for 2020 – we turn the microphone on Ash; we learn about the highs and lows of his li...
2020-12-1751 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkAdam McNicol, writer and publisher at Ten Bag PressAdam McNicol has a gift for telling other people's stories. In his two decade-long journalism career, he's profiled everyone from elite AFL footballers to sheep farmers and pub owners. These days he heads up his own publishing house, Ten Bag Press, where he's capturing the stories and histories of rural Victoria. But it was Adam's own story – the Jewish grandson of Holocaust survivors growing up in remote Manangatang – we wanted to hear.
2020-11-2639 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkSara Kowal, criminal lawyer and Manager of Partnerships and Clinic for Eleos JusticeFrom defending Melbourne underworld identities to supporting the cases of those on death row in Asia, Sara Kowal's criminal law career has taken some intriguing turns. It was the execution of drug couriers Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers in Malaysia in 1986, that first piqued her interest in capital punishment. Today she is one of Australia's leading legal advocates for the abolishment of capital punishment around the world. In 2018 Sara was appointed to establish Monash University's Anti-Death Penalty Clinic, the first stage of Eleos Justice. There she leads a team of lawyers, researchers and students supporting prisoners on death row a...
2020-11-1228 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkRalph Horowitz, horse racing analyst and podcast producerWhen Ralph Horowitz dropped out of high school to pursue his dream of working in the horse racing industry, his Plan B was become a tradie. But after several years as a horse strapper at Caulfield Racecourse, Ralph changed tracks and headed for the media becoming a racing commentator and analyst. The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Ralph adopted the pseudonym "Racetrack Ralphy" to better integrate himself into the Anglo-dominant world of horse racing. A chequered career calling races and producing radio and TV (including Channel 9's Footy Show) followed before Ralph broke out on his own, offering independant racing ana...
2020-10-2940 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkProfessor Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty InstituteProfessor Sharon Lewin knows a thing or two about infectious diseases. She's devoted her career to the study and treatment of HIV, and currently leads the world-renowed Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. Yet as 2020 began, even Professor Lewin was unaware of a looming pandemic. In a matter of months things would change dramatically. Since then, Sharon's become a sought-after expert by government and media across Australia.
2020-10-0834 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkDanny Ben Moshe, filmmakerUK-born, Caulfield-based Danny Ben Moshe stumbled into a career making documentaries with his 2005 film The Buchenwald Ball. Since then he's crafted films about rabbis in the Australian outback, a Chinese disident, Jews in Bollywood and Carnaby Street, London in the 1960s. A few weeks ago ABC TV approached him to make a film about Yom Kippur and Melbourne's Jewish community living in lockdown. The deadline was tight – a mere fortnight – but Danny, ever industrious, seized the opportunity.
2020-09-2436 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkPip Mushin, actor and directorAfter getting his big break in Baz Luhrmann's cult classic, Strictly Ballroom, Pip Mushin carved out a solid career in film, TV and eventually theatre. In recent years he's moved off-stage, and was resident director of musical The Book of Mormon during its sell-out season in 2017. While the global pandemic has brought live perfomances to a halt, that hasn't stopped Pip from dreaming up new projects.
2020-09-1042 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkKeren Ludski, Chief Executive Officer of Red Nose AustraliaIn 1998, Keren Ludski was busy leading her successful biscuit brand Kez's Kitchen and raising three young children, when tragedy struck – her 12-week-old son Ben died of Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Keren sold up her business and turned her grief into action: becoming a volunteer with Red Nose Australia, a national charity working to prevent SIDS and support families impacted by the death of a baby or child. A career in grief and bereavement counselling followed, before Keren returned to Red Nose Australia in 2018 as Chief Executive Officer.
2020-08-2726 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkMelissa Singer, Fashion Editor at The Age and Sydney Morning HeraldAustralia's fashion industry owes much to the legacy of Jewish migrants and refugees. They brought their craft and ingenuity to create Melbourne's booming schmatte trade of the mid-twentieth century. That generation is long gone, but Melissa Singer hasn't forgotten her community's contribution. She's one of Australia's leading fashion writers and journalists; covering an industry under threat in the wake of COVID-19.
2020-08-1330 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkPhillip Kingston, auctioneer and Director at Gary Peer AssociatesPhillip Kingston's ambition, capacity for theatre and love of coffee has revolutionised real estate auctions in Melbourne. His journey in real estate began as a boy, when he met his best friend and business partner, Gary Peer, aboard a Jewish camp bus. Together, they've built a business empire off the back of Melbourne's housing boom. But a global pandemic and declining sales has thrown an unprecedented challenge their way.
2020-07-3034 minA Lap of Caulfield ParkAndrew Bassat, founder of Seek.com.au and President of St Kilda Football ClubIn the 1990s, Andrew Bassat stumbled across a brilliant idea – one that would make him a pioneer of Australian tech start-ups, and a very wealthy man. Now, two decades on, he's bringing his business brains and acumen to the task of reviving St Kilda Football Club.
2020-07-1328 min