Shows
NBS Talk NelsonUniquely Nelson - Talk of the Town Hosts: Simon Duffy & Chris Butler Guests: Ruth Roebuck (General Manager) and Kerry Sunderland (Pukapuka Talks Programme Lead) – Nelson Arts FestivalIn this episode, Simon and Chris sit down with Ruth Roebuck and Kerry Sunderland to discuss the creative energy and community spirit behind the Nelson Arts Festival. They share insights into how the festival continues to evolve, the stories and ideas driving the Pukapuka Talks programme, and what makes Nelson’s arts scene truly special.Proudly supported by Uniquely Nelson.Send us a text
2025-10-3032 min
Hot 105 Cares with Rodney BaltimoreRodney interviews Black Achievers Award Recipient Annie Ruth Nelson Wednesday October 22, 2025Rodney Baltimore interviews Annie Ruth Nelson Recipient of the JM Family Black Achiever Award for Education. The event take place on Wednesday October 22, 2025 from 5:30pm to 8pm at The Parker (formerly the Parker Playhouse) 707 NE 8th Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. A free event where Palm Beach County, Miami Dade County and Broward County Black communities gather to celebrate ordinary people doing extraordinary things! Ms. Nelson is in charge of the African American Research Library & Cultural Center in Palm Beach County archiving Black Palm Beach County. The Black Achiever is a free event with food, networking, and great people.
2025-10-2002 min
Bible, Glitter and GlueRuth and BoazSend us a textBoaz was the owner of the field where Ruth gathered grain. He was also a relative of Naomi’s late husband. When Boaz took notice of Ruth and treated her with kindness, Naomi knew that he would be a good husband to Ruth. She instructed Ruth to follow the wise custom of lying at the foot of Boaz’s bed to show that she wished to marry him. Boaz also followed tradition by gaining the permission of another relative of Naomi’s who had the right to marry Ruth. Boaz and Ruth married, and wh...
2025-08-0128 minBible, Glitter and GlueRuth and NaomiSend us a textNaomi’s husband and two sons died while they were all living in the foreign country of Moab. She told her two daughters-in-law to go back to their own parents. Naomi wanted to return to her relatives in her original homeland of Judah. One daughter-in-law did what Naomi said, but the other (Ruth) travelled with Naomi to take care of her. Ruth worked hard in the fields to support Naomi.Bible verses used in this episode:Ruth 1:1-2:13Ou...
2025-07-2527 min
The Leave It Better PodcastA Coaching Career Built on Incredible Connections, with Ruth NelsonIf you want to be the best, you need experience. That’s where Ruth Nelson shines. As a volleyball coach at all levels of the sport over many decades, Ruth walks us through her lessons with some of the most influential volleyball figures in the history of the sport. A must listen to episode for young and aspiring coaches! Veteran coaches will appreciate Ruth’s stories and connections.Links mentioned: For more information go to www.side-out.org. Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: leav...
2025-02-061h 06
Inspired Questions: Conversations on Self-Worth, Burnout & Showing Up AuthenticallyNavigating Life with Jacki Nelson-Shiletto: From PR to Banana Bread BlissWelcome to an inspiring episode featuring Jacki Nelson-Shiletto, a dynamic PR professional, wife, and dog mom. Join us as we delve into her journey from being a radio and TV broadcaster to founding her own public relations firm, Nelson Connects.
Jacki shares her experiences growing up in a family rooted in media, her transition into PR, and the entrepreneurial spirit that led her to start her own consultancy. Learn how she navigates the competitive world of communications while maintaining a balance between passion projects and financial needs.
Discover the routines and habits that keep Jacki...
2024-07-2348 min
Mindset is everything!Navigating Overwhelming Stress Insights for Building a Sustainable Business with Coach Michal Miodonski and Ruth Nelson-AndorfIn this compelling episode of the "Mindset is Everything" podcast, join host Coach Michal Miodonski in an insightful conversation with the esteemed Ruth Nelson-Andorf as they delve into the intricate dynamics of managing overwhelming stress while endeavouring to build a sustainable business. Drawing from their wealth of experience and expertise, Michal and Ruth offer invaluable insights, practical strategies, and profound reflections on navigating the tumultuous terrain of entrepreneurship.
As an accomplished coach and entrepreneur, Coach Michal Miodonski brings a unique blend of practical wisdom and empathetic guidance to the discussion. With a deep understanding of the challenges...
2024-02-2122 min
Clean & Green LivingReconnecting to Your Innernet with Holly Ruth FiniganThe theme of this podcast is innovators and positive changemakers committed to making the world better, and today’s guest, Holly Ruth Finigan, wants us all to know that in order to help others, we must first help ourselves. Holly was in the prime of her career as a writer, blogger and social media expert for the highly followed Nantucket blACKbook, a platform, she created and built. She was the “it girl”. Everyone looked to her for the places to eat and shop and for all the hottest tips on Nantucket. Holly had all this power...
2022-02-0147 min
Maxim and Marnie's PodcastRuth NelsonHey Listeners, First, Thank You for checking out Maxim and Marnie! We hope you enjoy connecting to the people and their stories on this podcast. Just a quick note - This episode was recorded a few weeks ago and we have a few more episodes ready to be released very soon. We do want to lift up the fact that we are not currently recording during the Covid-19 outbreak out of precaution for our guests and our families. If there's a short break, please know that we plan to be back and recording once the CDC recommends th...
2020-03-1600 min
Creating Space ProjectWe Need WaterThe Creating Space Project interviewed Miria and Ziggy, two young people on the Yaama Ngunna Baaka Corroborree. We were travelling with the Water for Rivers convoy in outback NSW, camping in the river towns from Walgett to Menindee. The purpose was to learn about the plight of the rivers from a First Nations perspective. The rivers are empty or near empty. This isn't just about the devastating drought or the climate emergency. The rivers are literally being sucked dry by big corporations. It is a death sentence for Aboriginal communities, for whom the rivers are l...
2019-10-1400 minCreating Space ProjectPeople Not GenderWhen is about people not gender? Sahra and Ruth explore patriarchy as a system of oppression that affects all genders. Far from experts on the matter, we are two psychologists sitting with self-doubt and the discomfort of critically examining what it is that we value, and how we bring that into a therapy room.
2019-09-2500 minCreating Space ProjectAsylum Seekers on PNGTrillions of dollars have been spent by the Australian government detaining asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea for six years. It would be far better governance to bring about an end to this situation. Cathy McGowan is the former Independent member for Indi, in rural Victoria. She talks to the Creating Space Project and asks each of us, right now, to email our local Member of Parliament and our state Senators and ask for answers to the following questions: What are the Government's plans for the asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea who can't go t...
2019-09-1500 minCreating Space ProjectCreating Space ProjectThe Creating Space Project is currently exploring feminist psychology and intersectionality, through asking listeners the question “What would you ask a feminist psychologist?” In this episode, Sahra O'Doherty and Ruth Nelson talk about Tanya's question regarding how you weave feminism into counselling, about being a values-based therapist, and the embodiment of values.
2019-08-2900 minCreating Space ProjectPatriarchy and mental healthWhat would you ask a feminist psychologist? Ruth Nelson and Sahra O'Doherty respond to Jess's question about the effect of patriarchy on women's mental health, and how many problems stem from inequality. "I should look good." Ruth and Sahra explore the ways feminist values inform their psychology practice. They also explore systems of oppression, layers of privilege, intersectionality, who is allowed to get angry, cultural expectations of women, pain and motherhood, unrelenting standards and the male suicide rate. Photo 'Tern with a Fish' by David Noble
2019-08-0400 minCreating Space ProjectUncomfortable FeelingsIt’s very hard to find the words, “I have experienced this.” What brings people into counselling? The Creating Space Project talks about therapy and mental health with psychologist Sahra O’Doherty. People can spend a lot of time squishing uncomfortable feelings back down, and get worried that if they lift the lid, they’re not too sure what’s going to emerge. We can be pretty afraid of our emotions. Society teaches us to fear failing. Shame and guilt feel painful. Vulnerability is frightening. So to come and talk to a ps...
2019-07-1900 minCreating Space ProjectBallot Boxes and Witness K“I find it very hard to accept that Australia’s national interest is about putting security listening devices of the walls of our poorest, nearest neighbour.” This is an interview about espionage, exploitation and politics. Elizabeth Biok is a lawyer and member of the International Commission of Jurists. She talks to the Creating Space Project about the case of Witness K and his lawyer, Bernard Collaery. These two men exposed the Australian government for bugging the offices of the newly formed government of Timor-Leste. “The Australian intelligence agents were asked to put list...
2019-05-2300 minCreating Space ProjectCultivating OpennessCherie Heggie is wonderful. She sees the world with an openness and compassion that many of us just can’t seem to attain. She declared as a Bahá’í in 2015 and what drew her to the faith is its belief that all the major religions of the world are from God. In her life, she has found no difference between herself and the Muslims who live around her. Talking two days after the terror attacks on the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Cherie talks about privilege, peace, fear and the outrage that we are wasting time on hat...
2019-04-1700 minCreating Space ProjectMidwiferyAustralia has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. That is amazing and a credit to our public health system. And, of the people who give birth in Australia, one in three experience it as a traumatic event. Grace Jeffery is a student midwife. She talks to the Creating Space Project about helping people feel safe and empowered in labour, and the importance of continuity of care throughout pregnancy and of good post-natal care, to reduce this experience of trauma for families. Grace also talks to the gendered...
2019-04-0400 minCreating Space ProjectKai TherapyThis is a beautiful, relaxing, bilingual conversation between guest interviewer, Gavin, professional interpreter, Sajsajee, and naturopath, Jik. Jik is a naturopath. She practices Kai Therapy. With her husband, she has established an organic city farm in the middle of Bangkok. Their hope is to educate people about holistic approaches to health. From volunteering with street children, Jik now tries to educate people about integrative medicine, from the importance of fresh food, to changing the behaviours of consumerism. It is important to Jik to live the way that you teach, and becoming a K...
2019-03-2000 minCreating Space ProjectKayakiriJaeb is a woman of vision, as well as extraordinary humility. “If I know anything, it’s that I know nothing.” When Jaeb and her husband first purchased land in central Thailand, the soil was so degraded by monocrop farming and heavy use of chemical fertilisers, it was like rock. They started growing trees for shade around the house. Initially, Jaeb and James had many failures, with thousands of saplings dying. But then they discovered the work of Dr John D. Liu. Since then, Jaeb has undertaken a fascinating journe...
2019-03-0600 minCreating Space ProjectMuck in and Help"Where are you getting the next lot of food?" And he just shrugged his shoulders. Ev Van Bo and her husband packed up their caravan for a trip around Australia. They thought that perhaps, on the way, they should stop to help a farmer. So they contacted the Country Women’s Australia and were put in contact with Nea Worrell, from the Baradine CWA Drought Pantry. She may have spent the first week leaving the cover on the thermometer when preparing the feed for the poddy lambs, but Ev’s help meant that farm...
2019-02-2100 minCreating Space ProjectArt of Marine SalterDo you ever feel like who you are on the inside is different to the way you perform for other people on the outside? You should listen to this episode. Marine Salter did beautifully moving artwork for a journal article that I was part of, called Barometers of the City. Published in Human Arenas, it is qualitative research using poetry by psychologists as cultural data. Marine reflects on the process of producing art, which for her is about personal expression, for an audience. She describes being hyperaware of what’s expected of her in the world and fe...
2019-02-0600 minCreating Space ProjectBack On CountryKim is a Joondoburri Salt-Water woman from Yirin, the traditional name of Bribie Island, South East Queensland. She found out at the age of 21 that she is Aboriginal. As a child, Kim's father was sent to a boys’ home to learn Western ways, his mother having been persuaded that this was in his best interests. In this institution, her father sustained appalling abuse. Now that her father walks with the Ancestors, Kim shares with the Creating Space Project the story of her family and her culture. As well as th...
2019-01-1900 minCreating Space ProjectWisdom of a Shaman"I am a link between my father and my ancestors, the Incas, and knowledge formed thousands of years ago." The daughter of a Shaman, Julia has just released a book of her father's stories. Abuelito tells the tales of boyhood adventures with Eduardo Paez's grandfather in the foothills of Ecuador, trekking into mountains, visiting his special tree, watching the rituals of the wise men. Stories of fun and adventure, they also represent an ancient spirituality, a First Nations cosmovision, and bring a wisdom formed thousands of years ago into the modern day, a w...
2019-01-0900 minCreating Space ProjectAppreciating RainKate is a farmer in outback NSW. She loves farming and she loves her land. Her cattle wander the paddocks in peace, in view of the Warrumbungles. "Anything that’s had a happy life is good. One bad day and that’s the day they’re on the truck." At the moment, keeping the cattle alive is hard. Kate describes the most extensive drought she has seen in 40 years in Coonabarabran. Even the native trees have not survived. Among dust storms and dirt, Kate often lacks the water to even was...
2019-01-0100 minCreating Space ProjectCattle YardsKim works in town during the week and on the family farm on weekends. Her family are trying to keep some of their cattle alive during the drought. Resilience is a complicated business. It is the quality of bouncing back, surviving or thriving, and is revealed in hard times. Kim is the embodiment of resilience. She brings love, hope, commitment and loyalty to the work of emotionally sustaining her family through a drought that is slowly killing their stock. She doesn’t avoid emotional pain, standing side by side with her son as he has to...
2018-12-1100 minCreating Space ProjectFamilyAmid the bustle and kindness of the Baradine Country Women's Association hall, Isabelle took time away from volunteering to talk to the Creating Space Project. Isabelle’s mum, Julia, tells a story about running away to her grandmother’s house whenever she needed a break. Isabelle, confident and insightful, uses that story to reflect on what’s important to her life. Family and working hard. Those things matter a great deal to Isabelle. Having interviewed her grandmother and mother previously in the podcast (Drought Pantry and Fourth Generation), this interview provides beautif...
2018-12-0300 minCreating Space ProjectFourth Generation“I am the fourth generation of incredibly strong women.” When Julia was four years old, she was run over by the family car and pronounced dead. Somehow, she was revived and recovered from the incident without lasting harm. Julia Baird is the daughter of Nea Worrell, the amazing woman integral to the Drought Pantry at the Baradine Country Women’s Association, and previously interviewed on the podcast about the ways this drought, the worst in living memory, is impacting rural NSW, Australia. Cut from the same cloth, Julia talks to the Creating Space Projec...
2018-11-2000 minCreating Space ProjectDrought PantryThe Baradine Country Women’s Association is 90 years old. At the moment, its hall is full of supplies and vouchers, donated from around NSW and Queensland to support farmers and to try and keep the local shops alive. Nea Worrell, part of a family with five generations in the CWA, talks to the Creating Space Project about the impact of the drought. “We’ve had that farm for forty-odd years, my husband has been farming for seventy years, and we’ve never had dry dams.” Nea and her family ha...
2018-11-0600 minCreating Space ProjectHuman ConnectionWhen you interview someone at the Risk and Dare youth justice conference, held in a high school, it's tough finding a quiet spot, especially when you only have 10 minutes... Elise talks about being moved by the story of two women who arrived in Australia as refugees. “The refugees I’ve encountered are so strong.” The resilience shown by people fleeing vulnerable situations is the key characteristic Elise sees. She believes young people in Australia need to hear these stories - stories from really dark places and people who have lived many lives...
2018-10-3100 minCreating Space ProjectRisk and DareChristiane Nakhle and I are at Risk and Dare, a justice conference for young people from across Australia. She talks about homelessness, and young people being vehicles for justice. Women are the most significant proportion of homeless people in Australia, due to domestic violence and lack of support. Christiane traces her concern for homeless women to the influence of her cultural background, Christiane is Lebanese-Australia, the closeness she feels to her family, and the influence of her mother and grandmother on her life. Christiane strongly values empathy and...
2018-10-2700 minCreating Space ProjectDiversity WithinBoundaries and being other. These are concepts that interest me greatly. So there was a wonderful synchronicity to having a conversation with Celina McEwen. This is the story of the meeting of Celina’s parents, a French woman and a man from the West Indies. As well as being the story of the cultural backgrounds of the two people that Celina embodies, it is also about that “big question mark of how people relate across cultures, [what] makes people want to cross those boundaries, and [be] attracted to the other.” Intersectionality; the pol...
2018-10-1500 minCreating Space ProjectSporangePolitics dressed up as the production of spores. Olivia reads a poem written by herself and a friend, Marcus. Then the other young poets of the Spark Youth Theatre respond to it. It's witty and clever, and the conversation does not disappoint either. I loved interviewing these young poets. Uploading this episode from a campsite in Goondiwindi, with the baby playing in the dirt, the preschooler sulking in the tent, and the birds scattering about the grass, I'm reflecting on this episode from the backdrop of the emaciated cows and bone-dry...
2018-10-0700 minCreating Space ProjectMy Mind and the Page"I feel too much, like it's more than I can hold, and I will break" Seb is fourteen years old, enormously articulate, and very insightful. He reads us a poem. Then Gabe Journey Jones and the Spark Youth Theatre respond. They talk about many things, including being bullied and feeling down about everything. What emerges is resilience and strength. The future is not perfect, but you will get there. This is the second of three interviews with the Spark Youth Theatre. Spending time with them was wonderful. I felt s...
2018-09-2700 minCreating Space ProjectBaba YagaThis is the first of three interviews that I enjoyed enormously (I enjoy all of my interviews, to be honest, but this one was something else again). I got to talk to the young poets from the Spark Youth Theatre. Each took a turn reading a poem, and then the rest of us, including facilitator Gabe Journey Jones, chatted about the poem. “A witch’s house that goes walking” Fourteen year old Orlando reads an original poem, Baba Yaga, that he had written moments before. Then the group respond to it. Their...
2018-09-1900 minCreating Space ProjectMindful of DeathRachel Menzies researches the role of death anxiety in mental health. She is passionate about ancient history and psychology. From Gilgamesh and Persephone, to the local death café and anxiety disorders, Rachel came to realise that a fear of death, and an avoidance of talking about it, is pervasive throughout human history. For Rachel, mindfulness of death helps her to live deliberately and in the moment, living with meaning, purpose, and a deep appreciation of life. It is about “using death to live well.” Rachel Menzies is a clinical psychology and PhD c...
2018-09-1100 minCreating Space ProjectDriftwood and Beats"It’s very rare for me to lose that sense of my own heartbeat." Meeting on Gadigal/Wangal land prior to the Unspoken Words Festival, poet and percussionist Gabrielle Journey Jones performed The Happening for me. There's a heartbeat drum at the pulse Twenty-four hours in the zone - never alone - never alone Like the voice of women which will not drown in patriarchal oppression The voice of women in the rhythms... Powerful and evocative, Gabe's drumming and poetry opened up a fascinating conversation about rhythm, soun...
2018-09-0500 minCreating Space ProjectLife, Death and Poetry"The many different angles of grief that hadn’t occurred to me until my own father. It hadn’t occurred to me that there was more than one thing to miss. And it’s not always good stuff that you miss." Poet, Ali Whitelock, and I talk about the unexpected death of her father, a man with whom she had a difficult relationship. The experience of accompanying him, holding his hand while he died, brought home to her the reality that one day, she too, would die. The terror that life was passing her by...
2018-08-2400 minCreating Space ProjectPsychology and LoreJenny and I are in an Open Dialogue group that examines how Western psychology is linked to colonisation. Both emerge from the same place. Because of this, psychology can sometimes do harm to people who have been colonised. In the group, we look at ways our own psychology practice can perpetuate colonising practices. Jenny, an Aboriginal woman, talks about how the term ‘decolonise’ is offensive for her. It evokes bloodshed and massacres, families torn apart, languages lost, disconnection. The word doesn’t communicate love. It communicates only pain. The Open Dialogue group is attemp...
2018-08-1500 minCreating Space ProjectThe RiverSadiya and Sarah are part of Stop Adani. It is an environmental movement working to block the development of the Adani Carmichael coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin, Central Queensland, Australia. Last episode, Sarah told a story for Sadiya to reflect on. In this episode, Sadiya tells us a story, about a Bangladeshi farmer who lost livelihood and home to river erosion. Sarah pulls out the themes of loss and displacement in this story. For Sarah, this is a human story of the suffering already experienced by extreme weather events...
2018-08-0100 minCreating Space ProjectStop AdaniSarah Ellyard’s childhood, spent camping and bushwalking with her wilderness conservation father, explains her connection to the environment, and her ability to understand its importance to our health, physical and mental. She finds it hard to understand why Western society places such a low value on nature, and why we find it hard to take action on climate change. Sarah is part of Stop Adani Sydney, a movement that is trying to block the development of the Adani Carmichael coal mine, in the north of the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland, Australia. Sa...
2018-07-2400 minCreating Space ProjectExpectations on Manus“I am a drop waiting to return to the ocean” Mohammad Ali Maleki is incarcerated on Manus Island. Five years ago, he attempted to seek asylum in Australia and, for this, he was detained. An Iranian poet, Mohammad writes in Farsi. His friend, Mansour Shoushtari, translates the poetry into English, and Mohammad messages the poetry to Michele Seminara, an editor at Verity La. Michele and I talk about Expectations, a poem contained in his chapbook, Truth in the Cage. Michele describes his work as “incredibly sad but also in a way uplift...
2018-07-1500 minCreating Space ProjectAuntie JosieThis interview with Auntie Josie is to acknowledge and celebrate NAIDOC week, 2018. Auntie Josie is from the Wailwan nation. She is a First Nations Person. We were speaking on Darug land. I am deeply grateful and honoured that she has shared some of the stories of her life with me. These stories concern sexual abuse, domestic violence, suicide and parental death, among other things. Please be advised of these triggers. Listen mindfully for your own wellbeing and with respect for Auntie Josie. Auntie Josie is a woman of remarkable courage, wisdom and kindness. I...
2018-07-0800 minCreating Space ProjectConversation with Merle ConyerIntroduction to Conversation with Merle Conyer I talk to Merle Conyer. I had a particular question, about the interface between Western psychology and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge. I’m exploring that because of a work role I’ll be taking up soon, as part of the Creating Space Project. As part of my preparation for that, I was put in contact with Merle by Paul Rhodes. Merle has been grappling for some time with the same question that has only recently come to me. Merle works with Aboriginal communities. She’s a Sout...
2018-06-1400 minCreating Space ProjectDrinking in LaughterJennifer Jones lives in Myanmar and co-founded the Room to Grow Foundation. She works with children: Unaccompanied refugee children who have experienced enormous trauma. They have swum rivers while bullets fly overhead. They have worked in factories. They have foraged for discarded cabbage leaves to stay alive. But their suffering is not the focus of this story. Their strength is the focus. “Those kids… taught me about strength, about resilience, they taught me about survival, about what it takes to live in a really difficult world. Their parents teach me about what it means to make c...
2018-06-0600 minCreating Space ProjectFreedom for West PapuaRebecca Langley is an Australian woman who has become involved as an ally in the movement for freedom in West Papua. Recently, she has been a supporter in the Let's Talk About West Papua campaign that has been launched in Australia, which aims to address the ways in which Australia supports Indonesian occupation of West Papua, including funding, arming and training the security forces. She talks here about how she became involved in this community, inspired by the music of Blue King Brown, the activism of Izzy Brown, the 43 West Papuans who came to Australia b...
2018-05-2900 minCreating Space ProjectTeddy BearAmy Martinez listens to the story of Isabelle from Belle and the Bear, in which Isabelle’s bear was stolen by her mother’s abusive partner. “I feel like [the teddy bear] stands for something else that has been taken away from her.” The sadness that Amy feels for Isabelle relates also to her own experiences in childhood. Now, as a young adult, Amy says she is starting to notice the ways in which people hold power over her. For example, she had a boyfriend who was very controlling. “He knew that I car...
2018-05-1500 minCreating Space ProjectThe Balloon"Hope is a spacious place. It's so full of possibility." Chantale has a way with words that is a little hypnotic. And she has a way with ideas. Hope, for her, is a red balloon that expands your chest so you can breathe a little more easily. Much like her balloon, or more accurately, because of her balloon, this is a conversation that expands - into mental health, the vagaries of babies that interrupt interviews, what keeps us awake at night, climate change, what a better future means, Brene Brown's vulnerability hangovers, messiness - and i...
2018-05-0800 minCreating Space ProjectNudging the HerdI’m excited by this episode. I love all of the interviews I do (maybe not my interviewing all the time, but I love all the stories) but this one was like interviewing the kind of person I hope to be in another decade or so – still committed to social justice, still passionate about what I do. Not bitter about the losses. Dare has just left her role as CEO of Reverse Garbage, which is a facility that diverts resources away from landfill and into creative and practical re-use. Need a whole bunch of shredded paper...
2018-04-3000 minCreating Space ProjectSomewhere SafeAngela is amazing. Single mother of two kids. Assistant director in the city. Courageous, empathic and generous. I played her Amanda's story from Red Flags and then we talked about it. Domestic violence is hard. I struggled to ask Angela about it and I feel a bit ashamed of that. Remembering abuse brings up strong emotions and layers of self-judgement. Talking about it brings up the complicated nuances of male and female relationships in society; it brings up the fear of reprisal if it's heard by the abuser or their family. B...
2018-04-2300 minCreating Space ProjectBelle and the BearIsabelle is the twelve-year-old daughter of Amanda, who talked about domestic violence in the episode Red Flags. Resilient and insightful, Isabelle talks about her mother's abusive partner stealing her teddy bear when she was six years old. “I was just an angry child because I lost my teddy bear.” On the cusp of adolescence, Isabelle has already learnt a great deal about herself and emotion regulation. She is unapologetic for a justified anger and, at the same time, understands that lashing out in anger is not often effective. "Emotions rub off on p...
2018-04-1400 minCreating Space ProjectRed Flags“Why doesn’t she just leave him?” Trigger warning: Domestic violence. Amanda Cosgrove describes how it took five years to leave a man who was abusing her and the strategies that he used to manipulate his way into remaining in her life, including using her children and slowly undermining her belief in herself. After the relationship ended, she went through counselling to rebuild her self-worth and self-respect. Forgiving herself, despite it not being her fault, took a long time. She also did courses to learn ways of identifyi...
2018-04-0600 minCreating Space ProjectEqually WedNivelo started Equally Wed in the faith that one day, Australia would enact marriage equality. A wedding directory catering for gay, lesbian, queer and transgendered couples, Equally Wed reflects Niv's belief in equality and civil rights. "The reason why I really started this business was so that everybody had the same rights and option." The inspiration for Equally Wed came seven years ago, when Nivelo's brother and male partner opened a package containing a cake topper. The expression on their faces of joy and happiness really struck Nivelo. They had found something that represented them...
2018-03-3000 minCreating Space ProjectHappiness is TransientA child with a disability taught retired teacher, Elizabeth Appleyard, an important lesson on mental health and wellbeing. In a class exercise, when other children were wishing for material items, this child wished for a new hand. At the same time, this child appeared to be an essentially happy soul. He had friends, he laughed, he played. The lesson for Elizabeth is that happiness is transient. To be happy means that, at some point, you will also be sad. They are emotions on the same spectrum. Underneath them is contentment and p...
2018-03-2200 minCreating Space ProjectBundjalung WomanDei Phillips is a Bundjalung woman. Fierce and compassionate, she is relentless as an activist and advocate for Aboriginal people in Australia. In trying to arrange this interview, we kept having to postpone. Dei is always busy, whether it be marching on Invasion/Survival Day or seeking legal representation for young Aboriginal first offenders. She is a passionate educator about pre-colonial history and geography. When I finally got to talk to her, it was more than worth the wait. I got to hear about the importance of language, story, and place. Th...
2018-03-1200 minCreating Space ProjectHostage in IraqTeresa Benetos was a nurse in Baghdad when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. She’s writing a memoir about her time as a hostage in Iraq. Growing up in a traditional Irish Catholic household, it has taken many years for Teresa to realise that, as a woman, her story is of interest. After thirty years, she says, it is time to tell the story of ‘The Accidental Hostage.’ As a teenager, she battled with her father to be able to finish her Leaving Certificate at school and study to become a nurse. Against...
2018-03-0500 minCreating Space ProjectBearing Witness The Creating Space Project Backstory Part TwoThis episode is part-two of Bearing Witness: The backstory to Creating Space where we hear the inspiring yarn behind Ruth Nelson and how this podcast came into being. In the first episode we followed Ruth who, as an 18-year-old, inadvertently signed up to volunteer in community work with refugees leading her on the path of studying psychology. She survived a brain encephalopathy, and in not choosing the path of least resistance, Ruth headed to northern Uganda at the age of 26 to work in community outreach as an NGO. It’s in this episode where we pic...
2017-11-0900 minCreating Space ProjectBearing Witness: The Backstory to the Creating Space ProjectIt seemed remiss - to me at least - with all the stories that have been shared by this project of ordinary, yet extraordinary women, it had not featured the captivating journey of its creator, Ruth Nelson. It took 12 months and some gentle persuasion for Ruth to acquiesce to my appeal for an interview. The notion that she would become the object of interest left Ruth feeling ill at ease, yet her experience, I argued, was at the essence of the Creating Space story. I knew Ruth’s personal story would make...
2017-10-3100 minCreating Space ProjectGod Created Queers Part TwoRachael Vincent talks about the emotional impact of the postal survey on same sex marriage, or marriage equality, in Australia. It has been frightening and deeply upsetting for the GLBTQIA community to be confronted with people's level of fear and hatred. "The license given to people to say things that would not normally be accepted." Swastikas painted. People assaulted. "This is a state-sanctioned homo-bashing festival." For Rachael, a white woman quite a long way up the privilege ladder, it is an insight into what it is like to always h...
2017-10-2400 minCreating Space ProjectGod Created Queers Part OneMost of us aren't very good at changing our minds. Beliefs that we have held since childhood can be very resistant to change. If we have been raised to understand that marriage is between a man and a woman, we often believe that to be “natural” or the “way it should be.” This is especially true if we have been taught to link such a belief to our faith in God. It is easy, under those circumstances, to be swayed by fear and worry to say that change is wrong. It is easy to take on board...
2017-10-1700 minCreating Space ProjectMaryMary is Chinese Australian, born in Fiji during World War Two. Mary believes her life is blessed. She is 76, the mother of 7 children, the grandmother of 5 children. Her Catholic faith strongly shapes the way that Mary sees the world. The three most important things in her life are loving God, your neighbour, and yourself. To her, loving yourself is very important. "I like this bit... We need to do the right thing by ourselves, look after ourselves." Despite the strength of her Catholic religious beliefs, she also believes that all religions ar...
2017-10-0400 minCreating Space ProjectRainbow FlagsI interviewed Bern in her beautiful four-bedroom house, to the accompaniment of a budgie called Snowstripe. Like my home, it was strewn with toys and the walls were adorned with photos – a little child, loving parents. We were a few days late getting to the interview. Bern’s five-year-old child had been sick with the gastro bug going around Sydney. Bern works from home and had managed to squeeze me in between meetings on a warm spring morning. So, a normal mother, busy with work and parenting, in a normal family. As Ber...
2017-09-2500 minCreating Space ProjectEducareImagine a teacher from primary school remembering you vividly, fifty years later. Sister Josephine Mitchell is a Josephite nun. A renowned champion of human rights and social justice, she is, among other roles, a former teacher, both in Australia and East Timor. Educare, she says, means to grow. Teaching means helping young people to grow and realise their dreams. Providing education and being a small part of someone’s life is, to her, a privilege. Sr Josephine tells a story about a little boy that she taught 50 years...
2017-09-1300 minCreating Space ProjectRural Women's NetworkSonia Muir is one of two women responsible for the Rural Women's Network, a government department in NSW, Australia. Set up in the 1990s in response to the isolation experience by women during the drought, there is still a need today to facilitate the connections between rural women, reducing isolation, acknowledging their hard work, and developing their confidence and self-esteem. This year is the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Network, and Sonia has been there for each of those years. She has met thousands of people in the course of...
2017-09-0500 minCreating Space ProjectNocturne“Through music you can express something that you can’t express in words and that you maybe don’t even know… it’s a line to the soul” Professional horn player, Carla Blackwood, performs Nocturno by Franz Strauss. From listening together to this short piece of music, a conversation opens up about the importance of music. Food for the soul, music reveals to us something of what it is to be human. Music lets us engage with the abstract and the intangible and, especially in a modern society that encourages us to focus on wh...
2017-08-3000 minCreating Space ProjectOpening DoorsJill Asquith runs her own business in recruitment and employment. She started from her bedroom, just looking to make an income. Within a couple of months, she moved from being a sole trader to being a company. Two years later, her business works with a lot of big corporations. They have an Indigenous division where they focus on pre-employment and Indigenous participation. Jill talks about the importance of creating opportunities, not just for herself, but for others too. She talks, as well, about how you deal with failure and stay focused on your d...
2017-08-2200 minCreating Space ProjectWailwan WomanCherie Johnson is passionate about Aboriginal education. I interviewed Cherie at the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, while she participated in a program for entrepreneurs. While we spoke, she brought to life the landscape around us. Sydney Harbour is the traditional land of the Gadigal people. Long before colonisation by the British, this was a harbour into which whales came to breed. It had a rich social history, a shared space that saw peaceful trading with many other nations, including the Dutch and the Indonesians. When I studied history in Australia in th...
2017-08-1500 minCreating Space ProjectCatching a BurglarIf you need a good yarn, Jacqui Cosgrove is your woman. Here, she tells a story about catching a burglar with her sister, many years ago. The story reflects the importance of community in Jacqui's life. She spends a lot of time volunteering, participating in community events and fundraising. Community provides her with encouragement and support. As one good story tends to lead onto another, it was fascinating to hear Jacqui talking about her early life. Jacqui was raised on a farm in the bush, in rural NSW, Australia. Her first home was a mu...
2017-08-0800 minCreating Space ProjectMe and My BattleThis is a story about potential, effort and achievement. It’s also a story about disability. Peta Leseberg, from Bathurst, a country town in NSW, talks for the first time in her life about her disability. When she was born, she couldn’t breathe. As a child, she had slow development. Her childhood included a lot of time with specialists and therapists. Bullied in primary school, she chose MacKillop College, a private girls school for high school. Despite the loss of funding this entailed, her parents respected her dec...
2017-08-0100 minCreating Space ProjectCumquat JamMarghanita da Cruz is standing as a Greens candidate for the Leichhardt Ward in the forthcoming Inner West Council election. She took time from her campaign to talk to the Creating Space Project about cumquats. Cumquats are a small citrus fruit. The variety grown in Sydney can’t be eaten fresh, it’s too sour. Marghanita has a cumquat tree in her backyard. The fruit, she gives away to people who make cumquat jam. In this story, simple though it may seem, cumquat jam becomes a metaphor for the networks that emerge...
2017-07-2500 minCreating Space ProjectThe Right ChoiceIn this episode, we talk about mental health, suicidality and abortion. If you are triggered, please seek the support of caring people. In Australia, you could call Lifeline on 13 11 14. While Katie was at university, she became pregnant. Having children is something that Katie takes very seriously. It is not something to undertake lightly. Katie carefully considered all her options, thought them through, discussed them with appropriate people, and came to the conclusion that an abortion was the best choice for both her and for the potential life of the foetus. She was s...
2017-07-1800 minCreating Space ProjectThe MatriarchHave you heard of the Cove in Taiji, Japan? Ashley Avci has not only heard about it, she has been there. She has stood for long hours, days, weeks and months, a horrified witness to slaughter. She is a Cove Guardian with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In this episode, she talks about her personal experiences in Taiji. Ashley has put her head into the water and listened to what can only be described as screaming, from pods of up to eighty dolphins and whales. And then, the silence when they are...
2017-07-1000 minCreating Space ProjectHomebush LostAurelia Roper Tyler talks with Ruth Nelson about the damage to her family, home and community on learning that her house in Homebush was to be significantly impacted by the Westconnex development. Homebush Lost is the audio of a short film, of the same name, produced by Paula Rix and Ruth Nelson for Disconnex: Reframing the Resistance, an exhibition at the Chrissie Cotter gallery, showcasing art and salvage items connected with the Westconnex project, an urban motorway extension project in Sydney, Australia.
2017-07-0300 minCreating Space ProjectMake RoomClare works in a travel agency in a small town. She tells a story about a lady who had to leave where she was staying and was looking for new accommodation. Everything in the town appeared to be booked out. Rather than giving up, Clare persisted, eventually finding something with the assistance of a neighbouring shop. For Clare, the story reflects just how much she appreciates connection to other people. It also reflects how deeply she values people. “People are important and need to feel like they are cared for and conn...
2017-06-2700 minCreating Space ProjectChoosing Islam This is a story about finding the right religion. Sirisha respects all faiths and non-faiths. However, the religion of her childhood, Hinduism, did not resonate with her anymore and she embarked on a journey to find the core values in her life. “I needed something to ground me.” The religion she found was Islam. “It really made me a better person” She started to value the so-called little things of life, “the little blessings that I have in my life, clea...
2017-06-2000 minCreating Space ProjectWomen of Sudan Part TwoIn Women of Sudan Part Two, five Sudanese mothers talk with remarkable honesty about the struggles of learning to raise children in a society radically different to where they themselves grew up. From a village lifestyle, without money and surrounded by people who know you and step in to help, to a Western city, where teenagers have debit cards and are not accountable to most of the people around them, these parents encounter problems they have never seen before. Recognising that many of the techniques they knew in their homeland are not...
2017-06-1300 minCreating Space ProjectWomen of Sudan Part OneThe Nuba Mountains are a remote region of northern Sudan, in South Kordofan. The Nuba are various Indigenous tribes who inhabit the region. Abyei lies further to the south and was also part of South Kordofan. It is just north of the border with South Sudan. Abyei Area, rich in oil, is disputed territory between Sudan and South Sudan. I remember being in Nimule in 2007, listening to troop carriers in the night driving north to Abyei, when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was allegedly in place. Five women, Muslim and Christian, who ar...
2017-06-0600 minCreating Space ProjectFailureAlison Harrington is a formidable woman. She is a woman with a great deal to teach the world about creating a life of meaning and purpose. Alison is also a fabulous illustration of Carol Dweck’s “growth mindset,” which is about the underlying beliefs people have about learning. A social entrepreneur, Alison tells the Creating Space Project a simple story about getting seniors to dance around nursing homes with silent disco technology. “I’m really fascinated by how we can use this technology to improve the outcomes for people with dementia and basicall...
2017-05-2900 minCreating Space ProjectBacteria is IncredibleClimate change is impacting agriculture. “We know it’s going to bring different weather conditions, and hotter conditions, less water, more freak events that will ruin crops eventually. It is scary but it’s interesting to see the way it will react with our crops in the future.” Grace studied agriculture and now works as a microbiologist. She tests pharmaceuticals for the presence of bacteria. “Which I’m hoping will give me experience for agriculture, because agriculture really relies on the use of microorganisms.” At the moment, a...
2017-05-2300 minCreating Space ProjectFeminist AlliesMikell works in technology. “I’ve been in technology now for more than a decade professionally and this topic of harassment and sexism and discrimination in tech comes up repeatedly.” As a teenager, in a robotics competition, she and every other member of her all-girls team were groped in a human tunnel. They were assisted by their male mentors to effectively address this situation. It taught her about the value of men who are prepared to listen to and accept women’s experiences. “The reasons I’m in tech still an...
2017-05-1500 minCreating Space ProjectStrong Women“Being an Aboriginal midwife is my absolute passion.” Leona McGrath has just participated in the Walk with Midwifes, as part of closing the gap for Indigenous health outcomes in Australia. “When I had my own children, I often say that if I had another black face in the clinic, in the birthing room, on the postnatal ward, I know my experience would have been a whole lot different.” Her reason for wanting to become a midwife was to look after her own people. Leona was aware of the health...
2017-05-0900 minCreating Space ProjectCostume ShopKath has a costume shop in an Australian country town. She sells costumes, armoury, live action role play gear, weapons, pop culture and other paraphernalia. She loves cosplay and the way it allows you to express yourself and be who you are. She talks in this interview about some of the factors that have enabled her to succeed in running her own business, namely the support from her family. Kath is passionate, she’s a hard worker, and she’s comfortable taking risk. Her mother, who died a few years ago, raised her to “not pass through life.”
2017-05-0300 minCreating Space ProjectYouth Food MovementSophie is part of the Youth Food Movement - which is about providing a way for young people to have conversations about food and health, to inspire them to eat better, buy and waste less, share more and enjoy the food experience. Sophie had a "negative relationship with food" as a child and teenager. In her mid-twenties, she began caring for a young girl with Type One Diabetes. This afforded Sophie new insights into her food choices. A curiosity as to where our food comes from, how well it is produced, and how it ca...
2017-04-2500 minCreating Space ProjectPlant-BasedAnna Chisolm is a whole food plant-based health coach. Formerly a social worker, she uses her skills to help people, especially those with chronic health conditions, transition to diets that help them heal their bodies. “If it was as easy as getting the information, we’d all be fit and healthy. My skills in counselling and social work have really played a big role in why I’ve been successful as a health coach – I can really help people with that behaviour change.” She moved from social work into this area because she...
2017-04-1800 minCreating Space ProjectTransformationSr Monica is the leader of the Sisters of St Joseph in Australia. She tells a simple story of an encounter with a man on a train. From this story, emerge themes of dignity, courage, the looks of other people, the ongoing work of seeking non-judgement, and how it is the unfamiliar place that is the catalyst for growth.
2017-04-1100 minCreating Space ProjectFreeMC Free, a remarkable young woman from a Cook Island/Tongan background, works for Rap 4 Change, a hip hop outreach educational program in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. She works with all sorts of kids – disabled, transgender, diverse cultural backgrounds, both in the community and in juvenile detention. Her personal background, of abuse and living on the streets, gives her common ground to reach out to these kids. Free's passion in life is helping them discover their worth.
2017-04-0400 minCreating Space ProjectGender EuphoriaIt is such a pleasure to interview Anthony again. We reflect on the story told in the last episode, about the pleasure of dressing in pink, frilly outfits, and wearing six-inch high heels. “I appreciate the sparkly nature of what I do.” In this episode, we talk about language and the importance of being aware of your privilege. Acknowledging that gender isn’t dichotomous, we talk about the feelings that Anthony experiences with a more feminine expression of self and a more masculine expression of self. Anthony is optimistic that eac...
2017-03-2000 minCreating Space ProjectCosplay and Gender“You should see my glitter collection, it’s magnificent.” Any interview containing a quote like that is going to be amazing. Often, at events like My Little Pony conventions, Anthony, a six-foot bearded DJ and cosplayer, likes dressing in pink, pretty, frilly outfits. “I’m aware this lies outside what might be considered normal or usual for someone who most people would consider to be a man.” As a child, Anthony imagined himself as Chitara, the female Thundercat from the 80s cartoon. He thought this was...
2017-03-1200 minCreating Space ProjectActs of DignityRuth Wells works with Syrian refugees in a psychosocial organisation in Gaziantep, a town in the south-east of Turkey, 50km north of the Syrian border. Most of her colleagues are Muslim and wear the hijab. As a non-Muslim Australian woman, Ruth reflects non-judgementally on what it is like being in a context where “gender is a little bit different to what I’m used to and what that has meant about what role I get assigned in those contexts.” Constructs of gender, sexuality, religion, power and the body emerge from this story. S...
2017-03-0600 minCreating Space ProjectActivism and ArtIn an earlier episode of this podcast, Standing Your Ground, I interviewed three women occupying a house in the inner west of Sydney, Australia. The house was slated for demolition and the four of us sat in the grounds of the house around a table, with imaginary cups of tea, until we were arrested. The purpose was to protest against Westconnex, an urban motorway extension in Sydney. The research indicates that urban motorway extensions, as well as being exorbitantly expensive, are damaging to health, community and environment, and actually encourage more cars onto the road. ...
2017-02-2700 minCreating Space ProjectDiary and IllnessJune Alexander grew up in a rural area of Australia. When she was 11 years old, she was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder. “Why can’t you behave like other girls?” her mother asked. She was also given a diary. “I was smitten, I found if I could write, I could connect with the outside world.” Writing a diary became a survival tool, a way of connecting with the outside world. “It became a way of sharing thou...
2017-02-2100 minCreating Space ProjectBaby BluesJodie asks her husband’s grandmother, Marlys, about moving to Australia, pregnant, and becoming a new mother. At the time, her husband had started a new job and was extremely busy. Where they lived, they had no family support. It may have been decades ago, but it’s a familiar story for so many women: Morning sickness. Isolation. Loneliness. Feeling “totally abandoned.” The overwhelming changes – to your body, to yourself, to your relationship with the baby’s father. That se...
2017-02-1300 minCreating Space ProjectTimes were DifferentMarlys grew up on the border of Switzerland and Germany, in a rural village, at the time of World War Two. She describes her childhood as simple and very basic. Nothing was ever wasted. Marlos vividly evokes those days for us – wind rippling through cornfields, pedalling uphill from school and fighting with her sister. Frugality, respect, and working hard are the themes in this interview. This is the story your grandmother tells you about different times. It's beautiful and strangely comforting.
2017-02-0800 minCreating Space ProjectConnected to Culture"The elders come and we sit around and have a yarn. We sit around and tell each other stories." Jayarna is Indigenous. As a child, her father left. As a result, she became disconnected from her culture. Now, as an adult, she and her father have rebuilt a relationship. She has reconnected with her Aboriginal culture, which she describes as being a relationship. “It’s like something’s missing and next minute you don’t feel that anymore. And something’s filled it.” This is a story...
2017-01-3000 minCreating Space ProjectArriving by BoatNgan arrived in Australia as a 6-year-old with her family. The second time they tried to escape from Vietnam, she was 2 years old. The boat capsized in a storm, and her father kept her and her 4-year-old brother afloat, with her mother, until they were rescued. They spent four years in a camp before being given a visa to come to Australia as refugees. In this interview, we hear about what it’s like to settle as a refugee in Australia, coping with bullies at school, feeling grate...
2017-01-2300 minCreating Space ProjectMagical IcelandNgan loves to travel. “Travelling and meeting people gives me that sense of belonging and then identity, and understanding where I fit in this world.” During a year of travelling the world, Ngan and her partner spent her birthday in Iceland. The experience, anticipated for ten years, was magical. “It’s a space that’s so uninhabited by people.” Volcano ash. Fertile soil. Grass in abundance. Snow capped mountains. Waterfalls with double rainbows. Drinking cold fresh water from streams that flowed down...
2017-01-1600 minCreating Space ProjectHope and FearAs a non-Muslim, I am unfamiliar with the Quran. So, I decided to go to Lakemba Mosque, in Sydney, where I was made to feel exceptionally welcome. I asked a young Muslim woman to share with me a verse that she finds particularly inspiring. The result is this interview. Chapter 39 Verse 53 "Say Oh my servants who have transgressed against themselves by sinning, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the forgiving, the merciful." For this young woman, thi...
2017-01-0900 minCreating Space ProjectAlways the Fourth FloorAlways the Fourth Floor is the podcast episode you get when the sound guy needs a break. It's a song written by myself, Ruth Nelson, and Ben Munday. Always the Fourth Floor is about working with refugees, newly arrived in Sydney, Australia. We're not professional musicians. We just love music. I've been pretty nervous about uploading this as an episode. But I guess I value taking a risk, especially the risk of failing and looking foolish. And my three year old keeps getting me to play this epi...
2017-01-0400 minCreating Space ProjectAmy's birthdayMy cousin’s daughter, Amy, is turning 21. As a birthday present for her, I interviewed her grandmother, Carolyn. She told me about a phone call, in 1995, telling her that Amy, her first grandchild, had been born. The birth of the first grandchild is an important and very happy occasion. “In the background I could hear little sniffles.” “A little cradle… a little darkhaired, rounded baby.” Carolyn hopes that Amy understands how much she is loved by her family and extended family. Carolyn deeply values the preci...
2016-12-2600 minCreating Space ProjectBeautiful ThingsChristine met Rodney in a boarding house in Sydney. She introduced herself to him and the two fell in love. That’s as simple, and as complicated, as this story gets. They go bowling and are known to friends as the lovebirds. He said “I don’t want to lose you.” They hope to get married. Christine wants to wear a white dress and a veil. They are saving for a honeymoon on a cruise ship. There are many losses in life. Christine and Rodney have both had their s...
2016-12-1900 min