Kurt Fearnley's Tiny Island

We've spoken a lot on this podcast about the importance of our First Peoples in our national identity but this the first time I've managed to line up a yarn with an Indigenous Australian! This episode is a chat I had with fellow adopted Novocastrian, Associate Professor Kelvin Kong. He's an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon - the FIRST Aboriginal surgeon in Australia in any field. Every day he is helping children hear which can change their lives. We explore the role community plays in shaping who we are as individuals and what we do with our lives.

What was it like growing up in 1980s Western Sydney as a woman from Afro-Caribbean descent? Award-winning writer and slam poet Maxine Beneba Clarke and I chatted about the point in your life when you realise you might be a little bit different to everyone else. Learn about Maxine's love of words, winning at the right time and how we can build on the incredible history of our First Peoples to strengthen our Tiny Island. Stay to the end to hear a great riff about the state of the Murray-Darling Basin!

With what seems to be an everlasting dominance of African athletes in long-distance running events, it's hard to believe that Australia's own Rob de Castella was the world-record holder over the marathon distance in the 1980s. Rob set the world record in 1981 and represented Australia at four Olympic Games, won two Commonwealth Games marathon races and was Australia's first track and field world champion. The 1983 Australian of the Year (one up on Kurt!) Rob is known in more recent years for his passionate drive to see running change the lives of Australian Indigenous communities through the Indigenous Marathon Project.      

Sam Mostyn is a non-executive director and sustainability advisor, with a long history of sports governance. Her current board roles include Mirvac, Transurban and Virgin Australia, and she is the Chair of Citi Australia. She joined the board of the Sydney Swans in 2017, after serving for more than a decade as a Commissioner with the Australian Football League - the first woman to ever be appointed, and in that role, was an advocate for the creation of the AFL Women's League. It was on a board that Sam and Kurt first met while both serving as Directors of Australian Volunteers International. Kurt and Sam chat about life, sport and what hard work looks like.

Barry O'Farrell is a former politician and was Premier of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) from 2011-2014 having led the NSW Liberal Party to a landslide election victory, ending 16 years of Labor government. Barry and Kurt first met in 2009 in the lead up to Kurt's crawl across the Kokoda Track, crossing paths many times over the next decade. In this chat, Kurt and Barry talk about the pull between progressive and conservative politics in Australia and the direction Barry took as Premier, including signing NSW onto the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Gonski education reform and the rights of same-sex couples to adopt. 

Layne Beachley AO is regarded as the most successful female surfer in history. Winning seven world championships, including six in a row, Layne helped forge the way for professional women's surfing around the world. In this chat, Kurt and Layne reflect on their sporting careers, the transition into life post-competitive sport and what drives them to succeed in their lives. 

Kurt Fearnley's Tiny Island is yarn with some amazing Aussies about their passions, what makes them tick and what it is to be an Australian. Here’s a snippet of what’s to come.   Don't forget to subscribe to the show!