Kurt Fearnley's Tiny Island

In this episode of Tiny Island, host Kurt Fearnley sits down with his first return guest!    Back in one of our first episodes Kurt spoke with his mum, Jackie, when they were in Kenya visiting Kurt Fearnley Centre for children with disability.    This time Kurt and Jackie talk about raising a child with disability, some of the decisions the family had to make, and what it was like to follow the career of a professional wheelchair racer.

In this episode of Tiny Island, host Kurt Fearnley sits down with Australian actor and comedian Rhys Muldoon to discuss his life and career. Rhys opens up about his childhood growing up in Melbourne, his early years in the entertainment industry, and his experiences working on some of Australia's most beloved television shows. Rhys also shares some of his favorite memories from his time working on shows like Play School, The Saddle Club, and Bluey, and offers insights into what makes these programs so special for both children and adults alike.

In this episode of Tiny Island, host Kurt Fearnley sits down with former Australian Prime Minister John Howard to discuss his life in politics and beyond. He reflects on his childhood in a working-class Sydney suburb, and how his experiences growing up shaped his political beliefs. Mr Howard offers candid insights into his decision-making process and his philosophy on leadership, and shares personal anecdotes about some of the most memorable moments of his time in office.

Kurt Fearnley sits down with David Connolly, the general manager of Tipperary group of stations in the Northern Territory. David shares his experiences of managing the stations, which cover an area larger than the size of Switzerland! He discusses the challenges of running a business in such a remote location, from the logistics of getting supplies to the stations to dealing with extreme weather conditions. They reflect on the beauty of the Australian outback and the importance of preserving it for future generations.

Alison Battisson runs a legal and advocacy organisation that promotes human rights for refugees and asylum seekers. Kurt and Alison were part of a team who helped Afghan Paralympian get to the Tokyo games. Kurt and Alison discuss the complex issues surrounding the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, the importance of advocacy and legal representation.

Royce Simmons is a rugby league legend and all round great Aussie. He's a premiership winning captain of the Penrith Panthers and now faces another challenge after he was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Kurt and Royce chat about his early days growing up in rural New South Wales, his career in rugby league and all the highs and lows of his journey.  

We're back for 2023! In this episode of Tiny Island, host Kurt Fearnley welcomes special guest Stan Grant, renowned journalist, author and commentator. Kurt and Stan delve into the complexities of identity, culture and the power of storytelling. With their shared experiences and unique perspectives, they discuss the challenges faced by Indigenous communities and the importance of amplifying their voices.  

At a time when real life politics seems like satire, you'd think the satirists would be out of a job. Instead, they've just taken their craft to another level. Mark Humphries is one of our best, funny, yet thoughtful and humble. At the end of an exhausting election campaign in Australia it was great to have a yarn about the lighter side of politics.

To sum up Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM in a few sentences isn't possible so I'll try with just some of the headings. Medical doctor, lawyer, senior advisor to a Royal Commission, Queensland Australian of the Year, advocate, researcher, innovator, quadraplegic. With everything going on his life I was grateful to spend some time chatting with the calm, confident and lovely Dinesh. You will love this chat.

Jimmy Frank is a Warumungu man passionate about sharing his culture. Through his work at the Warumungu Culture Centre and as a member of art collective the Tennant Creek Brio, he strives to educate people by sharing stories and histories from a Wumprurrarni (Aboriginal) perspective. He believes that truth telling is the best tool to unite divides and to allow a better understanding of what it is to be Australian.

El Gibbs describes herself in her Twitter profile as a grumpy optimist and her handle is Blunt Shovels. That may be El's self assessment but I'd add words like fierce, determined and truth-teller. El is a tremendous (and loud!) voice for Australia's disability community and it was wonderful to sit down and yarn about some of the things which are impacting people with disability.  Chatting with El is always eye-opener and a reinforcement of the work we still have to do for better inclusion, acknowledgement and caring in Australia.

Darren Hill helps people think about how best to do the big stuff in their lives. Whether it's working through business strategy or culture with an ASX leader, delivering a keynote to thousands, or popping up in the paper or on the TV for his views on business leadership and workplace culture, Darren is a deep-thinker and thought provoker. We've worked together on a few things over the years but this was our first chance to deep dive into some of the meatier stuff Darren works on. I think you'll enjoy the yarn and maybe even pick up a few nuggets to apply in your own personal or work life. 

I love listening to Emma Race and her band of Outer Sanctum sisters talk about the big stuff in the context of sport, in particular AFL.  Her drive to make sure footy (and sport in general) is for everyone is matched by her passion for the game and the joy it brings to her and her family.  Our yarn was also a lovely reminder that the game is WAY more than the athletes on the field. Away from footy Emma has done some tremendous work with Our Watch, a national leader in the prevention of violence against women and their children, and is Co-Principal of Making the Call - a pathway program for women in sports broadcasting.

Trent Bagnall likes to work with others to solve problems. After successfully building a software company from zero to a $30 million sale, Trent started working with innovators and startups to solve new and old business problems. The corporate startup accelerator he started with a mate, Slingshot, brings corporates and startups together to help them grow. Trent is a fantastic ambassador for my home town Newcastle. 

Lara Lowndes describes herself as half nerd, half rev-head.  She trained as an oncogeneticist and currently works as the board director for The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation. But she is also in the Australian Supercar pits with the Holden RedBull racing team, managing V8 racing legend and husband, Craig Lowndes.  This rev-head scientist is a wonderful Aussie doing some very exciting things for medical research in Australia.

Bonus Episode: You Little Ripper! is another podcast project I'm working on with Georgie Tunny and it's a celebration of Paralympic sport. Here is our latest episode where you'll hear from Ben Tudhope, who won Bronze in the snowboard cross and sit-ski legend Sam Tait.  

Tiny Island is back! What better way to restart the pod about who we are as Australians, than with the leader of the Australian Republic Movement and Australian history author Peter FitzSimons? My first interaction with Peter was when I was starting to map out what a crawl across the Kokoda Track would look like. I'd been shut down by a few people but Peter hooked me up with the man who would eventually plan and lead our journey across the track. He is one of the people I've met on my journey who have helped me solve problems, rather than shut the door. An accomplished author, journalist, TV commentator and former Australian Rugby player, Peter has a unique perspective on what it is to be an Australian today and where we come from over the last 64,000 years.  DON'T MISS OUT - We've also brought back You Little Ripper, our Paralympic focused podcast, for the Winter Paralympics which start this week. Search You Little Ripper on your podcast provider and tell a friend about what we're doing.    

Georgie Tunny is a passionate sports reporter for the ABC. Born in Brisbane she grew up watching the footy with her father. And from there her love of all things sport grew. We've just finished a podcast called You Little Ripper, and we had a blast. I hope you enjoy getting to know Georgie Tunny.

I have four older siblings but consider Rheed McCracken to be the younger brother I never had. He lives around the corner from me now, we shared the same coach and he's had to put up with my cooking and look after my kids... Rheed is a four time Paralympic medallist and is in Tokyo chasing the elusive gold in the men's T34 100m and 800m. I met Rheed as a shy teenager, but these days he doubles his wheelchair racing career with a spot on fashion runways!

Not many people are best in the world at what they do as a teenager. Isis Holt is one of those rarities. Breaking her first world records within a year of taking up competitive running, Isis went on to win her first world championship at age 14. Then in her Paralympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games she medalled in three events but no gold. She bounced back to win gold at the 2017 World Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games then stepped away from the track to learn a little more about herself away from running. What's next? Have a listen to find out.