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| Me trying to look all presenterish... |
Okay - so here's what I do - I'm a presenter on this podcast program, Up Close, produced by Melbourne University.
As far as journalist jobs go, this one is a gift from the Gods. As the presenter for "Arts and Humanities" (yes, I've told them I am more than capable of covering science and law and whatever else they can throw at me but it seems they aren't quite yet ready for my complete and utter domination of their program - yet! Something about sharing and other hosts.....I know, I know, madness!) I get to dive into all kinds of fabulous subjects and swim about a bit.
So, each fortnight or thereabouts I interview the latest visiting luminary or otherwise fabulous academic about all that they do.
In my most recent episode I talk with Professor Raymond Green - he's a landscape architect whose incredible research is giving local communities empirical means of measuring a sense of place - can you imagine how important that is to seaside towns threatened by McMansions? I just found this interview so uplifting.
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| Prarthna Dal |
Some of my favorites have been Peter Singer on ending world poverty, Tim Costello on International Aid, and Kiran Martin, the founder of ASHA that helps 350,000 slum dwellers in Delhi. Then there was the episode with Michelle Kermode and Prarthna Dal on Widows of Injecting Drug Users in India - that ended up as a two parter and was just heart-breaking.
Professor Lauren Rosewarne's book "Cheating on the Sisterhood" led to a highly personal (for her) and damn challenging (for me, in all the best kinds of ways - intellectually and personally) examination of infidelity.
Then there was the fascinating Charles Zika who chatted to me about images of witchcraft and how he fell in love with a painting of three witches as an impressionable young student. I can still see his eyes sparkle and the years drop off him as he told that story. He just lit up from within.
And oh - there was Professor Dan Lubman who talked about the effects of cannabis on the brain and gave me the great image of a rat with the munchies.
And who would have thought that I'd have a connection for economic theorists? Well it seems I do. Freedman described himself as the Last Capitalist - but what you won't hear on tape is his love of music and his passion for playing the Blues. The other great thing about this episode that you won't hear is Marcus - huz-o'-mine who drove me into work that day (I think I lost my car-keys and was in a flat panic) and hung out in the sound booth. Which meant I got to show off to my man what I do for a job. And that was very cool indeed. Just to have that moment where I looked up and saw him engrossed in the interview. That was a good day.
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| Nikos Nikiforakis |
Then there are those unexpected moments when the guest that walks in the door is nothing like you'd imagined from their phone voice. Nikos Nikiforakis was that guest. He sounded like he was oh, fifty? And then.......yep, that's him to the right - and what that picture doesn't show is his eyes - they were the most vivid green. It was just one of those moments of great chemistry - and research. He was charming, and it seems so was I. ("You are not what I expected" HA! Seems I too sound about 50 on the phone) Yep, it was all about the research that day!
One of the most rewarding things I've found about this job (apart from the equally rare "bring husband to work day" and Nikos moment) is that, even though I'm talking to some of the top people of their field, they don't often get the chance, outside of academia, to talk about their work, to communicate it in terms that we can all understand. And when they realize I've taken a lot of time to make sure that I have a handle on what they are doing, their relief, and excitement is palpable. Up Close is a great vehicle for getting the best out of a guest, for giving them a forum that respects their intellect, provides a challenging forum and showcases their talent.
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| Melbourne Poet Kevin Brophy |
And perhaps the most eye-opening episodes for me was the one where Charles Schenking talked about the myths surrounding whaling. I'll never look at the Australian Government the same way again. Or Greenpeace. Or the Chinese.
But, if you are my mother, you can find all my episodes at this page
