Kurt Fearnley's Tiny Island

Kevin Coombs is an Australian wheelchair basketballer and athlete who competed at 5 Paralympics including the first Paralympic Games in 1960. He is also the first Indigenous Australian Paralympic competitor. He is the most resilient man that I have met and I feel grateful to have grown up within the Australian Paralympic family that Kevin Coombs helped create. Affectionately known within the community as Uncle Kevin. 

Gladys Berejiklian is an Australian politician serving as the 45th and current Premier of New South Wales and the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal party. Berejiklian was born in Sydney, the eldest of three daughters born to Armenian immigrant parents. Berejiklian spoke only Armenian until she was five years old, when she began learning English. We speak about gratitude and a strong since of duty and resilience that has assisted in the rise to the highest ranks of the NSW political stage.  

George King is the 5th generation of his family to run Coombing Park, one of the founding homesteads of Carcoar. Carcoar is in the central west of NSW and where I grew up. My connection to Coombing Park is deeper then the location. My grandfather worked the property as the head stockman for around 40 years.  Today we speak about how farming is changing, life in the bush and the nobility in farming.

Phil Kearns captained Australia 10 times of the 67 he pulled on the Wallabies' jersey but his impact on our nation goes well beyond his rugby career. Phil is a successful businessman and the founder of the Balmoral Burn, a charity foot race that has raised more than $30 million for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, who supply medical equipment to childrens' hospitals across Australia. We spent some chatting about media in footy, Phil's proudest rugby moments (none as a player!) and the difference the work of Humpty makes for Aussie kids.

On 3 January 2003, I was in my car, pulled over, teeth clenched, sweating a little, ears tuned to what would end up being one of the most memorable moments in Australian cricket history. In a test Australia lost. This week I get to chat through this moment with the man who created it, Steve Waugh, Australian cricket legend, perhaps our greatest ever captain, philanthropist and all-round good bloke. We also touch on media in sport (including sandpaper-gate), the young girls Steve supports in India and how he and his foundation are changing the lives of children in Australia with rare diseases.

I often say the 10 years of not winning was one of the major factors in my success when I eventually got there in 2004. But what if you never get that individual success because you keep coming up against the best athletes your sport has ever seen? How do you keep going?   Enter Daniel Kowalski, dedicated swimmer, champion bloke, but known most for his minor medals than anything else, behind messrs Perkins and Hackett. He competed in the Olympic Games in 1996 & 2000. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Daniel was the first man in 92 years to earn medals in the 200-, 400- and 1500-metre freestyle events.    We have a great yarn about all sorts of things. Daniel is definitely a gold medal Australian.

Have you woken up at night wondering 'Am I doing enough'? Kumi Taguchi uses that question to drive herself. A familiar face on our screens, Kumi is an ABC TV presenter, and current host of Compass. We speak about work goals, race, the view of Australia from abroad and the changing landscape of Australia. 

I'm fast learning that leading an interview is an art and not something you pick up overnight. So it was a pleasure to sit down with one of our best, Andrew Denton. Currently hosting The Interview on Channel 7, Andrew has a gift of drawing unheard insights from filmstars, politicians and even the occasional wheelchair athlete... A Rabbitohs tragic and driving force behind their reinstatement to the NRL, Andrew shares some of his wisdom with me, including a good yarn about his push for assisted dying. 

When you ask an Aboriginal woman what it means to her to be Australian and she responds that she's never identified as Australian you step back a little... Learn why Teela Reid, a proud Wiradjuri and Wailwan woman from Gilgandra, takes a different view on our nation and growing up in Australia. A lawyer, a Harvard emerging leader, Teela wears many hats and it was great to sit down and have a yarn

Geoff Trappett OAM is a former Paralympic Athlete. Competing in 2 world championships, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympics. He won Gold in Sydney, being the first person to dip under the 14 second mark for the 100m wheelchair sprint, holding this world record through his retirement in 2005. Following on from sport, Geoff has transitioned to working professionally in multiple senior executive roles in the disability sector. He currently runs his own social policy change organisation Inclusion Moves and speaks out on human rights and disability inclusion.

After 5 minutes with Peter Helliar, in person or through one of his many exploits, you've undoubtedly had a laugh and probably learned something too. Peter is an Australian comedian, actor, radio and television presenter, writer, producer and director. He is one of four regular hosts of The Project on Network Ten & previously he was known for his work on television on Rove. He’s an AFL loving self confessed bogan & loved by the Australian public.

Reaching the pinnacle of one sport is incredible. In two? That's something else. After an Olympic Games representing Australia in hockey, Georgie Parker made the leap to play AFLW at the highest level with the Collingwood Magpies. A fierce, determined athlete and one of my favourite larrikins, Georgie now also hosts the sports commentary podcast "That's what she said". Loved this yarn and everything Georgie stands for.

Craig Bellamy is one of the most successful coaches in Rugby League history. His record while at the helm of the Melbourne Storm is incomparable. We speak about what drives him and how he gets the best out of the people around him. We also chat about Craig's history before the coaching role including his experiences in bush football and journey through the sport as an athlete.

Thérèse Rein is one of Australia's leading entrepreneurs.  She founded Ingeus, an international employment and business psychology services company, is the recipient of the human rights medal, a mother of three, and part of the Paralympic family as the daughter of one of Australia’s first Paralympians. And she's lived in the Lodge a couple of times with her Prime Minister husband. 

Father Rod Bower is an Anglican Priest at the Archdiocese of Gosford. He gained national notoriety with billboards supporting social justice issues that conflict with the beliefs of more conservative approaches to Christianity. He speaks about what drives him towards activism & what he believes is the main message of Easter.

This week is a yarn with one of Australia's most well known disability advocates, Carly Findlay. Carly is a voice that every day encourages a proud identity in disability. I hope you enjoy out chat and find time to check out her book "Say Hello". 

ACDC. Inxs. Silverchair. The Wiggles. Australian music gods, The Wiggles are one of Australia's most loved exports. They came by Newcastle last month so I took my kids along for their show and snuck backstage to see what makes them tick.

Today you're going to hear some stories that I recorded while I was in Kenya. I've been to some far off places learning more about disability. Around the world, 66% of people who need a wheelchair to get around don't have one. More than that number can't attend school or university, hampering opportunity in life. Here's a few yarns with people helping to break that cycle in one of the toughest places in the world to live, especially if you have a disability. We talk about the acceptance of grief around the altered path of disability but the rejection of shame. This one was a special one for me as I got to take my mum along for the ride!

I've known Bill Shorten for about a decade from his days as Disability Services Minister and a key driver to create the NDIS. This was a great opportunity to share some time with the man who could be our Prime Minister in a couple of months and learn about what keeps him up at night. 

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.