Mel Bampton Presents...How Human

Now this is a chat that is simply not long enough! Jen Cloher easefully extends into all the parts of life that make my heart sing, sometimes that song is sad, tender or joyful but meaningful conversation for me feels like growth and this chat has it in spades. It was perhaps 15 years ago or more that I first met Jen Cloher, somewhere on  my triple j timeline and I remember even then being captiva...

Can you imagine growing up one of 9 siblings?? Perhaps you are from a big family, how about then adding in a whole bunch of foster siblings too? How do you think such a household would shape you?  Have you ever considered fostering children but have fears that hold you back? Meet Naarah Rodwell, CEO of CASPA SERVICES, an out of home care organisation with an incredible reputation for cutting throu...

You know those humans that seem able to defy the time space contiunuum somehow and fit more life into the clock than most? Almost like their bodies are a vaster universe in some way than others, overflowing with a quantity of energy that allows them to do so many big beautiful things that have a meaningful impact in this one human life. Meet Carly Findlay, a glorious woman who’s taken the experien...

Generational trauma is threaded through us all like silver webs that catch bits of debris and snag us up in more ways than we can ever really know. It's just part of being human. How can we prevent passing some of the not so good stuff along, not just to offspring but to anyone who crosses our path? Meet Damien Schofield – a big fit fella with an enormous heart. Like far too many Generation X...

Luke Henery is an absolute legend; a slayer of so many tired old paradigms, simply by being himself. Bassist for Violent Soho now DZ Deathray, Luke is a punk rock unicorn, startlingly kind, generous and so full of heart.  For good and for bad, h ow did growing up the church influence who he would become? What did the pandemic look like on a day to day basis for artists trapped beneath the wreckage...

Research on the link between climate change events and PTSD, Major Depression Disorder and Complex Grief has been documented since at least 2018 - have you noticed this existential trauma seeping into you?  But what if you’re an Environmental Scientist like Floss Sturgiss? And every part of you is geared toward preventing species from becoming extinct; when you’re on the frontline of seeing the ba...

From communist Russia to capitalist paradise to sub tropical oasis, through cold greys and glowing freedoms, through systemic trauma, pain, elation and finding the middle ground. Anya Gerashenko is a discreet poet, a lover of language, a survivor of oppression, a renegade, a fermenting icon and an exquisite story teller. You’re going to cry, you’re going to laugh, so consider yourself forewarned....

Corporate roles and leadership positions are often fraught with heavy handedness and a very real sense of power imbalance; with characters who perpetuate this idea that to be at the top, you have to fight and fear your way there. Then there are those people - like the guest in this episode - who with big smiles and caring words, brush that myth into the fire. Understated, unassuming, extreme talen...

Can you think of a person in your life who just seems able to genuinely see and experience the joy in everything? Who isn’t riddled with anguish, doubt or fear and who makes you feel better just simply by being there? An osmosis of good vibes – a combination of lightness, openness, attentiveness, safety and love. Like they just really like who you are and in that glow of how they perceive you, you...

Comedian, writer, Greens candidate for Richmond, disruptor, survivor, storyteller – the list of nouns to describe the roles that Mandy Nolan has not just dabbled but swum in completely, goes on like a roll call of ways to create a meaningful and impactful existence. Always appearing endlessly full of vigour and yeses, Mandy is one of those people who seems able to bend time and address everything...

Jingi Wallah! Welcome back to Lissie Turner Presents... the podcast that explores the richness of extraordinary, every day humans. That unpicks and unpacks the tricky stuff - life, death, love, getting kids off to school on time, adulting, childhood, personal tragedies and triumphs, the little and the big wisdoms that rise to the surface as we rollick along this wild human adventure. In this episo...

This luscious, wisdom-filled season finale, is a pastiche of the entirety of this debut season of Lissie Turner Presents... A mind-blowing collection of story snippets, a treasure chest brimming with gems, an unbelievably awesome cast of outstanding humans and heartaching, life-affirming, life-changing, inspirational tales chopped up into bite-sized chunks of chewy goodness. As far as pods go, you...

A believer in nuances and a great supporter of the capacity of every day humans to love and care for each other, Ash Grunwald is a contemplative creature, on a never-ending odyssey to get to the heart of this wild human life. His journey has it's roots in South Africa, in authoritarianism gone wrong, of strong-willed parents, in late rebellion and a powerful drive to be a decent human being....

One afternoon during a rather lovely but uneventful book club, someone that I had known in various incarnations – my son’s school teacher and fellow lover of books – very lightly dropped her own story like a bomb into a calm sea - hitting the surface of this casual gathering and then as if in slow motion, commanded with such steadiness by this woman in control of it’s affect, it’s splashback rose...

In this very special episode I nerd out with Cultural Advisor and Co-Founder of Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation, Oli Costello, about trees and landscapes but if that's not your bag, well that's even more reason to hang in there! This chat goes deep and wide. Into connection, to hard times, finding our ways to keep putting one foot in front of the other on this crazy adventure...

Aftermath. What we find ourselves in after a big night out on the booze. When things are messy, unclear and we're wondering how many pieces of our dignity and our connections are we going to have to clean up.   Aftermath. The time after a tsunami. Trying to find people. Place. Seeing things that will never leave us. Aftermath. The early years of sobriety. Processing a lifetime's worth of...

What happens when you’re on a very straighty one eighty trajectory climbing the conditioned tiers of Christion upbringing, devoted wife, mother and Corporate CEO and then for the first time you take magic mushrooms at a festival in Portuagal and you have your mind blown out of the crown of your head, along with everything that was programmed into you to that point, and suddenly all you thought lif...

Some of life's deepest and most important conversations are so often never had. Instead they languish behind the constructed veil of taboo or impoliteness, the most profound wisdoms left unshared. Leaving us all languishing in our own contemplative isolation Sara Tindley has had a year none of us could conceive - thick with the heaviest blanket of grief, forced to acknowledge her own mortalit...

Are you navigating the great minefield of the blended family? Rich no doubt in treasure but with booby traps set everywhere by young and old alike, being the mamma in a blended family takes a skill, a centredness and a suppleness like no other family construct. Katie Rose has spent more than 25 years exploring eastern philosophy in yoga and in ayurveda, a passion that was inexplicably present with...

Ben Tillman did not hold back on starting adult life. At aged 20 with no idea about business, he and his mates started a cafe that would morph into an art gallery, a bar, a music venue and eventually a festival called Yours and Owls .  All of this kicking off around the same time as losing his father to a self-destructive spiral that would for a time feed his own.  In 2012 Ben would jump behind th...

Did you know right now in the world there is an organisation called The Responsible Metaverse Alliance and that it exists to ensure the safety of people within the virtual world? Have you heard of transhumanism and what the greatest danger to humanity is in relation to artificial intelligence? Did you know that in the unregulated Metaverse, there is a sexual assault issue? Unless you yourself are...

The tale of Maori Scottish legend Jamie Milne, holds nothing ordinary. From the circumstances of his conception to the breaking of a world record with nauseating endurance, and every small and large action in between. From a most unusual upbringing, that saw Jamie at the helm of his household from a very tiny age, to foster homes, heart-shattering rejection, a coming of age in the military, to ult...

Kidnapped. Not once but twice. Years of her childhood diverted to lonely confusion and a lasting feeling of displacement. This is the story of two adults trying to find leverage for their own dreams and of the children at the beating heart. Three siblings who carry the ongoing burden as adults now themselves, of trying to reconcile their different incarnations of the same devastating story. The st...

Sitting in story around the metaphorical campfire with this vivacious, tenacious, brilliant babe, is a rich and glorious treat. Always. Danni Carr, Founder of How I Quit Alcohol and Earth Bottles, my sister in sobriety, bold, brave and beautiful through and through, is an absolute firecracker of self-exploration. She's a Mamma, Sober Coach, eternal student and wife of Ash Grunwald.  Committin...

What happens when two recovering bogans get-together to discuss making peace with someone after they've died, growing up in South East Qld ghettos and a career as an intrepid vaginal cartographer? A fucking brilliant chat, that's what. Karlyn Digitalis is an Erotic Educator, Yoni Mapping Therapist and a Breath/Body Work Trauma Specialist. She grew up tough in the SE Queensland town of To...