Batting the Breeze

Send me a comment! 29/30 April 1975 - Vietnam War: The fall of Saigon - 50 years ago today How would you react if you had commandeered a Chinook helicopter and were flying over the South China Sea with little fuel, nowhere to land, your wife and children were on board and you're being hounded by North Vietnamese determined to bring you down? That's the situation that confronted Ba Van Ng...

Send me a comment! What does an astronaut fear most? Believe it or not, it’s not dying. What tricks do you play on yourself to get to sleep the night before lift-off? What do you feel when you are standing in front of 180 feet of rocket which is about to propel you into space?  Why would you eat at least one meal on the ceiling of the space shuttle each mission? Jim Wetherbee is one of NASA’s most...

Send me a comment! Your son has a life expectancy in the 20’s. What are you going to do about it? Today’s guest is the embodiment of triumph over adversity, as are her family. Emma Hallam’s life is marked by extraordinary resilience in the face of overwhelming personal loss, culminating in the diagnosis of her son Alex with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  Duchenne is a life-limiting, aggressive form...

Send me a comment! If I suggested that you spend nine months away from home and family and sail 32,000 miles around the world the hard way around (ie against prevailing winds and currents), what would you say? And suppose I then told you that eight of your crew had never sailed before and, by the way, Hurricane Michael would be waiting to greet you? Well, that’s what happened to adventurer, author...

Send me a comment! In 1993, Chris Moon MBE was taken prisoner while clearing landmines in Cambodia by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, the most feared and brutal regime in the country's history. No Western prisoner had ever survived.  Chris managed to keep his emotions in check and used his early-life farming experiences, army training and plenty of guile to attempt to take control of a situation...

Send me a comment! If you ever seriously considered a career as a TV Anchor, you had better listen to this episode first. Elizabeth Pearson Garr has been there.  After growing up at Stanford and studying at Harvard, she ventured out to the wilds of Billings, Montana to become a TV anchor for KULR-8, an NBC affiliate.  Within a few hours of her first day, the noon anchor went off sick and Elizabeth...

Send me a comment!  WARNING: Today’s episode contains adult themes, specifically sex trafficking and human trafficking, so please take that into account.    Amanda Blackwood is a gem.  She’s fun. She’s full of life. She’s also a survivor of human trafficking. Amanda engages in a raw and intimate conversation about her experiences of forced drug prescriptions as a child, subsequent sexual abuse by...

Send me a comment! In 1958, Sir Patrick Hine was part of a team of elite RAF pilots, the Black Arrows, who broke the world record for an aerobatic display manoeuvre that has never been equalled - and might never be.  The Black Arrows performed a 22-plane loop twice in front of a euphoric Farnborough Air Show crowd.  Sir Patrick later became Air Chief Marshal of the RAF and Joint Command of the Bri...

Send me a comment! The America's Cup - the pinnacle of professional sailing and one of the oldest and most prestigious trophies in international sport. The 2003 America's Cup: 10 teams, 1 winner. What was it like to be a competitor in one of these elite teams? Simon Fry has experienced the thrills and spills, the highs, the lows, the fierce rivalries and the extreme physical demands of t...

Send me a comment! Do you pride yourself on your infallible memory? Well think again. Memories about ourselves and the events of our lives are nurtured by our Autobiographic Memory and, shockingly, it turns out that it is unreliable by design. Our story centres on Brian Williams, America's one-time No. 1 news anchor.  He reported from the front line in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War when t...

Send me a comment! Documentaries such as Blue Planet and The Great Reef have brought new wonder and awareness into our living rooms. Former Royal Navy underwater bomb disposal expert turned submarine pilot Mark Taylor now explores the planet's oceans as an integral part of the subsea documentary filmmaking community.  He has seen eels dip into lakes 750 metres under the ocean, witnessed mud v...

Send me a comment! In October 1988, the Hong Kong police executed Operation Clinker and achieved the largest ever drug haul in Hong Kong history.  Bill Renwick was undercover with the team of four who heroically overcame two of the drug syndicate on a ketch somewhere on the edge of the South China Sea. Think of The French Connection meets Popeye with a sprinkling of Keystone Kops, and you have all...

Send me a comment! Can you imagine a silence so intense that brushing your teeth could be painful? Argentinian-born Nico Marino is a traveller.  It’s in his roots. Having travelled on his bicycle across Europe, Asia and Africa, he decided to settle in Australia. To get to know his new homeland, he decided to go for a bike ride - from West to East - Perth to Sydney - right across the heart of the A...

Send me a comment! It's 1968. The Vietnam War is at its fiercest. Robin Bartlett is a platoon leader with the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry Division.  Robin’s platoon is deployed on regular helicopter combat assaults, sometimes twice a day.  Getting into the Landing Zone is perilous - so is getting out.  Robin recounts the day when his helicopter had ascended to 1500 feet,  received gunfire and then m...

Send me a comment! Rebecca Bratspies, New York environmental and human rights lawyer, shared with me the extraordinary and inspirational life story of Jackie Robinson, the first black player in US Major League Baseball, back on April 15 1947, after crossing the Baseball Color Line. Having written "Naming Gotham - The Villains, Rogues and Heroes Behind New York's Place Names", Rebecc...

Send me a comment! Forced to escape from a war-torn Sri Lanka with his family and move to London, Pradeep Kumar Sachitharan experienced a life of crime as a London teenager before his love for weightlifting gave him discipline and prospects.  After a chance discovery of the benefits of qualifications, Pradeep embarked on an educational whirlwind through six universities leading to vice president o...

Send me a comment! Today was a quickie just to let you know that Batting the Breeze is taking a short break. But don't worry; behind the scenes, everything is still going strong. I'm busy lining up amazing guests to share their experiences with you and putting the final touches on our long-awaited weekly newsletter. This breather gives me a chance to reflect on what's working, gathe...

Send me a comment! During the Vietnam War, a group of courageous women embarked on an extraordinary mission to uplift the spirits of American troops stationed far away from their loved ones. The Donut Dollies. With unwavering bravery, they ventured into war zones armed only with warm smiles. Their story often goes unheard, but not for my guest today, Penni Evans, who left college at the end of Dec...

Send me a comment! At 22, Brad, an Aussie thrill-seeker, invited his family to watch his first skydiving experience. It was nearly his last. The thrill turned to panic as the first parachute failed to open.  Then the unthinkable happened and panic became terror. The reserve parachute also failed to open. Brad and his instructor were plummeting to earth at terminal velocity.  For more information,...

Send me a comment! Jazz musician Rick DellaRatta witnessed the 9/11 attacks from a rooftop in New York City. While watching the unfolding tragedy in front of him, he was inspired to write a poem which later became known as "Jazz for Peace”. Rick didn’t realise it at the time, but Jazz for Peace would become a worldwide movement promoting peace, garnering international recognition and support,...

Send me a comment! President John F Kennedy arrived in Dallas, Texas, on November 22nd, 1963, appearing to be in good health; almost exactly three hours later, he left the city in a casket.  Those two facts are the only things most Americans agree upon concerning that tragic weekend. If you think you know who was responsible, you’re in for a surprise. History matures over time. New witnesses come...

Send me a comment! “Opera singing is a civilized version of what you were doing when you were a baby. We scream like a little baby. That's what opera singing is all about.” Simona Mango did clarify that you have to scream the right notes of course! Simona reveals the secrets of being an opera singer, overcoming stage fright and what to do if you forget your lines.  She also explains her uniqu...

Send me a comment! If you have ever considered how you could reconnect with nature, here’s your answer – through bees.  Have you ever wondered why bees make honey? What does a drone do all day long? Why should we care about the health of our bees? Paula Carnell is a bee consultant and honey sommelier looking to create a buzz about health. She says that bees are Mother Nature’s way of connecting na...

Send me a comment! What have a psychiatrist, a psychic medium, a bodyguard, a WWII survivor, a remote settler and a parliamentary candidate got in common? They all feature in today’s episode. The podcast has now passed 25 episodes, so it felt like a great time to look back.  Check out this compilation of the best bits of some of our earlier episodes. For more information, check out show notes at ...

Send me a comment! "If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." Today I had the privilege to meet one person with autism. Stuart Carlson is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder but he is defined by his extraordinary musical ability.  He is a concert violinist and composer. I tried to understand the contradiction between the very earthly challeng...