Batting the Breeze

Send me a comment! Today’s guest spends a lot of time in his garden. But he cultivates voices rather than plants. Tim is a voice actor and his garden is where the real magic happens - in his voice booth. It’s his own personal oasis, except instead of palm trees and coconuts, he has microphones and soundproofing foam.  Find out about the life of a voice actor as well as meeting a few of Tim’s frien...

Send me a comment! The story of the Vietnam War has been told many times in many different ways. But how often have you heard what it was like on the ground for infantry soldiers walking The Trail - that daily grind of cutting through the jungle in pursuit of the enemy?  The unbearable heat, leeches, C-rations, booby traps, ambushes and counter-ambushes. It’s a gripping and terrifying story which...

Send me a comment! In August 2000, the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea, resulting in the loss of all 118 crew members. At the time, the UK Royal Navy's submarine rescue team was one of the best-equipped in the world, and they offered their services to help save the trapped crew. Access was denied. Today’s guest, Mark, was part of that team.  For more informatio...

Send me a comment! It was a mad moment in Australian political history;  The 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis - but don’t let that title put you off!  It’s a story of double-crossing, conspiracy theories, the CIA, Australia - a mature world democracy - without a government, demonstrations, dissent and a country in crisis.  And all, perhaps, because Gough Whitlam was out to lunch.    For more...

Send me a comment! Dating can be hard enough. But imagine you had been involved in a life-changing accident, were adapting to a new life in a wheelchair and were ready to pick up from where you left off with… boys.  Date Me is such a story of a young girl who experiences the highs and lows of human interaction. Find out how she takes back control.  For more information, check out show notes at  ht...

Send me a comment! Cats have 9 lives. Fred Rutman has at least 20. One night in May 2009, he died - three times. That summer, he died another 17 times.  Find out how this incredible story led to a new life of intermittent fasting.  You will be surprised at the results. For more information, check out show notes at  https://www.battingthebreeze.com/repeatedly-dead-fred/ . We love receiving your fee...

Send me a comment! Here’s the definition of insanity for you: throwing in a good job, leaving behind a salary and travelling 10,000 miles across the globe to follow a hunch, a seed of an idea.  Then driving around the States turning up in a bar to interview complete strangers and asking them deep personal questions about themselves.  That’s what Ken did. Find out how he got on. For more informatio...

Send me a comment! Can you imagine selling all your worldly possessions, your house, your car, your furnishings and reducing your ownership of ‘things’ to a 22-inch suitcase and a backpack? Well, that’s exactly what today’s guest did, leaving Arizona to travel the world as a digital nomad.  Find out how she did it. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-...

Send me a comment! Having previously spoken to near-death experience witnesses, I was keen to uncover how science viewed this extraordinary phenomenon.  I tracked down data scientist David Gerrelli. I wasn’t expecting what I heard. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/better-the-devil-you-know . We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.ba...

Send me a comment! Can you imagine what it’s like to breathe through someone else’s lungs?  Alastair Henry does.  In 2020 he had a double lung transplant at the age of 75. He’s only too aware of his responsibility to the donor, to make the best of this gift of extra life. Alastair shares his story and thoughts on organ donation. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingtheb...

Send me a comment! How are your communication skills these days?  No, I don’t mean public speaking or standing up to make a presentation.  How are you communicating with your spouse, your children, and your postman?  Brenden Kumarasamy, the founder of MasterTalk and top communications coach, shares some simple tips for us all. He’s a blast, by the way.  His comments on introverts are hilarious (an...

Send me a comment! Have you ever wondered if Margaret Thatcher ever met Sir Winston Churchill?  If you search, you’ll find that nobody really knows.  However, one person does know; Edmund Murray, Churchill’s last bodyguard.  Also, What happened when Winston Churchill demanded to see his bodyguard’s latest paintings? For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/edm...

Send me a comment! Edmund Murray was Winston Churchill’s last bodyguard and as such he witnessed situations and events like no other. What happened when Mrs Onassis, Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy ended up on the yacht Christina at the same time?  What really happened to Churchill’s budgerigar? For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/edmund-churchill-and-ona...

Send me a comment! Have you ever found a handwritten inscription behind an old bathroom cabinet and not stopped to read it? In that case, you may be kicking yourself by the time you’ve finished listening to the series of events which uncovered the life of one of Winston Churchill’s closest confidants - his last bodyguard. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.c...

Send me a comment! Have you heard of secondhand embarrassment? Imagine you’re sitting on a train next to a toilet with an automatic opening door.  And then, for no reason, it starts to open.  Think this could never happen? For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/secondhand-embarrassment/ . We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingtheb...

Send me a comment! In the 50’s and 60’s, a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland released the psychedelic drug LSD to encourage research of possible beneficial effects for psychological struggles or psychiatric illness. Psychedelic drugs were subsequently outlawed. Most people don’t realise that there is a legal, much safer option to achieve non-ordinary states of consciousness today. Neil Harris...

Send me a comment! If you’ve retired, are nearing retirement or have ever considered what life looks like after work, you may want to listen in. Alastair Henry provides an alternative to seeing out your days cutting grass and playing golf.  And if you haven’t contemplated any of this, well listen in anyway. It’s a charming story. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthe...

Send me a comment! At the last count, 221 million people have migrated, ie moved from their “country of usual residence”; that’s 3.5% of the world’s population. Of these, just short of 80 million were forcibly moved from their homes as refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced. But there are many that move to join their families, to study or to seek a new life.  I was lucky enough to catch...

Send me a comment! Have you ever visited a psychic medium? Perhaps you’re a little tentative?  Or perhaps you think it's all hocus-pocus.  You may be surprised on all three counts.  For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/is-anybody-there/ . We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

Send me a comment! My guest today ran for the UK parliament in 2019.  Spoiler Alert - he didn't get in! That was the year when the UK was devouring itself on the subject of Brexit.  Listen to his hilarious account of fighting to become an MP and find out what advice he would give to anyone thinking of doing the same.  [WARNING: This episode includes 1 expletive at 06:57] For more information,...

Send me a comment! Listen to the tragic story of a young man and his family, and how the law fails families like this time after time. Also, listen to his subsequent fight for justice and find out how you could play a small part in helping. [WARNING: Contains adult themes.] For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/marsys-law/ . We love receiving your feedback...

Send me a comment! Have you ever had that experience where life was ticking over quite nicely, and everything felt normal? And then something happened, and suddenly life wasn't normal anymore. What about if that something was that you died? For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/misfit-in-hell-to-heaven-expat/ . We love receiving your feedback - head ov...

Send me a comment! EPISODE 3:  If you need a lift, listen to the story of David Figueroa.   He was born with cerebral palsy in Puerto Rico with very little chance of creating a fulfilling life for himself.  Take a look where he is now, and how the love of two mothers helped to get him there.  Inspirational. For more information, check out show notes at https://www.battingthebreeze.com/a-tale-of-tw...

Send me a comment! EPISODE 2:  On the 3rd September 1939, Neville Chamberlain broadcast the news that Britain was at war with Germany.  Accounts of war time have been well documented, but what was it like for the children living under the constant threat of German bombers? Enid Bottle was five years old on that day.  Now eighty-eight years old and living in the South of England, she recalls vivid...

Send me a comment! EPISODE 1:  Welcome to Batting the Breeze, the podcast for the Infinitely Curious!  This introductory episode provides a summary of what you can expect from our podcast.  It's a place where we share stories, invite others to share stories, and sometimes just talk. And that talk could be about anything. Quite often, there will be subjects you've never thought about thin...