How Good Are Humans

He's played over 100 international rugby union test matches for the Wallabies. He's won a Super Rugby championship with the Queensland Reds, and a Tri-nations and SANZAAR Rugby Championship with the Wallabies. He's also competed in a Rugby Union World Cup final, and captained the Wallabies on four occasions. This week on the How Good Are Humans podcast, I am speaking with none other...

Think you know a thing or two about crocodiles? You might know that they're big and carnivorous. You might know that they come in salt and fresh water varieties (not entirely accurate). You might even know where to find one, and what its reaction is likely to be if you poked it on the nose. But when you think about it, how much do you know about their social behaviour, peculiar habits and imp...

If you live in Australia, there's a 75% chance that you live in a city of 100,000 residents or more. That also means there's at least a 75% chance that you have never required the vital assistance of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, or RFDS for short. The RFDS is the organisation that ensures our rural and remote Australians remain connected with health support. They are an indispensable...

“Giving people the best experience when they come in to get their hair cut, and making them feel comfortable enough to share anything they need to get off their chest, is all part of my job.” This week, we are unveiling Josh Anderson, owner and head barber at Cartel Collective. Cartel Collective is a barber shop in Cairns with a contemporary feel, comfortable layout and a team of talented barbers....

For young people to be positively engaged with their communities, they need to feel like their community values them. If this isn’t obvious to them, youth will make their own fun, often times at the expense of the community. Young men in particular find a lot of thrill and enjoyment pushing the boundaries of the law; it is just in our nature. This will see kids in trouble with police for petty cri...

"A lot of men in particular, their identity is in their occupation. Once they retire, they lose a lot of social connection associated with their profession, and this can lead to isolation. This was the original premise of the Men's Shed." This week we are unveiling the work and purpose of Men's Shed Cairns, through the voices of two of its members, Eric and Clive. Men's sh...

Welcome back to the podcast! And welcome to 2021. Hopefully this year will bear some sweeter fruit than its predecessor, but it’s important to remember that things happen because of a reason, and for a reason. Take COVID, for example. It happened BECAUSE of the gaps in our preparation for pandemics, and it happened FOR our ability to reset, reassess and start anew. I was so incredibly lucky to beg...

Could you imagine 553 days spent in detention, which is currently the average length of stay for those seeking asylum in Australia. How about 3650 days, bereft of almost all forms of freedom? This is, so far, the longest someone has spent in Australian immigration detention. Today, we are unveiling someone who has tried their best to get a taste of this contemporary form of suffering. Javed Badyar...

This week, we are unveiling two blokes demonstrating that age counts for very little when it comes to commitment to fitness, and sporting competition. Jeff Wall and Ross Taylor have been surf lifeguards and masters of the paddleboard for many years now. Jeff even worked as a lifeguard back when the original rescue buoys were in use, so both gentlemen have thoroughly witnessed and participated with...

Today we are unveiling the super cool duo, Taylor and Ben, who’ve founded Clean Up Wollongong, and we’re releasing the episode on a tight turnaround for a seriously awesome reason! Tomorrow, 9am on the 28th of November, Clean Up Wollongong will be meeting at North Wollongong Beach for their final cleanup effort of the year. During a classic romantic walk on one of Wollongong’s many beautiful beach...

Today, we are unveiling a compassionate team focussed on a vital issue. Ishith, Gabriella and Michael are founding members of the Baby Heart Foundation, a charity with the mission of raising awareness and funds for treatment of congenital heart disease (CHD); specifically, CHD in infants. CHD is a condition that develops before birth and affects approximately one percent of the population. Its cau...

This week, we are unveiling the founder of Blue Cradle NZ, James Nikitine. James is an oceanic conservationist, communicator and policy advisor who is seeking to bring the reality of marine welfare to the forefront of our collective minds. During the COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand, James brought Blue Cradle to life; a solutions focussed organisation which aims to enable a regenerative, sustainab...

This week, we are unveiling Fi and Dylan from the urban farming organisation, Cultivate Christchurch. Cultivate has three farms located around the Christchurch metropolitan area, one of which is smack bang in the middle of the city. Cultivate also has a keen focus on supporting youth employment, development and empowerment. Fi, with a background in youth development, has formulated an internship p...

This week, we're (re)unveiling the adventurous, ambitious and down to earth Blue Rower, Isaac Giesen. On the podcast, recorded in the back of Eddie the cranky old van, we discussed Isaac's incredible rowing feats, and the purpose behind them. Isaac is the first Kiwi to have rowed the Atlantic Ocean solo, and the first person in the Southern Hemisphere to have rowed an ocean twice in a ca...

This week, we are unveiling the wonderful partnership behind Unchatter Global, Natasha and Hassan. Unchatter is an organisation with one important and overarching purpose: helping people connect, hopefully on a deep and meaningful level. During this episode, we speak about the fraying of connections in society and why that may be occurring. We speak about the structure of Unchatter events and the...

This week, we are unveiling judokan couple and Commonwealth Games medalists Moira de Villiers and Jason Kosta. Moira and Jason joined us on the podcast to discuss what life as Olympic level athletes/competitors looks like; what it demands of your body, spirit and mind, and how it can take its toll. We also spoke about the intricacies and practicality of judo as a martial art, and the positive impa...

Unveiling adventure athlete, artist and children' book author, Emma Timmis. Emma is this week's guest on the How Good Are Humans podcast. Emma has an awesome story, made up of many unexpected twists and turns. As an adventure athlete, Emma has completed a number of journeys that not only vary by location and discipline, but also by their levels of quirkiness. Included among them are two...

There are so many exciting things about this week's episode of How Good Are Humans! Firstly, we unveil and speak to the wise and enchanting, Christchurch based musician/sound-weaver, Jake Kīanō Skinner. We chatted about his journey from thrash-metal guitarist to multi-instrumentalist and sound looper, as his creative passion is producing melodic, nature-inspired sound environments to help peo...

In this episode of the podcast, we are speaking to Rikiana and Craig of Bodycore Gym in Christchurch, New Zealand. Bodycore Gym is a community orientated gym that has a number of active initiatives focussed on improving the physical and mental health and wellbeing of its members, as well as the wider community. Rikiana, a personal trainer at the gym, has also experience turbulence in his own menta...

In this episode of the podcast, we speak with singer-songwriter and waste-free campaigner Anna van Riel of Wanaka, New Zealand. Along with her folk music career, Anna is the founder of Plastic Free Wanaka, an organisation dedicated to eradicating waste—particularly single-use plastic—in the Queenstown Lakes District, through education and reduction initiatives. Anna has also combined her talents a...

In this episode of the podcast, we speak to the hilarious Andy Swarbrick, owner of the Left Hand Path tattoo studio based in Canterbury, New Zealand. We had a great time talking about his peculiar journey into an artistic career (hint: it involves drawing on things that he wasn't supposed to be drawing on). We also spoke about ethics and practicality regarding getting a new tattoo, including...

In this episode of the podcast, we speak to enthusiastic entrepreneur and outspoken community advocate, Melissa Baer. Melissa works within the regenerative/sustainable agriculture sector, devising technological solutions to issues of industry transparency and food security. On top of this, Melissa is a passionate proponent and advocate for the promotion of women's sports; specifically, women&...