The Blue Room

Dr Heather Massey is a marathon swimmer. She's also a researcher at the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments research group in the UK. She's just recruited people for a study comparing cold water swimming with medication in treating depression. Heather joined the Blue Room's Sabra Lane for a chat about her marathon swims, the science of cold water immersion, after drop and f...

Australian author Tim Winton joins the Blue Room podcast host Sabra Lane for a long chat about his obsession with the ocean. Tim is admired the world-over for his salt water stories. Nearly all of his novels are love letters to the sea. As Tim says in his dedication in “Land's Edge" - For my family and for those who know that a bad day's fishing is always better than a good day's work. Tim says sw...

Join The Blue Room for an inspiring chat with Tasmanian swimmer Brett Stephenson as he recounts his journey to complete South Africa's renowned Freedom Swim . Brett shares what motivated him to take on the challenge, the emotions of swimming through waters steeped in history, and the special moments that made the experience so meaningful. Brett talks with podcast host Sabra Lane and takes us b...

Mark Sowerby is The Blue Room 's guest in this episode. Over a decade he swims the Ocean Seven, seven channels of water on five continents. The first channel ( The English Channel ) is achieved while he's at the helm of a successful start-up company. The rest of the channels become a form of therapy, recovering from the shock of a company going under which morph into the documentary 'D...

The Blue Room visits the 2026 Devil of a Swim , relocated this year from Bicheno to Coles Bay. Also visiting the tourist hotspot, the Coledale Oysters from NSW. The Oysters heard about the swim on the Blue Room in 2025 and made a pact to join this year's competition. Afterwards they joined podcast host and swimmer Sabra Lane for a special 'live' recording of the episode at Coles Bay to...

The Blue Room's guest is Alison Orme and what has become 'a highlight of her life'. What started as a simple invite to friends to swim in some of Sydney's spectacular ocean pools became something much bigger. From discovering Harbour pools, to Sydney's ocean pools, pools along the NSW coastline, lidos in the UK and soon pools in France. Alison tells t he Blue Room how this pass...

It's a question pod host Sabra Lane is often asked; how to you become confident to swim in the open water? The Blue Room joins the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving club in Tasmania, as the ' Dragons Swim Pod' graduates. The club has run a 10-week program aimed at getting swimmers confident to swim in the ocean. We join the pod on their final graduation swim, and talk with the trainers a...

Five years ago, a group of women waded into the cold waters of Tasmania and found something much bigger than a swim. Meet the Kingston Beach Sea Hags: a bold, joyful community bound by saltwater, courage, and connection. This podcast dives beneath the surface of “just a bobble” to explore the magic of cold water, the rhythm of “chat-stroke,” and the quiet power of showing up for one another—again...

At just 20 years old, Miu Tanaka is balancing university life in Sydney with record-breaking achievements in marathon swimming. The elite open water swimmer has already secured a series of remarkable firsts in Australia’s most challenging aquatic challenges. Miu Tanaka is the first woman to complete the demanding swim from New Norfolk to Bruny Island in Tasmania. She also became the first woman to...

Brendan Cullen works on an outback sheep farm near Broken Hill in NSW. In 2015 he sought help at the local hospital, not knowing what was wrong with himself. He was diagnosed with severe depression. Also that same year, he watched his brother compete in an open-water swim and he thought; "I want some of that". But how do you train for marathon swims, like the English Channel, when you li...

Save Phillip Pool is a Canberra community group that's just had a big win. The ACT government has backed down on plans to replace a 50m outdoor pool with a 25m one. Canberra woman Sarah Ransom got in touch with The Blue Room about the long-fight to save the pool. The story is one of grit, courage and determination by a group of everyday Australians who persuaded the territory government to do...

The Blue Room is on tour visiting Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula during Christmas 2025. And what better way to experience the coast here than swim with the famous Salty Bitches? This is a tribe of fun, inspiring and brave women (mainly) who love celebrating life by dipping daily in the sea off Indented Head. This tribe's joined up with the local Indented Head yachting fraternity and won a...

The Blue Room is back for another season, to talk with swimmers and dippers about the joys of getting into the ocean. They're all inspiring stories, about overcoming challenges, setting personal goals to achieve, and finding awe in the sea. In this episode podcast co-founder Sabra Lane interviews Alyssa Seckinger-Crow who is a Tasmanian by choice. The 21 year old has just finished the Tasman Bridg...

Rob Brander is Dr Rip - he's a coastal scientist at the University of NSW in Sydney. He's been educating beachgoers and kids about the surf for more than 25 years. He's written "Dr Rip's Essential Beach Book" sharing his knowledge about beaches, sand, surf and rips. He is Australia's best known beach scientist, he has an AM for it - and the Blue Room's Sabra Lane talks with him about safety, his f...

A special episode of the Blue Room , recorded days after the terror attack at Bondi Beach. Three days after that, Bondi swim clubs held a swim circle - to remember the dead, pay tribute to those who saved lives - and reclaim their space. Swimmer Lulu Cooper from the Bondi Great White Swim club helped organise the event, and spoke with podcaster Sabra Lane about the day, and what the swim tribes me...

On Tasmania’s east coast, the Bluebottles of Spring Beach bring together courage, sass, fun, fitness, and a carefree spirit. Podcaster co-founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour join the gang for a swim and find an uplifting group who swim, travel and live life together and warmly welcome visitors. From the yowling on Sundays, to sharing stories and supporting one another this group is all about inc...

Plans are underway to return Hobart to being a Swimmable City. For thousands of years the Derwent's been used by people for swimming, bathing and fishing. In the 1800s there were a string of public pools in the the river with convicts and the gentry encouraged to bathe regularly. What is the plan? Why do it? Blueroom host Sabra Lane interviews the two people leading the campaign to return Hoba...

Tasmanian Rob Peart recently swam the English Channel. It is a remarkable feat. Rob started swimming as an adult and he admits, he struggled to swim 100 metres. But, this channel attempt almost failed right at the end, with Rob battling tides and time - though he was blissfully unaware, and curious about why everyone on his boat was screaming their lungs out for him to swim faster. In this episode...

Podcast creators Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour visit the Tasmanian north-west coastal town of Burnie and take a Sunday morning dip with the Burnie Sunrise ocean swim club. They're a creative, inspiring, courageous, brave and fun-loving ocean group who 'bobble' and swim. This tribe formed in early 2025, but already it's drawn a big, local following. Local GP, Dr Anastasiia Nikitina (Messieh), set th...

The Blue Room has traveled to Boat Harbour on the north-west coast of Tasmania for a weekend away. Podcast co-founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour head out for an early morning swim, to find themselves unexpectedly joined by a pod of curious dolphins. A local woman watched them from the shore and unexpectedly joined us in a swim de-brief, to explain what she saw and what makes this little village...

The Blue Room podcast founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour talk about how to prepare for swimming in cold water. They offer their tips, tricks and advice. For some, swimming in cold water is not just a winter pastime, it's something they do year-round. How to prepare, what to bring with you before and after you swim. Note: cold water swimming is not for everyone, as with other activities, there's...

Tasmanian Ivan Cunningham celebrates 1000 consecutive days of ocean swimming by holding a fundraiser for Pankind, Pancreatic Cancer Australia. Ivan's chosen that charity as his old coach and now dear friend, Chris Wedd, has pancreatic cancer. But it is a special occasion for Chris, he's also marking five years living with stage four pancreatic cancer, a rare feat. Features: Ivan Cunningham...

Ranya Alkadamani is a WOW and a member of the Bold and Beautiful Swim Squad at Manly, in Sydney. Ranya started swimming in 2019 and tells us how she got into the water and why she can't do without it or the WOWs - the Women of the Wall. These women were crucial in helping Ranya through some tough times after the birth of her first son. Ranya founded her own business, Impact Group International...

Rob Woodhouse is an Olympic champion winning bronze in the 400m Men's Individual Medley at the 1984 games. But he's also just conquered what he says was the 'hardest swim of his life'. Rob is Swimming Australia's CEO . He talks with the Blue Room about the Oceans Seven and discusses the very serious challenge of turning around the rate of drownings in Ausrtralia, what can be do...

This episode is about three Melbourne mates and one of the world’s toughest open-water swims. 36 kilometres of salt, sweat, and setbacks. Join us as we dive into the training, the incredible 'butterflies' and unexpected chaos—like the support boat that kept breaking down. This story is more than a marathon swim, it’s a tale of mateship, endurance, and the chase for a shared dream. Features: Profes...