My Passion Project

One of my favourite things about talking to someone about their passion is that it can often surprise you.

When I first thought about who I wanted on this podcast, Patrick Keyzer right up there on my list.

He was my constitutional law professor, I worked as his research assistant and he’s just such an incredibly passionate individual.

Now  a Dean of Law and an esteemed barrister, he's also earned a reputation for outstanding legal research.

So when I first asked him to come on I fully expected this to be a podcast about the law.

But when I asked him about his passion the conversation turned to music and it was clear that’s where his passion lay.

I’ve never loved the term mentor.

I’m not sure if it was a painful experience of a formal, rigid program or just a bad fit early in my career but there’s something about it that’s always jarred with me.

But while I don’t love the term, I do love the idea. 

And if a mentor is some one you trust, you go to for guidance and counsel, the first referee on your resume and the last person on your speed dial. 

Then today’s guest is one of my mentors. 

She played a huge part in my early career development and has supported me through some pretty significant career changes since. 

When I asked  what her passion was, it was no surprise to me that she said empowering others. 

Because that’s exactly what she’s done to me and I hope by listening to this episode you might find yourself a little empowered too. 

The very first episode of this podcast I released was on the passion for teaching and education.

I’ve lost count of how many people have been in touch to tell me it resonated with them.

I thought it would be good to look at the other side of the coin and dedicate an episode to the passion for learning.

And who better to talk to about learning than a student?

I’ve been so lucky this year to participate in an alumni mentoring program set up by my alma matre. 

It’s given me a chance to connect with Jackson Miller, a current student at Bond university. 

We’ve talked about many things over the past couple of months but my favourite conversation has been around passion, and his passion for learning.

Jackson’s creativity and enthusiasm shine through in every meeting we have.

And I’m so pleased that you’ll be able to listen in to our conversation today. 

One of the most popular episodes of this podcast so far has been my conversation with Olivia Dodd's on the passion for plants. 

Maybe I’ve got a good sized vegetarian audience or the time we’ve spent at home in lockdown has us more interested than ever in plants.  

But whatever the case, that passion struck a particular chord. 

So I thought today we’d discuss a related passion for growing your own food. 

My guest today is Monique Collins, a home gardener who is passionate about growing food.

Not only is Monique passionate about growing her own food, she’s committed to sharing her passion with others.

That’s why she founded The Edible Garden Co. to inspire, educate and support others to grow their own food too.

There are so many benefits to growing your own food and it’s something that we can all think about doing, even if you live in an apartment like me. 

I hope you enjoy today’s podcast and maybe you’ll find yourself inspired to give your own edible garden a go.

Monique’s work can be found here: https://www.theediblegardenco.com/ 

Today I’m speaking with Thinesh Thillai, a Tamil Canadian who for over a decade has called Australia home. 

He is passionate about diversity, multiculturalism and community.

He brings to this his unique mix of creativity, humility and humour to raise awareness and promote inclusion.

I’ve got to admit I was nervous about this conversation, I’m a straight, cisgender, Caucasian, Catholic. 

What can I say about diversity?

But really it’s not what people like me can say, it’s what people like me can hear.

These can be hard conversations to have and sometimes I find myself tripping over myself having them. 

But I really wanted to talk to Thinesh because if we don’t talk about the things that need to change they tend to say precisely the same.

I’ve learned so much from Thinesh over the past ten years and even more today.

I hope you enjoy our discussion and maybe learn a little too. 

For over 60 years my grand parents have lived on the same corner block in Newcastle.

The first thing you see when you turn into their street is their beautiful rose garden.

Often you’ll see passers by stopping to admire them or lucky visitors taking a few flowers home.

They’ve become something of an icon in the neighbourhood and a source of daily joy.

Plants can bring us great joy and today’s guest is living proof. 

Within a broader passion for finding those things that bring her happiness she’s turned her time and attention to flora. 

You can hear this zest for life in every thing Olivia has to say. 

Just like the plants she adores, Liv is caring, bright and you just feel better having shared her company.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. 

And if you want to hear more from Olivia be sure to check out her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/diggingwithdodds.  

Some of the most passionate people I’ve come across are those who do research.

 I mean you’ve got to be, right?

Think of a PhD – studying the one specific, narrow for three to four years of your life.  

Or scientists who work day in day out on the one experiment, often for decades without result.

But sometimes what one person researches might not be that interesting to those outside their field. 

When you’re in luck though, you come across someone doing interesting research in a really interesting space.

Today’s guest is doing exactly that with their research into conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Whether we like it or not, we’re living in an age of conspiracy theories and now more than ever we’re seeing the impact that can have. 

Tatiana Carter’s passion is looking at what’s been going on but also what we can do about it.

Tatiana’s work can be found here: https://www.tatiana-carter.com/ 

I’m fairly close with a number of the people I’ve had on the podcast.

Some of my guests so far are people I’ve studied, travelled or worked with. 

But I think it’s fair to say, I’m not as close to any of them as I am to today’s guest.

Because in this episode I’m speaking with my big sister Shannon Kennedy.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are Shan drawing or painting in our childhood home.

To this day, some of her incredible work has pride of place in our family home back in Newcastle.

She’s incredibly passionate about design, and the positive impact design can have right across our community.

And while I’ve always known this was something she’s interested in, I’ve got to say it was the first time I really had a chance to talk with her about how passion, how it came about and where she sees it going.

If a picture tells a thousand words, I hope this podcast on the passion for design tell a few too 

I’ve been thinking about this podcast for a little while now.

And when I first thought of the passionate people I’d like to speak with, Conor Ashleigh was one of them.

But I knew it could be a hard interview to lock in, because Conor is literally anywhere and everywhere.

For much of the past decade he hasn’t slept in the same bed for longer than 2 weeks.

But with his international travels on hold for now, I was lucky to find some time with him.

Before you listen in to our conversation, I’d highly recommend you take a quick look at his passion in action.

Check out www.conorashleigh.com to see some of his work and for a glimpse of Conor as a story-teller.

I've always thought one of the things that distinguishes friends from best friends is the ability to travel together.

There's something about the volume, intensity and often unpredictability of travel that can make or break our relationships with others.

Today's guest, Alice Rose, is someone I've been lucky enough to travel with here in Australia and in other parts of the world.

Not only have I loved spending time with Alice away, I've loved seeing first-hand her passion for travel.

It's something that's guided the work she does, what she reads and watches and what she hopes to do when COVID-19 restrictions ease.

So many of us have bought our plans for travel on hold during the pandemic. But with hope on the horizon, I thought now was the perfect time to talk to Alice about her passion.