Occupational Hazards

Catherine Sarah Young is an award-winning artist, designer, and writer. She uses her background in molecular biology, fine art, and interaction design to create interdisciplinary and experimental artworks on the environment.

We discuss her unique approach to climate change awareness, including taking inspiration from the Egyptian Book of the Dead to produce art on the Australian bushfire crisis, as well as creating perfume and sewer soap to make the effects of climate change more tangible (because, as she points out, we all have “dying polar bear fatigue”).

Cat has collaborated with researchers, industry, and non-profit organizations all over the world, including in the Amazon rainforest, with the Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow, the University of the Underground in London*, and the Mekong Cultural Hub.

She is currently a Scientia scholar at UNSW Sydney Art and Design working on climate change and sustainability, an Obama Leader for Asia-Pacific, and part of Team HB6 of Homeward Bound for Antarctica (100 women with a background in STEMM – science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine).

Despite all the international acclaim she has received, she places more value on “milestones of resilience” and incremental improvement, drawing on her taekwondo training (she’s a second-degree black belt) to impart life lessons.

This episode is dedicated to anyone trying to approach a problem from a creative new angle, everyone going through the process of "unlearning," as well as all the interdisciplinary thinkers and martial artists out there.

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Follow Cat on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @catherinesarahyoung

Follow Cat on Twitter @catherineyoung

Visit her website www.theperceptionalist.com to learn more about the residencies and exhibitions she has done in Austria, China, Colombia, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States, Uganda, et al!

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* Edit: My voiceover referred to the University of the Underground in Amsterdam. They have outposts in both Amsterdam and London, but she collaborated with London.

Note: The full Michael Jordan quote I referenced goes, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Photo by @rache_go

Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Editing by franticsong

Like what you heard? Do rate, review, share, and subscribe so others can find the episodes too.

Follow instagram.com/occupationalhazards.podcast for more updates!

xoxo Jo

Video game designer and director Marc Gomez chats with us about how he found his way from art school to the world of game design.

He talks about the challenges of delayed gratification (three year game development cycles!), QA testing ("playing a game to break it, not to enjoy it"), strict deadlines (using production processes borrowed from assembly lines), and not being taken seriously as a mainstream industry despite consistent growth.

He also shares what it's like to design games for characters from DC, Disney, LucasFilm, Nickelodeon, Sony, et al (including Batman and Sponge Bob!) vs. original characters, as well as how he taps his animation background to fully flesh them out.

This episode is dedicated to all builders of creative worlds and anyone who wants to escape into said worlds right now.

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Follow Marc on Twitter @marcyayTTG

See his work at Tic Toc Games https://tictocgames.com/

Catch Marc’s Other Interviews

Tour of the Tic Toc Games Office https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkn-dG2SmRs

On Drawing Inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli

https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2020/5/28/21272451/studio-ghibli-movies-inspired-games-ori-battle-chef-brigade-mutazione-totoro-spirited-away

On Upcoming Game “B.ARK”

https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/interview-bark-tic-toc-games-marc-gomez-mike-herbster/

IGN: Behind the Scenes of “A Boy and His Blob”

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2HMkR3yxvg

Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB8BAGJW-0M

On “Adventures of Pip” (Original game, funded via Kickstarter)

At PAX East (Penny Arcade Expo) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s_sneTIcjI

At E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1k9VYdTKfY

Cane and Rinse Podcast https://caneandrinse.com/tictoc-games/

With Concept Art https://tictocgames.com/adventures-of-pip-interview-w-marc-gomez/

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Listener questions we didn't get to cover on-air:

- On women in gaming: Marc recommends https://www.getwigi.com/, a website that focuses on the cultivation and advancement of women in the gaming industry

- Recommended reading: "'Game Thinking' by Amy Jo Kim... Very good insight to understanding the psychology behind what motivates us as humans, and how to utilize that in game design."

More Q&A on the pod Instagram!

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Photo by @gigigi_gia

Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Editing by franticsong

Like what you heard? Do rate, review, share, and subscribe so others can find the episodes too.

Follow instagram.com/occupationalhazards.podcast for more updates!

xoxo Jo

Academy Award-winning producer and Prim founder Stefanie Walmsley gets extremely raw and real about performing under pressure, impostor syndrome, and the impossible juggling act mothers do -- perfect for International Women's Day.

A trained professional actress since the age of 7, she tells each story with signature theatrical flair, punctuated by charming self-deprecation and winking shout-outs to the audience. (This is a one-woman play waiting to happen.)

Be prepared to laugh, cry, or cry with laughter as she shares how she learned to fight (literal) fires on film sets, bootstrapped her clean beauty business with $3000 and lots of pluck, and found renewed purpose amid the pandemic and via philanthropy.

Most notably, she speaks very honestly and empathetically about the struggles of motherhood, destigmatizing mental health challenges, and learning to prioritize herself in order to better show up for all the roles in her life.

This is dedicated to all the moms and women out there, or to anyone grappling with how to balance caring for themselves and others. May her words be a salve to your spirits, as they were to ours.

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Follow Stefanie on IG @stefwdb

“God of Love” wins Best Short Film at the Oscars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyY0KrdpSLk

Stef’s Interviews for “God of Love”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKsqqCPhbvQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2rnP9a1_XU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joc5AUnDnhs

https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/entertainment-peopleparties/47746/oscar-winning-emgods-of-loveem-producers-stefanie-walmsley-gigi-dement-and-stephen-dypiangco-on-hollywood-filmmaking-and-more

https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/02/28/11/shell-be-oscars-one-day-pinay-winners-dad

https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/10/11/fil-am-oscar-winner-former-abs-cbn-actress

Prim @primbotanicals

https://www.primbotanicals.com/

https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/style/prim-philippine-beauty-ngos

https://metro.style/people/society-personalities/skincare-brand-prim-botanicals-stefanie-walmsley/26252

https://www.vogue.com/article/tropical-beauty-products-summer-palm-tree-packaging-aerin-guerlain-chantecaille

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Photo by @mmirandaphoto

Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Editing by franticsong

Like what you heard? Do rate, review, share, and subscribe so others can find the episodes too.

Follow instagram.com/occupationalhazards.podcast for more updates!

xoxo Jo

Nino Indrawan plays in the worlds of hospitality, travel, tourism, accounting, fashion, fitness, and outdoor sports. His mantra is balance, and he infuses joie de vivre into each balancing act – work and play, left and right brain, mind and body.

While this Renaissance man juggles many careers, he speaks mainly about founding his eco-tourism boutique hostel in Yogyakarta, a special region in Java known for its traditional arts and UNESCO heritage sites. For everyone missing travel, Nino’s soulful words will transport you to the heart of a thriving 15th century neighborhood, where he and his team are reviving ancient arts such at batik dyeing, shadow puppets, and centuries old handweaving techniques.

Along the way, he waxes poetic about his love for numbers, how his prior career in operations efficiency and IT helped him equip his businesses for the pandemic, and how he constantly challenges himself to try new things, including competing in Indonesia’s version of The Amazing Race!

If you love being immersed in new cultures, or constantly picking up new skills and experiences, this episode is dedicated to you.

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Follow Nino’s ventures and adventures at:

Official IG @travelgeela

Bhumi Hostel @bhumihostel_id

Clothing Line @sahariiharii

Fitness Space @bhumisatoe

Weekend Trips IG @weekendgeela

Weekend Trips YT tinyurl.com/WeekendGeela

Work at DRB Food Solutions (PT. Damai Rukun Bersama), as documented by the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants): https://abmagazine.accaglobal.com/global/articles/2021/feb/interviews/future-proofing-the-family-business.html

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Photo by @buloidmeetsworld

Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Editing by franticsong

Like what you heard? Do rate, review, share, and subscribe so others can find the episodes too.

Follow instagram.com/occupationalhazards.podcast for more updates!

xoxo Jo

Dr. Nicole CuUnjieng Aboitiz has dedicated her life to studying and contextualizing the past – specifically, global intellectual history and the history of Southeast Asia.

Nicole describes how she found her way into academia after trying every other career, the importance of “reading against the grain” to unearth new insights from old records, and the uncertain future faced by PhDs around the world.

Our conversation made me re-examine traditional (Western) notions of which ideas and beliefs are considered “universal” – whose voices get highlighted vs. omitted, whose perspectives are given weight, and ultimately, the efforts that need to be made for more inclusivity in higher learning.

Despite the pragmatic picture Nicole paints about the state of academia and the life of a scholar, what a delight to hear from someone so thoroughly in love with learning! Hoping her surfer-academic vibe and wise words infuse your day with joy, as they did mine.

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For a deeper dive into her scholarly work at Cambridge, St. Andrew’s, Harvard, Yale, et al:

Website: nicolecuunjiengaboitiz.wordpress.com

Twitter: @NicoleC_Aboitiz

Cambridge Bio: https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/people/dr-nicole-cuunjieng-aboitiz

Book: Asian Place, Filipino Nation: A Global Intellectual History of the Philippine Revolution, 1887-1912

Official Page: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/asian-place-filipino-nation/9780231192156

Book Discussion with Yale: tinyurl.com/NicoleCAboitizYaleTalk

Podcast Interview with Michael Vann: tinyurl.com/NicoleCAboitizNewBookNetwork

For those looking to the patterns of history to make sense of today’s headlines, she curated these discussions:

Toynbee Prize Foundation Coronavirus Series

https://toynbeeprize.org/themes/toynbee-coronavirus-series/

https://toynbeeprize.org/about/

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Photo by @cenonatmav

Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Editing by franticsong

Like what you heard? Do rate, review, share, and subscribe so others can find the episodes too.

Follow instagram.com/occupationalhazards.podcast for more updates!

xoxo Jo

Bing Chen builds worlds at the intersection of entertainment, tech, and community activism, but his real goal is to encourage people to live their purpose and be warriors for each other.

In this conversation, Bing shares his thoughts on how art can be a catalyst for change, living his childhood ambition of being the next Oprah or Walt Disney, and the massively unglamorous side of pursuing one’s passion.

We both love a good Pokémon and Power Rangers reference – try to catch them all!

Notes:

1. Bing very correctly rhymed J.K. Rowling’s last name with “bowling” and not “howling,” as I did. Peace. 

2. My audio set-up (major lesson learned for Ep. 2!)  required leaving some of our less audible banter on the cutting room floor, but his choice bits of advice are all intact and make an impact.

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More about Bing and his projects here:

@BingChen on IG and all socials

https://bingchen.tumblr.com/

@GoldHouseCo on IG

https://goldhouse.org/

tinyurl.com/GoldListDeadlineFeature

tinyurl.com/GoldListTHRFeature

@AUMGroupHQ on IG

tinyurl.com/AUMGroupVarietyFeature

tinyurl.com/AUMGroupDeadlineFeature

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Other interviews where he discusses the development of franchises and his work at Gold House, the AUM Group, YouTube, Google, and Disney (including Frozen, for the fans) below.

I particularly like his personal musings on being a third culture kid and his explorations into how socio-cultural identity works intersectionally across communities, as the team at Gold House learned from pioneers in the African-American, LGBT, Latinx communities, women’s movement, and Jewish diaspora in shaping their own approach to effecting change.

tinyurl.com/BingChenRocktheBoat

tinyurl.com/BingChenMoneyMatters

tinyurl.com/BingChenSpark

tinyurl.com/BingChenSoMoney

tinyurl.com/BingChenWYND (BONUS: contains a practical exercise for finding one’s purpose in life and translating those goals into a real career)

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Photo by @taylorkahan

Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Editing by franticsong 

Like what you heard? Do rate, review, share, and subscribe so others can find the episodes too.

Follow instagram.com/occupationalhazards.podcast for more updates!

xoxo Jo