I'm telling you if there was ever a hype girl, a champion of others Alice would be it. When she stops to talk to you she sees you. She is present. I wonder sometimes how she carries this care. We get into that. I could have titled this podcast so many things- A bite to eat. New book incoming. It's the best food you will ever eat! But for me it was the uncovering, the peeling back of the young Alice and what she carried with her when she arrived in Australia. I think about that often. All this life that makes up the energy you see on the TV or hear on the radio. The way she stops to be with people. Really be. 

This is the Women of Influence Podcast, 100 Women in 100 days (ish). 

Alice Zaslavsky is an award-winning author, broadcaster and taste-maker.

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, the birthplace of wine, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Alice

grew up with a cuisine that reaches for the veg first; it’s no surprise then, that this is at the

heart of her food philosophy, helping others across the world do the same through her

books, radio & television work and columns.

Alice is the host of the hit nightly cooking show A Bite to Eat with Alice on ABC TV and long- time Culinary Correspondent for ABC News Breakfast and ABC Radio nationally.

In 2025 she was inducted into the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Hall of Fame as a

Trailblazer for her work as an educator & communicator.

Her vegetable bible In Praise of Veg has been translated into 7 languages (and counting!) in 15 countries, winning such accolades as a Gastronomisch gold medal in Germany, an ABIA in Australia, and a James Beard finalist in North America. She is also the author of CBCA

Notable kids' fun food fact book Alice's Food A to Z, that helps kids fall in love with food, and cooking confidence un-locker Better Cooking.

Salad for Days was shortlisted for an ABIA award, and described as “Stunning, fresh,

luscious” by Yotam Ottolenghi, and “An exciting and enticing triumph” by Stephanie

Alexander. Nigella Lawson declares “She just gets better and better”.

Her latest book, Weeknights with Alice is a collection of 80 curated, colour-coded midweek dinners, starting with the veg, which made Maggie Beer declare that “Alice spreads more joy and confidence in the kitchen more than anyone I know.”

Her 'You've Got This' recipe column in The Guardian and 'Ask Alice' advice column in Good Food encourage cooks of all abilities to get into the kitchen, and use what they’ve got - be it ingredient, skill, or gadget. She’s also the creator of the innovative digital food literacy tool kit Phenomenom, a comprehensive digital toolkit for schools that incorporates food into every subject in meaningful ways.

Alice lives between Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, with her husband Nick,

daughter Hazel, and dog Minnie, the very hungry Huntaway.

Thank-you Alice for sitting with me and sharing.

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zahra opens up and shares so generously. You don't get to the other side without a story that follows you. This is a story of survival. Removing oneself to live. Truly live. On one's own terms.

This is 100 Women in 100 Days (ish) for the Women of Influence Podcast with Kate Meade. 

Zahra Ciardi is a psychologist and the founder of Ascendant, which provides private residential and online mental health programs for high performers, entrepreneurs, executives and individuals navigating complex psychological challenges.

Having moved to Australia from Kuwait as a young child with a refugee background, Zahra experienced displacement, cultural transition and the process of rebuilding life in a new country from an early age. These formative experiences helped shape her understanding of resilience, identity and emotional wellbeing, inspiring a deep interest in mental health and the factors that allow people to move beyond survival and create meaningful, lasting change.

Thank-you Zahra for sitting with me and sharing.

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georgie Purcell is a Member of the Victorian Parliament Legislative Council, proudly representing the Animal Justice Party in Northern Victoria. If you were expecting a podcast full of unpacking policies this is not the podcast for you today. If you are curious about being diagnosed with Autism and ADHD later in life just after having a baby and living and working in public life this is exactly what you will get. Having a career and being a mother or being a mother and having a career- Georgie says we have a long way to go.Women just can't win. 

Thank-you Georgie for sitting with me and sharing.

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beginning her career in top hotels, Anna Musson found herself fascinated by the ‘right’ way of doing things and the impact it had on those around her. She pursued her interest and found herself working under etiquette stalwart, June Dally-Watkins.

In 2007, Anna began her own business The Good Manners Company, which has become the top etiquette provider in Australia. Anna has worked with companies, athletes and schools across the country, to help them improve the way they hold themselves.

With a cheeky and fresh approach to etiquette and manners, Anna has been propelled into the media, with her views featured on television, radio and print.

Believing that etiquette is influential, Anna demonstrates to audiences the power it can have on an individual's careers, relationships and lives.

Thank-you Anna for sitting with me and sharing.

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Sarah Quinn, founder of My Charity Runway and has led teams raising over $380 million for Australian charities, and recently through fashion initiatives. Her vision is to create a new form of ethical fashion - one that connects fashion lovers and designers to meaningful causes and hardworking charities.

The first My Charity Runway event celebrates a curated selection of emerging female Australian designers and the causes each designer is passionate about, often due to a meaningful personal connection and it's happening this Friday. 

But how did Sarah get here? From China to Australia. Following a boy after falling in love. Going on to studying Law and combining her passions to create My Charity Runway.

Thank-you Sarah for sitting with me and sharing.

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you are looking for a night at the Opera this is your sign! 

Melbourne Opera’s production of Il Trovatore opens on 23 August, dedicated to the memory of Dame Joan Sutherland, AC DBE, in celebration of her centenary year.

Suzanne Chaundy is the Executive Director Melbourne Opera

Trained at NIDA as a director, Suzanne is Australia's foremost director of the works of Richard Wagner. Her career spans opera, text-based theatre, special events and outdoor spectacle. Operas directed include Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, La traviata, Der Freischütz, Werther, Maria Stuarda, Tannhäuser, Anna Bolena , Our Man in Havana, Lohengrin, Roberto Devereux, Tristan und Isolde, Der fliegende Holländer, Norma, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, Lucia di Lammermoor and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Suzanne has directed for Melbourne Opera, Lyric Opera of Melbourne, West Australian Opera, Opera Australia, Victorian State Opera, IMG, Red Stitch Actors Theatre, La Mama, Anthill Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company. She is the founder and director of the Richard Divall Emerging Opera Artists Program. Suzanne directed signature productions for Australia’s internationally renowned outdoor performance troupe Strange Fruit. Her Strange Fruit productions have been presented at over 400 festivals and events in Australia, Europe, UK, Asia, Latin America and the USA. Suzanne completed her first Ring Cycle in Bendigo for Melbourne Opera and recently directed Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the UNESCO World Heritage Royal Exhibition Building to huge critical and audience acclaim.

Thank-you Suzanne for sitting with me and sharing.

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If there is one thing you listen to this weekend. Please let it be this. 

Liz Hiklin's life changed at age 90. 

She described always knowing she had a light inside her waiting to get out. Then at 90 her life changed. 

She says 'don't wait to let the world she your light'. 

I did have to repeat a question a couple of times. You know this series is raw and unedited. Unfortunately Liz had accidently left her hearing aides on when she had a shower the night before and it presented a little challenge but I think we got there. 

I have purchase my tickets to Liz upcoming show. It is my hope you will hear this episode and come along too. 

Liz Hicklin: 95 & Still Alive

Glen Eira Library service

Event Date: 27 June 2026 02:00 PM to 27 June 2026 03:00 PM

Event link: https://www.storytellingfestival.com.au/events-calendar/liz-hicklin-95-still-al…

A poet, humourist, storyteller and author with razor sharp wit, Liz takes audiences on a hilarious and heartfelt ride through nine and a half decades of life, love and human absurdity.

With wit, candour and disarming honesty, Liz explores what it means to live a long life — the grief and joy, the reinvention and reckoning, the humour that sustains us, and the wisdom that only time can shape.

Spoiler alert: Liz reveals her secrets for longevity and a fulfilling life and she proves that life doesn’t begin at 30 — it gets funnier at 90!

95 and Still Alive is a rare and powerful theatrical experience — one woman, nine and a half decades, and a lifetime of insight delivered with warmth, intelligence and irrepressible spirit.

Thank-you Liz for sitting with me and sharing.

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If there is one thing you listen to this weekend. Please let it be this. 

Liz Hiklin's life changed at age 90. 

She described always knowing she had a light inside her waiting to get out. Then at 90 her life changed. 

She says 'don't wait to let the world she your light'. 

I did have to repeat a question a couple of times. You know this series is raw and unedited. Unfortunately Liz had accidently left her hearing aides on when she had a shower the night before and it presented a little challenge but I think we got there. 

I have purchase my tickets to Liz upcoming show. It is my hope you will hear this episode and come along too. 

Liz Hicklin: 95 & Still Alive

Glen Eira Library service

Event Date: 27 June 2026 02:00 PM to 27 June 2026 03:00 PM

Event link: https://www.storytellingfestival.com.au/events-calendar/liz-hicklin-95-still-al…

A poet, humourist, storyteller and author with razor sharp wit, Liz takes audiences on a hilarious and heartfelt ride through nine and a half decades of life, love and human absurdity.

With wit, candour and disarming honesty, Liz explores what it means to live a long life — the grief and joy, the reinvention and reckoning, the humour that sustains us, and the wisdom that only time can shape.

Spoiler alert: Liz reveals her secrets for longevity and a fulfilling life and she proves that life doesn’t begin at 30 — it gets funnier at 90!

95 and Still Alive is a rare and powerful theatrical experience — one woman, nine and a half decades, and a lifetime of insight delivered with warmth, intelligence and irrepressible spirit.

Thank-you Liz for sitting with me and sharing.

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Be excellent at what you do. Not perfect.

This is your reminder that you don't have to be perfect at what you do but aim for excellence.

This is Carmen Pavlovic is the CEO & Producer of Global Creatures.

Think Walking with Dinosaurs, How to train your Dragon, King Kong, Moulin Rouge!

Growing up in a busy family with a busy mind there is no stopping Carmen.

This isn't a romance story of falling in love with theatre. No breakthrough moment.

This is of vision and grit.

Taking calculated gambles and risks but with a plan and a strategy.

If there is one thing you can walk away with it's - Be excellent, not perfect.

I think I need that on a poster!

And if you are lucky enough to get an interview for a job with Carmen she reveals her one interesting question she wants to know about you. 

Thank-you Carmen for sitting with me and sharing.

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moments in life shape us. For Diana it was in the classroom as a child being asked to read out loud. 

She could read but she couldn't pronounce the words. 

The children laughed. 

But still a love of stories remained. 

Maybe it was from her siblings reading to her, maybe it was her imagination. Diana went from that experience in the classroom to becoming a teacher, then Manager and Owner of a book shop. 

But not just any book shop. 

The much loved Hill of Content Bourke Street Melbourne (plus another couple!)

Thank-you Diana for sitting with me and sharing. 

This is 100 Women in 100 days (ish)

Enjoy the episode

Luv Kate

OH! And if you are listening for the first time! This is your introduction (required reading). This series is unedited, raw and just gets straight into it. You have been warned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.