Uncommon

Courtney Carthy is the Founder of the Inflatable Regatta, and Nearly Media, a podcast network that works with brands.

A former journalist who’s worked at The ABC, Triple J and SYN - Courtney has a natural penchant for the audio format, with his podcast work at The ABC leading to what we know as Nearly Media today.

Nearly Media is one of the clear leaders in the new and emerging space of podcasts in Australia. Like our former guest Claire Tonti (CEO, Planet Broadcasting), I really wanted the opportunity to pick Courtney’s brain, understanding where he believes the industry will be going and what makes a brilliant podcast.

This was a great episode, where we covered:

* The Inflatable Regatta

* Why he got into media

* Nearly Media

* The iTunes algorithm

* Strategy for 2019 and beyond

* The potential of branded podcasts

* Commonalities in good content

* How to market podcasts

Gerry Sakkas is the CEO of PlaySide Studios, the largest app and games company in Australia. This Big Friendly Giant, with his fear of sharks and flying, is running one of the most fascinating bootstrapped companies in Australia.

In the past, I’ve spoken about how transformative not just gaming but also AR will be to the way we consume media and entertainment in the next two to three years. We see examples in everyday life from Fortnite to Pokemon Go, with a pair of Apple Glasses expected very soon. I believe Playside Studios is in the greatest position to take hold of this change in computing.

Gerry’s humble attitude and work ethic are at odds with a tech industry always looking for superstars to dish out ‘hustle porn’. In Gerry, you won't find a promoter, but an individual who leads by example - backed up by his partner in crime, Suzie.

This was a great episode where we covered:

* Principles, work ethic & family

* Early years of business & how he got into gaming

* The influence of his wife Suzie Sakkas

* PlaySide Studios & its business model

* How AR, AR glasses & Apple will change computing

* Keep It Cleaner, and the Banta app

* Lessons learned from marketing genius’ Steph Claire Smith & Laura Henshaw

Nic Hodges is the Founder of Blonde3 and former Head of Innovation for media brands such as Foxtel, NewsCorp and MediaCom.

Noted for his tagline “nostalgic for the future”, Nic has also been dubbed a polymath by a few former guests - but particularly his understanding of the mechanics in media is what makes him unique.

Nic sits at a unique intersection of media & technology - a skillset to better help us understand the happenings in the background of social media.

This was a fairly meaty episode covering:

* Batmania vs Melbourne

* The State of Media

* Propaganda & disinformation

* WhatsApp lynchings and the impact of Twitter

* Paedophilia on Youtube and TikTok

* Responsibility, accountability and free speech

* Common vs contested knowledge

* inkl and subscription services

Tristan Rose (@tristanrose.com.au) is the Founder of a Veteran-focused Yoga and Meditation service Blind Tiger Yoga, and a former soldier in The Royal Australian Regiment.

For a long time, I’ve wanted to interview a former Veteran to get a better grasp of how this community perceives itself amongst the general civilian population. War and violence are at times, necessary, and so I wanted to understand how they view that necessity.

For quite some time I would continually pitch former and current special forces operators only to have repeated “no’s” come back. After interviewing Tristan, I started to understand why.

The way we treat Veterans in Australia, as a general population, is strange. Whether it’s sticking our head in the sand about suicide post-discharge (through masking statistics), making it hard for veterans to make medical claims, or going along with a culture that doesn’t allow us to celebrate the commitment these individuals make post-career.

I realised that during the research process, and indeed the interview, how important Tristan’s work is. Blind Tiger Yoga - a team focused on complementing health management for Veterans and First Responders - could be the connective tissue that links a multitude of modalities in a Veteran’s life, giving it a wholeness and meaning in a system that has washed people away.

This was an eye-opening conversation, that I thank Tristan for allowing me to be a part of, including:

* Teaching Yoga & Meditation to Veterans

* Tristan’s life-changing Yoga moment

* Compartmentalising as a soldier

* Australia vs U.S Veteran treatment

* Being a Veteran in Australia

* Veteran mental health & suicide

* What Blind Tiger Yoga does

Greg Sanderson (@GregSanderson) is a Cocktail Bartender, Co-Founder & National Operations Manager of the Speakeasy Group, and easily one of Australia’s most prominent bar operators.

The Speakeasy Group owns a range of stunning venues in Melbourne and Sydney including Eau de Vie, Mjøllner, Nick & Nora’s, and Boilermaker House.

Greg has indirectly had a major impact on so many people in the hospitality industry, from waiters to bartenders to chefs - we all respect the level he holds himself accountable to, making us want to be better.

I remember first meeting Greg at a Diageo training event way back in my hospitality days, and you could clearly see that he was a man that had an unbridled seriousness for creating amazing experiences. Whether it’s innovating through crowdfunding raises, or opening iconic institutions like Eau de Vie - Greg and his business partner Sven continue to excite us all.

A great episode, where we discussed:

* The politics of Lemon, Lime & Bitters

* Falling in love with Hospitality

* Melbourne’s passion for cocktails

* How to mix the perfect bartender

* The Speakeasy Group & its venues

* Managing stress in the industry

* What hasn’t changed

* Trends he’d like to see go away

Claire Tonti (@clairetonti) is the CEO of Planet Broadcasting, Host of Just Make The Thing podcast, and sometimes known as Mrs Sunday Movies.

The Planet Broadcasting business was one of the first true bootstrapped podcast networks in Australia.

Early on, Claire was able to scale out the work she was doing for her co-founders James and Nick (through Mr Sunday Movies & The Weekly Planet), by bringing on a stable of notable local podcasters such as Wil Anderson and Charlie Clausen.

The inspiration from American brands like Earwolf is clear, and one of the reasons why I wanted to pick her brain. The Planet Broadcasting team are the locals we look up to, and in my opinion, the indie leaders in this game here in Australia.

A great episode covering many aspects of the business, including:

* Being a wedding singer

* How she met Mr Sunday Movies

* Claire’s influential father

* Deciding when to take the leap

* Planet Broadcasting & its business model

* Tips for starting a podcast

Dr Kyle Berean is the Chief Technology Officer of Atmo Biosciences, Research Fellow at RMIT University, and fellow IBS Sufferer.

Many of you - listeners and readers - may already know about my running IBS issues. A gut disorder that I’d like to put to bed for good.

The constant anxiety, nausea and pain I’ve suffered from since my early twenties is still unresolved, simply down to the fact that doctors and researchers don’t truly understand what’s going on inside the mysterious gastrointestinal tract.

This revolutionary piece of science - in the form of an electronic pill - is so transformative that Kyle, his research colleagues at RMIT, and Atmo Biosciences, could potentially change my and many other lives forever (permitting they get through all the necessary regulatory hoops).

I thought it was my civic duty to get Kyle on the podcast, to make gut sufferers out there aware of the work that Kyle and the team at Atmo does, so we can continue to encourage this ground-breaking research in Australia.

This was an information-filled chat, where we covered:

* IBS, Giardia and Gastro

* Going from oil to audio to nanomaterials

* Why the gut & breath tests are misunderstood

* How the Atmos gut capsule will transform this area

* Getting the regulator tick of approval

* Atmo’s Direct to consumer approach

Gail Pascoe is a Writer, Presenter and Facilitator in the field of donor conception & IVF.

Her knowledge and experience as an individual who conceived a daughter with donor sperm that has conceived over 100 siblings, is truly fascinating.

The field of donor conception has greatly expanded in the last decade, while a greater percentage of the population is seeking this option as a means of starting a family.

A recent Four Corner documentary piqued my interest in the space and it was the fortuitous timing that an introduction from a former guest, Eileen Orsmby, came via email. Gail’s nous in many of the moral questions in this space allows us to consider what the future of conception and childbearing may hold.

This was an insightful discussion, where we covered:

* Why Gail chose donor conception

* The donor & IVF process

* Learning from pregnancy

* Sperm banks and morality

* Connecting with your donor

* Bizarre donor stories

Elliot Loney is an Actor, Comedian, Creator of The Prestigious 9A’s and the funny man of the World Tour Tennis scene.

Elliot is undoubtedly one of the most talented comedy actors in the group of Australian internet comedians.

Whether it’s his incredibly accurate impersonation of stars like Rafael Nadal, discovering the Metro wasteland as Bear Grylls, or creating a unique world with his Prestigious 9A’s cartoon - Elliot will have you cackling with laughter.

This is a great discussion where we cover:

* In-jokes with Neel Kolhatkar

* Getting into stripping

* Tennis career and finding comedy

* Impersonations

* Principles learnt from tennis career

* The Elliot Loney brand & business model

* Animation & The Prestigious 9A’s

Sebastian Peart and Mark Nicholson are co-creators of the satirical cartoon brand Stepmates.

Along with composer and sound/engineer Peter Corrigan, these champions of low-brow “bottom of the barrel” humour are creating hilariously animated satire.

What I love about the Stepmates boys is that like comedians such as Friendlyjordies, they’re able to cut through the bullshit, reducing an, oftentimes, critically overthought topic to a key statement or point.

In a world where being politically moderate is somehow radical, these two gentlemen are able to sound out what we’re all really thinking, with a brilliantly simple animation. Giving a shining light to a world that is slowly eating itself due to poor political discourse.

This was an incredibly funny episode where we covered:

* Friendlyjordies & breaking down bullshit

* No Nut November & productivity

* What they wanted to be growing up

* The Stepmates business, animation & creative process

* Life-changing moments, viral videos

* The “Jim’s Mowing” drama

* Being politically centrist