Rare Air with Meri Fatin

It was arguably THE GUT that brought Dr Michael Mosley his earliest public recognition. His 1994 documentary on the work of West Australian researchers Professor Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren brought nominations for an Emmy, A BAFTA and also brought a LOT of mail. The experience marked the realization that Hippocrates was on to something 2500 years ago when he said “All disease begins in the gut” Dr Mosley has made countless documentaries since, often experimenting on himself. He’s ALSO authored several books including the 5:2 Diet, the eight week blood sugar diet and the Clever Guts diet….which have gleaned the best advice he’s gathered on how to prolong good health. It was a privilege to be able to host Dr Mosley at the Sugarland Studios in Perth during his June 2018 tour.

Just found this conversation recorded live on RTRFM in 2010 ( the actual interview starts at 3'11). I can't believe myself - what drug was I on?

It's essential that's there's mystery around the life of a sex worker. When a worker and client are in the room together, what goes on can feel deeply positive, therapeutic, possibly transformative. But outside the room, that exchange is weighed down by layers of societal judgement that can render it degenerate, immoral and dangerous. New Zealand-born sex worker, now sexual healer EJ Love has recently gone public about her work and is writing a book that she hopes will shift the shame and blame around sex. In this candid interview EJ talks about what led to her being in the industry, her own attitudes to sex and the deeper meaning in her work. Three Gates Media thanks EJ for answering all the dumb and curious questions.

She's just 21 and her disrupted and dramatic childhood has understandably had a significant impact. But possibly not what you'd expect... especially when you realise that podcasts have had a part to play in the resilient human being Jessica Black is today. Born into a blended family where both parents were dealing and taking drugs, Jessica can't remember a time when her home wasn't frequented by strangers behaving unpredictably and as a consequence she became skilled in the art of reading people to stay safe. She calls it a "toxic environment". Her Dad left when she was two years old - he's been in a jail a couple of times and although he has since turned his life around, Jessica has never been a priority for him. Even as a little girl, school was her refuge...as were her friends' homes. But ultimately it was a family member who posed the worst threat. Raped violently at eight years old, despite the evidence, Jessica's mother didn't believe her story. That experience was the foundation for her leaving home, permanently, at 12 years old, taking on various jobs to pay for her support. She even changed schools (on her own) in mid high school, resulting in a productive mentorship from a teacher that led her to winning WA State Dux of Business Studies in Year 12. This story is just the beginning, but Jessica Black will inspire and delight. Three Gates Media thanks Jess immensely for her openness and courage.

The word is "repartee". Anglican priest Father Chris Bedding has it by the truckload, yet he's extremely careful to make sure that his significant comedic and improvisational talents are kept out of the Church context. Called to the priesthood while still at school, there's no doubt Chris takes the complex and demanding role as parish priest very seriously. But in the eight years since he arrived in Perth from NSW he has also found a supportive artistic community in which he's been able to develop his other passion - improvisation, comedy and acting. In response of Chris voicing his guilt about making time for this passion, one of his parishioners said " Honestly if we were getting one hundred percent of your creative energy we wouldn't be able to cope It's good that you have another outlet." With fellow comedian and trainee Uniting Church minister Paul "Werzel" Montague, Chris has developed a comedy act called Pirate Church, which has toured nationally, melding the "inherently hysterical" potential of religion and piracy where nothing is sacred and "progressive leftie hipsters like us" are the first to be pilloried. In this interview Father Chris also reflects on the responsibilities of his role, his commitment to issues of social justice and the current challenges of being a member of the clergy. Three Gates Media thanks him for making time to record this interview in his genuinely hectic schedule.

Composer Cat Hope has been described as “a superstar of Australian new music” best known for her graphic scores and new score-reading technologies. It’s fascinating to wonder how the daughter of a military family with no especial leaning towards the arts has ended up being an internationally recognised authority on experimental music. Despite the bass guitar being her first love (instrumentally speaking), Cat Hope began as a flautist - it was the main instrument through which she achieved her undergraduate degree at the University of Western Australia. She has always been a political animal, and described herself in her university days as being, to all intents and purposes - “a punk” - studying classical music by day and attending thrash gigs and engaging in active anarchic action by night. Yet it was at UWA that Cat's ears were first tuned to new (experimental) music, where she realised that classical and new music are not completely separate…that new classical music is often an outcome of new political happenings and that some of it sounded a lot like the punk music she was already listening to. A long time spent in Europe, particularly in the heady days of post Wall Berlin, Cat refined her bass playing, learned how to write a solid pop tune and finally settled back in Perth in 1997, continuing to play and compose in her groundbreaking style here despite the creative brain drain and cultural cringe of the time. Two decades later, as an established member of the local, national and international arts community, one (as she says) with “the privilege of a full time job”, Cat Hope has visibly returned to her political roots, taking a stand against the Federal Government’s severe funding cuts to the arts and actively promoting women in the new music arena. Three Gates Media thanks Cat Hope for sharing some of her story.

Ever wondered what it means to be Sikh? In Harjit Singh, we couldn't have found a better or more patient explainer. Harjit was a little kid when he came to Australia (Perth) with his family. Growing up there were times when he wondered if it were possible to be an Aussie and Sikh at the same time, for example after 9/11 when people assumed he would be happy about the terrorist attacks in the US because he wears a turban. In his broad Australian accent, he tells how he negotiated those doubts and plenty of other prejudices. Guided by Sikh principles instilled in him by his parents, he set up Turbans and Trust, an organisation that attends public events to tie turbans on those with inquiring minds, while answering every question you've ever had about the religion. This episode of Rare Air will reshape misconceptions in a profoundly positive way. Thanks Harjit for spending the time.

There are so many life experiences in the melting pot that makes Aisha Novakovich who she is today. Parents from starkly different backgrounds, losing her Dad very young, being fostered out to numerous homes, and learning to be a Westerner before she learned to be a Muslim. By her early teens Aisha already had a strong sense of social justice and was exploring her faith (and others) very deeply before deciding to take on Islam with absolute conviction. Since then she's been a vocal spokesperson for young Muslims. Experiencing domestic violence in her first marriage has led to her study of law, which she hopes to use to assist others in the same situation. Three Gates Media thanks Aisha for sharing some of her story.

Nick Lawrence is a remarkable human being. Dealing with gender dysphoria made life difficult enough, from refusal to wear girly clothes as a very young child to coming out as lesbian as a teenager, Nick was approaching 30 before he decided to take the plunge and take steps to transition. On top of that, based on his loneliness and lack of community connection and access to advice during this period Nick set up Transmen of WA. Now he spends more time on being available to trans people and their families than he does on his full time job. Three Gates Media thanks Nick immensely for his candour and generosity iin this interview.

This is the second part of our interview with Michael Woodley, CEO of the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation. Michael describes how, aged in his twenties, supporting a young family and working his way up the ranks at Hamersley Iron (a great story in itself), his grandfather, Woodley King, came to him and asked him to come home to Roebourne. To lead the Yindjibarndi community. Michael's priorities were clear - he was required to serve his community - he didn't give it a second thought. Like all leadership changes, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, but Michael was clear on his Grandfather’s goals for the community and set about the ground work to achieving them. In Part 2, Michael returns to the conversation about the unresolved native title dealings with mining company Fortescue Metals Group ( FMG), reflects positively on how well his community represented themselves at a recent Federal Court hearing, and on how the legal process has impacted his sense of worth as an Indigenous man. The traditional singing is Michael Woodley himself, recorded at the Woodbridge Law Camp near Roebourne, October 24 2015. Cicadas recorded by the roadside. Three Gates Media thanks Michael Woodley for this interview.

“Until we know no more Yindjibarndi are coming, we’ve got no right to give this country away.” Michael Woodley, Bidarra law carrier, CEO Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation As a human being and sometimes as a journalist, I have followed the story of the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation and Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group in their native title negotiations, since 2011. In late October 2015 I finally went to this place I’d been talking about for years with my Three Gates Media colleague Marnie Richardson. We stood at the top of Mt Welcome in Roebourne, in 40 plus degree heat and looked in all directions. Across the Harding River, we saw the place where the Yindjibarndi first camped in the 1930’s when they were herded off their land (situated south of here)…the bleak cemetery carpeted with red dust, the Fifty Cent Hall, scene of numerous native title meetings, the disused Victoria Hotel outside which sixteen year old John Pat was bashed to death in 1983 sparking the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody. Roebourne is far from a tourist destination. The weekend we arrive it’s almost deserted due to sorry business. It’s a town battered by many demons delivered by white fellas. But the commitment to keeping culture and making change for the better has a vibrant beating heart. The first time I interviewed Michael Woodley, I’d had to draw myself a picture to understand the complicated situation that had arisen. THIS interview is primarily a chance to meet Michael Woodley himself. But to understand the man, you have to understand the struggle. In the first half of our conversation Michael gives a simple explanation of how negotiations went sour, talks about his grandfathers, including Ned Cheedy who, aged 104, stood up and spoke in angry defiance at a Native Title meeting in March 2011… and about the irrevocable changes brought to a culture tens of thousands of years old, when white fellas came to mine their land. Three Gates Media thanks Michael Woodley for sharing his story.

Religious vocation isn’t commonly discussed anymore, so it’s hard to get a sense of how prevalent the calling is. When we think of vocation, it’s often the image of a nun or priest in robes that springs to mind. Major Margaret MacDonald’s story is a modern story of vocation, of giving one’s life to God’s work by rolling up sleeves and getting amongst the marginalized in the community. That’s the Salvation Army way. She grew up in a Salvationist family in Wales, who came to Australia as Ten Pound Poms, finding their feet in the Salvationist community in Bunbury. Margaret first felt the calling to the ministry as a teenager and was champing at the bit to get started, but was strongly encouraged to continue her education, which she did. She finished a DipEd and began a teaching career, which she found so rewarding it threatened to derail her earlier plans. But when she and her husband Alan took stock, in the early years of their marriage and careers, they realized they could no longer ignore the powerful call to the ministry, so they headed to training college for two years and then into the community to do God’s work. What does that mean for a Salvationist? Assisting people at a grassroots level in their community in so many ways, intervening in domestic violence situations, offering help and advice when money is tight, even providing food and shelter in your own home. As Margaret puts it, it’s “to be God in that community”. Margaret and Alan have faced some enormous hurdles, some of the placements they were given by the Salvation Army were truly challenging, especially raising three boys at the same time. Sincere thanks to Margaret MacDonald, to her family and to the Salvation Army Floreat Corps for their generous help in bringing this story to life.

“When I say I’ve been sober for 21 years, I mean entirely sober. I stopped smoking, I stopped drinking, I stopped drugs I stopped everything. I haven’t had a cup of tea. I stopped every single stimulant and thing that could in any way alter my behaviour. I am that kind of person. I’m an all or nothing person. I was ALL. I was a polyglot user of anything I could get hold of, in any amount I could and then I stopped.” In the second part of this conversation with poet, vegan, anarchist and pacifist John Kinsella he speaks of personal redemption and his daily efforts towards the ‘secular ascension’ noted in his work by American literary critic and Yale academic Harold Bloom. Sincere thanks to John Kinsella for agreeing to this interview. "We are poised before...what I prophesy will be a major art." Harold Bloom, on John Kinsella’s Peripheral Light: Selected and New Poems Published July 2005

“When I was 18 and roused up and passionate I probably wanted to pull the pillars of the world down. I certainly have learned over a lifetime that the most effective way of bringing change is to show that there are other ways of doing things better and more humanely.” Trawling the internet doesn’t reveal as much as you’d expect about poet John Kinsella. As a Neo Luddite - a term he coined to protest the fetishisation of technology– he’s probably quite happy about that. Not finding much on the internet doesn’t mean there’s not much to be said – quite the contrary, but the bulk of the speaking is done prolifically through his poetry (more than 30 volumes so far) and in the blog he shares with his wife of 22 years, Tracy Ryan, called Mutually Said: Poets Vegan Anarchist Pacifist. A conversation with John Kinsella, will naturally turn to the ethics of a range of big picture issues: identity, indigenous rights, farming, capitalism, our food and transportation. But also, in this conversation , which is divided into two parts, Kinsella speaks about his earlier life, grappling with drug and alcohol addiction, the turning point and the quest for secular virtue he pursues daily. Sincere thanks to John Kinsella for agreeing to this interview.

“We all had nicknames and because I knew a little bit more than the rest of the guys they said you better be The General…and when I went to Jamaica in ‘84 I met Mortimo Planno who was a very important Rastafari and introduced myself as The General and he said “You should be the General for Justice”…so from ‘84 onwards its been General Justice. He might be best known as the cool dreadlocked DJ and reggae event promoter around Perth but at his heart, General Justice is a loving and committed family man. Married to DJ Mumma Trees, he has six daughters, his mum, grandkids and extended family around him and he never fails to acknowledge them. His early life in Chapeltown Leeds was disrupted when his Dad was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to the Isle of Man for several years to recover. General went to live with his grandparents and ended up speaking Spanish better than English for a time! It was an epic world trip with his friend Dick that ultimately led him to Perth and although he returned to the UK for a couple of years, he’s based himself in Perth since the early 70’s. It was here in Perth that the great man himself, Bob Marley, once exchanged a few words with General that literally changed his life forever. Massive thanks and respect to General Justice for sharing his story.

"I think my worst time as Tina was probably still better than my happiest times before I was Tina" As a young boy growing up in Vancouver, Canada, Tina Ross had one big wish. To be a girl. Shee had no way of explaining why she felt different. But those differences made her withdrawn and anti-social because she could never “be herself”. A letter wrongly addressed to “Tina Ross” was to give the young boy a name, when finally, decades later living in Western Australia she was able to make her wish come true. I met Tina when she was asked to join in a panel discussion for media about reporting transgender. The panel was convened in the wake of former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner’s gender reassignment and coming out as Caitlyn Jenner. Although Tina’s transition happened quite smoothly, thanks to an accepting family back in Canada and having a good job to pay the bills, she is very aware of the pitfalls of life as a transgender person. Two years after gender reassignment surgery in Thailand, she brims with such enthusiasm for her new life as Tina, the friends, the fun, the sense of finally being able to be “herself” full-time. AND she is getting comfortable with the idea that she has an advocacy role to play the community. Three Gates Media thanks Tina SO much for sharing her story.

"We said it would be really nice if the first tissue-engineered sculptures to be presented within a cultural context would be a something like a worry doll because it would express our anxieties and worries and the fact that it's not that simple." Hidden away in the School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology at the University of Western Australia, is SymbioticA. It's a place where art is created - using living materials and scientific techniques - to make us think about what is happening in the world of biotechnology. Make no mistake, it IS as unique and unusual as it sounds. It's founders, Oron Catts and Dr Ionat Zurr are celebrated around the world for their pioneering works, including making the first piece of in-vitro meat and the victimless leather jacket which had to "die" spectacularly in the Museum of Modern Art on New York where it made it's debut. Catts and Zurr have been appointed to the Royal College of Art in London but will divide their time between the college and SymbioticA.

“I’m sick and tired of the things you never get tired of…so that’s why I decorate my house the way I do” Every community has characters. Evi Ferrier is one of Perth’s. Her home, in the swanky suburb of Mosman, is mosaicked from top to bottom - a riot of eye-catching colour in a sea of boring good taste. Her free spirit and sense of fun pervades everything she does and she’s a strong supporter of the arts as well as being an artist herself. Although she’d shown aptitude for art at school, it wasn’t until she was married with children that she attended the Claremont School of Art and fell in love with mosaicking. In a sense, it was borne of Evi’s loathing of waste, that her children's craft activities as well as broken crockery and mirrors were not destined for the rubbish bin, but for adorning her home. For Evi, the mosaicking is her “gardening” and even now she’d been in that house for 30 years , there’s an ongoing project. Recently her bowerbird tendencies prompted a “sculpture park” on an empty block across the road from her home – an open “house” with rooms and furniture that grew up out of junk left out for roadside collection. The whole community got involved in the fun and when it was time to end it – she held a party there. Friends say she’s the best kind of friend herself, generous and caring, and this sense of community extends to volunteer work. Evi has volunteered in Africa three times inspired by Gemma Sisia, the Australian woman who has set up the School of St Jude in Tanzania and Evi has also helped with children with eating disorders at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and with disabled children at Rocky Bay. Now in her early 70’s Evi energetically pursues numerous interests ranging from dragon boating to knitting to tap dancing and continues to delight all who come across her. Thanks a million to Evi for sharing some of her stories with us and allowing us to photograph her delightful home.

"I didn't learn that people didn't have the same visions as me until later in life" Although Rebecca Millman was used to the powerful intuition of her family members, she didn't accept or hone her abilities as a psychic medium until she was well into her 20's. There were plenty of experiences, including having objects thrown at her when she was alone at home, scaring her so much she slept in the car outside. But in this conversation, Rebecca makes her gift seem surprisingly normal.

"My father lived and breathed soldiering... and he didn't want me to be in the Army. But he signed the paper... and away I went on a career I've loved." Mick Malone's 27-year career in the Australian Defence Force was mostly spent in the SAS, including a twelve month tour of duty in Vietnam. His passion for military books was ignited by the reading required of those in the regiment. For over 25 years he's been running Imprimatur Books, specialising in old and rare military books, including the highly sought-after unit histories. He's about to publish a biography of SAS hero Ray Simpson VC and has written other publications about the Special Air Services Regiment. Mick served in the SAS from 1967 to 1992 from Trooper to Captain and was posted to the Royal Military College Duntroon and to RSM of 1st Commando Regiment among his appointments. He was awarded OAM ( Medal of the Order of Australia) in 1989.