Best Catholic Nerds Podcasts (2024)

1
The unexpected plot twist: the tech nerd who changed course to help the homeless 50:54

4h ago50:54

50:54

Jon Owen's mum enrolled him in a computer science degree at University - expecting him to build a flourishing career; which he did. It just wasn't the one that everyone expectedBy Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
The unexpected plot twist: from the David Jones food hall to Opera Australia 50:06

1h ago50:06

50:06

After a stint being homeless and living in his car, Stephen Smith was working at David Jones Food Hall when one of his colleagues noticed his remarkable singing voice. A few years later, he became a tenor on the operatic world stage (R)By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
An odyssey across Australia — how 11,000 sheep were walked from Victoria into the outback 49:00

2h ago49:00

49:00

In 1882, thousands of sheep set off from a property in Western Victoria. Their destination was a huge station in the Northern Territory, land which a sheep had never set foot on. To get there, these animals and their drover battled drought, flood, famine and doubtBy Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
Antibiotic resistant superbugs and how to fight them 50:12

5h ago50:12

50:12

Professor Ian Henderson has spent his career searching for new treatments in the fight against antibiotic resistance superbugsBy Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
A life spent making — ‘Mr Millimetre’s’ memories 50:42

7d ago50:42

50:42

Jeffrey Broadfield has made building his life. It has taken him around the world, and given him a place to belong. Jeffrey Broadfield is a master maker who builds houses to his clients’ wishes and quirks, using carpentry to turn recycled Australian hardwood into dream homes. It’s a craft Jeffrey says is dying. He grew up in Griffith, NSW, where he …

1
Fish sperm sausages, and eyeball icecream: the Josh Niland story 52:00

7d ago52:00

52:00

From using fish eyes in icecream, and not wasting the liver, to creating recipes with fish sperm, chef Josh Niland on his mission to revolutionise how we cook and eat fish. (R)By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
The architects of ancient Arabia – speaking to the sky 51:35

1h ago51:35

51:35

The deserts of Saudi Arabia are still holding on to many ancient secrets, hidden inside burial tombs and mysterious monumental structures called mustatils. Dr Hugh Thomas is on an archaeological mission to solve some of these mysteries. Hugh Thomas is an archaeologist who is fascinated by ancient mortuary practices and the secrets still hidden in t…

1
The epic highs and lows of Ji's life on the trampoline 53:06

6h ago53:06

53:06

Ji Wallace was at the top of his career as a gymnast and acrobat when a terrible injury and surprising diagnosis brought him back down to earth, temporarily. Ji was an energetic, only child growing up on a bush block in suburban Brisbane when his parents brought home a trampoline to keep him occupied. Ji took to it so quickly, he learnt how to flip…

1
Treating dementia — a new way of caring for the elderly 52:30

1d ago52:30

52:30

Psychiatrist Duncan McKellar wrote the report that triggered the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. He has seen how care changes when we take someone's life story into account.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
The story of James Earl Jones, and his legacy 38:01

6d ago38:01

38:01

The late James Earl Jones grew up with a stutter and hardly said a word for years. After an English teacher intervened, he grew up to become one of the world's finest actors. (R)By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
Epic sharks — the ancient origins of the monsters of the sea 50:06

3d ago50:06

50:06

From sharks with wheels of teeth, to gargantuan sharks like the megalodon, palaeontologist John Long has traced the long and storied history of these oceanic hunters. This episode of Conversations explores science, origin stories, ancient history, sharks, palaeontology, the ocean, climate change, megalodon, hunting and predators.…

1
Words of love — writing stories of Aboriginal land 48:10

4d ago48:10

48:10

Author and professor Anita Heiss on her parents' story of romance, and how she brings true history alive in her workBy Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
My brother's death — writing the story of a family's grief and loss 52:24

7d ago52:24

52:24

For decades, Gideon Haigh and his mum were the only two people who really knew what happened on Jaz's last night. This year, it all poured out.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
Quitting alcohol – the story of how Seana got sober 53:30

14d ago53:30

53:30

After a childhood spent trying to escape her father's booze-fuelled outbursts, Seana developed her own problem relationship with drinking. But by her mid-50s, Seana decided she had had enough. Seana Smith grew up in a beautiful house in rural Scotland, and when things were good at home, they were wonderful. But Seana’s father loved to drink, and hi…

1
How dogs think — and what they think of us 49:48

9d ago49:48

49:48

Dog behaviourist Laura Vissaritis uses science and psychology to better understand what our dogs really are telling us and how our behaviour influences theirs (R). Laura is a dog behaviourist with qualifications in both animal behaviour and human psychology. Dogs were the first animals to become domesticated, and over the centuries they've evolved …

1
My Stolen Generations story: how Brenda was taken from her family, twice 46:24

10d ago46:24

46:24

As a young child, chunks of Brenda Matthews' early memories were missing until her biological mother told her the truth of what happened. Together they are slowly healing Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews was stolen from her family, along with her six siblings, when she was two-years-old. She came from a loving, hardworking, religious family. She was…

1
The story of the melancholy spy 53:00

11d ago53:00

53:00

When a devastating injury ended Jack Beaumont's career as a jet fighter pilot, he decided to become a spy, in the French Secret Service. Jack Beaumont (not his real name) is a former intelligence operative and the author of several spy thrillers. Jack grew up in a turbulent family in Paris and when he got older he decided to train as a jet fighter …

1
The psychedelic revolution — how MDMA mended Rebecca's mind 52:42

14d ago52:42

52:42

While struggling with PTSD, social researcher Rebecca Huntley chose an unconventional and underground path to healing — MDMA therapy. Rebecca Huntley is well known to many Australians for her formidable intellect and career as a broadcaster, an author and a social researcher. But despite her impressive public-facing life, in private, Rebecca's trau…

1
Smuggled out of Wewak — Carolyn's dramatic escape from Papua New Guinea 52:42

15d ago52:42

52:42

When Carolyn Blacklock's passport was confiscated from her in a foreign country she was faced with a scary reality that got wilder at every turn Carolyn Blacklock's passport was taken from from her at the Port Moresby International Airport when she was trying to get on a plane back to Australia. It was at that moment she realised just how much trou…

1
When the pirate got paid on the island of Corfu 52:00

16d ago52:00

52:00

Kári Gíslason was 18 when he met a mysterious stranger called 'the Pirate' on the Greek island of Corfu. When he fled the island, he left behind a debt he promised to one day repay. When Kári Gíslason was 18, he came to the island of Corfu as a stony-broke traveller. But he quickly found work in a little town: lime washing walls and working as a bu…

1
The spark that saw Andy become solar-powered 53:06

17d ago53:06

53:06

Andy McCarthy found passion for solar power as a high school dropout. He began one of Australia's biggest solar businesses, right in the heart of Victoria's coal country. But then a breakdown changed everything for Andy and his family Andy McCarthy dropped out of high school in year 10. He was a highly energetic kid but found it difficult to latch …

1
The sprawling history of the human soul — part two 48:30

18d ago48:30

48:30

In this two-part series, historian Paul Ham traces how our definition and understanding of the human soul has transformed over thousands of years. Humans have been probing their own invisible inner voice since the Stone Age. But where did the concept of the soul even come from? And is it really what separates the living from the dead? Historian and…

1
The trailblazing papergirl, lawyer and playwright 53:12

1M ago53:12

53:12

Suzie Miller's frugal and free range St Kilda childhood taught her to question almost everything. She grew up to become a trailblazing writer and lawyer (R) Suzie Miller grew up in St Kilda, and from early in life she had a number of part-time jobs. She became a trailblazing paper girl in her local area, when the role was usually only offered to bo…

1
My aunt was smuggled to Tashkent by Stalin 52:42

27d ago52:42

52:42

Helen Vatsikopoulos' family never spoke about what happened to her aunt, Aspasia after the Greek Civil War. She uncovered a story of secret evacuation, exile and unknown family members. Helen Vatsikopoulos was born in a little mountain village on the northern border of Greece. She came to Adelaide as a young girl and grew up to become a TV journali…

1
Heavenly beings: the icon paintings of Michael Galovic 51:12

25d ago51:12

51:12

Artist Michael Galovic had been painting mysterious and mystical icons for decades before he truly understood the theology behind what he was doing — expertly and purposefully distorting reality to create a window into a heavenly and otherworldly realmBy Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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