The art of precision engineering with Simon Winchester

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The art of precision engineering with Simon Winchester

FromConversations

ratings:

Length:

52 minutes

Released:

Aug 24, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

The modern world functions on precision - phones, computers, cameras that operate with exactness. But in the quest for perfection, have we lost the art of craftsmanship? (R)

Released:

Aug 24, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Spend an hour in someone else's life. Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met.

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Jessica Cottis — inside the colour of sound: Jessica is an orchestral conductor and also a synesthete who 'sees' colour in her mind's eye. As an organ virtuoso she performed in some of Europe's great cathedrals. When forced to retire, Jessica re-trained as a conductor, making her debut at the BBC Proms. Australian born, she returns often, to work with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra by Conversations
53 min listen
A wild mother and her loving son: Ianto Ware with the story of growing up in the suburbs of Adelaide with his radical feminist lesbian mother Dimity by Conversations
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Wakefield's Kristen Dunphy — turning pain into gold: The screenwriter and showrunner on writing television drama, her struggles with mental health, and how her time in psychiatric hospitals inspired the acclaimed ABC TV drama series Wakefield (CW: drug references and suicidal ideation. Please use discretion when listening) by Conversations
47 min listen
Christiaan Van Vuuren's fully sick life: While confined to hospital with a rare form of tuberculosis, Christiaan found love and an entirely new path (R) by Conversations
51 min listen
Let them ring — Paul Livingston on making a great big noise: Paul is a musician, author and performer best known for his comedic alter-ego, Flacco. In recent years he's joined an eclectic band of people who ring the bells at his local church tower in inner Sydney. He's also been working as a volunteer, listening to and writing down the stories of people at the end of their lives by Conversations
51 min listen
Growing up in old Broome: Anne Poelina, the daughter of a Timorese pearl diver and an Indigenous mother, has always been drawn back to her home town of Broome (R) by Conversations
48 min listen
The Tsars, the lady-in-waiting and Potoroo Palace: Alexandra Seddon with the story of her aristocratic Russian family and their legacy, which helped her found a wildlife refuge for potoroos, koalas, snakes and kangaroos (CW: childhood abuse, historic suicide) by Conversations
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Mick Gooda on working for a better day for all of us: A Gangulu elder, Mick was Co-Commissioner of the high profile Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. Mick's fierce advocacy for young people is due in part to a sliding doors moment in his teens (CW: Discussion of suicide. And for ATSI listeners please be advised this conversation contains the names of people who have died. Take care when listening.) by Conversations
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The girl who ran away to sea — the making of Kathryn: Working as a deckhand on a fishing trawler became the refuge Kathryn Heyman needed from the wreckage of her early life. Hitchhiking to Darwin, then working in the Timor Sea, far from her old life, helped her remake herself (CW: Sexual assault) by Conversations
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The gay preacher: Anthony Venn-Brown was a gay teenager when he gave his life to God. He tried to destroy his sexuality by exorcism and 'gay conversion' therapy before he became a rock star Pentecostal preacher. Then everything came crashing down by Conversations
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Michelle versus the Atlantic Ocean by Conversations
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River, desert, island — Julie Janson's stories: After years teaching in the remote Northern Territory, Julie began to trace her ancestry among the Darug people around the Hawkesbury River. Her most recent novel was written in response to Kate Grenville's The Secret River by Conversations
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The turtle effect — their mysterious allure and surprising history: Louise Pryke returns with a cultural history of turtles. With stories ranging from ancient times to modern day, and from turtle tears to Al Capone, Lou attempts to understand why they are such a widely-loved creature by Conversations
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When I am dead I will love this: From Scotland's Orkney Islands, stories of how a chance meeting in a pub led Andrew Greig to climb the Himalayas, how golfing helped him recover from a near death experience, and his quest for the Loch of the Green Corrie by Conversations
52 min listen
The five personalities of China: Jason Yat-sen Li on how his family story, marked by war, migration and knighthoods, and his own working life helped him embrace the complexities and contradictions of modern China by Conversations
54 min listen
Meet Ash Barty's mindset coach — Ben Crowe: Ben works with athletes including the Richmond Football Club and surfer Steph Gilmore in a counter-intuitive way. He helps them own their flaws, and find an intrinsic purpose so they can take both wins and losses in their stride. Ash Barty credits Ben with helping her become World Number 1 by Conversations
53 min listen
If these (dry-stone) walls could talk — Bruce Munday: Bruce, a grazier and former teacher, fell in love with building dry stone walls and then began to delve into their fascinating history by Conversations
27 min listen
Australia after COVID-19: George Megalogenis looks at the Morrison government's response to the pandemic so far, and asks whether the 'exit strategy' fully comprehends the changed landscape of the post-COVID world by Conversations
53 min listen
Kyle Mewburn — transwoman superhero: Kyle was a 55-year old children's author and husband when she began living her truth as a trans woman by Conversations
52 min listen
Megan Davis: the road to the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Megan Davis was raised as a 'Queensland Rail kid', then in a book-loving household in a housing commission home. She grew up to become a lawyer at the UN, then began a history-making process of helping Australia's First Nations people speak the truth to power by Conversations
51 min listen
Dr Anne Aly's passion for justice: When Anne was ten, she walked onto the school playground and a girl spat in her face after calling her ‘a dirty, Arab Muslim’. To her shock, her teacher did nothing. The incident changed how she saw the world, and helped set her on the path to becoming the first Australian Muslim woman elected to parliament (R) by Conversations
53 min listen
What might a kindness revolution look like?: Hugh Mackay believes humans are ‘hardwired’ to behave kindly. He returns to the program to talk about how his early-pandemic prophecies on community, loneliness, and resilience have played out by Conversations
50 min listen
The man with five lives: Roger Pulvers lived an adventurous life in the Soviet Union, Japan and Poland, before he chose a whole new identity in 1976 (R) by Conversations
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My second family is in Vanuatu: Physiotherapist Sky Fosbrooke’s stint as a volunteer health worker led to a deep attachment to the people of a small South Santo village (R) by Conversations
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The silver medal which changed Laurie Lawrence: As a child, the superstar swim coach lived with a chronic lung condition, and had part of a lung removed. In 1956, a huge event held right in his family's backyard changed the course of his life (R) by Conversations
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Mapping two and a half million guitars: Even the cheapest guitars are made in part from trees which are becoming increasingly rare. Chris Gibson's curiosity about these timbers led him on a worldwide journey to understand the guitar's past and future by Conversations
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Jodi and the people with possibilities: 'Love on the Spectrum' star Jodi Rodgers on her life as a sexologist and relationship counsellor for people with Autism, and her unexpected chapter in reality TV by Conversations
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Bob Rogers — The Beatles, the radio, and me: A broadcasting veteran, Bob spent 70 years on air, hosting TV shows as well as topping the radio ratings in Sydney. In 1964 he was sent to London to join The Beatles on their only Australian tour by Conversations
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The struggle and strife behind Steven Bradbury's win at Salt Lake City: At the age of 20, speed skater Steven Bradbury nearly died on the ice. Then he won history's most unexpected gold medal (R) by Conversations
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Quandamooka Country to Canberra — Dr Valerie Cooms: Aunty Kath, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, was Valerie's godmother, and just one of many staunch political figures on both sides of her family. Val worked her way to becoming a powerful advocate for Aboriginal people and her family CW: ATSI listeners please use discretion when listening as the program references people who have died. by Conversations
56 min listen

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Discover this podcast and so much more

The art of precision engineering with Simon Winchester

The art of precision engineering with Simon Winchester

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Conversations