The Good People Podcast

Geraldine Hickey makes me laugh,
which is good, because that's her job.
But it's the way she makes me laugh is what I like about her so much, through humorous anecdotes, and real stories about her life.

You see, you'll struggle to find a more genuine person, willing to share the vulnerable details of their world, in this case, through the medium of comedy.

And it's not an act.
...

While driving her car one day, Louise Larkin heard an interview on the radio that would change the course of her life.

She heard the sad story of a young boy, who was left broken hearted after no one turned up to his birthday party, despite his parents attempts at throwing a great party. 

This lit a fire in her belly, and after some conversations with some friends, she decided to throw a birthday party for any chi...

Music, ethics, and principles are the fabric of Cassie Walker's being
So it's no surprise that she created a business that can help musicians create merchandise which helps them earn money, AND reduce the impact on the environment at the same time!

Upcycled Merch sources non new, and pre owned items of clothing, and upcycles them into merchandise for bands, and businesses who are looking for way to be eco fri...

There is no doubt that A.I. or Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic.
The speed in which it is being developed and employed in almost every industry is both amazing, and FRIGHTENING!
The words ChatGPT can be heard almost daily, even in non tech environment

So is it friend or foe?
I wanted to find out so I invited Marrs Coiro, the Co-Founder of  Polynize onto the show

Polynize is an AI powered, educ...

At just 12 years of age, Tommy Quick survived a stroke, and had to learn to walk again and talk again, and try to live a normal life with his new disability, and it was damn hard.

But as it turns out, Tommy Quick is an unstoppable force, completing high school, achieving a degree in Nutrition, and even hiking the Kokoda Track.

But a conversation with a mate at a coffee shop planted the seed for an epic adventure...

Dr Matthew Read was pretty young when he knew he wanted to be a surgeon.

Having been exposed to medical clinics which were managed by his mother, and having the aptitude for fixing problems, his vision of his future was pretty clear.

But, as he discovered, there is never a straight line between dreams and success, and for over 20 years Matthew pursued medical study, facing rejection, and even a stint in the army...

Emma MacGregor reached a point in her life where she had achieved everything that was expected of her.

She went to Uni, she got married, had kids, but had a the lingering feeling that there is more she should do.

Event management is her trade, but after losing her dream job at the beginning of COVID, Emma took matters into her own hands, creating an initiative called the "Out Of Work Bakers" in the loc...

As a young cop, Peter Baines knew he had a bigger purpose.
He couldn't have guessed though, the he would be involved in the largest Disaster Victim Identification task in history, or that he would raise over $30m for charity.

After choosing a path in forensics, Peter quickly climbed the ranks, which lead him to be called up as part of an international forensic squad, charged with identifying the remains of the 2...

Have you ever thought about what it's like to re enter society after serving a prison sentence?
We watch glorified TV shows about crime, lawyers, and even some popular shows set inside prisons, but we don't tend to pay much attention to ex-prisoners who have re joined the community, which is strange given that almost all of them are eventually released.

For many, life has moved and changed too quickly, and th...

It's school holidays, so for a change of pace, I invited Chris Farrell - (Neighbours/The Hope Fund - ep21) and Jess McDonald (High Tees Australia - ep11) to come to the studio for a coffee and chat.

Chris barracks for the Carlton Blues, while Jess is a fanatical Melbourne Demons supporter, so I played a dirty trick on them, inviting them to wear their football colours, without telling them who they each barracked for...

Ryan Abramowitz was in Copenhagen when he learnt that his father had died from suicide.
It was an event that would change his life, and leave deep scars with him and his family.

He discovered through the grieving process that there weren't many options when it came to books to help people understand, and work through the grief of losing a parent or loved one after suicide, and with around 3500 people per year ta...

Kelly Barrett decided from a very young age that she had to take control of her own destiny.
She's a firm believer that the game of  life isn't played on a level playing field, so she was determined not to let her humble beginnings in the commission flats in Werribee, shape her future for her.

Having been served her fair share of back fortune, Kelly's resilience and determination were key to finding th...

Since the day she was born, Evana De Lune was destined for the stage.  

Performance is in her DNA,  having been dancing since a very young age, but a chance trip to a burlesque class, opened her eyes to a whole new world of performance.
She was so hooked by what she saw, she has been performing as a burlesque dancer ever since.

The entertainment industry was shattered when the pandemic set in,  but where there...

Scott Miller wasn't far into his corporate career when he decided that working in big oil wasn't for him.
 
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, he was destined to follow in their footsteps climbing the corporate ladder,  business was the mantra, but it quickly became clear that his personal values didn't align, and so he jumped ship (or rig?) perusing study in the healthcare industry

Since then, S...

Jack Simpson says the best thing about being an apprentice carpenter, was getting to go to great coffee shops all over Melbourne.
It was the best part of his day.

Truth is, he didn't really like carpentry, but started to really love coffee.

One chance day, he walked into a great cafe in Brighton who had a sign on the window looking for baristas, and so,  Jack took a leap.

With no experience, J...

Black Saturday will always be remembered as one of the worst days in the history of Victoria.

But it should also be remembered as the day that David Laity was forced to think about his life, and his purpose.

His media production company AND side hustle were both destroyed by the horrific fires which burnt so much of northern Victoria, and took so many lives.

He and his partner were literally was left w...

Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is limited by your postcode.

Zac Lewis is the CEO of Western Chances, and organisation devoted to empowering young people to achieve their potential. 

There is an unfortunate, and very real correlation between life opportunities, and the postcode you live in. Western Chances is built on the idea of levelling the playing field for young people who limit their goals based on the...

Adam Sarfati had already started trying to change the world for the better before the pandemic hit, but the COVID lockdowns combined with the increase in online shopping was the perfect time for Heaps Good Packaging to launch.

People want to do the right thing, and the original Heaps Good mailing satchel (a revolutionary product which is home compostable) gave online retailers an eco friendly way to ship the thousands of ...

You may know Chris Farrell from his role as heart throb, Dr Rob in the tv soapie Neighbours.
 
But you probably didn't know he's a Head of Operations and Marketing, helping raise awareness for serious illness like upper gastro intestinal cancer through The Hope Fund, a fantastic organisation created by medical professionals who want to create better long term outcomes for their patients through research.

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