Human/Ordinary

Sometimes, things don't go to plan. I've had a two week stretch that started well, but then nothing really panned out.

I had some work on that then got postponed, which meant the idea I had for Human/Ordinary couldn't be realised.

Them's the breaks I guess.

What you get instead is a plug for a show that I worked on earlier this year. I feel it deserves more listeners because it's a cracking story and we worked hard on it...

A friend of mine died recently. This is the story of our friendship, and my hate for him.

I've decided to dispense with the intro narration; they weren't really adding anything and you hear from me enough as it is.

This episode is a part of a little series of stories called One Every Two. I'm going to make a new one every two weeks, and upload whatever I have when the time is up. I really abandoned this story. I wish, given t...

Well it's been a long time between Human/Ordinary drinks.

If anyone's still out there, hi!

For the past five years I've been making a go of doing this podcasting caper as my job. But things have been slow lately and so I've decided to start making things for myself again.

It starts here. A little series called One Every Two, where I'm going to try ("try" being the important term here) to make a new little story every coupl...

In October 2017, Sarah and Michael went to Las Vegas on their American holiday. They saw magic, ate lots of food, and were next door to the worst mass shooting in US history. This is the story of what happened during and after.

Produced by Sam Loy

Thanks to Sarah Baggs, Michael Williams, Declan Fay, Janet McLeod and James Milsom.

Thanks also to the Human Ordinary team for their editorial advice.

Original music by Kent S...

What’s it like to collaborate with your partner creatively, while raising kids? How do you give each other feedback, while keeping your marriage intact?

Beck is an illustrator and graphic designer who previously worked in advertising, and her husband Robin is a writer and creative in the advertising industry. Together they’ve created the books: If I was Prime Minister…. and My Folks Grew up in the 80s. 

Produced by Cinna...

Mic Cavazzini’s last story for this season of Human/Ordinary shares a lot of similarities with his first. It’s about the big things: life, death, and the Himalayas. It’s a story about journeys - how you end up doing what you do in life, and how you end up leaving it.

Produced by Mic Cavazzini

Recording assistance by Rojita Adhikari rojitadhikari.wordpress.com/ 

Original music by Kent Sutherland

Other music by Lenno...

Her whole life, May Jasper has felt nervous about going to the hairdresser. 

She didn’t know anything about fashion, and she didn’t understand all the questions they would ask like “do you want more volume in your hair?” (Why, is that gonna make it louder?) 

And so she fantasised about a world where hairdressers were like plumbers. Just getting the job done, no questions asked.

This episode, May finds out wh...

Even though many people think only of dot-style paintings when considering “Aboriginal art”, it is actually as diverse as the many Indigenous nations who live across the country we now call Australia. Each group has its own unique culture with different languages, different stories and songs, different tools and different art styles.

But increasingly, this art is being exploited in the souvenir market where ‘Aboriginal-style’ de...

Mic has a chance encounter with a woman who broke stereotypes for professional women and contributed to some groundbreaking conversations around civil rights in Australia. It’s the story of a remarkable and pioneering life.

Produced by Mic Cavazzini

Music courtesy of freemusicarchive.org, and is by David Szesztay (“The Hangover”), Blue Dot Sessions (“Cloudline”, “Periodicals”, “The Air Escaping”), Chris Za...

Most adults in Vietnam don't speak English. And yet, the country has a pretty large expat community, most of whom don't speak Vietnamese. So how does that work? In this episode, producer May Jasper takes a journey into Expat World.

Produced by May Jasper

Thanks to Anna, Paul, Mile, Albert, Carly, Chris, Dean, Nicholas, Remy, Vinh, and the Human/Ordinary team.

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Human/Or...

Hundreds of metres above the ground, or dodging traffic and the police at a busy intersection, people are just people, but window washers are more than they seem. 

Produced by Sam Loy

Original music by Kent Sutherland

Thanks to Michael, Ben, Shane, Lucas, Paul, Sarah, the other Ben, and the Human/Ordinary team.

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Human/Ordinary is produced in Melbourne and Sydney by Sam Loy, M...

What’s it like being the children of two international jazz musicians? In this episode of Human/Ordinary we meet Ruomi Lee-Hampel and his sister Cavana Hazelton who are divided by the Atlantic Ocean and united by jazz.

Produced by Cinnamon Nippard

For details on where you can find a Gunter Hampel show check out Facebook here, and Instagram here. 

Thanks to Cavana Hazelton and Ruomi Lee-Hampel for sharing their stories...

Geoff Allen has been around. As a ringer in the 50s and 60s, it was his job to tame wild horses and drove massive herds of cattle throughout the outback country. His tale is full of humour, hard work, mateship, and death, and gives an insight into a nearly-forgotten time. 

Produced by Mic Cavazzini

Music by Louis Edward Thorne (EMI Production Music - “The Swamp Sessions”), Nicolaj Sune Block (EMI Production Music - “Cine...

Monkol Lek’s story starts 40 years ago in Cambodia, before even he can remember. On the path to a successful career in computer engineering, a genetic disease shared with his sister sets him on a different path.

Produced by Sam Loy

Original music by Kent Sutherland

Thanks to Guy Scott-Wilson, Jordon Lott, Kate Lourey, and the Human/Ordinary team.

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Human/Ordinary is produced i...

In many ways Melbourne is a distinctly un-Australian city, famous for its cold, rainy weather and lack of beaches. And yet, every morning at 7 am, a group of people gather at the South Melbourne foreshore and go for a swim in Port Phillip Bay. May Jasper wants to know why.

Produced by May Jasper

Original music by Kent Sutherland

Recording and Sound Design by Andrew Callaghan

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Huma...

In the face of the looming climate crisis it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed and helpless. Cinnamon Nippard grabs her keep-cup and has a chat to people who are doing what they can from picking up plastic on remote beaches, to caring for wildlife, and making their own homes more sustainable.

Produced by Cinnamon Nippard

Learn more about the interviewees and their work…

Michael Mobbs - environmental consultant, author and former ...

A fatal avalanche in Kashmir sees Human/Ordinary producer, Mic Cavazzini, pursue the truth of what happened and why, as he investigates the social and economic drivers that almost ensure it will happen again.

Produced by Mic Cavazzini

Original music by Kent Sutherland

Also featuring previously published songs: 

Darling Have I Told You and Calico by Ben Carey 

On The Spot and Backward by David Szesztay 

African ...