Cath Curtin’s Birth, Baby and Beyond
Author and midwife Cath Curtin pitched PodcastOne an idea for a podcast after writing a successful book about the first weeks after a baby is born. Curtin found an audience for her audio series and is now working on her third season of 10 episodes.
Curtin has been a nurse, midwife and maternal and child heath nurse for over 40 years. “I have delivered lots of babies and helped mums with their post-natal parenting for a long time,” she told Mediaweek.
“When I realised how great podcasts were, I pitched my idea to PodcastOne and I was lucky to be one of the first to get a spot on their platform. I love podcasting so much and I get great response from the audience – mums, dads and grandparents too.”
So far there have been 22 episodes across two seasons. Most of the podcasts feature a guest, although Curtin has hosted a few information-rich episodes solo.
Subjects have ranged from breast-feeding versus bottle-feeding to challenges like having a child who is later diagnosed with cancer. She has featured a couple of former AFL footballers who have talked about a father’s role in parenting.
Curtin is outspoken about women having the right not to breastfeed if they don’t want to. “If they choose to give a baby formula, for whatever reason, it is okay,” she explained. “You hear a lot about breast is best. I talk about fed is best.”
Curtin wrote a book for publisher Allen & Unwin called The First Six Weeks. “I got so many emails then asking what happens after the first six weeks.” Her second book is therefore called After The First Six Weeks.
Listen to Birth, Baby & Beyond here
Wippa launches podcast series with Invictus Games competitors
To coincide with this week’s launch of the Invictus Games, Nova’s Michael “Wippa” Wipfli is hosting a podcast series Invictus Games – The Soldier and the Story with Wippa featuring inspirational Australian competitors as well as an Ambassador for the Invictus Games Sydney 2018.
After launching the series on his Nova Sydney breakfast show this week, Wippa told Mediaweek: “Our men and women who represent Australia through their commitment to the services should be recognised, and their recovery supported, in as many ways possible. Their stories should be told and need to be heard and it’s an honour for me to present them to you.”
The fourth Invictus Games will see 500 competitors from 18 nations contest medals in 11 adaptive sports. More than 1,000 family and friends will accompany the competitors, with all being supported by over 1,000 volunteers.
Wippa and Craig McGrath
In the podcasts Wippa speaks to competitors Kevin Jacoby, Vanessa Broughill and Craig McGrath, who share their stories of hardship and resilience that have led them to compete at the Invictus Games Sydney 2018.
The series is produced by Wippa’s media business Two Basic Scoops and Nova Entertainment and is hosted on the Acast platform.
Wippa said he approached the Invictus Games with the concept and they loved the idea and helped organise competitors to speak to.
There are four episodes planned for the series, with the first available now. Just one former service man or woman is featured in each episode.
Wippa said their stories can be quite harrowing. “It can be very confronting to hear about what these people have suffered and where they have been emotionally. Sometimes, many years later, they are still working through their challenges with either therapy or other treatments. Some have great stories of survival – not just from the battlefield, but when they got home and what they have had to go through.
“The battlefield stories include being in the wrong place at the wrong time when a bomb goes off and what happened to get them out of there. Their bravery is something that blows me away.”
Wippa is in awe of what people in the armed forces have done for their country. He said he attends Anzac Day every year: “It is the least I could do. I wear my grandfather’s medals.”
Listen to Invictus Games – The Soldier and the Story here.
New on PodcastOne:
• A new series of Health Hacker with Adam MacDougall has been released. MacDougall focuses on the top hacks to lose belly fat in his first two episodes.
Listen to Health Hacker here.
• The Mediaweek favourite Rusty’s Garage with motoring commentator and journalist Greg Rust featured Grant Denyer recently, which pulled big audiences. In the interview, Denyer recounted how Channel 10 contemplated announcing his death on-air following a tarmac rally crash at the Lake Mountain Sprint in 2017.
Listen to Rusty’s Garage here.
