Over the Back Fence DM Podcasts

This week Nicola and Di chat with the dynamic and inspiring Judie Johnson. Judie became known globally, when incredible footage of her swimming with orcas was captured in 2018 and went viral. The video went to USA Today, Fox News, Canadian news - in fact, it went all over the world. The YouTube footage of that remarkable moment has had over 30 million views - it’s simply extraordinary!

Judie shares the incredible story of what happened that day, 5 years ago, on her local beach in Hahei, New Zealand when she went to meet her swim group and nobody else showed up. Judie decided to jump in the water anyway, and not long into her swim she noticed what she thought were dolphins approaching her, but turned out to be a pod of killer whales. You’ll have to listen in to hear what went through Judie’s mind and what she decided to do next - you won’t believe it! 

As luck would have it, an Aussie tourist who was on the beach at the time, happened to have a drone with him and quickly pulled it out to film the entire encounter. If you haven’t already seen it, you can watch the incredible footage here. 

We hear about Judie’s zest for life, how active she still is as a woman in her 70s, and how much she loves swimming - she describes it as a place where she can leave all her worries behind. 

For anyone that is feeling a little low, or lacking motivation, this episode is an uplifting feel-good story of the power of reconnecting with nature and the benefits of stepping outside of your comfort zone. Judie is full of life and we hope you feel as inspired by her as we did. 

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

Watch Judie Swimming with Orcas here

Watch the story that featured on New Zealand’s Channel 1 News here
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This week Nicola and Di chat with the talented and inspiring Mel Wilson. Mel is a journalist, voice-over artist, podcast host and author of the new book, Parenting in Progress, which is full of stories and tips from all kinds of celebrities and experts - as Mel puts it, it’s imperfect advice for the biggest role of your life. Whether you’re a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, or none of the above, there’s something in this chat for everyone.

In this conversation, we hear how Mel juggled her career as a podcast host and voice-over artist with being a single parent to 2 young kids and still managed to write this book in the spare moments she could find on the sidelines of a soccer game, in the back of a taxi, or on a plane - she made every minute count. 

We talk about parenting these days - how no one really knows what they’re doing, everyone’s just trying to figure it out, but the pressure to be perfect has increased so much that it’s created these new ways of parenting, such as helicopter parents and snowplough parents. We talk about how much parenting has changed over the decades and Di also shares some funny stories of her own parenting mishaps. 

Mel opens up about the challenges of being a single parent, what it was like trying to survive, make a living and raise her kids in Sydney, and how her own parents stepped in to help in really practical ways - you’ll want to listen in to hear what her dad did, because it might make you cry. 

Mel talks about what dating is like after divorce, and her own Over The Back Fence love story - it’s such a goodie! 

Mel also shares some of the wonderful stories from people like Amanda Keller, Turia Pitt, Taryn Brumfitt, Sarah Harris and Sam Wood, who are just some of the incredible people she interviewed for her book. 

This was such a funny and down-to-earth conversation about what it’s really like to parent and juggle it all and we loved having Mel in the studio with us. We hope you love it too.  

Follow Mel on IG here 

Buy Mel’s book Parenting In Progress here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here
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This week Nicola and Di chat with the multi-talented and hilarious Wendy Harmer. Wendy has had an incredible career as a journalist, comedian, radio show host, TV personality, and author. Her latest book Lies My Mirror Told Me is a frank, funny and fearless memoir that tells Wendy’s story of overcoming adversity to become one of Australia’s most loved entertainers on stage, in print, television and broadcasting. 

In this conversation, Wendy opens up about her difficult childhood - what it was like when her mum walked out on the family when Wendy was just 10 years old, how her father was left to raise 4 children and the fun and mischief they used to have when he would go away for the weekend and leave them alone in the house. 

Wendy shares about her experiences of being bullied at school because of her double cleft lip and palate, which she had until she was able to have facial surgery as a teenager. Despite this challenge, her father was determined that it wouldn’t hold her back and always encouraged and pushed Wendy to be out in front. He even wanted her to be the first female Prime Minister of Australia. 

We hear the remarkable story of Wendy’s career, how she went from journalism, to comedy, to radio - and became both the first female presenter on commercial breakfast radio and the highest paid woman on Australian radio.    

There are so many hilarious stories that Wendy shares throughout this chat - including that time she was flown to LA to cover the Oscars as a breastfeeding mother - you’ll have to stay tuned to hear what happened that night, and I’m sure you’ll be in stitches like we were. 

Follow Wendy on Twitter here

Buy Wendy’s book Lies My Mirror Told Me here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here
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This week Nicola and Di chat with the brilliant and kind Dr. Chris Roberts. Chris is the talented surgeon who performed Nicola’s hip replacement in 2023 and helped her go from shuffling around in pain to dancing on table tops again! It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to chat with a surgeon about all things body parts and the future of medicine, so we really wanted to get Chris in the studio. He also has a great sense of humour, so there were lots of laughs all round.  

In this conversation you’ll get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what life is like as a surgeon. Chris takes us through the progress that’s been made in his field in the last 60 years and how incredible hip replacement surgery is these days - you’ll never guess what they were using for these operations back in the 60s! We also talk about the future of medicine - what’s happening with AI and robotics, and where things may be headed. 

Chris shares why he became a surgeon in the first place, and what motivates him to keep going - his genuine desire to help people. We also hear the heartwarming story of a 94-year-old man who’s life was changed when Chris agreed to operate on him. And stay tuned for Chris’ number one tip to keep your bones healthy and strong! 

We were so grateful to Chris for making time in his busy schedule to come and chat to us in the studio. It was such an interesting conversation and we had a good laugh. We hope you do too.  

Contact Dr. Chris Roberts for any patient enquiries: (02) 9972 9111 or crreception@penorth.com.au

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here
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This week Nicola and Di chat with the entertaining and gifted Harry T. Harry is a media personality, author, spiritual teacher and world-renowned celebrity psychic. He was born with his psychic gifts, and has been doing readings from a very young age. His clients now include A-list celebrities, royalty, heads of state, media moguls and corporate CEOs. Harry’s new book Feet on the Ground, Fingertips in Heaven is a spiritual guide that helps everyone tap into their own intuition, feel empowered and connected to the spiritual realm. 

In this conversation, Harry talks about the first time he remembers seeing spirits when he was just 3 years old, and how it was a frightening experience at that age. Harry shares how we are all born with psychic abilities, but some are simply more gifted than others. We chat about how to open our awareness to the spiritual signs that may be around us and tap into our intuition. 

We also talk about near death experiences, death dates and life after death. Harry explains how we are all just energy, and that our energy will never cease to exist. Life really does carry on after death, and our loved ones who have passed are only a few feet away in a spiritual realm. He also talks about the difference between prayer and meditation, and why both of these tools are powerful ways to connect. 

Harry’s energy is absolutely infectious and we loved chatting to him about these fascinating topics. It was a very comforting conversation to know that no matter who we have lost in our lives, they really are still here with us, watching over us. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did. Thanks for listening.  

Follow Harry on IG here

Buy Harry’s Book: Feet On The Ground, Fingertips In Heaven here

Find out more about Harry’s work here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with award-winning author Annabel Abbs about her incredible new book Sleepless. Annabel has written both novels and non-fiction books, which have been published internationally in 30 languages. Her latest book Sleepless gives a refreshing and positive new take on sleepless nights and how we can all discover the power of our night self.

In this conversation, Annabel shares how it was an inexplicable period of grief during 2020 that led to her writing this book. As someone who had experienced insomnia for years, the sleeplessness she experienced during this time felt different and Annabel became curious to learn more about how other women throughout history had dealt with sleepless nights, why it didn’t seem to match up with the sleep studies we hear about these days and what gifts we could learn from their experiences. 

We hear all about what Annabel calls the night self. The ways that our physiology and brain changes during the night, and how that can lead to extraordinary creativity and a feeling of connectedness. Annabel tells us some great stories about the amazing women over the centuries - artists, writers, astronomers and scientists - who had wonderful discoveries and bursts of inspiration during the night. 

This is such a different take on what we usually hear about sleep. We’re so used to being told that if we don’t get enough sleep, all sorts of health issues will ensue, but Annabel offers a unique perspective and shares why she believes that sleep scientists and the sleep industry may be benefiting from selling us one central message about sleep. 

We absolutely loved talking to Annabel. We learnt so much from her and were reassured by everything she shared - we hope you will be too. A quick heads up - this conversation was recorded online, with Nicola and Di in their Sydney homes and Annabel in Bath. It was a stormy night with some technical issues, so we hope you’ll understand that the audio quality is echoey at times. Thanks for listening. 

Follow Annabel on IG here

Buy Annabel’s book Sleepless here

Find out more about Annabel’s work here 

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.