Batting the Breeze

Steve Winduss
  • 5.0 (3)
  • DOCUMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Batting the Breeze is a podcast for the infinitely curious. It's a place where we share stories, invite others to share stories and sometimes... just talk. Episodes are usually less than 25 minutes and could relate to absolutely anything; Quite often, they'll be subjects you've never thought about thinking about. We're always looking to be informative, amusing or thought-provoking and occasionally all three! Head over to www.battingthebreeze.com for more information.

  1. APR 29

    The Last Flight Out

    29/30 April 1975 - Vietnam War: The fall of Saigon - 50 years ago today How would you react if you had commandeered a Chinook helicopter and were flying over the South China Sea with little fuel, nowhere to land, your wife and children were on board and you're being hounded by North Vietnamese determined to bring you down? That's the situation that confronted Ba Van Nguyen in the last 24 hours of the fall of Saigon on 29 April 1975. Ba's son Miki was in that Chinook and talks with great passion, humour and humility about that unforgettable day and his extraordinary father. Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/ba-van-nguyen-the-last-flight-out ATTRIBUTIONS  Pro Sound Effects Videvo We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    40 min

  2. JAN 9

    Beyond Gravity

    What does an astronaut fear most? Believe it or not, it’s not dying. What tricks do you play on yourself to get to sleep the night before lift-off? What do you feel when you are standing in front of 180 feet of rocket which is about to propel you into space?  Why would you eat at least one meal on the ceiling of the space shuttle each mission? Jim Wetherbee is one of NASA’s most distinguished servants. During his 20-year career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jim successfully completed six space shuttle missions. He is the only astronaut to have commanded five missions and to have piloted five space shuttle landings. Today marks the 35th anniversary of Jim's first trip into space, 9th January 1990.  I was keen to talk about that first flight into space on the orbiter Columbia. I wanted to hear about the marvel of being launched into the ether with 7 million pounds of thrust under your seat, of seeing space, of experiencing weightlessness and all those other firsts that came with the trip.  It's a poignant detail that the first space shuttle disaster in 1986,  Challenger,  occurred just after Jim had joined NASA, and that his sixth and last space shuttle flight was the one that preceded the second and final space shuttle disaster, Columbia, in 2003.  Jim talks candidly about his role in the aftermath of Columbia. Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/jim-wetherbee-beyond-gravity We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    44 min

  3. 05/30/2024

    Alex's Wish for Duchenne

    Your son has a life expectancy in the 20’s. What are you going to do about it? Today’s guest is the embodiment of triumph over adversity, as are her family. Emma Hallam’s life is marked by extraordinary resilience in the face of overwhelming personal loss, culminating in the diagnosis of her son Alex with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  Duchenne is a life-limiting, aggressive form of progressive muscle weakness. I’ll leave Emma to clarify exactly what that means for Alex and the family. But, as alarming as the prognosis proves to be, this is not a story of hopelessness and self-pity. On the contrary, it’s a candid story of how to turn whatever life throws at you into a force for good. For Emma, that meant channelling her energy into creating the charity Alex's Wish, aimed at funding research and raising awareness for this muscle-wasting disease. Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/alexs-wish-for-duchenne/ We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    31 min

  4. 05/09/2024

    Hurricane Michael and the Compassionate Captain

    If I suggested that you spend nine months away from home and family and sail 32,000 miles around the world the hard way around (ie against prevailing winds and currents), what would you say? And suppose I then told you that eight of your crew had never sailed before and, by the way, Hurricane Michael would be waiting to greet you? Well, that’s what happened to adventurer, author and - to some - mad person Manley Hopkinson.  As one of the skippers in the 2000-01 BT Global Challenge, the world’s toughest yacht race, Manley guided his 40-ton 72-foot steel cutter and a part-trained but very spirited Team Large through storms, doldrums and everything in between.  They took everything in their stride until they came face-to-face with Hurricane Michael, an event that would test Manley’s sailing expertise and leadership skills to the limit. Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/hurricane-michael-and-the-compassionate-captain We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    31 min

  5. 04/18/2024

    The Khmer Rouge, Mr Clever and Me

    In 1993, Chris Moon MBE was taken prisoner while clearing landmines in Cambodia by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, the most feared and brutal regime in the country's history. No Western prisoner had ever survived.  Chris managed to keep his emotions in check and used his early-life farming experiences, army training and plenty of guile to attempt to take control of a situation that was stacked heavily against him and his team. After trekking through the stifling, malaria-infested Cambodian forest for two days, the outlook was not good; the Khmer Rouge commander was planning to shoot the prisoners and burn the vehicles. But then... Chris encountered Mr Clever. Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-khmer-rouge-mr-clever-and-me/ We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    35 min

  6. 02/29/2024

    The Good, the Bad and the TV Anchor

    If you ever seriously considered a career as a TV Anchor, you had better listen to this episode first. Elizabeth Pearson Garr has been there.  After growing up at Stanford and studying at Harvard, she ventured out to the wilds of Billings, Montana to become a TV anchor for KULR-8, an NBC affiliate.  Within a few hours of her first day, the noon anchor went off sick and Elizabeth was reading the news - for the first time!  Spoiler alert: it didn’t all go to plan.  Listen in to a hilarious day in the life of a local TV Anchor - more clamour than glamour. Show Notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-tv-anchor We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    30 min

  7. 02/15/2024

    Inhuman Trafficking

    WARNING: Today’s episode contains adult themes, specifically sex trafficking and human trafficking, so please take that into account.    Amanda Blackwood is a gem.  She’s fun. She’s full of life. She’s also a survivor of human trafficking. Amanda engages in a raw and intimate conversation about her experiences of forced drug prescriptions as a child, subsequent sexual abuse by strangers and relatives, and repeated trafficking by men she thought she could trust.    Amanda talks about her multiple escapes and discusses how she successfully turned her life around to find happiness and dedicate her life to raising awareness about human trafficking and helping others recover. Show notes:   https://www.battingthebreeze.com/inhuman-trafficking We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    34 min

  8. 01/31/2024

    Twenty-two Black Arrows

    In 1958, Sir Patrick Hine was part of a team of elite RAF pilots, the Black Arrows, who broke the world record for an aerobatic display manoeuvre that has never been equalled - and might never be.  The Black Arrows performed a 22-plane loop twice in front of a euphoric Farnborough Air Show crowd.  Sir Patrick later became Air Chief Marshal of the RAF and Joint Command of the British Forces in the 1990 Gulf War, but looks back at that 1958 feat with great pride and considers it one of his proudest career moments. Head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/twenty-two-black-arrows to see actual footage of the 1958 world record-breaking 22-plane loop by the Black Arrows! All audio extracts of the Black Arrows Hawker Hunters in the episode are from a live recording captured in a wonderful film named "The Story of the Black Arrows" provided courtesy of Ian Stark at VIT Media. We love receiving your feedback - head over to https://www.battingthebreeze.com/contact/ Thanks for listening!

    36 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Batting the Breeze is a podcast for the infinitely curious. It's a place where we share stories, invite others to share stories and sometimes... just talk. Episodes are usually less than 25 minutes and could relate to absolutely anything; Quite often, they'll be subjects you've never thought about thinking about. We're always looking to be informative, amusing or thought-provoking and occasionally all three! Head over to www.battingthebreeze.com for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Winduss
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    50
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Logical Business Ltd
  • Show Website
    Batting the Breeze