Professor Dan Lloyd is the Deputy Head of School of Biosciences at the University of Kent. We discuss his research into DNA damage, and how this relates to cancer and its treatment. We chat about targeted therapy in cancer research and how treatment can vary for different types of cancer. We explore the cultural and social issues that effect the diagnostic element in the treatment process and how some cancers fare better than others when it comes to funding and awareness raising campaigns. This ...
Mar 29, 2019•41 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Virginia Chan used to work in HR in banking, then one day she decided that she wanted to do something different with her life and she started her unique and quirky food tours in Hong Kong. Her tour company is called ‘Humid with a Chance if Fishballs’ and she runs the most incredible cultural food tours around the city that really take her guest into the heart of Hong Kong’s amazing cuisine and culture. Virginia talks about how she started with a blog about Hong Kong and it morphed into her food ...
Mar 23, 2019•46 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Hin Chun Chui is an accomplished body builder who is a member of the Hong Kong team. He is a vegan and he shares his secrets to building muscle mass as a vegan bodybuilder. Hin Chun talks about how he watched a video with animals being slaughtered for food and then he was haunted by nightmares about chickens for two weeks after watching this film. He also suffered from skin allergies, so these two factors inspired him to become vegan. Hin Chun struggled to find other body builders who were vegan...
Mar 15, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Angela Hancock grew up in the U.K. and had a lovely early childhood with her single mother. One day, when she was 13, she returned home to find a man living in her house with her mother. This man went on to sexually abuse Angela and she now found herself living in a house full of violence and misery. She also did not fit in at school and felt like she was ‘on the outside looking in’. Angela was kicked out of home at 16 and developed bulimia which was eventually replaced with an addiction to exer...
Mar 08, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Vincy Chan is a non-binary trans-activist who is passionate about music, art, culture and making a difference in the world. Vincy talks about gender, sexuality, labels and preferred pronouns whilst explaining their journey of self-discovery and finding their identity. Vincy wishes that they had access to the information that is available to young people today about these issues and they wished they could have made connections with other queer or trans folks when they were younger. Going to an al...
Mar 01, 2019•55 min•Season 1Ep. 79
This is Sonya Yeung’s adoption story. She shares her and her husband’s journey of adopting a child in Hong Kong. She talks about the procedure for adopting a child and the highs and lows of the entire process. Sonya talks about her fears and concern and some of the cultural sensitivities that they faced surrounding adoption. Sonya and her husband had an open dialogue with friends and family and felt overwhelming love and support. Sonya shares the excitement and nerves associated with meeting the...
Feb 22, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Dr. Michael Eason is a psychologist who specialises in many different areas; one being affirmative therapy for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Michael explains the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation. We focus our conversation on transgender support and explore many of the challenges that trans youth and their families face. Michael emphasises how important family support is for any LGBTQ+ youth who are in the process of exploring their identity. Families face many changes...
Feb 15, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Mel Patching used to suffer from binge eating disorder and she shares how she coped with this life changing ordeal and the steps that she took to overcome her disorder. Mel shares the desperate behaviours that she used to resort to, to be able to eat copious amounts of food. Mel suffered from guilt and isolation during these years and unfortunately, she could not afford therapy. Thankfully, Mel discovered some amazing self-help books that she was able to use on her path to self-discovery and rec...
Feb 08, 2019•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 76
Darius Kokou Agbeko Dzadu was an asylum seeker and refugee in Hong Kong for many years, he is now married to his lovely wife and has residency and is finally able to work. He is an activist helping raise awareness of the plight of refugees in Hong Kong who struggle with equality and justice. He hopes to improve the living and working conditions of those living in marginalised communities, especially refugees and ethnic minorities, many of whom are his friends. Darius has done a TEDx talk and spe...
Feb 01, 2019•49 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Joy Tsien Koo speaks to us about life as a 50 something expat woman living in Hong Kong. She gives us an insight into some of the highs and lows of expat living. She discusses parenting, educating her children and helping them through dealing with mental health issues as teenagers. We discuss some of the pressures that couples can face when living the fast paced, glamorous Hong Kong lifestyle. She explores how it feels to have her children fly the nest and then having to reevaluate her own purpo...
Jan 25, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Mehek Gidwani talks to us about her journey with drug addiction and recovery as a teenager. She shares how she was bullied as a child in primary school and her self-esteem and self-worth were low. Mehek’s drug taking began at the early age of 13 to enable her to fit in and feel a sense of belonging. Her struggles with her sexuality added to her feelings of inadequacy and sense of displacement and she emphasises that her ‘mind was a painful place to be’. Mehek talks about spiraling out of control...
Jan 18, 2019•54 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Divya Samtani shares her wisdom related to parenting skills, being a teenager and how to live a life filled with compassion and gratitude. She has a company called Savvy Sapiens where she runs programs for creative, resourceful teens to help them become global citizens and entrepreneurs of the future. She also delivers parenting workshops to help parents hold space for their teens without judgement enabling them to build relationships and improve the family dynamic. Divya talks about her own per...
Jan 11, 2019•43 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Aaron Stadlin-Robbie suffers from panic attacks and anxiety. He talks about when he first realised that he was suffering from panic attacks after experiencing the most frightening event of his whole life. Eventually, he saw a psychiatrist and got to the bottom of what he was going through and began to receive treatment and support. He recognised that he experienced several red flags that he initially ignored which led to his panic attacks taking hold. He feels that dealing with anxiety is a batt...
Jan 04, 2019•49 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Susan Lavender shares her life story with us. She is half Italian and half British and she moved to Canada and trained to be a lawyer in her 20’s. She moved to Hong Kong in 1990 to work as an advocate for refugees for UNHCR. She would interview Vietnamese asylum seekers and make recommendations to the Hong Kong Immigration Department as to whether they were deserving of being granted asylum. She visited detention camps on boats and on islands off Hong Kong and she shares some of the shocking sto...
Dec 28, 2018•42 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Emily Lola Tan has Leukemia. She shares her story whilst also raising awareness of the importance of bone marrow donations for Leukemia suffers- especially Asian people as they don’t seem to register as bone marrow donors as much as people in other countries. Finding a bone marrow match will significantly increase Emily’s chances of survival and she is on a mission to raise awareness for all Leukemia patients. We discuss why it is better for her to stay in Hong Kong to find a bone marrow match a...
Dec 21, 2018•59 min•Season 1Ep. 69
I interviewed Kinny Au Barlow for International Podcast Day and we spoke about growing up in a Chinese family and some of the long standing traditions and values that Kinny feels are important to impart to her children. She explains how she balances her own Chinese culture and her husband’s Western culture when raising her children. She shares some stories from her childhood and explains how she was different to her peers and the unique way that he parents embraced and encouraged her to be diffe...
Dec 14, 2018•44 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Tiffany Huang began Spill Stories as a story telling platform for women of colour to share their experiences. She was unhappy with the superficial nature of social media, so she created content on Instagram that offers comfort to others in their personal struggles. The stories, written by a diverse group of people, evoke empathy, catharsis and healing through sharing more deep and meaningful aspects of life. “Social media can enhance our sense of isolation” and Spill Stories provides a platform ...
Nov 30, 2018•46 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Tash Jain suffers from a chronic illness called POTS- Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. This is a syndrome where there is an imbalance between your blood pressure and your heart rate. Symptoms include fainting, memory loss and fatigue, all of which affected Tash. She was so ill that she has to quit her job and was on bed rest for months. There was no specific treatment for her illness, so it was a matter of trial and error as she experimented with different treatment methods. Being unwe...
Nov 23, 2018•56 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Siufung Law is a genderqueer bodybuilder who competes in both local and international competitions. He shares his gender and sexuality journey, and how his identity has evolved to where it is today. He is open and candid about being raised as a young girl in Chinese culture and the challenges he faced being at school where his dad was the Vice Principal. Siufung explains how he felt that he needed to suppress his sexuality and gender journey from his family whilst at school, but he was lucky to ...
Nov 16, 2018•58 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Sofie Jacobs is a midwife from Belgium who lives and works in Hong Kong. Sofie and I discuss all things related to pregnancy and birth. We discuss postpartum depression, home and hospital births, birth plans and parenting. We explore the pressure that women face to get their post baby body back and Sofie explains that this is impossible as our bodies change after giving birth. You need to prepare for the birth in all aspects of mind, body and soul and Sofie gives us tips on how to do this. Did y...
Nov 09, 2018•56 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Tegan Smyth is an Australian Lawyer working in Hong Kong who runs a program for refugees called Table of Two Cities. It is a community project where refugees tell their stories and share their culture through food. A shared meal can bring both sides of Hong Kong to one shared table. Two sides of the city, united by an idea, by acceptance, understanding and by food. Table of Two Cities enables refugees to give something of themselves to the local community and feel valued and appreciated. Tegan r...
Nov 02, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Kevin Wong, co-founder and chief executive of Origami Labs, says Orii is the world's first voice-powered smart ring. It is a private communication tool that uses voice assistance technology to communicate. The ring uses sound as a physical vibration which passes directly through your finger and into your ear. Kevin explains that screen free technology is his area of interest and this has been inspired by his dad who has been sight impaired from the age of thirteen. In fact, Kevin’s dad also work...
Oct 26, 2018•45 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Rebecca Hopkins shares her fertility journey with us and her ultimate choice to use egg donation to create her family. She went though IVF and this was not successful at all but she and her husband were both committed to having a family no matter what. After giving up on the idea of IVF, Rebecca fell pregnant naturally, but the baby had spina bifida and was terminated at 20 weeks. Losing their first daughter, Ruby was devastating for Rebecca and her husband. They left their jobs, went travelling...
Oct 19, 2018•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Rebecca Hopkins talks about how she found herself going through early menopause in her early 30’s and this affected many aspects of her life, including her ability to have children. She had her children using an egg donor and whilst she was raising her small children she found herself in the midst of quite intense menopausal symptoms. Her doctor put her on hormones to combat early osteoporosis. This meant that her sex drive shot through the roof and she became rather rampant. She was also super ...
Oct 12, 2018•21 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Amao Leota Lu is a proud Fa’afafine living in Melbourne, Australia. She was in Hong Kong for the Rainbow Families Forum and spoke to me about her life. She shares her struggles as a transgender woman and also explains the cultural acceptance that she has experienced from her friends and family in Samoa, where the culture is very inclusive. Amao explains how she has navigated a safe space for herself and how she works to support other LGBTQIA+ members of her local community. She shares her journe...
Oct 05, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Philip Howell-Williams is the Director of Pink Season, a five-week long festival which highlights and supports the LGBT+ community in Hong Kong. This is the 9th year that Pink Season has run, and Philip has put his own stamp on the celebration by including more educational and family events in the plethora of functions on offer. Pink Season offers many free activities with a focus on arts, theatre, family connections, sport, education and parties. There is even a Drag Queen workshop which will c...
Sep 28, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Chris Geary is the CEO of BSD Education where he runs an innovative program called RefuGeek. This is a non-profit entity sponsored by the Fargo Foundation in Hong Kong, using academic curriculum to deliver technology education to refugees and asylum seekers in Asia. Chris believes that everyone should have the right to technology education and learn the skills needed to succeed in the world. Millions of people have been displaced from their homes due to conflicts and natural disasters. In many c...
Sep 21, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Nan talks about her life and what is was like growing up in the 1920’s and 30’s in Australia. She discusses her education, her career and her life living on the farm, married to Claude. She shares her secrets to longevity of life and explains many of the challenges she has faced. Nan talks proudly about the achievements of all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nan is an incredible woman who is still mentally sharp, even at the age of 100. However, she is frustrated that her bo...
Sep 14, 2018•46 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Film director, Joanna Bowers shares her experiences making impactful films that shine a light on social issues, in particular the potential of women. She began working in film in the USA. In 2011, Joanna moved to Hong Kong where she is now based. Since relocating to Asia, projects have seen her filming throughout mainland China, Nepal Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and the United States. Having told several successful female-driven short-form stories, in 2015 she was inspired to explore th...
Sep 07, 2018•46 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Ken Wong used to work in finance in the USA but when he saw a need for improving aged care systems in his home town of Hong Kong, he created Evercare, a service that helps the elderly age with comfort and dignity. Evercare is an aged care service that provides people with an alternative way of aging in the home surrounded by family. Evercare developed a platform that marries technology and people by informing families about the health and wellbeing of their loved one. Evercare puts together a te...
Aug 31, 2018•42 min•Season 1Ep. 53
