Hong Kong Confidential

Valentina Tudose joins me to talk about sex with a focus on educating young people so they have more positive relationships. She explains why it is important to educate teens about respect and consent by teaching them about values and the need to have high self worth. We live in a hyper-sexualised society, where sexting and pornography are prevalent. Valentina advises parents’ ways in which they can discuss these issues with their children and educate them on how to develop their relationships skills.  We talk about sexual pressure and how important it is to set boundaries. Managing emotions is an important part of sexual relationships and Valentina gives us tips on how to do this. Valentina discuses sex positive resources with us and is full of wonderful advice on topic of sex and relationships. “Awareness is the foundation of becoming well adjusted people who can function successfully in relationships.” Happy Ever After: https://happyeverafter.asia/ Hong Kong Confidential Details Emai

Dr Andy Cornish from World Wildlife Fund talks to us about sharks and how important shark conservation is for the biodiversity of the oceans as well as from a humanitarian point of view. Dr Cornish is an expert on sharks and shares how is interest in sharks began when he was young. He discusses the culling of sharks for Shark Fin soup and how slowly large hotel chains in Asia are getting on board and banning Sharks Fin soup at their banquets. We discuss the historical context of the consumption of Sharks Fin soup and why it is so popular in Asia. Dr Cornish gives us tips on how we can make a difference when it comes to shark conservation.  He answers a multitude of diverse questions about sharks and his knowledge on the topic is astounding. World Wildlife Fund: https://www.wwf.org.hk/en/ Hong Kong Confidential Details Email: juleshannaford1@gmail.com Network: https://www.auscastnetwork.com/home/hong-kong-confidential Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hongkongconfidential/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/julesh

Music has always been a huge part of Kate Targett-Adams’ life. She started playing the Celtic harp as a child and it has been a lifelong passion. Cooking is also another passion of Kate’s and she made it to the finals of Master Chef when she was a young girl. Eventually, she had to chose between her love of music and cooking when deciding her career path. Music won over and Kate has excelled in her career as a singer, songwriter and harpist. She has many performed at many illustrious events, playing for dignitaries, celebrities and at international leaders across the globe. She is a celebrity in her own right, particularly in China where she sings many of her songs in Mandarin and wins the audience over with her ethereal voice, her talent, and her beauty. Kate has also established a company called Super Style Asia, where she teaches etiquette classes and personal branding to people from all walks of life. This all began when Kate was asked to teach etiquette to the Miss Universe China contestants.

I met with fellow podcaster Regina Larko who shares how she became interested in podcasting and the creation of her wonderful #Impact Podcast. She reveals a little about her life story and how she came to be in Hong Kong. Regina is passionate about social issues and this became the focus on her podcast as she felt that she could make an impact on the world. She is an idealist who wants to see changes occur and she believes that “good will always win”. She shares her secrets of how she learned to be an accomplished podcaster and a wonderful host. We discuss the popularity of podcasting and how it is becoming a global phenomenon. We rejoice in the fact that we have started the Hong Kong Pod Squad and we hope to find more podcasters in Hong Kong along the way. Regina explains how she balances podcasting and motherhood. Podcasting is her “passion project” and we can all be inspired by her drive and her commitment to making a difference where ever she goes. She reminds us that a podcast is

Karina Calver talks about understanding, identifying and responding to sexual harassment and sexual abuse. She emphasises the importance of educating children about consent and body safety so that they can understand boundaries as they grow up. Karina is involved in the #metoo movement in Hong Kong and the group have held a number of seminars for women and for people of all genders. Talking helps overcome denial and allows us to acknowledge the truth. Karina is helping people to be the best versions of themselves. She gives us tips for dealing with sexual harassment and discusses ways of reporting it. Karina feels that there is a shift and changes are happening in the community in relation to the #metoo issue. She is helping to open the conversations about all of these difficult topics and is a leader in this field in Hong Kong. Karina has already shared her own #metoo story on Hong Kong Confidential; Episode 7: Just a Girl. A listener note: If you feel you need support, please visit your local GP, a counsell

 Lauren had a tough childhood and she became anxious, lonely and was craving attention. This isolation and fear caused Lauren to self harm and experiment with drugs and alcohol. Lauren began modelling and on the outside, everything looked perfect but on the inside, Lauren developed terribly low self esteem and this manifested in a huge struggle with bulimia; an insidious eating disorder. Lauren felt she could not show her weaknesses and believed that she had to be strong for her family, thus it was hard for her to reach out and ask for help.  She often secretly wanted someone to take action to help her but everyone around her was looking after themselves. Eventually she hit rock bottom and finally help came in the form of treatment and therapy. This is Lauren’s amazing story of overcoming adversity. A listener note: If you feel you need support, please visit your local GP, a counsellor or contact the Samaritans in Hong Kong on 28960000. If you live in another country, please contact your local

At 39, Hazel found herself single and childless, and she realised that she needed to do something if she was to achieve her dream of becoming a mother. She considered her options and decided to go down the IUI and then IVF routes. She walks us through the process of her IVF experience and the implications of deciding on the non-anonymous donor sperm option. Hazel shares the challenges and emotions she faced along the way. She discusses the highs and the lows of her road to motherhood and the positives and negatives of single parenting. Hazel reveals how she has dealt with the issue of sharing her conception and birth story with her daughter. She shares the way she has decided to deal with the tricky questions that arise now her daughter is older. A fascinating and informative discussion on a topic that may resonate with many people. Hong Kong Confidential Details Email: juleshannaford1@gmail.com Network: https://www.auscastnetwork.com/home/hong-kong-confidential Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hongkongconf

Christina has suffered from depression most of her life. As a child she was the product of an affair and she always felt like an unwanted child. She talks about her life growing up in a Chinese family in Hong Kong where feelings and issues were not openly addressed. This all changed when she moved to New Zealand and she was encouraged to speak up by her teachers and she was able to get help for her mental health issues. Christina shares her break down as an adult back in Hong Kong and how her husband pushed her to seek professional help. She explores peer pressure, social stigma, cultural expectations and how all of this played into her depression. We discuss some of the pressures synonymous with living in Hong Kong and also ways to combat depression.  Christina speaks openly and candidly, sharing her experiences, thoughts and understanding of depression with us. This is a wonderful way to open a dialogue about depression and will hopefully help others who are struggling to seek support.  A listener

Richard Wickes has created a card game called “Mirror Me” which is a beautifully made game designed to encourage young children to share their emotions and talk about their feelings. Richard lost his daughter to suicide and after this tragic event he wanted to do something to ensure that other young people were able to express their troubles and concerns more effectively. The game creates a non-judgmental; make believe space to develop the healthy habit of talking about feelings and emotions. Stepping in to the child’s world can also build the parent- child relationship and engaging with them at their level can be very powerful and this also gives parents quality time with their children. Richard is using make believe to access emotions and has created this wonderful tool to help young children dig deeper into the way they really feel. The game teaches children empathy as they are using their imagination to be something else in the game and this can help them to connect the feelings or emoti

Sophia had a very difficult childhood, growing up with a mother who was abusive and mean. Sophia struggled as she was battling an eating disorder that her mum refused to recognise. Her mother constantly belittled her for her looks and her weight and this took its toll on Sophia’s self esteem and confidence. Sophia was sexually harassed by an old family friend and when she found the courage to tell her mother, she did not believe her.  Sophia was also raped by her boyfriend and she never told a soul about this until very recently. Sophia’s mother fell ill with a brain tumour and breast cancer, and despite the awful way that her mum treated her, Sophie went home to the UK to care for her. Her mother was constantly abusive to Sophia during this time and Sophia ended up having a seizure and was taken off to hospital in an ambulance. Eventually, Sophia returned to Hong Kong back to her family, but she ended up having a complete breakdown. Sophia went into therapy a year ago but found it very diffi

The inaugural Human Dignity Festival was held in Hong Kong in 2017 and was founded by Bess Hepworth from Planet Ally. In this podcast, Jules talks to Bess Hepworth, Petter Wallenberg from Rainbow Riots and Para Olympian, Theresa Goh about their activism work in the LGBTQ+ community. Bess established the Human Dignity Festival because she wanted to “create spaces of grace for hearts and minds to change.” Her goal was to bring all of the intersections together and open people’s eyes to “human rights issues that are about us all.” Bess united multi-faceted human rights communities and global activists to talk about allyship. The festival was attended by many human rights defenders ranging from people in the LGBTQ+ space, to refugees, migrants, human trafficking victims and their allies. Petter Wallenberg, is an activist and musician who is committed to stopping discrimination against LGBTQ+ people globally and promoting equality and freedom. He spoke to Jules about his amazing work

Rebecca Hopkins talks to us about her training in the Brene Brown’s Daring Way approach and her role as a coach. She shares her knowledge about shame and guilt and how we overcome these experiences by knowing our own triggers and sharing with someone who has earned the right to hear our story. Many of us are walking through the world carrying stories that make us feel unlovable. We discuss worthiness and authenticity and the need to create space to listen to others and empathise with them by just being there. There are so many topics discussed in this fascinating chat including empathy, grief, compassion and letting go of judgment. Rebecca is also an advocate for body safety and she shares amazing tips for parents to encourage body safety and body awareness in their children and how important this is in preventing sexual abuse. Rebecca shares her own personal grief story around infertility and gives us strategies for managing grief using Brene Brown’s Rising Strong method. She also discusses her b

Viv McGrath shares her story of how she survived a domestic violent relationship when she was a young mother. She wants us to know that there is life after abuse and how she was able to break the cycle. Viv was inspired by Rosie Batty and her courage when her son was killed by his father at cricket training in Australia. Channel 7, Australia has kindly shared a news clip with us of Rosie being interviewed after the event. Viv has written a book Unbeatable: (How I left a violent man), her memoir of how she survived an abusive relationship and how she broke the cycle of violence. Viv turned her life around to become strong, fearless and successful. She has a blog where she covers all aspects of domestic violent relationships and helps others in the process. We discuss manipulation tactics, narcissism, gas lighting and the “dysfunctional dance (men do) to see if they can test your boundaries.” Viv shares the importance of noticing the warning signs and trusting your instincts as it is very easy to ge

Karen See from Embrace Worldwide, is an entrepreneur who talks to us about her coaching and consultancy work with a focus on supporting women in leadership. Her mission is to help people be happy, confident, and successful every day. She shares her own personal and professional leadership journey, along with studied principles backed by neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and positive psychology. Karen shares her goal to build a community that empowers and enables people to create and celebrate their happiness, confidence, and success every day.  We explore divergent thinking and the value that we can bring to our workplace and lives in general. The importance of empathy and the idea of walking in someone else’s shoes and how this can help us to grow together. Karen encourages us to step out of our comfort zone into our courage zone and gives us practica

Foot binding in China began in the 10th century and was banned in 1911 but continued into the 1940’s. Jo Farrell wanted to focus on female traditions of beauty and why women alter themselves to be attainable and accepted in their own culture. She discovered women in China who are still alive today and have bound feet. She has documented these women in black and white photos and often exhibits her work. Jo has formed connections and friendships with many of these women and she has heard their personal stories and she shares them with us. She also gives us an insight into the history of foot binding and we explore judgement, cultural traditions, and notions of beauty. We investigate contemporary ways that women alter themselves to attain beauty and the growing obsession with selfies. Jo discuss some other unusual traditions in other cultures that she has also photographed. This is an incredibly interesting discussion about this tradition in China that has not been practiced for nearly 70 years.  Emai

Psychologist, Dr Monica Borschel talks to us about how our self worth is tied up in our identity and what we value the most in life. She explores why we experience negative self talk and how we might be able to reframe our thoughts by focusing on the positive and recognizing our triggers, then we are able to refocus our energy. Monica shares the key factors that affect our happiness and self worth. Hong Kong is a stressful environment and she explores mental health issues and suicide prevention in both adults and teens. Monica talks about teen stresses and coping mechanisms, as teenagers’ brains are still developing and they can lack impulse control. They are still exploring their self identity and thus require patience and understanding. She gives suggestions for anyone coping with stress, building resilience and the importance of finding a work life balance. Monica also shares advice for parenting teens and how to build family emotional intelligence. Monica specialises in attachment styles and loss; a

Pashmina Pash shares her unusual journey to becoming a writer and published author. After the birth of her daughter at just 26 weeks, Pashmina used journaling as a way to cope with the struggles she faced spending many hours alone coping with a premature baby. By adopting a gratitude mindset and a fierce determination, she became “addicted to making the child whole” and was in denial about the uncertain future that doctors said her premature daughter might face. Pashmina was on bed rest and used the power of writing to heal herself. She had always dreamed of writing a book from a very young age. As a Sindhi woman married to a Brazilian man, Pashmina faced many challenges including gaining acceptance from her family and the fears surrounding raising bi-racial children. Pashmina discusses her experience raising strong beautiful girls, teaching children theatre and eventually writing and publishing her own books.  She is passionate, inspirational, open and willing to explore all aspects of her l

Brad Giadresco shares his experiences as a fire fighter in Adelaide. He talks about the traits that a good fire fighter needs to have, his love of the job and some of the challenges that he faces in his day to day work. Brad was involved in a serious event in 2013 whilst on the job and he opens up and shares this experience for the first time since it happened. With words like explosions, adrenaline, burns and flashover, this is a gripping account of the heroism that Brad sees as just a part of his job. It was a privilege to talk to this unassuming and humble Aussie bloke about this moving and harrowing account that will leave you on the edge of your seat and make you brim with pride for the work that all fire fighters do for our communities. Hong Kong Confidential Details Email: juleshannaford1@gmail.com Network: https://www.auscastnetwork.com/home/hong-kong-confidential Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hongkongconfidential/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/juleshannaford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hong

Sally grew up in an expat family where her older sister was acting out, her parents were quite strict and there was no talk about feelings and love in the home. Sally found ways to become manipulative and to seek attention at a young age and she began to have disordered eating before she hit high school. She then moved on to self harm as a coping mechanism as she did not feel comfortable in her own skin. She was in search of ways to feel happy; by the age of 12 she became addicted to marijuana and alcohol, then became addicted to crystal meth by the age of 15. Her teacher noticed something was wrong and eventually she got the help that she needed. This is Sally’s addiction story and her long and difficult path to recovery. A listener note: Please be aware that Rational Recovery mentioned in the podcast is now called Smart Recovery. If you need support with addiction issues contact your local GP for advice on recovery options or contact one of the organisations listed below.  Alcoholics Anonymous in

Bong Gabriel recently became homeless in Hong Kong due to illness. He lost everything, including his wife, his son and his work as a musician. Bong shares his story with us and how Impact HK made a difference in his life. Impact HK is an organisation which transforms the lives of the homeless in Hong Kong and gives them a second chance. Jeff Rotmeyer, the founder of Impact HK, talks to us about the amazing work that the organisation does to help people in need in our city. He explains how friendship and building relationships with people is the key to helping the homeless. Impact HK run Kindness Walks where members of the public join forces and head out to take food, clothing and essential items to people living on the streets. Impact HK have a centre where they offer an innovative new program which provides counseling services, mentor programs, English lessons and generally helps the homeless to become physically and mentally healthy and ready for real opportunities. Jeff explains to us how it is important t