Generation Balme

'I would describe myself as a full time musician - singer. And I don't know. I've never really wanted to be anything else.' And with that, we were introduced to a big-hearted, big-voiced Melbourne musician who loves what she does and we love it too. With energy to burn, a love to work hard on what she does and a voice - what a voice - Maya is a refreshingly honest and positive artist who isn't afraid to talk about the things she is feeling. So we tested her out - and discussed everything from Israel Folau to risk-averse mega-celebrities to the music she loves and we love and onto how she embraces what she feels and owning that energy. An amazing talent and an amazing energy, this is a chat to remember.

We've all got an opinion on teachers and schools - many of them are mixed when relating to our own experience growing up in the classroom. This episode of Generation Balme sees us chat with three future educators who all have a strong desire to help and inspire the next generation of students coming through our schools. Ally, Atticus and Naomi are three Master of Teaching candidates at Melbourne University, and each of them have chosen a path into education. We chat about the issues facing teachers and students in the hot pot of the classroom, how assessment rankles particular teachers and how we as a society can improve the education system, while not crushing the creative, curious and innovative souls who enter the schools we have all loved and loathed over the years. This is an important episode, and one that may raise as many questions as answers - but we wouldn't have it any other way!

When photographer Benny Capp came in for a chat in the Punt Road Oval Studios he brought beers and a grand discussion about the father-child relationship was had. While some see our father or father figure as our mate, for many others it is a relationship that causes us grief, frustration and unhappiness. Why is that so many classify a relationship that is crucial to our own wellbeing and development as fundamentally troublesome? Benny's brilliant photo blog 'My Dad's My Mate' was created to spark conversations, tell stories of both the positive and negative of the father-child relationship and give Ben an outlet to take amazing photos and hopefully help a few people out along the way. Check out My Dad's My Mate at (and let Benny know if you or someone you know would be a great subject for his project!): http://mydadsmymate.com.au/ And check out Neil and Will's photo and story at: http://mydadsmymate.com.au/stories/will-neil

A third bearded man graced the Generation Balme studios (not its actual name) to discuss the acting process. 'The acting process?' You may well ask. 'What on earth is that?' Well, Justin Lehmann of Justin Lehmann Studio is an acting teacher, purveyor of truth in performance and in life and a mentor to many young actors within Melbourne. A significant part of his teaching revolves around processes such as the Actors' core and the Meisner Technique. Our discussion with Justin covered his passion for the creative art of theatre and performance, but also delved into the deeply human side of the craft. Discovering yourself, embracing your inner truth and promoting 'serious spaces' for self exploration and powerful collaborative work. Our first for 2019 is a pearler of a conversation. https://www.justinlehmannstudio.com/justin-lehmann/

In our final episode for 2018, Neil and Will talk with the amazing Sue Sofarnos. A Lacrosse player and coach at International level for more than 30 years, Sue gives insight into the emphatic rise and rise of women's sport in recent years and muses on the dramatic changes in the outlook and investment in women's sport. She also reflects on her incredible playing career spanning three decades, leading onto an extensive coaching and mentoring role. Thank you all for listening this year and we can't wait to bring you more great conversations on Generation Balme in 2019.

Neil and Will love Australian literature. The grit, the dusty landscapes, the ocean as the muse and the characters. Brooding, cunning, flawed, frustrated and devilish. So our guest for this episode is someone we had planned to get in for quite some time. Anson Cameron is one of Australia’s most interesting writers. Anson has written a number of critically acclaimed novels including ‘Boy Hoodlum’ and ‘The Last Pulse’ and he’s sitting on a new release. Our chat isn’t solely about writing books, existing as a writer in Australia’s relatively small pond, but instead one that ponders some of life’s bigger issues. Political correctness, speaking frankly, religion, politics and the state of the union to just name a few, this is a cracker of a chat.

This week's show is a beauty. Steve Wyatt, a former homicide and sex crimes detective, is now working at Richmond Football Club as part of their welfare and integrity team. Steve joined Neil and William to have a bloody good chat about both his past and present work. The topics of repeat offenders, the cyclical nature of law and order, the challenge of policing, the war on drugs and why they should be decriminalised and much more. It's a fantastic episode, one we think you will enjoy. If you don't already then follow us on Facebook for all the latest from Generation Balme. https://www.facebook.com/generationbalme/

Will and Neil tackle the very serious issue of comedy on this edition of Generation Balme. What does the supposed trend toward a more 'politically correct' world mean for comedy in Australia? While Neil's knowledge of Python and Will's love of Peep Show started them on the track, they were still a fair way short of any insight into the internals of a comedian's career. Bringing a wealth of experience in comedy festivals, Isabel Angus joined in at Generation Balme this week to discuss her career in comedy. Isabel is a young Melbourne comedienne, writing and performing characters that examine society at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival amongst many other festivals.

The two generations of Balme, WIlliam and Neil continue their exploration of the world and the fascinating people in it. This week their guest is Nick Pearce, the co-founder of Conscious Creative and founder of HoMie, a socially conscious streetwear label. More about Nick Pearce and his work. http://www.theconsciouscreative.org https://homie.com.au/

On the first episode of season two, Neil and Willie have a conversation with Caterina Politi. Caterina is the founder of Stop. One Punch Can Kill (http://stoponepunchcankill.org/). An organisation working to reduce street and social violence in Australia and provide a deeply personal look into how destructive one punch can be on the lives of communities and families. Caterina tragically lost her son, David Cassai, to an unprovoked coward punch attack in Rye on New Year’s Eve in 2012. In our conversation, Caterina speaks of the lasting impact his death has had on his friends, family and community, her burning desire for mandatory sentencing for coward punches and what motivates her to continue her tireless effort to educate and inform young people about the heartbreaking results of street violence. This is a conversation with an incredible woman, and one that will leave a lasting impact on you.

Where is the line in professional (and for that matter, amateur) sport? Does it really exist? Has it ever really existed? Humanity has a funny way of regulating things, which we found out in the steamy test cricket series between Australia and South Africa. It raised so many questions about how we view sport and how important it is to us. With that being said, Neil and I thought it was time to introduce one of Australia's most acclaimed and respected sportswriters, Greg BAUM, to the Generation BALME war room - is he really just a Balme in disguise? We speak about the weird, wonderful and wacky world of sport in Australia and abroad, including plenty on test cricket, but we also look into the 'reality TV' obsession, American politics, ethics and morality in sport and many, many other topics in this fascinating chat.

William and Neil Balme wanted to always be learning when they catch up for their podcast, but I doubt either of them thought they would learn as much as they did about video games during this episode. Laura Voss is a video game designer and she detailed to Generation Balme everything you would want to know about video game creation, the best games to play and the surprisingly ways that technology will affect the world's future.

Talking with family and friends about your own mental health is one of the first steps many take on the road to seeking help and releasing the valve on your mental health status. In one of the most revealing and amazing episodes yet, listen as William talks to his dad Neil about his own battles and challenges with his own mental health. Neil is a sensational listener, and whilst he might have been aware of some of the challenges William has faced, this is the first time he is hearing much of the detail. This is a must listen episode.

The Balme lads are back after a well earned Christmas and New Year break. Neil and William did record this brilliant chat with Mental Health advocate, Simon Hogan just before the break. Simon is a former Geelong footballer that prematurely ended his career as he battled his own mental health concerns of depression and anxiety. Simon is refreshingly honest about his plight and shares his story and his thoughts on where the support for mental health needs to go in the future.

If you were even slightly inspired by the celebrations around the nation when same sex marriage was legalised in the Australian parliament recently, then you will be nothing but inspired by Angie Green. Angie is the CEO of Stand Up Events and she has been working to achieve equality for all Australians since she can remember. Neil and Will are of course there to learn throughout a fascinating conversation on where we are as a society in recognising everyone as being equal.

Generation Balme explores all the topics you might discuss at the water cooler or the bar or at your local cafe. In these conversations, it's father and son. Neil and William Balme challenge the generational changes in society whilst exploring their own relationships with the topic of discussion. This week, up for discussion is leadership and their special guest is Ray McLean - the founder of Leading Teams. Leading Teams has worked with many of the elite sports teams in the country. Learn how it all started, what the philosophies are based on and why it works. Ray is candid on which leaders he admires and why Leading Teams has not been applied to politics and politicians where seemingly Australia is lacking leaders the most.

When it comes to football writing in Melbourne the names don't get much bigger than Caroline Wilson. The Chief Football Writer for The Age for two decades discusses her career and the state of football journalism. If you can get past the fact this was recorded a week after Neil and Caroline were able to celebrate Richmond breaking a 37 year premiership drought, then you will love hearing what Caroline has to say. Neil and Will Balme's father and son chats have explore the issues that we talk about. Episode one and two talked about our sexuality and our relationship with alcohol to take a listen to those if you can.

Thank you for making it to episode two of the conversations that my dad, Neil and I are recording. This week our guest is James McCubbin - CEO of UCROO. The conversation is about our relationships with alcohol and in James' case his non-relationship. So why does someone in their early 20's decide to give up drinking altogether? What are the ramifications? What are the societal pressures and our dependencies of alcohol? How important is drinking for footballers? These are just a few of the questions we tackle on this week's Generation Balme.