Q&A - Leadership Network podcasters reaching out


In this article, the second of a series highlighting the podcasts of Leadership Network members, we chat with network members Angela Lim, Bradley Scott, Samson Phommachack and Ajay Ravindran about their podcasts and what inspired them.

Clear the Air - Dr Angela Lim

Angela Lim Clear Head logo

Angela: "Together we get real and raw on the existential questions covering mental health and wellbeing..." 

What’s Clear the Air about? 

Clear the Air is a podcast covering the experiences in your life or questions you have that you feel too vulnerable to share with those around you. We speak with experts to share the science behind what you’re experiencing and explore the answers to those questions. Together we get real and raw on the existential questions covering mental health and wellbeing that have puzzled humans for millennia. 

Why did you create Clear the Air?

We created the podcast as there is a lot of misinformation and stigma out there about mental health and wellbeing. However, academic research/evidence-based information on the topic is often not in a user-friendly format that we can easily consume and understand, so with the podcast we set out to change that.

What do you hope people will get out of listening to the podcast?

Everyone can benefit from improving their mental health because life happens and we all get sh*t thrown at us that can make us feel hopeless and struggling to know where to turn for the right direction and inspiration. We hope both Clearhead and our podcast can be the place that someone can turn to, to start their wellbeing journey towards recovery and resilience.

 Listen to Clear the Air on Apple, Spotify, Google 

Someone like me - Ajay Ravindran and Samson Phommachack

Sampson Phommach and Ajay Ravindran mug shots with their Someone Like Me podcast logo

Samson and Ajay: "Speaking the truth about being Asian in New Zealand is therapy for the soul."

What's Someone Like Me about 

Someone Like Me is a podcast that brings forth stories of being "Asian" in New Zealand.

It is not a get-rich-fast-or how-to-be-a-successful Asian in New Zealand podcast - our interviews are with relatable people, hence the name Someone Like Me. While the people we interview are successful in their own right, it's more about shared experiences like school lunches, making friends, being in relationships and expectations from our parents. 

We're keen to talk through some of the common experiences that we might all share and the experiences that might be unique to each of us - we think this is important because there's depth and diversity to Asian experiences in New Zealand. And we're just as interested in the serious stuff as we are in the funny stories about things like culture shock, food, parents, relationships...

Why did you create Someone Like Me?

We wanted to capture the conversations you have with friends or people in your community that leave you feeling good about yourself, knowing what you experienced growing up was 'normal'. Speaking the truth about being Asian in New Zealand is therapy for the soul. So why not share this so it can help others? 

Our qualities, experiences, and environments all shape us into distinctive individuals, and we wanted to showcase the multitudes of characters that fall into the box of ‘Asian New Zealanders’.

What do you hope people will get out of the podcast?

This podcast exists for young Asian New Zealanders or Asians in New Zealand, for those moments in life when we wonder if there is 'someone like me' who went through similar experiences in their upbringing and had to navigate the world raised in an eastern household in a predominantly western society. 

We want listeners to see themselves in others through hearing these stories. To encourage people to have the types of conversations we have on the podcast with their friends, family and peers. 

Listen to Someone Like Me on Apple, Spotify, Google and RadioPublic

Six Four - Bradley Scott

A montage of two photos of Bradley and his Six Four podcast logo

What's Six Four about?

Six Four is a podcast that tells stories of successes, failures and learnings from Kiwi tech organisations

Why did you create Six Four?

The target audience of Six Four is Kiwis who are in tech and (a) want to learn through utilising the experiences and learning of others, or (b) are just curious to hear about local tech success and failure stories.

My observations were: 

  • A lot of the case studies and stories about tech are about US/Silicon valley-based organisations, and very few are about New Zealand organisations
  • US/Silicon valley contexts are different to the New Zealand context (e.g. org culture) in important ways that mean not all the learning is transferable to the New Zealand context
  • There are no podcasts that explore in depth the learnings and stories of New Zealand tech organisations

What do you hope people will get out of listening to the podcast?

I hope that by people listening to Six Four they can learn something that will help them in their career or to help their tech company, or just enjoy the stories that are told.

Listen to Six Four on Apple, Spotify, Google