Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Kevin Milne walks with a bit of a limp.
He's got an arthritic knee, which specialists have advised him not to get replaced just yet, and despite the suggestions of a physio friend, he refuses to use a walking stick.
But why? Kevin joined Jack Tame to chat about why he refuses to use one.
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The line-up for the 2027 Laneway Festival has been announced.
Irish post-punk band Fontaines DC is headlining on the back of a sell-out European arena tour, alongside powerhouse Paramore frontwoman, Hayley Williams.
Also performing are major and growing names like Slayyyter, Adéla, Kim Petras, and Balu Brigada.
Chris Schulz joined Jack Tame to share his thoughts on the line-up.
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"After savouring the Pacific Coast Way’s succulent and scenic delights in North Queensland, I pointed the car south for the 700km ride from Townsville to Yeppoon. The drive time, from point to point, clocks in around 8-9 hours, so you will certainly be keen to slice and dice the trip over several days."
"Two hours south of Townsville, hop off the highway for coastal splendour galore at Bowen. You’ve entered the Whitsundays region and Bowen is beloved for its award-winning beaches and secret coves, caressed by turquoise seas."
"Fringed by the Southern Great Barrier Reef, Yeppoon is perched in the heart of the Capricorn Coast, taking its name from the Tropic of Capricorn and sharing the same latitude as Rio de Janeiro and Mauritius. As a first timer to this instantly agreeable seaside town, Yeppoon soon emerged as one of my favourite destinations along the Pacific Coast Way. There’s an easy-going, appealing spirit to Yeppoon and its embracing locals."
Read Mike's full article here.
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Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult
On September 11, 2001, when Molly Fitzgerald was only two months old, her mother went to an appointment at the World Trade Center and never came home. Her father and the stepmother who raised her couldn’t have loved her more, but she still grew up with a healthy dread of disasters.
Now an adult, she runs the Rhode Island Department for Emergency Preparedness, mapping out ways to save lives during storms, epidemics, and airplane crashes. She and her husband, Jesse—a police polygraph expert with his own history of crisis—have found a love that is a solace in a dangerous world. But then the unexpected upends their new marriage, leading them both to question everything they thought they knew.
Moving between past and present, Hollow Bones is an epic story of the lies we tell ourselves as we write the narratives of our lives, the plans we design to protect ourselves at the worst moments, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

Redwood by Ben Macintyre
The year is 1981. Tehran is in violent turmoil in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The Soviets are planning to overthrow the Ayatollah’s fledgling Islamist regime. If they do so, one response from America – unknown to the public – would be to use nuclear weapons. This is the story of how at the height of the Cold War, one mysterious double agent, known to MI6 as ‘Redwood’, revealed the Kremlin’s secret plot and prevented Armageddon.
This unsung, hitherto unknown hero of the Cold War, a six-foot-four Russian intelligence officer had a problem, a sexual secret, one that if revealed, would turn his life upside-down. So he reached out to MI6, believing it to have the only solution – in return for the KGB’s secrets. Then, facing exposure, he demanded that the British smuggle him out of Iran in a high-stakes escape plan.
This is the gripping tale of one man’s courage; about friendship, marriage, betrayal and sexual dysfunction; and about how decisions made in secret can have huge, long-term ramifications.

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We’ve been hearing lots about the upcoming El Nino and how this might lead to a hotter summer for us, and how Europe has had massive heatwaves this year. Most of us are aware of the physical dangers of extreme heat, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
However, researchers are now finding that heat can also affect mental health – with even a small increase in temperature associated with increases in mental health-related problems. Specifically, people can experience more:
Irritability
Anxiety
Depression
Sleep problems
Worsening symptoms of existing mental illness
Increased use of mental health services
However, not everyone is affected equally. Those more at risk include:
People with caregiving responsibilities as looking after children, elderly relatives, or someone with health problems can increase emotional strain and reduce the ability to look after one's own needs.
People taking certain medications, particularly those that interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature including antidepressants and some heart medications.
People who have increased heat sensitivity including pregnant mums, women in menopause and perimenopause, and people who are sleep deprived (e.g., new parents!). Also, those people who are more exposed to heat such as people who work outdoors, those with poorly ventilated homes, or who work around machinery.
So what helps protect mental health during heat and what we can do to prepare?
Having strong family and community connections help people cope practically and emotionally. Supportive relationships can provide: Reminders to stay hydrated
Help accessing cooler places
Emotional reassurance
Monitoring of vulnerable individuals

Access to green and blue spaces (parks, gardens, bodies of water). These environments may provide not only physical cooling benefits but also psychological benefits e.g., increased ability to enjoy being outside, more socialising and receiving support from other people.
Social participation. Activities such as visiting friends, participating in community groups, and maintaining social contact helped protect against depression during heatwaves. Often during extreme heat people become isolated as they stay inside in an effort to remain cool so keeping up social participation can reduce this loneliness and depression.
It's important to start thinking about and preparing for summer heat now, to protect both your physical and mental health. It will benefit you and your family, but also wider society if we can reduce pressure on Emergency Depts and medical services. Start thinking about who in your world might be vulnerable over summer. Make some plans ahead of time about keeping connected – try and include trips to blue and green spaces when you connect. Go and buy some fans now and beat the rush. Don’t wait till the middle of summer when we’re all suffering!

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