The Blue Room

The Blue Room's Sabra Lane interviews marathon swimmer Joanne Norman on becoming the first Australian woman to complete the Oceans Seven Challenge. What makes Joanne's story truly remarkable is that she was bitten by a Cookiecutter shark on her first attempt at the Molokaʻi channel. She recovered and successfully swam it a year after the attack. What makes her tick, why did she start marathon swimming - and Jo reveals she swims with her eyes closed - all of the time.
Features:
Joanne Norman, Marathon Swimmer.
Sabra Lane, The Blue Room - theblueroom.au

Joanne Norman on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jo_norman_swims/

Themes:
Courage, open water swimming, marathon swimming, Oceans Seven Challenge, inspiration, inspiring swims, surviving a shark attack, cookiecutter shark, English Channel, Catalina Channel, Strait of Gibraltar, North Channel, Kaiwi Channel, Cook Strait, Tsugaru Strait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi. Film, "Don't be Prey", Mark Sowerby, Rob Woodhouse.

Pop divas and sisters Vika and Linda Bull have just been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, released a new album "Where do you come from", are currently on a national tour and have written a song for swimmers called "That's how I pray".
The Blue Room host Sabra Lane interviews them both to talk about how the song came about, what swimming means to them and about their careers, life, Tongan heritage and how strongly they feel about community harmony.
Features:
Linda and Vika Bull
Podcast host Sabra Lane
Additional information:
Vika and Linda's website including Gig dates:
https://vikaandlinda.com.au/
Their book:
"No Bull" - Affirm Press, 2022.
https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/No-Bull/Linda-Bull/9781922848260

Themes:
Singing, song writing, harmonies, ARIA Hall of Fame, swimming, open water swimming, ocean swimming, health, mental health, alcohol, absintence, Tonga, Tongan heritage, inspiration, Joe Camilleri, art, whales, Philip Island, ocean pools, Fitzroy Pool, Collingwood Pool, Doncaster Pool, sport. "No Bull".

Dr Heather Massey is a marathon swimmer. She's also a researcher at the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments research group in the UK. She's just recruited people for a study comparing cold water swimming with medication in treating depression. Heather joined the Blue Room's Sabra Lane for a chat about her marathon swims, the science of cold water immersion, after drop and floating. Plus what do we know, and what don't we know when it comes to proven results from cold water swimming?
Features:
Dr Heather Massey/Researcher at the Extreme Environments Laboratory at the University of Portsmouth.
Sabra Lane, The Blue Room.
Themes: 
Cold water swimming, wild swimming, cold water imersion, marathon swimming, English Channel, Ice kilometre, after drop, depression, science, University of Portsmouth, acclimatisation to cold water, cold water exposure, driving after cold water swimming, numbness, pain, hot water

More information:
Dr Massey's research:
https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/persons/heather-massey/publications/
Float to Survive:
https://www.floattosurvive.au/

Australian author Tim Winton joins the Blue Room podcast host Sabra Lane for a long chat about his obsession with the ocean. Tim is admired the world-over for his salt water stories. Nearly all of his novels are love letters to the sea. As Tim says in his dedication in “Land's Edge" - For my family and for those who know that a bad day's fishing is always better than a good day's work.
Tim says swimming is family culture and ‘pretty precious' for his tribe. We talk about swimming, what it means, what it does for the mind and explore some of his work including his TV documentary 'Ningaloo' where he swims with whale sharks and opens the window on that part of the West Australian coast. The author also talks about the struggle of writing Juice, while making Ningaloo, as well as fighting for its protection and sharks.

Features:
Tim Winton/Author and conservationist
Sabra Lane - The Blue Room

Resources:
Penguin Australia's Tim Winton page:
https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/tim-winton

Three-part TV documentary series Ningaloo Nyinggulu:
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/ningaloo-nyinggulu

Cape Range National Park
https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/cape-range-national-park

Themes:
Author Tim Winton, Oceans, swimming, spearfishing, surfing, coastal life, open water swimming, pool swimming, writing, novels, Miles Franklin Award, Booker Prize, marine protection, environmental protection, marine parks, Whale Sharks, Great White sharks, conservation, environmental protection, Western Australia, mining, petro-state, beaches, beachcombing, diving, ocean obsession.

Join The Blue Room for an inspiring chat with Tasmanian swimmer Brett Stephenson as he recounts his journey to complete South Africa's renowned Freedom Swim. Brett shares what motivated him to take on the challenge, the emotions of swimming through waters steeped in history, and the special moments that made the experience so meaningful.
Brett talks with podcast host Sabra Lane and takes us beyond the swim, sharing stories from his travels including to Zanzibar, and the early childhood home of legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
Honest, down-to-earth and quietly inspiring, Brett's story is a reminder that extraordinary adventures are often undertaken by ordinary people willing to say yes to a challenge.
Features:
Brett Stephenson - swimmer with the Tomatoes and Weedy Seadragons.
The Blue Room podcast host Sabra Lane.
Themes:
ocean swimming, wild swimming, monofin swimming, Freedom Swim, Robben Island, Big Bay, Bloubergstrand, South Africa, Nelson Mandela, Zanzibar, Freddie Mercury, inspiration, open water swimming, travel.