Gretchen Miller | Homeground

Centennial Park, Sydney, is 220 hectares of rolling grasslands, paperbark forests and of course the Grand Drive, which encircles the park. But how many know that Grand Drive was intended to showcase the virtues of the rich for the lower classes to observe and emulate? This history of one of Sydney's most significant recreation areas explores the moral and physical drivers for its development. Built to memorialise the centenary of colonisation, it was intended to uplift the common man with its sweeping vistas and educative plantings. But aside from its ideological purpose, in its 120 years of existence it has also seen its fair share of community battles, plans for Olympics sites, and downright filching – of land, and flora. Guests: Dr Catherine Evans, senior lecturer in Landscape Architecture, Faculty of the Build Environment at UNSW, Dr Paul Ashton Associate professor of Public History at the University of Technology, Sydney, Dr Neil Runcie, Former Professor of Economics at UNSW, Keith Jordan, Former local and secretary of the Save the Parks Campaign,Jean Jordan, Former local resident whose family association with Centennial Park dates back to Federation in 1901, Dr Ian HoskinsNorth Sydney Council Historian.

You never know what’s behind a closed door. What story you’ll find. And in this podcast, the story of an unusual life. Raised a Seventh Day Adventist Tansy Mayhew had to fight against religious upbringing to explore her passion and become a singer. The family home was full of love, but also violence - Tansy's mother had a hair trigger temper and plenty to get cross about, with a disabled son, three daughters, and a peripatetic life. Despite the restrictions of a religion strictly followed by her parents, Tansy moved away from home and upbringing to pursue a life of passion and art. And at the age of 30, with no formal musical education she became the singer she'd always dreamed of being.  And then - an unexpected surprise. Tansy's life took a right hand turn when she became a single mother of Chanté who was both profoundly disabled and a vibrant spirit. This is their story. In memory of Chanté Wambu.

When a long term relationship disintegrates, the former partners lose not just a lifelong friend, a home, or the kids. The sense of loss can erode your sense of identity and make your shared history too hard to bear. Grief packs a powerful punch. This program is the outcome of the Ariadne project—where you, the listener, contributed your short stories and anecdotes about divorce and separation. Heart rending and very moving, but also subtly nuanced and optimistic writing came in from all over the country. Through your fragments and memories—and using the 4,000-year-old mythic relationship of the Greek princess Ariadne and her lover Theseus as our guide—we explores the cycle of love and heartbreak human beings endure...and find it was ever thus. But also, it is possible to recover and return to the land of the living. Credits: Harmless - Cheryl Howard; The Weaver -Charles D’anastasi; To the Farthest Shores of Silence and Antigen - Doug Baird; Night after Night - Kali; The Dog -Masonik; Dirge - Abigail Lewis; No Sunny Greek Isle for Us - Teadear; Liberation - Sue Gillet; Ordovician Option - Keryn Kefous. Written and composed by Gretchen Miller. Guests Judith Maitland, Senior Honorary Research Fellow, Classics and Ancient History, University of Western Australia, Gaye Stockell Psychologist, Frances Quirk Associate Professor, School of Medicine and Dentistry and Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Matthew Bambling Senior lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Marguerite Johnson Senior Lecturer (Classics), School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Newcastle. Producer Gretchen Miller Sound Engineer Russell Stapleton.

'The mountain, Iwokrama': A sound portrait of the 360,000 hectares of biologically diverse and pristine Amazonian rainforest in Guyana, South America, managed in a unique way between international bodies and the indigenous Makushi Amerindians.

As Australia gears up for a summer of bush fires, it is not only property which is lost. Lovingly nurtured gardens, and great tracts of our forests, the trees and the birds, insects and animals they house are also consumed, and with the intensity of the fires they’re often burnt beyond regeneration.  This program is a meditation on the human connection with trees, and is in part your response to a call out for your stories of trees you’ve loved.  We found a multi- branched and leafy passion for trees in the 550 contributions, which came in from all directions all around the country - uploaded to our website, emailed, face-booked and good old fashioned snail mail. The relationship between trees and people goes right back to the forests of the first humans, and our ambivalent relationship with trees can be traced through to the here and now, via fairy tales, mythology, and science, as producer Gretchen Miller, and sound engineer Russell Stapleton found. The program today was written by Gretchen Miller, Jackie Jay, Ian Holland, John Bennett, Tini Cook, GC Smith, Jutta Pryor, Fiona Vaughan and Cameron Semmens. The striking 'war' music at the end of the program is by Michael Atherton from his Ankh cd. And thanks to Maureen Clifford and Jutta Pryor for all their support of trees contributors. more beautiful short stories of tree connections here: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/features/trees/