Best Isaac McCarthy Podcasts (2025)

Adam Stephen is a journalist and radio presenter who has hosted ABC Queensland's regional Drive radio program for twelve years, a weekday show now broadcast to three-quarters of Australia's second largest and third most populous state.

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Sex, drugs, swastikas, transgender life and surfing fistfights, an artist's journey | Atlantis Lewis 2:04:39

Play Pause

1M ago2:04:39

2:04:39

Atlantis is an artist whose story is equal parts amazing and terrifying. Just listen, ok.

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Chic Wilfong 1:17:29

2M ago1:17:29

1:17:29

Send us a text You may know Chic from team roping or rodeo, or maybe just from his crazy jokes. Join us as we talk to him about his new journey of faith.By Matt, Jack, & Cooper Canoles

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Isaac & Brittany Diaz 55:07

2M ago55:07

55:07

Send us a text Join us as we talk to Isaac and Britany Diaz, a husband/wife team that rodeo professionally for a living. Both are NFR, CFR, and circuit finals qualifiers.By Matt, Jack, & Cooper Canoles

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Getting drunk with Sir David Attenborough | Dr Martin Cohen 1:36:49

3M ago1:36:49

1:36:49

Martin is a zoologist and ecologist based in Cairns, Far North Queensland, as well as a tour guide that has led wildlife tours in places such as Antarctica and Africa. On this episode, Martin and I speak about Australian ecology and biodiversity, the impacts of climate change on Australia’s natural habitats, Martin’s work as a zoologist around the …

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Outback Mike comes to Cairns! 34:59

3M ago34:59

34:59

Remember Mike Atkinson from Alone Australia? Are you among the millions who have you seen his super fun and fascinating videos on how to adventure better? Well, now Far North Queenslanders have the chance to meet him in person. Mike is bringing his film Modern Day Castaway to Cairns on the 17th of July. For everyone else, check out this bonus How G…

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The Shadow Side 28:17

3M ago28:17

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Raised on her father’s stories as a Marine recruit, CJ Scarlet wanted to prove she could be as tough as her Dad. Like her twin brother, in 1981 she joined the Corps, and she excelled on the rifle range, became an expert marksman, and completed boot camp as an honor graduate. Scarlet planned on a twenty-year career as a photojournalist, but the cons…

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Gettin' some 'Straya in ya belly, yum yum | Samantha "The Bush Tukka Woman" Martin 1:22:01

3M ago1:22:01

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To walk into Coles or Woolworths is a step into a foreign land. Row upon row, aisle upon aisle, an abundance of food, will sit before our eyes. Some, maybe most of it, has been grown or produced in Australia, but nearly all of did not originate here. Its native lands are across the seas. Before 1788, Australia was a nation with its own food sustain…

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Get Me Airborne 28:16

4M ago28:16

28:16

Harold Brown earned his wings as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black aviators in the United States armed services. At the outset of his distinguished, two-decade-long career in the military, Brown flew for this ground-breaking World War II unit. On his 30th mission, his P-51 Mustang was shot down. He survived as a prisoner of war in Ge…

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Finding the next Cathy Freeman | Libby Cook-Black and the Female Co 1:58:39

4M ago1:58:39

1:58:39

If professional sporting success was a 100m racetrack, the starting blocks being discovery of the sport and the finish line being a major sports contract, the track ahead would appear totally different for a young girl compared to the track for a young boy. The boys' track would be flat and open; they would just have to focus on beating the others …

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The Reaper 30:47

4M ago30:47

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Nick Irving was a member of the elite Army Rangers, serving three deployments each in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became a sniper and earned the nickname “The Reaper” for his deadly accuracy and high body count. But returning home wasn’t so simple. “Overseas,” Irving said, “I had all the control in the world. I just pull a trigger and anything that wa…

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Brewing great coffee in an uncertain world | Olly James (part 2) 1:42:17

4M ago1:42:17

1:42:17

Dining out can be the most delightful, satiating experience of our week, or our most disappointing. We all know the feeling of being promised the world on a menu but discovering we’ve been catfished when the plate arrives. Many of us have sweated over finding a satisfying first date restaurant. Almost all of us just want to find the perfect coffee,…

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My Boys 30:44

4M ago30:44

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Edie Meeks had two brothers, one who was serving in Vietnam and the other who was protesting the war. She loved them both but decided that if something happened to her brother in combat, she wanted him to have the best care. She volunteered for the Army Nurses Corps, one of 100,000 women who served in Vietnam during the war, working 12 hours a day,…

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Turning Men's Lives Around | Bernard "BJ" Sabadi and Kunjur Men's Collective 1:29:42

4M ago1:29:42

1:29:42

Finding mental health support can be an expensive, inaccessible and intimidating experience. This experience is additionally difficult for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. And men are doggedly reluctant to seek out health services, let alone mental health services, until the last safe moment; sometimes, not until it's too late. Indige…

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No, I’m Not Good 33:01

4M ago33:01

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As a teenager watching the 9/11 attacks, Clifton Hicks remembers that it was “our Pearl Harbor moment.” He joined the army as an M1 Abrams tank specialist and deployed to Germany, Kuwait, and finally to Iraq. There, his experiences in combat convinced him that what he was doing wasn’t glamorous or honorable. He earned the enmity of many of his coll…

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Giving the economy a solid (and thoughtful) kick up the butt | Professor Hurriyet Babacan 1:16:40

4M ago1:16:40

1:16:40

When an economy has a lot of potential to grow, but is also stalked by a fair risk of stall and decline, it takes experienced thought leaders, regional development experts and policy wonks to gently, or firmly, guide decision makers to steer the economic vehicle into the correct lane. Professor Hurriyet Babacan is such a person, and has the resumé,…

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It Was Just Too Exciting 26:55

5M ago26:55

26:55

Edward Field grew up feeling out of place in Long Island, New York, a gay, Jewish “interloper.” When he joined the Army Air Corps in 1942, he felt he’d “escaped from a world I didn’t like to one I did.” Field became a navigator and flew twenty-seven missions over Germany. One mission ended in a crash landing in the North Sea and an astonishing act …

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From Bob Marley to near murder, and other cycling stories | Tilmann Waldthaler 1:31:02

5M ago1:31:02

1:31:02

Tilmann Waldthaler has cycled more than 600,000km through 143 countries. He has spent hours in conversation with Bob Marley, been almost murdered and bombed in Iran, and met the love of his life in the middle of the Sahara Desert. He has experienced the best of humanity. At 83, he is happy, he is a picture of health and he still cycles 100km every …

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That Day 29:37

5M ago29:37

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When she joined the Army, Shoshana Johnson figured that she’d “save some money, lose some weight, and come back home.” It didn’t work out as planned: in her first month in Iraq, working as a cook in a maintenance unit, her convoy took a wrong turn and she was wounded and captured, becoming the first Black American woman to be held as a POW. But her…

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She Never Knew 30:45

5M ago30:45

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When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Frank DeVita wanted revenge. He enlisted in the Coast Guard, his quickest way into service. His mom figured he’d “patrol a beach on Coney Island.” Instead, on D-Day, he ended up on a landing craft transporting soldiers to the slaughterhouse that was Omaha Beach and ferrying back shocking numbers of dead and wo…

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Getting the shot, in brothels, refugee camps and disaster zones | photojournalism | Brian Cassey 1:24:43

5M ago1:24:43

1:24:43

For more than 40 years Brian Cassey has watched suffering, tragedy, hope, elation and thrill through a few curved glass elements, waiting for moments of greatest importance and nearest perfect illumination to manifest. When they do, he stamps them into history via a 35mm grouping of pixels. The next morning, the moments are tossed onto your doorste…

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Introducing American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories 2:41

5M ago2:41

2:41

In war and in peace, the veteran experience is part of the American Experience. Welcome to American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories, an 8-part series built around the direct testimony of a single veteran - from a Coast Guard gunner’s mate who manned a landing craft at Omaha Beach on D-Day, to an Army cook in Iraq who became the first Black American …

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From stab wounds to skin cancers, and everything in between | Dr Ebbie Swemmer 1:17:16

5M ago1:17:16

1:17:16

In a slow week, Dr Ebbie Swemmer examines the skins of dozens of patients, performs many surgeries and saves people from the horrible fate of melanomas and other aggressive skin cancers. In a busy week, he is run off his feet, often as the only skin care option for thousands of remote Queenslanders. In a year he sees up to 10,000 patients from outb…

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Queensland's thin blue line | AC Brett Schafferius and Sgt Lyall McKelvie 1:24:21

6M ago1:24:21

1:24:21

On episode 52 of the podcast, I speak with Assistant Commissioner Brett Schafferius and Sergeant Lyall McKelvie from the Far North Queensland police district about several police and crime topics. Brett and Lyall have a combined six decades of police experience across multiple disciplines, and have seen about as much as a policing career can offer.…

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"My grandad used to bet on me": How to become an Olympian, with Jill Boltz 1:12:16

6M ago1:12:16

1:12:16

Jill Boltz is a two-time Olympian, Commonwealth Games medalist and former world record holder in two athletics distances. She is now devoting her time to training future generations of athletes in the outer regions of Queensland where talented kids typically have not had a fair go. On this episode we spoke about her own Olympic journey and how she …

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Top 15 moments from episodes 1 to 50 of the How Good are Humans podcast 1:23:10

6M ago1:23:10

1:23:10

The How Good are Humans podcast recently published its 50th episode. To celebrate, we have chosen the top 15 moments from the first 50 episodes and ranked them here in this special episode of the podcast that looks back on an awesome group of humans with truly inspiring stories to share. Warning, this episode contains distressing material and topic…

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JR Vezain 1:49:23

7M ago1:49:23

1:49:23

Send us a text Join us as we talk to JR Vezain as he tells us about how he got started in rodeo, his tragic wreck, and his triumph in overcoming it.By Matt, Jack, & Cooper Canoles

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Corey Ross 47:21

7M ago47:21

47:21

Send us a text Join us as we talk to Corey Ross, a PRCA team roper, steer roper, and Cowboy Church pastor.By Matt, Jack, & Cooper Canoles

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Covered in s**t and scratches to save species | Shai Ager 1:16:49

7M ago1:16:49

1:16:49

Shai Ager leads the largest wildlife rescue organisation in Queensland. She and her team have rescued and relocated almost 1000 macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) in conditions that even environmental scientists said were impossible. She personally cares for dozens of wild animals at her own property, consults locally and interstate, and is sent a…

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The Start of RopeSmart, John McCarthy 1:44:21

7M ago1:44:21

1:44:21

Send us a text Join us as we talk to John McCarthy, owner and founder of RopeSmart, as we discuss his roping career, the founding of RopeSmart, and most importantly, his faith.By Matt, Jack, & Cooper Canoles

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Cheston Watkins 1:36:59

7M ago1:36:59

1:36:59

Send us a text Join us as we talk to Cheston Watkins as he tells us about his life and family, and shares his story of faith.By Matt, Jack, & Cooper Canoles

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Three decades of murder, love and creative brilliance | Suellen Maunder 1:20:29

7M ago1:20:29

1:20:29

Three decades ago, Suellen Maunder was using her own furniture as stage props for the productions of what was then thought of as a radical, audacious and in-your-face theatre company. As an actor and director, Suellen and her co-boundary pushers have challenged audiences in regional Australia to see beyond the facades of their own towns and traditi…

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3100 kilometres into the wild, beating pain every day | Lucy Graham 52:29

8M ago52:29

52:29

Lucy Graham is going deep into the subarctic wilderness, alone. Bears, storms and isolation will be her frenemies for three months. So why is she doing this? For fun? Sure. To challenge her adventurous spirit? Absolutely. What about for a cause even greater, beyond just herself? For years Lucy has lived with pain, drop-you-to-your-knees pain. She p…

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From snapped leg to world champ | Tracey Hannah 1:07:35

8M ago1:07:35

1:07:35

Tracey Hannah is one of the best downhill mountain bikers of all time. As one of the most extreme sports in the world, downhill MTB is replete with stories of catastrophic injuries. Tracey has suffered more than her fair share. But that did not stop her from becoming an eleven-time national champion as well as a world champion in both the junior an…

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Fixing child mortality, crime, emissions and missed economic potential. How hard could that be? | Narayan Gopalkrishnan 1:22:06

8M ago1:22:06

1:22:06

Dr Narayan Gopalkrishnan has made an impact on some of the toughest problems challenging some of the most impoverished communities across the world. Now, the James Cook University professor and leader within Far North Queensland's social enterprise sector is putting the case to government to properly address and fix Northern Australia's most intrac…

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Keeping kids out of jail, and giving them a shot at life | Rob Hodge and Fresh Start Academy 1:18:54

9M ago1:18:54

1:18:54

Rob Hodge possibly has the largest heart in Far North Queensland, and he is applying it and his street smarts to keeping troubled kids out of prison and giving them a shot a life, which many of them are born without. As the youngest of 21 children born into poverty in New Zealand, Rob quickly became familiar with the hard life. He was kicked out of…

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Getting to the South Pole with "your toes still on" | Barney Swan and Climate Force 1:38:45

10M ago1:38:45

1:38:45

Barney Swan is an adventurer and entrepreneur who has trekked to the South Pole three times before the age of 30 and is now regenerating a 527-acre patch of the Daintree Rainforest while building a replicable polyculture model that encapsulates and protects the strength of biodiversity, is economically viable and is pliable to cultural needs. The g…

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Jason Taylor 1:14:08

10M ago1:14:08

1:14:08

Send us a text Jason is a cowboy, rancher, and pastor of Bar None Cowboy Church in Tatum, TX.1

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Bonus episode: How Isaac Woodard's Case Changed America 27:07

10M ago27:07

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A single act of brutality. A spark that would ignite a revolution. In this bonus episode, hear how Isaac Woodard's tragic story rippled through history, transforming Judge Waties Waring, mobilizing the NAACP, and setting the stage for seismic shifts in American justice. Join filmmaker Jamila Ephron, Judge Richard Gergel, and Harvard law professor K…