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Description
Hi welcome to The View From A Broad. I'm Teresa Norton and this podcast dives into my past, revisiting columns I wrote for the South China Morning Post between 1993 and 2000 during my 40 years living in Hong Kong.
These often funny, sometimes tender, occasionally provocative musings cover everything from marriage and working motherhood, to national identity and global events. As a weekly columnist I aimed to capture the quirks of human interactions, carve up a few sacred cows and tell it like it is... but did I? In the 30 years since those columns were written much has changed and... so have I.
In each episode I read a column and talk to a guest about how the piece stands up today - what still rings true and what feels out of sync with today’s world. They then share a true story from their past that's been unearthed by something in the column.
The result is an engaging and honest conversation about the evolution of social norms, culture and humor, re-examining the past through the lens of today’s values.
By looking back with compassion and curiosity, my hope is that The View From A Broad encourages reflection on how our perspectives have changed... or not... and why.
29 Episodes
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Send us a text A look back at a San Francisco Bay Area junior highschool music room circa 1968 and the imposing, mind expanding presence of one Carolyn Schwartz, glee club teacher and expedition guide to the sounds of the 60's. While Teresa was having her mind blown by the sounds of the Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix along with fellow 7th graders in Mrs. Schwartz's classroom, this episode's podcast guest Tom Donald was sleeping in a closet in the Haight Ashbury honing the bass guitar ski...
Send us a text Separating facts from fantasy, Teresa as a young mother in the early 90's recounts having "the facts of life" talk with her young son. Film maker, broadcaster and University of Hong Kong lecturer Crystal Kwok joins in to unpack her "favorite subject" sex! On both Cable TV and Hong Kong's RTHK radio, Crystal spoke frankly about human sexuality in a way that that shocked some and educated many. This lighthearted chat delves into some deep topics including how young people a...
Send us a text Teresa talks with theater director, visual artist and Founder of Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Lindsey McAllister, about a column written 30 years ago when Teresa and her girlfriend were picking out the replacement wives for their husbands, not in the event they divorced their spouses, but if they widowed them. The conversation covers a everything from euthanasia to a cocktail party dress code SNAFU, an accident during a rehearsal of "Sweeney Todd" that led to a marriage pro...
Send us a text In 1999 Typhoon York tore through Hong Kong and the resulting devastation inspired Teresa's newspaper column about the force of Mother Nature and the nature of forced displacement. The conversation with guest Victoria Wisniewski Otero, Founder and CEO of RESOLVE Foundation, takes a similar journey, opening with an imagined conversation between the birds outside Teresa's window as they relocate from a tree felled by the typhoon, to the joys of open water swimming. From ch...
Send us a text A sentimental journey for Teresa and her guest and former FM Select radio co-host, Harry Wong, as they unpack a newspaper column of her's that looks back 3 decades to a magical experience she had at a little movie theater in Hong Kong's Wanchai district. Popular children's entertainer, magician, puppeteer and television personality, known to generations of Hong Kongers as Harry Gor-Gor (Big Brother Harry) shares a bit of cinema history, his delightful interaction with an old sc...
Send us a text Facing 40!?! What about facing 70!??! Teresa and guest, Linda Naiman, unpack a column Teresa wrote in the 1990's about the advice she got from an "older woman" about the independence that comes with turning 40. Also (un) covered in the column is a photoshoot in Playboy Magazine entitled "Fabulous at 40!" Teresa and Linda discuss milestones in life, the beauty of aging, setting long-term goals and the importance of embracing freedom and self-discovery, fe...
Send us a text Teresa's guest, Brian Brenner, chose a newspaper column Teresa wrote about a fad diet that was making the rounds in the 1990's. Brian chose it because he too has fought the battle of the bulge. They talk, with humor and compassion, about their own challenges with body image, aging, health and how much of our approach to food has to do with family and culture. Brian is a global real estate consultant whose journey spans 17 years in Hong Kong where he and Teresa met through...
Send us a text Join Teresa and legendary figure in Hong Kong's nightlife scene, Andrew Bull, as they unpack a decades old column of hers about three people whose tequila consumption got the better of them on the dance floor or a Mexican restaurant. Bull (aka DJ El Toro), reminisces about Hong Kong nightlife in the 70's, the vibrant disco era of the 80s and the tragic effect of AIDS during that period, and the fantastic experience of opening Canton Disco and the international stars who g...
Send us a text You just never know where a conversation will take you! In this episode, Teresa's humorous 1990's column that had her grousing about her man's lack of participation in household chores, becomes a fascinating look at how to keep the romance in relationships. Evgenia Papageorgiou, brand and marketing consultant and story sharer, talks with Teresa about her theories on domestic vs romantic intelligence, the importance of timely communication of relationship expectations, and the n...
Send us a text This episode's column looks back on Teresa's six year old son's heartbreak at having his best friend move to another country. Teresa and her guest, independent communications consultant Grace Wong-Folliet, explore the importance of encouraging emotional expression in boys, the lessons learned about parenting through talking with other mothers, and the current emphasis on young people's mental health, post-Covid.. Though they talk about grief and loss, the focus is on find...
Send us a text This episode begins with a column Teresa wrote in 1999 in response to a proposed campaign to reduce the pollution from "smoky vehicles" that she felt didn't go far enough...so she wrote a tv spot designed to "scare the poop" out of offenders and pedestrians alike. Adman Chris Kyme joins Teresa to unpack the column, the challenges of public behavior campaigns, the evolution of advertising in Hong Kong and the importance of combining "the idea" with "strategy". Chris shares...
Send us a text If Teresa's favorite holiday as a child was Halloween because of the costumes and candy, she picked the right guest in Hong Kong's ArtJamming founder Betty Cheung for this episode. Architect turned full-time artist, Betty's ability to construct costumes of epic proportions (see: No Face in the film Spirited Away") matches Teresa's passion for Trick or Treat loot. Beyond the fun, they also discuss the power that putting on a costume can have in terms of living out a fanta...
Send us a text A terrific conversation is had with Dr. James Andrade, former Senior VP and Head of Catapult Executive Leadership Institute where he and Teresa first connected. He's a held leadership positions in the real estate industry, government, academia and the consumer packaged goods industry. He's a father and a neuro scientist and his story is a wonderful one about overcoming a fear that could have derailed his career. Join Teresa and James as they discuss the future of educatio...
Send us a text Teresa's guest, Tim Peirson Smith, had a completely different take on the column he chose for this week's episode! An episode that begins as a 3 decade old gripe about her then husband's inability/refusal to make the coffee becomes a conversation about love and caring for one's partner, children and parents. "You're a romantic!" Teresa declares. Tim, a self-professed lapsed Brit has been proud to call Hong Kong home for the last 35 years. For the last quarter...
Send us a text Teresa's guest, John Dykes, is a globally-recognised sports broadcaster, who has presented and commentated on FIFA World Cups, the Olympics, tennis Grand Slams, golf Majors, F1, the Premier League and much more. The topic is a newspaper column wrote in the 1990's about her devotion to Feng Shui when she was living and working in Hong Kong. They look at diversity in belief systems both religious and non and John shares about the movie that hit home with him on the to...
Send us a text Teresa's guest, David McKirdy, is a true Renaissance Man. Published poet, motocross champion, Formula 1 mechanic, professional musician and the go-to guy if you need your fleet of antique automobiles kept in good shape. The conversation, winds its way from Kindle vs hardbound book to fascinating details about beautiful vintage cars from the early 1900's, the maintenance of which take him round the globe, and a story of a pub crawl through Hong Kong with Irish poet laureat...
Send us a text Join Teresa in a thoughtful conversation with Peter Cook, mentor, author, meditator, business blogger and monk, as they unpack her newspaper column about the terrifying effect the 1940's movie musical The Wizard of Oz had on her as a child and how, despite that, she watched it with her 4 year-old daughter. Peter and Teresa explore themes of parenting, childhood fears, and the importance of striking a balance between protecting children and allowing them to experience the...
Send us a text Join Teresa for this musical trip down memory lane beginning with the column she wrote that appeared in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on November 1 1997. Her guest, Beth Blatt has written for stage, TV, radio and print in the U.S. and abroad. Her dramatic work – musicals, plays, songs - have been performed at the United Nations, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, in New York City, across the US, and in Asia and Europe. Her words have won numerous awards, grants, commiss...
Send us a text In this lighthearted conversation on some serious topics, Teresa and her guest, Tobey Fitch, dig deep into how generational influences shape attitudes towards finances, and the importance of having open discussions about money, life and death. Teresa's column this week describes growing up in the 60's with Depression Era parents, and Tobey introduces the concept of having "Taco Conversations" to break the ice that blocks us from having those uncomfortable cross generatio...
Send us a text The newspaper column, written by Teresa 30 years ago, and chosen for discussion in this episode by Affiliated Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Arts at University of Hong Kong, Staci Ford, was one that shared a hopeful look toward the future of Hong Kong under the leadership of newly appointed Chief Executive Tung Chee-haw. Teresa and Staci discuss the complexities of expatriate life in an environment undergoing sociopolitical change, and the impact that column had on Staci's view...
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