Angelica has decided: this is the summer she finally takes the plunge. Go with her as she joins an adult swim class for beginners, and realises that there are plenty of other adults who share both her trepidation and her determination.

Angelica’s home of Western Sydney is heating up faster than nearly anywhere else, making swimming an essential survival skill – not just for staying afloat, but for staying cool. She talks to local doctor Kim Loo to learn what extreme heat can do to the human body, and to urban planning and heat researcher Professor Sebastian Pfautsch, who explains how the new homes and suburbs we build – without the community’s input and without an eye to our hotter future – are exacerbating the discomfort and the risk.

Sink or Swim is a UTS Impact Studios production. You can listen to the full series at Impact Studio’s official website: https://impactstudios.edu.au/sinkorswim/

It is written and produced by Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis and Britta Jorgensen.  

Audio editing by Britta Jorgensen and Celine Teo-Blockey.

Additional support from Jane Curtis and Tamson Pietsch.   

The executive producers are Olivia Rosenman and Sarah Gilbert. 

Sound design by Melissa May.

The theme song is Beaming by Friday.   

Podcast artwork and graphic design by Alexandra Morris. 

Research by Jackie May. 

All The Best Credits:

All The Best is hosted by Madhuraa Prakash. 

This episode was mixed by Zac Pennington.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.