The Andy Social Podcast

Unless you’re from the US, you might not be fully acquainted with Jesse Thorn. Public Radio Broadcaster extraordinaire and OG podcaster, Jesse has interviewed and had conversations with thousands of people over the years from the upper realms of fame to the every day unknown. Kicking off his career in broadcasting working for the University of California campus radio station KZSC, Jesse launched the popular ‘The Sound of Young America’ show which later turned into a podcast in 2004...

Nick Keller is a Senior Concept Artist at Weta Digital (formerly Weta Workshop) and an Illustrator. Many of you may know Weta which was founded by Peter Jackson and have worked on some of the biggest movies our time including Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, Avengers and many more. You would think that this would be why I was compelled to have a chat with Nick considering he works for one of the more exciting businesses in the world. The real reason however...

Aaron Gocs is an Australian comedian who has been gaining popularity from not only his stand up shows and touring but also his online presence, uploading his own video commentary as well as staring in a number of skit shows through Hot Dad Productions and appearing on Comedy Central and Vice to name a few. Most recently, Aaron has been touring the county with his new show 'Divorced with Children', appearing at a number of cities on the annual comedy festival circuit. The show has Aaron...

Pete Wargent is an international property buyer, finance and real estate expert and author. To put it more succinctly, Pete is an expert in wealth creation and spends the majority of his time teaching others how to maximise their money through financial knowledge and education. Starting off as an Accountant and moving out to Australia from the UK many years ago, Pete has been collating a wealth of knowledge obtained from personal experiences in striving toward his own financial goals. These...

Zac Smith-Cameron is an illustrator, designer and most recently becoming a podcaster. Working under his 'I am Zac' moniker, Zac has been creating a wide range of illustration art for the past several years. While a large portion of his work online are simple, striking piece of comic art, Zac has also lent his skills to some pieces that hit close to home for me, such as LORD's "What Tomorrow Brings" cover art and "The Andy Social" podcast logo. Both of Zac's incredible creations that I can...

Would you consider taking up an offer to go on a one way trip to Mars? Sounds like something straight out of a science fiction novel. Amazingly for Josh Richards who's an Astronaut Candidate for the Mars One Project, this is a reality that not only he is facing, but is running full speed at. The Mars One Project aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Initially racking up 200,000 initiated applications, over the past several years the project has slowly dwindled the...

Heavy Metal Africa. Three words that for many of us in the western world may not normally see together. For the past couple of decades however, metal music has been slowly finding a place in the lives of many across the continent of Africa and continues to grow in popularity, challenging stereotypes and cultural norms. Helping to bring the stories of metal fans and musicians from the continent to the global stage, Edward Banchs might not initially appear to be a likely suspect when you...

Aaron Sammut is a writer and comic book creator. Inspired by the opening riffs of Master of Puppets by Metallica, Aaron put together the concept of what has now become the comic, “Maurice and the Metal” - A young metalhead living in the mid 80s who discovers superhuman strength whenever he listens to metal, possessed by the spirit of a Black Sabbath roadie. Issue one is out now and comprises of artwork by US comic artist Jesse Hamm. The first instalment kicks off this nostalgic throwback to...

Dr Lila Landowski is Neuroscientist, a Science Communicator and Lecturer at the University of Tasmania. Neuroscience is certainly not the easiest of fields to take on and Lila's has invested years of study and research to better understand and fight some of humanity's most crippling neurological disorders. In more recent years, working as a Postdoctoral Neuroscientist and Research Fellow, Lila's 2 main projects centre around developing a gold standard model of stroke and discovering the...

Mike Feeney and Mike Cannon are New York based comedians and hosts of the Irish Goodbye Podcast on the Gas Digital Network. Feeney and Cannon have their own unique styles of comedy and together the contrasts work perfectly on the podcast. The show itself is all about storytelling, whether it be Feeney and Cannon's own misadventures in the world of comedy or bringing on guests who have their own hilarious stories to tell. This was the last of my episodes recorded at Gas Digital studios in...

Ralph Sutton has created the beast which is known as GaS Digital. A podcast network co-owned with comedian Luis J. Gomez which hosts popular podcasts such as Legion of Skanks, Jasta Show, Irish Goodbye, I Wanna Talk!!, Believe You Me as well as The SDR Show (hosted by Ralph alongside Big Jay Oakerson) and many more. GaS Digital started from Ralph's own apartment in New York and it was only mere months ago where the growth of the network and the shows lead to an investment to upscale to...

Comedy fans should already know who Luis J. Gomez is, but now with his first ever special "Luis J. Gomez presents Luis J. Gomez", he will definitely be showing up more on international comedy radars. Luis is a podcasting king pin, hosting and running several of his own shows including Legion of Skanks (w/Big Jay Oakerson and Dave Smith), Believe You Me (w/Michael Bisping), The Real Ass Podcast (w/Zac Amico) and more. Luis also co-runs/owns the GaS Digital Network with Ralph Sutton which is...

Michael Sheldrick surely wins the prize for one of most impressive job titles, as the Vice President of Global and Government Affairs for Global Citizen. Imagine rattling that one off as an introduction and being able to tell people how you have a direct impact on changing the lives of millions of people, without any dramatisation whatsoever. Originally from Perth, Michael's dedication to humanitarian impact has seen him work for his local government, as a Tutor for the University of...

Many of us know Jonathon Barwick as the front band of Tasmanian metal band Taberah. Over the past decade or so, the band has enjoyed several well received releases, national tours and playing with many of their metal idols. Like many bands, there are often brief lulls or periods of hibernation which are spent either writing, recording or simply re-calibrating to ensure that the band has longevity and can sustain the sometimes financial and emotional tax that can come with the territory....

Many of us know Jonathon Barwick as the front band of Tasmanian metal band Taberah. Over the past decade or so, the band has enjoyed several well received releases, national tours and playing with many of their metal idols. Like many bands, there are often brief lulls or periods of hibernation which are spent either writing, recording or simply re-calibrating to ensure that the band has longevity and can sustain the sometimes financial and emotional tax that can come with the territory....

Nadine Champion is a Martial Arts Expert, Author and Public Speaker that has lived a life of growth, adversity and reward. Since an early age, Nadine found an interest in martial arts and while her journey itself has not been a straight and easy path, it led her to work to one of the world's best in Sensei Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez, studying Ukiodkan Kickboxing and become a champion in the sport. Through adversity comes growth and Nadine has amassed many examples of how true struggle leads...

Sean Munger is a historian, author, podcaster and teacher. Over the years Sean has amassed a catalogue of work ranging from history essays, several fictional novels, multiple podcasts, YouTube videos and several online history lessons. Equipped with a Ph.D. in environmental history, Sean uses his expertise and love of history to teach others about not only environmental issues such as climate change, but other social topics where our past can hold answers to our current challenges....

Prarthana (known to many as Prat) is the Social Media Manager for Psycroptic, PR & Assistant for Direct Touring, Assistant for Adversary Studios, Sub-Editor for HEAVY magazine, a blogger, traveller, teacher, and much more. Born in India but bouncing back and forth to Australia, Prat has been establishing herself as multi-purpose and in-demand personality in both the Indian and Australian metal scenes. When acting as Tour Manager for Psycroptic in India back in 2017, several new...

Shaun Farrugia is the front man for Melbourne's thrash metal band, In Malice's Wake. The band has been a fixture of Melbourne's metal scene since the early 2000's and who are highly respected by many of the Australian metal faithful. Like a lot of Australian bands, Shaun and the guys are total DIY and take great pride in putting in the hard yards to release music and tour. Over the years they have churned out several full length albums, an EP and live album with quite a bit of the artwork...

Aaron Worboys is a Sound Designer, Audio Engineer, Studio Owner and Musician based in Sydney. For many of us we've known Aaron as the front man for 'Triumphant War Metal' band Bane of Isildur and working front of house for countless bands across Sydney's live music scene. In more recent years Aaron took the plunge and launched his own recording and rehearsal space, Adversary Studios in Sydney's Inner West suburb of St Peters. Using the network he's built over the years, Aaron grew a...