The View From A Broad
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.
Episodes
39 episodes
Caught in the Rat Race | Teresa talks to Dean Winter
Did you have a summer job when you were a teenager? In 1974 Teresa worked as the hostess/receptionist guiding diners to their table at a restaurant that specialized in pies and... was dealing with an infestation!Her guest, Dean Winter h...
Workin' My Way Back to You, Babe | Teresa talks to Filipa Fonseca Silva
Keepin' the Faith in a Big City | Teresa talks to Sulakshana Chemudupati
Don't judge a place by its reputation. Hong Kong, India, Dubai, Portugal... Teresa and her guest Sulakshana Chemudupati, dispel some myths and share how interpersonal connections have impacted their experiences living in some of the...
Reelin' Down the Hershey Highway | Teresa talks to Charlie Schroeder
Have fad diets become a thing of the past? How do you get cast as "Mr. Pussy" in the hit 1990's television series "Sex and the City"? Are there things you found funny 3 decades ago that make you cringe today?30 years ago Teresa and her ...
A Ticket to the Theater of Life | Teresa talks to John Langford
In this 1st Anniversary Special Teresa's very first guest on The View From A Broad is back to unpack a column about her longing for romantic life to imitate art in the form of the musicals she listened to has a kid.They cover everything ...
Making Up is Hard to Do | Teresa talks to Michele Koh
Join this trip with Teresa and psychotherapist and legal psilocybin facilitator Michele Koh, as they discuss the complexities of self-image and societal expectations, eyebrow piercings and convent school uniform quick changes, what constitutes ...
Sprouting and Shrinking Violets | Teresa talks to Justine Mitchell
Teresa talks to London-based, award winning Irish actress Justine Mitchell, who enjoys a successful career on stage and screen. She shares about growing up, being shy and also being a bit wild.Confidence, identity, and personal gro...
Waffling On to Total Strangers | Teresa talks to Belina Raffy
This episode begins with a mega sale of appliances at a factory in Hong Kong where Teresa found herself communing with fellow bargain hunters who were waiting in a VERY long line... about 30 years ago.What unfolds is a conversation with ...
Don't Spill That Cup of Kindness | Teresa talks to Angela Yuen
This episode kicks off with a newspaper column, written in December of 1994, that had Teresa Norton facing the realities of making a new home far from family and friends.There's the fascination and fun of immersing oneself in a completel...
Confessions of a Barbie Girl | Teresa talks to Melissa Chan
In this episode host Teresa Norton (a confessed Barbie fan who still has her first and only Barbie doll ) is joined by her guest Melissa Chan as they dive into a nostalgic, affectionate and critical examination of the iconic doll. T...
Groovin' to the Sounds of the Sixties | Teresa talks to Tom Donald
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 h...
Fiction and the Facts of Life | Teresa talks to Crystal Kwok
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 su...
A Match Made in Heaven | Teresa talks to Lindsey McAllister
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, ...
A Bird's Eye View of Survival | Teresa talks to Victoria Wisniewski Otero
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 Ot...
Where Else But In Wanchai? | Teresa talks to Harry Wong
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...
The Naked Truth About Facing 40 | Teresa talks to Linda Naiman
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) cover...
It's Do or Diet Time | Teresa talks to Brian Brenner
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, ...
La Coo Coo Crotchah | Teresa talks to Andrew Bull
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. <...
Domestic Blissters | Teresa talks to Evgenia Papageorgiou
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 r...
The Goodbye Boy | Teresa talks to Grace Wong Folliet
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 encour...
Ghost of a Chance to Go Green | Teresa talks to Chris Kyme
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 an...
Holidays? It's Halloween Hands Down! | Teresa talks to Betty Cheung
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...
Adding Up the Elements of Life | Teresa Talks to James Andrade
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, aca...
Trouble's a Brewin' | Teresa talks to Tim Peirson Smith
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 con...
And All That Joss | Teresa talks to John Dykes
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...