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Speaker 1: Sitsy and with her with Kate Richie Podcast. Okay, so

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Speaker 1: we have got a special guest today that we're about

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Speaker 1: to call who's had a pretty tough time. In twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty one. Unfortunately, her husband, Shannon, was working on a roof.

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Speaker 1: He had a bit of a fall off the roof

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Speaker 1: and blanked out. He didn't know why, injured himself, but

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Speaker 1: he went to a neurologist that found a tumor on

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Speaker 1: his spine. Unfortunately, that tumor got worse and worse. He

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Speaker 1: was put into a coma and unfortunately for Shannon, she

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Speaker 1: lost her husband six weeks ago. Jack, this is a

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Speaker 1: pretty fun story.

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Speaker 2: And they have two small children, five and three.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Freddy and Goldie who were left without a dad.

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Speaker 1: We're going to give Shannon a call now just to

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Speaker 1: say that we've got her back. Let's give her a call. Shannon,

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Speaker 1: you got us, Yes, I do. Hi, Hi, Shannon, Shan,

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Speaker 1: You've had a pretty rough time, and it all started

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Speaker 1: back in a couple of years ago in twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: when your husband unfortunately fell off a roof and had

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Speaker 1: a bit of an episode and you went to a

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Speaker 1: neurologist and got some bad news.

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Speaker 4: Yes, that's correct. Yeah, so kind of over two and

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Speaker 4: a half years ago when this kind of all started.

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Speaker 4: You know, you you never can prepare yourself to think

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Speaker 4: that it's going to be that sort of news. We

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Speaker 4: just thought that it was just obviously something to do

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Speaker 4: with nerve damage, but unfortunately that, yeah, that wasn't the case,

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Speaker 4: and then our whole world just completely just shattered.

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Speaker 2: What has happened? And I'm unfolded with that diagnosis since

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, so obviously when we went and saw a neurosurgeon,

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Speaker 4: they obviously wanted to do some more tests, and that's

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Speaker 4: when they did find a humor. As soon as you

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Speaker 4: hear the word humor that you think the worst. And

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Speaker 4: I asked if you know it was cancerous, and new

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Speaker 4: resurgeron at the time said, no, you know, it's benign.

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Speaker 4: Most of these cases they see ninety nine point nine

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Speaker 4: percent nine, So that really kind of put us at ease,

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Speaker 4: and that obviously Jack would still need surgery because being

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Speaker 4: on the spinal cord. But obviously after the surgery, we

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Speaker 4: thought it all went well. Probably about six days after

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Speaker 4: the surgery and bringing Jack home, that's when his health

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Speaker 4: just completely deteriorated and I've never seen him so sick,

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Speaker 4: and that's when obviously they had to kind of do

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Speaker 4: further tests and then you know, was confirmed that Jack

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Speaker 4: had stage four spinal cord glamour, which was a really

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Speaker 4: nasty cancer. But my husband, being you know, stoic that

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Speaker 4: is and just having such you know, a strong will,

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Speaker 4: was like, no, I'm not going to let this beat me,

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Speaker 4: you know, throw everything at me. Because we had a

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Speaker 4: little baby girl I hadn't even turned one, and our

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Speaker 4: little boy, he was two and a half. So so

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Speaker 4: it was our whole world just got completely turned upside down.

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Speaker 4: Jack was put into an induced coma at the beginning

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Speaker 4: and we didn't even think he was going to make

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Speaker 4: it through that. So it's been really hard.

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Speaker 3: How long has it been since he passed?

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Speaker 4: Shannon six weeks to the day, So yeah, very fresh,

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Speaker 4: very raw.

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Speaker 1: What are your emotions, mate? Do you get angry? Do

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Speaker 1: you what has it been? What has it been? Because

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Speaker 1: now as well financially as well, Jack was obviously a

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Speaker 1: trade and doing really well for himself, but that's gone.

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Speaker 1: So you've had to sell the business. He built the

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Speaker 1: family home as well, So what have you had to do?

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Speaker 1: With stuff like that as well.

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Speaker 4: Our whole you know, dynamic was that Jack was the

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Speaker 4: breadwinner for our family, and you know, from having a

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Speaker 4: surgery and him getting so sick, you know, our financial

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Speaker 4: situation was then a dire one because I couldn't work.

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Speaker 4: I then became a full time care for my husband,

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Speaker 4: WHILESO looking after our two little kids, and you know,

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Speaker 4: with bills and a mortgage and obviously all the financial side.

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Speaker 4: Jack looked out at all of that. So it was

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Speaker 4: a very hard die situation when you're trying to just

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Speaker 4: make it through day by day with someone who was

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Speaker 4: so sick and not knowing if he was going to

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Speaker 4: make it to then having to deal you know, with

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Speaker 4: all that financial side. I think I just would you know,

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Speaker 4: I don't even know how I survived it, to be honest,

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Speaker 4: it was a really, really scary time.

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Speaker 3: Shannon. Can I ask, and obviously this will be emotional

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Speaker 3: to answer the question, how do you handle the questions

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Speaker 3: from Freddie and Goldie, your two kids five and three?

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Speaker 4: That is I think when we got told that there

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Speaker 4: was nothing more that they could do, I then had

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Speaker 4: to obviously, you know, have those big conversations with them,

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Speaker 4: with letting them know that Daddy is going to die

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Speaker 4: and he won't be coming home, and they still ask.

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Speaker 4: You know, my daughter Goldie, who's only three, still asks

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Speaker 4: me every night, you know, why can't Daddy be here?

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Speaker 4: My count Daddy say good night. It's just absolutely heartbreaking.

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Speaker 3: I don't know.

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Speaker 1: Do you know how you do it?

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Speaker 3: Jim, don't know how you do it? You are a trooper,

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Speaker 3: You're extraordinary.

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Speaker 2: I can I ask you? Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry.

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Speaker 2: If you're happy to talk to us out, how are

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Speaker 2: you doing?

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Speaker 4: Love? It's hard because you know, Jack was like the

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Speaker 4: love of my life, my soulmate, and you have all

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Speaker 4: these like future dreams and plans together, and you know,

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Speaker 4: even though someone when you get told you know of

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Speaker 4: like the diagnosis and it being terminal, like nothing can

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Speaker 4: prepare you for the day to actually for them to go,

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Speaker 4: because all you want is time and some days to

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Speaker 4: even just wake up and to go, Okay, how am

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Speaker 4: I going to get through today? How am I going

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Speaker 4: to survive this? But also be you know, a parent

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Speaker 4: would be a good one at that.

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Speaker 1: He sounded like an amazing man, and obviously you celebrate

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Speaker 1: his life because you know, you in a situation like this.

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Speaker 1: I know how everything is falling down around you, but

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Speaker 1: you're an extremely brave woman, Shannon, and you've by the

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Speaker 1: sounds of it, you've got an amazing family around you,

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Speaker 1: a support base.

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Speaker 2: Are really lucky your boss.

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Speaker 1: Vita as well. With Vita was the one that got

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Speaker 1: in contact with that.

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Speaker 4: I know she's amazing.

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Speaker 1: Were he to tell you that we've got your back

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Speaker 1: as well. We've only just met you today, but your

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Speaker 1: story has really, really really touched us, and we just

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Speaker 1: want to tell you that because you've had to pack

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Speaker 1: up everything, You've had to sell the home, Jack's business, everything,

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Speaker 1: all the treatments that he went through his funeral, and

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Speaker 1: you still provide for your family. We're going to give

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Speaker 1: you ten thousand dollars to help with the burden during

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Speaker 1: this time. And we want to take Christmas off your

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Speaker 1: hands as well and help out the kids. So we're

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Speaker 1: going to get the kids bikes, scooters, boogie boards, toys

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Speaker 1: and which games. So there's your Christmas present, Sorded. You

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Speaker 1: can focus on the family and you can have a

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Speaker 1: Christmas remembering Dad and your beautiful husband.

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Speaker 4: Oh my god, I can't like thank you enough for

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Speaker 4: that is just so I just I just so generous

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Speaker 4: and I'm so honestly like they're so grateful that it's

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Speaker 4: just so kind. I'm like blown away by just you know,

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Speaker 4: the generosity of just you know, strangers and just people

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Speaker 4: you know, just who want to help.

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Speaker 5: And yeah, yeah, it doesn't kind of fix everything, of course,

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Speaker 5: and the road ahead is going to be long, but

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Speaker 5: I'm sure one of Jack's concerns was what was going

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Speaker 5: to happen when he wasn't there, And I'm sure he

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Speaker 5: had great faith in you being strong and amazing.

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Speaker 2: But if we can just do a tiny little bit

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Speaker 2: to take off a little bit of that load and

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Speaker 2: heading to Christmas with a little less pressure, we hope

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Speaker 2: we're doing the right thing by him too.

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Speaker 4: No, thank you, he would just be if he was here,

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Speaker 4: he would be so grateful and thankful.

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Speaker 1: Well, you appreciate your time so much, and thank you

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Speaker 1: so much for sharing your story. I know it would

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Speaker 1: be so hard for you to do that, but thank

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Speaker 1: you for sharing that today.

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Speaker 2: And yeah, you've been so honest.

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Speaker 1: Have a lovely Christmas with the kids, Shannon, Thank you

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Speaker 1: so much.

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Speaker 4: Thank you so much for having me.

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Speaker 2: No, they're lucky to have you, those kids, Shannon, you

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Speaker 2: look after yourself. I will thank you, thank you too.

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Speaker 4: Bye guys, Gay, Vitzy and Whipper with Kate Richie is

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Speaker 4: a Nova podcast.

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Speaker 1: For more great comedy shows

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Speaker 4: Like this, head to novapodcast dot com, dot au