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 an Impact Studios Production.
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 by Friday.
Podcast artwork and graphic design by Alexandra Morris.
Research by Jackie May.

Sink or Swim is part of a place-based audio project called Welcome to Blacktown, supported by the Paul Ramsay Foundation. If you want to know more visit our website www.impactstudios.edu.au/sinkorswim