About

1 min read
Joseph Noel Walker portrait

I was born at a very young age, in Newcastle, Australia. Years later, in 2017, I kicked off the JSP with my uni mate Gus. In our very first episode, our mics were upside down and I was drunk. From a low baseline, I’ve improved as a host, an interviewer and a person. Gus handed the reins over entirely to me in 2019, when he moved to New York. Unshackled from my ball and chain (just kidding Gus), I’ve continued to grow the show into one of the most popular business podcasts in the Land Down Under, though we also have large audiences in the US, UK and, for reasons that remain opaque, Sweden.

Swagmen were the bush travellers of Australian folklore, wandering the land in search of work. Today, I embody their spirit, following interesting ideas wherever they may lead, with little more than mid-to-high range 21st century Japanese-made mics for audio equipment.

This at-times-very-intellectual podcast is a passion project. During the day, I’m helping to grow a Y Combinator-backed Australian startup. I think it’s important to live in two domains. To quote Seamus Heaney: “We should keep our feet on the ground to signify that nothing is beneath us, but we should also lift up our eyes to say nothing is beyond us.” Or at least that’s what I say to my girlfriend to make my manic schedule sound cool.

I hope you enjoy the podcast!