Ep. 94 Alison Brahe-Daddo on menopause, finding majesty in the mayhem and making marriage work.

For anyone who grew up in the late 80s and 90s, the name Alison Brahe-Daddo is synonymous with that Dolly magazine cover - the one blu-tacked to bedroom walls and plastered all over school lockers.  With her dazzling smile and golden beach body, Ali exploded onto the Australian modelling scene at …

Ep. 93 Kelly Donougher on eschewing life’s “shoulds”, navigating infertility and finding healing through creativity and career change.

“How many kids do you have?” It’s a question asked so casually, often as part of small talk. Yet, for those who dreamed of parenthood but find themselves childless, these four words can land with a heavy blow. Today’s guest, Kelly Donougher, is a successful interior designer and founder of 13 Int…

Ep. 92 Pete Conroy on catastrophe, courage and what happens after the worst day of your life.

How often do you think about worst case scenarios? Contemplate fate or imagine catastrophes or run the gamut of ‘what ifs?’  The reality is that none of us really know what’s coming down the life pipes next … as famed author Joan Didion wrote “Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You ca…

Ep. 91 Don Watson on the power of words, political speechwriting and where to from Trump.

Don Watson has spent a lifetime listening closely - to the language of politics, power, persuasion and all the spaces in between. A historian, author and master of the written word, he is perhaps best known as the speechwriter behind some of Australia’s most unforgettable words - including the ic…

Ep. 90 Julia Banks on boys' clubs, Trumpist politics and personal power.

Politics is the stuff of Shakespeare. Acts of revenge, personal sabotage, falls from grace and epic power struggles have always pushed politicians in and out of public favour. As Australia heads toward a federal election, in our own political landscape we see the high drama of campaign theatre pl…

Ep. 89 Sarah Grynberg on shedding skins, letting old friends go and finding greatness.

Annus horribilis is a Latin phrase that means "horrible year". It’s the antithesis of annus mirabiliswhich means "wonderful year". Of course years don’t exist in those binaries but we all know that some years are better than others: some are defined by greatness, and others we just can’t wait to s…

Ep. 88 Stan Grant on life post-Voice To Parliament, lament and writing beauty into the world.

Stan Grant is a man of remarkable intellect, profound story and deep faith. On a late winter's afternoon recently, I meet Stan in a moment when he is on a difficult journey through a kind of lament - deeply contemplating the three big disciplines that have steeled his extraordinary life and work -…

Ep. 87 Damian Chaparro on swapping a corporate job for a slower pace of life, founding a health retreat and honouring the reset.

When you think of a health retreat, I wonder what thoughts and feelings come to mind? Yoga with a monk on a mountain, people healing their deepest wounds around grief, illness or weight issues, or perhaps it’s images of Nicole Kidman in 9 Perfect Strangers as depicted in the book and movie? I’ve a…

Ep. 86 Jo Stanley on women in media, comedy as catharsis and the case for vulvas.

If you’ve turned on the radio lately, have you ever sat back to listen to who’s telling the stories? Current data shows that only 27 per cent of radio hosts are women, female experts are quoted just 34 per cent of the time and - here’s the clanger - NINETY PER CENT of radio voices of people aged ov…

Ep. 85 Corrie Perkin on the Fourth Estate, storytelling and why words do matter.

It was the poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou who once said ‘there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you’. Stories are what help us make sense of the world around us and of ourselves, of great tragedies and fates and fortunes, of buried histories and mysteries, of t…