The You Project

In his most famous book Man’s Search for Meaning, Austrian Psychiatrist, Neurologist, Holocaust Survivor and Author Victor Frankl said “in some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.” I love that quote. Although we try to avoid it, sometimes suffering can be our best teacher, insight giver, developer of resilience, skill and courage. This is one of my favourite chats with Bobby in a long time. I personally find this stuff inspiring, enlightning and very relevant for my goals, values and purpose. Along the way, we also chatted about adaptability, understanding others, reframing the situation we find ourselves in and the process of getting in a flow state. I think you will enjoy this.

Not only is our friend and TYP regular Dr. Jeff a world-renowned specialist in the areas of regenerative and longevity medicine, but he’s also a Neurosurgeon and Spinal Surgeon. So, not a dummy after all. This episode is a deeper dive into an earlier conversation we started about 1, 000 episodes ago. I think this conversation is relevant for virtually everybody. Enjoy.

Tamsin Simounds is a leadership coach, keynote speaker, author, founder and now, guest on The You Project; surely the highlight of her career (lol). She has just released a new book called ‘The Experiment Mindset’ (as per our title) and as we discovered during our conversation, we have a lot in common. Almost to the point of being weird. I loved meeting Tamsin, she has great energy, great knowledge, great real-world strategies and like me, she is something of a Pracademic. Enjoy.

Apparently, this is Patrick’s 135th appearance on The You Project. You’d think we would be pretty amazing by now but no, those 134 previous episodes don’t seem to have moved the needle a lot. We’re still inappropriate, still easily distracted, still argumentative (not so much Tiff) and still trying to stay on track with the alleged focus and theme of the show; technology. Yet to my complete surprise, this fortnightly conversational lucky dip is favoured by some.

So the father of six (Gillespo) and the and the Bloke and the Hybrid (Tiff) with zero kids between them, had a chat about parenting, recent research on the relationship between screen time and mental health in kids, the ancient and apparently outdated concept of kids doing chores, addiction wiring and the very real experience of withdrawal when kids are separated from their screens. I’ll never know, but it’s quite possible that I would’ve made a terrible parent. 

Dr. Olivia Ong is back at TYP Central and this time we endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of burnout - what it is, what it isn’t, who it affects, how it affects us, how to recognise it and what we might do about it. Enjoy.

This was another genuinely fascinating conversation with Prof. Robert Coplan from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. It turns out that being alone is bad for some and great for others. And that we don’t need to be alone, to be lonely. We spoke about the difference between loneliness and solitude, the fact that some people suffer when they don’t get enough time on their own, how introverts are often mistaken for extroverts, that some of us need to find the right ‘dosage’ for being around others, that some people are mitigating loneliness with AI and we discover that I might actually be a social misfit. No shock there, I guess.

Your mind could be the most powerful drug you will ever have at your disposal. A single thought can change your physiology. Lower or increase your heart rate. Produce stress hormones or happy hormones. Elevate or lower your blood pressure. Shift your emotional state. Put you into a state of calm or a state of panic. And in some well documented cases, heal people from incurable diseases. In this episode of TYP, my favourite molecular biologist (Prof. Bill Sullivan) and I do a deep dive in to the power of the mind and beyond. Enjoy.

Self driving cars, self driving trucks, driverless taxis and maybe in the not-too-distant future, self-flying passenger planes. F**k that. That’s a big fat “no thanks” from me. I’ll take the human pilot option, thanks. This was yet another fun conversational escapade with Patrick and Tiff, full of appropriate and inappropriate subject matter. As always. Enjoy. Or avoid.

Dr. Fuschia Sirois is a psychologist and internationally recognised researcher specialising in procrastination, self-regulation, motivation, stress and wellbeing. She is a Professor of Social and Health Psychology at Durham University in the UK. Her research explores why people procrastinate, particularly the role of emotional regulation. One of her central arguments is that procrastination is less about poor time management and more about managing uncomfortable emotions. Her book "Procrastination: What It Is, Why It's a Problem, and What You Can Do About It" is a best seller and according to the good Doc, procrastination often stems from emotional and cognitive processes - including fear of failure, perfectionism, low confidence, or difficulty regulating emotions - rather than laziness alone. In our chat, Fuschia shares how delaying tasks can temporarily reduce discomfort while reinforcing a cycle that makes future action even harder. So interesting! Enjoy.

This was a fun chat with Dr. Lillian, where we explored the variables of human connection, building rapport, trust and functional relationships in different settings, situations and contexts. How can we consciously build connection with people that we don’t have a natural connection with? What are the attributes, skills and qualities of people who consistently find a way to build great connection with anyone, anywhere, anytime? And what determines a healthy friendship? Enjoy.

Adapt or die; it’s the evolutionary requirement for the survival of any species isn’t it? And on a far less dramatic note, it’s also a prerequisite for you and I to flourish, prosper and succeed in our day-to-day lives. We live in a world that is in a constant state of shift and change and being incapable of adaptation in such a dynamic environment is a recipe for frustration, stagnation and failure. This time around Tiff and I wax lyrical about our triumphs and failures while doing our best to adapt and evolve when the goal, situation and circumstance require it.

For no particular reason, TYP and Gillespo have not been in the same room for a while but finally, the gang is back together. This is a slightly longer than normal chat (for us) and we covered some really interesting topics, including why Meta forked out $18 billion to avoid going to court, why behavioural addictions and drug addictions are kind-of the same, gamers becoming air traffic controllers (not even a joke), using AI without destroying your brain and why David’s favourite “country” is the Sunshine Coast. This was one of the more fun episodes with Tiff joining in the mayhem. Enjoy.

In Australia, Benjamin Siong is at the pointy end of fitness, strength, health, high-performance, education and human optimisation (my words, not his) and I valued the opportunity to chat with somebody with so much knowledge, experience and passion for helping people explore and fulfil their potential. Ben is the founder of LEARNASP, an international education platform redefining how trainers turn knowledge into real-world results. With an Honours degree in Applied Science, majoring in Psychology, Ben's approach to body composition, nutrition and performance is underpinned by behavioural psychology. Ben has spent more than two decades coaching and educating, working with elite athletes across 16+ sports, champion bodybuilders, fitness models and pageant winners. Today, through LEARNASP, he educates trainers across more than 15 countries to think critically, coach the individual, influence behaviour and turn science into results.

This might be my favourite episode of the year. Inspirational, educational and at times, confronting. I loved this chat. *Professor Munjed Al Muderis is an internationally recognised orthopaedic surgeon, humanitarian, author and pioneer in osseointegration surgery. Born in Iraq, he fled Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1999 after refusing an order to mutilate army deserters, eventually arriving in Australia as a refugee and spending ten months in immigration detention. He went on to become a leading orthopaedic surgeon, developing innovative techniques and implants that allow prosthetic limbs to connect directly to bone. A Clinical Professor at Macquarie University, Munjed has performed surgery and humanitarian work around the world. He was named the 2020 NSW Australian of the Year.

In the context of my last few months, this was an interesting conversation to have with Professor Tarvez Tucker, whose latest book “The Brain at Twilight: The Neuroscience of Our Last Words and Moments” explores the science of what happens in the brain as we approach death. Among many other things, we spoke about my dad‘s final words. It sounds like it might be a tough listen but it is actually quite fascinating. Enjoy. 

What should and shouldn’t we expect of others? If anything? Do we expect others to be how we want them to be? Or do we expect them to be what they’ve been the last hundred times? And while we’re at it, what do we expect of ourselves? Other than expectations, Bobby and I spoke about positive and negative drivers (moving away from the thing we don’t want, moving towards the thing we do want), the confusion around values and purpose, the overuse of self-help cliche’s, motivation as a driver versus motivation as an emotional state and plenty more. Enjoy.

Prof. Gordon Parker was almost too smart for me to interview. Nonetheless, I gave it a crack and we covered some hefty subject matter and explored a few things on the lighter side, like Crapsules. And yes, they are actually what they sound like. Enjoy your breakfast. The good Prof. is one of Australia’s most distinguished and respected psychiatrists and mental health researchers who has published more than 1,000 scientific papers, written 23 books, is the founder of the Black Dog Institute and is an Order of Australia medal recipient (OAM). He’s also a ripper Bloke and I enjoyed our conversation.

What role does genetics, upbringing, culture, experiences, environment and social context have on the way we think, behave and treat others? Is free will real or an illusion? To what extent can science and religion coexist harmoniously and even agree? Are doctors and scientists less respected than they were 20 years ago? And if so, why? Are we getting our information from credible sources? And is our information actually information, or is it marketing? This was a fun chat with Dr. Bill. Enjoy.

Dr. Sam Casey is back at TYP Central chatting with me about how kids and their grown-ups work. Always an interesting chat.

Patrick is back at the TYP desk and this time we diverge from the typical tech conversation and find ourselves ruminating on all things psychology, emotions, sociology, human behaviour and a modicum of tech, just so he doesn’t feel totally redundant. LOL. Enjoy.

The psychology of value, or perhaps more accurately ‘perceived value’ has been a curiosity of mine for years. Why would somebody pay $10,000 for a handbag? Is it 50 times better than the $200 handbag? Why would somebody happily pay $500 for a training session (it’s more common than you think) but complain about a $7 coffee? Why would somebody pay $1 million for a car that does pretty much the same thing as $50,000 car? And costs 40 grand for a service! Why does art from a world famous artist fail to sell for a tiny percentage of the actual price when it is placed in a context that people don’t expect to see it in? In this episode, Bobby and I explore all this and more. Enjoy.

Wow this was interesting. In nine years of the podcast, we have never had a conversation about guilt. And this was an eye-opener. Dr Jennifer Reid is a board-certified psychiatrist, author and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Columbia-educated and UCLA-trained, her work focuses particularly on women’s mental health, mood disorders and the psychology of guilt. She is the author of Guilt Free: Reclaiming Your Life from Unreasonable Expectations, which explores how perfectionism, over-responsibility and unrealistic expectations can turn guilt from a useful moral emotion into a chronic psychological burden. Enjoy.

This was a highly informative, educational and eye-opening conversation with a brilliant woman who is a world leader in her field. Professor Jayashri Kulkarni AM is a psychiatrist, researcher and Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University, internationally recognised for her work in women’s mental health. A pioneer in psychoneuroendocrinology, her research explores how reproductive hormones influence the brain, mood and mental illness across menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause. With more than three decades in psychiatry, Jayashri has challenged traditional approaches to women’s mental health and helped reshape how biological, psychological and social factors are understood and treated. HER Centre Australia Multidisciplinary Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc)

This episode with Tiff and Bobby was another unfiltered, unplanned, hold onto your seat, dive into the human experience. If you’re not partial to the freestyle ramble don’t listen to this.

Dr. Olivia Ong is a Melbourne-based rehabilitation and pain medicine physician, author and speaker whose personal story has profoundly shaped her career. In 2008, while working as a young doctor, Olivia was struck by a car in a hospital car park, sustaining a spinal cord injury that left her paraplegic. Told she may never walk again, she underwent years of rehabilitation, including treatment in the United States, eventually regaining the ability to walk and returning to medicine. Today, Olivia combines clinical expertise and lived experience to explore chronic pain, resilience, burnout, self-compassion and recovery. Her memoir, Back on My Feet, was published in 2026. This was interesting, inspiring and funny. Loved it.

Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath is a Harvard-trained neuro-scientist and educator specialising in how the brain learns. As director of LME Global, he has worked with schools, universities, and governments across 30+ countries, and is recognised as one of the leading voices on learning and cognition in the digital age. He has published six books, over sixty research articles, and has been featured on CNN, the BBC, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Free Press, C-Span and now, the pinnacle of his media career, an appearance on TYP (lol). I loved this chat. The Doc’s new book is called The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Children’s Learning - and How to Help Them Thrive Again.

Medicine, meditation, punching sharks, elite athletes, self-healing, placebo’s, Sandman panelvans, great sporting comebacks, fighting cancer, the best all round sport for physical conditioning, ocean therapy, strength training as a cancer treatment, psychedelic therapy and lots more. Tim Baker is an awesome communicator, pracademic, storyteller and giver of hope. It’s podcasts like this that I enjoy listening to most.

So the new glasses that can video record people without them knowing, seem to be drawing a lot of attention, conversation and debate. Understandably. Having said that, they do have some legit and positive applications, depending on the context, purpose and situation. Like all technology, there’s responsible use and irresponsible use. I guess the challenge is to somehow regulate the use of these tools that can both improve lives, and destroy them. Of course we spoke about many other things and of course, there was a lot of inappropriate bullshit in the middle of it all. And may I say in my defence (your honour), that for once, I wasn’t the lead troublemaker.

Tiff, Bobby and myself all coach people in various capacities, different contexts and for different reasons. But what is it that makes somebody a good coach? How much of it is about knowledge? How much of it is about personality? Social skills? Emotional intelligence? Self-awareness? Situational-awareness? Qualifications? I’m often asked about what’s required to become a successful coach in the avalanche of coaches we have putting up their hand in 2026. This is a chat about that. Enjoy.

I loved this chat with Professor Adam Kucharski, although recording it in the evening probably wasn’t the optimal time for my brain (LOL). *BIO: Professor Adam Kucharski is a mathematician, epidemiologist and award-winning science writer at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. His research uses mathematics and data to understand how infectious diseases spread and how outbreaks can be predicted and controlled. He has advised governments and health agencies around the world and played a significant role in analysing the COVID-19 pandemic. Adam is also the bestselling author of The Rules of Contagion, The Perfect Bet, and his latest book, Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty.

Dr. Cam is back at TYP and this time we chat about the powerful relationship between our mind and our outcomes. We speak about the role of mindset and performance in relation to sport and more broadly, life. We explore the habit we humans have of creating and obsessing about problems that don’t exist and the equally self-limiting habit we have of ignoring the problems that do (exist). We talk about blame, constructive feedback, owning up to our BS and our capacity to build a personal prison, composed of flawed beliefs, self-limiting thinking, self-doubt and a bunch of other fear-based emotions. Enjoy.

So many claims, so many counter-claims, so many sales pitches, so much information and misinformation, so much emotion and pseudoscience, but what is real and what is not? While this episode is not the “gospel of peptides” according to Saint Jeff, it is an interesting and educated conversation with a medical Doctor (and Neurosurgeon) who currently works at the coalface of integrative medicine. As I say on repeat, our chat is not a personal recommendation or prescription, it’s a thoughtful exploration into a topic that’s getting lots of attention for all the right and wrong reasons. Enjoy.

Exercise Physiologist, Dietician, Entrepreneur and Educator Kate Save and I had a fun time agreeing and disagreeing on the current state of affairs in Australia, when it comes to all things health, wellness, marketing, education and longevity. We even came up with a couple of ideas that could become real-life somethings, not just theoretical conversation pieces on a podcast. We might need a bit of help getting them off the ground, but at least the wheels are turning. This was fun. I loved it.

Dr. Özgür Bolat is a Turkish educator, author and researcher specialising in learning, motivation, parenting and human development. With an academic background that includes study at Harvard University and a doctorate in education from the University of Cambridge, he has become a prominent voice on how children and adults develop confidence, curiosity and intrinsic motivation. Among other things, in this episode we chat about his new book The Reward Trap and why rewards and praise may not always produce the best parenting outcomes. Enjoy.

Tune the-f*ck in, this is a goodie. I love chatting with people who question the status quo in their field, who challenge convention, who think outside the box and who do so with intelligence, integrity, compassion (for patients) and courage (it’s not a great way to gain popularity). Dr Matt Bernstein is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and one of the leading voices in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. With more than 25 years of clinical experience, he has held senior roles at McLean Hospital and is Chief Medical Officer at Ellenhorn and CEO of Accord. His work explores how metabolism, nutrition, exercise, sleep and therapeutic ketosis can influence brain function and mental health, particularly in conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Not surprisingly, I loved this chat.

This was one of my favourite chats this year. Two blokes throwing the vulnerability door wide open and it’s fair to say we went deep. I’m won’t say too much because I don’t want to ruin the listening experience but it’s fair to say that some of you will love it. You know when you don’t know what to expect from people and then you get pleasantly surprised? Well, this episode was one of those times. Enjoy.

Who are we? Why are we the way we are? How do we see us? How do others see us? Where does our sense of self come from? What is our identity? And did we create it or did it create us? Do we conform to it, or does it emerge as a byproduct of what we do, why we do it, and how we do it? Bobby, Tiff and I took a stroll through these questions and more in this somewhat reflective and philosophical instalment of TYP.

Understandably, there’s a growing concern that AI could be the beginning of the end for our cognitive function, creativity, and IQ. My opinion is that we shouldn’t worry but we should be cautious and aware. There’s a big distinction between using AI to outsource our thinking and using it as a collaborative tool (one that’s in our control, not the other way round) to improve performance, efficiency and outcomes in different, contexts, tasks and capacities. We explore this and lots more in this instalment TYP.

It seems that people are becoming addicted to more and more things. But are they actual addictions in the context of some of the more recognisable and familiar addictions (drugs, booze, gambling, porn)? Or, are they ‘mere’ obsessions, compulsions or disorders that also lead to poor, and sometimes devastating, personal outcomes? Is there a line? If so, what is it, and where is it? This is a complicated topic and conversation, but at the very least, we had an interesting chat about it. Enjoy.

Gillespo is back on deck following a brief TYP sabbatical and this time he is exposing the truth about one of the biggest medical issues in Australia; kidney disease. I won’t spoil the story but I will tell you that fructose is not your friend. Enjoy.

This episode is all about body awareness, mind awareness (metacognition), creating a personal operating system, the space between discipline and obsession, self-regulation and self-actualisation (becoming who and how we want to be), owning up to our BS without the self-condemnation and lots more. Enjoy.

We’ve done a few Q&A sessions before, but this might just be my favourite. We explored vast territory with a lot of great and diverse questions from you, our listeners. A quick snapshot of what we covered.. If my self-perception changed doing a PhD. Music and emotions. My advice on supporting our much-loved oldies. Voluntary assisted dying. My diet. Dealing with dad‘s death. Self talk. Asymmetrical bodies. Who inspires me. What shapes us to be who we are. Nervous system regulation. And lots more. And yes, this is a two part-er. 

We’ve done a few Q&A sessions before, but this might just be my favourite. We explored vast territory with a lot of great and diverse questions from you, our listeners. A quick snapshot of what we covered.. If my self-perception changed doing a PhD. Music and emotions. My advice on supporting our much-loved oldies. Voluntary assisted dying. My diet. Dealing with dad‘s death. Self talk. Asymmetrical bodies. Who inspires me. What shapes us to be who we are. Nervous system regulation. And lots more. And yes, this is a two part-er. 

This time around, Dr Bill and I discuss ancient wisdom that is as relevant and powerful today as it was millennia ago. We talk about some of the core ideas, messages, stories and lessons taught by the Stoics before the apostles were playing beach volleyball and how they (the Stoics) were the psychologists, sociologists and human behaviour experts, of the day. It appears the world has changed a lot, but we have not. Many of the same issues, challenges and problems remain. That is, all the human stuff. Enjoy.

Well, it’s been a while but I’m back in the TYP Studio to get the wheels turning again. A little two week unplanned sabbatical for very grown-up reasons, but I’m excited about what’s coming up over the next thousand episodes (LOL). In this episode, I explore the idea of chasing things that we want, but don’t necessarily need, and the psychology behind this endless pursuit of things that we convince ourselves are super important. In many ways, it’s me thinking out loud about the interesting beliefs we have about what will make us feel calm, content, happy, satisfied, safe and successful.

So many people spend so much time talking about starting, while never really truly starting. And when I say starting, I mean properly starting. As in, diving into the project or process fully committed to do the work (and not to stop), no matter what. So many ideas, plans, intentions and conversations about things that never actually get done. Always going to do it, but not now. Soon. One day. The mystical magical day that never comes. This chat with Tiff is about why we avoid starting, why we avoid commitment, why we avoid doing the actual consistent work, and what we might do in order to get out of that holding pattern and become the person who both starts and finishes. Enjoy.

Our favourite geek is back at TYP, and along with Tiff we dive into AI, digital interactivity, audiobooks (including fiction) that you can ask questions as you read, cyber security and surveillance, automotive technology and safety, consumer electronics and why many electric cars could be the end of you, if you find yourself off the road and in a body of water. If you are familiar with these episodes, you won’t be surprised when I tell you there are some mildly (?) inappropriate conversational detours taken along the way. I blame Patrick. Of course I do. Enjoy.

Not unlike most episodes with Bobby and Tiff, this one meandered away from the core topic and back, but much of the conversation was exploring what I call ‘The Awareness Pyramid’ - a kind of summary of what I’ve been working on for the last six and a half years in my PhD. Enjoy.

Dr. Ezekiel "Zeke" Emanuel is one of the world's most respected physician-philosophers. He's an oncologist, bioethicist, health policy expert, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His work sits at the intersection of medicine, ethics, public policy, and healthcare reform. Zeke has a MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in political philosophy from Harvard University. He also earned an MSc in biochemistry from University of Oxford and a BA in chemistry from Amherst College. It was great to sit down with one of the most respected researchers and academics in the world. I really enjoyed my time with the Doc, and while we agreed on nearly everything, we did diverge on one or two things but of course we did; we’re two humans. Enjoy!