Journalist, author and academic Stan Grant joins Talal Yassine for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about identity, faith, and the cost of speaking out.

From a childhood of poverty and constant movement across rural New South Wales, to interviewing world leaders and reporting from some of the globe’s most dangerous conflict zones, Stan’s story is one of resilience, grit, and unflinching honesty. He opens up about growing up Wiradjuri, the hard love of his father, and the strength of family that carried him through homelessness and hardship.

Stan reflects on his meteoric rise through journalism, the toll of frontline reporting, and the burden of being one of Australia’s most visible Indigenous voices. He speaks candidly about racism, burnout, and his controversial departure from the ABC, but also about the things that sustain him: faith, philosophy, music, and the enduring power of love.

This episode moves between the personal and the profound, from childhood memories tied to songs on a transistor radio, to the philosophy of history and modernity, and finally his vision for a more generous Australia rooted in respect and hope.

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Episode Running Order

• Opening: The art of conversation vs. interview (00:00)
• Earliest memories: music, hats and a travelling childhood (04:00)
• Life on the move: cars, caravans and sawmills (09:00)
• Hard love, resilience and lessons from his father (15:00)
• The wider family and responsibility beyond his years (20:00)
• Discovering books, philosophy and a world beyond poverty (25:00)
• From mail boy to university: the turning point (32:00)
• Breaking into journalism: copy boy, cadetship and the fast rise (38:00)
• Reporting Canberra politics and hosting prime-time TV by 27 (45:00)
• CNN years: the world stage, conflict zones and PTSD (50:00)
• Returning home: ABC, Sky and disillusionment with hosting roles (58:00)
• Family life: meeting Tracey, raising four children and following bliss (1:05:00)
• Race, identity and the unfinished business of Australia (1:12:00)
• Faith, philosophy and the last sigh of Christ (1:18:00)
• Yindyamarra Trust: giving, love and building respect (1:25:00)
• Quickfire round: misconceptions, guilty pleasures, advice to young Stan (1:28:00)