Human Cogs Podcast

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 - physics, philosophy and theology.

Stan says since the Voice to Parliament Referendum he’s been taking time to take stock, that he’s done too much time plucking the wings off butterflies - and that right now he’d rather write beauty into the world.

So he’s been working on a new book that is a meditation on time, on God, on the temporal nature of our being and on the complex state of our modern world.

There is plenty for Stan to sit with and sort through right now.

As a journalist and correspondent who covered war for 40 years, he's seen the worst of what we can do to each other but he has also seen love endure in the most Godforsaken of places. So he knows first-hand the paradoxical contradictions of what it means to be a human in a world like ours.

Stan believes it's essential we all have something bigger than ourselves to believe in because if the human being is the limit, then we will only see the limits of the human.

And in a world so often consumed by the chaos of modernity, ongoing conflicts and the binaries of identity, Stan Grant is keenly focussed these days on kindling what we share rather than what divides us for, as Franz Kafka said, identity is a cage in search of a bird.

I'd love you to listen to this episode of Human Cogs podcast as we journey with Stan through his rivers and eddies of thought, where philosophy, theology and the mystical realm converge to offer a deeper understanding of Stan Grant the mortal, what might lie beyond this life, and how we humans can all - somehow - someday - find our place in the untold cosmos.

Guest:Stan Grant, Award-winning Journalist, Author, Writer, Poet and Vice Chancellor's Chair of Australian-Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University.
Host:Madeleine Hanger (Grummet)
Producer:Audio Superstar Daryl Missen

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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 attended countless retreats in Australia and overseas, and every time I have made one or two changes that have catalysed bigger shifts in my life. I believe we need to update our beliefs that retreats are somewhere “broken” people go, and replace them with the idea that retreats provide an environment with all the ideal ingredients that help set us up for tuning into our own innate sense of knowing and wisdom that have the potential to invite us back to a sense of wholeness, rest and repair – emotionally, physically, psychologically and mentally.

In 2023, I spent six life changing days at Aro Hā Health Retreat in the glorious New Zealand mountains near Queenstown. In this episode, we are joined by Aro Hā’s co-founder and glorious human, Damian Chaparro. He shares the philosophy embedded in the program at Aro Hā as well as what a typical week looks like for guests. Damian shares his own younger year experiences of working tirelessly in an IT job with all the financial trappings, and too much alcohol, minus the meaning and fulfillment. And how as a life-long learner he continues to find ways to acknowledge all the parts that show up in him and how he has learned to listen to self and others with curiosity and acceptance.

We discuss the benefits of fasting, movement, nature and stillness, and what gets in the way of creating sustainable behaviour changes that we desire, yet so often sabotage. Damian also reveals some entertaining and heartfelt stories of connecting with his 80 year old mum after they both shared the plant-based psychedelic, ayahuasca (not at Aro Hā by the way!)

If you’re curious about dialling up wellbeing, or are wondering what a health retreat might be like for you, or if your body, mind and soul is looking for a reset, then this conversation is for you. I deeply believe the world would be a better place if we all had the opportunity to experience the magic of Aro Hā.  Here’s my chat with Damian.

Website: Aro Ha
Links: Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, 

Hosts:Mads Grummet + Sabina Read
Producer:Audio Superstar Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

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Thanks, as ever, for listening. Be well.
www.humancogs.com

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 over 45 are in fact - men. Yep. NINETY per cent.

Why is that? What’s going on? And how does this skew attitudes and perpetuate gendered inequality in society?

Well our guest today, Jo Stanley, asked herself those questions for years, and is now on a mission to change the stats with the launch of Broad Radio - Australia's first women-centric radio network - connecting women through audio and serving the mostly overlooked five million-strong female audience aged over 35.

Jo Stanley is, of course, no stranger to audio - with a decades-long successful career in breakfast radio including rating number one for six years on Melbourne’s Fox FM, and dominating the top spot at Gold FM alongside her ongoing TV, writing and podcast gigs.

Despite being in the public spotlight and sharing her life with millions of listeners every day, in this conversation Jo shares how the lack of levity in her childhood shaped her, the challenges of living with fear, and how the birth of her daughter taught her what being enough really means. 

Click here to listen to Broad Radio

Guest: Jo Stanley
Links: Facebook, Instagram

Hosts:Mads Grummet + Sabina Read
Producer:Audio Superstar Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

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Thanks, as ever, for listening. Be well.
www.humancogs.com

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 the untold secrets and human essence of things.

Journalist Corrie Perkin was born with stories in her blood. Her father, Graham Perkin - the famed journalist and editor of The Age newspaper - was a story that unfolded before her larger than life, as she grew up on a diet of breaking news, of ink and print, and the daily happenings of the world at large playing out in fervoured conversations at her kitchen table.

But her father’s tragic death when she was aged just 14, set Corrie’s story on a different arc, and changed her life in ways that today are still unfurling. 

In this conversation we talk about grief, how we each make sense of our lived stories, about Corrie’s decades working as a respected journalist, storyteller and champion of novelists and books, and mostly, about why in an increasingly fractured and distracted world, our words really do matter.

Guest:Corrie Perkin, Journalist, Podcaster and Director of the Sorrento Writers Festival
Sorrento Writers Festival:https://sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/
Book tickets:https://sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/artfuel/program
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/sorrentowritersfestival
Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/company/sorrento-writers-festival/
Host:Mads Grummet
Producer:Audio Superstar Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcasts or via ourwebsite where you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo on Instagram@human.cogs

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Thanks, as ever, for listening. Go well. Be well.
www.humancogs.com

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being a young person in your 20s is a complicated and challenging time. Whether you’re living through this decade of your life now, or you’re a parent to a twenty something, you likely already know that the 20s are the most uncertain decade of life.

In this episode, we talk to the always compassionate and wise Dr Meg Jay, a developmental clinical psychologist, who is on faculty at the University of Virginia and maintains a private practice in Charlottesville where she specializes in twentysomethings.

Her first book, The Defining Decade, has sold more than half a million copies, launched one of the most-watched TED talks to date, and is the topic of 13.7 million views on TikTok.

Meg has just released her third book, The Twentysomething Treatment: A revolutionary remedy for an uncertain age, which upends the pathologizing of young adult life and offers practical skills and hope as she normalises the hurdles faced by young people, to help navigate this important time of life.

Meg shares with us why the 20s isn’t a developmental downtime to be pushed to the side, but rather a transformative time that paves the way for decades to come. She shares how small tweaks in our 20s can metamorphosis our careers, mental health, and relationships for the rest of our life.

We also discuss Meg’s fascinating second book, Supernormal: the secret world of the family hero, which details stories of people who have faced adversity in the form of death, divorce, mental illness in a family member, abuse or bullying and who go on to thrive. We deep dive the impact of keeping family pain in the shadows and the power of sharing secrets to help us grow and develop in healthy ways despite the family dynamics we grew up in or the hardships we endured.

Meg’s warmth, insights, knowledge and watertight evidence-based research invite us to rethink our 20s, and understand that this decade won’t be the best years of our life. In fact, she states if your 20s are the best years of your life, something has gone terribly wrong! This is a not to be missed conversation for any parent and any 20 something.

Guest:Dr Meg Jay
Latest book:The Twentysomething Treatment: A revolutionary remedy for an uncertain age
Links: Instagram, LinkedIn,TikTok, X,Threads
Host: Sabina Read
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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Grace Tame is a name that needs little introduction, but that doesn’t mean you know Grace - or indeed her story - on her own terms. 

Catapulted into the spotlight as 'Australian of the Year' in 2021, Grace stepped squarely into the public eye and became a powerful catalyst for a tidal wave of conversation, action and policy change for survivor-victims of sexual abuse across Australia. 

Finally, this was a chance for Grace Tame to find - and use - her voice, after years of shadows and silence.

"Let's make some noise Australia" was her catch cry.

In this honest and at times confronting conversation, Grace shares with us the findings of a new Australian study - the largest of it’s kind in the world - that validates what victim-survivors have been saying for years; that child sexual abuse is a public health issue and the current statistics are shocking.

Child sexual abuse is widespread in this country. According to the study, one in six (15.1%) Australian men report sexual feelings towards children and one in ten (9.4%) Australian men have sexually offended against children. 

Grace calls for policy change and accountability for the big tech giants who continue to allow online access to child sexual abuse material on their sites, and for intensive education so grooming is implicitly understood by children, parents and bystanders - which means all of us. 

Like every human on earth, Grace is a work in progress, and is still coming to terms with her experiences of instability, uncertainty and trauma. But she is powerfully reclaiming her narrative by ceding control as an adult in charge of the story of her life. And in Grace’s words: “Peace is not freedom from pain; it is the acceptance of it.” 

WARNING:This episode is about child sexual abuse, and may be disturbing to some listeners. Please use discretion when considering listening to this episode, and if you do need support please contact Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or 1800 RESPECT.

Guest:Grace Tame
Book:The Ninth Life Of A Diamond Miner
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tamepunk/
Grace Tame Foundation:https://www.instagram.com/gracetamefoundation/

Hosts:Mads Grummet + Sabina Read
Producer:Audio Superstar Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo on Instagram@human.cogs

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Thanks, as ever, for listening. Be well.
www.humancogs.com

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the Summer I spent countless hours deep in the pages of a remarkable book called Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. The book is written by the very entertaining scholar, researcher and poet Cat Bohannon, and it's making very big waves across the world right now.

The book is an epic story and sweeping scientific exploration that starts with mammals 200 million years ago and moves forward through time, to fundamentally challenge the real origin of our mammalian species. In fact, in this book, Cat Bohannon completely rethinks human history, and offers a necessary myth-busting, landmark corrective about how humans have really evolved.

It took Cat 10 years to write this book: it is exhaustively researched but beautifully readable, and is densely packed with astonishing facts and revelations about how the female body came to be, why the size of male balls influences monogamy, why wet nurses in ancient cities catalyzed explosive population growth, and why modern medicine needs to stop the default to the male as the norm.

This conversation touches on all of that, and much much more, and it will completely change what you think you know about human evolution, the design wonders of the female body plan, and why Homo Sapiens have become a dominant species on our pale blue planet.

A warning that we talk about vaginas and sex and balls and swear in this episode, and also that you’ll need to strap on your big brain for this listen, and get ready to learn a lot, because this conversation will literally blow your mammalian mind.

Guest:Cat Bohannon
Book: Eve:How the female body drove 200 million years of evolution

Host:Mads Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo on Instagram@human.cogs

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Thanks, as ever, for listening.
www.humancogs.com

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you google Catherine Mahoney, the first thing it says is Andrew John’s ex-wife. But as I know nothing about the NRL or his career as one of Australia’s biggest sports stars, this isn’t what led me to invite Cath to join us on Human Cogs.

Cath is an ex-publicist, writer, podcaster, talented creative, and had me rollicking on the floor with laughter when we first met two years ago. Her warm, funny and relatable 2022 memoir Currently Between Husbands tells the story of her marriage and separation to Andrew as well the relationship insights gleaned before and after her relationship with Andrew.

As a self-confessed over-sharer, not much is off the table.  In this conversation, Cath reflects how being a people pleaser has helped and hindered her personally and professionally. How being separated and divorced is both challenging and also freeing.

She also shares some of the top tips she has gleaned from interviewing over 150 guests on her fabulous podcast So I Quit My Day Job, where she talks with career changes and how they made the leap.

Cath reminds us that being yourself and being at ease in your own skin is the best roadmap to follow. She also acknowledges that this is hard when we are drawn off course by the needs and expectations of others; and perhaps fear of judgement or failure too.

She’s Currently Between Husbands, and yet she’s so much more than that… here’s my chat with always delightful and witty Cath.

Guest:Cathrine Mahoney
Book:Currently Between Husbands
Follow:Instagram, Podcasts

Host:Mads Grummet + Sabina Read
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join the discussion at Instagram@human.cogs

We do this for love. But we'd love you to support our show!
Please follow us on the podcast platforms or leave us a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How are you going with the state of the world right now?

Wars and violence continue to rage, hate and abuse fill social media feeds, and an escalation of ideological conflict is causing uncertainty and division in our politics, in our communities and at our dinner tables.

It can make you lose a little faith in the world ... wonder if humanity will be ok, whether we can actually save ourselves from ourselves.

Until you remember that there are stories of hope and love and life and survival everywhere, if you make the time to seek them out.

Today’s episode is a story that will restore your faith, and fill your cup.

It’s the unforgettable story of Mira Unreich, who one fine Spring day in 1945, was freed from a concentration camp in Germany, and found herself alive, under blue skies, against all odds. She’d survived four death camps, including Auschwitz, and a death march. 

And in the decades that followed her release, she never explained the mystery underpinning her extraordinary survival, and why the holocaust’s greatest lesson for her - despite unimaginable horror - was experiencing the innate "goodness of people".

When Mira’s journalist daughter, Rachelle Unreich, many decades later, realised time was running out for her mother who was in her final weeks of terminal cancer, she decided to sit down and finally ask her some questions. 

It would be the most important interview of her life: a chance to discover the secret to her mother’s boundless optimism, the sliding doors of fate and chance, how love and grief can run as deep as the years, and how the past and present weave a powerful and indelible connection between a mother and child, even when they’re gone.

Heartfelt thanks to Rachelle - and of course to Mira - for sharing this remarkable story.

We hope this episode leaves you all feeling a little better about the world right now. 

Guest:Rachelle Unreich
Book:A Brilliant Life: My Mother's Inspiring Story of Surviving the Holocaust

Host:Mads Grummet + Sabina Read
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join the discussion at Instagram@human.cogs

We do this for love. But we'd love you to support our show!
Please follow us on the podcast platforms or leave us a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

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Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

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“Affairs are a little like childbirth. Someone is always having one somewhere, usually right under the nose of a spouse because nobody knows everything that happens inside a marriage, not even the people in it.” 

Award-winning author and journalist Kate Legge has chronicled social and political affairs and other people’s stories since the 1980s. But Kate’s latest book - an unflinchingly honest and raw memoir called 'Infidelity and Other Affairs' - explores her own story and the tumult that took hold when her husband’s serial cheating upended her life, decades-long marriage and entire sense of self.

Kate’s story and that of her complex family of origin are compelling, and in this episode of Human Cogs she details her hurt, fury, agony and the eventual forgiveness and understanding she developed for her husband in the face of his betrayal and deceit. To this day, they remain firm friends.

As Kate writes: “Affairs create their own weather systems. They leap fences like wildfires and give reason the flick, and in the aftermath there is a bill of claims and damages to be logged. We are drawn to broken glass, like ghouls guiltily feasting on the drama. The hurt, the highs, the hubris, the audacity, the anguish jolts us out of complacency.”

Listen to this if you want to go deep into the complexities of marital infidelity, understand how our families of origin shape and scar us, and discover how the getting of wisdom is mostly got along the rutted roads and blind turns of our very messy human lives.

Guest: Kate Legge
Book:Infidelity and Other Affairs by Kate Legge 

Host:Mads Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join the discussion at Instagram@human.cogs

We do this for love. But we'd love you to support our show!
Please follow us on the podcast platforms or leave us a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re all familiar with the idea of mindfulness and leadership and most of us would have some preconceived ideas about what each of these terms mean. So what happens when the two constructs collide at the deepest level? And what does mindful leadership mean for the leader, the team, the organisation and the bottom line?

Michael Bunting is a keynote speaker, best-selling author, researcher, facilitator and co-founder of the Awakened Mind app. As the co-founder of global consultancy, The Mindful Leader, he is committed to changing lives through leadership, team and culture transformation. 

And it’s clear Michael is a man who walks the talk. He has been meditating for 32 years, and just recently completed 126 hours of meditation in 2 weeks. That’s 9 hours a day for 2 weeks!

In this conversation, we share Michael’s personal story of financial challenges, divorce, the impacts of the GFC, and what amounted to a long dark night of the soul leaving him in tears every day for 2 years. 

With his ever-developing curiosity, commitment, and compassion, Michael went on to support his two now adult children to thrive, wrote four books, remarried, and had two more children. 

We traverse topics from change, pain, performance, growth and the power of course correcting even when it feels clunky. And we touch on how even the breathe can sometimes be used to numb our struggles.

Guest: Michael Bunting
Website: The Mindful Leader | Awakened Mind
Host:Sabina Read
Producer:Daryl Missen

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Human Cogs Podcast
Hosts:Sabina Read andMads Grummet

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram@human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
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Over recent weeks we’ve all watched and listened to the debate over 'The Voice to Parliament' play out in the media, at dinner tables and in the public sphere.

Conversations have caught fire and it seems that a lot of confusion has got in the way of the facts. 

This is partly because right-wing hardliners have deliberately launched misinformation and disinformation to seed fear, cloud issues and inflame political debate. But also because many people are saying they don’t really know what the proposed Voice to parliament and constitutional recognition actually mean, and what it will mean for Australia going forward …

And yet, how many people - including you - are actively taking responsibility to seek out facts, stay informed and educate yourself about the Voice?

The referendum date is set for October 14.

The Voice would enshrine in the nation’s constitution a mechanism for a group of Indigenous representatives to offer advice to the Executive Government and Parliament on matters and issues affecting the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Embedding the Voice in the constitution would also finally recognise the incredibly special place First Nations people have in Australian history.

The Voice would be an advisory body designed to improve outcomes in health, education and wellbeing. Important to note here is that this advisory body would NOT have the power to veto laws.

As a journalist I understand and am committed to platforming many different points of view.

But as a person committed to equal opportunity and fairness, improving outcomes for indigenous people who are - proportionally - the most incarcerated people on the planet by percentage of their population, the most disadvantaged ethnic group in Australia and a people who have an life expectancy of nearly eight years shorter than other Australian men and women, I personally think this referendum is a once in a generation chance to bring our country together.

I asked Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo to join us on Human Cogs to have an open conversation about what the Voice to parliament means, and why it will play an important role in Australia’s future.

Mayo is a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man, the Assistant National Secretary of the MUA, a signatory of the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ and he sits on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Referendum Working Group, which drafted the referendum question.

Mayo has recently co-written a book with acclaimed journalist Kerry O’Brien called 'The Voice to Parliament Handbook', to equip Australians with balanced and fair information about the Voice.

No matter your view, I encourage you to listen to this conversation and make it your responsibility to make an informed decision when you step up to vote on October 14.

It is the least you can do for democracy - and for the future of our country.

APOLOGIES:Wifi was against us on the day of recording so please bear with the very ordinary sound quality. We promise it does get better as the conversation goes on! 

Guest: Thomas Mayo
Website:https://www.thomasmayo.com.au/
The Voice To Parliament Handbook: https://lnk.to/thevoicetoparliamentbook
Host:Mads Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Show Notes:
Read the Australian Government Referendum Question and Constitutional Amendment: https://voice.gov.au/referendum-2023/referendum-question-and-constitutional-amendment

What is The Voice? https://voice.gov.au/

National Indigenous Australians Agency: https://www.niaa.gov.au/

The Voice To Parliament Handbook: https://lnk.to/thevoicetoparliamentbook

Yes23: https://www.yes23.com.au/

________________________________________________

Human Cogs Podcast
Hosts:Sabina Read andMads Grummet

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previousguests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram@human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A quick google search shows that almost 8 hundred million people have searched for the term resilience and close to 5 hundred million have searched for the term grief. However, far less frequently, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, have the two concepts collided.

Dr Lucy Hone is a best-selling author, speaker and award-winning academic researcher with a gift for translating complex science into practical tools. Regarded as a thought leader in the field of resilience psychology, tragic circumstances forced Lucy to focus more closely on grief when her 12-year-old daughter Abi was killed in a horrific motor accident in 2014.

Her TED talk, 3 Secrets of Resilient People, was one of the Top 20 most watched TED talks of 2020. And her wisdom can now be found on Insight Timer as well as through her cohort-based and online courses run through the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience.

Her recently updated and revised edition of her book, Resilient Grieving, offers readers practical and compassionate strategies and insights to cope with loss. 

In this conversation with Sabina, Lucy shares how she sought to apply her own deep knowledge in resilience to her very personal story of grief. We traverse many topics from motherhood and marriage to career change and empty nesting. And of course loss -- in its many shapes and forms that inevitably touch us all.

Lucy somehow seems to balance a powerful mix of authenticity, vulnerability, wisdom and knowledge alongside her own kaleidoscope of honest and raw emotions ranging from unbearable pain to finding joy again. With warmth and hope, she reminds us that we can both grieve and live.

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Guest: Dr Lucy Hone
Links: Coping with Loss, TED Talk, Resilient Grieving
Socials: Instagram, LinkedIn
Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kerri Sackville is a writer and columnist for Sunday Life magazine in The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. She’s also the author of five books, including her most recent, The Secret Life of You – How a Bit of Alone Time Can Change your Life, Relationships, and Maybe the World! 

Now, those listeners who know me well, know that even though I’m endlessly curious, I am not a voracious reader of books, and although I own thousands of books I’m more of a skim reader than a cover-to-cover gal. 

So I even surprised myself when I deep-dived into Kerri’s latest book, and found myself highlighting like a kinder kid who’s drunk too much red cordial!

In this conversation, Kerri explains that while we want and crave solitude, we avoid it like the plague, and when we do have alone time, we often fill the space with distractions including other people, or technology, work, or TV rather than becoming more deeply acquainted with ourselves. 

In this illuminating and perhaps at times, confronting chat (confronting because truth bells were ringing for this pod-host), we discussed the oddly non-sensical societal rules of solitude that leave many of us feeling that there while alone time is acceptable in small doses, being in the company of others is often sold to us as the norm and the ideal.

Whether the struggle to sit with solitude relates to our relationship status, patterns of work, family and home set up, expectations, friendship circles, personality style, belief systems, fears, or our social media usage, Kerri shares her own awakenings and the significant benefits of alone time, lamenting that she wished she had turned inwards earlier and not waited until she was single, after her 17 year marriage ended, to figure our who she was!

While we all know that down time is vital and being with ourselves provides a richness like no other, it’s easy to over-ride or avoid this need. Reading Kerri’s book was a slap-in-the-face wake-up-call to me and she adeptly explains why in this illuminating episode.

Here’s my chat with Kerri…

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Guest: Kerri Sackville
Links: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ange Harbinson is an entrepreneur, tech and innovation trailblazer, digital strategist, and lover of all things data! In 2019, when she was still the Managing Director of Thirst Creative, a marketing, design and digital agency she co-founded with her husband, Ange saw a gap in the market for online resources to support people going through separation and divorce, and she cofounded The Separation Guide. 

The Separation Guide is a divorce technology platform designed to make separation and divorce simpler and less stressful by providing resources, guidance, and referrals. Utilising her marketing nous, and passion for social impact, The Separation Guide has already helped close to 300,000 people, and the resources continue to grow.

With approximately 40% of marriages ending in divorce, the ripple effect is wide reaching impacting not only the separating couple but also children, family, and friends as well as the workplace.

I invited Ange on Human Cogs because I have seen friends and clients struggle to navigate the emotional, legal, financial and relational challenges that separation can create, and its clear people are in need of more support and a road map to help them navigate the complexities and pain of separation. 

In this conversation, Ange highlights the four different pathways that can be taken when a couple separates, emphasising the goal to avoid costly court proceedings where possible. She references a podcast available on the site which helps educate parents on how to tell their children they are separating. And she explains some of the impacts of divorce on the workforce including reduced productivity and absenteeism.

This is practical chat that will interest anyone who is thinking about, or in the process of separating. It’s a pragmatic yet hopeful exchange, that I hope will help minimise divorce stigma and shame, and help dial up a sense of agency and empowerment for anyone experiencing the end of a marriage. Here’s my conversation with Ange…

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Guest: Ange Harbinson
Website:The Separation Guide
Links: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube
Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Human Cogs, Sabina speaks with not one, but two guests to better understand the devastating effects that drug use has on the children of drug users, and the cycle of abuse that can repeat if no action is taken.

Prue Mahar shares her story of what unfolded after her sister left behind two young
children following a drug overdose. In addition to Prue’s lived experience and insights, I am also joined by the quietly unstoppable Jane Rowe, founder and CEO of the Mirabel Foundation, a charity that supports vulnerable children whose parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol, or have passed away from their addiction. Jane is the worthy recipient of numerous awards including the Prime Minister's Centenary Medal and an Order of Australia, yet it's the way she inspires hope and kindness every day that is so very inspiring and impactful.

Together, this dynamic duo share the pain, anger, overwhelm, love, hope and commitment associated with the challenges and solutions needed to combat the intergenerational patterns of addiction; and the importance of connections and belonging we all need to do life well.

Mirabel currently supports over 1,900 children and young people, and their kinship carers who are impacted by substance abuse. As a parent, grandparent or sibling, most of us would like to think we would support our children, grandchildren, brothers or sisters if they really needed our help. But it’s hard for many of us to imagine the complexities and joys of raising a niece and nephew in one intergenerational home where a single grandmother, a mum and dad, share the practical, emotional, psychological, financial and educational responsibilities to raise four children – reminding us that it does indeed take a village!

This is much more than a story of kinship care catalysed by addiction. We discuss universal themes including relationships, family dynamics, loss, anger, love, the power of letting go and the need to work together to shape the lives of young and old alike; regardless of whether substance abuse has touched us or not.

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Guest: Jane Rowe and Prue Mahar
Website:Mirabel Foundation
Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

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Jeremy Macvean is a marketing and communications expert who has held senior roles at Clemengers, Young & Rubicam and Austereo among others before deciding he wanted to use his comms expertise and insights for good not evil. This realisation led Jeremy to share his marketing and digital nous with the Royal Women’s Hospital, Peter McCallum Cancer Centre and The Movember Foundation… and in 2019 Jeremy co-founded The Fatherhood, a Dad-focused media platform to shine the light on the importance of fatherhood and to help guide others to thrive and survive in the only job that really counts – fatherhood and parenting.

Along the way, he cites a midlife crisis and a divorce as significant milestones that bought pain and growth. In this chat with Sabina, Jeremy shares the lessons he’s learned along the way to carve out meaningful work, earn a living, and bond deeply with his kids. He shares the most powerful tool he knows to connect with others and what he wishes his now ex-wife knew about the way he thinks and feels today… 4 years since they separated.

It's conversations like this that remind us why Human Cogs exists. If you are searching for work with meaning, or navigating a separation, or wanting to connect more deeply with your kids, or wondering what fatherhood is all about, then this conversation is for you. And if you’d just like to lean in more to others and yourself, then I know you’re going to love Jeremy and his raw curiosity, exploration, warmth, and the ahas he is discovering along the way.

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Guest: Jeremy Macvean
Website: radiate.com.au
Links: LinkedIn, Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

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What do you think are the most important ingredients for a young person to learn and thrive? While we’ve hopefully come a long way since reading, writing and arithmetic topped the list, we wonder how many of you would say that connection, empathy and a sense of agency matter most when it comes to educating young people to step out into the world and be their best selves. 

In this conversation we meet the extraordinary Lael Stone - a Parenting Educator, Speaker for The Resilience Project and TEDx, Author of best-selling book - Raising Resilient and Compassionate Children and the founder of Woodline Primary - an independent school which opened in February 2021 with a novel modern curriculum based on emotional awareness and a key focus on educating the whole child so they learn to deeply know themselves, so they can better navigate the world around them.

Lael shares her incredible and inspiring journey through parenthood, trauma, self-discovery and healing, and how she has utilised her story and teachings to help parents and students alike. She also shares tips on how to manage the mother load to ensure you are prioritising your own self-care and setting boundaries, while also creating space for your kids to step into who they are fully.

And if you think this chat is only about parenting and the failings of the education system, you’d be wrong! There are so many brilliant tips and human insights for how each of us can manage our experiences of trauma, understand and own our stories and learn to truly listen instead of trying to fix.

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Guest: Lael Stone
Website: laelstone.com
Links: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook

Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

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Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might think you know Shaynna Blaze as the vivacious and talented interior designer from TV shows The Block, Selling Houses Australia, Celebrity Apprentice or Country Home Rescue. What you may not know is that Shaynna is also a passionate advocate for women and a social justice campaigner for tackling domestic violence. 

In this conversation, Shaynna shares some of the challenges she faced in her early years as a single mum with a 4 and 5 year old after leaving her first marriage, how she then set her mind and abundant talents to rebuilding her life and a stable future for herself and her children, and where she finds herself now decades later, continuing to create a legacy using her creative skills and public voice to spearhead meaningful change.

Shaynna has been an unstoppable force in her journey as a talented and passionate artist. Her latest project is as the executive producer of The Fort, a new feature film written and co-directed by her children Carly and Jess about one woman’s battle to escape her abusive marriage while attempting to shelter her son from the realities of domestic violence.

Shaynna describes the power of using the arts to hold a mirror up to domestic violence, and to catalyse conversations to bring about much needed change in our societies and ourselves. She invites each of us to look into that mirror, confront the realities of abusive behaviour and find the language to move beyond the fear and speak up.

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Guest: Shaynna Blaze
Website: shaynnablaze.com
Links: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest

Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The word trauma is everywhere, but what does trauma really mean and can we heal and recover from the impact of assault, neglect, coercive control, parentification, bullying, loss, sexual violence, war, accidents or destructive acts of nature?

In this episode, I speak with Dr Ahona Guha, a forensic and clinical psychologist, who is also a survivor of complex trauma herself, as well as the author of new book: Reclaim - understanding complex trauma and those who abuse.

Dr Ahona helps us unpack what big T and little T trauma are, she explains why some people heal from unbearable experiences while others continue to struggle, and she helps us understand why some of us may minimise our own traumas not only to others, but also to ourselves.

Personally, I don’t know a family untouched by trauma and therefore it’s my belief trauma is everyone’s business. Ahona agreed! So whether you are a trauma survivor, a clinician, someone who loves a survivor, or someone seeking to better understand abuse, this chat is for you.

Here’s my hopeful chat with Dr Ahona Guha.

Sabina x

#

Guest: Dr Ahona Guha
Website: www.ahonaguha.com
Instagram: @drahonaguha

Hosts: Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How many people do you know who live with hidden conditions?

You might be surprised to learn that an estimated 30 per cent of the Australian population live with neurodiverse conditions including ADHD and autism.

In fact, new data has revealed the number of prescriptions issued for ADHD has more than doubled over the last decade in Australia, with an increasing number of adults - particularly women - being diagnosed with the condition later in life.

In this conversation we meet the extraordinary and inspirational Anna Oxley Rintoul, host of The Village Lantern Podcast and a 40-something Mum with a diagnosis of ADHD, who is also juggling the joys and challenges of raising three neurodiverse kids.

Anna shares the complexities of navigating the ups and downs of their daily lives, how she has worked to live with the grief of wanting to fit in and be so-called 'normal' in a world of neurotypicals, and the bridges of connection she's built to share both the shadows and unexpected silver linings of the journey so far.

A wealth of knowledge, insights and practical tips, this episode is an important listen for anyone living with or loving someone with neurodiversity or indeed anyone who wants to learn more about its impact on individuals and families.

We thank Anna for her wisdom, honesty and humanity in this chat, and for giving us all a window into her remarkably brave and hard walk through a beautiful "good enough" life.

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Guest:Anna Oxley Rintoul
Podcast:https://thevillagelanternpodcast.com/
Resources and Support:https://takesavillage.com.au/
Instagram: @annaoxrin

Hosts:Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs


We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a very little child, Mariam Issadreamt of traveling to faraway places. What she did not dream is that she would need to flee the horror of Somalia’s civil war on an overcrowded boat to Kenya. Nor did she dream of the violence and bombings she witnessed, or of her beautiful close-knit family being torn apart and displaced to far-flung foreign countries. 

One of those countries was Australia, where Mariam arrived 25 years ago with four young children in tow, and pregnant with her fifth. What she found when she was settled as a refugee in Melbourne, was a culture she did not understand, and a completely different world and way of being.

Now a life coach, author, community builder and educator, Mariam founded #ResilientAspiringWomen in 2012 – a safe space for women to connect and create community – believing that if women can heal themselves from the impacts of patriarchy, the world will also heal.

In this conversation, we meet a wise and reflective Mariam, now an empty nester, divorcee and no longer wearing the hijab that defined her for so long. Mariam shares with us the peace she has found when she sits in the sacred silence where the waters of her two worlds meet, the practices she lives by to ensure she lives and breathes her top three non-negotiable values, and the benefits for all when we take off the masks that disconnect us from ourselves, and from each other.

Above all, Mariam shares her story with deep and abiding gratitude, recognising and celebrating our shared humanity with the beautiful African phrase, "Ubuntu" [I am, because you are].

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Guest:Mariam Issa
Website:www.mariamissa.com.au
Socials:Facebook Instagram

Hosts:Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

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How are you feeling right now? Are you wired? Are you tired? Did you sleep ok last night or are you tossing and turning til dawn?

What about your relationship with your body? Are you fasting? Stressed? Eating meat? Riding sugar highs? Suffering energy lows? And what role are hormones playing in your life day to day? 

In this episode we do a full-sweep health check with Michele Chevally Hedge -  a regular presenter and writer with Mama Mia, Huffington Post and Body&Soul, Nutritional Medicine practitioner, Cure Cancer and Heart Research Institute Ambassador and best-selling international author who consults to leading corporations on optimising well-being and nutrition, and how to change your relationship with food, for good.

Passionate, authentic and bursting with knowledge and advice, Michele is a wealth of information, vitality and inspiration and will leave you thinking about the small and achievable changes you can easily make to sleep better, quit sugar, find joy in food, manage stress and even dial up your sex life! 

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Guest:Michele Chevally Hedge
Website:http://ahealthyview.com/
Socials:Twitter Instagram

Hosts:Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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If your heart had a voice, have you ever wondered what it would say?

Dr Michelle Woolhouse is an author, podcaster and holistic and integrative GP with decades of experience working in the fields of anxiety, stress and burnout.

We first spoke to Michelle in 2020, around the time she hit a wall within herself, which catalysed her decision to step off the high-stress career treadmill she’d been on, and to embark on a deep journey of self-discovery and to get underneath the anxiety that had been ever-present in her life.

This conversation explores what happened when Michelle pushed pause on everything, undertook a holistic reexamination of her life, work and future, and let her heart lead the way. It wasn’t easy. But by trusting her intuition and challenging some of her traditional medical training, Michelle got out of her head and into the wholeness of her body.

Off the back of that powerful and transformative journey, Michelle has written and released a book, The Wonder Within, in which she explores society’s normalisation of stress, unpacks the interconnections of health and healing, and provides a playbook to give us all the skills, knowledge and inspiration to uncover our full selves in order to feel wholly alive. 

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Guest:Michelle Woolhouse
Book:The Wonder Within
Website:The Holistic GP

Hosts:Sabina Read and Mads Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
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Thanks for listening!

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Award-winning documentary maker and author Pete Dickson is no stranger to life’s curved balls.

Childhood illness and a fast-track to an AFL career truncated due to a life-threatening condition were the early harbingers, but the tragic loss of his beloved brother Robert - Australian football identity, reality TV star and filmmaker - and his two young nephews in an accident one ordinary day threw his life into a spin of grief, heart-break, holding on and trying to keep it together when his world was blown apart. 

It’s a human challenge so many of us have sadly had to face. When someone you love dies too soon, how do you honour their legacy but also know how to let them go? How do you find the will to go on when they are gone? And how do you uncouple yourself from their story?

We thank Pete with full hearts for his beautiful sharing and sensitivity in this episode, where he opens up about his journey to the heart of grief’s darkness, and out the other side again.

And while this is Pete’s story, it is also a story of how siblings indelibly shape us, the binds of brotherly love and how you can find yourself again in the face of unimaginable loss.

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Guest:Pete Dickson
Purchase Book: He Was My Brother: The Story Of Rob Dickson And Me

Hosts:Sabina Readand Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave us a quick review.
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Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

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It was the philosopher, Holocaust survivor and author of 'Man's Search for Meaning' Victor Frankl who said: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

The idea links to Epictetus’ Dichotomy of Control, that being that there are multiple things within our sphere of influence we do have the ability to change, but there is also so much of our human experience that sits well outside the realm of our influence, no matter our desires or hopes or striving.

This means that we will all - someday, somehow, without a doubt - suffer deeply. And it is only then that we will be forced to look within and ask more of ourselves so we can both endure and adjust ourselves to carry and ultimately transcend that suffering.

In this space of suffering, are there any opportunities for growth? Can we see positives? Will this increase our resilience? Our compassion? And most importantly, deepen our understanding of what it means to be human in the fullest sense?

In this episode we have the privilege of hearing the incredible and profound story of Dianne Draganovic, who shares her stoic and beautiful journey as a mother of four children - Liliana who died too young, and Bella who was born with Down Syndrome.

Before you listen, please take a few minutes to watch the video via the link below so you can meet Bella and her family, and inhabit her world for a moment. Then please lean in, listen and learn from Dianne whose wisdom, humanity, curiosity and unstoppable crusade to help Bella live her best life is an unforgettable and powerful lesson in stoicism for us all. 

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Guest: Dianne Draganovic

Watch video link of Bella and her family: https://youtu.be/rc652FCw9ls

Hosts:Sabina Readand Madeleine Grummet

Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you! CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify. Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a quick REVIEW.

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Warning: This episode talks about suicide and mental health.

Did you know that suicide is the #1 killer of Aussie men under the age of 45? Every day in Australia, 7 men and 2 women take their lives, and each year across this country, there are 65 thousand attempts of suicide. That’s one every 28 seconds.

These are shocking statistics that media personality Gus Worland knows all too well. When he devastatingly lost his closest friend and mentor to suicide, he decided something had to change.

Gus founded Gotcha4Life, a not-for-profit foundation with a goal of zero suicides, and of taking action by delivering preventative mental health programs that engage, educate and empower local communities. The charity has raised 11 million since it’s inception 5 years ago, and has had far-reaching impact across Australia teaching men how to build their mental fitness, deep human connections and ensure they have a trusted go-to person they can rely on to share the hard stuff of life, even during times that feel unbearably dark.

While you may know Gus as the host of the ABC series Man Up, or as Hugh Jackman’s bestie, or from his many years on breakfast radio on Triple M in Sydney, in this conversation we meet the remarkable man behind the media who is changing and saving lives, one brave Aussie bloke at a time.

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Guest: Gus Worland
Gotcha4Life Foundation
Watch Man Up on ABC iview

Hosts:Sabina Readand Madeleine Grummet

Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a quick review.
It helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you! CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify. Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a quick REVIEW.

Thanks so much for listening!

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How are you feeling as the end of 2022 looms? It's been a big couple of years, hasn't it? Pandemic life has worn us all down a little, anxiety and burnout are widespread and trying to find balance again can be a real challenge for adults, and for kids. 

So in this episode we sat down with Dr Lexi Frydenberg, a pediatrician and educator, Co-Host of the Kids Health Info Podcast and Mum of three who's passionate about family-centered care and the power of human connection to optimise health and well-being.

As a career-driven person from a family of origin that set super high bars for achievement, Lexi knows the lived impact of stress on mind and body, and the need to prioritise radical self-care to save yourself from, well, yourself.

In this conversation Lexi shares the story of her professional journey, from juggling glass balls to suffering a case of burnout to learning how to set clear boundaries to reclaim her health and work-life balance.

Lexi reveals how she uses a process of self-check-ins to ensure that her life and work is both sustainable, and sustaining. Plus shares some amazing tips on how to deeply connect with and set your kids up for success in the fast-paced, addled and complex world we’re living in.

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Episode Web Page

Guest: Dr Lexi Frydenberg
Victorian Children's Clinic

Hosts:Sabina Readand Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

We'd love you to support our show! Please follow us or leave a review.

We will sprinkle you with loving kindness, gushing accolades and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, PLEASE LEAVE US A QUICK REVIEW. It really helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

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Experts say effective communication isn’t just about what you say: it is 50% speaking and 50% listening.

Think about your interactions today.

No doubt you will have countless exchanges with loved ones, colleagues, clients and strangers, but how many times are you actually tuned in and listening deeply to what they say, and what they don’t say? And how many times will you feel truly listened to? 

Oscar Trimboli is a globally renowned deep listening expert, author, host of the Apple award-winning podcast Deep Listening and a sought-after keynote speaker. Along with the Deep Listening Ambassador Community, he is on a quest to create 100 million deep listeners in the world and create lasting change in the leaders and organisations he works with, which include American Express, AstraZeneca, Cisco, Google, HSBC, IAG, Montblanc, PwC, Salesforce and many more.

Oscar has much to teach us all about the difference between listening and hearing, which can radically transform how we engage and connect with our children, partners, parents, colleagues and friends.

This conversation with Oscar literally stopped us in our tracks, inviting us to slow right down, shut up and explore how we both listen. As a result it changed our thinking about the way we sit in conversation with each other, and with our guests on Human Cogs. 

If you’ve ever wondered how you can dial up your listening with the people you love, live or work with to open new ways of thinking, knowing and being, then please make time to really listen to this conversation with Oscar.

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Guest: Oscar Trimboli
Website: oscartrimboli.com

Hosts:Sabina Readand Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

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“I am so acutely aware that little girls born like me don’t sit in rooms with billionaires and don’t help run tech companies. So with the incredible privileges that I have, I don’t know that I can justify doing anything else but trying to make sure that other people have access to those same things."

Meet Aubrey Blanche - an absolute powerhouse and world leader in workplace culture, inclusion and belonging - and the Global Head of Equitable Design and Impact at Culture Amp, one of Australia’s biggest startup success stories. 

In this conversation on Human Cogs, Aubrey courageously and insightfully shares her ‘twisty’ family of origin story, her sense of both grief and hope following her recent diagnosis of bipolar, and her lifelong commitment to dismantling the codified systems and practices that prevent each of us from connecting with others, and sharing our authentic selves at work.

This episode will challenge the way you think about the real story of who you are, and your role in creating a sense of belonging and equity for yourself, and those around you. 

"I’ve been so lucky, but I don’t want people from my community to have to be lucky to have opportunity. I just want them to have it.”

Guest: Aubrey Blanche

Show Links: Aubrey Blanche Twitter Blog Culture Amp

Hosts:Sabina Readand Madeleine Grummet

Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at Instagram @human.cogs

Want to support our show?

We will sprinkle you with loving kindness, gushing accolades and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, PLEASE LEAVE US A QUICK REVIEW. It really helps us get these stories out to more awesome peeps like you!

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When you think about your life, is there a moment that comes to mind which you know changed you indelibly?

Fergus Watts says that moment happened when he was 15 years old, and the legendary AFL footballer and Reach founder Jim Stynes changed his life by unlocking the vulnerability hiding underneath his masculine bravado to finally give him permission to talk about “real stuff”. 

That encounter 21 years ago sparked in Fergus a lifelong commitment to getting the absolute best out of himself, being true to who he really is and making an opportunity of every opportunity.

This has seen him play professional AFL then have his career cut devastatingly short, found a powerhouse marketing agency employing 300 staff across three countries, and in a remarkable full circle, he’s now playing it forward as newly appointed CEO of The Reach Foundation scaling life-changing preventative mental health programs to thousands of young people across Australia.

The path hasn’t always been easy, or linear. But the lessons are loud. 

This conversation will challenge you to think about how to get comfortable with failure, cast off the labels and roles you define yourself by, and undertake the self-discovery required to get to the core of who you really are.

Guest:Fergus Watts

Show Links:The Reach Foundation

Hosts:Sabina Readand Madeleine Grummet

Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?

Join in the convo at insta @human.cogs

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Have you ever wondered how you can use your remaining days on this planet better?

In this episode we explore this question with Dr Amantha Imber, plus unpack stacks of other fascinating, perplexing, super-curly conundrums like: How do high achievers find balance? What does work look like in a post-pandemic world? Can you stop perfectionism? Would you survive “the airport test”? Why are you a people pleaser? And where can you find true love after divorce?

Amantha is the author of best-selling book Time Wise, an organisational psychologist and the founder of global behavioural science consultancy Inventium, which has worked with Google, Apple, Disney, LEGO, Atlassian, CommBank and many others to reinvent the way they work.

In 2021 Amantha won the Thinkers50 Innovation Award and is also the host of the number one ranking business podcast How I Work, which has received 3+ million downloads, and features interviews with the world’s most successful people about their habits, rituals and strategies for using their days better. (It's bloody good. Well worth a listen.)

In this conversation Amantha shares awesome personal and practical tips, from finding the work you love to surviving the wilds of dating after divorce to helping us all rethink how we really use our time. So if you’re looking to say “hell yeah” to a new lease on work or love or using your time wisely, then this episode is for you.

*****

Guest: Amantha Imber
Show Links: Time Wise, How I Work, Inventium

Hosts: Sabina ReadandMadeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsitewhere you can also catch great conversations with previous guests :)

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

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We will sprinkle you with loving kindness, gushing accolades and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it for us, please leave us a REVIEW. It helps us get these stories to more awesome peeps like you!

Thanks for listening!

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the dark days of the pandemic not everyone was baking sourdough. Many women were locked in their homes with people they feared, and psychological, physical, financial and fatal abuse played out behind closed doors with domestic violence continuing to devastate too many lives.

Tarang Chawla is a writer, speaker, anti-violence campaigner and mental health advocate, whose beloved 23-year-old sister Niki was tragically murdered by her partner. 

Niki’s horrific death and inspiring life has become the catalyst for Tarang’s powerful change-making. Named as Young Australian of the Year Finalist, AFL Community Champion Award Winner, India-Australia Young Community Achiever of the Year, and Pro Bono Top 25 Most Influential Australians, Tarang founded the ‘Not One More Niki’ movement, Australia’s largest campaign to end violence against women in culturally diverse communities.

Tarang continues to use his voice to serve the community and champion human rights, and has just released a ground-breaking new podcast in collaboration with Future Women and supported by CommBank called There’s No Place Like Home, which features the stories of 10 extraordinary people who have survived family violence and domestic abuse.

In this difficult, inspirational and hope-filled conversation, Tarang emphasizes the importance of victim-survivors stories, explores how we move to solutions, and shares how keeping his sister’s spirit alive in his everyday has given him the fuel to keep fighting for social change.

It might be hard to listen and front up to the truth of the abuse and violence that is perpetrated behind closed doors.​ But as Tarang says: “It’s vital that we do. We have to listen. Because we need to learn.​”

Guest: Tarang Chawla
Show Links: There's No Place Like Home, Future Women, Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

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Did you know that you spend most of your waking life working – a jaw-dropping 90,000 hours for the average person. 

Work dominates our days. It can be the thing that gets you up in the morning, or the thing that keeps you awake at night. 

What about you? Has the pandemic changed your relationship with work? Are you at a career crossroads, feeling tired, unmotivated, a tad lost in your work life? Are you experiencing burnout? Do you want to be more intentional about the role of work in your life so you can grow more joy and meaning in your career, and make your work, well, work for you?

We sat down to explore some of these questions with ABC Broadcaster Lisa Leong, who along with journalist Monique Ross, has spent a lot of time thinking and writing about work and co-authored a brilliant just published book called This Working Life - How To Navigate Your Career In Uncertain Times.

In this conversation, Lisa and Mon share how being on the brink of burnout was the wake up call they each needed to change their relationship with work, and themselves. They reflect on their personal, hard-won learnings and how they had to rethink unsustainable and negative work habits to rebalance their work life coherence, do less to gain more, and harness their energy and superpowers to craft the careers they now truly love. 

There’s stacks of great practical advice in here to help kickstart your career next steps, or at least help you have a good hard look at how you spend your working life. 

Guests: Lisa Leong and Monique Ross
Website: This Working Life
Socials - Lisa: Twitter, Instagram
Socials - Mon: Twitter, Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever set yourself a crazy big hairy audacious goal, and found yourself against the odds somehow achieving it?

Women climb invisible mountains every day.

But Laura Youngson's eureka moment came on a volcanic ash pitch, 5,714 metres above sea level, on Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro in June 2017.

Youngson, an ambitious entrepreneur, gender activist and Co-Founder of global non-profit Equal Playing Field and Ida Sports, had a crazy idea that if she could convince two teams of female soccer players from 20 countries to join her on an expedition up a mountain to set the Guinness World Record for the highest altitude game of soccer ever played, they could literally change the game for women and girls the world over. 

The record made news across the planet, and set Laura on a path she could never have foreseen.

This is a conversation about what happened next, about change, showing up, and how it’s mostly the failures that shape us and make us. Laura shares with us the shadow side of striving, the relentless juggle of businesses and babies, and that if we can each just summit the limits we impose on ourselves, women and girls can do anything they put their minds to.

Guest: Laura Youngson
Links: Ida Sports, Equal Playing Field, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

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Sushi Das is an award-winning British Australian journalist of more than 25 years, spending much of her career at The Age, where she held a series of senior reporting and editing positions.

She is the winner of two Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards including Best Columnist (2005) and currently works as a freelance columnist and as a researcher for RMIT ABC Fact Check.

A brilliant writer and storyteller, Sushi is the author of Deranged Marriage - an affectionate, often hilarious, memoir of growing up in London in the 1970s in a strict and traditional Indian household, she raged against the control of her father and tried desperately to avoid an arranged marriage. 

Education was Sushi’s passport to freedom and it enabled her to escape to Australia in her 20’s to live the life she wanted for herself, and to find her own place in the world on her terms, as she navigated the tug between Eastern expectations and Western desires. 

Like so many of us, she has grappled with parental and cultural pressures that clash with her own deep needs for independence and justice.

In this episode, Sushi reflects on the role of mothers in raising strong daughters, in not repeating the patterns of the past, and in letting your children be free to emerge into who they are - as she says, “I do not own my daughter. I am her custodian. I am the bow and she is the arrow.”

Guest: Sushi Das
Socials: Twitter, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when, aged 30, you understand you’re transgender?

This was the question that confronted Dr Yves Rees, an award-winning author, historian and regular contributor to ABC Radio and The Conversation,whose life was upended by gender transition in 2018. Then known as a woman called Anne, Yves was forced to grapple with the knowledge that they were not, in fact, a woman at all. 

In this episode, Yves shares the events that led to their transition including completing a PhD, ending a relationship with a male, moving cities and even dabbling in a brief encounter with marijuana which unlocked the human who’d been hiding inside all along. Yves describes the limitless joy that surfaced when the binary confines of society gave way to the euphoric possibility of what’s next. 

Yves expresses the desire that sits within each of us to be seen for who we are, regardless of the complexities and conflicts that are so very innately human. Yves’s wisdom is profound and invites the radical self-inquiry of us all.

If there’s any part of you that yearns to be more you, we know you’ll relate to Yves while applauding this very personal, and universal story of a wise, articulate and curious human who’s just trying to be themselves in a world that has space for them.

Guest: Yves Rees
Website: www.yvesrees.com
Socials: Podcast, Twitter

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us hear the word menopause and may think it’s not meaningful or relevant in our own life – regardless of our gender, career path or life stage. As an accomplished business executive who travelled the world working in often male-dominated industries, Melissa MacGowan was once probably the same. Until the symptoms of undiagnosed peri-menopause wreaked havoc in her own life.

Melissa is now a passionate business coach who supports female leaders to banish burnout and manage the many and complex personal and professional changes associated with menopause. In this chat, Melissa shares her own tools and strategies for maximising growth, managing stress, and dialling up vitality.

She reveals the power of exploring unexamined beliefs, the importance of taking a team approach with her husband (who she describes as her partner in growth), and how her many moments of 2am despair catalysed a conscious slowing down, and the revelation that stress steals your mojo.

If you’re wondering how to better manage your time and energy, if you would like to prioritise energy over action, and if you want to focus on how you wish to feel rather than what you want to achieve, then this insightful chat is for you. Whether you are male or female, I know you’ll learn something about yourself, your partner, or a colleague. Regardless if they have reached menopause or not!

Guest: Melissa MacGowan
Socials: Instagram, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

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Adam Schwab is a former corporate lawyer, company founder, angel investor and the co-founder of Luxury Escapes, a global travel company. He has also written for Crikey and SmartCompany since 2005 and is the author of Pigs at the Trough: Lessons from Australia’s Decade of Corporate Greed. 

From being a self-described glorified filer at a top-tier law firm, to great accomplishments as an entrepreneur, Adam credits his hard work, grit and precision, honed as a law student, as key ingredients in building Luxury Escapes into the juggernaut that it is today.

We started by asking how Adam would describe himself if you met him at a party. What followed was a rapid-fire rundown of his journey to now, harnessing his insatiable appetite for winning, keeping his head while riding the highs and lows of the entrepreneurial journey,  all while at the helm of a billion-dollar company.

This conversation offers a fascinating window into the entrepreneurial mindset, the line danced between risk and safety, the power of co-founder relationships; and in the face of great success, how Adam sees himself as a frugal everyday man, and the kind of person that loves a good holiday deal just like the rest of us.

Guest: Adam Schwab
Website: Crikey, Luxury Escapes
Socials: Twitter, Podcast, Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George McEncroe is a tech entrepreneur, writer, standup comedian, educator, and force of nature. The single mother of four hates orthodoxies, has a roll up your sleeves ‘can do’ mantra, and has spent her life giving everything a crack to dial up the carpe diem in her every day so she doesn’t die wondering.

In this episode, we hear about  some of the formative experiences that have shaped the adult George is today, including the trauma of losing her beloved sister to suicide, weathering a marriage breakup, mental health challenges, and her commitment to continuous self-reflection and self-improvement so she can build a safe harbour for herself, and those in her fold.

George reflects on the realisation that she is more capable than she ever thought, and also that being overly trusting of others hasn’t always served her well as an entrepreneur. She also shares the ways she has found to calm her mind, by journaling her fears and resentments, meditating, minimising alcohol, and uncoupling herself from her work.

There’s a lot in this conversation, including quite a few F-bombs (sorry about that!). But the truth is it’s a story from the heart - raw, real, and strong. We started by asking George some rapid fire questions, beginning with who she is in the world of biscuits.

Guest: George McEncroe
Website: Shebah.com.au
Socials: Twitter, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jocelyn Brewer has, in her words, a job of the future. A psychologist and ex-teacher who helps individuals and organisations be well connected and mentally fit, she has been working with adolescents, families and adults for a decade, and understands the complexity of busy modern life, the increasing role of technology in our work and how healthy digital and screen habits need to be consciously shaped by us all.  

But rather than see exponential technology and social media as a dark force in our lives, Jocelyn debunks the notion of screen addiction and instead invites us all to do an audit on our relationship with our technology devices, so we can make better choices about our “digital nutrition” - that is what we choose to watch, like, who we follow and much time we’re actually spending online.

In this chat, Jocelyn reveals some bite-sized morsels to help guide the use of technology for young people and adults. She has a wealth of resources available to download too and runs courses to support the younger generations who she calls digital orphans, rather than digital natives because their parents haven’t dined on the digital diets that are such an integral part of their lives.

We started by asking Jocelyn how the worlds of teaching, psychology and technology came to collide in her own life.

Guest: Jocelyn Brewer
Website: Jocelyn Brewer
Socials: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On an ordinary day in August 2018, Craig Hopper woke up living the dream, got ready for the day, kissed his three kids goodbye and went off to work.

Meanwhile, his wife dropped their youngest at school and set off as a fit 46-year-old on her regular morning run. 

What happened next changed their lives forever. Craig’s wife suffered a massive heart attack and was found by a passing cyclist unresponsive, unconscious and without a pulse.

It took 24 hours to get her heart started again, 10 days in a coma, 7 operations and 10 weeks in hospital before she was finally able to return home to the family, with a brain injury.

While this is her story, it is also the story of how Craig as her partner became an instant carer to four dependents, adjusted to this complex new normal, and is still finding a way to navigate the difficult journey through hope to grief and beyond

In this episode, Craig shares his insights on the healing magic of talking and the unexpected power of asking for help.

Guest: Craig Hopper
Website: Brave New Blokes
Socials: LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rachael Neumann is an uber impressive high flyer who has experienced countless successes around the globe in the ever-changing and complex worlds of venture capital investment and business. But business wasn’t the focus of our fabulous and high-octane chat. 

Instead of deep diving into her latest hot startup deal, Rachael shared some of the formative experiences that have shaped the inner narrative which has fuelled her fierce drive and ambition based on growth and acquisition, which has often come at the cost of her being able to experience fun, levity and real joy.

Rachel also shares the painful story of her brother’s sudden death aged just 21, which she internalised and has over time prevented her recognising and prioritising her own suffering, hurts and emotional wounds. 

There is so much in this conversation that we can all learn from, but at it’s very core, it’s a powerful toolkit of advice for everyone about how to give yourself permission, time and space to be who you are, and not continue to be complicit in the conditions you create for yourself.

The takeaway message is to believe we are worthy of choosing ourselves, over and over again. Which we all acknowledge is a work in progress! 

Enjoy our chat with Rachael.

Guest: Rachael Neumann
Website: flyingfox.vc
Socials: LinkedIn, Twitter

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

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In this episode, Sabina takes to the mic solo without her articulate co-host Mads to meet James “Fish” Gill, a Heart Coach, Yoga Teacher, and Transformational Facilitator. Fish shares his own learnings and teachings about how to see the beauty in conflict, the power of curiosity in relationships, and why certainty is almost always a red flag.

From giving himself permission to feel joy, even while coaching others who are experiencing deep pain, to finding ways to acknowledge and validate himself, we explore themes of abandonment, hurt and blame, and the two non-negotiable rituals Fish practices to soothe and support himself most days.

If you’ve ever experienced conflict in a relationship, and let’s face it… who hasn’t!! Or if you long to give and receive more understanding, compassion and love, then Fish has some gems for you! And if you’d like tools that trigger safety rather than attack or defend cycles with a partner, parent, child, sibling or peer, then join us for some coaching tips that will help you see the goodness in others and help them see the goodness in you.

Guest:James 'Fish' Gill
Connect with James at these links: Retreats, Online/In-Person Coaching, Podcasts
Socials: Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta@human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that the average age of menopause is 51, menopause that occurs between 40 and 45 is called 'early menopause', and menopause that happens before age 40 is called 'premature menopause’?  

October is Menopause Awareness Month. So we're opening up important conversations on Human Cogs to explore all of the usual sleepless, sweat-soaked challenges that menopause brings, and also to sit inside the lives of remarkable humans who invite us into the complex experience of an unexpected early menopause transition.

In this episode we meet Kirsty Costa - an award-winning educator, global environmentalist, values-based leadership coach and self-confessed “bird nerd” - who at the age of just 31 faced what she describes as her “Triple Whammy” year, when she lost a pregnancy, discovered she carried the BRCA (breast and ovarian cancer gene), and experienced a devastating premature menopause. 

In this powerful and emotional conversation, Kirsty shares the story of how she and her husband somehow managed to get through that year, and how today she continues to get up and show up in the world when so much of her is still grieving, and coming to terms with the fact that life didn’t go according to plan. 

Kirsty also reminds us all of how living with hope and optimism can be a galvanising roadmap through the inevitable highs and lows that life brings, and that fate is far less relevant than the choices we each choose to make every day.

Just a word of note to our listeners: This episode does touch on the deep grief and trauma of needing to make a decision to terminate a pregnancy; what it’s like to be diagnosed with the BRCA gene; and also the lived experience premature menopause.

It’s a real and authentic conversation, however we do acknowledge that some of the content may be triggering for those who have lived through similar experiences. Please do  seek help from a professional if you need support.

Guest:Kirsty Costa
Helpful Links:
Health Talk Australia - Early Menopause
Jean Hailes - Premature and Early Menopause

Socials: Twitter, Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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For those of you into AFL, footy finals fever just swept the nation as we aired this episode of Human Cogs.

So who better to get on the show than an ex AFL player and ex coach, to explore the game of football, and the game of life. 

There are lots of things we assume about people who are outliers. People who have gone beyond the everyday, achieved extraordinary success, and who completely and undeniably stand out from the rest of us.

Scott Watters is one of those people.

From his Huckleberry Finn childhood exploring holiday islands and looking for adventure, to tens of thousands of hours playing sport in his youth, Scott pushed to get the absolute best out of himself which led him to a successful VFL and then AFL career, and ultimately to the helm of the St Kilda Football Club as head coach. 

But what happened next challenged him.

In this conversation, Mads talks with Scott about his Croatian-Australian heritage, his talent and drive - is it born or built?, about success and failure and where growth and learning come from when you actually step into the arena to face crisis - and how absolute adversity helps you find your gift when you’re in the midst of the perfect storm.

Scott knows this all too well. As the Founder and CEO of the nationalLifeChanger Foundation, his organisation works to help students connect with inspiring mentors to share, repair, connect and build life-affirming skills at moments of clear challenge. 

In our chat, Scott has some great tips on what parents can do to recognise and find the hero in their kids, and shares his advice on what can give us all connection and clear space in moments of anxiety.

There is so much in this conversation that we can all use to change our own lives and stories, no matter who we are, where we are, or where we’re at.

Guest: Scott Watters
Links: Instagram, Facebook

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Nicole Dyson is an award-winning educator, has represented Australia as a delegate for the G20 Young Entrepreneur’s Alliance, and is the trail-blazing founder of Future Anything, which has worked with 1000’s of students and schools across Australia delivering entrepreneurial education to unleash the potential of young people.

Nicole trained as a teacher in the USA, UK and Australia and has held leadership positions at Queensland’s top-performing public schools, where she has repeatedly led the design and implementation of education system changes to support future-ready learning, placing young people at the forefront of co-designing learning experiences - exactly where they should be.

As Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

But what is the role of education in a rapidly changing world, and a world in which young people are facing uncertain futures fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, globalisation and exponential technological advancement?

In this conversation, Nicole shares her thoughts on the challenges of today’s current education approaches, which can default to an industrialised ‘chalk and talk’, ‘teach to the test’ model which doesn’t keep up with the real world, and increasingly sees students disengaging or dropping out of education altogether.

Compounding that disengagement is a generation of young people who are given scant opportunity to play, experiment and explore their passions and interests at school, and who in many instances are being raised by stressed out, low capacity parents, who have no idea how to support their kids' learning and future pathway development.

This is an episode for educators and parents out there who want to discover what rich and engaging project-based learning can look like if it is anchored in real-world and relatable educational experiences, and who want to excite young people again about transforming their talents, passions and curiosities into game-changing ideas that can - and will - make the world a better place.

Guest: Nicole Dyson
Links: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Website

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Brad Feld is the author of eight best-selling books on venture capital investing and entrepreneurship, has been an early-stage investor for more than 30 years, and is pretty much a global legend when it comes to startup communities and entrepreneurial ecosystems, and what makes their flywheels spin.

Currently Managing Director at Foundry Group a US-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies, Brad also co-founded Techstars, and has been a major force in the global startup ecosystem, backing thousands of founders on their startup journeys to date.

But truth be told, the world of venture investment can get a bit of a bad wrap sometimes. Competitive, fast-paced, low on diversity and high on testosterone, it is often regarded as the arena of Alphas.

So in this conversation with Brad, Human Cogs Cohost Madeleine Grummet gets under the hood of Brad's real life as a VC, to uncover his personal drivers, trigger points and life learnings, and discover that the human underneath is incredibly thoughtful, deeply reflective, remarkably wise - and a great storyteller.

As you’ll learn in this episode, Brad shares how it has taken him a while to find his place, and that as a reformed workaholic, he now regularly goes off the grid to hit the trails around his hometown of Boulder in Colorado to run miles and miles solo.

With his 'engineers brain', he's also committed to continuous improvement, and the kind of person who’s more interested in moving towards not away from problems. To that end, he and his wife Amy schedule monthly mandated ‘life dinners' - kind of retros on their relationship - in order to keep it alive and thriving.

So whether you’re a founder, funder, searcher or finder, Brad’s unique perspective, wisdom and worldview are well worth sitting in for a while.

Why? Because we are all works in progress, and we each have so much to learn from simply hearing each others’ stories.

Guest:Brad Feld

Links:Blog,Books,Podcast,Foundry Group,Techstars

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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From a young age, Kai Lovelhas been curious. After school each day, he’d race home to take apart old computers, build robots, gorge on YouTube tutorials, and feed his insatiable appetite for the why and how of things.

He realised pretty quickly that he was drawn to the internet. And each week would research and test a new online platform or app, build websites for the fun of it, digital sales funnels for the hell of it, and systems for the challenge of it.

Kai channelled those passions into projects along the way. By the age of 12 he was hosting his own radio show, by 15 he had built 4 businesses, taken the stage with TED Talks, and last year aged 16, he decided he was learning more in the world than he was in school, and decided to opt out of formal education altogether.

He is currently living and working in Perth, not yet an adult, and yet advising companies, clients and organisations on product strategy, growth marketing and what the world looks like from a 17 years old’s vantage point.

Kai is in many ways an outlier. Someone daring to chart waters that aren’t mapped. He is insightful, intensively curious, smart as, and has digital in his DNA.

This conversation with Madeleine Grummet will blow you away, challenge your beliefs about the holders of wisdom and who’s designing the world, and restore your faith in the next generation.

The good news? We’re in very good hands.

Guest: Kai Lovel

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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How many of us meander and stumble along in “a life that is expected of us?” For Rochelle Pattison, that meant pursuing a successful career in law and finance, getting married and having kids.

Growing up as a young boy in a regional NSW town, Rochelle knew that she was different, but believed she had to hide that difference. As a teenager, she worked hard, and excelled at sport, music and academia while boarding at an all-boys boarding school in Melbourne. So, when her Dad pulled her aside to tell her she was “too prissy,” she was hurt and terrified.

After living under a painful cloak of secrecy, lies, and shame for decades, Rochelle made a decision to explore her agony in therapy, as well as open up to the only person who knew her secret, in a quest to discover her true self.

In this conversation with Rochelle, we learn what it’s like to live with unbearable shame and the distress of living a life that’s inauthentic to who you are at your very core. We also glean emotional insights into what can ensue when you tell your partner of 29 years that you’re not who they think you are.

However, don’t be fooled. This is not only a conversation of gender dysphoria, but a powerful story of the fight to live as the real you, the you that you always sensed you were. And that makes it a profoundly human story that could be yours or mine, but luckily for our treasured Human Cogs listeners, this is Rochelle’s story.

Guest: Rochelle Pattison
Socials:Instagram, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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People throw around words like kindness and empathy like empty packets.

They don’t deeply feel those values, really know the lived truth of them or take them and use them to give comfort or a safe cradle to the people around them.

But Lucy Thomas does. 

As the Co-founder and Co-CEO of the phenomenally successful social enterprise Project Rockit, her vision is of a world where kindness and respect thrive over bullying, hate and prejudice, and where all young people are free to realise their unique potential. 

Since 2006, Project Rockit has reached half a million young Australians by delivering powerful in-school workshops and online resources to teach kids to stand up to and not stand by bullying, and to help them navigate the complex individual, relational and societal human skills of inclusion, respect, diversity and empathy. 

In this conversation, Lucy shares the Project Rockit story to now, and how after building her career as an indomitable social crusader tackling bullying, her life was fundamentally changed when she herself became the target of an extended pattern of bullying. 

Lucy wrapped up these personal learnings in her widely received TEDx talk, Kindness: The ultimate rebellion against bullying, has recently received an Order of Australia Medal for service to youth and against bullying, and has now stepped out to create impact on the global stage working with Facebook, Google, Instagram and Twitter to combat cyberbullying.  

This conversation with Lucy strikes to the heart of things. Unseats us all a little bit. But it matters. Because it reminds us so we won’t forget, that imagination is the birthplace of empathy, unconditional positive regard is the bedrock of all real human connection, and that no matter what, kindness conquers all.

Guest: Lucy Thomas
Website: projectrockit.com.au
Socials:Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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The final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System was tabled in a special sitting of the Victorian Parliament in March 2021.

The landmark final report outlines changes to create a future mental health and wellbeing system that provides holistic treatment, care and support for all - and a system that is finally co-designed by those who have lived experience of mental illness, so the services have the community, families and consumers at the centre of it. 

The Victorian government has since committed 1B dollars to implement the reforms.

One of the psychiatrists who provided key recommendations for the mental health reforms is Dr Paul Denborough, a Director at the Alfred Hospital and Headspace Australia, a specialist in anorexia treatment, and mental health expert who has worked with thousands of adolescents, young people and their families over decades. 

Paul also helped establish Discovery College - who create and run courses on mental health, recovery and well-being, and who help people come together to learn from each other, share experiences and reach new understandings of mental health.

In this conversation, Madeleine Grummet and Paul talk about the missing middle in the mental health system, why early intervention is so critical to recovery, and why Paul believes seeing the person, not the illness, is a more humanist, compassionate and personalised care model that should be available to all who are struggling with complex mental health challenges.

While Paul admits mental health crises and the pressures on professionals have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are currently seeing a mental health tsunami as a direct result of the early 2020 bushfires, pandemic and the increased conversations around sexual assault, he ultimately has faith that we are moving toward a mental health and care model that has humans at its heart.

And a warning that this episode covers some heavy topics and themes. If you or anyone you know needs help you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Guest: Dr Paul Denborough
Socials: LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Many of you will have seen Osher Günsberg’s smiling face whizzing past on billboards, or on TV, or have heard his voice on the radio airwaves, sizzling with musicality and a truckload of energy.

An author, television and radio presenter, musician, journalist and podcaster – his podcast Better Than Yesterday has been downloaded 4.3 million times – Osher is one of Australia’s most recognisable media personalities and has been a guest in the living rooms of Australians for decades.

However, behind the talented and entertaining face and voice loved by many, in this conversation we meet a soulful, reflective and wise human who has not only worked hard for his extraordinary success, but dug deep in the darkest of places to explore the complexities of living with mental illness, so he can forge a way to live an authentic, rich and fulfilling life.

On the cusp of the age of 50, we learn what it’s really like being him, where he finds his moments of flow, how his wife Audrey saved his life - and why his different brain is his absolute superpower.  

Guest: Osher Günsberg
Website: oshergunsberg.com
Socials: Twitter,Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Motherless Daughters Australia co-founder Danielle Snelling was 23 when her mother Rosa died.

The experience left Danielle feeling isolated and misunderstood. When she connected with Eloise Baker-Hughes, who was also grieving the loss of her mum, they uncovered a shared understanding and validation in each other’s stories. Together they founded @motherlessdaughtersau with the aim of connecting some of the 3.7 million Australian women who have lost their mum.

In this conversation with Human Cogs host Sabina Read, Danielle debunks the 5 stages of grief, suggests tips for coping with the relentless triggers and difficult times that arise during milestone and annual calendar events and shares what NOT to say to someone who is grieving.

If your mum has passed and you have a deep yearning to pick up the phone and ask her just one more question, or if you’re a mum facing health issues imagining what it might be like to die early and not see your children live into adulthood, or if you wish to cherish and honour the mother-daughter relationship, then this episode will likely resonate with you.

Guest: Danielle Snelling
Website: motherlessdaughters.com.au
Socials: Facebook,Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Julia May believes that visibility — to self and others — is not about vanity but about building influence and impact.

An ex-journalist, who spent five years as a foreign correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald before holding senior roles at Reuters and The Times of London, Julia has now found her sweet spot and nexus for real impact as the Founder of Visibility Co - a leadership consultancy.

As a parent to two young daughters,  her vision is that, when they are grown, the world will have been brought back from the brink. She tells them regularly; ‘It’s ok. Whoever you are is good’.

And yet, the women and global leaders she works with so often grapple with persistent impostor syndrome, struggle to identify their values, and are frustrated by not knowing how to create real and lasting impact in the areas they care passionately about. 

Julia thinks we all have the ability to lead ourselves and lift others up no matter we’re at, and that once we know - and own - our story, we can elevate others, to then in turn, elevate others, and pay it forward. 

Guest: Julia May
Website: visibilityco.com
Socials:Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Bernard Salt is an Australian newspaper columnist, keynote speaker, business advisor and author of six best-selling books, but he is most widely known as a thought leader in demographic patterns and predictions. 

He is also credited with globally popularising concepts such as the ‘Smashed Avocado’, VESPA and Seachange Shifts – changes that are currently reshaping Australia’s culture, economy and society.

But for all his outward-facing and portfolio career success, it turns out that Bernard’s worst nightmare is rocking up to a party and being asked what he does for a living… because in his own words, “well, it’s complicated.” 

From humble beginnings growing up as a working-class kid in a Housing Commission home in country Victoria to today, Bernard has been passionately curious about using statistics to tell stories that inform social trends and human behaviour in Australia, which he still describes as the lucky country.

In this conversation, we go a level under the statistics with Bernard, and discuss how education freed him; and why the pandemic world we’re living in needs a Control / Alt / Delete moment, so we can take the learnings, wake up to where we’re at, and rethink the future of Australia, for ourselves and for future generations.

Guest: Bernard Salt
Website: The Demographics Group

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Tom Evans is a renowned psychologist who has worked in private practice for two decades and now works in the challenging space of the rehabilitation of sex offenders in Australia, and with young men struggling with issues of consent.
 
In this episode, we step into some difficult and dark areas of the human psyche with Tom, as we explore primitive drivers and sexual dictates, how young men learn about ‘normalised’ sexual behaviour, what consent really means, and what we should be teaching them about healthy, mutually consenting sex.

Tom also shares his own harrowing story as a victim of crime, and how this traumatic experience has informed his clinical practice, and the way he works with - and understands - the complex psychology of young men. 

This conversation deals with some very difficult topics, especially in light of what is currently playing out in the Australian Federal Parliament, and in a week that has seen thousands of people join 40+ Women's March4Justice rallies across the nation demanding an end to gendered violence and inequality.

But despite this backdrop to the conversation, this episode provides a point of light because within the darkness Tom sees in human behaviour, he works to enable hope - and ultimately healing - for perpetrators, victims and for humanity at large. 

Please note opinions and statements in this episode are the express views of Tom Evans and not those of his employer.

Guest: Tom Evans
Socials: LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Dom Price sees the future. But he’s not a late-night hotline psychic.

Dom is the globally renowned work futurist at Atlassian – Australia’s first multi-billion dollar software company. Dom’s superpower is his ability to inspire people to transform the practices of their working lives, so they can work anywhere, with real flexibility and purpose – and design the futures they want to intentionally step into. 

But what first strikes you about Dom is that he is unmistakably from Manchester, has boundless curiosity and is infectiously joyous. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet go deep with Dom on how we work, why we work, how his recent battle with cancer catalysed his own work-life shifts – and why we should all be doing audits on ourselves every Friday afternoon.

In the current COVID world, we, unfortunately, couldn’t be in the room together for this chat, so we apologise if the sound quality is a bit dodgy in this episode. It’s well worth a listen though – this conversation is loaded with heaps of gems.

Guest: Dom Price
Website: DomPrice.me
Socials: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, TedX

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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At the age of 16, Matija Squire was close to being classified as just another statistic. Pregnant, a school dropout and estranged from her family, she was isolated living in a small country town, contemplating her next steps.

This episode of Human Cogs tells the remarkable story of what happened next, when against all odds and with the judgement of society against her, Matija chose to have her son. 

The years that followed were tumultuous and uncertain, as she navigated raising a child when she was still a child herself. At 19, with a 3-year-old in tow, unemployed and nearly broke, she felt destitute and broken.

Fast forward to now, and Matija is today an accomplished Lecturer, Speaker, Business Owner, Board Director, Startup Mentor and COO, who found a new way forward for herself and her son through the life-changing gateway of education, and the catalysing power of a stranger seeing the potential in her that she couldn’t see in herself.

Matija believes your circumstances should never dictate your potential, and that “The only person you are destined to become, is the person you decide to be.” 

Guest: Matija Squire
Socials:Instagram, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Imagine you're a young medical doctor surrounded by sick and dying patients when you experience a panic attack due to an overwhelming sense of disillusionment that the Western medical model and its overreliance on pharmaceutical treatments is NOT the way to nurture humans back to good health.

In this episode of Human Cogs, we chat with Dr Michelle Woolhouse, a GP and global expert in integrative mind-body and nutritional medicine, who upholds a philosophy of health that values the whole spectrum of a person's life – emotional, physical, psychological and environmental.

Michelle shares her learnings on the role that cultural reward plays in our current anxiety and stress pandemic; how social media contributes to our empty pursuit of the holy grail of happiness; and why empathy without self-compassion is unsustainable.

The potency of Michelle’s message lies in the combination of her personal experience and holistic medical approach, which she has used to teach countless others how to heal emotionally and physically by attuning to the powerful feedback we each receive from our hearts, minds and gut.

Guest: Dr Michelle Woolhouse
Socials:Instagram, LinkedIn

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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This is a conversation that starts and ends with the heart. But, in between, we touch on the taboos of mothers wanting time away from their children, female masturbation and sexual pleasure, and the very real and deep pain of self-hatred. 

Lisa Winneke is the founder and host of The Good News Guide, a podcast host, speaker, author and truth seeker with qualifications in numerous energy modalities. 

She has mined the depths and pain of her own decades of living with an eating disorder, feeling alone and misplaced in her family and later at school, and the eternal search to find the salve to her suffering.

Lisa has now come to a place where she is no longer trying to fix herself, but simply sit still – and live with love.

Guest: Lisa Winneke
Website: lisawinneke.com
Socials:Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Podcast

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Not many of us know when we’re very young, just what course our life is going to take. At the age of 19, Johnny Di Francesco knew exactly what he didn’t want.

He had watched his single Mum juggling two jobs working around the clock to bring up three kids, and he learned that grit, determination and very hard work was the recipe he needed for business success, personal satisfaction and financial security. 

Fiercely independent and driven to make his mark, Johnny opened his first business at 19, was running 7 businesses by the age of 23, and fast-forward to today, he sits at the helm of the international Gradi restaurant and retail empire. 

His Neapolitan Pizza was named the best in the world at the World Pizza Championships in Italy, where he beat 600 competitors from 35 countries, and he now plans to continue his international expansion.

But underneath all this, is a man who is insatiably hungry to learn and perfect his craft, who relishes the thrill of the chase, and who takes each and every failure as a learning opportunity. Here’s our chat with ‘Mr Pizza’, Johnny Di Francesco.

Guest: Johnny Di Francesco
Website: 400gradi.com
Socials:Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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This year on Human Cogs, we are mixing it up! As always, we are all about having meaningful conversations minus the small talk, and in this episode, Sabina Read takes to the mic for a one-on-one with the passionate, thought provoking, raw and ever-curious Sarah Wilson. 

Sarah is a former journalist and ex-editor of Cosmo magazine, and was the host on Season 1 of Masterchef. She wrote the Masterchef. She wrote the New York Times best sellers - I Quit Sugar and First, we make the beast beautiful; and her 11 cookbooks have sold in 52 countries. Today, Sarah lives minimally, and is a passionate author, activist and campaigner for mental health and climate issues.

In this chat, Sarah shares her experiences living with bipolar, being diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, and arriving at a time in her life where both she, and the world, seemed devoid of hope. 

As a young person, Sarah says being vulnerable was an alien concept to her, and that writing her latest book This One Wild and Precious Life was a form of therapy, an invitation for our souls to do life differently, and a quest to nurture a hopeful path forward in a fractured world.

If Sabina could choose a group of dinner guests that inspire and challenge the way we live and think, Sarah would be at the top of the list!

Guest: Sarah Wilson
Website:sarahwilson.com
Socials:Instagram,Podcast

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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The first thing you notice about George Georgievski is that he wears his heart on his sleeve. 

He also carries the story of his life, grief for his father, and love for his daughters on his skin, in a series of tattoos that extend up and down his arms and torso. The same arms that have created lunchboxes that have inspired millions of people across the world, seen him rise to fame on TV, gain 135K Instagram followers, be an Ambassador for Jamie Oliver's Ministry for Food - and go completely viral as The Most Inspiring Lunchbox Creator in the World.

But according to George, he’s just an ordinary dude from Geelong, quietly making lunch for his kids, each meal an act of love, created with care, fondness and attention like it’s the last meal he’ll ever make. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, to be honest, we don’t really talk about lunch. We go straight for the full smorgasbord of who George really is, explore his tough upbringing, and the months he spent as a teenager living alone after his father died suddenly, mother was hospitalised and he had to leave school to fend for himself and find a way to survive.

Today, George is not just surviving but thriving, and relishing every day. 

Guest: George Georgievski
Website: The School Lunchbox
Socials:Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn
George’s latest book is Air Fryer Express.

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Kimberlee Wells is a global trailblazer in advertising and brand marketing, has worked with Australia's largest brands including ANZ, Medibank, Qantas, Optus, Australia Post and the Federal Government, and has led ad agency, TBWA toward a values-based culture to embed more purpose in both her staff and the clients she works with.

A champion for LGBTIQ rights; women's financial inequality; and minority groups, Kimberlee was invited by the United Nations to share her positive mission on a global stage.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read explore who is brand Kimberlee, what really drives her, and why her early childhood experience of discrimination set a framework for fighting for injustice, the unseen and the unheard.

A force for good in business and a crusader for creativity, Kimberlee is now grappling with the loneliness of leadership, how to care for self when you’ve spent a lifetime helping others and how to put her own needs on the map.

Guest: Kimberlee Wells
Website:TBWA
Socials:Twitter

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Ben Crowe has become one of the sports industry’s most “in-demand” professional mentors, and over the past two decades has worked with tennis great Andre Agassi, Olympian Cathy Freeman,champion surfer Stephanie Gilmore andboththe Australian Men’s and Women’s Cricket Teams.

He’s also credited with taking tennis player Ash Barty to world number 1, and coaches Richmond premiership captain TrentCotchin and AFL coaches Alastair Clarkson and Damien Hardwick.

So what’s his secret sauce?

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read chat with Ben about his global work as a leadership mentor, storyteller, life coach and advisor, his passion to help high performing people unlock and unblock themselves, and his deep focus on authenticity, vulnerability and the need to move toward pain.

But in a world crying out for purpose and connection, Ben’s insights don’t just apply to elite athletes. CEOs, teenagers, retirees, parents and indeed all humans want to feel accepted and loved unconditionally. Ben emphasises that we all have the power to edit our own stories, to dream big not small, and to use intentional mindset shifts to get to the seat of who we each really are, which matters more than what we do.

Guest: Ben Crowe
Website: MojoCrowe.com
Socials: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Jamila Rizvi is an author, presenter and political commentator and writes regularly for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Good Weekend and Sunday Life. Sheis also a  commentator on The Project, Today, The Drumand ABC News Breakfast,and the Chief Creative Officer of Future Women.

Described as one of the preeminent voices of young Australian women online, Jamila is a refreshing force for change, advocate for women, and pushes conversations and ideas to work toward a more equal world.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read talk to Jamila about her quest to push to the edge (and sometimes over it), the costs of living life at full throttle and her ongoing health battles with brain cancer which have forced her to confront the discomfort of living in her new body and grieving the old one.

Jamila reflects on her metric of success, never wanting to leave anyone feeling left out, and the value of passing down wisdom from women who have gone before.

Read Jamila's latest book, Untold Resilience, here.

Guest: Jamila Rizvi
Website: JamilaRizvi.com.au
Socials:Instagram,Facebook, Twitter

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Jane Tewson, Founder and Director of Igniting Change,  is a global change maker who’s founded five flourishing charities, was named by The Times as a top ten innovator in the UK, received a CBE from Prince Charles, and humbly continues to create meaningful change in the lives of countless others. 

But this episode is not about accolades. Because Jane does not see herself as anything special, and she is not interested in being in the spotlight. What Jane does see are individuals who have the desire to create change in their own lives despite their circumstance. Jane believes that people inherently carry the capacity to find their own voice, when they feel respected, understood and listened to, rather than when they are spoken at, or given to, by (often) well-meaning others.

Jane is ever-curious and drawn to the humanity and courage of people doing it tough, and in this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read free range with Jane about her incredible childhood, her instinct for igniting social change, how we bring death to life - and how we can all better connect with each other by making judgement fall away and ultimately seeing people without the labels that typically define them. 

Jane is an unassuming force of nature and invites us all to consider how small shifts can create deeply meaningful change. 

You can read more about Jane in Martin Flanagan’s book, The Art of Pollination, published by Hardie Grant and available from Amazon, Booktopia and Dymocks.

Guest: Jane Tewson
Website: Igniting Change
Socials:Instagram,Facebook

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Chris Riddell is an award-winning global futurist, forensic optimist and truth teller. 

Voted in the top 5 most inspirational keynote speakers, Chris is a trend spotter, media commentator and digital expert who provides powerful insights into emerging trends and human behaviour, and has delivered keynote experiences to nearly a quarter of a million people in 27 countries.

Enlivened by the real world, by humanity, and by ‘the now’, Chris makes sense of the uncomfortable, challenging and dystopian technology-driven world of ‘the future’ by instead making the case for connection, optimism and the unlocking of opportunities to propel us all forward into an exciting, new reality.

In this episode ofHuman Cogs, hostsSabina Read andMadeleine Grummet chat with Chris about his unwavering faith in humanity enduring and innovating to problem solve for the ethical and global challenges of our times. 

We also traverse topics that go deeper into the human Chris is: why the pursuit of perfection has him often sailing to the very edge of the cliff in himself; how the threads and patterns of his past have shaped his present; and why he’s never sleeping, forever flying and always searching. 

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Kate Save is an incredible Australian entrepreneur, Practicing Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist, and the founder of several businesses including the award-winning, multi-million dollar Be Fit Food empire.

This business catapulted Kate onto the public stage after her appearance on reality TV show Shark Tank in 2017. But Shark Tank was a double-edged sword, which connected her with influential business mentor and Boost Juice founder Janine Allis, but also exposed Kate to the public where her credibility was attacked despite her decades of clinical experience and numerous qualifications.  

In this episode ofHuman Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read chat to Kate about the hard reality of being a founder at the helm of a company that rocketed to explosive 1500% growth overnight, her everyday mantra to "finish fourth not first", what it was like to grow up feeling poor - and how her hard-won life and work lessons have shaped the woman - and now the mother - she has become. 

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Wendy Tuohy is an outstanding Australian editor, journalist and newspaper columnist who has spent the last three decades working across print, digital, TV and radio.

Wendy has also won multiple awards working in senior roles with The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio and the Herald Sun, and is a passionate advocate for women, gender parity, mental health - and speaking truth to the reality of the working mother juggle in a modern world.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat with Wendy about the role of the media in a rapidly changing, volatile and fake news world, the hidden currency of care that working women so often carry, and also unpack how today's parents can more consciously model behaviour to override gendered stereotypes and unleash authenticity in their children and in themselves. 

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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We all have a slightly dysfunctional relationship with creativity. We love it, value it and want more of it but often just can’t seem to find the time, space or resources to cultivate it, whether that’s a book not written, a garden unplanted or a song not sung.

Mykel Dixon is an award-winning speaker, musician, learning designer, event curator and author. A gypsy by nature, musician by trade, fierce non-conformist and prolific anti-perfectionist, he works with senior leaders and teams of Fortune 500 and ASX200 companies to unlock breakthrough creativity.

In the spaces between, he rocks out with his band, is a brilliant lyricist and poet, and pushes to the edges of himself to explore the seemingly endless bounds of human creative potential.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet dive into places they didn’t plan to go and uncover Mykel’s turbulent past, expulsion from high school, weeks spent in silent Ashram retreats, plus they unpack why his early and prolific self-expression was contaminated with feelings of shame.

This high-energy conversation is pretty wide-ranging, from spiritual woo woo to seeing the world around you as a canvas, divergent thinking that put humans on the moon in the 60s to making magic from the mundane.

But in a world being whacked with wicked challenges right now, Mykel’s Infectious optimism and sense of creative possibility are contagious, and he reminds us that the common practice of dialling ourselves down is something we should all learn to do a little less.

For anyone who has ever sat in the grandstand but wanted to play the game, for the starters not finishers, the dreamers not doers, this is a conversation that will give you the fuel you need to stop listening to the voices in the world and start listening to the voices in you; the courage to unshackle yourself from the self-imposed constraints of the everyday; and the safety to go the edge (and just a little bit beyond) to unleash your inner wild.

Mykel Dixon is the author of best-selling book ‘Everyday Creative - A Dangerous Guide To Making Magic At Work’.

Guest: Mykel Dixon

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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You might think you know Hugh Sheridan.

A four time Logie-award winning actor who’s played starring roles on shows like House Husbands and Packed To The Rafters, he is also the Number 1 Ticketholder for the Port Adelaide FC, and spends his time living and working between homes in LA and Sydney. 

He’s also an accomplished international jazz singer, ballet dancer, film director, screenwriter and passionate human rights advocate.

But what you might not know is that there is a deeper, hidden, vulnerable - and very human - side to Hugh Sheridan, which he now wants to share publicly. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat with Hugh about his lonely childhood; his engagement at the young age of 17 to a woman; his early experiences at NIDA where he then fell passionately in love with a man; and his ongoing quest to assert the need to not be defined by labels, but instead, by the whole and compassionate human he is.

Hugh believes that we have become too focussed on unhelpful and binary definitions of who we are across the facets of our lives, and invites us all to challenge the way we talk to each other, to move towards a more accepting and united view of humanity, without bias and the impact of boxing each other in.

He also reveals the drawbacks of fame and living life in the public spotlight; and a life-changing moment in India when he came face to face with himself as an infant, small child, adult and ageing man, and was finally able to accept himself as the boy he was, man he is, and human he seeks to be.

What he does know is that you don't need a star on Hollywood Boulevard to say that you are someone, and that it’s now time for Hugh to sit in his own skin, accept himself, and as George Michael once said to him: “Just sing what you want to sing.”

This isn't a story about sexuality, but rather about accepting ourselves as we truly are, and wanting others to do the same.

Enjoy our conversation with the very Hugh-man, Hugh.

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, you’ve probably heard of the Shameless empire - a side hustle that turned into a media phenomenon and explosive podcast that's been downloaded 10 million times, was awarded Australia’s Most Popular Podcast in 2019 and has captured the hearts and minds of the 20-30 something generation.

In this episode ofHuman Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read chat to Zara McDonald, one half of the Shameless Media brand, which was born on Zara and her cofounder Michelle Andrew’s bedroom floors in March 2018 after they met working as journalists at the Mama Mia Women’s digital media network.

By their own admission, Michelle and Zara knew sweet F-A about podcasting when they started the journey.

A few years in, they now have millions of listeners, multiple award-winning shows, have just released a best-selling book (The Space Between) plus are at the helm of a juggernaut Australian media brand that just keeps on growing!

But behind the scenes of success, in this conversation Zara candidly shares her journey to now, including her battle with imposter syndrome, feeling like she’s “young, ignorant” and never “doing it right”, and the work she’s still doing to try and build a thicker skin so the opinions of others carry less weight. 

This is a fascinating and candid chat about the boundaries that need to be drawn between our (online) public and private lives, the liminal spaces that 20 to 30-something “mainstream-media ignored” women in today’s uncertain world occupy, and how we can all work to make each other feel way less alone by sharing more of ourselves in the raw truths, lived experiences and real human moments of the space between. 

Guest:Zara McDonald of Shameless Podcast

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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In between when you woke up this morning and when you go to sleep tonight, 55 Australian women will be told they have breast cancer. The same will happen tomorrow, the day after that and every day ongoing, making breast cancer the most common cancer affecting Australian women.

In fact, it is estimated that 20,000+ new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Australia in 2020. Only 5-10% of breast cancers are hereditary, which means that over 90% have no genetic link. 

In this episode, Human Cogs hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat to the extraordinarily insightful, soulful and courageous Kath Elliott.

A successful business woman and mother of 3 boys who worked in the fast-paced world of PR, Kath's life was suddenly stripped bare of the superfluous when one ordinary morning in August 2019, aged 46, she discovered a breast lump while getting dressed to race out the door to another busy day at work.

What follows is her raw story of surrender, survival and ultimately, acceptance as she has gone deep to find a way back into herself - physically, spiritually and emotionally. 

But you don’t have to have been personally touched by cancer, or know a loved one who has, to reap the deep insights and life lessons shared in this chat. These lessons are a teacher for us all about the importance of living in your body and not just in your head; what a sliding door moment of cancer diagnosis can catalyse in your life; and how looking death in the eye can make you feel more fully alive than you ever have. 

Guest:Kath Elliott 
Websites:Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) kathrynelliott.net
Socials: Instagram @healingbreastcancer

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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A self-described “brain for hire”, Ben Sorensen is a media host, presenter, writer, and marketing whizz. Ben also sits on the Autism Spectrum, and has learned to “hack his brain” to find ways to help him make sense of the world.

From an early age growing up in country Queensland, Ben recognised that the way he processed the world was very different to people around him, and that his brain worked faster and at a more meta level than neurotypical people, leaving him feeling socially isolated and perplexed about how humans work.

But last year, at the age of 36, Ben sought out a formal diagnosis of ASD, and has continued to kick goals, hone his gift and fully “utilise his asset” - his remarkable brain - and capacity for human kindness.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet explore Ben’s lived experience of autism, the inner workings of a mind trying to decipher the complexity of human emotions and relational nuance, and some of the challenges he has faced in better understanding how to do human well.

But beyond his diagnosis, we also learn about Ben’s personal philosophy and values including the importance of being “consciously kind”, the need for us all to move from mere tolerance to true acceptance, and his continuing quest for greater equality in the world.

Ben says he wouldn’t trade his ASD for quids. Because it gives so much more than it takes.

Guest: Ben Sorensen
Websites:bensorensen1.com bseaustralia.com friendinme.com
Socials: Instagram Twitter

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Let’s talk about exes. We’ve all had one and we’ve all been one, so why do some leave such an indelible mark on our hearts while others move on leaving little impact on our lives?

Breakups can be painful and heart-breaking, a complete surprise or a total relief.

But whichever way it ends, in the aftermath, there’s always a story to be told as we try to make sense of the way we parted, the reasons why and the grief that trails in the wake of a breakup.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read hear the behind the scenes story of a relationship breakup that left accomplished journalist, instagram queen, Everyone Has An Ex podcast host, and former Bachelorette Georgia Love feeling completely broken, abandoned, and like she would never love again. 

Georgia shares the moment when the man she had been with for 3 years and thought was "the one" turned to her on an ordinary morning to say he was done, abruptly ended their relationship and walked out - with no warning and zero explanation.

If you’ve ever had a break-up you can’t shake, been completely ghosted or have carried old breakup wounds into subsequent relationships, then you’ll relate to Georgia’s raw, heart-felt and honest story of being rejected, struggling to trust and then, finally, learning to love again.  

Guest:Georgia Love
Podcast:Everyone Has An Ex
Socials: Twitter, Instagram

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Nikole Ramsay grew up in a tumbling, hectic, people-filled household as the youngest of four kids. A self-confessed tomboy and late bloomer, Nik remembers the fun and chaos of a big family quickly shrinking as each of her three siblings grew up and left home.

She was left as an only, sometimes lonely child, in a quiet house in the suburbs, yearning for the abundance of a big and bustling family again.

Nik eventually grew up too, as we do, and left home to study, live and work overseas as a successful photographer, when she and her husband decided in their mid-30’s they wanted to start a family.

But after taking five years to conceive their son, they struggled to conceive again, and so together they began researching and considering the idea of fostering a child.

This episode steps into the seams of that story, and explores Nik and her husband’s eventual fostering of their now daughter.

We explore the uncertainties, hopes, expectations and emotions that surface when you open your heart and your home to bring a precious and vulnerable little stranger into your family fold. 

The journey has been filled with both joy and challenge, and at times, like all of us as parents, Nik wondered whether she could manage the emotional and relational strain of foster parenting.

But Nik describes her daughter as her greatest teacher and mirror to her own self and story, as she seeks to understand the role of nature and nurture in human development, and the unseen family forces that shape us all.

Guest:Nikole Ramsay
Website:nikoleramsay.com
Australian Foster Care Association 
Socials: Instagram, Facebook

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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This episode starts with Richard Stansbury reading his heart-wrenching eulogy to his father. 

Richard says his father had been desperately searching for years, and had spent most of his life running from himself until he could no longer cope with the pain he experienced everyday. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet explore the often taboo topic of suicide, the intergenerational impact of secrets, shame and mental illness in Richard’s family, and his own journey to find forgiveness and empathy for his father.

Richard now accepts there was nothing he could have done to save his Dad, and that finding ways to manage his own depression and suicidal thoughts is the way forward to change the cycle and the story for his family. 

This is a pretty raw conversation of transition and despair, and lays bare the emotional and turbulent human experience of depression and what happens in the wake of losing a parent to suicide.

Conversations about suicide are uncomfortable, but suicide is a topic that touches many, and an issue we all need to address. If this episode is distressing or triggering, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Guest:Richard Stansbury
RUOK day. Reach out to someone and ask R U OK?
World Suicide Prevention Day.Learn more here.

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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Jane Martino is a polymathic, award-winning Australian entrepreneur who has built multiple companies and is the Cofounder of globally recognised not-for-profit organisation Smiling Mind - a free online Mindfulness Meditation program that has more than 4 million regular users. 

Jane has been on the Board of the Melbourne Football Club, is a powerhouse business woman, and the author of multiple books including a series of children’s books on wellbeing that will be released in October 2020. And yep - she is also brewing another startup!

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat to Jane about being a disruptor, the price one pays for professional attainment, and the work she has done to push back on societal and systemic norms to live her personal and professional story more intentionally, and authentically.

We also explore how she and her ex-husband, Matt Martino, found a way forward together to create positive shared-parenting strategies after their separation, and how raising her three boys with intentional transparency has helped anchor her during this time of life transition, and personal transformation. 

Guest:Jane Martino
Website:Smiling Mind
Socials: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram (Smiling Mind)

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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Matt Martino is a 49-year-old designer, artist and father of 3 boys who has had his quarter-life crisis, survived the hurt, loss and hard work of a marriage separation, and come out of it softer, more weathered and a whole lot wiser about the importance of being an optimistic man, conscious father and respectful ex-husband. 

He believes life is comprised of 7-year cycles, and that men’s biological clocks start ticking at about 28. By 35 you’ve got your house and family, and then BOOM! - at 42, your mid-life crisis kicks in and you start questioning yourself, the world around you, and what you have or haven’t achieved in comparison to others.

Matt has certainly lived his ‘7’s’, and had time to make sense of life’s cycles.

He’s been a father in Mother’s Group, and knows how desperately lonely it is behind the thankless curtain of stay-at-home parenthood when your day-to-day experience is a world away from your working partners.

He’s had to lose himself to find himself again when his marriage fell apart. And he’s done the work to go deep and get to know who he really is so he can show up - more fully present and alive - in his every day.  

But hitting 49 has been a big time of change for Matt, as he and his ex-wife continue to navigate how to co-parent their boys with respect and trust, and he learns to prioritise the importance of nurturing himself and his sons to live by the mantra of treating others as you wish to be treated yourself.

Join Human Cogs Hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet in this conversation with Matt Martino, which runs deep to the heart of what happens inside a man when a marriages ends, provides useful advice on how to successfully co-parent - and is ultimately an affirming story of the power of personal growth through pain.

Guest:Matt Martino 
Websites:The Father Hood - Open Letter from Matt Martino

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Sally Capp is the first woman to be directly elected as Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and is a serial ‘have-a-goer’ by her own account. ​

(For the record, in her eagerness to get cracking in her newly elected role, she turned up for work at Melbourne Town Hall three days before she was meant to officially start).

But for all of her firsts, in this episode Human Cogs, Sally shares some of the "seconds" that are a formative part of her career story, and reveals what hasn’t worked out so well. 

She also unpacks the ‘a-ha’ moments that have come from the depths of despair; her “crack networking” skills, personal pressure points and issues-focussed feedback loop; her early career as a lawyer and unrealised dreams of becoming a barrister - plus the moment she decided to turn her energy and purpose to public life.

One of the many messages in the stories Sally shared with Hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet in this candid chat is her remarkable capacity to rethink old beliefs, heuristics and assumptions in the face of new people, information and experiences. 

This isn’t easy for any of us, and Sally reflects on the importance of challenging her own “puppy dog” behaviour, her work to develop a more authentic style of leadership that has enabled her to create opportunity of conflict - plus her ongoing focus on people and purpose (and not politics) that fuels her commitment to the unsung deeply human heroes of the everyday.

Guest:Lord Mayor Sally Capp 
Websites: City of Melbourne + sallycapp.com
Twitter: @SallyCapp_  @LordMayorMelb

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Darren Mort grew up in an abusive family and says he didn’t really have much of a childhood.

Every night he had a huge amount of regret waiting for his father’s car to pull up in the driveway. His father was a VFL legend - an angry and abusive man who had come from a ‘lousy’ household, and was scarred by his own difficult past. He eventually sent the family into bankruptcy and chaos when Darren was a teenager. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet explore Darren's story and journey into his difficult past, to understand his complex relationship with a father he at times despised, and intergenerational family patterns of 'repeat and repel'. 

This is a remarkable story of Darren's survival and pathway to forgiveness, and to finding a way to carry himself forward and be the father and man he strives to be today in the shadow of his father's dysfunctional past. 

Darren is a renowned criminal and family law barrister, published author, acclaimed film maker and has made it his personal quest to stop the cycles of violence and damage in broken families. Of the nearly 1 in 2 marriages that end in divorce, 48% have kids involved, and 65% of those kids are exposed to family violence.

Darren is on a mission to change this, and help families separate with a pocketful of dignity instead of tearing each other apart. 

Guest:Darren Mort 

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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In the age of Trump and Putin, you’d be forgiven for thinking modern-day masculinity is broken. Too often, on the path from boy to man, there is a painful shift that makes many young men hide their real selves from the world.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet unpack masculinity with the extraordinarily bright and soulful Joel Lazar - Head of Operations at The Man Cave, a preventative mental health and emotional intelligence organisation for boys and young men. 

Joel spent a few years honing his craft in commercial law at one of Australia’s leading firms but became quickly disillusioned with law as an avenue to effect the change he deeply wanted to see in the world. 

So he took a leap and left the legal profession to find a way to bring his love for poetry, incisive problem solving, elements of his Jewish faith and views on what it means to be masculine to his current role giving young men the emotional and life skills they need, to grow up to be the men the world needs.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re in the right career for you, been stuck in a rut and feel empty because your work doesn’t reflect your values, if you're a parent or educator and you think masculinity needs a shake-up to reflect today’s world, then this is the episode for you.

Guest:Joel Lazar
Website: The Man Cave

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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Jason Ball is best known as a pioneering LGBTIQ advocate who after coming out in 2012 used his voice to launch a campaign to challenge homophobia in sport and drive cultural change within the AFL.

But this is not the whole story.

At the age of 12, Jason held his secret and shame so deeply that he thought suicide may be a better option than coming out. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet go deep with Jason as he shares his powerful and sometimes agonising story of trying to be someone he wasn’t.

Jason also reflects on the challenges of growing up gay with no role models, all the while trying to find ways to fit in to the often toxic culture of masculinity in men’s elite sport.

If you’ve ever had the thought that being gay was acceptable for others, but not for you; or if you’ve ever believed you’ve been defined by one part of yourself, yet hanker to let the other parts shine, then join us for this episode of Human Cogs as we talk to Jason, who is not only one of the most compassionate humans you will every meet, but an inspiration to anyone trying to live authentically against both real and perceived hurdles that at times feel insurmountable. 

Guest:Jason Ball
Website: jasonball.com

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

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If you’ve ever thought of yourself as the good time party girl or boy, then had a hangover that changed everything; or if you’ve struggled with mental health issues regardless of having had a great childhood; or if you’ve ever considered happiness as the holy grail, then this conversation is for you. 

Jill Stark is a best-selling author, award-winning journalist, and passionate mental health advocate. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet take the long, hard road back into Jill’s dark past, as she shares her experience of what she refers to as her “breakthrough, not breakdown”. 

No stranger to crippling anxiety and an over-reliance on alcohol, Jill explains the liberating power of understanding her childhood and family dynamics in making sense of her own feelings of being defective, and the shifts that therapy - and her eventual sobriety - have created in her life. 

Guest:Jill Stark
Website: jillstark.com

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer:Daryl Missen atPurple Wax

Human Cogs is available onApple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcastsor via ourwebsite.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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