The Friendship Tree Podcast

The challenges facing young people have only intensified. Today, 63,000 young people in Queensland are experiencing disengagement from education, a number forecast to grow to 283,000 10 to 14 year olds by 2030. One in four young people face mental health challenges, and suicide remains the leading cause of death among young people. (TRACTION Annual Report 2025) These are the numbers Sandy Murdoch...

Sandy Blackburn has spent decades asking a simple question: are organisations actually doing what they say they value? As founder of Social Outcomes and Impact Culture Australia, she helps for-purpose organisations build the systems, clarity, and culture to back up their ambitions — and she joins Adam to talk about what that really looks like in practice. From impact reporting to organisational po...

What started with a busted washing machine, a borrowed van, and a parental reality check has grown into one of Australia's most beloved charities. In this episode, Adam sits down with Nic Marchesi, co-founder of Orange Sky Australia, to hear the story of an organisation that has never been afraid to think differently or back itself when others said it couldn't be done. From humble beginn...

What does it mean to give without expecting anything in return? For Melissa Redsell, it's not just a philosophy — it's the founding principle of A Brave Life. Adam sits down with Melissa to hear how her own experience as a young mother in crisis became the blueprint for a registered charity now gifting hundreds of baby bundles each week to vulnerable mothers right across Queensland. An h...

Just one episode in, and Adam is already switching seats. In our next podcast, Adam steps out from behind the mic, with Mike, to answer a few of his own.  In this episode, he opens up to share the story behind the Friendship Tree: the upbringing that shaped him, the values handed down by the people who raised him, and the experiences that helped channel his creativity into building a positive move...

In this episode Zoë Black, Founder and CEO of Happy Paws Happy Hearts shares how animals help create social spaces where confidence can grow – for both people and paws. Adam sits down with Zoë to explore the power of trust, patience, and two-way healing.