Bird

Today we talk to one of Magdalena’s oldest friends, Mathilde Marengo, Head of Studies and Director of the Urban Sciences Lab at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). Mathilde shares her journey as a first generation Australian to French and Italian parents, growing up in a French school, studying Architecture in Italy, and finding her feet in Barcelona.

We talk to Genevieve “Gwen” Kingston, author, actor, and teacher, about the essence of life; the role of community, understanding our personal history, and trusting our own wisdom, alongside discussing her new memoir “Did I ever tell you?”, the story of her mother’s love and death, and the foundation she laid before her.

Manal Abuzeid, product designer and founder of Abuzeid Design Studio, talks about starting a company while living a nomadic life, choosing clients that align with your purpose, and how burnout, resiliency, and self-reflection got her here.

In today’s episode we speak to Leah Dove, statistician and Second City alumni. We dive into the very personal story of Leah’s upbringing, the complexity of family dynamics as well as generational trauma, and its impact on her life’s decisions. It all culminates with one of the most difficult decisions anyone could face, cutting ties with their mother.

Ryann Bosetti, once hailed as "the best haircut in Marfa, Texas," by Vogue magazine, transitioned from business school in San Francisco to the bustling hair salons of NYC. Now, she's prioritizing moments of stillness to liberate herself from the grind. We delve into the essence of hairdressing, Ryann's early decision against motherhood at age 5, the challenges of finding jeans as a woman over 6 fe...

Kristina Takeshita, LAPD's Forensics Unit Lab Director, boasts a distinguished 29-year career, beginning as a student worker. Her journey, marked by transformative cases, reflects unwavering commitment to justice. Notably, as leader of the DNA unit, she successfully cleared a 6,000-kit sexual assault backlog, some untouched for 15 years. Thanks to her team's dedication, processing time now stands...

At the age of 8 Magdalena Wosinska and her family left their homeland of Poland and headed for America. Her journey is a testament to the transformative power of culture shock, which ultimately lead her to the world of skateboarding and photography. Through the lens, she discovered a powerful tool to bridge the gap between her inner world and the external one, creating a visual language that trans...

From post-it notes to rocket launches, Liz De La Torre is a Creative Technologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Liz's unique path began as an undergraduate student in illustration and entertainment art, a far cry from the traditional routes into the world of space exploration. However, her artistic talents have proven invaluable in a completely unexpected way.

As a professional beach volleyball player, Sarah Straton represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, however, she played some of her best volleyball in the years that followed. Embarking on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth, Sarah transformed her fears into fuel transitioning from an elite athlete to a dedicated coach and educator.

How does a society's infrastructure impact people's ability to reach their full potential? What impressions do we make by the way we look – and how does that change depending on the context we're in? What happens when you replace fear with love and compassion? Our final episode of season two kicks off the new year with some big questions. We discuss these and much more with London-based human righ...

At the time of recording Tanya Robinson OBE was the head of Diversity & Inclusion at Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. She shares with us insights around the growing non-white population in the UK prison system, her ongoing charity work with sex workers in east London, and how we are all links in a chain – creating opportunities for change.

Caroline Wyatt’s job is to share other people’s stories but her own story is the one worth sharing. She was adopted by a British diplomat and spent much of her childhood traveling the world, a passion which lead her to journalism. Her 30+ years at the BBC have seen her in many roles including that of a war correspondent. She shares with us those experiences, the incredible people she met along the...

The most important role of a CEO is to empower those around them, according to Anna Brozek, CEO of Big Cartel. She put that belief to the test when her personal life took a turn — At the same time Big Cartel asked her to take a leadership role, she discovered she had developed Graves' disease. Realizing she needed to invest in her health and family, Anna has fostered a company culture that enables...

Growing up in Communist Poland, Magda Walter had an instilled desire to travel. Her fascination with the outside world led her down a path engrossed in world politics through the lens of a journalism career. Now semi-retired, she spends her time consulting, volunteering at a helpline for survivors of domestic abuse, and contemplating our path to extinction...

When Anna Mey moved from communist Poland to Australia at the age of seven, she found a world of abundance and a new language — but she always held onto the promise that she’d one day return home. Years later, when it became clear her family was going to remain in Australia, she decided to return to Poland on her own. What follows is a story of strength, perseverance and independence, as we hear h...

When Pat Samaddar moved from India to Krakow 11 years ago, she experienced a one-woman cultural revolution—she’d left all her friends and a high-powered career in software, and didn’t speak a word of Polish to boot. But living outside her comfort zone proved to be a personal awakening. Now, she’s the president of the International Women’s Association Krakow, works only on her own terms, and has ra...

Writer Nicole Campoy Jackson loves home cooking so much, she can’t resist putting her own spin on her dishes. She figured others were doing the same—so she decided to launch a site, To Taste, where enthusiastic cooks can tweak recipes and share them with others. Nicole tells us about how having a baby gave her the courage to branch out on her own. (Oh yeah, and about the role OJ Simpson has played...

Jolly Nguyen’s incredible joy and energy is captured by her name. In Vietnam, few people travel beyond their hometown, but Jolly knew there is a world waiting for her to see. After an impromptu solo trip to the north of Vietnam, she embarked on a journey of travel, volunteering, and giving back to the community. She's now completing her master’s degree while running an NGO that brings together loc...

As a migrant who moved from Poland to Australia in the ‘60s, Mira Stanisławska treats the whole earth as her home. She doesn’t see borders or barriers — which may explain her insanely eclectic career. Besides raising a family in Melbourne, she has worked as a publicist, bought and sold a restaurant, became an art consultant, opened an Aboriginal gallery, designed gardens, and finally launched an e...

The realest talk comes from those who’ve lived the most. That’s why we loved our editor Magda’s candid phone call with her grand aunt, Thea Paoli. Thea has lived all over the world, speaks several languages, and never married—though she’s unexpectedly fallen in love at age 80. What would she tell her 30-year-old self? “Get your act together and make your own decisions!”

Dina Samson calls herself “The Accidental Everything.” Over the years, she’s done stints in investment banking, entertainment (working for Sean “Puffy” Combs!), and videogame production. Now, she owns two restaurants with her husband, Sotto and Rossoblu—but she’s not done trying out careers yet. Her recipe for figuring out what’s next: Do stop thinking about money, and never stop learning more.

It’s hard to tire Janet Zuccarini in conversation. The one-woman powerhouse behind Gusto 54 restaurant group has an appetite for all sorts of topics: food, family legacies, real estate, neighborhood revitalization, taking advice, and the perils of partnership. As she oversees Venice’s hottest restaurant, Felix, she explains why it can be helpful to be underestimated in a male-dominated industry. A...

Chelsea Naftelberg oversees influencer programs at the social media agency ATTENTION in Santa Monica. But what’s an influencer, really? According to Chelsea, we’re all influencers in our ways—if people value your opinion, then chances are you’ll influence theirs. It’s that attention to subtle influences that has guided Chelsea’s approach to her professional and personal growth, helping her know th...

Ann Shoket has always connected in a very real way to a generation of young women, from helping to launch CosmoGirl to becoming the youngest editor-in-chief of Seventeen. Now, she’s published a book for women growing into adulthood and searching for “The Big Life.”

Two decades ago, Becki Chernoff was living the so-called American Dream. She bought her own home at age 23, held a lucrative software job at Ford for 10 years… and was bored to death. So she packed up and moved to LA to work doing the two things she really loved: ceramics and “car hunting” (a profession we admittedly didn’t realize existed until now). She’s given up on the idea of having life figu...