If These Trees Could Talk

As NAIDOC Week begins, Megan and Shannon sit down with Aunty Brenda Matthews—proud Wiradjuri woman, author, filmmaker, speaker and survivor of the Stolen Generations—to share the deeply personal story behind one of Australia's most painful chapters. Taken from her family as a young child, Brenda grew up between two worlds, carrying questions of identity, belonging and truth that would shape the co...

Ghost mushrooms seem almost impossible. Tiny fungi glowing in the darkness of the Australian bush, creating one of nature's most extraordinary natural spectacles. But as scientist and fungal educator Karen Livesay explains, the real story is even more fascinating than the glow itself. After joining one of Karen's Glenrock Ghost Fungus Tours, Shannon and Megan sit down with her to explore the hidde...

In this episode of What Would They Say, Shannon sits down with Doug and McKenna, the father and sister of Riley, a young man whose life ended in suicide. Together, they share not only the story of Riley's death, but more importantly, the story of his life - the person he was, the love he inspired, and the profound impact his absence continues to have on those who knew him best. In the year followi...

Memory, belonging, and learning to live where love still echoes. In Part 2 of Shannon’s conversation with Racheal Rye, the focus shifts from grief itself to the places grief inhabits. After losing her children Christian, Hannah and Ben, Racheal found herself navigating not only profound loss, but the spaces that held it. Homes, rooms, routines, landscapes and everyday objects became intertwined wi...

In this deeply personal episode, Shannon sits down with her close friend Racheal for a conversation about grief and the unimaginable experience of losing a child. Rachel has lost three of her children — Christian, Hannah and Benjamin — each in different circumstances, at different times in her life. Through her story, we explore what grief asks of a person, what it means to breathe when that feels...

What happens when we step beyond what feels safe?  In this episode, Shannon and Megan explore the invisible boundaries that shape our lives and the quiet ways our worlds can shrink when comfort becomes our default setting. Drawing on experiences from the recent If These Trees Could Heal retreat, where women stepped into cold water, breathwork, vulnerability and self-discovery, alongside Shannon's...

A few episodes ago, Megan and Shannon found themselves stuck on a question that felt far bigger than either of them expected… Why is it so easy to encourage other people to chase the things they love… but when it comes to ourselves, it feels layered with fear, guilt, responsibility, and the quiet belief that maybe we’re asking for too much? So Shannon decided to sit down with someone who has spent...

You probably know the name Malcolm Naden. But do you know theirs? This episode revisits one of Australia’s most widely known manhunts—but not in the way it’s usually told. While the search through the New South Wales bush became the story many remember, this was never really about the man or the hunt. It was always about the lives that were lost. We centre the stories of Lateesha Nolan and Kristy...

In Part 2 of this conversation with Sarah Bignell, we move beyond the encounters themselves and into what happens after they’re shared. Because seeing something is one thing… saying it out loud is something else entirely. Drawing on years of speaking with witnesses, Sarah shares the emotional weight these experiences can carry—how silence, skepticism, and ridicule shape the way people hold their s...

In this episode of If These Trees Could Talk, Shannon sits down with Sarah Bignell, host of Yowie Central, to explore the growing body of firsthand Yowie encounter stories across Australia—and the deeper questions they raise. After years of speaking with witnesses, Sarah has heard hundreds of accounts from everyday people. While each story is unique, patterns begin to emerge: similar descriptions,...

In this deeply personal episode of What Would They Say, we step into Megan's real-time experiment - one that questions not just alcohol, but the habits we rarely examine. This is not a rock-bottom story. There are no dramatic turning points or life-altering consequences. Instead, it’s the story of a “grey area” drinker - someone whose relationship with alcohol looks normal on the surface, but no l...

Ghosts, legends, and an unsolved murder Norah Head is known for its lighthouse, but the coastline holds more than just light. We dive into the haunting legend of Jenny Dixon Beach, the mysterious hitchhiker of Wilfred Barrett Drive, and the real-life unsolved murder of Grace and Kathleen Holmes. In this episode, we separate local folklore from the chilling truths that remain along the Central Coas...

Becoming your own role model through honesty, lived experience, and survival.  Laurie Edmundson is helping reshape how we understand borderline personality disorder (BPD) — not as something to fear, but as something to understand. In this episode, Laurie shares how her journey from stigma to advocacy has created space for “super feelers” to see their emotions differently — not as a flaw, but as a...

A small town. A quiet cottage. And something that refused to be explained.  In 1921, the small town of Guyra became the centre of one of Australia’s most famous poltergeist cases. Stones smashed through windows, objects moved, and police, reporters and locals gathered around a quiet cottage — watching something they couldn’t explain. In this episode Shannon and Megan step into the story as it unfo...

What happens when full-time travel pushes you beyond your comfort zone?  In this episode, Australian van life creators Daniel and Elyse (Quittin’ & Trippin’) step into an experience that challenges everything they thought they knew about comfort, freedom, and living on the road. This honest conversation goes beyond travel Australia content—it explores what full-time van life really asks of you...

When the Thing You Resist Becomes Exactly What You Need  There are moments we almost walk away from. The quiet no. The hesitation. The resistance we trust without questioning. And yet… sometimes those are the very moments that hold something we didn’t realise we needed. In this episode, we step into one of those almost-no’s and what unfolded is not just a reflection on that time, but an exploratio...

A Survivor Story About Grooming, Trauma, and Healing    In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Shannon speaks with writer, poet and advocate Kat Mackay about surviving grooming, sexual assault, and the long journey of healing after trauma. Kat lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder and throughout the episode refers to themselves using “we” and “us.” This reflects the way their inter...

 The Dismantling of an International Sex Trafficking Network   This episode begins in Cairns, Queensland, and follows the international child exploitation case involving Peter Truong and Mark Newton. From encrypted hard drives to coordinated cross-border law enforcement, this is the story of how a global trafficking network was exposed and dismantled. At a time when the handling of high-profile se...

In this second and final part of our conversation, and the first episode of What Would They Say, Rob reflects on the life that followed those two days in 1977 and the quiet, complicated aftermath of surviving something so public and so traumatic. He speaks about the years that came after the siege in Wooreen, Victoria, the lingering impact of being taken hostage by escaped gunman Edwin John Eastwo...

A Classroom Kidnapping in Rural Victoria. In February 1977, Rob Hunter was just 20 years old and nine days into his first teaching role when an armed gunman entered his classroom at Wooreen, Victoria. Rob and nine students were taken hostage. In part one of this two-episode conversation, Rob recounts the events of that day and the responsibility placed on him in an unfolding crisis. Content note:...

Many men are taught how to be strong — but not how to be supported. In this episode, we sit down with Dan Repacholi, Federal Member for the Hunter and Special Envoy for Men’s Health, for a deeply personal conversation about shame, responsibility, resilience, and vulnerability. Drawing on his own experiences and public role, Dan reflects on identity, pressure, and the quiet courage it takes to ask...

Words for the Year, Wildlife Encounters, Survival, Growth and Momentum  A new season of If These Trees Could Talk begins in the space between presence and momentum. In this season-opening episode, we share our words for the year, introduce the evolving direction of the podcast, and welcome a new branch of storytelling. Through Australian wildlife encounters, survival instincts, and the symbolism o...

This episode marks the Season 2 finale of If These Trees Could Talk — a pause at the end of a long, heavy, meaningful year. We’re reflecting on the places we’ve walked, the stories that found us, and the moments that changed how we see the world. Some of this year unfolded quietly, some of it hit hard, and not all of it came with neat answers, but every step left its mark. This is also our thank y...

This episode asks a simple question with a definitive answer: What does showing up really look like? From the rolling hills of Deepwater to the everyday Australian homes where people quietly fight their battles, we explore how connection can be a shield, a comfort, and sometimes the difference between holding on and letting go. We’re joined by Stuart O'Neill — Suicide Prevention Advocate, Public S...

The horror of John Price’s murder sent shockwaves through Aberdeen and across Australia. In this final episode, we follow the case from Knight’s arrest to her courtroom, exploring the psychological assessments, her personality disorder diagnosis, and the intense public scrutiny that followed. We also look inside her life in prison; where she’s both feared and respected and consider the wider lesso...