Bountifull Podcast

What if the way you show up in every moment, at work, at home, with strangers, is shaping not just your life, but the lives of hundreds of people you'll never meet? In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, Sian sits down with bestselling author, 2x TEDx speaker and researcher Marcy Axelrod to unpack her life's work: understanding what it truly means to show up. Marcy introduces her three...

What happens when a childhood spent exploring wild places becomes the work of an entire life? In part one of this two-part conversation, I’m joined by Lou Sanson, one of New Zealand’s most influential conservation leaders. Lou grew up on the West Coast of New Zealand, learning to cross rivers, climb mountains, cook over fires and navigate the backcountry. At 13, he encountered two forestry workers...

What happens when the life you worked so hard to build no longer fits? In this episode, I’m joined by Andy Johns for a deep and honest conversation about the valley between two mountains — the liminal space between who you were and who you are yet to become. Andy spent 17 years in Silicon Valley climbing the first mountain of life: career, achievement, status, success, and external validation. But...

Most of us are building lives we are not fully present for. We optimise, produce, tick things off and tell ourselves we will get to the good stuff once things calm down. But things rarely calm down. They speed up. And one day you look around and realise your kids have stopped coming to you, your relationships are running on autopilot, and the life you worked so hard to build is one you are barely...

In this episode, I’m joined by Renée DiResta, Associate Research Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality, who studies social media, online manipulation, AI, misinformation, and how messages move across the internet. This conversation started with a simple question: how do we stay safe online? But it...

In this episode, I’m joined by Marley Rose Harris, founder of the Higher Self app and creator of the Clear the Fear method. I wanted to speak to Marley because I was interested in how she works with fear. Where it starts, how it gets stored, and why it can keep showing up in decisions around money, love, work, safety and self-worth. Marley’s life changed after losing her dad to suicide. That loss...

In this episode, I’m joined by Holly Cardew, an Australian entrepreneur, founder and friend of mine, for a conversation about ambition, self-belief, work, independence and what it means to build a life that actually feels like your own. Holly has always had a very practical kind of confidence. She does not wait until she knows everything before she starts. At 12, she was packing sponges for $5 an...

In this episode, I'm joined by Christopher Seward, a documentary filmmaker and editor whose work includes Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, Ariel Phenomenon (UFOs), One Child Nation, and more than 40 documentary films. Christopher edited top-grossing documentaries including Fahrenheit 9/11, winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and Sicko, both earning him American Cinema Editors Guild awards for Best Document...

In this episode, Dr Aarti Soorya explores the nervous system not as something to “fix,” but as something to understand, listen to, and work with. Aarti trained as a physician, became chief resident, and then moved into functional medicine after feeling that conventional medicine was missing something deeper. But even functional medicine, with its labs, supplements, and protocols, didn’t fully answ...

Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, and deeply imaginative thinker whose work invites us to look again at one of the most misunderstood parts of being human: play. In Part 2 of this conversation, Denise takes us beyond the story of her own childhood promise and into the deeper question of what play actually is. Not just fun. Not just recreation. Not just something children...

Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, and deeply imaginative thinker whose life has been shaped by a promise she made to herself as a child: never stop playing. In Part 1 of this conversation, Denise shares the origin story behind that promise. Growing up in Chicago with a Shriner clown for a father, she was surrounded by humour, imagination, and a sense that life did not ha...

For a lot of people, getting older does not feel like winding down. It feels like being pushed to the edges before you are ready. In this episode, Andrew Middleton shares what happened after a LinkedIn post about turning 66 unexpectedly resonated with thousands of people who felt exactly the same. What followed was not just a viral moment, but the beginning of a much bigger conversation about age,...

In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, I’m joined by Eri Kardos, a relationship coach and founder of Relearn Love, for a practical and honest conversation about what it actually takes to build healthy, connected relationships. Eri challenges the idea that we should instinctively know how to do relationships well. Instead, she frames them as a skill set most of us were never taught. From commun...

In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, I’m joined by Carylynn Larson, an organizational psychologist, executive coach, and mental health advocate, for a deeply important conversation about mental health in the workplace, stigma, leadership, and what it really means to create environments where people can thrive. Carylynn shares her own personal journey with an eating disorder and reflects on h...

This week on the Bountifull Podcast, I sit down with Carl Honoré, the bestselling author who helped bring the Slow Movement into the mainstream, for a conversation that feels deeply timely. We explore why so many of us are rushing through our lives, where our obsession with speed actually comes from, and what it’s quietly costing us in the process. From memory and creativity to relationships, heal...

This week on the Bountifull Podcast, I sit down with astrologer Steve Judd for a conversation that goes far beyond horoscopes, stereotypes, or who should date a Libra. Steve has spent more than four decades reading charts and helping people understand themselves through the lens of astrology. In this episode, we explore what astrology actually is, what it isn’t, and why so many people are drawn to...

“Find things that you’re passionate about and go and work on those.” In this episode, Michael Fox shares the story behind Fable and the journey that brought him to the world of mushrooms, food innovation, and purpose-driven business. We talk about entrepreneurship, the lessons he’s learnt across his three startups, failure, changing your mind as you learn, and how life experiences can quietly resh...

“Music is one of the most powerful tools we have, and most of us aren’t tapping into what it can actually do.” Music surrounds us every day—on the radio, in our headphones, in the background of our lives. But what is it actually doing to our brains, our emotions, and our bodies? In this conversation with neurologic music therapist Emily Polichette, we explore why music has such a powerful impact o...

What happens after trauma? Western culture often gives us a binary: move on or stay broken. In this episode, psychologist Dr. Thea Comeau offers a more nuanced and humane alternative: integration . We explore post-traumatic growth not as a neat redemption story, and not as a requirement, but as a possibility that can sit alongside pain, grief, confusion, and ongoing struggle. Thea explains how tra...

“Sometimes not knowing the rules is the thing that lets you see what’s possible.” Mallun Yen’s life and career have been shaped by not quite fitting the mould — and learning to see that as an advantage. Growing up as the daughter of immigrants, Mallun often felt like an outsider. She spent years trying to blend in, to understand the unspoken rules around her. But over time, she realised that being...

“Notice the nature around you — and take time to just be.” In this conversation, Holli-Anne Passmore explores the powerful relationship between nature, wellbeing, and meaning in life. Her work focuses on how small, everyday interactions with the natural world can shift how we feel, think, and experience our lives. We often think of nature as something we have to travel to — mountains, oceans, nati...

When full-time work ends, the daily structure and identity that came with it shifts, sometimes in ways people don’t anticipate. In this conversation, Klay Williams shares what he’s learned from coaching people through this transition, including insights from a documentary series following three individuals navigating retirement. Klay’s background is unusual. He began as a purpose coach working wit...

We talk a lot about women’s cycles — hormonal, emotional, seasonal — but rarely about men’s. In this episode, Jed Diamond helps bring men into the conversation. With over 50 years of experience working with men and families, Jed explains how men move through powerful biological and emotional rhythms across their lives. From daily and seasonal hormonal shifts to the deeper transition of male menopa...

In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, we explore the often-hidden role of shame and stigma in shaping how we live, relate, and see ourselves — and why understanding them is essential to living a truly bountiful life. Through a thoughtful, grounded conversation with clinical psychologist Magenta Silberman, we unpack how shame differs from guilt, how it quietly embeds itself into identity and s...

In this episode, Michael Breus , widely known as The Sleep Doctor , explores why sleep is not just a health habit, but the foundation of how we feel, think, and experience life. Michael explains that sleep underpins our ability to experience joy, regulate emotions, focus, and build resilience. When we’re sleep deprived, positive emotions are dampened, negative thinking intensifies, and even small...