Human Cogs Podcast

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...

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 ins...

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 unde...

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 l...

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-...

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 academi...

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...

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 ill...

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...

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 som...

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....

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 s...

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 a...

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 s...

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...

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...

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....

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 se...

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 Masterche...

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...

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 mino...

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 and both the 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 Trent...

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. She is also a  commentator on The Project, Today, The Drum and 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 c...

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...

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 wor...