It's about nothing!

Attention. Everyone wants yours. Your phone. Your boss. Your fridge at 11pm. But what actually is attention? Why is it so slippery? And why do we get distracted by literally anything — except the thing we’re meant to be doing? In this episode, we dig into the weird science of attention. We explore why your brain is wired to chase personally meaningful information, why multitasking is mostly a lie,...

Would you rather have an electric shock right now or the chance of having one over the next day? Most people would rather take the punishment right away rather than handle the stress of a possible one. In short, humans are often find uncertainty and unpredictability anxiety provoking. How does this play out in life and work?

Are you a humble person? According to our guest, Professor Simon Moss, studies have revealed that humble people tend to be generous people. They offer their time, and may sacrifice their needs, to help or to encourage other individuals. But is this generosity a blessing or a curse? Simon share with us his perspectives on a new concept 'radical humility', which is a movement to prevent na...

Do you rage drive? What bugs you most about other drivers? Today's podcast is about driving and the different road user behaviours that annoy us. We even get into a little bit of the ethics of AI where Nick tricks Cam into admitting he would program the AI vehicle to sacrifice the driver for the greater good. Well, not exactly but that's exactly the sort of discussions that are happening...

This podcast is stressful!  Life is stressful! Without stress, we wouldn't grow or be challenged. But sometimes we are tipped over the edge and the stress itself becomes the challenge to overcome. Cam and Nick discuss stress in this first podcast for 2024 including some of their strategies for managing stress.

Is your calendar full of meetings? What's the point of them anyway? Are we wasting too much of our time filling the hours with discussions rather than getting on with work? This podcast explores what makes an effective meeting and why those irritating meetings that go nowhere are wasted effort and time.

Today we live in an age where we have greater flexibility and connectivity with our home and social lives. But we are also more connected with work with endless emails and messages intruding after hours and on the weekend. Dr Nicholas Duck and Dr Cameron Hawker explore the toll this is taking on our mental health as well as strategies to avoid burnout and stress. What do you do to balance your wor...

Are you tired of feeling like your emotions are running the show? Do you want to learn how to stop crying at every cat video on the internet? Well, you're in luck, because Dr. Nicholas Duck and Dr. Cameron Hawker are here to help you navigate the confusing world of emotions. This podcast discusses various leaders and whether we think they display emotional intelligence. What do you think abou...

Cam and Nick discuss the perfect week, in Part 2 of their 'perfect' series. What makes a good week exactly? Is it when everything goes as planned or does some surprise or issue make the week more interesting and meaningful? What do you think a good week constitutes?

What constitutes a 'perfect day' for you? Is it one that is productive? Is it a relaxing day? How do you feel when your day doesn't go to plan? Season 3 of It's about nothing discusses the perfect day in our three part series. Next episode will feature how to have the perfect week , then how to have the perfect year ! Perfect!

Have a tendency to worry about silly things? Do thoughts sometimes keep you up at night? Why do we fear trivial things when there are much bigger thing to fear like nuclear holocaust or death? Cam and Nick discuss the nature of worry, the things we worry about too much and things that should worry us but don't.

Cam and Nick live in the place that has the world's longest COVID lockdown. After hundreds of days of lockdown, preventing businesses from running, schools from opening, and families and friends from meeting, what have we learned? What mental health strategies can people adopt to stay fresh and happy when our sources of happiness are limited? Join us for our It's about nothing! lockdown...

What are the most annoyingly complex aspects of modern workplaces that really shouldn't be? Complicated communications, too many meetings, procedures for the sake of procedures?  Haven't we got anything better to do?   Dr Duck and Cam discuss how these annoyances are not only frustrating. They can also be unproductive and take away our headspace from more important matters. In particular...

What exactly do we mean by a 'toxic' culture? Many workplaces and leaders are getting exposed  for poor practices via social media, which affects their brand, reputation, and customer loyalty.  And is trial by social media a good thing or can reputations be thrown under the bus too easily?  Dr Duck and Cam Hawker discuss the most important ingredients to a successful culture and ponder w...

James Wrigley has a love of numbers and lucky for us! Back when he was at school, he'd help his fellow students study for their exams and today he's using his skills in helping people plan their finances.  When should you start thinking about investments? What types of people take the big risks in investing and does that pay off? What happens if you just focus on paying off your mortgage...

When is a romantic relationship ok in the workplace? Should we avoid them at work altogether? How do we navigate attraction in the era of #metoo and workplace policies? Discussing this sensitive topic is our guest, Dr Lisa Interligi, is a Doctor of Organisational Psychology and has served in executive level roles across organisations. She runs Launching Pad, a specialist consultancy that deals wit...

Human Factors specialist, Mark Andrew, helps us ponder the future of work. Where are we going? Are we working more or less? Is there more work to do? Are there more jobs available?

Why is it so hard to stick to new goals? Do we fail to truly celebrate our successes? Are we too easy on ourselves and could we actually be working a bit harder? Associate Professor Simon Moss joins us to discuss the goals of 2021 and the specific psychological factors that lead to successful goal setting.

Dr Duck and Cam reflect on the events of 2020, including the 2020 pandemic, COVID-19, and other memorable moments. 

What does a baker, locksmith and security guard have in common?  In our first series of 'what I do', Cam and Nick invite Adam Parncutt to talk about what goes on behind the scenes in various jobs and trades--in this case, essential services in the COVID era. Adam runs 24/7 Lockouts (https://24-7lockouts.com.au/), which mean he has to be available 24/7 for his clients. When does he sleep?...

Cam and Nick discuss fitness, health, and diets with Body Transformation expert Fred Liberatore. What motivates someone to get in shape? Is it better to work out in the morning or when you feel like it? What does it take to win a body building competition? Fred runs a fitness studio https://realfit.com.au/ and his professional website is personaltrainer.net where you can learn more about how he tr...

Our guest, Marvin Oka is a strategic, international consultation with over 30 years experience leadership, strategy and culture. He uses applied neurobehavioral modelling to help understand and bring about organisational changes and transformations. On our podcast, with Dr Nick Duck and Cam Hawker we discuss why some organisations never seem to change, even when the people start leaving. And then...

Does blaming people help improve the world?  When is someone responsible for their actions when we live in highly complex environments with multiple causes? Our special guest today is Senior Research Fellow, Dr Gemma Read talking about blame . Gemma is also a systems thinking specialist. Everything around us, including our bodies, are complex systems. What exactly are we here for? What is the purp...

We've been hearing a lot about the increase in mental health issues due to COVID-19 and lockdowns. Are suicides increasing? Is everyone unhappy with the lockdown? Dr Ramsay Dixon, Clinical Psychologist, joins Cam Hawker and Dr Nicholas Duck to discuss all things mental health. 

Today we discuss leadership and well-being with our guest Dr Adrian Medhurst! What does the handling of the pandemic tell us about leadership? What can leaders do to promote a more resilient workforce? And does focussing on resiliency really address the true causes to impaired well-being?