Natural Genius: Deep Conversations. Meaningful Lives.

In this conversation, Jack Growden shares why digital inequality and other community challenges are being overthought and under-solved, and simple actions that work: get the laptop into a child’s hands, build the classroom, add the toilet, and keep going. From donating one laptop in Papua New Guinea at 20 to leading LiteHaus International across 13 countries, Jack talks with Sam about resilience,...

Say yes, solve the real problem, and ship the work. In this conversation, Chris Hocking shares how a childhood around backyard films, touring, live production, and generous mentors led to nearly two decades building LateNite across film, post-production, and software. Sam and Chris talk about impossible briefs, collaborative crews, underwater bars, burning beds, Final Cut Pro tools, CommandPost, B...

Practical intelligence and intuitive intelligence belong together. In this conversation, Serana Hunt-Hughes, also known as Whitefeather, shares the thread running through a life that has included camels, horses, photography, emergency towing, community building, regeneration, and healing work. Sam and Serana explore listening to land, ancestral alignment, relanguaging, peace with Earth, and what i...

Michel Kelleher has built a life and business around peace, values, and practical care. In this conversation, she shares how she left a high-stress chapter, built a business in Bali, and learned to navigate grief, menopause, remote work, and change with more clarity and self-trust. We talk about building family through business, creating simple systems that empower people, communicating across cul...

Corinne Proske is CEO of Trust for Nature and brings a rare combination of environmental science, commerce, social impact finance, and executive leadership to her work. In this conversation with Sam, she reflects on returning to her first love, nature, after years shaping financial inclusion initiatives, and on what it takes to build organisations that last. They explore private land conservation,...

How do you access the intelligence already present within a group? In this episode of the Natural Genius podcast, Sam Bell speaks with Christian Duell, educator, facilitator, and founder of White Light Education, about creativity, co-design, and guiding people and organisations through complexity. Christian’s work explores how individuals and groups think, create, and contribute together. His appr...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Karlie Cummins about saying yes before you have every answer, building trust through action, and growing a business that feels both effective and fun. Karlie is the founder of Bali Buddies and Indo Buddies, two influential travel media platforms helping tourism and lifestyle brands reach Australian travellers through trusted storytelling, digital media, brand...

What if the future of mental health isn’t about managing symptoms, and is about unlocking human potential? In this episode of the Natural Genius podcast, Sam Bell speaks with Cameron Stewart, entrepreneur and Managing Director of Mirabilis Health, about his journey from building and exiting startups and digital product studios into the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted mental health care in N...

What if you don’t solve problems, you earn better ones? Michael Skinner shares how learning to earn bigger problems, and practicing surrender, can reshape how you work, decide, and grow in a fast-moving world. In this episode of the Natural Genius podcast, Sam Bell speaks with Michael Skinner about growth, decision-making, and navigating an increasingly complex world. Michael shares a simple idea...

In this episode of the Natural Genius podcast, Sam Bell speaks with Toni Finnimore, founder of The Social Society, about volunteering, community connection, and designing experiences that bring people together in meaningful ways. Toni has spent more than two decades working in community development, advocacy, and social services across the UK. Through her work she repeatedly saw a pattern: local c...

In this episode of the Natural Genius podcast, Sam Bell speaks with Sally Calder, CEO and Co-Founder of RespectX, about leadership, courage, and creating workplaces where people can genuinely thrive. Sally has spent decades working across government, human services, consulting, and organisational culture. After many years as a partner at KPMG leading culture, diversity and inclusion work, she made...

In this episode of the Natural Genius podcast, Sam Bell speaks with Barbara Schacht Randall, the custodian and steward of the Kanyini wisdom teachings shared by Yankunytjatjara elder Uncle Bob Randall. Barbara’s life bridges cultures, continents, and traditions. Raised in the United States within a unique community founded by her grandparents, she grew up immersed in a culture of care, inclusion,...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Tim Buzza about workforce planning technology, leading large contact centre operations, building technology startups, and designing a life that allows both meaningful work and freedom. Tim has spent decades working in customer operations and workforce planning environments where thousands of daily interactions depend on well-designed systems and thoughtful lea...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Dr. Annie Faulkner about why many organisational change programs struggle to deliver their promised outcomes, and what leaders can do instead. Annie has spent over two decades working in organisational transformation across Europe, Australia, and South Africa. After leading large-scale change programs for global organisations, she began questioning why many tr...

What happens when you are suddenly made redundant and need to rebuild confidence, momentum, and direction? In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Via Tendon about redundancy, rebuilding confidence, and the generosity that can unite and support people during uncertain career moments. After being made redundant, Via began openly sharing her job-search journey on LinkedIn. What started as a simple act...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Pete Williams about action, experimentation, and creating constant progress. Pete Williams has spent more than three decades working at the intersection of technology, innovation, and business transformation. He began working with internet technologies in 1993 and founded Deloitte Australia’s eBusiness Consulting group in 1996, which later evolved into Deloitt...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Gina Rembe about testing what works, pragmatic systems and process design, and creating structural change that holds. Gina is Head of Human & Organisational Development at ProjectTogether in Berlin, leading complex, cross-sector transformation initiatives. Her career spans Associate Director of Human-Centered Design at PwC New Zealand, systems-intervention...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Vasu (Vasudevan) Sreenidhi about building meaningful success in high-pressure environments, aligning growth with integrity, and creating education systems that serve students, families, and partners with dignity. Vasu leads the B2B India business and global MBBS vertical at MetaApply, working with thousands of recruitment agencies, universities, and institutio...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with leadership practitioner, systems designer, and PhD candidate Em Roblin about thriving as vitality and learning, and flourishing as something we build together across an ecosystem. Em works at moments of transition, when something new is emerging. She has over two decades of experience across thirty countries and has designed and facilitated transformational le...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Jacqui Simpson about backing yourself as a commercial generalist, human-centred leadership, and believing you can “work stuff out” in complex environments. Jacqui brings over thirty years of senior business, people and culture experience, and more recently as a business co-owner.  Jacqui shares stories from major transformation work across Australia and intern...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with David Stancel about teaching complex ideas clearly, building practical tools with AI, and designing infrastructure that supports individuals gaining freedom and sovereignty over their lives. David is an educator, entrepreneur, advisor and founder of Polystate.io.  He's spent the last 12 years in crypto, initially researching and then building infrastructu...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Jen Goss about food as care, teaching cooking through doing, and creating systems that help people look after themselves and each other. Drawing on Jen’s experience across hospitality, catering, and building the charity Cegin y Bobl (The People’s Kitchen), this conversation explores practical capability, community resilience, and the quiet leadership of feedin...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Iris Ray Nunn about deep listening, attunement to nature, and remembering what we already know. Iris's background spans social entrepreneurship, clinical aromatherapy and body-work, activism, growing businesses and more recently regularly guiding at Uluru, one of the sacred sites at the centre of Australia.  This is a welcoming and spacious conversation a...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Nick Jaffe about focus, responsibility, and designing a life that is both enjoyable and exacting. Drawing on Nick’s experiences as a freelance photographer, filmmaker, sailor, overlander, craftsman, writer, builder, entrepreneur, surfer, and dad, this conversation explores hyper-focus, tolerance for discomfort, and how life changes with responsibility for othe...

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Peter Spence about accessing natural genius through joy, presence, and expansive ways of thinking. Pete reflects on decades of work across elite sport, coaching, arts, and leadership, drawing insights from cricket, ballet, and Cirque du Soleil. Together, they explore how inner focus, openness, and joy support sustained performance, meaningful collaboration, an...