Something Shifted | Stories of Identity, Loss and Life Transitions

For eleven years, Nova was there. Through hospital nights, panic attacks, and the quietest, hardest moments no one else saw. This is a deeply personal story about pet loss, the grief we don't always give ourselves permission to feel, and what it means to lose a companion who witnessed everything without judgment. It explores the unconditional bond between humans and animals, the impossible decisio...

Celest Anthony spent four years watching her father disappear - piece by piece, hospital stay by hospital stay - before she said goodbye in 2025. This is a deeply personal story about anticipatory grief, the slow loss of a parent to chronic illness, and what it means to grieve someone who is still alive. It explores Churg-Strauss syndrome, caregiver identity, and the emotional complexity of standi...

Kojo Baffoe had a dream that shaped much of his life, until it didn’t. In this story, he reflects on what it means to lose something that once gave your life structure, meaning, and momentum. This episode explores loss, identity shifts, and the emotional process of letting go when the future you imagined no longer exists. It’s about the quiet aftermath of disappointment, and the slow rebuilding th...

Marilize De Clercq had prepared for a life she was about to meet. A nursery ready, a name chosen, a future imagined. Then everything changed. This is a deeply personal story about stillbirth, grief, and the emotional reality of losing a child before birth. It explores pregnancy loss, faith in the face of unimaginable pain, and the question of how to keep walking when nothing feels certain anymore....

Jess Hinds became a mother while quietly struggling with overwhelm she couldn’t explain. That was until an autism diagnosis reframed her entire life. This episode explores late autism diagnosis in adulthood, neurodivergence in mothers, and the grief that can come with finally understanding yourself. It’s a story about identity discovery, self-compassion, and the moment language finally catches up...

Richard “Harry” Harris played a central role in one of the most complex rescue operations in modern history: the 2018 Thai cave rescue. In this episode, Harry reflects on crisis decision-making, survival psychology, and the impossible choices made deep underground. It’s a story about risk, responsibility, and what it means to act when every option carries loss. A rare inside look at leadership und...

Kamini Pather built a high-profile career in food and media until her body forced her to stop. This story explores burnout after success, nervous system collapse, and what it takes to rebuild identity when achievement no longer protects you from exhaustion. A story about success, breakdown, and learning to live without performance as a survival strategy. Kamini's book All Dhal'd Up: https://likeha...

Josh was 12 when his life changed. But the enormity of that moment took years to surface. This episode explores delayed grief, childhood bereavement, and how children process loss without the language to understand it at the time. It also looks at how creativity becomes a form of survival, and how storytelling can help us make sense of what we couldn’t process when it first happened. Listen to Jos...

What does it feel like to breathe freely for the first time at 40 years old? Tanya Bothma lived most of her life fighting for every breath. After years of chronic lung disease, she underwent a pioneering double lung transplant that changed everything; only to later face the reality of chronic rejection. This episode explores lung transplant survival, organ donation, chronic illness, and the emotio...

Nicole Engelbrecht grew up in a home shaped by instability, violence, and survival. As an adult, she built a career telling other people’s darkest stories, until her own story began to surface in unexpected ways. This episode explores childhood trauma, identity formation, and the slow process of rewriting the narratives we build to survive. A story about survival, storytelling, and healing what wa...

Conn’s life changed in a single moment when subtle symptoms revealed an aggressive brain tumour requiring emergency surgery. This episode explores brain cancer survival, identity fracture, and what happens when the self you know is suddenly interrupted by illness. A story about survival, uncertainty, and rebuilding identity after trauma. www.somethingshifted.co.za Recorded at Latitude Podcast Stud...

What does optimism actually mean, and can it be learned? In this episode, astrophysicist-turned-author Sumit Paul-Choudhury explores the psychology and science of optimism, drawing on research, history, and lived experience. This conversation looks at hope, meaning-making, and the role optimism plays in navigating uncertainty and loss. A story about choosing perspective, even when life does not ma...

Healing is like peeling an onion. The final episode of this season is a story about love, although it's not a traditional love story. It's about love addiction, the fear of not being loved and the kind of love that can keep you alive. It's about a mother's love, facing your greatest fear and learning to love yourself through it all. Sara-Jayne shares her complex family background, the trauma of be...

My plan was to visit The Chaeli Campaign HQ. But life happened. So instead, I picked up the phone and spoke to the CEO, Zelda Mycroft. Zelda shares The Chaeli Campaign's mission to drive social justice and inclusion for people with disabilities. Highlighting the crucial role of advocacy in changing how society views and supports those with disabiliities, we speak about initiatives such as inclusiv...

What if your life suddenly changed course, not by choice, but by force? In this episode, host Sean Loots introduces Verity, a woman who decided to rewrite her life after a personal lifequake. Through courage, creativity, and deep self-reflection, Verity learned that we always have the power to author a new chapter, no matter how messy the last one was. Sean guides this conversation on transformati...

In this episode, we explore how Lesego’s life changed when he developed Bell’s Palsy, and what it took for him to reframe identity, hope, and resilience If you've been listening to something shifted for a while, you've probably wondered about your own life quake. For Lesego, there are two distinct moments when the ground beneath his feet gave way. When he was fifteen, his dad passed away. And agai...

Today’s story is a little different to some of our previous episodes. We generally meet guests post-life quake, who have the benefit of hindsight, and we learn how "That Big Thing" has changed the direction of their life - but we meet them on stable ground. Not everyone is on the other side of an event that has changed the way they see how they fit into the world… sometimes we meet someone that is...

A major surgery forced Jasper Eales to rebuild his relationship with his body, his work, and his identity. This conversation explores rebuilding identity after surgery and how disruption can completely change the way you see your life. Jasper Eales is the co-founder of Sealand Gear, a South African brand built around reclaimed materials and sustainable design. But before Sealand existed, Jasper we...

In the adventures we seek out for ourselves, or the chances that we say yes to, deep down we know that things will change. But we can never fully grasp how much they will change. An enthusiastic yes today will obviously start a domino effect, but where will the yes ultimately lead? These are the seismic shifts we create for ourselves. In 2021, Liesl packed up her home in Cape Town and moved to Swe...

For most, becoming a parent is a seismic shift, a lifequake that transforms everything we thought we knew about ourselves. It's a journey that challenges us to re-evaluate our priorities and make some tough decisions. Like how to balance our own dreams with the responsibilities of raising our children? In 2022, Vicky became a mom for the first time. Two weeks later, her dream to compete at the 202...

Year-end brings with it feelings of nostalgia and reflection. And while lifequakes are big events that permanently alter the course of a life, we want to recognise the smaller shifts and shakes - tremors, if you will, that sent us on a detour. This episode is a compilation of 12 short stories, from 12 different people, who each experienced a tremor before Christmas. Plus, since so many have asked,...

Tanya has struggled to breathe since the day she was born. From viral infections to lung disease, Tanya was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans. The narrowing of Tanya's airways could not be reversed by medication. Considering the diagnosis and years of health challenges, she got on with living her life. By 2017, Tanya had just 14% lung capacity, and became the first patient to receive a bi-la...

Zuraida was the last person to see her dad alive. The last person to speak to him. She was also the last person to comfort him. She was 13 years old. This traumatic event affected her deeply, leading to feelings of abandonment and a tendency towards hyper-independence. Zuraida discusses how her grief impacted her career and influenced her parenting style. She speaks freely about the importance of...

Sean shares his personal journey through a lifequake, detailing the challenges and transformations that come with raising a child with profound disabilities. He reflects on a critical incident involving his daughter Zoe, the emotional turmoil of hospital visits, and the lessons learned about resilience, empathy, and the importance of community support. The conversation emphasizes the profound shif...

Join me for the new season of Something Shifted, the podcast that asks some of South Africa’s most interesting people to share how significant life shifts, perceived as devastating, can lead to profound personal transformation and empowerment. Something Shifted with Sean Loots leans into the joy and discomfort of unexpected change, and tries to answer the question of what it takes to bounce back....