Better Than Yesterday with Osher Günsberg

Checking in, May 3, 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Jo Thornely - on twitter @JoThornely. Jo is an author, podcaster and music aficionado from Sydney Australia. A rabid live-tweeter of The Bachelor in all its forms, Jo is also utterly fascinated by Cults. Her Book and podcast of the same name “Zealot” is an incredibly interesting exploration into what makes people believe things that really, really aren’t real - and believe them so much that they will do, and have done, many many really awful things. It’s absolutely fascinating and I can’t wait for you to hear it. It’s particularly interesting when looked at through the lens of what makes people believe in things that really aren’t real - like Climate Change deniers and the anti-vac movement - the parallels are strong and I’d encourage you to consider how she describes the way people get trapped in that kind of thinking. Jo’s book Zealot is out wherever you get books. It’s grim, it is real, and it is darkly, darkly funny. Enjoy this conversation with Jo Thornely. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Checking in, April 26 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today needs very little introduction. Ian Dickson. Dicko as you’d know him, was a brilliantly powerful record company executive that worked hand in glove with Simon Cowell as they created and broke Westlife across the planet. He came out to Australia to work with BMG records and a few years later came to public prominence as the ‘nasty’ judge on Australian Idol. A massive media career followed, TV shows, radio shows, you name it, he did it. But as you’ll hear in our chat - the Dicko as we knew him no longer exists. He’s a different man. A man who’s left behind what he once was and once wanted, and is now rediscovering his passion for music from an entirely different place. He’s putting on a massive festival which we go into great detail about - the gig is happening August 10th on the Gold Coast - get your tickets at https://www.almostthegreatestgigonearth.comYou thought you knew Dicko. You thought you knew what drove him. Prepare to know something new. Enjoy this conversation with Ian Dicko Dickson.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Checking in, April 19 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Mahmood Fazal. He’s a journalist for Vice, and hosts the compelling podcast “Violent Times”, a show that explores the role of violence in our modern society. From speaking to graffiti artists who were involved in brutal street violence in Melbourne in the 80s and 90s, to connecting with Australia’s Deadliest Soldier, to spending an afternoon with the Yakuza in Japan - Mahmood gets face to face with the people who have not only committed violence on others, but have been victims of violence themselves.  Mahmood’s story is a heavy one. The son of Afghani immigrants, Mahmood was just a kid at school with a different name and probably a stranger lunch than the other kids. Then 9/11 happened. Then things changed for the young man.I’ll let Mahmood tell it - however his own path into violence, living with the consequences of violence and indeed his redemption from violence, is a riveting and compelling story. Just off the top here. This is a conversation about violence. We needed to describe violent acts in order to put things into context. Some of the descriptions are quite graphic. If that sort of thing isn’t for you - all good, I’ll see you next episode. With that being said - I hope you get a lot out of this conversation with Mahmood Fazal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Todd Liubinskas is Strength and Conditioning Coach, Entrepreneur, and the new Fitness Director at Men’s Health. He’s also the founder of “Let’s Get Going” a non-profit mentor and experience program. They aspire to promote the health and well being of adults from the age of 18 years old with an intellectual or physical challenge. One of their goals is to provide a fitness program that will be fun, safe and enhance social relationships; as well as establishing a pattern of physical activity to promote wellness throughout adult life.Todd is also involved in a rapidly exploding grass-roots fitness community called The 440 - which takes place just down the road here in Bronte where we live. Despite his boulder shoulders and abs that look like a plate of smooth river rocks perfectly arranged in a fancy design magazine, one of Todd’s big focus points is on how he can share the benefits of moving your body with those who might not move their body much, if at all.He works with many people to help inspire them to get moving, to get access to that physical and mental benefit of moving. On the back of my chat with Tanya Hennessy last week - if you’re looking to get moving, even just a little bit - Todd’s got some words for you. You can find him on IG @toddybinskas, #the440 online with his work at Men’s Health. Enjoy this conversation with Todd Liubinskas.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tanya Hennessy is a comedian, author, broadcaster and YouTube superstar. She’s currently on the radio every weekend right around the country, on the internet being very, very funny - and about to be on Bachelor in Paradise UNPACKED where she and her colleagues watch every episode of The Bachelor in Paradise and react to it - like a mini version of Goggle Box. It’s extraordinarily funny. That’s mainly because she is extraordinarily funny too. Tanya has an incredible story to tell, and as a woman in Australian broadcasting has some excellent lessons about success when you’re up against it. A note here at the top of the show. Tanya wrote quite extensively in her book “Am I Doing This Right?” about body image. She wrote a whole chapter on it. During this conversation she brings it up, and we begin to talk about it. I called her the other day to double and triple check to make sure that what we talked about was ok to go up on the podcast, and she assured me that it was. I am no stranger to body image issues - having been 112kg at one point, fat shamed by paparazzi and bullied in the press, I am well aware of what it is to be bigger in the public eye. My own story involves compulsive eating, portion control, and binge eating. So where I was coming from was a place of someone who works every day to keep on top of those compulsive behaviours, someone who tries to do the work every day around making sure what I eat is the right thing and the right amount, and someone who tries to train every day so that I am healthy and feel good in my own body.That’s where I was standing when she and I dove into that often taboo discussion. It might be confronting to hear, and you might get an itchy outrage trigger finger - but I’d ask you to listen with an open ear and open heart to what the two of us were discussing and the reality of the business we both work in, and indeed the realities of health outcomes when you’re heavier. I can now officially say I’m a man that’s nearly 50. If I don’t stay fit and watch what I eat it’s a slippery slope to blood pressure pills, type 2 diabetes, erectile dysfunction and a stent in my arteries. So that’s where we both were really when we talked about what we talked about. I hope you can listen in the spirit of which it was conversed - that of two colleagues discussing the reality of where we work, the nature of our business and the plain facts about health. Tanya is snort-laugh funny, so I’d caution against drinking or eating when listening to this episode. If you want to let Tanya know you heard her here on the show - she’s online, mostly FB and Youtube - just search Tanya Hennessy. Her book is out wherever books are out and Bachelor in Paradise unpacked goes live right after our first episode on April 9th. So you ready? Get set for a fabulous sit down chat with Tanya Hennessy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Christina Hoff Sommers - former Philosophy professor at Clark University in the US and currently a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Find her on twitter @CHSommersHer work mainly focuses on gender politics, feminism and free speech in universities.She’s out in Australia for the #feminist events with Roxanne Gay - Sydney Friday 29th and Melbourne Sunday 31st. Now I know she’s a divisive figure, and I personally don’t agree with some of the things that she said in our conversation, but I get where she’s coming from and why she’s coming at those topics from those angles. I felt it was important to have a conversation with someone that I might disagree with on some part of their message - but at the same time find places that we may connect. You’ll hear a few times that we do indeed find some resonance, but the larger focus on the conversation for me was figuring out what it is to be her. To be someone who’s shouted down in universities, to be excommunicated from an academic faculty that she’d been a part of for so long for questioning a status quo. Even though Christina does question the value of trigger warnings in this conversation - I’ll tell you right now, one of her big topics that she covers is sexual assault on campuses - so if that’s an issue for you, perhaps you’ll want to check back in for the next episode come Monday. If you want to reach out to her she’s very active on twitter: @CHSommersThat being said, come with me to Erskineville in inner-western Sydney and sit down for a conversation with Christina Hoff Sommers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Ian Chung has been practising for nearly fifty years in Sydney, Australia. We’ll get into his story shortly - however, he made a name for himself as "Dr Rock”, the doctor to call when you have a major international performer that can’t make the show and there are 20,000 people who have bought tickets and are on the way to the gig as you speak. That’s when you called Dr Chung. If you’ve read my book, you’ll know how I came to meet him - but I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did. Not only was he and the first doctor to diagnose me with social phobia (which was the first time everything started to make sense) but he was the first doctor that I saw about my head that taught me real skills to deal with what was happening rather than just talk about it. I’ll never forget when Dr Chung got angry at me when I told him I’d rather have a few beers to calm down my anxiety than take antidepressants, and it was his anger and frustration that shook me out of my stubbornness and lead me to take those meds - which not only gave me incredible relief but made me lament refusing them when I was first offered them nearly ten years beforehand. A quick note - just because Ian helped me, doesn’t mean he’s the only person who can help. I’ve had many doctors since Ian and they’ve all helped me get where I am and stay where I am today - he’s just the one who set the standard to which I held all other doctors accountable to. There are many, many excellent doctors who can help you if you need help. It’s important to allow time to find them. You might not click straight away, it might not work for you, that’s ok - they’ll work for someone else and that’s fine. It’s important to keep trying, keep trying to find the doctor that you click with, one you can trust, one that makes you want to do what they tell you to do. Because if you’re at the point where you're seeing a Dr, you’re at the point where your ideas have run out of usefulness. So be quiet, listen to what they tell you to do, and do it. And it was in doing what I was told by Doctors that helped me get to a place where I’m a lot healthier than where I once was.It’s not hyperbole to say that Dr Chung changed my life - and I am so very grateful that you now get the chance to hear the story of this incredible man. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr Ian Chung.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.