Better Than Yesterday with Osher Günsberg

Mel Thomas is the founder of The KYUP! Project.You can find her on twitter @kyupprojectMel Thomas is a writer, speaker, media commentator and mother of two girls.She has more than 15 years martial arts experience in Hapkido, the Korean art of self-defence.Mel created KYUP! Project, a self-worth and self-protection program to break the cycle of violence against women and children.You see Mel was born into the cycle of violence, and that cycle continued within her as she grew up and became a young woman.In fact it was only a fortunate turn of events that broke that cycle which I will leave her to tell you about.Here’s the big trigger warning:We talk about domestic violence a lot in this conversation.If that’s tough for you to hear, I understand - maybe skip this week and we’ll see you next week.If you need help, in Australia please call 1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732.If this conversation reframes an incident in your past as something more sinister than you’d initially labelled it, don’t hesitate to reach out and get help.We go deep on this one, it gets gritty for a while there’s a few tears, but we do turn the corner to leave you uplifted I promise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morgan Koegel is the CEO of OneGirl.org.auThey’re a non-profit that are on a mission to educate one million girls across Africa. They believe that every girl has a right to an education and work predominantly across Sierra Leone and Uganda.Morgan has had an interesting career that’s also included working in prisons in Victoria where she helped again with transforming lives through education.These two things alone are incredible reasons to hear Morgan’s story - however, there’s something else quite pertinent.Morgan is the adult child of a Same Sex Marriage.She has to Mums and we talk at length about her experience, what she felt as a child growing up and how she feels now.If you’re worried about how things might turn out for the children, if you’re concerned for the welfare of other people’s kids who aren’t born yet - have a listen to how Morgan describes her perspective on the situation.I hope it sheds some light on things for you.So draw a glass of clean and safe water from the tap, maybe even visit a flushing toilet during this podcast, and revel in the privilege that we have as living in a modern society as you listen to Morgan talk about how she’s trying to bring girls across the world opportunity that they otherwise might never have, and enjoy this chat with Morgan Koegel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donita Menon is the Grief and Bereavement coordinator at the Leukaemia Foundation Australia, her job is to talk both with people diagnosed, and with families before and after the death of a loved one.She has a brilliant story and I can’t wait for you to hear it.It is fortuitous that we spoke on this day, as we’d had the podcast scheduled in for months in advance - My Mum was in partial remission and was still living independently when we booked it in. But by the time we came around to recording this - as you may know mum has passed away.We didn’t have a therapy session - but what you’ll hear is a conversation about death, dying and living that is very real for both Donita and myself.Thanks for listening and enjoy this conversation with Donita Menon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brendan Maclean is an Australian singer/songwriter/performer/unicorn who first came on this show about three years ago but suffered at the hands of the great file loss of 2015.He has been kind enough to return and boy do we have a lot to talk about.Brendan’s about to have a new EP come out in August 2017 and a new album in the works for early 2018 so a great time to have him on.Find him on twitter and Insta for more @macleanbrendan.This is a conversation for anyone who’s let fear hold them back from expressing themselves.And expressing himself is something Brendan does with exceptional ability.His live energy is something to behold - as is his recorded work which you can find at brendanmaclean.Bandcamp.com.A fair amount of this conversation revolves around the music video that Brendan put out in the last few months - the video for the song House Of Air.I must warn you with all the warnings I can warn you with.If you choose to go and watch this video yourself you will see rather graphic depictions of many sex acts between two men.You’ll see close up shots of genitals and you’ll even see penetration.If you want to see such a thing, it’s up to you to watch it - I’m not going to say watch it or don’t. But if you do - be aware that you’ll see what you think you’re going to see when you hire professional gay porn actors to make a film in the style of a visual accompaniment to a written thesis observing the habits and cultures of a subset of gay men.In this conversation you’ll hear me watch the video - which you can see at houseofair.info - and I try my best to give benign descriptions of what I’m seeing.But again - only watch this video if you’re interested in seeing something that freaked a lot of people out.I thought the video was great, it is so perfect, and really does what it sets out to do - I’m so happy that Brendan is the kind of guy to make this kind of film.I know I certainly am not brave enough to create art like that - and I’m thrilled he was in my house and able to talk about it with me.Having said that, Brendan got really raw about his adventures in the world of art and performing and it’s an honour that he chose to share these things with me.I urge you to support Brendan in any way you can - financially or through spreading the word about his work.We’re lucky to have him.Let him know you heard him on online - handle is @macleanbrendanPlease enjoy this conversation with Brendan Maclean. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bruce Jeffreys is an entrepreneur from Sydney Australia. He is a cofounder of two successful businesses - GoGet and Dresden optics.This is a brilliant conversation about creating a disruptive business, and the lessons learned from just bloody going ahead and starting while figuring it out as you go.It’s a great chat with a fascinating man - who’s heart is in a great place and aligns his businesses with his passion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sophie Hardcastle is an artist, author and all-around adventurous soul from Sydney Australia.She shot to fame when she published her first book - Running Like China, a memoir of a life interrupted by madness.It chronicles her struggle with coming to terms with her own mental illness and life with a brain that operates differently than others.Her second book is a young adult novel called Breathing Underwater.Sophie is also an exceptionally talented artist, currently studying at Sydney College of Art - and she’s just been awarded a $100,000 scholarship to continue her studies for a year at Oxford University.She’s a remarkable, thoughtful, funny, and strikingly smart young woman and I’m so happy she came around to share her story with me this week.You can follow her on Instagram sophie_hardcastle, let her know you heard her on the show.A trigger warning up top - we do discuss self-harm in this episode so about twenty minutes after we start the interview you’ll hear us talking about the northern beaches - if you skip forward until you hear me talking about my hearing damage, you’ll have emerged safely on the other side.Come enjoy a cup of coffee around my beautiful Parker Table, in the super-comfy Eames chairs - with Sophie Hardcastle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nathan Cavaleri is an Australian musician, who you can follow at nathancavaleri.com or on Instagram at Nathan_Cavaleri.Nathan first came to the attention of Australia when he was still a kid - he had been diagnosed with leukaemia and the Starlight Foundation sent him over to the UK to Jam with the lead guitar player of the biggest band in the world at the time - Mark Knopfler from Dire Staits.Nathan was a prodigious guitar player, and the footage quickly captured the hearts of Australians - soon enough Nathan - this incredibly talented and charismatic ten year old - was on stage with some of the world’s greatest musicians. From Jimmy Barnes in Australia to Booker T & The MG’s, BB King - even Michael Jackson.Nathan was an absolute superstar - a household name.But what happened next is where the real story starts.As Nathan explains on his blog at Nathan Cavaleri.com he went through some dark times, and today he shares some of those dark times with me.I really can’t thank Nathan enough for this - I always feel it’s a great gift to us when someone opens up about their struggle, as it can help those struggling to know they’re not alone.So before we go any further if there’s anything you hear in this chat that resonates or makes you feel unstable, please don’t hesitate to call lifeline on 13 11 14.Ok, put the kettle on and enjoy an afternoon chat with wonderful human, incredible guitar player and fellow cavoodle owner - Nathan Cavaleri. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode is a best of, mixtape, audible burrito with the lot all focused on comedy. This podcast has hosted many great comedians, and here are just a few.Peter Helliar is an Australian comedian best known as the bloke on the end of the desk every night on the news program “The Project”. He’s also a producer, a director, a writer and an actor. I asked Pete about the first time he got an inkling that he might end up doing what he now does so well.Next up we have Alice Fraser - a comedian, writer, and ex-lawyer from Australia. She's also host of the wonderfully cerebral podcast "Tea With Alice" which I'm happy to have been a guest on. Alice has a very interesting story, a story about following what you believe in, finding your truth - and what monetary rewards balance against that truth or even the joy of that journey. We do get a little philosophical here, but not before discussing, in depth, the topic of swearing. This chat is best enjoyed out of the company of sensitive ears!Chas Licciardello is part of the incredibly successful Australian satire collective The Chaser. For over 15 years they've been calling out hypocrisy, lies and general bloviating by our public figures and making us either laugh or be outraged while they do it. Never one to shy from commitment to a joke, Chas has been arrested numerous times, received death threats and has even been assaulted in the street - all for the sake of satire. I asked him here whether his fearless approach to comedy has been tempered in any way since having kids.Tommy Little is a comedian, radio guy and TV host from Melbourne, Australia. You can catch him regularly in Australia on The Project on a Friday Night, on radio as the 'Tommy' half of 'Carrie and Tommy', and he's always touring around the nation doing standup. Here we discuss what he was like as a teenager, and what got him started in comedy.Our final snippet in this episode is from an exclusive podcast - this one only went out to Patreon subscribers to this podcast. It's with Adam Richard, an incredibly funny Australian comedian, TV guy, broadcaster and wonderful human. He's made a living out of being funny for a while now, and so we talk about the craft and the business of comedy.So please enjoy this compilation of great moments we've shared on the show with some of Australia's finest comedians. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode is another mix-tape of some great conversations I've had on the podcast. This time we're focusing on people who managed to turn the thing that they love into reality, and what it took to make that happen.First up is Ben St. Lawrence, an Australian middle-distance runner, a two-time Olympian and an all around interesting guy. Ben’s not the first Olympian I’ve had on the show, however his story - his particular triumph over adversity and refocus of his life is one worth hearing.After Ben we'll hear from Jane Lu, the founder and CEO of mammoth fashion startup Showpo.com. This is easily one of my favourites - because everyone loves a story of triumph. Of closing the door on something in order to open unknown other doors, leading to the life you really want to live.Next is Taylor Steele, one of the most iconic and prolific surf film makers of our time. Through his film Momentum, released in 1992 - a then twenty year old Taylor captured a new and dominating style of surfing that hadn’t really been seen before as he filmed young surfers that would go on to become household names in the surf world: Shane Dorian, Rob Machado, Taylor Knox and of course Kelly Slater.Finally is the amazing Dr Glen Richards. Glen is a vet, entrepreneurial mega-success and a shark on the Network Ten hit show Shark Tank. It's Dragon's Den in the UK and Shark Tank everywhere else. He grew Greencross from a single vet practice to an ASX-listed company with clinics and pet stores all over Australia.So please enjoy this mega-episode of the show, about the origin stories of great successes. May it give your day some uplift, and maybe even inspire you to create something amazing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode is a supercut, a compilation, a best of, a mix tape! It features some of the best moments of the show over the last year or two that share the theme of overcoming adversity.We start with the Hon. Leeanne Enoch, Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business in the seat of Algester in Queensland. Leeanne is the first Aboriginal Australian Woman to be elected into the Qld Parliament, a woman who grew up On Country in North Stradbroke Island and then in Woodridge housing commission on the southern fringes of Brisbane. She shares here how, as a kid, she made sense of her relatively low socioeconomic circumstances.We then move on to Deng Adut. In his recent book “Songs of a War Boy” Deng describes in chilling detail the life of a child soldier - which includes horrific first hand accounts of battle, torture, death, and the kind of barbaric brutality that only humans inflict on other humans. When he was twelve, he was rescued by his older brother and smuggled out of Sudan into Kenya where he met an Australian couple that helped him and his brother come here to start a new life - and that new life is what we talk about here.Carly Findlay is next; Carly is an appearance activist, blogger, and writer who was born with Ichthyosis. This basically causes her skin to renew itself at an incredibly fast rate, leaving her susceptible to dryness, inflammation, itchiness, and gives her a noticeably red complexion - which is also shiny because she has to constantly apply paraffin to her skin so as to alleviate the pain and discomfort.We then hear from Lola Berry, a nutritionist, author, blogger, speaker and advocate for happiness. She even wrote a book about happiness. She's a woman who has inspired hundreds of thousands of people all around the world to be kinder and more caring to themselves through food and nourishment - not just of their bodies but of themselves as a whole. A trigger warning at the top here. Sexual assault is a part of Lola's story and she talks about that today.I hope you get some value out of this special episode, dedicated to the challenge of overcoming adversity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.