Amra's Armchair Anecdotes Episodes 11–20 were where the conversations deepened—and got a lot more honest.

This run of Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes moves through early menopause and POI, refugee identity, neurodiversity, resilience, creative risk, and what it really takes to build a sustainable literary life. These aren’t polished origin stories or neat success arcs. They’re conversations about bodies that don’t cooperate, careers built sideways, voices found late (or fought for), and the quiet, unglamorous work of staying creative in a world that prefers shortcuts.

Across artists, writers, academics, performers, and small-press trailblazers, these episodes ask the same hard questions from different angles:
What does it cost to keep going? Who gets to speak—and on what terms? And how do you build a creative life that doesn’t burn you out or erase where you came from?

If you’ve ever felt out of step, underprepared, or like your path didn’t come with a map—this stretch of episodes is for you.

Join me for Season 2 where I continue deep conversations and learning.

Send us a text

We share Antoinette’s story of premature ovarian insufficiency at 41, the harm of being dismissed, and the relief and clarity that came with HRT. We open up about rage, insomnia, brain fog, grief over lost choice, and how to advocate for better care at home, work, and in the clinic.

• early signs ignored and misattributed to stress
• navigating GP knowledge gaps and delayed referrals
• emotional crash, rage, intrusive thoughts, loss of empathy
• cognitive fog, sleep loss, night sweats, skin changes
• POI realities, fertility grief, and identity repair
• evidence‑based HRT as mechanism‑level treatment
• cardiometabolic and bone health risks and screening
• boundaries, relationships, and clearing energy drains
• workplace adjustments and policy awareness
• how to find menopause‑literate clinicians and resources

If you enjoyed today’s episode, don't forget to subscribe and follow for more insights, stories, and inspiration

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

Today I talk to my best friend, Veronica Ho and as two longtime friends we trace a candid path from quiet teen years to midlife strength, exploring how weightlifting became therapy, why boundaries matter, and how perimenopause reshapes health goals. We share the unglamorous prep, the cost, the mindset shifts, and the power of saying no.

• early body image and being a confidant
• why lifting started and what changed
• training stats, body composition, and safety
• food prep, budgets, and time protection
• stage experiences and doing it in her forties
• attention, projection, and dressing for self
• gym as therapy and routine under stress
• perimenopause, bone health, and recovery
• realistic goals, reasons why, and setbacks
• boundaries that signal commitment to self

Subscribe and follow for more inside stories and inspiration

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

Amra sits down with Dr Katherine Firth to unpack how the Three Minute Thesis turns complex research into a clear, human story and why that skill changes academic careers. Amra shares the path from department heat to university win to Asia–Pacific submission, including the full 3MT performance.

• what 3MT is and why it matters
• how to build a strong opening, middle and closing
• cutting jargon and choosing clean language
• using one slide as a memory anchor
• rehearsing in the real venue and managing nerves
• when to memorise versus use cue cards
• applying feedback between heats to improve
• career value for academia, industry and media
• building community, confidence and momentum
• ethical storytelling for sensitive research topics

Thank you for listening to my interview with Dr. Katherine Firth about the three-minute thesis competition. I will now be including my three-minute thesis application, and so you'll be able to listen to it. This is the one that went to the Asia Pacific heat, and I will also include a link to the initial La Trobe heat, which is the one that I won.

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

We sit with poet and filmmaker Koraly Dimitriades to unpack gatekeeping, creative autonomy, and how to build a writing life that answers to the work, not the establishment. From founding a press to touring internationally, we share tactics, hard truths, and why protecting your voice matters.

• founding an indie press to keep creative control
• questioning “literary merit” through a colonial lens
• using zines, bookshops and data to secure distribution
• choosing offset vs print on demand for touring
• negotiating rights and asking about real marketing budgets
• moving from mainstream op-eds to social media for voice
• speaking truth, blacklisting and mental health boundaries
• targeting prizes and festivals that suit your style
• nontraditional sales channels and grassroots marketing
• redefining success and separating money from art
• community, nuance and sustaining a long career

Subscribe and follow for more insights, stories, and inspiration

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

I sit down with actor and narrator Nina Nikolic to unpack the craft and business of voice work, from emotional performance and character choices to contracts, rates, and protecting your voice in an AI world. Along the way we swap practical systems for finding clients, tracking jobs, and turning creative energy into a sustainable career.

• balancing creative craft with small business habits
• social media as proof of life and connection
• lead sources, referrals, and asking how clients found us
• audiobook workflow, samples, pacing, and pickups
• pronunciation research and consistency across long texts
• performance choices that separate characters without caricature
• human narration versus AI, ethics, and accessibility
• adding voice protection language to audiobook back matter
• contracts, rights windows, and negotiating clauses
• owning IP and avoiding perpetual, all‑media traps
• input‑based goals versus outcome‑based goals
• pricing to a livable per‑finished‑hour rate
• reflection routines, tracking wins, and sustainable marketing

You can find the episode show notes, your free episode handouts, and my how‑to guides at amrapajalic.com/podcast

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

Two award-winning authors discuss the transformative journey from rejection to publication and how fantasy fiction creates space to process real-world challenges.

• Demet shares her decade-long journey to publication through "process, perspective, perseverance, and practice"
• Co-editing "Growing Up Muslim in Australia" helped transform Demet's writing style
• "Blood Moon Bride" explores themes of oppression and resistance through fantasy
• Writing fantasy provided therapeutic distance during postpartum anxiety
• Storytelling carries inheritances through generations, echoing ancestral experiences
• Each generation of women in Demet's family pushed boundaries for the next
• The importance of raising children with intentional language around gender roles
• Perseverance as the key difference between published and unpublished writers
• Self-belief as the foundation for creative success
• We are "always coming of age" throughout our lives, constantly evolving

If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and follow for more insights, stories, and inspiration. From my armchair to yours, remember every story begins with a single word.

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

Melbourne-based artist Lukas Kasper shares his journey from skateboarding graffiti artist to internationally recognized muralist working across Australia, North America and Southeast Asia. His evolution from painting monsters to creating works exploring mental health, environmental awareness and our relationship with animals reveals how creative practices change and grow over time.

• Beginning his art career through graffiti and skateboarding culture while finding community and validation
• Taking initiative by approaching cafes and bars to host art shows when formal gallery access wasn't available
• Adapting artistic style to different contexts while maintaining integrity across commercial work
• Balancing commissioned projects with personal vision when working with councils and brands
• Starting teaching at 17 and continuing community engagement through school workshops and YouTube tutorials
• Creating a YouTube channel to share spray paint techniques and document artistic journey
• Participating in international residencies including recent work in Mongolia and China
• Experiencing a pivotal six-month residency in Wodonga that transformed his career trajectory
• Finding motivation and building networks as keys to sustainable artistic practice
• Managing the mental and financial challenges of being a full-time working artist

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

Lee Agius shares her journey from sculptor to art therapist, revealing how chance encounters and supportive mentors helped her discover her creative path despite early educational challenges as a neurodivergent learner.

• Becoming a sculptor after a chance comment about her expressive hands during her travels in her early 20s
• Art school experience highlighting the difference between creativity for expression versus creativity for external validation
• Late diagnosis of dyslexia and ADHD providing clarity and compassion for her younger self
• Creating Artful Warrior Mental Health Therapy Service to provide accessible art therapy
• Balancing multiple roles and projects as a business owner with neurodivergent needs
• Navigating perimenopause and menopause challenges while questioning why women aren't more prepared
• Finding clarity and self-acceptance in post-menopausal life
• The transformative power of arts allowing her to progress from being unable to write essays to earning a master's degree with 98%

Visit amrapajalic.com/podcast for episode handouts and guides.

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html

Send us a text

Tania shares her journey from mother of three to co-founder of Melbourne's vibrant Cuban dance crew Rakata, exploring how a single dance class at age 30 completely transformed her life path.

• Beginning dance at 30 and discovering that Cuban salsa allowed her to flourish without classical training
• Transferring teaching skills from classroom to dance floor by breaking complex movements into simple steps
• Creating a dance curriculum focused on skills and expression rather than specific genres
• Learning to recognise and assert your worth in creative industries
• Honouring the cultural origins and storytelling aspects of Cuban dance
• Being signed by a modelling agency at age 50 after applying on impulse
• Appearing on SBS Insight's 50th anniversary special through a Facebook application
• Embracing midlife transitions and menopause as an opportunity for self-prioritisation
• Finding joy in trying new things without fear of failure
• The importance of creative expression and play as essential human activities

Visit amrapajalic.com/podcast for free episode handouts.

Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours.

Episodes are posted every second Monday.

You can subscribe on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodcastIndex, YouTube, or RSS, all directories

Episode show notes are transcripts at https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html