Better Than Yesterday with Osher Günsberg

What does it really mean to raise good men in today’s world?

In this important and timely conversation, psychologist, author and parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson joins Osher Günsberg to explore the challenges of raising boys in an age of social media, online influencers and increasingly distorted ideas about masculinity. From the impact of smartphones and the pursuit of online status to the troubling messages boys are exposed to about women, relationships and pornography, Justin explains why parents need to pay closer attention to what their sons are seeing, hearing and learning online — and how those influences can shape their behaviour. 

Justin also shares practical ways to help boys develop empathy, self-control, confidence and a strong moral compass. He explains why healthy masculinity is about using strength to make others feel safer and stronger, why connection matters more than constant correction, and how parents can create opportunities for meaningful conversations about respect, consent and responsibility. They also explore the importance of positive male role models, helping boys find purpose through meaningful challenges, and preparing teenagers to make better decisions when faced with peer pressure.

If you’re raising boys, navigating the teenage years or wondering how we can help the next generation of men grow into kind, respectful and capable adults, this is a conversation worth having.

LINKS 

• Justin's book 'Boys: Building strong young men from the inside out' is out now
• Follow Justin on Instagram
• More from Justin Coulson
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

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Can I go to a stranger’s funeral? 

Is it ok to mute the family group chat?

What’s the protocol with a speakerphone call on the train? 

Send your questions via email or DM on IG 

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Tickets to StoryClub’s October 18 show. 

This week’s playlist 

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In this episode of Better Than Yesterday, Osher Gunsberg sits down with acclaimed Australian musician, author and father Josh Pyke for a wide-ranging conversation about anxiety, parenting, creativity, technology and the future of music.

Josh opens up about his experience with anxiety, including the moment he had to walk off stage in the middle of a panic attack. He shares what he has learned about changing his relationship with anxiety, rather than constantly trying to fight or escape it.

The conversation also explores raising children in an increasingly overwhelming digital world, and Josh explains why he and his wife have chosen to keep social media out of their children's lives, and why protecting curiosity, imagination and genuine connection matters more than ever.

As chair of the PPCA, Josh also offers a fascinating perspective on the changing music industry, from streaming and royalties to the rise of AI-generated music. He discusses the importance of ensuring artists are properly compensated and their work is used with consent, while questioning what could happen to Australian music and culture if human creativity becomes harder to discover and support.

Along the way, Josh reflects on songwriting, children's books, collaboration and the mysterious magic that happens when creativity clicks. It's an honest and thoughtful conversation about anxiety, fatherhood, technology, art and what we might lose if we stop making space for distinctly human creativity.

LINKS 

• Josh's latest album 'Kingdom Within' is available now
• Follow Josh on Instagram
• Josh's website
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you switch off a busy brain when it’s time to sleep?

It's not an easy question to answer because there's no one-size-fits-all solution. But if you've had trouble getting a good night's rest, I have two hacks for you to try you may not have heard of before.

This episode is inspired by my seven-year-old son and the power of asking “why?” five times - a simple technique that can help us get beneath the surface of a problem and understand what’s really going on.

I share two techniques that I’ve found surprisingly effective: counting backwards to give the brain a sense of certainty, and cognitive shuffling, which uses random words and mental images to stop the brain from trying to solve problems when it should be sleeping.

This is an episode you can put on as you go to bed, and hopefully I can inspire your brain to relax, allowing you to drift off into a better night's sleep.

Did it work? Let me know via the links below.

LINKS

• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at  Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the way we work actually making us less productive, more stressed and increasingly disconnected from ourselves?

In this episode of Better Than Yesterday, Osher Gunsberg is joined by performance and workplace expert Nick Petrie to explore why burnout, stress and rumination have become such defining features of modern work — and what we can do about them.

Nick shares insights from his own experience, including being diagnosed with stomach cancer at just 27 while playing professional rugby in Japan, and explains how the experience taught him about the difference between pressure, stress and rumination. He reveals why our brains can become trapped in cycles of thinking about problems rather than solving them, and how learning to recognise those patterns can help us regain control.

The conversation also explores the changing world of work and the impact of AI. Rather than necessarily giving us more time, Nick argues that new technology can increase expectations and create an even greater need for boundaries, focus and recovery.

Nick also introduces a different approach to productivity: “pulse more than hustle.” Instead of trying to operate at maximum intensity all day, Nick explains how alternating between different modes of work, protecting periods of deep focus and understanding when your brain performs at its best can lead to more sustainable performance.

Osher and Nick also discuss career reinvention, the importance of adapting when the skills that once made you successful are no longer enough, and why learning to switch off may be one of the most important skills in the modern workplace.

It's a practical conversation about burnout, resilience, productivity, AI, overthinking and the future of work — and how to build a career and life that can actually be sustained.

LINKS 

• Nick's book 'Burn Bright: 10 Habits to Sustain High Performance in an Always-On World' is available now
• More about Nick and his work
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is there a wrong way to apologise? Well...maybe.

In this episode, I'm exploring what it really means to say sorry. Drawing on lessons from teaching ethics to my son's school class, plus my experiences with recovery, I'm taking a closer look at why a genuine apology goes far beyond simply saying the words.

Let me know your thoughts through the links below.

LINKS

• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at  Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

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Dami Im one of Australia’s most distinctive and accomplished voices. But there's a deeper story to her success.

Arriving in Brisbane from South Korea as a nine-year-old, she grew up navigating life between cultures, and eventually went on to win The X Factor Australia and build a hugely successful career as a singer and songwriter. But behind the bright lights and screaming fans was a very human struggle with insecurity, self-doubt and the feeling that perhaps she didn’t quite belong.

In this conversation, Dami opens up about the people who believed in her when she struggled to believe in herself, including the extraordinary mentorship she received from Dannii Minogue. Dami and Osher discuss about what it means to take ownership of your achievements, the pressure to be perfect, and how the discipline she learned through music has shaped her life.

Then they go deeper — unpacking growing up as an immigrant in Australia, finding belonging through community and faith, the changing influence of Korean culture around the world, and the lessons Dami wants to pass on to her own children. And perhaps most importantly, they talk about the challenge of building a career and pursuing your passions while also being a mum, and learning that being proud of yourself doesn’t have to mean losing your humility. It’s a really honest conversation about identity, resilience, ambition, family and finding the confidence to say: 'I deserve to be here'.

Enjoy this chat with Dami Im.

LINKS 

• Watch Dami's 'Proud Of Me' music video 
• Follow Dami (@damiim) on Instagram
• More info and tour dates
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happened to Australian music — and what does its future look like?

In this deeply personal episode of Better Than Yesterday, Osher Gunsberg takes a passionate look at the changing economics of the music industry and asks what the decline of the traditional music business has meant for Australian artists, audiences and culture.

Drawing on his decades working across Australian radio, television, live music and the recording industry, Osher traces the transformation from the era of CDs, radio royalties and record-label development to Napster, digital piracy and today's streaming economy. He explores how the business model that once allowed labels to take risks on emerging artists has been replaced by an environment where algorithms, playlists and streaming revenue can make it increasingly difficult for new Australian musicians to break through.

Osher also looks at the disappearance of major Australian music festivals and the decline of live music venues, arguing that these spaces were about far more than entertainment — they created shared cultural experiences that brought thousands of strangers together. He questions what happens to Australia's cultural identity when there are fewer opportunities for local musicians to develop, perform and connect with audiences.

It's an in-depth look at the shifting trends in entertainment over the years, and how the internet and streaming has stripped away the ability for artists to make a viable living doing what they love.

LINKS 

• Check out Chris Kohler's podcast here
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you think you could still feel grateful after breaking 10 ribs and fracturing your skull?

In this powerful conversation, Jason Dunn opens up about the accidents, fears, failures and life experiences that ultimately forced him to ask a bigger question: What am I actually capable of?

Jason reflects on surviving multiple serious cycling accidents, and explains how gratitude became a conscious choice rather than simply a feeling. He shares the moment he realised he had been living far below his potential — and why discovering your purpose can become the driving force that helps you push through fear, adversity and setbacks.

Drawing on Stoic philosophy and lessons from remarkable people throughout history, Jason explores self-mastery, discipline, resilience, vulnerability and the importance of stillness. He challenges the idea that simply surviving hardship automatically makes us stronger, instead describing resilience as the ability to stop seeing an obstacle as a wall and start seeing it as a door.

He also shares the extraordinary story of confronting his lifelong fear of drowning. Unable to swim a single lap, Jason eventually pushed himself into the water, quit smoking, trained for an Ironman and ultimately completed one of the most demanding endurance challenges imaginable.

From overcoming fear to avoiding regret, Jason explains why planning, purpose and consistent action can transform the way we approach our lives — and why the greatest risk may be reaching the end of your life wishing you had taken the harder, more meaningful path.

LINKS 

• Get 'Greatness Doesn't Care: How you become the greatest version of you' here
• Follow Jason (@un_limited862) on Instagram
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Listen to the Story Club podcast
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest books here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

LIKE THIS EPISODE? CHECK THESE OUT...

• 'Comfort Is Holding You Back': Secrets to Growth and Confidence with Ant Williams
• How to Overcome Insecurity and Stop Letting Fear Run Your Life with Jaemin Frazer
• Why Winning Doesn’t Always Make You Happy with Ben Crowe

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What does it really mean to be strong? And how much of the way we think about masculinity is something we’ve consciously chosen — rather than simply inherited?

Harry Garside is an Olympic boxing medallist who has also done ballet, and happens to paint his nails. Two typically juxtaposed traits that saw him both criticised and celebrated when he was thrust into the spotlight at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2024, he joined me for a powerful conversation about masculinity, vulnerability, confidence and the transformative power of discomfort.

Harry reflects on how boxing gave him a deeper understanding of what his body was capable of, helping him develop self-confidence and a sense of security. He also shares what he has learned from working with young people, particularly the boys who appear the loudest or toughest in the room but may be carrying stories that nobody has taken the time to hear.

We explore Harry’s fascination with deliberately stepping outside his comfort zone. For more than five years, he has undertaken monthly “uncomfortable challenges” — from going without speaking to improv, makeup and asking strangers for money — using discomfort as a way to learn, grow and challenge himself.

We also discuss the traditional rules we inherit about what it means to be a man, and whether some of those rules still serve us.

LINKS 

• Listen to the full episode with Harry here
• Follow Harry (@harry_garside) on Instagram
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch full stories recorded live at  Story Club on YouTube
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show
• Get Osher's latest book "So What? Now What?" here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.