As comedian and radio legend Merrick Watts prepares for his Grapes Of Mirth festival in Tasmania, I thought it would be a good time to look back at a couple of interesting things that we learned about Merrick from the times I've spoken with him over the years.

You'll hear about his unique approach to resilience, his thoughts on parenting, and the really interesting way that he revived a 2000 year old Roman drink for modern tastes. There is so much more to Merrick than his resume. He's a fascinating man, and I hope you enjoy these highlights from our conversations.

LINKS

• More on Merrick's Grapes Of Mirth
• More on Posca
• Listen to past episodes featuring Merrick Watts here and 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
• 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.

What if I told you that the secret to happiness was to pay more attention to the times when life absolutely sucks? How can that make sense? 

Everything I scroll past berates me with a message about finding happiness, treating myself, pushing me to constantly be seek out the good at all costs. While it’s absolutely important to discover and nurture those things that make life pleasurable and even tolerable, my guest today argues that we also need to also sit with and even embrace misery to truly appreciate what makes life great.

Eamon Evans is a prolific author, writing 15 books on everything from sport to crime, urban legends and great Aussie scandals. His latest book, The Importance of Being Miserable: A Short History of Human Happiness, and Why Sometimes It's Good to Feel Bad, challenges the notion that life should always be good, happy and sparkly; and suggests that negative emotions have been historically important, and still are.

Today, Eamon unpacks the fantasy we’ve been sold over the years - that happiness is something you can achieve, lock in, and never lose, and argues that, ironically, chasing it might actually be what’s making us miserable. Fear not, Eamon is hilarious and delivers his message in a coating of laughter and delicious irony - so he’s able to get the idea across incredibly well. 
He's even written a book about it, "The Importance of Being Miserable".

Now that I think about it, the title of the book might just be the closest thing that's ever got me to understanding why Morrissey exists.

LINKS

• Grab a copy of Eamon's book The Importance of Being Miserable
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• 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.

When I open my phone, it explodes in a cascade of fear, fury and furphies. That content does exactly what it is designed to do—leave me spinning in a tizz of powerlessness and desperation. 

Besides just turning my phone off, I think I have found something that makes that feeling less intense, and instead gives me the feeling that I am actually doing something that will make a difference.

LINKS

• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• 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.

The man, the music legend - Diesel (aka Mark Lizotte) is my guest the week as he prepares to tour the nation for his By Request tour. It's a wide-ranging conversation about creativity, addiction, community - even sleep hygiene - and why songs become emotional time machines. It's a conversation about music, ageing, purpose, and finding connection in a modern world that keeps pulling us apart.

Heads up - if you'd like to skip straight to the Diesel chat, head to 16:07.

LINKS

• Catch Diesel on tour - info and tix @ dieselmusic.com.au
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show 
• Get Osher's new 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.

Today is January 26th. 

If you’ve listened to the show for a while you’ll probably have an idea about where I view the significance of this day. If there’s one thing I wish for 2026, it’s that two things can be true at the same time. It is vitally important to celebrate a national identity, the story which binds us together as a community. 

The current day we’re celebrating this concept causes a great deal of pain to a significant number of people in our country. I’m not putting forward at all that we sholdn’t celebrate who we are as a nation, far from it - i think it’s incredibly important to be proud of who we are, what we’ve become and also to recognise where we’ve come from. We can do that in a way which unites us. 
The current way we’re going about it doesn’t really do the job. What kind of community do we want? A community divided along ideological lines so stark that we may as well be separate communities? Or a community united by values which we consider at the core of our national identity, and those ideological lines branch from there, as a way to put those values into action in our daily lives?

For context, today we’re revisiting one of my favourite people in the world - the incredible Stan Grant. 

LINKS:

• Listen to the full interview with Stan from 2021 here
• Listen to my other chat with Stan from 2019 here
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Watch Story Club on YouTube and grab tickets to Story Club's next show
• My books So What? Now What? and Back After The Break are available here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steven Pinker is a cognitive scientist, bestselling author, and one of the most influential thinkers of our time. His latest book unpacks the concept of 'common knowledge', and how it impacts our social, political, and economic lives.

Steven argues that this invisible layer of shared understanding holds societies together. But it can also work in reverse by reinforcing inherent biases as more people silo themselves inside echo chambers. This is a fascinating conversation with a brilliant man, and you can see Steven live in Australia in February. 

LINKS

• Grab tickets to see Steven Pinker live in Australia
• Where to find Steven's latest book 'When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows ... Common Knowledge and the Science of Harmony, Hypocrisy and Outrage'
• Follow Steven on Instagram
• Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
• Get tickets for our next Story Club show 
• Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
• Get Osher's new 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.

Today, we dive into the fascinating world of relationships, mental health, and neuroscience with neuropsychologist and author Dr. Hannah Korrel. 

Dr. Korrel specialises in understanding why our brains make us do the things we do, particularly in the context of relationships. Her book How to Break Up with Friends explores the complexities of friendship and how to navigate toxic relationships.

LINKS:

• Listen to the full interview with Hannah from 2021 here
• Watch Story Club on YouTube and grab tickets to Story Club's next show
• My books So What? Now What? and Back After The Break are available here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Emily Musgrove (yes, that Dr Emily from The Imperfects) is here to help us answer the big question: Are you moving toward the kind of life you want? If not, you might be feeling ‘stuck’.

In this mental health masterclass, Dr Emily takes us through the things that keep us stuck—from our emotions to old stories—and shares simple ways and plenty of tips and tools from her new book, Unstuck: A Guide To Finding Your Way Forward To The Life You Want To Live.

LINKS:

• Grab a copy of Dr Emily's book here
• Watch Story Club on YouTube and grab tickets to Story Club's next show
• My books So What? Now What? and Back After The Break are available here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor George Paxinos, a leading global neuroscientist who has mapped more parts of the human brain than anyone in history. George’s groundbreaking work has reshaped our understanding of the brain and human behaviour.

Today, we’ll focus on one of the most intriguing topics he explores: free will. Is free will an illusion? Are we truly in control of our decisions, or are we simply products of our genetics and environment? 

LINKS:

• Listen to the full interview with George from 2022 here
• Watch Story Club on YouTube and grab tickets to Story Club's next show
• My books So What? Now What? and Back After The Break are available here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Billy Garvey is a senior developmental paediatrician with over 20 years’ experience and a PhD in supporting child development. He's also the founder of the social enterprise Guiding Growing Minds, author of the fantastic book Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child's Mental Health, and host of the excellent Pop Culture Parenting podcast. He’s simply one of the absolute best communicators on parenting and mental health. 

Get comfy, as we delve into topics like cultural influences, practical tools to meaningfully connect with your kids, —you’ll want to hear every second of this one.

LINKS:

• Find more about Dr Billy Garvey's amazing work here
• Check out Billy's Pop Culture Parenting podcast here
• Grab Billy's book Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child's Mental Health here
• Watch Story Club on YouTube and grab tickets to Story Club's next show
• My books So What? Now What? and Back After The Break are available here
• Send a pic of what you're looking at to [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.