“Giving anaesthetic in a muddy cave kilometres underground and under water? I never thought that was a good idea.” 

Experienced cave diver and doctor Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris is no stranger to extreme dives in pitch-black, cramped conditions. But when a call came for him to assist retrieving 12 teens and their coach from treacherous conditions inside a cave in Thailand during monsoonal rains? Well, he thought the boys had no hope of being pulled out alive. 

This incredible recovery mission taught him about pushing boundaries and propelled Harry into conversations with other risk takers. Why don’t we take more risks? Why aren’t we letting our kids explore their boundaries, and to deal with the consequences that might eventuate? 

Australian of the Year 2019, Richard Harris, takes you inside this remarkable rescue, but also a heart-breaking one to recover the body of a close diving buddy.  

In the process he illuminates the ways we can all face fear head-on.  

Check out Harry's podcast Real Risk and his new book The Art of Risk. 

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Curveball features revealing conversations with leaders about their challenges and their successes. It’s a production of Deadset Studios. 

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Want to know more about how people thrive in challenging times? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter!  

This episode was produced by Liam Riordan and Harry Hughes. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Country on which this podcast is made, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia’s first storytellers. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack Manning Bancroft was 17 when he walked into Australia’s most prestigious college at Sydney University. Think sandstone buildings, young men wearing suits and gowns to the dining hall each evening.  

Jack, a talented athlete and student and a Bundjalung man, had been awarded a scholarship to St Paul’s College. 

The level of privilege he was surrounded by made him angry, but it wasn’t long before he channeled that into establishing the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), an award-winning mentoring program.  

Jack became one of Australia’s youngest ever CEOs at 19, his program helped thousands of Indigenous teens finish high school, and the unique AIME approach was written up by Harvard Business School and McKinsey.  

Jack Manning Bancroft thinks differently. He leads differently. He draws on his Bundjalung roots (his mother is renowned Aboriginal Australian artist Dr Bronwyn Bancroft) to tell big stories and to develop relationships that are far from purely transactional. 

And now his big ideas are going beyond mentoring. He wants leaders and businesses to adopt Indigenous systems-thinking to revolutionise how we approach markets, capitalism, climate action, and relationships.  Could his new book Hoodie Economics and his radical new virtual world Imagi-Nation unlock powerful new ways to lead your organisation, team, or family? 

MORE INFO: 

Some of the resources Jack mentioned or ones you might like to consume about Indigenous issues in Australia include: 

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe 

Sand Talk: How indigenous thinking can save the world by Tyson Yunkaporta 

Interview with Brooke Blurton on The Imperfects podcast 

The Voice: Information from the Australian Government here, information from Reconciliation Australia here, and the Yes23 campaign here 

The Uluru Statement from the Heart 

Video explainer by KPMG partner and Arrilla Indigenous Consulting’s CEO Shelley Reys AO 

ABC News coverage of The Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. 

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Curveball is the show that leans into life’s messy moments! It’s a production of Deadset Studios.  

Want to know more about how leaders thrive in challenging times? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter. And feel free to suggest a guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com.   

This episode was produced by Liam Riordan. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the land’s first storytellers. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We bought computers that had never been connected to the internet. Phones were taken out of the room and I unplugged everything, including televisions and fridges. At one point the cabinet secretary pointed out through my window to a block of flats across the water and said, ‘You realise the Chinese will be in there and they’ll have a laser on that tumbler of water, and they’ll have turned it into a microphone. They can listen to what we’re saying now’. So the curtains came down immediately. At home, I did the same. I unplugged everything. And if I wanted to talk to my wife, we went out into the woods. We did all the things that spies are supposed to do.” 

Alan Rusbridger was the editor of The Guardian newspaper when a whistle blower called Edward Snowden reached out with documents suggesting the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US was spying on its own civilians. The extraordinary claims landed them in hot water with governments in both the US and the UK, and ultimately forced Snowden into exile in Russia where he remains today, more than a decade on. 

So what’s it like when you’re the one responsible for hitting publish on the most explosive story of the decade? One that involves spies and spooks, encrypted messages, and an international hunt for both the source of the story and the journalists who broke it? 

Alan Rusbridger is now the editor of Prospect Magazine, the chair of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and a member of Facebook’s Oversight Board. He’s been at the forefront of journalism’s transition to the digital and social world – all while juggling this century’s most complex stories in news. 

Rusbridger also describes the time he played Chopin in a deserted hotel in Libya while waiting for officials to negotiate the release of a missing Guardian journalist, why he believes Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be released from prison, and the legacy of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.  

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Curveball features revealing conversations with leaders about their challenges and their successes. It’s a production of Deadset Studios.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

And friends, don’t forget you can also sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! And we’d love you to suggest a Curveball guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

This episode was produced by Liam Riordan. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Country on which this podcast is made, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia's first storytellers. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I love that moment on the blocks. It’s the most high pressure moment. You can feel your heart beating. Your palms are all sweaty. Often when I’m going down onto the block and they say ‘take your marks’ my hands and legs are shaking. It’s a place of great failure and great success. They’re both possible in that very same moment”. 

Bronte Campbell could be the second best 100-metre sprint swimmer on the entire planet, and still not be the fastest in her family. That’s the reality of growing up alongside another Olympic champion in her older sister, Cate. and it’s a reality much of Australia won’t let her forget. But beyond the constant comparisons and the itch for a cinematic sibling rivalry, Bronte’s faced much bigger, much more demanding challenges throughout her career.  

Her first appearance at the London Olympics was also her first real taste of how vicious the media and general public could be. The closing ceremony coincided with a phone call urging her to rush home for a life or death health concern in her family. For almost her entire career, she’s battled serious injuries and chronic pain, and her third Olympic games almost didn’t happen at all... 

But if anybody was built to handle such intense pressure, it’s Bronte. Reflecting on her early childhood years in Malawi, her lifelong obsession with swimming, and the importance of her relationship with Cate, Bronte unpacks the mindset that motivates her to reach her personal best.  

And she shares the highs and lows of her business journey with PB with Bronte. “I needed to prove to myself there was something beyond the black line for me.” 

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Curveball is the show that leans into life’s messy moments! It’s a production from Deadset Studios, a global podcast consultancy.  

Want to know more about how people thrive in challenging times? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! We’d love you to suggest a Curveball guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

This episode was produced by Liam Riordan. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graeme Wood knew his planet was in danger even as a little kid. No one had to tell him: he could tell by how rapidly his fishing hauls on Moreton Bay were diminishing each year. But what was a bored kid in Brisbane going to do about it?  

Come 2014, entrepreneur Graeme Wood sells Wotif, his internet travel booking platform, and for the first time he has the potential to enact enormous change. So why does this devoted conservationist then go out and buy one of the world’s largest wood chipping mills?  

Whether it’s disrupting the Queensland egg industry in the 1980s, building his own website for Wotif (fueled by fear and a few vodkas), or fending off literal pirates on his sailing adventures, Graeme Wood does things his own way. Now, he’s transferring his business experience into the conservation space – but will his cowboy philosophy work in his new career?  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“It's nothing short of an Australian small business fairy tale that's about to unfurl.” 

Poppy King was barely out of high school when she launched her first company in 1991, quickly gaining a cult-like following for her dreamy 1940s Hollywood-inspired matte lipsticks. 

By 1995 she was Young Australian of the Year, but not long later the company fell apart amid investor disputes.  

The young entrepreneur moved to New York to work for the famed Lauder cosmetics brand. “My office was on the 39th floor of the GM building opposite the Plaza Hotel. I walked past Tiffany's every morning,” King enthuses. 

Now, some 30 years since the launch of her lipstick empire, King has revealed exclusively to Curveball she's returning to the Australian market with a brand new line.  

Find out what King learnt from her first business collapse, how she views the current influencer-inspired cosmetic industry, and why she’s going all-in on a new lipstick line made in the very same factory as her first product. 

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Curveball is the show that leans into life’s messy moments! It’s a production of Deadset Studios.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Want to know more about how people thrive in challenging times? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! And suggest a Curveball guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

This episode was produced by Grace Pashley and edited by Liam Riordan. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“When my friends were all going out and still doing Contiki tours, I was navigating a divorce.” 

Growing up in a traditional Fijian-Indian family, Shivani Gopal was given the message that women should be nice, they should serve others, that a woman’s value came from kindness and doing the right thing by others. 

So when Shivani fell in love as a teenager and her family arranged for her to be married, she tried to be the perfect wife who gave up her hopes and desires for others. “I really did try to be the good girl, the good wife, the good daughter-in-law, to be accepted and loved,” she says. “But then my personality would just burst out. Voicing my ambitions certainly went against the fold.” 

So, Shivani did the unthinkable. In her early 20s, despite the opinions of her traditional family and in-laws, she divorced her husband and super-charged her career in financial planning. 

Her climb to the top wasn’t without a few other obstacles, including one potential mentor who told Shivani she was “too young and pretty” to be worthy of his time. 

Find out how Shivani Gopal channeled her determination into a fundraise of $1 million to start the Elladex app, empowering women to reach their leadership potential.   

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Curveball teaches you how to thrive when the chips are down! It’s a production of Deadset Studios.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Want more leadership lessons from the brightest minds out there? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! And suggest a Curveball guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

This episode was produced by Grace Pashley.  Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Best-selling author and journalist Trent Dalton appreciates things most people wouldn’t give a second glance. 

Growing up, Trent had no choice but to see the best in people, because if there wasn’t some light in those he loved, the world would be too dark a place to bear. 

When he sat down to transform that story into his best-selling debut novel Boy Swallows Universe, little did he know his experience would be adapted for the stage and then for Netflix. 

But it was the unexpected death of a treasured friend who left him an old typewriter that sparked his next book. And the stories he tapped out would also ultimately save his marriage. 

Hear how the road to Trent’s success is paved with hard work, looking hard for beauty in the mundane as he taps out love stories on his typewriter with a tonne of enthusiasm.   

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Curveball is the show that leans into life’s messy moments! It’s a production of Deadset Studios.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Want to know more about how people thrive in challenging times? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! And suggest a Curveball guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

This episode was produced by Grace Pashley. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The thin timber floorboards and sticky carpet were a thin shield from the noise at the pub downstairs. But a 17-year-old Dee Madigan was trying to drown it all out as she studied for her final high school exams. 

The room above a bar hardly qualified as optimum living quarters but moving back to the city on her own to get a good education was Dee’s best shot at getting into university. After years of ups and downs in her parents’ businesses, things had taken a turn for the worse, and Dee was determined not to let that get in her way. 

Little did she know how much worse things could get before they got better. Dee would live the equivalent of several lives before she became a regular on national TV, offering her opinions on her twin loves – advertising and politics.  

Now a political campaigner, author, advertising guru and Creative Director at Campaign Edge, in this episode of Curveball hear the moments in Dee Madigan’s life that really shaped this expert persuader. 

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Curveball is the show that leans into life’s messy moments! It’s a production of Deadset Studios.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Want to know more about how people thrive in challenging times? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! And suggest a Curveball guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

This episode was produced by Grace Pashley. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One day you can be striding into work in a suit worth thousands of dollars, and the next you can be at home in your pyjamas struggling to connect your laptop to the wifi in time for a job interview well below your pay grade.  

Tragedy, failure, loss – they’re all part of life’s ups and downs. Life happens to all of us, no matter how much success you’ve achieved, how fancy your job title is, or how much money you earn. 

But when the dust settles, it's these moments that make you. What you do when it’s all falling apart is how you show what you’re really made of.  

It’s the lessons Dee Madigan learned from a turbulent childhood, completing her studies living above a pub that propelled her into the engine room of federal politics. 

Or how Trent Dalton turned the most difficult moments of his dark childhood into a best-selling novel and Netflix series.  

Season 4 of Curveball is full of leaders who’ve learned valuable lessons at unexpected moments. 

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Curveball is the show that leans into life’s messy moments! It’s a production of Deadset Studios.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Want to know more about how people thrive in challenging times? Sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! And suggest a Curveball guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

This episode was produced by Grace Pashley. Executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.