Hey Soul Sista with Mel Histon

Ever wondered what actually happens immediately after someone passes away? We often talk about death from a soulful, spiritual perspective, but what about the raw, practical logistics?In this episode, I sit down with Amy-Lea Pettigrew, third-generation director of Pettigrew Family Funerals. Amy-Lea pulls back the curtain on an industry shrouded in mystery to answer the exact questions everyone wants to know but is too afraid to ask.

In this episode, we dive into:

• The Immediate Logistics: Exactly what happens from a practical standpoint the moment someone dies.
• Behind the Scenes: The realities of running a massive, multi-generational family funeral legacy.
• The Unspoken Questions: How the industry has evolved since 1969 and what it’s really like dealing with death every single day.

Whether you’re deeply curious about the business of passing or just want to demystify the taboo, this episode offers a fascinating, grounding look into a world we will all encounter.

👉 Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a 5-star review and share it with a friend!

Connect with MEL HISTON: 

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista!  
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast 
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6niLZqnSLAdilLmwzgWbgg?si=cfa5ec0db2154cdc
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hey-soul-sista-with-mel-histon/id1479778469
• Website: heysoulsista.com 
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, Australians welcomed Shelly Horton into their homes as a trusted TV presenter and journalist. Today, she's become one of the country's strongest advocates for women navigating midlife.

In this honest and inspiring conversation, Shelly shares how her own experience with perimenopause, confidence, and learning to advocate for herself completely changed the direction of her life and career.

Together, Mel and Shelly talk about the pressure women face to keep everything together, why so many symptoms are dismissed, how confidence changes through different seasons of life, and why speaking up—for yourself and for other women—has never been more important.

This is a conversation about reinvention, resilience and discovering that sometimes the challenges we never asked for become the purpose we were always meant to find.

In this episode:

• Shelly's journey from television to advocacy
• The reality of perimenopause and why so many women feel unheard
• Rebuilding confidence in midlife
• Why women need to stop apologising for taking up space
• Self-advocacy in healthcare and everyday life
• Finding purpose through life's unexpected challenges

Connect with Shelly Horton:

• Follow Shelly on Instagram @shellyhorton1
• Follow Shelly on Facebook @shellyhorton/journalist
• Follow Shelly on TikTok @shellyhorton4
• Subscribe to The Shelly Show on Substack https://substack.com/@shellyhorton
• Buy Shelly’s book, I’m Your Peri Godmother Amazon
• Listen to the book on Audible
• Speak with Impact training with ShellShocked Media
• Peri Godmother workplace training

Connect with Mel Histon:

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista!  
• Follow Hey Soul Sista on Instagram: @heysoulsistapodcast 
• Follow Mel on Instagram: @melissahiston 
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista 
• Website: heysoulsista.com
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why don’t we trust politicians anymore — and can they win us back?

For the first episode of Season 21, I’m joined by two Hey Soul Sista favourites, Alex Morris and Jaimie Abbott, for a lively, honest and at times very funny conversation about politics, power and trust.

With Jaimie’s first-hand experience as a former political candidate and councillor, Alex’s perspective as a journalist and social commentator, and my own growing frustration with politics in Australia, we unpack why so many people feel disconnected from the people meant to represent them.

We talk about political spin, the media cycle, social media and outrage, why politicians can seem so out of touch, whether people are becoming more cynical or simply demanding better, and what it might actually take to rebuild trust.

Jaimie also shares what most people don’t see about the political world, including just how hard many politicians work behind the scenes, while Alex challenges us to think about the role we all play in the media and political ecosystem.

And perhaps most importantly, we ask whether there is still reason to feel hopeful.

Because maybe people haven’t stopped caring about politics.

Maybe they’ve stopped believing politics cares about them.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why trust in politicians has declined
• The difference between leadership and authority
• Why spin can be more damaging than simply admitting a mistake
• How social media and outrage shape political conversation
• What Jaimie learned from being inside politics
• Why listening may be one of the biggest things politicians are missing
• Whether ordinary people can still create meaningful change

This is not a left-versus-right conversation. It’s a conversation about trust, leadership, accountability, community and what we want from the people who represent us.

Connect with MEL HISTON: 

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista!  
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast 
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6niLZqnSLAdilLmwzgWbgg?si=cfa5ec0db2154cdc
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hey-soul-sista-with-mel-histon/id1479778469
• Website: heysoulsista.com 
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A brand-new season of Hey Soul Sista is coming!!

Season 21 is all about what it really means to live well through midlife — body, mind and spirit.

Join me - Mel Histon - for inspiring conversations with incredible women sharing their stories, alongside experts sharing their wisdom on health, wellbeing, confidence, spirituality and living a little more soulfully.

Because sometimes, another woman’s story — or one piece of wisdom at exactly the right time — can completely change how you see yourself and what’s possible for your life.

Season 21 begins September 15. Follow Hey Soul Sista now so you don’t miss an episode!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A deep political and emotional divide is shaping the way women in America see their country, their safety, and their future — with left-leaning and right-leaning women often living in what feel like completely different realities.

In this timely and eye-opening episode, host Mel Histon, sits down with journalist and cultural commentator Alex Morris, who has just returned from the United States — and what she witnessed there speaks volumes about the state of women, politics, and public sentiment in America today.

From small Kentucky towns to national conversations, Alex shares the starkly different worlds that left-leaning and right-leaning Americans are living in — and why the divide feels deeper than ever.

Mel and Alex explore why Trump’s messaging on crime and safety lands so powerfully with certain women, the cultural narratives that shape how women on both sides see the world, and the emotional toll political polarization is taking on female identity, community, and confidence.

Connect with Alex Morris: 

• Instagram @alexmorriswrite
• Substack: alexmorriswrite.substack.com
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista

Connect with Mel Histon:

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista!
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Website: heysoulsista.com
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the biggest lie we tell ourselves is: “I’ll do it tomorrow”?

In this episode of Hey Soul Sista, Geoff Rupp returns for a powerful conversation about why so many of us keep putting off the life we really want to live — and why the time to begin is now.

Fresh from two months in India, where he led a spiritual retreat through sacred planetary temples, Geoff shares what those experiences taught him about purpose, presence, self-love and the way we move through life.

We talk about why we can become trapped in the “ever-repeating known,” how fear and ego can quietly keep us playing small, and why taking even one small step toward the life you want can begin to change everything.

Geoff also shares one of the most confronting lessons he has learned from speaking with people nearing the end of their lives: we think we have more time than we do. We wait until the kids are older, until we retire, until we have more money, until life settles down — but sometimes tomorrow doesn’t unfold the way we imagined.

We explore:

• Why Geoff believes we’re here to evolve, not simply move through life on autopilot
• The difference between letting fear lead and trusting yourself
• Why meditation and breathwork can help create greater clarity
• How to stop looking outside yourself for happiness
• Why relationships should complement you rather than complete you
• The importance of putting yourself back on your own priority list
• How taking one small action now can move you toward the life you really want
  And Geoff shares stories from his extraordinary journey through India — including sacred fire ceremonies, ancient temples and an unexpected experience involving an emerald shivlingam that had reportedly not been brought out for years.

This conversation is a reminder that your life isn’t a waiting room.

If there’s something you’ve been telling yourself you’ll do “one day”… maybe this is your sign to begin.

** To find out more about Geoff's upcoming retreat to India, visit his website. Podcast listeners who enter the code SISTA upon registering for the retreat receives a $500 discount!!

Connect with GEOFF RUPP: 

• Instagram @geoff_rupp 
• Website: geoffrupp.com
• YouTube: @geoffrupp_

Connect with MEL HISTON:

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista!
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Website: heysoulsista.com
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the people we love are never truly beyond our reach?

When speech pathologist Stephanie Banks watched her mother disappear into dementia, she believed her professional training would help them stay connected. But as their relationship unravelled, she found herself searching for answers in the most unexpected place.

One extraordinary experience changed everything.

In this deeply thought-provoking conversation, Stephanie shares how that moment led her to become an intuitive channel, helping people connect with what she describes as the soul, spirit guides and a deeper wisdom that exists beyond our everyday awareness.

Whether you're deeply spiritual, quietly curious or somewhere in between, this episode invites you to explore life's biggest questions with an open mind and an open heart.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Stephanie's mother's dementia and the experience that changed her life

• What intuitive channeling is (and what it isn't)

• Can anyone learn to connect with their intuition?

• The difference between intuition and fear

• Spirit guides, soul teams and higher consciousness

• Why imagination may be more powerful than we've been taught

• Living with more joy, purpose and self-trust

• What Stephanie believes happens after we die

If you've ever wondered whether there's more to life than what we can see, this conversation is for you.

Connect with STEPHANIE BANKS:

• Website: https://soulinsight.com
• Instagram: @stephanieintuitivechannel

Connect with MEL HISTON: 

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista! 
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6niLZqnSLAdilLmwzgWbgg?si=cfa5ec0db2154cdc
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hey-soul-sista-with-mel-histon/id1479778469
• Website: heysoulsista.com 
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At some point, many women wake up and wonder...

How did I end up living a life that no longer feels like mine?

After years of putting everyone else first, chasing success, meeting expectations and trying to be "good enough", it's easy to lose touch with the one voice that matters most – your own.

In this deeply thought-provoking conversation, bestselling author, women's leadership expert and PhD researcher Megan Dalla-Camina shares why so many women stop trusting themselves, how we're conditioned to look outside ourselves for answers, and why the path back begins by remembering who we really are.

Together we explore burnout, people-pleasing, intuition, meditation, feminine wisdom, spirituality and the courage it takes to create a life that's true to you.

If you've ever felt restless, disconnected or like you're living someone else's version of success, this episode will leave you feeling inspired to come home to yourself.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why so many women lose trust in themselves
• The hidden cost of people-pleasing and perfectionism
• Megan's journey from IBM executive to bestselling author
• How burnout became the catalyst for a completely different life
• What "feminine wisdom" actually means (without the jargon)
• Practical ways to reconnect with your intuition
• Why meditation doesn't have to be complicated
• Midlife as an awakening rather than a crisis
• Learning to stop living by everyone else's expectations
• The powerful message behind Megan's new book, She Remembers

✨ Remember: Everything you need to know is already inside you. Sometimes the greatest journey is simply remembering who you've always been.

 

Connect with MEGAN DALLA-CAMINA: 

• Website: https://megandallacamina.com/
• Instagram @megandallacamina

Connect with MEL HISTON: 

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista! 
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6niLZqnSLAdilLmwzgWbgg?si=cfa5ec0db2154cdc
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hey-soul-sista-with-mel-histon/id1479778469
• Website: heysoulsista.com 
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belinda MacDougall has built one of Australia's most successful wellness businesses, helping millions of people transform their health through The Lady Shake and The Man Shake. But as you'll hear in this conversation, success wasn't the destination—it was just the beginning.

In this inspiring episode, Belinda shares the mindset that helped her build an extraordinary life, why she's never been afraid to ask "Why not?", and what she's learned about purpose, generosity and staying grounded along the way.

Together, we explore why success alone can't fulfil you, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, overcoming self-doubt, and why giving back has become one of the most meaningful chapters of her journey.

Whether you're chasing a dream, navigating a new season of life, or wondering what truly matters, this conversation will leave you feeling inspired to think bigger—and live more intentionally.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why success isn't the finish line
• The mindset behind building The Lady Shake
• Why Belinda has never been afraid to dream big
• Overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs
• The importance of purpose beyond achievement
• Staying humble while achieving success
• The power of surrounding yourself with the right people
• Why giving back has become Belinda's greatest passion
• What success can never give you—and what really matters instead

Connect with MEL HISTON: 

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista! 
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6niLZqnSLAdilLmwzgWbgg?si=cfa5ec0db2154cdc
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hey-soul-sista-with-mel-histon/id1479778469
• Website: heysoulsista.com 
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever wondered if the people we love ever really leave us?

Maybe you've had a dream that felt incredibly real. A favourite song played at exactly the right moment. You caught the unmistakable scent of someone's perfume, or a bird appeared when you needed comfort most. Are these simply coincidences... or could they be signs?

In this deeply moving conversation, psychic medium and psychiatric nurse Rebecca Gibson returns to Hey Soul Sista to explore one of life's greatest mysteries: whether our loved ones continue to communicate with us after they've passed.

Rebecca shares her own extraordinary experiences, including her near-death experience, powerful stories of spirit communication, and why she believes our consciousness continues long after our physical bodies are gone. Together, we discuss why grief can sometimes make it harder to notice signs, how dreams, songs and synchronicities can become meaningful messages, and why slowing down may be the key to recognising them.

Whether you're spiritual, sceptical or simply missing someone you love, this conversation offers comfort, hope and a beautiful reminder that love may never truly leave us.

In this episode we discuss:
• Do our loved ones stay with us after they die?
• The most common signs people receive from loved ones
• Dreams, songs, scents and synchronicities
• Why grief can block us from recognising signs
• Rebecca's extraordinary personal experiences
• What happens when we die?
• Can our loved ones hear us when we talk to them?
• Practical ways to become more aware of signs around you

If this episode brings you comfort, we'd love you to follow Hey Soul Sista, leave a review and share it with someone who may need to hear this conversation today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.