Imagine being born in a body that doesn’t feel right.

Sam Eade knew from a young age that the colours pink and purple repelled him, and would throw tantrums when dressed in feminine clothes. He attended an all-girls school for 13 years, despite his rising gender dysmorphia and the feelings that he didn’t fit the body he was born in. 

When puberty hit, Sam’s life - and identity - went into chaos as he grappled with the quotidian challenge of trying to live with himself in a female form, and battle the ongoing reality of his real self emerging.

In 2016 he came out, identifying as male, after learning what transgender was on YouTube.

"Transgender" is an umbrella term that describes people whose gender identity or expression does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. (Alternatively, “cisgender” relates to people whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.)

As this episode of Human Cogs will reveal in raw and relatable ways, life is not an easy journey for those identifying as transgender.

The emotional and turbulent human experience is misunderstood, not often talked about, and for those living this reality, the LGBTQI+ spectrum shift is a complex identity scape for transgender people, and the people around them who need to adjust, accept and accommodate a significant relational step change with the person they love.   

This is a story of transition, despair, hope and self-reclamation from a truly extraordinary 18-year-old man, who can teach us all what it really means to live in your born skin - and be who you really are.

Guest: Sam Eade

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website.

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Nic Newling had what you’d call a pretty normal, even idyllic, childhood. But life took a dark and terrible turn for him when he started to avoid situations and the people around him at the age of 15.

A top-performing scholarship student, Nic suddenly plummeted into mental illness and deep shame …. and things got a whole lot worse before they got better. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet explore Nic’s story and journey into the darkness and horror of mental illness, and then out into the light again as he learns to live with himself, his complex mind, and navigate the ripple effects his illness has on his life and the people he loves. 

This is a remarkable story of one family’s survival in the face of unimaginable loss, and important listening for all of us, so we can better understand the lived human experience of mental illness.

Nic has featured on Australian Story (The Fault In Our Stars), The TODAY Show in New York, Huffington Post, the documentary 'Suicide: The Ripple Effect', and his mother's Human Rights Award winning memoir ‘Missing Christopher’. He is also an ambassador for Movember, Australia Day, R U OK? Day, and the Australian Mental Health Prize.

Nic now calls Sydney and New York home and has touched the lives of millions of people around the world as an in-demand keynote speaker and advocate for mental health, suicide prevention, and sharing our personal stories.

Guest: Nic Newling 
Websites: thechampions.org + nicnewling.com

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta @human.cogs

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the age of Trump and Putin, you’d be forgiven for thinking modern-day masculinity is broken. Too often, on the path from boy to man, there is a painful shift that makes many young men hide their real selves from the world.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet unpack masculinity with the extraordinarily bright and soulful Joel Lazar - Head of Operations at The Man Cave, a preventative mental health and emotional intelligence organisation for boys and young men. 

Joel spent a few years honing his craft in commercial law at one of Australia’s leading firms but became quickly disillusioned with law as an avenue to effect the change he deeply wanted to see in the world. 

So he took a leap and left the legal profession to find a way to bring his love for poetry, incisive problem solving, elements of his Jewish faith and views on what it means to be masculine to his current role giving young men the emotional and life skills they need, to grow up to be the men the world needs.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re in the right career for you, been stuck in a rut and feel empty because your work doesn’t reflect your values, if you're a parent or educator and you think masculinity needs a shake-up to reflect today’s world, then this is the episode for you.

Guest: Joel Lazar
Website: The Man Cave

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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Jason Ball is best known as a pioneering LGBTIQ advocate who after coming out in 2012 used his voice to launch a campaign to challenge homophobia in sport and drive cultural change within the AFL.

But this is not the whole story.

At the age of 12, Jason held his secret and shame so deeply that he thought suicide may be a better option than coming out. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet go deep with Jason as he shares his powerful and sometimes agonising story of trying to be someone he wasn’t.

Jason also reflects on the challenges of growing up gay with no role models, all the while trying to find ways to fit in to the often toxic culture of masculinity in men’s elite sport.

If you’ve ever had the thought that being gay was acceptable for others, but not for you; or if you’ve ever believed you’ve been defined by one part of yourself, yet hanker to let the other parts shine, then join us for this episode of Human Cogs as we talk to Jason, who is not only one of the most compassionate humans you will every meet, but an inspiration to anyone trying to live authentically against both real and perceived hurdles that at times feel insurmountable. 

Guest: Jason Ball
Website: jasonball.com

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve ever thought of yourself as the good time party girl or boy, then had a hangover that changed everything; or if you’ve struggled with mental health issues regardless of having had a great childhood; or if you’ve ever considered happiness as the holy grail, then this conversation is for you. 

Jill Stark is a best-selling author, award-winning journalist, and passionate mental health advocate. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet take the long, hard road back into Jill’s dark past, as she shares her experience of what she refers to as her “breakthrough, not breakdown”. 

No stranger to crippling anxiety and an over-reliance on alcohol, Jill explains the liberating power of understanding her childhood and family dynamics in making sense of her own feelings of being defective, and the shifts that therapy - and her eventual sobriety - have created in her life. 

Guest: Jill Stark
Website: jillstark.com

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website.

Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share?
Join in the convo at insta @human.cogs

Want to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.

Thanks for listening! 

Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.