Human Cogs Podcast

Not many of us know when we’re very young, just what course our life is going to take. At the age of 19, Johnny Di Francesco knew exactly what he didn’t want.

He had watched his single Mum juggling two jobs working around the clock to bring up three kids, and he learned that grit, determination and very hard work was the recipe he needed for business success, personal satisfaction and financial security. 

Fiercely independent and driven to make his mark, Johnny opened his first business at 19, was running 7 businesses by the age of 23, and fast-forward to today, he sits at the helm of the international Gradi restaurant and retail empire. 

His Neapolitan Pizza was named the best in the world at the World Pizza Championships in Italy, where he beat 600 competitors from 35 countries, and he now plans to continue his international expansion.

But underneath all this, is a man who is insatiably hungry to learn and perfect his craft, who relishes the thrill of the chase, and who takes each and every failure as a learning opportunity. Here’s our chat with ‘Mr Pizza’, Johnny Di Francesco.

Guest: Johnny Di Francesco
Website: 400gradi.com
Socials: Instagram

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.

This year on Human Cogs, we are mixing it up! As always, we are all about having meaningful conversations minus the small talk, and in this episode, Sabina Read takes to the mic for a one-on-one with the passionate, thought provoking, raw and ever-curious Sarah Wilson. 

Sarah is a former journalist and ex-editor of Cosmo magazine, and was the host on Season 1 of Masterchef. She wrote the Masterchef. She wrote the New York Times best sellers - I Quit Sugar and First, we make the beast beautiful; and her 11 cookbooks have sold in 52 countries. Today, Sarah lives minimally, and is a passionate author, activist and campaigner for mental health and climate issues.

In this chat, Sarah shares her experiences living with bipolar, being diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, and arriving at a time in her life where both she, and the world, seemed devoid of hope. 

As a young person, Sarah says being vulnerable was an alien concept to her, and that writing her latest book This One Wild and Precious Life was a form of therapy, an invitation for our souls to do life differently, and a quest to nurture a hopeful path forward in a fractured world.

If Sabina could choose a group of dinner guests that inspire and challenge the way we live and think, Sarah would be at the top of the list!

Guest: Sarah Wilson
Website: sarahwilson.com
Socials: Instagram, Podcast

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.

The first thing you notice about George Georgievski is that he wears his heart on his sleeve. 

He also carries the story of his life, grief for his father, and love for his daughters on his skin, in a series of tattoos that extend up and down his arms and torso. The same arms that have created lunchboxes that have inspired millions of people across the world, seen him rise to fame on TV, gain 135K Instagram followers, be an Ambassador for Jamie Oliver's Ministry for Food - and go completely viral as The Most Inspiring Lunchbox Creator in the World.

But according to George, he’s just an ordinary dude from Geelong, quietly making lunch for his kids, each meal an act of love, created with care, fondness and attention like it’s the last meal he’ll ever make. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, to be honest, we don’t really talk about lunch. We go straight for the full smorgasbord of who George really is, explore his tough upbringing, and the months he spent as a teenager living alone after his father died suddenly, mother was hospitalised and he had to leave school to fend for himself and find a way to survive.

Today, George is not just surviving but thriving, and relishing every day. 

Guest: George Georgievski
Website: The School Lunchbox
Socials: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn
George’s latest book is Air Fryer Express.

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.

Kimberlee Wells is a global trailblazer in advertising and brand marketing, has worked with Australia's largest brands including ANZ, Medibank, Qantas, Optus, Australia Post and the Federal Government, and has led ad agency, TBWA toward a values-based culture to embed more purpose in both her staff and the clients she works with.

A champion for LGBTIQ rights; women's financial inequality; and minority groups, Kimberlee was invited by the United Nations to share her positive mission on a global stage.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read explore who is brand Kimberlee, what really drives her, and why her early childhood experience of discrimination set a framework for fighting for injustice, the unseen and the unheard.

A force for good in business and a crusader for creativity, Kimberlee is now grappling with the loneliness of leadership, how to care for self when you’ve spent a lifetime helping others and how to put her own needs on the map.

Guest: Kimberlee Wells
Website: TBWA
Socials: Twitter

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.

Ben Crowe has become one of the sports industry’s most “in-demand” professional mentors, and over the past two decades has worked with tennis great Andre Agassi, Olympian Cathy Freeman, champion surfer Stephanie Gilmore and both the Australian Men’s and Women’s Cricket Teams.

He’s also credited with taking tennis player Ash Barty to world number 1, and coaches Richmond premiership captain Trent Cotchin and AFL coaches Alastair Clarkson and Damien Hardwick.

So what’s his secret sauce?

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read chat with Ben about his global work as a leadership mentor, storyteller, life coach and advisor, his passion to help high performing people unlock and unblock themselves, and his deep focus on authenticity, vulnerability and the need to move toward pain.

But in a world crying out for purpose and connection, Ben’s insights don’t just apply to elite athletes. CEOs, teenagers, retirees, parents and indeed all humans want to feel accepted and loved unconditionally. Ben emphasises that we all have the power to edit our own stories, to dream big not small, and to use intentional mindset shifts to get to the seat of who we each really are, which matters more than what we do.

Guest: Ben Crowe
Website: MojoCrowe.com
Socials: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

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.

Jamila Rizvi is an author, presenter and political commentator and writes regularly for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Good Weekend and Sunday Life. She is also a  commentator on The Project, Today, The Drum and ABC News Breakfast, and the Chief Creative Officer of Future Women.

Described as one of the preeminent voices of young Australian women online, Jamila is a refreshing force for change, advocate for women, and pushes conversations and ideas to work toward a more equal world.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read talk to Jamila about her quest to push to the edge (and sometimes over it), the costs of living life at full throttle and her ongoing health battles with brain cancer which have forced her to confront the discomfort of living in her new body and grieving the old one.

Jamila reflects on her metric of success, never wanting to leave anyone feeling left out, and the value of passing down wisdom from women who have gone before.

Read Jamila's latest book, Untold Resilience, here.

Guest: Jamila Rizvi
Website: JamilaRizvi.com.au
Socials: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

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.

Jane Tewson, Founder and Director of Igniting Change,  is a global change maker who’s founded five flourishing charities, was named by The Times as a top ten innovator in the UK, received a CBE from Prince Charles, and humbly continues to create meaningful change in the lives of countless others. 

But this episode is not about accolades. Because Jane does not see herself as anything special, and she is not interested in being in the spotlight. What Jane does see are individuals who have the desire to create change in their own lives despite their circumstance. Jane believes that people inherently carry the capacity to find their own voice, when they feel respected, understood and listened to, rather than when they are spoken at, or given to, by (often) well-meaning others.

Jane is ever-curious and drawn to the humanity and courage of people doing it tough, and in this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read free range with Jane about her incredible childhood, her instinct for igniting social change, how we bring death to life - and how we can all better connect with each other by making judgement fall away and ultimately seeing people without the labels that typically define them. 

Jane is an unassuming force of nature and invites us all to consider how small shifts can create deeply meaningful change. 

You can read more about Jane in Martin Flanagan’s book, The Art of Pollination, published by Hardie Grant and available from Amazon, Booktopia and Dymocks.

Guest: Jane Tewson
Website: Igniting Change
Socials: Instagram, Facebook

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.

Chris Riddell is an award-winning global futurist, forensic optimist and truth teller. 

Voted in the top 5 most inspirational keynote speakers, Chris is a trend spotter, media commentator and digital expert who provides powerful insights into emerging trends and human behaviour, and has delivered keynote experiences to nearly a quarter of a million people in 27 countries.

Enlivened by the real world, by humanity, and by ‘the now’, Chris makes sense of the uncomfortable, challenging and dystopian technology-driven world of ‘the future’ by instead making the case for connection, optimism and the unlocking of opportunities to propel us all forward into an exciting, new reality.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat with Chris about his unwavering faith in humanity enduring and innovating to problem solve for the ethical and global challenges of our times. 

We also traverse topics that go deeper into the human Chris is: why the pursuit of perfection has him often sailing to the very edge of the cliff in himself; how the threads and patterns of his past have shaped his present; and why he’s never sleeping, forever flying and always searching. 

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.

Kate Save is an incredible Australian entrepreneur, Practicing Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist, and the founder of several businesses including the award-winning, multi-million dollar Be Fit Food empire.

This business catapulted Kate onto the public stage after her appearance on reality TV show Shark Tank in 2017. But Shark Tank was a double-edged sword, which connected her with influential business mentor and Boost Juice founder Janine Allis, but also exposed Kate to the public where her credibility was attacked despite her decades of clinical experience and numerous qualifications.  

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read chat to Kate about the hard reality of being a founder at the helm of a company that rocketed to explosive 1500% growth overnight, her everyday mantra to "finish fourth not first", what it was like to grow up feeling poor - and how her hard-won life and work lessons have shaped the woman - and now the mother - she has become. 

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.

Wendy Tuohy is an outstanding Australian editor, journalist and newspaper columnist who has spent the last three decades working across print, digital, TV and radio.

Wendy has also won multiple awards working in senior roles with The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio and the Herald Sun, and is a passionate advocate for women, gender parity, mental health - and speaking truth to the reality of the working mother juggle in a modern world.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat with Wendy about the role of the media in a rapidly changing, volatile and fake news world, the hidden currency of care that working women so often carry, and also unpack how today's parents can more consciously model behaviour to override gendered stereotypes and unleash authenticity in their children and in themselves. 

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.