Human Cogs Podcast

We all have a slightly dysfunctional relationship with creativity. We love it, value it and want more of it but often just can’t seem to find the time, space or resources to cultivate it, whether that’s a book not written, a garden unplanted or a song not sung.

Mykel Dixon is an award-winning speaker, musician, learning designer, event curator and author. A gypsy by nature, musician by trade, fierce non-conformist and prolific anti-perfectionist, he works with senior leaders and teams of Fortune 500 and ASX200 companies to unlock breakthrough creativity.

In the spaces between, he rocks out with his band, is a brilliant lyricist and poet, and pushes to the edges of himself to explore the seemingly endless bounds of human creative potential.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet dive into places they didn’t plan to go and uncover Mykel’s turbulent past, expulsion from high school, weeks spent in silent Ashram retreats, plus they unpack why his early and prolific self-expression was contaminated with feelings of shame.

This high-energy conversation is pretty wide-ranging, from spiritual woo woo to seeing the world around you as a canvas, divergent thinking that put humans on the moon in the 60s to making magic from the mundane.

But in a world being whacked with wicked challenges right now, Mykel’s Infectious optimism and sense of creative possibility are contagious, and he reminds us that the common practice of dialling ourselves down is something we should all learn to do a little less.

For anyone who has ever sat in the grandstand but wanted to play the game, for the starters not finishers, the dreamers not doers, this is a conversation that will give you the fuel you need to stop listening to the voices in the world and start listening to the voices in you; the courage to unshackle yourself from the self-imposed constraints of the everyday; and the safety to go the edge (and just a little bit beyond) to unleash your inner wild.

Mykel Dixon is the author of best-selling book ‘Everyday Creative - A Dangerous Guide To Making Magic At Work’.

Guest: Mykel Dixon

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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Thanks for listening! 

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might think you know Hugh Sheridan.

A four time Logie-award winning actor who’s played starring roles on shows like House Husbands and Packed To The Rafters, he is also the Number 1 Ticketholder for the Port Adelaide FC, and spends his time living and working between homes in LA and Sydney. 

He’s also an accomplished international jazz singer, ballet dancer, film director, screenwriter and passionate human rights advocate.

But what you might not know is that there is a deeper, hidden, vulnerable - and very human - side to Hugh Sheridan, which he now wants to share publicly. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat with Hugh about his lonely childhood; his engagement at the young age of 17 to a woman; his early experiences at NIDA where he then fell passionately in love with a man; and his ongoing quest to assert the need to not be defined by labels, but instead, by the whole and compassionate human he is.

Hugh believes that we have become too focussed on unhelpful and binary definitions of who we are across the facets of our lives, and invites us all to challenge the way we talk to each other, to move towards a more accepting and united view of humanity, without bias and the impact of boxing each other in.

He also reveals the drawbacks of fame and living life in the public spotlight; and a life-changing moment in India when he came face to face with himself as an infant, small child, adult and ageing man, and was finally able to accept himself as the boy he was, man he is, and human he seeks to be.

What he does know is that you don't need a star on Hollywood Boulevard to say that you are someone, and that it’s now time for Hugh to sit in his own skin, accept himself, and as George Michael once said to him: “Just sing what you want to sing.”

This isn't a story about sexuality, but rather about accepting ourselves as we truly are, and wanting others to do the same.

Enjoy our conversation with the very Hugh-man, Hugh.

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.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, you’ve probably heard of the Shameless empire - a side hustle that turned into a media phenomenon and explosive podcast that's been downloaded 10 million times, was awarded Australia’s Most Popular Podcast in 2019 and has captured the hearts and minds of the 20-30 something generation.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read chat to Zara McDonald, one half of the Shameless Media brand, which was born on Zara and her cofounder Michelle Andrew’s bedroom floors in March 2018 after they met working as journalists at the Mama Mia Women’s digital media network.

By their own admission, Michelle and Zara knew sweet F-A about podcasting when they started the journey.

A few years in, they now have millions of listeners, multiple award-winning shows, have just released a best-selling book (The Space Between) plus are at the helm of a juggernaut Australian media brand that just keeps on growing!

But behind the scenes of success, in this conversation Zara candidly shares her journey to now, including her battle with imposter syndrome, feeling like she’s “young, ignorant” and never “doing it right”, and the work she’s still doing to try and build a thicker skin so the opinions of others carry less weight. 

This is a fascinating and candid chat about the boundaries that need to be drawn between our (online) public and private lives, the liminal spaces that 20 to 30-something “mainstream-media ignored” women in today’s uncertain world occupy, and how we can all work to make each other feel way less alone by sharing more of ourselves in the raw truths, lived experiences and real human moments of the space between. 

Guest: Zara McDonald of Shameless 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.

In between when you woke up this morning and when you go to sleep tonight, 55 Australian women will be told they have breast cancer. The same will happen tomorrow, the day after that and every day ongoing, making breast cancer the most common cancer affecting Australian women.

In fact, it is estimated that 20,000+ new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Australia in 2020. Only 5-10% of breast cancers are hereditary, which means that over 90% have no genetic link. 

In this episode, Human Cogs hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat to the extraordinarily insightful, soulful and courageous Kath Elliott.

A successful business woman and mother of 3 boys who worked in the fast-paced world of PR, Kath's life was suddenly stripped bare of the superfluous when one ordinary morning in August 2019, aged 46, she discovered a breast lump while getting dressed to race out the door to another busy day at work.

What follows is her raw story of surrender, survival and ultimately, acceptance as she has gone deep to find a way back into herself - physically, spiritually and emotionally. 

But you don’t have to have been personally touched by cancer, or know a loved one who has, to reap the deep insights and life lessons shared in this chat. These lessons are a teacher for us all about the importance of living in your body and not just in your head; what a sliding door moment of cancer diagnosis can catalyse in your life; and how looking death in the eye can make you feel more fully alive than you ever have. 

Guest: Kath Elliott 
Websites: Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) kathrynelliott.net
Socials: Instagram @healingbreastcancer

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.

A self-described “brain for hire”, Ben Sorensen is a media host, presenter, writer, and marketing whizz. Ben also sits on the Autism Spectrum, and has learned to “hack his brain” to find ways to help him make sense of the world.

From an early age growing up in country Queensland, Ben recognised that the way he processed the world was very different to people around him, and that his brain worked faster and at a more meta level than neurotypical people, leaving him feeling socially isolated and perplexed about how humans work.

But last year, at the age of 36, Ben sought out a formal diagnosis of ASD, and has continued to kick goals, hone his gift and fully “utilise his asset” - his remarkable brain - and capacity for human kindness.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet explore Ben’s lived experience of autism, the inner workings of a mind trying to decipher the complexity of human emotions and relational nuance, and some of the challenges he has faced in better understanding how to do human well.

But beyond his diagnosis, we also learn about Ben’s personal philosophy and values including the importance of being “consciously kind”, the need for us all to move from mere tolerance to true acceptance, and his continuing quest for greater equality in the world.

Ben says he wouldn’t trade his ASD for quids. Because it gives so much more than it takes.

Guest: Ben Sorensen
Websites: bensorensen1.com bseaustralia.com friendinme.com
Socials: Instagram 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.

Let’s talk about exes. We’ve all had one and we’ve all been one, so why do some leave such an indelible mark on our hearts while others move on leaving little impact on our lives?

Breakups can be painful and heart-breaking, a complete surprise or a total relief.

But whichever way it ends, in the aftermath, there’s always a story to be told as we try to make sense of the way we parted, the reasons why and the grief that trails in the wake of a breakup.

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read hear the behind the scenes story of a relationship breakup that left accomplished journalist, instagram queen, Everyone Has An Ex podcast host, and former Bachelorette Georgia Love feeling completely broken, abandoned, and like she would never love again. 

Georgia shares the moment when the man she had been with for 3 years and thought was "the one" turned to her on an ordinary morning to say he was done, abruptly ended their relationship and walked out - with no warning and zero explanation.

If you’ve ever had a break-up you can’t shake, been completely ghosted or have carried old breakup wounds into subsequent relationships, then you’ll relate to Georgia’s raw, heart-felt and honest story of being rejected, struggling to trust and then, finally, learning to love again.  

Guest: Georgia Love
Podcast: Everyone Has An Ex
Socials: Twitter, 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.

Nikole Ramsay grew up in a tumbling, hectic, people-filled household as the youngest of four kids. A self-confessed tomboy and late bloomer, Nik remembers the fun and chaos of a big family quickly shrinking as each of her three siblings grew up and left home.

She was left as an only, sometimes lonely child, in a quiet house in the suburbs, yearning for the abundance of a big and bustling family again.

Nik eventually grew up too, as we do, and left home to study, live and work overseas as a successful photographer, when she and her husband decided in their mid-30’s they wanted to start a family.

But after taking five years to conceive their son, they struggled to conceive again, and so together they began researching and considering the idea of fostering a child.

This episode steps into the seams of that story, and explores Nik and her husband’s eventual fostering of their now daughter.

We explore the uncertainties, hopes, expectations and emotions that surface when you open your heart and your home to bring a precious and vulnerable little stranger into your family fold. 

The journey has been filled with both joy and challenge, and at times, like all of us as parents, Nik wondered whether she could manage the emotional and relational strain of foster parenting.

But Nik describes her daughter as her greatest teacher and mirror to her own self and story, as she seeks to understand the role of nature and nurture in human development, and the unseen family forces that shape us all.

Guest: Nikole Ramsay
Website: nikoleramsay.com
Australian Foster Care Association 
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.

This episode starts with Richard Stansbury reading his heart-wrenching eulogy to his father. 

Richard says his father had been desperately searching for years, and had spent most of his life running from himself until he could no longer cope with the pain he experienced everyday. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet explore the often taboo topic of suicide, the intergenerational impact of secrets, shame and mental illness in Richard’s family, and his own journey to find forgiveness and empathy for his father.

Richard now accepts there was nothing he could have done to save his Dad, and that finding ways to manage his own depression and suicidal thoughts is the way forward to change the cycle and the story for his family. 

This is a pretty raw conversation of transition and despair, and lays bare the emotional and turbulent human experience of depression and what happens in the wake of losing a parent to suicide.

Conversations about suicide are uncomfortable, but suicide is a topic that touches many, and an issue we all need to address. If this episode is distressing or triggering, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Guest: Richard Stansbury
RUOK day. Reach out to someone and ask R U OK?
World Suicide Prevention Day. Learn more here.

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 Martino is a polymathic, award-winning Australian entrepreneur who has built multiple companies and is the Cofounder of globally recognised not-for-profit organisation Smiling Mind - a free online Mindfulness Meditation program that has more than 4 million regular users. 

Jane has been on the Board of the Melbourne Football Club, is a powerhouse business woman, and the author of multiple books including a series of children’s books on wellbeing that will be released in October 2020. And yep - she is also brewing another startup!

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat to Jane about being a disruptor, the price one pays for professional attainment, and the work she has done to push back on societal and systemic norms to live her personal and professional story more intentionally, and authentically.

We also explore how she and her ex-husband, Matt Martino, found a way forward together to create positive shared-parenting strategies after their separation, and how raising her three boys with intentional transparency has helped anchor her during this time of life transition, and personal transformation. 

Guest: Jane Martino
Website: Smiling Mind
Socials: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram (Smiling Mind)

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.

Matt Martino is a 49-year-old designer, artist and father of 3 boys who has had his quarter-life crisis, survived the hurt, loss and hard work of a marriage separation, and come out of it softer, more weathered and a whole lot wiser about the importance of being an optimistic man, conscious father and respectful ex-husband. 

He believes life is comprised of 7-year cycles, and that men’s biological clocks start ticking at about 28. By 35 you’ve got your house and family, and then BOOM! - at 42, your mid-life crisis kicks in and you start questioning yourself, the world around you, and what you have or haven’t achieved in comparison to others.

Matt has certainly lived his ‘7’s’, and had time to make sense of life’s cycles.

He’s been a father in Mother’s Group, and knows how desperately lonely it is behind the thankless curtain of stay-at-home parenthood when your day-to-day experience is a world away from your working partners.

He’s had to lose himself to find himself again when his marriage fell apart. And he’s done the work to go deep and get to know who he really is so he can show up - more fully present and alive - in his every day.  

But hitting 49 has been a big time of change for Matt, as he and his ex-wife continue to navigate how to co-parent their boys with respect and trust, and he learns to prioritise the importance of nurturing himself and his sons to live by the mantra of treating others as you wish to be treated yourself.

Join Human Cogs Hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet in this conversation with Matt Martino, which runs deep to the heart of what happens inside a man when a marriages ends, provides useful advice on how to successfully co-parent - and is ultimately an affirming story of the power of personal growth through pain.

Guest: Matt Martino 
Websites: The Father Hood - Open Letter from Matt Martino

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.