Humans, being. with Lael Stone

The question I get asked the most by parents is, "Does this work?" So this week I sat down with two of the people most qualified to answer it.

For the better part of two decades, I have been teaching parents to parent differently. To skip the punishments and the rewards. To look behind the behaviour. To make space for big feelings instead of shutting them down. And the whole time, in the back of my mind, has been the quiet question every parent asks themselves... am I getting this right?

My answer was always going to come from my kids. So this episode, I'm joined by two of them, Indi (22) and Tali (18), and we are talking honestly about what it was like growing up in our house. The mistakes I made. The chocolate I tried to bribe Tali with when I was tapped out. The 4am phone call that taught all of us what safe really means. The big feelings that were always welcome, even when I had nothing left.

This is not a polished retrospective. It's messy and tender, the way our family is. We talk about staying true to yourself in a world that wants you to conform, what social media is doing to young people, why the friends pushing the boat hardest are the ones hurting most, and the little life skills that come from a house where no topic is off limits. It's also a love letter from a mum to her children who turned up, told the truth, and did not throw me too far under the bus.

We explore:

• Why looking behind the behaviour beats grounding every time
• What it actually looks like to repair when you have lost it as a parent
• Staying true to yourself when society and social media are pulling the other way
• Therapy, aunties, and the village every kid needs around them
• Looking at the so-called "bad kid" and asking what is hurting

[Recorded January 2026]

About Indi and Tali Gaal:

Indi is 22, and Tali is 18. They are Lael and Mike's kids, siblings to Ky (25), and the people Lael calls her best work. Both have spent time working with young children and bring that lens, plus their own lived experience of being raised the way they were, into this conversation.

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Australia’s Kindest Person:

Australia’s Kindest Person is a national campaign created to help shine a light on the people whose kindness has made a real difference in the lives of others. To nominate someone, please visit:

australiaskindestperson.com.au

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

There's a version of strength the world rewards – capable, tireless, always fine. And then there's the cost.

Gorgi Coghlan is someone I've adored from the moment we met. She's formidable, warm, wildly accomplished, and the kind of person who makes you feel seen immediately.

We talk about the imprints that drive us – the little girl who worked hard to be seen by a father whose love came through providing, not presence.

We explore:

• The hidden cost of being "the strong one"
• Internal vs external boundaries - why protecting your own cup is the whole point, not the selfish part
• Reconciling with a parent before it's too late, and what it means to carry that love with you
• Highly sensitive people: the superpower of reading the room, the cost of being depleted by it, and why Gorgi thinks HSP will be our next big cultural conversation
• "I haven't even begun." Gorgi's mantra at 50, and why she went back to drama school, just because she could

Gorgi talks about who's advocating for her. Here is this extraordinary woman – accomplished, giving, deeply loved – and she still needs to hear herself say it out loud. YES. You are allowed to need something. You are allowed to ask for it. Even if – especially if – you've spent a long time being the one who doesn't.

[Recorded January 2026]

About Gorgi Coghlan:

Gorgi Coghlan is a former Year 12 science and biology teacher turned broadcaster, presenter, and performer. She spent over a decade as co-host of The Project and The Circle on Channel Ten, and as a reporter and presenter on the Today Show on Channel Nine. An extraordinary singer, Gorgi performs live with her friend in their show Songbird – and is also now a voice on ABC Radio. She runs a hospitality business with her husband Simon, and is a devoted mum to her teenage daughter Molly.

Connect with Gorgi:

• Instagram: @gorgicoghlan
• Biz: The Buninyong Hotel
• Songbirds: Theatre Royal, Hobart, Jul 5. Tickets

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Australia’s Kindest Person:

Australia’s Kindest Person is a national campaign created to help shine a light on the people whose kindness has made a real difference in the lives of others. To nominate someone, please visit:

australiaskindestperson.com.au

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

"What am I making this mean?" That question might change how you move through conflict with your partner. Because the real work isn't making your partner wrong…it's getting curious about yourself.

I wanted to talk about what makes relationships tricky and what makes them actually work, and in this episode, I share my own story; how I went from completely collapsing whenever Mike got upset, to finally learning how to hold my centre. How we survived the brutal early parenting years when we were both drowning and how post-traumatic stress cracked me open and forced me to do the real work.

Over many years of working with families, I have learned that you can't make your partner do the work. All you can do is do your own, and trust that something shifts when you stop waiting for them to change and start looking at what's yours to heal.

I explore:

• Why we unconsciously choose partners who mirror our childhood wounds
• How attachment styles (anxious, avoidant, disorganised, secure) show up in your intimate relationship
• The power of asking "what am I making this mean?" when you're triggered
• What it feels like when your childhood wounds meet your partner's defences
• The three paths your relationship can take when one person is doing the work and the other isn't
• How coming home to yourself is the greatest gift you can give your relationship and your kids

I keep coming back to the people in relationships right now who are absolutely exhausted. Those who are doing the work, holding the space, trying to communicate better. And I want to say this… the fact that you're asking "what's here for me?" instead of "what's wrong with them?" means you're already transforming your relationship. Maybe not with your partner yet, but definitely with yourself.

[Recorded Online November 2025]

About Lael Stone:

Lael Stone is an educator, counsellor, and author of Own Your Story: Understanding your past to create your future. With over 20 years of experience working with families, Lael helps people understand how their childhood imprints shape their adult lives – and how to do something about it.

Connect with Lael:

• Instagram: @laelstone
• Website: laelstone.com.au

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

There's a strange kind of comfort in staying exactly where you are – even when that is hurting you. In this episode, I’m talking with clinical psychologist Dr Emily Musgrove, and we discuss why the familiar feels safe even when it isn't, and what it actually takes to find our way back to ourselves.

An imprint I have - from watching the busy women in my family – was that if you're not doing three things at once, you're lazy. That's the thread Emily and I pulled on together. We both grew up watching women just go, go, go – and then spent years unravelling what that cost us. Emily talks about returning from holiday and instantly flipping into doing mode. I talk about the moment I realised my anxiety was actually working for me - keeping me safe from being seen.

Her book Unstuck grew from that reckoning. We talk about secondary gains (the hidden payoff in staying the same), the concept of the near enemy of kindness, what perimenopause might really be releasing in us as women, and the childhood imprints that shape who we become – and who we pass that on to.

We explore:

• How to start building compassion when “love yourself” feels like too big a leap - and why Emily starts with the inner critic, not against it
• The dinner table analogy that reframes your relationship with your own harsh inner voice
• Why empathy and compassion aren’t the same thing - and which one protects people who hold space for others from burning out
• Why we unconsciously stay in painful patterns – and the concept of secondary gains that explains more than we’d like to admit
• The “near enemy” of kindness - how self-sacrifice quietly masquerades as a virtue

[Recorded Remotely October 2025]

About Dr Emily Musgrove:

Dr Emily Musgrove is a clinical psychologist based in Perth with over a decade of experience helping people find their way back to themselves. She is the beloved resident psychologist on The Imperfects Podcast - where she draws on real conversations to offer evidence-based strategies people can actually use. Her book, Unstuck: A Guide to Finding Your Way Forward to the Life You Want to Live, was released in May 2025.

Connect with Emily:

• Website: dremilymusgrove.com
• Instagram: @dremilymusgrove
• Book: Unstuck (available in print, ebook and audio)

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

Libby Trickett surfaced from the pool at the Beijing Olympics, saw the number one next to her name, and waited for the feeling of being enough. It didn't come.

Libby is mum to five children, including baby Archie, who was snuggled on her chest throughout our entire conversation. She opens up about postnatal depression after her first daughter, Poppy, about the Father wound that quietly drove her to the pool every single day, and about the moment she realised that winning gold wasn't going to make her whole. We also explore her passionate advocacy for keeping girls in sport.

We explore:

• The relentlessness of early motherhood, and why admitting it's boring sometimes is actually the most honest thing you can say
• What Libby's postnatal depression cracked open in her - and why she now sees it as one of the most important experiences of her life
• The Beijing gold medal, and the moment Libby realised that winning the thing she'd wanted her whole life, still left a void
• Libby's advocacy work around girls and sport: why participation drops off and what we can do about it
• The only thing that matters in parenting - and why it's not organic food, sleep training, or getting the birth story "right"

What I keep coming back to, sitting with this conversation, is Libby saying: "I was always enough." Seven Olympic medals, world records, five children - and still, that simple truth was the hardest thing to find. What I love about Libby is that she's doing the work. She's right in it. And she's raising five little humans to know their enoughness from the start. To me, that's the most important gold medal of all.

[Recorded Remotely October 2025]

About Libby Trickett:

Libby Trickett is a seven-time Olympic medallist with four gold medals who represented Australia at three consecutive Olympic Games and held world records in the 100m freestyle throughout her career. She is a mental health advocate, author of the memoir Beneath the Surface, and a fierce advocate for keeping girls in sport. She lives with her husband, former swimmer Luke Trickett, and their five children.

Connect with Libby:

• Instagram: @libby_trickett
• Podcast: Play Well series - 8 Eps on Sportish

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

There are conversations that feel like they're about one thing, but they're actually about something else entirely. This one starts with laughter… and ends up in a tender place.

Ryan Shelton is such an excellent human. He's one third of The Imperfects alongside Hugh and Josh van Cuylenburg, and a face on Australian screens for the better part of two decades, from Rove to Hamish & Andy. I knew going into this chat that it'd be warm and funny and real.

We talk about what it costs to keep seeking approval, the psychology behind why so many of us are still waiting for someone to say "it's your turn now," and the surprising power of small, silly, seemingly pointless things. Ryan's beautiful quote - delivered with perfect comic timing and complete sincerity - might be my favourite callout from the whole season so far: "Silliness is worth taking seriously."

We explore:

• The fear that stops you putting creative work into the world - and what actually happens when you finally do it anyway
• "Juvenile condition" - the Adlerian psychology concept that explains why so many adults are still waiting for permission to start their own lives
• Laughter as a nervous system response - and why it shows up in the strangest, most inconvenient moments
• The "three-sided column" from The Courage to Be Happy - and how it changes who you think is responsible for your life
• Why silliness might be the most underrated form of connection and healing we have right now

All the fear, the procrastination, the need for approval. The creativity, the silliness, the courage it takes to put something out there, even when you're scared. Ryan reminded me to take that a lot more seriously - and to laugh a lot more while I'm doing it.

[Recorded January 2026]

About Ryan Shelton:

Ryan Shelton is one of Australia's most beloved comedians and writers. After two decades in Australian television - from Rove Live to co-writing Chris Lilley's We Can Be Heroes and producing Hamish & Andy's The Gap Year, True Story, and Perfect Holiday - he's now one third of The Imperfects, Australia's leading mental health podcast, alongside Hugh and Josh van Cuylenburg. In late 2025, he opened his debut solo art exhibition in Fitzroy: All This Work, Just For This. He takes silliness very, very seriously.

Connect with Ryan:

• Instagram: @ryansheltonography
• Podcast: The Imperfects Podcast

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

I grew up with Ali Daddo on my wall. And like so many of us, I looked at that image and thought - that's it. That's what it means to arrive. What I didn't know - what none of us knew - was that even being the ‘it’ girl comes with challenges.

This beautiful conversation really opens up about the pressures we feel as a woman, from the tween and teen years, into motherhood and menopause. We explore Ali's "standing in front of a 747 jet engine" image of society's pressure not to age, and what women actually find on the other side of all that noise.

We also get deep about long-term love - Esther Perel's three marriages to the same person, (what it takes to reinvent in the third one), and what "making art from a marriage" actually looks like in practice.

We explore:

• The "currency" of appearance: what we inherit, what it costs us, and what happens when the market changes as we age
• The grandmother whale theory: why Ali believes women stop being fertile because they're meant to lead
• Reinventing long-term love post-menopause
• Aviiana, the wellness platform Ali co-founded with Mary Doube, and the whole vision to help women thrive with confidence
• What it feels like to finally be "out of the game you never asked to be in" - and why that might be the most liberating thing that's ever happened to us

Ali is a little further down this path than me and I am so grateful to have her shining a light from up ahead. What she's showing me is that the other side isn't smaller. It's more. More voice. More space. More of yourself. 💛

[Recorded Remotely November 2025]

About Ali Daddo:

Ali Daddo began her career as one of Australia's most recognisable models and presenters before spending 25 years in the United States, where she worked as a birth assistant and Steiner early childhood educator. She's the author of Queen Menopause: Finding Your Majesty in the Mayhem, co-host of ‘The Heart of It’ podcast with hubby Cameron Daddo, co-founder of the women's wellness platform Aviiana, and host of the Foxtel LifeStyle wellness series, Gen Well.

Connect with Ali:

• Website: aviiana.com.au
• Instagram: @alidaddo
• Podcast: The Heart of It

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

What if the story you tell about your body isn’t really yours to begin with?

In this warm, honest, and beautifully grounded conversation, I sit down with Steph Claire Smith – co-founder of KIC, model, podcaster, and mum – to explore the imprints that shape how we see ourselves, and what it takes to slowly, gently, rewrite them.

Steph grew up in the public eye at a time when the wellness world had a very particular idea of what health was supposed to look like. We talk about what it meant to internalise that, how it showed up in her relationship with food and her body, and the long, non-linear journey towards actually feeling at home in herself.

We also talk about motherhood, the pressure of building a business in the health and fitness space while doing your own inner work, and why Steph believes the most powerful thing she can do for her daughter is to keep going on her own healing journey.

We explore:

• Growing up in the public eye – and what that does to a young woman’s sense of self
• The shift from performing wellness to actually living it
• Building KIC from the inside out – and why the mission has always been bigger than fitness
• Motherhood as a mirror: what Steph sees in herself through her children
• The ongoing, imperfect work of breaking old patterns

What stayed with me after this conversation was Steph’s honesty about navigating the public eye and staying true to yourself.

[Recorded January 2026]

About Steph Claire Smith:

Steph Claire Smith is the co-founder of KIC, a leading Australian health and wellness app focused on movement, mindfulness and nourishing food. A model, podcaster and mum, Steph has been open about her own journey with body image and mental health, and uses her platform to champion a more balanced, compassionate approach to wellbeing.

Connect with Steph:

• Instagram: @stephclairesmith
• KICApp: kicwellness.com

Use the code humansbeing for one month free when you sign up to the KICApp via the above website on a monthly subscription. Available for new and returning users only.

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

What if the feelings you’ve spent a lifetime pushing down are the very things asking to be heard?

In this solo episode, I want to talk about something people ask me about all the time – what does it actually mean to “do the work”? I recognise that the majority of us grew up in homes where feelings weren’t exactly welcomed. Anger got shut down. Tears got ignored. Mistakes got shamed. And so we learned pretty early that the safest thing to do was to push it all down and get on with it. The problem is, those feelings don’t go anywhere. They just wait.

I explore:

• Why most of us were never taught to process our emotions – and how that shapes our adult behaviour
• The “dark night of the soul” – the crisis moments that often push us toward deeper self-examination
• The loneliness of changing when the people around you aren’t
• What does doing the work actually look like – inner child work, journaling, reparenting
• How to start noticing your triggers as invitations, not problems
• Why going slowly and gently is not weakness – it’s wisdom

What I know from many years of working with people – and from my own journey – is that nobody ever regrets doing this work. Nobody regrets healing. The invitation is simply to get curious, go gently, and take one step at a time.

[Recorded October 2025]

About Lael Stone:

Lael Stone is an educator, counsellor, and author of Own Your Story: Understanding your past to create your future. With over 20 years of experience working with families, Lael helps people understand how their childhood imprints shape their adult lives – and how to do something about it.

Connect with Lael:

• Instagram: @laelstone
• Website: laelstone.com.au

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.

What if the worst thing that ever happened to you turned out to be the thing that taught you how to live truly?

In this deeply moving and beautifully honest conversation, I sit down with Lisa Corduff – podcaster, storyteller, entrepreneur, and solo mum to three extraordinary kids – to explore what it means to carry grief, raise children through loss, and still choose joy.

Lisa's husband Nick died in September 2019 while travelling in India and Lisa’s challenge was to keep showing up, to stay open to find joy even inside profound grief. We talk about the gifts that grief can give, the messy reality of solo parenting, what it means to let yourself fall apart so you can come back together differently, and the extraordinary five-month adventure Lisa took her kids on when she realised she needed to stop pretending she was okay.

We explore:

• What Lisa's children taught her about joy and grief coexisting
• The "good vibes only" trap – and why grief has to be felt to move through
• Keeping Nick present in positive and loving ways as the kids grow
• Becoming the "fun parent" and straddling joy and boundaries solo
• What it really means to live fully in the face of death
• Crafting the story your children carry: the power of the imprints we give in our darkest moments

What struck me most in sitting with Lisa was her willingness to hold all of it at once. The sadness and the adventure. The grief and the laughter. The very worst thing and the extraordinary life she has built in its shadow.

[Recorded October 2025]

About Lisa Corduff:

Lisa Corduff is a podcaster, storyteller, and entrepreneur passionate about helping women find and share their own voices. She is the host of Conversations with Lisa, where she explores big topics including AI, climate change, and what it means to raise children in this moment in time. Lisa also teaches storytelling and is a passionate advocate for women claiming the power of their own stories.

Connect with Lisa:

• Instagram: @lisacorduff
• Podcast: Conversations with Lisa: This Moment in Time

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Connect with Humans, being™:

• Web: humansbeing.au
• Instagram: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• Facebook: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• TikTok: @humansbeingwithlaelstone
• YouTube: @humansbeingwithlaelstone

Humans, being™ is produced on the lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people. We pay respect to their unique and diverse cultures and to elders past, present and future.