Over the Back Fence

This week Nicola and Di chat with the energetic and vivacious Susan Bratton. Susan is an intimacy expert to millions and has been helping people improve their intimate relationships and sex life for the past 2 decades. Susan has written thousands of magazine and website articles, as well as over 40 books and programs to help people experience shame-free, frequent sexual pleasure, which she believes is a vital element of being alive. Susan also regularly appears on TV and podcasts from all over the world. She has been married for over 30 years and has so much to share. 

In this conversation Susan talks about how she got started as a sexpert, as a married woman in her 40s who was deeply unhappy with her sex life and wanted to do something about it. As Susan and her husband started going to therapy and attending sex workshops, they learnt so many skills and became closer than ever, which made Susan passionate about teaching everything she was learning to others. She went on to create a media company, and write dozens of books and programs that have helped millions of people.  

Susan shares so many juicy tips with us in this chat - it is full of ideas for how you can improve your love life, including a sex bucket list and what Susan likes to call hot sex dates. We hear about Susan’s desire dozen - the 12 things you can do to increase your pleasure and get more from your relationship. 

We also talk about how Susan is feeling now that she’s in her 60s - the good news is, she’s absolutely loving it and having the best sex of her life! 

We had so many laughs in this episode because it’s full of cheeky chat, but it’s also super informative and helpful. We hope you have a giggle along with us and get as much from this conversation as we did. 

Follow Susan on IG here 

Download Susan’s FREE Sex Life Bucket List here

Download Susan’s FREE Sexual Soulmate Pact here

Get Susan’s Tips, Videos and Articles here 

Find out more about Susan’s work here

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This week we are bringing you something a little bit different - Nicola and Di recently headed off to Hamilton Island Race Week and interviewed a collection of world-class sailors whilst they were there. This week’s episode brings you all 4 of those inspiring chats. 

First up we talk to Alice Parker - a remarkable 30-year old navigator who’s raced in 4 Sydney to Hobarts, as the only female on an all-male crew, as well as several world championships that have taken her to many different countries. We hear about Alice’s best moment at sea, as well as the most frightening, which happened during one of her Sydney to Hobarts. Not only is Alice an incredible young sailor, she’s also a physiotherapist and is back studying at uni again to upskill in some maths and physics. You’ll want to hear Alice’s answer for who she wants to meet at the back fence because it’s truly beautiful. 

We then get the chance to chat with Mark Richards, the sailor and boat builder that many listeners would know as the long time skipper of Wild Oats, who has won the Sydney to Hobart a stunning 9 times! We hear the amazing story of how Mark got started in sailing and how he credits it to being adopted by the right people. Mark tells some great stories about his friendship with Bob Oatley, the comradery of the sailing community as well as his greatest achievements and most harrowing moments at sea. 

Our third conversation is with the dynamic sailor girl Nic Douglass. When you listen in to this chat you’ll hear just how much passion and enthusiasm Nic has for sailing. Having just returned from the Olympics where Nic was part of the team commentating for the crowds on-the-ground in Marseille, we hear how the work she does now and the media company she started actually came after she was at one of her low points when she didn’t qualify for the London Olympics in 2012. Nic is proof that sometimes it’s the low moments in our lives and careers that become turning points and lead to really great opportunities.  

Finally, we talk to the incredible Stacey Jackson who has sailed in a whopping 16 Sydney to Hobarts and is nowhere near stopping! Not only that but Stacey has also competed in a 9-month round-the-world race not once, but twice including conquering Cape Horn, which is known as the Mt Everest of the sailing world. We hear what it was like the first time Stacey sailed around the world and the most incredible story of how her crew survived after their mast broke shortly after they’d rounded Cape Horn on her second trip around the world. Stacey was also the skipper on Wild Oats when Julie Bishop famously jumped off the back of the boat after the start of the race in Sydney. 

This week’s episode is full of so many great stories and wonderful personalities. It was so much fun recording on location up in Hamilton Island and we really hope you love tuning in to this one.  

Follow Alice Parker on IG here

Follow Wild Oats XI on IG here 

Follow Palm Beach Motor Yachts on IG here

Follow Sailor Girl Nic Douglass on IG here

Follow Stacey Jackson on IG here

Follow Hamilton Island Race Week on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the joyful and inspiring Lisa Walker. Lisa is the co-founder of Eir - a women’s wellness company which creates supplements for women over 40 to help them feel well and full of joy. After a career in beauty and health marketing, Lisa spent years fine tuning the stories of other brands and celebrities including Canon, Invisible Zinc, Skinstitut, Lisa Wilkinson and Dr Chris Brown. Whilst she was working at Canon, Lisa met her business partner Kate, and the idea for Eir was born. Following the tragic loss of her husband in 2022, Lisa found a new sense of purpose and fulfilment in building her company and helping other women find midlife health for longevity to get the absolute best out of the 2nd half of their lives. Lisa is also the proud mum of 2 young boys. 

In this chat we hear about Lisa’s year of YES - which was a decision she made on her 49th birthday, 1 year after her husband Ben had passed away, to commit to a year of yes. Yes to joy, to life, to love, to friends, to experiences.  Yes to new beginnings. We hear lots of the great stories from that year - all the different things Lisa tried, from fly fishing to pole dancing, and what her favourite experience was. We also have a fun time chatting to Lisa about the dating scene in her 50s, the courage it takes to put yourself back out there and whether she’s open to meeting someone new. 

Lisa also shares her thoughts on grief - how she’s coped through this difficult time, the tools that have helped her along the way, how she processes her grief and the lessons she continues to learn.

We had such a wonderful time in the studio with Lisa. It was an inspiring conversation that covered challenging things such as alcoholism and the loss of her husband, but also joyful and uplifting stories of finding a renewed sense of purpose in midlife. A real chat about what it’s like being human and the emotional rollercoaster that can be at times. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Follow Lisa Walker on IG here

Follow Eir Women on IG here

Find out more and order Eir Women products here

Read Lisa’s Year of Yes article here 

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the world-renowned psychotherapist, relationship and empowerment expert, Terri Cole. Through her best-selling books, online courses, YouTube videos, podcast episodes and psychotherapy practice, Terri has taught thousands of people how to improve their relationships, communicate effectively, set better boundaries, truly be seen and finally live free as the most authentic, most empowered version of themselves.

In this conversation, we hear Terri’s career story and how she went from being a talent agent to the top supermodels in the world in the 90s, to completely shifting gears and becoming a licensed therapist. We’re so glad she did, because Terri has gone on to become an expert in boundaries and relationships and she has a gift for taking complex psychological concepts and making them super easy to understand so you can take action and make positive changes. 

We got a real taste of that in this interview, where Terri gives us a masterclass in what boundaries are, why they’re important, why so many of us have no idea how to set them or communicate them and she gives us the tools and language to become a boundary boss. Terri shares how it all goes back to childhood and the boundary blueprint we grew up with. We also get to hear about her new book Too Much, which is about breaking the cycle of high-functioning codependency, which Terri explains to us in simple terms. 

Terri also shares the wonderful story of her first date with her husband, and how she insisted on finding someone who was willing to go deep and who had done years of therapy - Terri was in luck, because when they met, he’d been in therapy for 20 years! She shares with Nicola how it’s possible to meet a man like this if that’s what she wants to attract and it’s all about the energy she emanates. 

We absolutely loved chatting with Terri. She’s been on the top of our dream guest list for the podcast since the very beginning, and we hope after listening to this episode you’ll understand why. She is wise, insightful, helpful and a whole lot of fun as well! We hope you love hearing from Terri as much as we did. 

Follow Terri Cole on IG here

Pre-order Terri’s new book Too Much here

Buy Terri’s book Boundary Boss here 

Find out more about Terri’s work and online courses here

Listen to Terri’s podcast, The Terri Cole show here 

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the insightful family law expert Nikki Parkinson. Nikki is a divorce and separation coach who guides and supports people through this difficult time and helps them create a clear and practical pathway to navigate their separation. She has 25 years of experience with the family law system, as well as her own personal experience of divorce and as a mother of 3, Nikki also knows what it’s like to navigate co-parenting and how to take care of yourself through the challenging times. 

In this conversation, we hear how Nikki believes you really can turn a breakup into a breakthrough, if you’re willing to do the work, reflect on what you’ve learnt and make the changes you need to make. Nikki shares how she works with her clients, and that it’s really about understanding their unique needs and taking a holistic approach.

Nikki opens up about her own personal story of divorce, including the mistakes she made along the way that we can learn from. She gives great tips and practical advice for what to do if you find yourself in this situation and why she believes time is our most precious commodity. 

Even if you never have to go through a divorce or separation, this chat is full of great ideas for how to communicate well in any relationship, the benefits of being clear on the values you want to live by and the importance of treating yourself with kindness and self-compassion. Everyone can take away something helpful from this conversation. 

We really loved chatting to Nikki and we hope you enjoy listening to this episode. 

Follow Nikki and the Divorce Hub on IG here

Find our more about Nikki’s work and divorce coaching here 

Follow The Divorce Hub community on Facebook here

Follow The Divorce Hub on LinkedIn here 

Listen to Nikki’s Divorce and Separation podcast here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with our first ever return guest, David The Medium. We were lucky enough to kick off season 2 with an amazing episode with David full of predictions for the year ahead, so we were thrilled to have him back in the studio with us. For those who are new to David’s work, he is one of the most renowned Australian mediums and psychics, and he recently became the first medium to appear on Sky News Australia, on the popular show Power Hour with Gabriella Power. 

In this conversation we hear all about David’s incredible Live show at the Sydney Opera House, and what it’s like to walk out on stage in front of 400 people with no script and connect in real time with the spirits of their loved ones who have passed away to deliver messages of love and support from the other side. 

David shares what he believes happens after we die, and gives us a beautiful way to think about the collective consciousness that we all return to in the afterlife. 

We also get David’s practical tips for manifesting and how you can attract whatever you want into your life by following some simple steps. 

And to top it off, we catch up on Nicola and Di’s amazing European holiday adventures, including some classic stories of the Italian men and how they used their charm to try and romance the ladies - you’ll even get to hear a voice note that one of them sent our lovely Nicola, so stay tuned for that. 

Big thanks to David for joining us in the studio again, it’s always special chatting with him and we hope you love it as much as we did. 

Follow David The Medium on IG here

Find out more about David’s work including tickets to his live events

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the talented and brave Vikki Petraitis. Vikki is best known as a true crime writer and Casefile podcaster, who created The Frankston Murders series. Casefile is one of the most popular true crime podcasts around, topping the Apple charts with millions of downloads per month, so it was a thrill to get to hear some of the incredible stories from Vikki herself. As well as writing 18 books and having a top-rating podcast, Vikki is also a school teacher by day, which is where she has honed her wonderful storytelling abilities. 

In this conversation, we dive deep into The Frankston Murders and hear how Vikki still gets a bit spooked to this day about what went on in the suburbs of Melbourne back in the early 90s. Vikki shares how she was out on patrol with police on the night of one of the victims, Natalie Russell’s murder, and how that motivated her to tell the story as a local community member. We talk about the way that the police disregarded the evidence at the time and the danger of what happens when women aren’t believed. 

We also chat about how this book became a Casefile podcast, and the power of podcasting in not only sharing stories, but in some cases, making a real difference and getting laws changed. This was certainly the goal for Vikki - the Casefile team decided to release the podcast in 2023, the year that serial killer Paul Denyer was due for parole, and through their hard work they managed to get his parole bid denied and a law changed in parliament so that he can never apply again. 

Vikki shares her theories on why she thinks many women are fascinated by true crime podcasts, her own addiction to writing true crime stories and why she believes that podcasts are one of the most powerful platforms around. 

This is such a fascinating conversation with Vikki and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her. We hope you love it as much as we did! 

Follow Vikki on IG here

Buy Vikki’s latest book The Unbelieved here 

Listen to The Frankston Murders on the Casefile podcast here 

Find out more about Vikki’s work and true crime books here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the multi-talented journo, radio host, celebrity commentator and podcaster Jonathon Moran - better known as J.Mo. J.Mo is Australia's authority on all things entertainment, from film to TV, music and everything in between. He has more than 20 years experience in journalism and hosts the top rating national Confidential on Nova radio show with Tanya Hennessy. He is also Chief Entertainment Writer at The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph and Host of the new podcast Mental as Anyone.

In this conversation, Nicola asks J.Mo about the juicy world of celebrity gossip and how he really gets the stories, who his ‘inside sources’ are and why some stories end up in the media, even though the facts were never checked with the person involved. 

J.Mo tells us about the idea for his podcast, Mental As Anyone, that we are all a little bit mental, and that no matter who you are, you’re going to have challenges and tough times to work through - none of us are alone. J.Mo shares that this is really a passion project for him to open up more conversations around mental health, particularly among men. We hear about some of the inspiring episodes he’s had so far with guests like Guy Sebastian and Robert Irwin.

J.Mo also generously opens up about his own struggles with mental health, the journey he’s been on with it for years and how he’s finally found tools that help him, which is why he’s so passionate about having conversations with others, normalising these struggles and sharing practical tips that could help others. 

We had such a great time chatting with J.Mo in the studio. We talked about so many things - light and deep - and had a lot of laughs together. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

And of course, If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health or suicidal thoughts and needs support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Follow J.Mo on IG here

Listen to J.Mo’s podcast Mental As Anyone here

Find out more about J.Mo’s work here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the wise and inspiring Jacinta Tynan. Jacinta is a well-known journalist, presenter, author, speaker and founder of The Spiritual Book Club. She is also a single mother to two boys, which is something she shares more about in her new book, The Single Mother’s Social Club. 

In this conversation Jacinta shares what it was like for her when she became a single mother, how lonely and difficult it can be, but why ultimately she saw it as a gift and an opportunity for her to reflect deeply on her life and grow in the ways she needed to. 

Jacinta talks about the importance of being present with your emotions and allowing them to pass through you, because the only way to process emotions is to feel them fully. Nicola and Di also open up about their own relationships ending, and what it was like becoming single parents much later in life. They were both able to move through the difficult times and come to a happier place, where they are loving life in their sixties on their own terms.  

We also hear about Jacinta’s new business, The Spiritual Book Club - an online book club for anyone who loves books about spirituality, personal growth, presence and surrender - books that expand your mind and help connect you to your higher self. Jacinta has already interviewed some incredible authors for the book club like Gabby Bernstein and Deepak Chopra, and she’s just getting started.

We loved having Jacinta at our back fence. It was like having a good chat with a girlfriend and she shared so many pearls of wisdom. We hope you love this episode as much as we did. 

Follow Jacinta on IG here

Find out more and join The Spiritual Book Club here 

Get tickets to The Spiritual Book Club in conversation with Luke McLeod event in Sydney, July 25th here

Buy Jacinta’s book The Single Mother’s Social Club here

Find out more about Jacinta’s work and books here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with writers, podcasters, and friends Laura Jackel and Cathy O’Brien. Laura and Cathy met when they both applied for a role at Mamamia through a program called The Encoreship, which gives opportunities to women to get back into the workforce in a meaningful way. When the recruiters at Mamamia couldn’t pick between the two, they offered Laura and Cathy the chance to job share. This led to a beautiful partnership and friendship, and now Laura and Cathy have created their own podcast, The Change, to discuss the changes in life that shake, break and make us.  

In this conversation we hear what it was like to work at Mamamia, some of the funny moments in the office and the type of stories they got to write. Cathy shares more about her incredibly popular article about what it was like to be in her early fifties and feel like she was becoming invisible, and how she is now becoming more confident and finding her voice. 

We also hear about Laura’s first story that she wrote for Mamamia, which was the inside scoop on what it was like to go to an elite sex party - you’ll want to stay tuned for the juicy details on that one! 

We chat to both Laura and Cathy about the changes that they’ve been through and noticed in midlife, why they’re passionate about this topic and how their podcast came to be. Laura and Cathy also turn the tables on Di and Nicola and ask them about the big changes in their lives and what they’ve learned along the way. 

This is such a fun conversation and we really loved being in the studio with Laura and Cathy. We hope you’ll find that listening to this episode is like being in a room with a group of girlfriends for a fun and meaningful chat. Enjoy. 

Follow The Change podcast on IG here

Follow Laura on IG here

Follow Cathy on IG here

Read Cathy’s article on feeling like she’s becoming invisible here

Read Laura’s article on what really goes on at an elite sex party here

Listen to The Change podcast here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.