Straight Talk with Mark Bouris

Four months ago, Leah Stewart went for a swim at Coogee Beach and woke up from an 11-day coma missing an arm. She was attacked by a great white shark in the middle of the day, close to shore, doing everything right.

This is the full, unfiltered account — what it felt like to be dragged underwater, how she fought back, the near-death experience that almost took her, and the one thing that pulled her back. If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to survive the unsurvivable, this is it.

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In this episode of Straight Talk, I sit down with economist Chris Joye for round five, a frank conversation about government spending, immigration, productivity and Australia’s economic future.

Chris argues that Australia’s challenges run deeper than events in the Middle East. He examineswhat he describes as $660 billion in additional government debt since 2022, the pressure population growth is placing on housing and infrastructure, and an expanding public service alongside declining private sector productivity.

He also questions the Reserve Bank’s “narrow path” strategy, whether political influence has shaped its approach to inflation, and the cost to Australian households. I then ask Chris what needs to change: how to rein in spending, lift productivity and get Australia’s economy back on track.

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Executive Producer: Samuel Morgan Head of Production: Jonah Mclachlan

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Australian house prices are down 7% from their national peak — and according to SQM Research’s Louis Christopher, there’s an 80% probability they’ll fall another 5–10% over the next six months. In this Straight Talk roundtable, Mark Bouris sits down with Louis and auctioneer Tom Panos to unpack what’s happening in Australia’s property market, why buyers are losing confidence and where prices could go next. From sharp falls on the Gold Coast to first home buyers walking away, rising government spending and the risk of recession, they examine what’s gone wrong and what needs to change.

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Executive Producer: Samuel Morgan
Head of Production: Jonah Mclachlan 

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Adam Gilchrist built one of the greatest cricket careers Australia has ever seen — and almost nobody knows how close he came to losing it. In this episode of Straight Talk, Mark Bouris sits down with Gilly to unpack the mindset behind elite performance: what it's like to get booed onto the field at 22, how a single email from a mate mid-Test-match changed the way he thinks forever, and why the 2005 Ashes nearly broke him. Plus, the real story behind his tequila business,  El*Arquero  and what every Australian entrepreneur can learn from it.

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Executive Producer: Samuel Morgan
Head of Production: Jonah Mclachlan 

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Australian rugby has a massive opportunity ahead of it. A home World Cup in 2027, a new Wallabies coach and a chance to rebuild one of the great sporting teams in the country.

Les Kiss is the new head coach of the Wallabies, a former Queensland State of Origin player and one of the few coaches to have worked at the highest level across both rugby league and rugby union.

In this episode of Straight Talk, I sit down with Les to unpack his journey from growing up in Bundaberg to coaching the Springboks, Ireland, the Queensland Reds and now the Wallabies.

We get into the real problems facing Australian rugby, why so much of our best talent is being lost overseas, what South Africa has done differently to build extraordinary depth, the lessons Les learned working inside the Springboks system and what Australia needs to do to become a genuine force again.

Les also opens up about his coaching philosophy, why he refuses to obsess over outcomes, the importance of his “What’s Important Now” mindset and what it will take to build a Wallabies side capable of doing something special on home soil in 2027.

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Executive Producer: Samuel Morgan
Head of Production: Jonah Mclachlan 

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Alex Volkanovski walked into Mark's studio years ago with no idea what his brand was. Now he's a former UFC featherweight world champion, part-owner of a fight gear company, building a media presence through Cooking with Volk, and defending his belt at 38 — by choice, not necessity. This is a conversation about identity, purpose, and what happens when elite athletes build something that lasts beyond the sport. Volk is as calculated in business as he is in the octagon, and this conversation proves it. For more content like this:

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Executive Producer: Samuel Morgan
Head of Production: Jonah Mclachlan 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Johnathan Thurston didn't make the Broncos academy as a kid — and that rejection lit a fire that carried him to four Dally M Medals, three Golden Boots, and the most iconic grand final moment in NRL history. But this conversation goes well beyond football. JT breaks down the chess match inside rugby league in a way you've never heard before — body language reads, defensive line manipulation, kicking routines under grand final pressure. And then he talks about the work he's doing now, pulling kids away from the justice system and back into school, one program at a time. This is what a champion actually looks like when the jersey comes off.

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Two journalists from The Australian spent years digging into the real story behind tech giant Atlassian, and turned it into a book.

It traces how two UNSW graduates built a global software company from a Glebe share house into a NASDAQ listed giant worth more than $100 billion at its peak. Along the way, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar became best men at each other's weddings and eventually bought mansions next door to each other in Point Piper.

But the book also uncovers how internal tensions, diverging lifestyles and a neighbourhood renovation dispute ultimately drove a wedge between them, turning one of Australia's greatest business partnerships into one of its most quietly broken.

Purchase the book here: https://harpercollins.com.au/products/9781460769492

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James Tedesco has won grand finals, captained his state and country, and collected more Jack Gibson Medals than anyone in Roosters history. But what drives a man who's already achieved everything rugby league has to offer? In this episode of Straight Talk, Teddy discusses the self-doubt that never goes away, the mindset work he's done since 2015, and the brutal discipline of consistency that separates the talented from the great.

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Konrad Benjamin is the creator of Punters Politics, one of Australia's fastest-growing independent political commentary channels, and a former economics and PE teacher who taught across Victoria, New South Wales and China. In this episode, he sits down with me to dissect the incentive structures that shape Australian politics, corporate power and the housing crisis. The conversation moves from classroom economics to gas royalties, corporate lobbying, the staffer-to-lobbyist pipeline, and what a genuine fix might actually look like.

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