Tom Scott - musician, father, and one of Aotearoa's most compelling voices - joins Melody for a wide-ranging conversation about love, loss, and what it actually takes to change. Tom's album Anitya is the jumping-off point: a record split between the wreckage of a decade-long relationship and the unexpected arrival of new love. But the conversation quickly goes deeper, touching on addiction and sobriety, the cycles of trauma we inherit from our parents, what real accountability looks like (hint: it starts at the bottom of the well), and why yearning is severely underrated.

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What makes some relationships survive betrayal while others collapse over something small?

John and Anna built a life over fifteen years together - then nearly lost it all. Not in one moment, but slowly: new parenthood, creeping distance, alcohol, silence, and eventually repeated infidelity. This episode follows their story through the idea of rupture and repair - the quiet, unglamorous work of mending a relationship not all at once, but crack by crack. What does it take to stay, when leaving would be easier?

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You don't have to do anything to become a victim of image-based sexual abuse. AI can now fabricate intimate images from a single photo - and the shame, fear, and coercion that follow are just as real as if it had actually happened. Melody talks to Netsafe's Sean Lyons about deepfakes, sextortion, nudify apps, and the organised crime networks behind them. Essential listening - especially if you have kids online.

Make a submission to the deepfake digital harm and exploitation bill here

Get in touch with Netsafe here

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Your data knows who you're attracted to. Your apps are learning how you love. And somewhere, an AI is waiting to be your perfect partner. Dr Rebecca Saunders talks to Melody about sex bots, relationship mediators, and the very human desires fuelling a very profitable industry.

Dr Rebecca Saunders' Book Bodies of Work can be bought here

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Meet the new third wheel in modern dating: a chatbot. This episode digs into AI in our sex and love lives - Helen uses it to game the dating apps, until it works a little too well… and Rob turns to AI roleplay to explore his sexuality. But whose interests does it really serve - and what is it shaping us to desire?

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We meet Charlie, who charts a course through a restrictive childhood, people pleasing, mirroring, and an abusive relationship to thriving as a solo non-monogamous person living with various mental and physical health issues. Can rejecting the ‘rules’ of monogamy help you feel safer, freer, and more yourself?

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Jasmine and her husband, together since their teens, had just started to reconnect and really learn about intimacy after having kids when Jasmine got a shock diagnosis. While they navigate Jasmine’s health journey, they continue to connect in ways that surprise them. 

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When he was 14, Chris made a list of the attributes of his dream girlfriend. But as time ticked by, no-one made the grade. He was happy to wait until she appeared… but at some point he realised he was the only virgin on campus. And then M came along - who ticked almost none of his boxes, but was super fun and incredible. What should Chris do? 

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After three kids dulled their once-magnetic sex life, mid-40s couple Sarah and Lane throw out expectations and pressure, un-learn old patterns, add some new tantra tricks to the repertoire and rebuild connection through weekly ‘naked nights’. 

Find Libido Liberation on Insta - @libidoliberation

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