The Imperfects

In 2018, writer, author & change advocate Jamila Rizvi was met with horrible news. She was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour and needed surgery.
In this episode of The Imperfix we revisit Jamila’s story; the tumour and its varied complications, the surgeries and how Jamila and her husband communicated the news to their son. 

Jamila is an all round wonderful human being and this is an incredibly moving episode.
You can hear the entire chat with Jamila here: https://apple.co/4icJmtx 

This episode includes a discussion about disordered eating, if you or someone you love is experiencing disordered eating, we recommend the following organisations:

• The Butterfly Foundation https://bit.ly/48YCSZe
• Eating Disorders Families Australia https://bit.ly/3TLU7J5
• Uncovery https://bit.ly/3x4IOCO

The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re not sure if podcasts can date. But if they could we would want to date Elizabeth Day’s podcast - ‘How to fail?’. (A proposition Hugh awkwardly put to Elizabeth in the final moments of the show).

This conversation covers a lot of ground. Elizabeth vulnerably discusses her journey through infertility, IVF and her eventual decision to stop fertility treatment; we explore the role exercise and strength training can have in reclaiming one's connection to their body; Ryan and Elizabeth bond over a love of reality TV; and there’s much much more.

It’s fair to say there was a lot of chat and a lot of love in the room for this one.

Elizabeth Day is a Journalist, podcaster and author. The podcast ‘How to fail’ is a brilliant (and wildly successful…ironically) pod that shares intimate conversations with guests about their experiences with failure. And we couldn't recommend it any more highly.

You can find links to Elizabeth’s podcast, her books and everything else she is doing here https://bit.ly/3VCnSNE.

To watch the full episode on YouTube, follow this link: https://youtu.be/b01GMVnoRuk 

We encourage you to visit your local bookstore to purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode, but you can also find them here.

• Friendaholic - Elizabeth Day https://bit.ly/4a7PzCk.
• Strength to strength - Arthur C Brooks https://bit.ly/3VCaZTD

And you can listen to our episode of The Imperfects with Pat Cummins here: https://apple.co/4eHc4zJ 

This episode discusses fertility treatments, miscarriage, grief and acceptance. If these topics feel like too much for you to hear right now, please revisit this episode when you are ready.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Imperfix we revisit one of our most popular episodes ever and in it, a topic that is very close to Hugh, Ryan and Josh’s respective bones. The ongoing battle of Truth vs Harmony.

Do you choose to live truthfully? Or harmoniously? And what does that even mean? And how does living ‘truthfully’ or ‘harmoniously’ affect us and the people around us?

To listen to the full Truth Vs Harmony episode, follow this link: https://bit.ly/3IW3gbw

To listen to Hamish Blake's Imperfects episode, follow this link: https://apple.co/49gV9Tz 

And to hear the follow up bonus episode, follow this link: https://apple.co/3AStVpg 

The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Very few people have experienced Gary Barlow’s level of success and fame. He’s the lead singer of the nineties British pop band Take That, he’s won 6 Ivor Novello Awards for song writing & composing, sold more the 50 million albums and filled stadiums of screaming fans across the world! But despite all this, as we’ve come to learn, he’s one of the nicest, most genuine people going around.

In this episode, Gary shares his experience of rising to such fame, and what happens when he lost it.

He opens up about the devastating burden of jealousy between him and bandmate Robbie Williams, his journey with disordered eating, the loss of his daughter Poppy and the love of his life, the one constant through it all - his wife.

So sit back and pour yourself a cup of vulnerabilitea, this is a big one.

To buy tickets to Take That’s upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand visit: https://bit.ly/3INExGA.

To watch this full episode on YouTube, follow this link: https://bit.ly/4crzmJT

To hear Ryan’s episode on shame & jealousy, mentioned in this episode, follow this link: https://apple.co/4gWYZEs 

To hear Hamish Blake’s episode on his friendship with Ryan & Hugh, follow this link: https://apple.co/49gV9Tz 

To listen to Gina Chick’s episode, follow this link: https://apple.co/3UKpxQ8 

The Robbie Williams documentary is available on Netflix: https://bit.ly/493WWta.

For film recommendation ‘Salt Burn’ follow this link: https://apple.co/3x3GvQp.

To purchase your own set of Vulnerabilitea House Cards, follow this link: https://bit.ly/3PBFlkR

If you or someone you love is experiencing disordered eating, we recommend the following organisations:

• The Butterfly Foundation https://bit.ly/48YCSZe
• Eating Disorders Families Australia https://bit.ly/3TLU7J5
• Uncovery https://bit.ly/3x4IOCO

This episode with Gary Barlow includes a discussion about disordered eating and a conversation about a child who was delivered still born. If this feels like too much for you right now, please come back to this episode when you're feeling ready.

The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2018, Christian O Connell was one of the most successful people in British Radio, he was on top of his world, and then…the panic attacks began. The attacks got so bad and so regular that he couldn’t perform live and it nearly cost him his career.

In this episode, we revisit Christian’s experience, the physical and mental toll of his panic attacks as well as the societal pressures and expectations he felt as a man - his need to appear strong and provide for his family.

And we hear how he eventually sought for help and started rebuilding his life.

To hear the full episode with Christian, follow this link: https://apple.co/4fY1C7W 

You can purchase a copy of Christian’s book here: https://bit.ly/3IKdFqI

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Get your butterflies in formation”. If you take one thing away from this episode, it’s how to handle the nervous, anxious, flutter of stomach butterflies that arises when we’re socially anxious.

Social interactions can be challenging. You may believe that everyone else has all their shit figured out and can effortlessly walk into a social situation and just be themselves. But it turns out, we all, at some point, get social anxiety.

In this episode, our resident psychologist Dr Emily, delves deeper into what it means to experience social anxiety, before during & after a social situation. She explores the ways in which anxiety shows up, where it might come from and what we can do to “get our butterflies in formation”.

To watch this full episode on YouTube, follow this link: https://youtu.be/I53wE7epCX0 

To listen to Dr Emily's episode on The Inner Critic, follow this link: https://apple.co/3XaFdw9 

To listen to Dr Emily's episode on Rejection Sensitivity, follow this link: https://apple.co/4i1qixZ 

To purchase The Resilience Project's gratitude & wellbeing journals, follow this link: https://bit.ly/3RUBke7

To learn more about the four domains of social anxiety & read David Moscovitch's work, follow this link: https://bit.ly/43fDuIy

To learn more about The Spotlight Effect & see research Dr Em sited by Thomas Gilovich and Victoria Husted Medvec, follow this link: https://bit.ly/4cd4Rr0

For book recommendation, How To be Yourself, by Ellen Hendriksen and to learn more about her free online course 'Rise Above Social Anxiety', follow this link: https://bit.ly/3TAol1o

To dive deeper into Lisa Feldman Barret's work, including the research on reframing anxiety as arousal, follow this link: https://bit.ly/3VhjuTV

To learn more about Safety Behaviours and their role in social anxiety, follow these links: https://bit.ly/3wTqBIp & https://bit.ly/43hfp4a & https://bit.ly/3vhjR6o

To participate in a free Cognitive Behavioural Therapy study run by The Black Dog Institute & UNSW, aimed at reducing social anxiety, follow this link: https://bit.ly/49cvV6M

The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Langbroek, in our humble opinion, is a very special person. We absolutely love her, and we’re clearly not alone. Kate, has experienced decades of success on Australian TV and radio - whether it was every Wednesday night on The Panel; with her mate Hughesy on the radio; or in countless podcasts, and radio shows since.
On this episode of The Imperfix, we revisit, when in 2022, Kate generously shared with us what it was like when her eldest son Lewis was diagnosed with Leukaemia, and how it impacted her life and her family - then and now.

To hear the full episode with Kate, follow this link https://apple.co/4fy5o84 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World leading organisational psychologists, Adam Grant is this week's guest in The Academy of Imperfection and honestly, we can’t believe how much ground the brilliant man managed to cover in this episode. 

I mean, sure, you might expect him to touch on the value of embracing our imperfections. Or perhaps he might explore imposter syndrome & the importance in believing in others' belief in yourself. Or how procrastination can actually be a creative force. Or maybe even some tips for those of us who have found ourselves languishing.

All of this might seem pretty reasonable stuff to cover. However you might not expect a deep dive into the lessons learned from a junior olympic diving career or an actual magic trick! This ep covers it all…and much much more. 

To watch this episode on youtube (and see the magic trick) follow this link: https://youtu.be/s2sY3-mT-u8 

If you’re interested in hearing more from Adam, the best place to start is his website: https://adamgrant.net

Recommended books & articles mentioned in the episode:

• Hidden Potential, The Science of Achieving Greater Things, by Adam Grant: https://bit.ly/3wBynWW
• Give and Take, A Revolutionary Approach to Success, by Adam Grant: https://bit.ly/3TrKwqI
• Creativity Inc: Overcoming Unseen Forces That Stand In The Way of True Inspiration, by Ed Catmull: https://bit.ly/49ZgNur
• Born Standing Up: A Comics Life, by Steve Martin: https://bit.ly/3TnZTjK
• It’s Called Languishing (article) by Adam Grant https://nyti.ms/48J86Uf

Listen to Adam’s interview with Steve Martin on his ReThinking Podcast: https://bit.ly/3Tosvtb and transcript: https://bit.ly/3T3cKXa

To watch Matthew Mitcham’s dive, follow think link: https://bit.ly/3InmPJJ

To listen to our episode with Dr Emily on Truth vs Harmony, follow this link: https://apple.co/40pgYO7 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this inaugural episode of the imperfix, Hugh takes us back to our very first Academy of Imperfection, where special guest Ben Crowe explores what it actually means to define your purpose. We discuss Ryan, Hugh & Ben’s purposes, how they defined them, and how important they are in shaping their respective every-days. We also delve a little deeper into Josh’s seeming ‘lack of purpose’ and find that he might actually have a bit more purpose there than he realises.

To hear the full episode, the first time Ben visited The Imperfects click here https://bit.ly/3MrxtRN 

For more from Ben Crowe, please visit his website mojocrowe.com or find him on Instagram.

You can listen to the Ted Talk  'Finding your purpose in 5 minutes' here https://bit.ly/3T5LkQF

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say that by the time he retires, Pat Cummins could be one of Australia’s most successful cricket captains. And if 2023 is anything to go by, "they" might be right. Pat captained the team winning The ODI World Cup, The ICC World Test Championship and retaining The Ashes. And individually, he was not only named The ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year, but also signed a record-breaking contract to play in India in the IPL this year. So yeah, Pat wins a lot.

But this episode isn't just about cricket. Because as Pat talks about with Hugh, Ryan and Josh, he's lost a lot as well - especially in his personal life. Most notably, Pat tragically lost his mother Maria to cancer last year (2023), which he opens up about here, sharing how important life is outside of cricket - an approach that's trickled through to the entire team.

If you love cricket (maybe even as much as Hugh & Josh), or just want to hear how someone deals with struggles while at the top of their game, this is a special episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might like our episodes with: 

• Travis Boak - https://apple.co/4eFe8rJ 
• Max Gawn - https://bit.ly/4g0MN5e 
• Tim Minchin - https://apple.co/492kgsN 

To listen to Nick Cave on Rick Ruben's podcast Tetragrammaton, follow this link: https://bit.ly/3ThOxhf

To watch this episode on YouTube, follow this link: https://bit.ly/3P8Whzy

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.