The Share Plate

The Share Plate is a publication and podcast for people who care about the world but are tired of headlines, hot takes and hopelessness. Every fortnight, Tegan and Lizzie sit down with a writer from the current issue for a conversation built like a dinner party: a Starter, a Main, a Dessert. The twist is that guests never discuss their own writing.

In this episode, architectural communications specialist Izzie White joins hosts Tegan and Lizzie for dinner, with a stacked menu:

• Starter: What's something you care about that your friends don't know about?
• Main: We are our own experiment by Simran Pasricha. Why people are turning to biohacking, peptides and longevity trends. It's not because they've given up on medicine. It's because a system stretched thin has left them wanting answers and a sense of control. The conversation also covers how algorithms make confident voices sound like experts, and why nuanced advice is so much harder to sit with than a simple fix.
• Dessert: An ode to my bike by Tegan Lerm. It starts as a love letter to cycling and turns into an argument that joy, not guilt, is what makes climate action stick. Along the way: the money you save going car-free, why the streets we build matter more than willpower, and what small, physical, local actions can do for your own sense of agency.

Subscribe to The Share Plate wherever you listen, so you don't miss a fortnightly seat at the table. You can read the full pieces discussed in this episode, We are our own experiment by Simran Pasricha and An ode to my bike by Tegan Lerm, free on our Substack now: https://theshareplate.substack.com/

Then do the thing we asked Izzie to do: put your phone down and go talk to someone!

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Chapters:

0:00 — Welcome to the table

1:12 — Starter: What's something you care about that your friends don't know about?

7:23 — Main: We are our own experiment by Simran Pasricha

32:18 — Dessert: An ode to my bike by Tegan Lerm

50:53 — What are you taking home, and who are you sharing it with?

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Izzie White is an architectural communications specialist and one of Australia's leading online advocates for architecture and urbanism. She won the Bates Smart Award for Advocacy (Victoria) from the Australian Institute of Architects, and was named in Australian Design Review's 30 Under 30 for 2026. Izzie's own article, What gets built when we build up?, publishes on Substack on Monday 26 October. Josh Glover unpacks it with Tegan and Lizzie in an episode going live on Tuesday 27 October.

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

The Share Plate is a publication and podcast for people who care about the world but are tired of headlines, hot takes and hopelessness. Every fortnight, Tegan and Lizzie sit down with a writer from the current issue for a conversation built like a dinner party — a Starter, a Main, a Dessert. The twist: guests never discuss their own writing.

In this episode, Walkley Award-winning journalist Simran Pasricha joins hosts Tegan and Lizzie for dinner, with a stacked menu:

• Starter: Politics can leave us feeling divided, what do you think we mostly agree on?
• Main: The Saltwater Running Through My Veins by Tishiko King — what it means to grow up with the ocean as part of who you are rather than somewhere you go, the coconut trees her Elders planted knowing they'd never sit in the shade, and the case for hope as a resource that has to be nurtured, invested in and shared, not an emotion you either have or you don't.
• Dessert: I Stand Corrected by Lizzie Hedding — why the best conversations only start once you let go of needing to be right.

Subscribe to The Share Plate wherever you listen, so you don't miss a fortnightly seat at the table — and read the full pieces discussed in this episode, The Saltwater Running Through My Veins by Tishiko King and I Stand Corrected by Lizzie Hedding, free on our Substack now: https://theshareplate.substack.com/

Then do the thing we asked Simran to do: put your phone down and go talk to someone!

Chapters:

0:00 — Welcome to the table

1:19 — Starter: Politics can leave us feeling divided — what's something we mostly agree on?

5:46 — Main: The saltwater running through my veins by Tishiko King

26:52 — Dessert: I stand corrected by Lizzie Hedding

40:19 — What are you taking home, and who are you sharing it with?

Simran Pasricha is a Walkley Award-winning Australian journalist. Simran's own article, We are our own experiment, publishes on Substack on Monday 28th September, and Izzie White unpacks it with Tegan and Lizzie in an episode live on Tuesday 29th September.

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

The Share Plate is a publication and podcast for people who care about the world but are tired of headlines, hot takes and hopelessness. Every fortnight, Tegan and Lizzie sit down with a writer from the current issue for a conversation built like a dinner party — a Starter, a Main, a Dessert. The twist: guests never discuss their own writing.

In this episode, comedian Fergus Neal joins hosts Tegan and Lizzie for dinner, with a stacked menu:

• Starter: When was the last time you belly laughed?
• Main: Who convinced you? by Tegan Lerm — how online platforms manufacture the feeling that everyone already agrees, why nuance never travels as far as outrage online, and why real influence comes from the people who trust you, rather than a follower count.
• Dessert: Which utopia would you build? by Naomi Bourne — five versions of the future, from rewilding the planet to working less to leaving Earth altogether, and the trade-offs that come with each one.

Subscribe to The Share Plate wherever you listen, so you don't miss a fortnightly seat at the table — and read the full pieces discussed in this episode, Who Convinced You by Tegan Lerm and Which utopia would you build by Naomi Bourne, free on our Substack now: https://theshareplate.substack.com/

Then do the thing we asked Fergus to do: put your phone down and go talk to someone!

Chapters:

0:00 — Welcome to the table

1:25 — Starter: when was the last time you properly belly laughed?

3:34 — Main: Who convinced you? by Tegan Lerm

26:16 — Dessert: Which utopia would you build? by Naomi Bourne

47:44 — What are you taking home, and who are you sharing it with?

Fergus Neal is an Australian comedian, writer, podcaster and content creator known for his sharp social observations, high-energy storytelling and quick wit. Fergus's own article, Reaching across the aisle, publishes to The Share Plate Substack on Monday 9 November, and Tishiko King unpacks it with Tegan and Lizzie in an episode live on Tuesday 10 November.

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

The Share Plate is a publication and podcast for people who care about the world but are tired of headlines, hot takes and hopelessness. It comes from Tegan Lerm and Lizzie Hedding, the co-founders of Build a Ballot — the viral election tool and civic education platform built to help Australians navigate elections with confidence and vote in line with their values.

Before Season 1 begins, Tegan and Lizzie sit down to explain what The Share Plate is, and how it'll work. Every fortnight they sit down and share a meal with a writer from the current issue: a Starter question to get things going, then a Main, then a Dessert. The twist is that guests never discuss their own writing. They're handed someone else's piece and asked what they think. What happens next is the show.

Season 1 kicks off on Tuesday September 1st, with comedian Fergus Neal.

Where to find us:

Substack — https://theshareplate.substack.com (free: two new pieces every fortnight / paid: the full issue the moment it's published)

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/theshareplate_

YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@theshareplate

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