Professor Alan Duffy is a Cosmologist, Astronomer and Astrophysicist working on dark matter, galaxy formation and cosmology. He’s also Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute and is a Professor at Swinburne University. Among other things, we spoke about the skill of explaining science to the masses in an understandable and interesting manner, why NASA recently crashed a perfectly-good spacecraft into an asteroid, what dark matter is (I still have no clue), the possibility of life on other planets (high, according to the Prof.), the collective noun for Geeks (actually made me laugh), the intersection of cosmology and religion, the Goldilocks Zone and lots more. Enjoy.

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For this episode, Patrick stepped away from his tech desk and we spoke less about technology (not at all, in fact) and more about the psychology, biology, sociology and practicality of the human experience. We chatted about who we surround ourselves with, how to change the way we think, unconditional kindness, childhood table-tennis, my first ever self-help book and its impact on me, lucid dreaming, Meccano sets, moments that change us, emotional and behavioural tipping points, growing through discomfort and lots more. Enjoy.

oksmartass.com

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Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founder of Skeptic magazine and the Executive Director of The Skeptics Society. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things, The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, The Moral Arc, Heavens on Earth, Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist and his new book is called Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. He has also delivered two popular TED talks, appeared on Oprah, The Colbert Report, 20/20, Dateline, Charlie Rose, Larry King Live, Joe Rogan (7 times) and now, in what is clearly the highlight of his career (lol), he finds his way to TYP-HQ. Dr. Shermer received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. He has been a college professor since 1979, also teaching at Occidental College, Glendale College, and Claremont Graduate University, where he taught a transdisciplinary course for Ph.D. students on Evolution, Economics, and the Brain. Enjoy.

michaelshermer.com

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We are potentially living in the most ‘knowing’ era ever. Well, at the very least, we (the masses) have access to more information (about everything) than any time in history. But what are we doing with all it all? I was recently on Tiff’s show (Roll with the Punches) and we spoke about the propensity many of us have to be good at the theory of personal growth (idea, information, intention, talk, plan, goals) but not-so-good at the execution (the work, effort, consistency, resilience, discomfort, adaptation). Knowledge is great but it’s not action. Just like owning a pair of runners is not running. Transformation lives in the application of the information; the doing, not just the knowing. This episode is a chat about that. Enjoy.

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Janine Kwoh is an artist, creator, author and story-teller, whose partner died when they were both 28 and who subsequently, has spent the last six years trying to navigate, understand and deal with, grief. It seems like this might be a heavy chat, it isn’t. Janine is the owner / artist / one-person assembly line behind Kwohtations; an ever-evolving collection of greeting cards and gifts that reflect and celebrate a diversity of identities and life experiences. She is also the author of ‘Welcome to the Grief Club’; an illustrated book on grief for anyone who is grieving the death of a loved one. Janine started making cards in 2011 as a way to reflect on and honour the lives we actually lead, versus the ones we think we should. Kwohtations is essentially her life in greeting cards, in which she offers up her own truths about navigating love and loss, (re)defining family and success, and figuring out what it means to show up for ourself and others. Enjoy.

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Kristin Neff, Ph.D. is a pioneer in the study of self-compassion, being the first person to operationally define and measure the construct almost twenty years ago and these days she is recognised as one of the world's most influential research psychologists. Kristin has written a best-seller, not surprisingly called Self-Compassion, is a sought-after Speaker and Educator and we had a great chat, covering all the ‘selfs’; self-compassion, self-sabotage, self-loathing, self-esteem, self-talk, self-sabotage and more. Enjoy. *Her new book is called ‘Fierce Self-Compassion’.

self-compassion.org

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Gregory Smith’s childhood was the stuff of nightmares. I won’t go too deep here but the snapshot is neglect, violence, abuse and misery. At 10, his mother left him at an orphanage, where the abuse continued, from 14 he was in and out of juvenile detention and by the time he reached his 20’s, he was an addict and alcoholic, living on the fringe of society, with significant mental health issues. For decades he was homeless and for an entire decade, he lived as a hermit in a tropical rain forest (without shelter) in total isolation. In his late forties, he emerged from the forest weighing 41kg (at 5’10”, 178 cm’s) and was at death’s door. From that point until now, Gregory has fully recovered, been clean and sober for more than twenty years, earned a PhD in Sociology (Dr. Gregory Smith), is a Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University (on his way to being a Prof.), has written an amazing book, has done a TED Talk, been featured on numerous media outlets (including Australian Story) and his story is nothing short of incredible and inspirational. Enjoy.

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I asked former international model Deborah Hutton if the window for my modelling career may have come and gone, and she informed me that, there was no window. Oh well, at least we cleared that up (lol). Deborah is fun. And talented. And driven.  And creative. And super smart. And I enjoyed getting to know her (a little). In this organic conversational casserole, we spoke about being an international model at 16 (and the myriad of variables and challenges around that), strategic people vs. freestyle people, experiential learning, knowing who to trust, her three rules for success, identity, self-worth and looks, lifelong learning, her skin cancer journey, saying no to people, feeling ageless, passion projects and lots more. Enjoy.

deborahhutton.com
canopybay.com.au

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I was recently on the ‘Simply Practically Human’ podcast with Mark LeBusque and as always, we waxed lyrical about all things mindset, behaviour, performance and self-awareness. It was fun. Enjoy.

humanmanageracademy.com

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Melissa Wu jumps off stuff. Specifically, diving platforms and boards. She is a current member of the Australian Diving Team, competing in the women’s 10m individual and women’s 10m synchro events, she’s a 4x Olympian, Olympic Silver Medalist (Beijing 2008), Olympic Bronze Medalist (Tokyo 2020), has represented Australia at four Commonwealth Games and is the reigning Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist in the women's 10m individual platform event. Oh, she also owns a gym, has her own diving academy, has a clothing line, is a corporate speaker and did I mention she made her Australian team debut at thirteen at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, where she won a Silver Medal? Other than all that stuff, she’s a complete under-achiever. This chat inspired and exhausted me. Enjoy.

@melissapaigewu

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