Uncommon

Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews are journalists, Co-Hosts of the Shameless Podcast, and Co-Founders of Shameless Media.

What I like about these two media entrepreneurs is their ability to identify what works editorially in an overlooked market. The pushback they received from one of the largest digital-first, female media brands, would have taken some fortitude to withstand. But the principled approach to what they believed would work, and that there was a need for a pop-culture podcast for “smart women who love dumb stuff”, birthed a rational community of women and a business that neither Zara or Michelle probably thought was possible.

One year and three months later, they lead a growing community, and have just announced their first branded podcast with Bumble Australia, titled Love etc. I’m fascinated to see what the next few years hold for these two.

In this episode we covered:

* How much they owe to The Daily Mail

* The death of the celebrity profile

* The rise of Shameless

* Shameless Media & monetisation

* Creator burnout and mental health

* Confidence and imposter syndrome

* Election results and diversity of opinions

William Summers is an Independent Researcher, Journalist and Blogger who specialises in politics, public policy and Freedom of Information. He’s written for the likes of the ABC, Daily Telegraph and Crikey.

William was the first person to uncover Barnaby Joyce’s dual citizenship, and kickstarted the Victorian Parliament expenses scandal in 2017.

Freedom of Information is a crucial component to Free Speech & the norms of our democracy. No matter your political persuasion, the general public should always encourage the work of people like William, particularly as Executive Branches of government increasing call for further benefits or power.

In this episode we covered:

* The importance of a republic & Pro monarchy arguments

* The ultimate political system

* Australian vs UK politics

* Freedom of Information & Free speech

* Nepotism & corruption in Australian politics

* The current state of media

Tommy Jackett and Josh Janssen are the Co-Hosts of The Daily Talk Show podcast, Co-Founders of Big Media Company, adoptive fathers to Mr 97 & 3D-Dyl, and chieftains of the Gronk squad.

These two gents have managed to consistently pump out a daily podcast show since January 16th 2018 - a monumental feat in my opinion.

The clear analysis that there was a gap for a daily show, has seen them interview idols like Seth Godin, create an incredible community of fellow “gronks”, and become a weekly staple in many people’s lives. If you’re a Melbourne podcast aficionado, you’ve probably heard of them - if you haven’t, then you definitely should check them out.

In this episode we covered:

* How The Daily Talk show has impacted their lives

* What Mr 97 & 3D-Dyl have taught them

* Self-development and learning

* How they publish every single day

* Meeting Matt D’Avella & Seth Godin

* Clocking off and Health Anxiety

Professor Robin Batterham AO is a Chemical Engineer, Former Chief Scientist of Australia (1999-2006), Former Chief Technologist at Rio Tinto, Kernot Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Melbourne University, and Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) amongst many other titles.

Robin is one of the clearest thinkers I’ve ever met on the podcast. He embodies the mindset of brilliant scientists before him, and particularly my favourite in Richard Feynman - where he shows not only technical nous but a clear ability to explain some of the most complex topics in the easiest ways.

In this episode we covered:

* Soil carbon and climate change

* Regenerative farming

* The politicisation of climate policy

* Energy policy & Nuclear energy

* Getting excited about engineering

* Teamwork for innovation

* Ideas vs Execution

Laura Henshaw is the Co-Founder of powerful fitness and health brand Keep it Cleaner.

Laura is also currently Podcast Co-Host of KIC POD, Co-Author of A Girl's Guide to Kicking Goals, and on top of all of that, she’s studying a Law degree. She also so happens to be the fiancée to last week’s guest Dalton Graham.

What I like about Laura is her first principles approach to product development and how that has permeated into the Keep It Cleaner business.

What Laura and her Co-Founder Steph Smith have built is astonishing. In under 18 months, Keep It Cleaner has built an app, a grocery line stocked across the country and hired a team of up to 10+ staff. Even more astonishing, is the cult following they have garnered and continued to grow in what is now a health and fitness revolution.

These two “kingmakers” to me are like The Rock and Kevin Hart of young female inspiration in Australia. They’ve been overlooked by the tech and business industry, simply because they fit within the lifestyle and influence demographic. Watch out for what Laura gets up to in the next few years, I’m sure it will be huge.

In this episode we covered:

* Growing up and life as a teen

* Meeting and admiring Steph Smith

* Building her audience

* Keep It Cleaner the business

Dalton Graham is the Co-Founder of media agency Bullfrog Media, lifestyle brand The Tailored Man and fiancé to Keep It Cleaner’s, Laura Henshaw.

What I like about Dalton is his penchant for identifying quality in product, unlike the trend of obsessing over high fashion labels.

His creation of a men’s social-first lifestyle brand showcases an analytical media mind for building an audience, which is something he’s applied in his second business Bullfrog Media.

This was a fantastic discussion with one of Australia’s most influential men in fashion and advertising, that was so deep that we ended up going on for another hour post-interview.

We touched on many topics including:

* Quality menswear brands

* The Tailored Man

* The Death of the Suit

* Why it’s harder to say no

* Starting Bullfrog Media

* Dealing with internet trolls & switching off

* Learning from Laura & Steph of Keep It Cleaner

Josh Wade and Sam Lindell are Directors of Verve Network, a diversified talent agency focused on pushing the boundaries of entertainment.

Most of the audience will know Josh from his work as a comedian, but not too many will know of his foray into the world of managing talent. In under two years, Verve has made a name for itself as a serious player in a stale industry.

This was a short but nonetheless interesting chat which covered:

* How Josh and Sam met

* How Verve started

* Explaining what they do

* Verve Pictures

* Learning from Michael Ovitz and Scooter Braun

* What the future looks like

Daniel Kilov is an Australian Memory Athlete, Speaker, Writer and a Philosophy PhD student at The Australian National University (ANU).

Daniel is capable of memorising a shuffled deck of cards in less than two minutes, over 100 random digits in five minutes and placed second at the Australian Memory Championships in 2011.

When I learnt about Daniel and his mentor Tansel Ali - through the best-selling book Deep Work by Cal Newport - I knew I had to get him on the podcast. The use of memory is probably one of the fundamental tools we have as humans, aside from communication through language.

Yet we are in an age where we’re handballing a lot of former memory tasks to our smart devices - foregoing the classic techniques of mnemonics is becoming all too common. As Cal Newport says in his book, the “Art of Memory” is incredibly important to becoming a “Deep Worker” who can not only increase performance but also your attention through the process.

This was an insightful episode where we covered:

* Improving memory with ADHD

* Memory, mindfulness & philosophy

* Thought experiments

* What the Art of Memory is

* How to start applying memory techniques

* Memory and brain health

* Being a memory athlete

* Resources for learning

This week's episode is a special one for the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where we sat down to talk shit about the comedy business with some of our favourite comics. In an ode to Talking Funny, we're coining it Talking Shit.

Our guests this week included Neel Kolhatkar, Isaac Butterfield, and Jordan Shanks (aka Friendlyjordies).

Neel Kolhatkar is a Comedian, Stand-up Comic, Content Creator and Actor with a powerful audience built from his humble beginnings on YouTube. You’ll also find him acting on network TV shows including Channel 10’s Street Smart and ABC’s Virgin Bush.

Isaac “The Buttsmarn” Butterfield is a Comedian, Stand-up Comic and Content Creator known for dissecting the status quo of culture through his satirical commentary on YouTube.

Jordan “Friendlyjordies” Shanks is a Comedian, Stand-up Comic and Content Creator of Australian YouTube prominence, for his exceptional commentary on Australian culture and politics. He also hosts the Friendlyjordies Podcast.

There are countless gems in this 2-hour episode including:

* Each comic's individual rise

* Internet vs mainstream comedians

* Differences in each others style

* The process of a comedian

* Outrage, and strangest complaints

* Bombing on stage

* Fast food of choice

* Shitty first jobs

Oliver Kidd (@OliverKidd) is the Founder & CEO of up-and-coming Australian neobank, Archa.

Archa, like a lot of new “challenger banks” are a new form of digital banking, aiming to disrupt the banking sector through better customer service and product development.

The introduction to neobanking is something I’ve wanted to cover for quite a long time, particularly after reading a new white paper on the state of banking globally. For years, we’ve had the slow delivery of FinTech services through tech unicorns like Stripe, Robinhood, TransferWise, Wealthfront, Raiz and Coinbase to just name a few.

The goal of a neobank is to bundle most of these individual services, including deposits, in an effort to disrupt the entrenched business model of the Big4 banks. The recent Royal Commission points to why this should be a priority for both consumers and regulators here in Australia.

This was a great episode where we covered:

* A love of milkshakes

* What are Neobanks?

* Old banking vs new challengers

* The importance of credit

* Millennial mortgages

* Why the UK is a Neobanking leader