WHAT I'VE LEARNT

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It takes courage to stand up and that is what Eylon Levy has done since Oct 7

As the cultural wars rage across media platforms he has used his skills intelligence and even humour to tell the world about the siege that has engulfed Israel but the global Jewish community 

He is a former Israeli Government Spokesman, who became one of the most prominent voices for Israel in the October 7 War with Hamas. He previously served as the international media advisor President Isaac Herzog after a career as a TV news anchor. Born and raised in the UK, he studied at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge before making Aliyah and serving in the IDF. He is now the host of the State of a Nation podcast.

Welcome to Australia Eylon I see you are embracing this big beautiful community and welcome to the WhatIveLearntPodcast 

Grateful as this is an intense time for us all 

The devastating news about hostage including the young Hersh Polin Goldberg has rocked the global Jewish community I interviewed Rachel his brave beautiful mother she was extraordinary !

How do we process that young people went to a music festival and were murdered?

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk

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Molly Ness is a former classroom teacher, a reading researcher, and a teacher educator. She earned a doctorate in reading education at the University of Virginia, and spent 16 years as an associate professor at Fordham University in New York City. The author of five books, Molly serves on the Board of Directors for the International Literacy Association and is a New York state chapter founder of the Reading League. Dr. Ness has extensive experience in reading clinics, consulting with school districts, leading professional development, and advising school systems on research-based reading instruction. She is the creator of the End Book Deserts podcast, which brings awareness to the 32 million American children who lack access to books.

That’s 32 milllion in the US alone!!

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

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Simone O’Brien is a domestic violence survivor, speaker, strong advocate for women against violence, and mother of three beautiful children.

Her journey started in 2012 when she suffered a horrific attack at the hands of a perpetrator who would not take “no” for an answer. It started with emotional and psychological abuse and ended up with her being beaten with a baseball bat to within inches of her life. 

Somehow, with the support of family and friends, Simone got through that night and today, she travels Internationally and around Australia to share her story of courage and strength, to raise awareness on the red flags related to domestic violence and prevent these incidences from happening again. 

Using her personal story of determination, resilience, courage and strength, Simone aims to champion non-violence against women and children. Together, let’s stop domestic violence.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

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Mia Findlay, Founder and Principal Coach | Australia

Mia is deeply passionate about helping others reach the same freedom she now enjoys without her eating disorder. She has worked in the eating disorder advocacy field for nine years and has been working with clients as a coach since launching Beyond Body in December 2017. Mia is based in Sydney and has worked closely with The Butterfly Foundation, Australia's leading eating disorder body, as their Ambassador since February 2018. She takes a direct, compassionate and evidence seeking approach to recovery. Mia runs a YouTube channel and Instagram page dedicated to spreading recovery hope and awareness for eating disorders.

And make no mistake, there’s a lot of bizarre advice on TikTok clocking up billions of views – like the baby food diet!

“I used to hate holidays. Dreaded bikinis, photos, new food. I'd plan to lose x amount of weight by the time the holiday began. I'd believe, in my soul, that I'd be happier then. That I could really enjoy myself.

And here's the worst part...  so many girls feeling this way 

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

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The Stella Prize CEO - Fiona Sweet

Fiona is the former Artistic Director and CEO of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale responsible for the programming and curation of three Biennales. She founded the National Centre for Photography in Ballarat and was the inaugural director. 

Founder of Sweet Creative, and co-founder of Melbourne’s Acland Street Projection Festival, she is a former Board Director of the Australian Graphic Design Association, the Melbourne Fringe.

Fiona is the recipient of many prestigious design awards and has been identified as one of the top 25 women to have made a significant contribution to Australian graphic design. 

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

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Anna Grosman, creator and owner is relaunching a new male escort agency - HER CONFIDANT. In its new incarnation, HER CONFIDANT will also cater to women who are looking for companionship in any form: emotional, sexual or for company on a date. "I want to provide a safe space for women to explore their desires and feel desired," says Anna. "There are no agencies like mine - which provide quality, substance and a safe, secure option. Women want many things which we can provide: to feel passion and to be desired; to feel the human touch; or sometimes, just to be listened to, without it necessarily leading to something physical."

 An empty-nester in her early 50s, Anna loves connecting people and networking. She has just

celebrated her 30 year wedding anniversary with her husband, who she met when she was 17. Not all women will use Anna's agency for sex; statistically, around 30 percent are after companionship and dates. But the vetting process remains the same. "Men are chosen because they have a genuine desire for all types of women." Anna is passionate about reducing, and ultimately removing, the stigma that's attached to the sex industry. "There is still so much inequality in terms of sexuality and accessing services for sex. Female sex work is one of the oldest professions in existence, yet male escort work - and women accessing this service - are still very stigmatized. Women are more than ever in control of their lives. They make their own money and can make their own choices of how they want to spend it. It can either be a LV Bag

or a life changing experience. It's their choice." *Providing a space for women to have sex in a safe and non judgemental space is one of the most rewarding aspects of this work. So many women have unfortunately experienced sexual

trauma and this service provides a space for them to feel safe, secure, and sexual." The agency will be specialising in servicing women with a unique selection of male companions from all over the world. Anna likes to call it "Her Selection Box of the Finest Assortment of Chocolates". And of course, there will be the professionalism, discretion, privacy and quality of service as previously.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

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Suzy Zail has worked as a litigation lawyer, specialising in Family Law, but now writes full time. Among other titles, she has written The Tattooed Flower, a memoir about her father’s time as a child survivor of the Holocaust. Her first novel for young adults, The Wrong Boy, was short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards, the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, the WAYRBA, USBBY and YABBA awards. Her second novel, Alexander Altmann A10567, was a Notable Book at the CBCA Awards. Her third YA novel, I Am Change, was written after a trip to Uganda and tells the story of a young Ugandan girl’s struggle to stay in school.

In 2022 Suzy published her first Picture Book, Arabella’s Alphabet Adventure. In 2023 her most recent YA novel, Inkflower, was released, and has been short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) 2024 Book of the Year Awards for Older Readersand longlisted for the Centre for Youth Literature’s Book Link’s Award for Children’s historical fiction. Suzy’s books have been published in Europe, the UK and U.S. She lives in Melbourne and has three children. You can visit her online at suzyzail.com.au and @suzyzailauthor

 Storytelling takes courage whether it’s your own or sometimes even more so when you’re responsible for telling others the honour is a great one. Something I think we both relate to.

Suzy and I were recently part of a live event raising funds for the OCRF as part of the Witchery white shirt campaign it was inspiring and we discussed the power of hope and faith in storytelling - 

Your wrote a powerful story honouring your fathers journey through a devastating illness tell us about how that shaped your own path and lessons learnt. 

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

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Hi, Welcome to the What I’ve Learnt podcast

From food to fashion and art to music we’ve got you covered. We wanted to highlight some amazing moments of the podcast from JAnuary to April.

This Episode Features

Dr Gina Cleo: a behavioural scientist, world-renowned habit-change researcher and Adjunct Professor at Bond University. Gina’s new book, The Habit Revolution: Simple Steps to Rewire Your Brain for Powerful Habit Change, will be published in Jan 2024.

Nicki Gostin: A Page Six digital reporter who covers red carpets, the royal family and all ‘70s and ‘80s megastars. She has interviewed hundreds of celebrities about touchy topics and even took the now-infamous video of an aghast Anna Wintour being asked for her ID at an event.

Caitlin Marshall & Lizzie Rose:  Are founders of the award-winning MakeShift. This not-for-profit org is one of the first creative prescribing agencies in Australia. Lizzie and Caitlin are known and respected internationally for their work on creativity and mental health.  They have worked with thousands of individuals, communities and businesses, including first responders and communities affected by bushfires, floods and other natural disasters, to provide trauma-informed creativity programs.

Michelle Stanton: The founder and CEO of Complete Success utilises her expertise to empower people to achieve exceptional results through innovative speaking, teaching and coaching programs. Formally, the CEO of her family's 8O­ year-old business Bevilles Jewellers, Michelle led the company out of receivership, driving exceptional growth and orchestrating a lucrative sale to a global multinational.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

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California has one of the lowest literacy rates in the country and according to the National Center for Education Statistics, around one in five adults cannot read.

One Costa Mesa father is working hard to change his own personal stats and encourage others in the world to read.

Thirty-five-year-old Oliver James says he was forgotten in school and was seen as a bad child. He felt like adults gave up on him. But it wasn’t just in school, he says he didn’t have that extra push at home either. 

"There was not one book in my house. No, no, there was nothing," James recalled. 

"There were no books, no magazines. There was nothing."

As the world slowed down during the pandemic, James decided that could be his chance to learn to read.

"It opened my mind to see if you can grow this little bit in this little time. Imagine what you can do in a time that you really focus. Like getting up every day, and spending five years reading. You don't know who you're going to be in front of," James said.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk

Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850

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Hi, Welcome to the What I’ve Learnt podcast

From food to fashion and art to music we’ve got you covered. We wanted to highlight some amazing moments of the podcast from Febuary to March.

This Episode Features

Caitlin Marshall & Lizzie Rose:  Are founders of the award-winning MakeShift. This not-for-profit org is one of the first creative prescribing agencies in Australia. Lizzie and Caitlin are known and respected internationally for their work on creativity and mental health.  They have worked with thousands of individuals, communities and businesses, including first responders and communities affected by bushfires, floods and other natural disasters, to provide trauma-informed creativity programs.

Tammy Casseslon: A surviour of Domestic Violence and Inspiring people to amplify their strengths and live their best lives with kindness & compassion is her passion. She's an advocate for education, awareness building and social justice change.

Annabelle Hickson: The editor of the award-winning independent print magazine GALAH. Despite having no publishing or business experience, Annabelle started the magazine from her kitchen table to document regional Australia and the people who live there.

Michelle Stanton: The founder and CEO of Complete Success utilises her expertise to empower people to achieve exceptional results through innovative speaking, teaching and coaching programs. Formally, the CEO of her family's 8O­ year-old business Bevilles Jewellers, Michelle led the company out of receivership, driving exceptional growth and orchestrating a lucrative sale to a global multinational.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk

Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850