Brace yourself. Because Peggy Orenstein has spent seven years studying the sexual landscape for young girls, and it's confronting. From hookup culture, to casual sex (and how it has become the precursor to intimacy), she examines the ways in which porn and all its sexual myths have seeped into young people’s lives. So how do you explain to your 10-year-old daughter that a nude selfie isn't 'empowering'? How do you tell her that what she’s wearing is not really appropriate without slut shaming he...
Feb 05, 2017•37 min
She was a career-driven reporter who was obsessed with work when she was approached to be on The Bachelorette. For Georgia Love, it was the hardest decision she's ever had to make. But, she jumped. Australia watched her take a chance on finding love. And the day after the finale, the day after she'd selected Lee Elliot in front of the entire nation, her mother died. Georgia Love speaks to Mia Freedman about a year that contained the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. How when opportunities...
Jan 29, 2017•52 min
Gender studies Professor and feminist Dana Berkowitz was strongly opposed to Botox. She would lecture students on body image and beauty culture, and was researching for a book on anti-aging practices in society. And then, while researching it, she had it. What followed for her were compliments. Many compliments. And she found herself at the centre of a conflict so many women have: Is there a feminist way to have Botox? Is using it to improve your appearance proof of a woman's right to choose? Or...
Jan 22, 2017•44 min
She’s won 11 Aria Awards. 22 Golden Guitars. Released 10 albums. And somewhere in between all that had three kids and written an autobiography. There is no denying that Kasey Chambers has done a lot into her 40 years of life. But behind the many golden guitars is a person who, at the age of 30 was diagnosed with anorexia and has spent the past ten years dealing with her relationship with food and working out what is best for her. Show Notes Your host is Mia Freedman. With thanks to special guest...
Jan 16, 2017•43 min
Kids say some funny things sometimes. So when two-year-old Georgie Stone said 'Mum, I want a vagina', it seemed like an innocent, cute kid comment. And Mum barely blinked. But Georgie knew already that she was born in the wrong body. That she was transgender. And as the years unfolded, it became apparent. In 2015 - at just 15 years old - Georgie publicly came out as transgender. She did so to advocate for other trans kids not just in the media... but in the legal system, where delays in processe...
Jan 09, 2017•41 min
As our Australian Cricketers turn the SCG into a blushing meadow for the Pink Test, it's a reminder of Jane McGrath's legacy. The mother of two, and wife to cricket fast bowler Glenn McGrath formed a foundation that has changed lives. But she also forged a friendship like no other. This is not a story about breast cancer, it's the story of Jane McGrath and her hilarious best friend, Tracy Bevan. Their relationship went to the darkest places you can imagine and then lifted them higher than they t...
Jan 03, 2017•55 min
She’s the co-host of Studio 10, is often on the cover of magazines and often has headlines written about her post pregnancy body. But if you call Sarah Harris a TV star or a celebrity, chances are she will laugh in your face and say she is just a journalist. But there is no denying that her life has changed since she changed TV networks and jobs. She speaks to Mia Freedman about being followed by paparazzi, what it was like when viewers started commenting on her baby weight and why she will soon...
Jan 01, 2017•40 min
If you had written 23 novels - and had nine of them debut at number one on the New York Times bestseller list - would you still reply to every fan email you received and every tweet that popped up in your notifications list? Probably not, but for American author Jodi Picoult, she wouldn't have it any other way. She joins Mia Freedman to talk about her new book, Small Great Things, biases, living in a bubble and the incredible moment her son came out to her. It's the perfect holiday listen. Show ...
Dec 25, 2016•40 min
The past two years have not been easy for Antonia Kidman. In 2014 she lost her dear father to a heart attack. Just seven months later, came the tragic and sudden death of her former husband and the father of her four older children. It was a double blow of mammoth proportions for Antonia and even more so for her family. What happened next, and the path she’s chosen to follow as her kids are growing up is a surprising one. Now, the mother of six has emerged from the rubble of grief very centred, ...
Dec 18, 2016•37 min
Mia Freedman is still on a mission to burst her bubble. And today, she’s taking to it with a pitchfork. She’s calling up Andrew Bolt. A right-wing conservative who writes Australia's most-read political blog. And it's a conversation to make you think, to make you question, and to perhaps re-order some of the opinions and ideas that may have been cemented in your mind. Show Notes Your host is Mia Freedman. With thanks to special guest Andrew Bolt This podcast was produced by Elissa Ratliff CONTAC...
Dec 13, 2016•38 min
You’re 27. You’ve just gotten divorced after a very brief marriage. And you’re watching your favourite show on TV. It’s about an all women’s soccer team. Two girls kiss. And then it hits you. You’re a lesbian. You’re also a huge country music star. And you don’t know how your fans will react. So you don’t tell anyone. You raise your son. You pour everything out on stage, but then you go on living your life in secret. When Beccy Cole, one of Australia’s most successful, talented and award-winning...
Dec 11, 2016•44 min
Marriage is hard. Kids are hard. Carving a career in the music industry is hard. Luckily, Em Rusciano is a try-hard. You might know her from her brutally honest facebook page, from her time on Australian Idol, her brekkie radio gigs, her side-splitting standup, maybe you ran alongside her at athletics or your kids go to school with hers. But this refreshingly honest conversation gets to the core of who Em Rusciano is. Because when you spend your life on show for others, you have to work out who ...
Dec 05, 2016•41 min
Mia Freedman is trying to figure out what the hell just happened with the US election. And the main thing Mia's realised is that she lives in a bubble. It's a pretty crowded bubble of like-minded centre lefties who cannot fathom how 'the most influential nation on earth' could elect Donald Trump. So, in a bid to burst the bubble, Mia has decided to call up four people she knows who think differently to her. Rowan Dean is the third bubble burster. Editor of Spectator, Courier Mail columnist &...
Nov 30, 2016•20 min
Two years ago, Brisbane breakfast radio star Robin Bailey lost her husband. In the aftermath, stricken with grief, she poured herself into work. Then last month, after ten years on air at the radio station, she lost her job. In her first interview since being let go from the 97.3 Brisbane breakfast team, the mother of three opens up to Mia Freedman about grief, the first thing she did after she was sacked and how she plans on maintaining a stable life for her three sons. As always, Robin is fier...
Nov 28, 2016•35 min
The thing about being on live TV for 20 hours a week is that you can’t fake it. Pretenders don't last. So the Lisa Wilkinson you know from ten years on the Today Show is the same Lisa Wilkinson you meet in real life. Mia Freedman talks to her former boss about what happens when you realise your husband is drinking and eating too much, the hardest part about marriage, and how Karl Stefanovic, her ebullient co-host, is dealing with a very public seperation. Show Notes Your host is Mia Freedman. Wi...
Nov 21, 2016•48 min
Mia Freedman is trying to figure out what the hell just happened with the US election. And the main thing Mia's realised is that she lives in a bubble. It's a pretty crowded bubble of like-minded Centre Lefties who cannot fathom how 'the most influential nation on earth' could elect Donald Trump. So, in a bid to burst the bubble, Mia has decided to call up four people she knows who think differently to her. The second? Columnist and Commentator Miranda Devine Show Notes Your host is Mia Freedman...
Nov 17, 2016•29 min
Mia Freedman is trying to figure out what the hell just happened with the US election. And the main thing Mia's realised is that she lives in a bubble. And it's a pretty crowded bubble of like-minded Centre Lefties who cannot fathom how 'the most influential nation on earth' could elect Donald Trump. So, in a bid to burst the bubble, Mia has decided to call up four people she knows who think differently to her. The first? Sky News TV host, Paul Murray. Show Notes Your host is Mia Freedman. With ...
Nov 16, 2016•31 min
You’re a successful comedian who is married to a man who doesn't want children. Suddenly, the ticking of your biological clock is the only sound you can hear. The story of what happened when you forced him into IVF is one that will shape both your lives. This is Meshel Laurie’s story. The radio host, author, feminist, podcaster, social justice warrior, mother, ex-wife, Tinder survivor and Buddhist is one of the most dynamic, fierce, sensitive, introspective, caring, determined women Mia Freedman...
Nov 14, 2016•47 min
The day Mia has been waiting for is here. It’s the US election. So it’s no surprise that when the American bestselling author Jodi Picoult came into the office, Mia asked her all about her take on Trump and Clinton. From asking where Oprah is, to talking about how the polling works, Jodi Picoult has all the answers. The full No Filter interview with Jodi is coming soon. Show Notes Your host is Mia Freedman. With thanks to special guest Jodi Picoult. The full interview with Jodi will be coming in...
Nov 09, 2016•10 min
What happens when you give birth to a baby girl who isn’t yours? You will never breastfeed her, never live in the same house as her, and will never, ever be called 'mum'. This was Shannon Garner’s experience not that long ago. The mother-of-two decided to be a surrogate for a gay couple she had never met, and around 12 months later, Shannon gave birth to their baby Elsie. Unsurprisingly, Mia had SO many questions about surrogacy. How do you endure the heartache of leaving that hospital with empt...
Nov 07, 2016•44 min
You can’t cure death. But you can try and make it kinder. And that is what Andrew Denton plans on doing for many chronically ill Australians. The iconic journalist and former host of Enough Rope has made it his mission to understand voluntary euthanasia since the death of his own father. Denton's created a podcast called Better Off Dead , and now he’s using his profile to make changes in government. It’s a conversation that Mia didn’t want to have. But now, she’s glad she did. Show Notes Your ho...
Oct 30, 2016•50 min
How far would you go to get your children back if they had been taken from you? Would you travel to a foreign country? Hire a person skilled in the recovery of child abductions? This is exactly what Brisbane mother-of-three Sally Faulkner did to be reunited with her two children Lahela and Noah. But things didn’t exactly end up going to plan. This is the story behind the botched 60 minutes recovery operation. The operation that landed the news team, journalist Tara Brown, and Sally Faulkner in p...
Oct 24, 2016•50 min
Who’s the biggest supporter of women? According to himself, it’s Donald Trump. But then again, he also thinks Aleppo is a 'fat' supermodel. Mia Freedman is joined in the studio again by Amelia Lester, the Editor of the Good Weekend - and gatecrasher and resident Trump impersonator Rosie Waterland. So what happened today? What does this mean? Did Hillary just nail it? And what now? Show Notes For more US politics try: Slate's TrumpCast Keeping It 1600 Follow: Jon Favreau, Obama's speechwriter, on...
Oct 20, 2016•48 min
If you've ever listened to Triple J news, you'd be familiar with the smooth-talking tones of newsreader Nas Campanella. What you might not know, though, is that she's completely blind. A national newsreader who can't read the news, and doesn't use braille. So how does she do her job? How does she text, date, cook, and buy clothes? And why, at 29, do people still treat her like a child? For a woman who heard "how the hell can you be a journalist?" many times over, the stories of her life and the ...
Oct 17, 2016•52 min
Mia Freedman has a new hobby. It's not knitting, or even sport. It’s American politics. Actually, that’s a lie. It’s Donald Trump… and how much she hates him. He’s a name caller. He makes fun of people with disabilities, of grieving mothers who have lost their soldier sons, of women. Soooo many women. So she decided to invite Amelia Lester, the former Managing Editor of the New Yorker, on to talk Trump. Show Notes For more US politics try: Slate's TrumpCast Keeping It 1600 Follow: Jon Favreau, O...
Oct 10, 2016•1 hr 7 min
This is not an interview about breast cancer. This is an interview about an extraordinary friendship between two hilarious women. Tracy Bevan lost her best friend, Jane McGrath to breast cancer, but that’s not what defined their connection. Their relationship went to the darkest places you can imagine and then lifted them higher than they thought possible, over and over. It’s a friendship that has transcended death in the most surprising way. Show Notes Your host is Mia Freedman. With thanks to ...
Oct 02, 2016•55 min
She’s been called the 'Obama of popular fiction'. An author whose books all turn to gold. But at home, Liane Moriarty is considered to be a suburban housewife who writes for a hobby. Australia’s most successful author, this mother-of-two from Sydney has sold over six million books. She's one of the few authors in the world to ever have three books on the New York Times bestseller lists at the ONE time. So how did she do it? She joins Mia to discuss her latest book, rubbing shoulders with the ric...
Sep 26, 2016•48 min
She enrolled in The Bachelor to 'shake things up' in her life. Two years on, Sam Frost is Australia's sweetheart: the loveable girl-next-door with a brekkie radio gig next to Rove McManus. But the path to get there was paved with pain. She had her heart smashed into a million pieces in front of the nation, which sent her spinning into despair and grief. But her belief that she would be happy again - and that the universe would lead her there- led her to a real life fairytale romance. She talks t...
Sep 19, 2016•1 hr
How do you make an ordinary person seem like a rock star? You put them in front of Richard Fidler. His cult ABC radio show, Conversations, is Australia's most popular podcast, downloaded more than 1.8 million times per month. And Richard is the puppet master; drawing you deep into the stories of people you have probably never heard of. Today, he is on the receiving end of the questions. He tells Mia Freedman how he got to where he is today; the skills it takes to make the driest topics interesti...
Sep 12, 2016•53 min
She's feisty, funny, and after she scowled into the spotlight on The Bachelor Australia, she found herself as the crowd favourite. But for Keira Maguire, it came with a massive amount of scrutiny. After Woman’s Day revealed she grew up in a polygamist cult, the Bachelor star talks to Mia about being cast as the villain, growing up "different" and what she’s going to do next. The interview doesn't quite go to plan. But sometimes, when there is No Filter, things can get messy. Show Notes Your host...
Sep 08, 2016•38 min
