"I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message. " In 2026, many parents, teachers and coaches are asking the same question. What is happening to our children? Across schools and communities, we are seeing more aggression, faster escalation of conflict, online humiliation spilling into classrooms, and young people struggling to regulate strong emotions. At the same time, childhood is now lived through screens i...
Feb 26, 2026•46 min
This week on Thriving Minds , I’m joined by Associate Professor Tara Walker , Senior Research Associate at the Queensland Brain Institute (UQ) — and co-host of the trail running podcast Trail Tales with Tara and Bryce. Tara and I are both neuroscientists, and we both love running. In this episode we explore the science and the joy of trail running — what it does for brain health, mental health, confidence, and connection. We talk about why running on trails feels so different to road running, ho...
Feb 16, 2026•50 min
What happens when we mistake compliance for strength? In this episode of Thriving Minds , Professor Selena Bartlett explores a powerful and confronting conversation with a man who was proud of the physical punishment he received as a child. He believed it made him disciplined. He believed it taught him consequences. He believed it made him better. But beneath that story lies a deeper question: when does discipline build character, and when does it condition helplessness? Drawing on neuroscience,...
Feb 15, 2026•11 min
In this episode of Thriving Minds , Professor Selena Bartlett is joined by Ellie Murphy , founder of Storitiv , to explore why authenticity is becoming one of the most important human skills in an AI-mediated world. As technology makes it easier than ever to generate polished language, profiles, and narratives, many people are sensing a growing gap between how they present themselves and what feels true underneath. This conversation examines why that gap matters, how humans are wired to detect a...
Feb 07, 2026•47 min
The podcast episode featured a conversation with Professor Sharon Lawn about mental health systems, lived experience, and the importance of humanising care for individuals with mental health challenges. We discuss the need for more person-centered, compassionate approaches in mental health services and the value of incorporating lived experience perspectives into research, policy, and practice. The conversation emphasized the significance of community support, everyday acts of kindness, and trea...
Jan 22, 2026•52 min
Episode #207 marks a moment of deep gratitude and reflection. In this special episode, I look back on the journey that shaped Thriving Minds from the early days of questioning how the brain works, through decades of neuroscience, to the new era we are stepping into together. This episode explores how early life experiences shape the nervous system, why connection is a biological regulator, and how compassion, presence and daily habits drive real neuroplastic change and where AI and digital techn...
Dec 09, 2025•25 min
2025 has felt like a turning point. Across this year’s Thriving Minds conversations—from brain health and dementia, to stress, team flow, near-death experiences, and the “neuroscience of two”—one message keeps rising to the surface: We are only just beginning to understand how powerful we are for each other’s brains. In this special reflection episode, I explore what we learned in 2025 and where Thriving Minds is heading next, at the intersection of neuroscience, healing, neuroplasticity and com...
Dec 06, 2025•16 min
Thriving Minds Podcast Deep Dive: Building a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Team Hosted by Professor Selena Bartlett Expert : Feather Berkower, Author of Off Limits: A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Kids Safe from Sexual Abuse The top 5 things to keep children safe in the digital age. Feather challenges the outdated belief that children should be responsible for protecting themselves. Instead, she empowers adults to take charge by building what she calls a “Prevention Team.” This team includes everyon...
Nov 08, 2025•8 min
Neuroscience now shows us that human connection changes the brain. Walking high above the forest floor on the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk in Western Australia, I felt what real strength looks like. The giant tingle trees reach for the light, but their power doesn’t come from standing alone. Under the soil, their roots and fungi form a living web, sharing water, nutrients, and information. Each tree depends on the health of the whole forest. That is what thriving organisations do too. Leade...
Oct 21, 2025•34 min
Today on Thriving Minds, I’m sharing a special replay of my conversation with Dr. Renee White on her Science of Motherhood podcast, where we explored what I wish I knew then—now that I know this—about screens, resilience, and protecting our kids’ mental health in the digital age. Screens are part of everyday life, but learning how to manage them while protecting our children’s mental health can feel like an uphill battle. In this candid conversation, Professor Selena Bartlett shares the lessons ...
Aug 21, 2025•1 hr 9 min
“The brain wave is not just a scientific object—it’s a cultural one.” – Dr. Caitlin Shure What is a brain wave? How “brain waves” became a metaphor for mind control, telepathy, and spiritual resonance. That’s the question we explore in one of the most surprising and thought-provoking episodes of the Thriving Minds podcast to date—with science journalist and technologist Dr. Caitlin Shure , whose PhD work traced the strange cultural journey of the brainwave from telepathy and spiritualism to mode...
Jul 24, 2025•48 min
For most of my career in neuroscience, I believed the brain alone governed who we are—shaped by genetics, evolution, and early life experiences. I trusted in the power of brain imaging and genomics to reveal the answers. But after decades spent mapping neural circuits, a deeper truth emerged: We are not isolated minds in skulls. We are wired to connect. In this episode, I explore the revolutionary science of interbrain synchrony —how our brains light up in rhythm with others when we’re emotional...
Jul 10, 2025•24 min
🎧 Thriving Minds with Professor Selena Bartlett welcomes Dr. Bruce Greyson, a pioneering psychiatrist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, for a profoundly moving and scientifically grounded conversation on near-death experiences (NDEs) and the nature of consciousness. In this episode, Dr. Greyson reflects on his 40 years of research, the development of the Greyson NDE Scale, and his acclaimed book After , which explores what NDEs reveal about the mind, death, and what might li...
Jul 09, 2025•45 min
Can you be both a scientist and a mystic? In this extraordinary episode, Professor Selena Bartlett speaks with Dr. Anona Blackwell — a Lancet-published academic, former consultant physician, and author of From Medic to Mystic — about the turning point where evidence-based medicine no longer had all the answers. Raised in rural poverty in Wales and rising to the heights of British medical academia, Dr. Blackwell quietly navigated a parallel world of intuitive experiences, energy healing, and psyc...
Jun 18, 2025•36 min
In the rush to do more, fix more, and be more, we often forget the simplest truth: Sometimes what we need isn’t another push… It’s a hand to hold. A moment to breathe. A reminder that we belong. When I sat down recently with Amanda Cooke—poet, writer, and creator of Reunion Songs —what unfolded wasn’t just an interview. It was a reconnection. A weaving back into something ancient and alive. Something that felt less like conversation and more like song . A song that belongs to all of us. Amanda C...
Jun 13, 2025•23 min
When we visit the doctor, we routinely measure blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, weight, and heart rate. For years, we’ve known that early life experiences—especially stress and adversity—leave long-lasting marks on the nervous system. But we rarely stop to ask: How can we see those marks? That’s where the eye comes in. Why the Eye Reveals the Brain The corneal nerve plexus is a dense network of sensory nerves at the front of the eye. It’s part of the peripheral nervous system, which connect...
May 27, 2025•37 min
SEEN is a groundbreaking feature-length documentary—and now a powerful podcast companion—that explores the untold story of how healing our own childhood wounds can transform the way we parent. At the heart of this series lies a bold and hopeful message: when parents confront and rewire their own coping mechanisms, it doesn't just change their lives—it reshapes their children's developing brains. Through raw, unfiltered conversations with real parents, experts, and neuroscientists, SEEN uncovers ...
Apr 07, 2025•41 min
📌 Key Insight: Modern parenting often prioritises convenience and safety over challenge and growth. But kids need opportunities to struggle, try, fail, and try again to build the emotional muscles they’ll need for life. “We’re putting 3-year-olds on iPads but not letting them zip up their coats.” – Nicole Runyon Let’s flip the script—and raise a generation built on connection, competence, and confidence . In this gripping conversation, we’re joined by Nicole Runyon, LMSW —psychotherapist, paren...
Apr 06, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Anthony England, Director of Innovation at Pymble Ladies’ College, discusses a bold grassroots initiative to reclaim childhood from the grip of digital addiction. With screen time skyrocketing and mental health declining, Anthony and his team took action—rolling out over 800 custom-managed smartphones designed to grow with students, limit harmful content, and foster real-world connection. Pymble has chosen a new and courageous path —one that protects wellbeing while preparing students to thrive ...
Apr 02, 2025•34 min
‘Parents who are so worried about offending others by setting boundaries for their kids make it so easy for me to offend” : Relayed from repeat offender to Feather Berkower, expert in parenting safe children. In an era where information is at our fingertips, one of the most critical skills for parents and educators in 2024 is empowering our children to navigate their world safely, especially when it comes to protecting them from sexual abuse. "Off Limits: A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Kids Safe fr...
Mar 31, 2025•42 min
In this episode, we dive into the revolutionary ideas of developmental psychologist Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life . Gray challenges conventional education by making a bold case for self-directed, play-based learning – or "unschooling" – as the best path to prepare kids for a rapidly changing world. Drawing on insights from anthropology, psychology, and history, Gray argues t...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 24 min
Stop Stuffing the Duck with Mary Hewitt In this insightful episode of Unlocking Childhood , Mary Hewitt unpacks the idea of "Stop Stuffing the Duck"—a powerful metaphor for how we often overload children with expectations, information, and stress. Mary explores how society's approach to childhood can inadvertently suffocate natural curiosity and resilience, rather than nurturing it. Drawing on the groundbreaking ACEs Too High study, Mary highlights how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) signif...
Mar 24, 2025•48 min
“Wired for Good: The Intersection of Neuroscience, Connection, and Success” 🎙️ Live from the Shand Taylor Lawyers Ladies Function for IWD 2025 This special International Women’s Day episode explores the fascinating intersection of neuroscience, connection, and success—how our brains are wired for good and what that means for leadership, resilience, and well-being. Recorded live at the Shand Taylor Lawyers Ladies Function for IWD 2025, this episode unpacks the science of connection, the power of...
Mar 21, 2025•37 min
Empower, Nurture, Flourish – ECLD 2025 Keynote Standing on the stage at Optus Stadium, in Perth looking out at 700 passionate educators, leaders, and changemakers, there was an undeniable energy in the room, with a shared commitment to shaping the minds and hearts of future generations. This was more than a conference; it was a movement. Delivering the ECLD 2025 keynote was a privilege. The impact of early childhood educators cannot be overstated—every interaction, moment of care, and lesson tau...
Mar 09, 2025•46 min
In a world that often asks us to conform, it takes immense courage to show up as our true selves. Rudi Landmann embodies bravery, stepping forward with authenticity, heart, and a commitment to being seen. As part of the 2025 Why People Are Good Inside movement, we welcome Rudi into our bubble of love and support—where kindness, understanding, and connection pave the way for real change. Being truly seen isn’t just about visibility; it’s about knowing you are valued, safe, and celebrated for who ...
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr 34 min
Why Are People Good Inside? A Valentine’s Week Reflection Have you ever sat back and wondered why everything functions despite the avalanche of news suggesting it is falling apart? I’ve watched everyday people helping others—lifting grocery bags for a stranger, steadying an elderly person’s walker on a staircase, retrieving a lost toy that slipped from a parent's grasp. I've seen nurses and assistants speaking gently to a young man who suffered a stroke, crying in agony from his muscle loss. I’v...
Feb 13, 2025•11 min
Guy MacGillivray on Sugar and Mental Health – Our Most Downloaded Episode Ever! This episode is a game-changer! Our conversation with Guy MacGillivray has become the top episode of all time —and for good reason. Guy is a psychologist and social worker in Port Lincoln , a devoted father of three, and a passionate advocate for people with disabilities. But his journey into understanding sugar and mental health started with a personal revelation: he was using sugar to medicate stress in his life. R...
Feb 09, 2025•48 min
Who shaped your understanding of financial independence? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments. When my sister and I were about 10 years old, my mum, June Hocart, often said, "My job is to make you financially independent." At the time, we didn’t fully grasp what she meant. But as we grew older, we saw how she lived those words—studying by torchlight under the sheets in her dormitory to become a nurse, later running a pharmacy with my father, and always making sure we understood the va...
Jan 30, 2025•1 hr 57 min
In this episode, Yush Sztalkoper shares her transformative journey as a parent raising neurodiverse and twice-exceptional children—kids who are both gifted and experience challenges such as ADHD or dysregulated behaviours. By replacing screen time with enriching activities like reading, outdoor play, and family board games. Within two weeks, her children exhibited reduced impulsivity and became more autonomous, underscoring the power of reducing dopamine-seeking behaviours. Diagnosed with ADHD h...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 3 min
"When I ask 16-21 year olds what they wish their parents had known about social media, they say, number one, don’t give us phones and social media too young." - Children's Commissioner for England, Rachel De Souza As the first smartphone generation hits adulthood, they are reflecting on their lost wonder years, a precious period of their lives they can never get back. Too many of them regret a childhood wasted on screens and they wish their parents had set firmer boundaries. Let's not repeat the...
Sep 28, 2024•48 min
