I have been wanting to talk blokedom for a very long time: How and why it defines so much about Australia; how it excludes and masks the existence of class inequalities; and how it holds us back as a nation. The myth of the larrikin bloke is something writer Lech Blaine has been studying for some time. Hailing from a very working class background in Toowoomba, Queensland, he went on to be the first person in his extended family to go to university. He wrote a Quarterly Essay in September last ye...
Jun 21, 2022•46 min•Ep. 51
In 1992 Julia Cameron published a book that saw the whole world (it seemed) suddenly writing "morning pages", these free-from diary entries that unblocked creativity. The Artist's Way was the title and it became a global bestseller in 40 languages. Alicia Keys, John Cleese and Tim Ferris are fans; Elizabeth Gilbert wrote, “Without The Artist’s Way there would have been no Eat, Pray, Love.” Julia has had a wild life – she wrote for Rolling Stone magazine at the height of New Journalism. She was m...
Jun 14, 2022•40 min•Ep. 50
In this brain-bending ep we explore this wild idea: are there good brains and can we find a way to use them to save the planet. My guest is Professor George Paxinos AO, the world’s leading brain expert. The 78-year-old Greek-Australian is the most famous scientist you’ve never heard of – he’s identified and named more parts of the brain than anyone in history. He’s also a climate activist (and cycling activist!) and spent 21 years writing his latest book, River Divided, a novel about (ready for ...
Jun 07, 2022•45 min•Ep. 49
Sheena Iyengar’s The Art of Choosing – the book and the wildly popular TED talk – posits a profoundly paradoxical idea. Despite what we might think, we don’t like choice, or at least not too much of it. Which is why arranged marriages lead to more lasting love than “romantic” marriages and ALDI stocks one version of everything. To make the best decisions in our lives, there is a “magic number” of options we should aim for…and it’s less than you think. The Columbia University pscho-economist is f...
May 31, 2022•50 min•Ep. 48
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 12, Last thoughts…with Betoota Advocate It's been a wild ride but here ends our journey together. Wendell Hussey from the awesome satirical news site and I answer last questions about the election, who to vote for if you care about climate, what to do if there are no indies in your electorate, what if one of the parties directs my preferences (hint: they can't) and what do we think will be the ideal outcome for Australia (I don't hold back). We return to the normal format ...
May 19, 2022•54 min•Ep. 47
For 15 years, successive governments have kicked the Indigenous Voice to Parliament can down the road. A referendum to enshrine a Voice into the constitution has been shown time and time again to be the most important first step to closing the yawning - and growing - gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Three quarters of Australians say they want it…and yet here we are again! Today Prof Megan Davis, a Cobble Cobble Aboriginal woman, human rights lawyer and co-architect of the U...
May 16, 2022•32 min•Ep. 46
It’s looking very possible that this election will result in a hung parliament, where one of the parties must form a minority government with a bunch of independents. The implications of this are huge (and exciting!) and it’s worth knowing how it would work (and how it could be the right kind of shake-up we need). Former independent Tony Windsor was one of the crossbenchers who famously had to form government last time this happened in 2010. He talks us through the behind the scenes stuff and th...
May 12, 2022•33 min•Ep. 45
Australia has become a country with one of the worst records for gender equality in the world. A picture worsened by the misogyny we've witnessed from within Parliament in the past 18 months. And so women are rallying this election according to many polls. This ep we cover the policies and commitments to look out for that will change the system for all women and finish by answering your questions regarding the public v private school funding fiasco. I also provide a few widgets and hacks for nav...
May 10, 2022•38 min•Ep. 44
Climate is the #1 issue this election for Australian voters. And yet politicians are making a meal of it and hiding their lacking climate policies in misinformation. This ep I outline each party’s climate policy (or lackthereof in the case of the Liberal National Party) and I invite The Australia Institute’s climate director Richie to sift through the classic climate lines/lies that are bandied about so that we can all navigate things more clearly, you know the ones, that we’re meeting our commi...
May 08, 2022•32 min•Ep. 43
Here, all your granular questions about voting answered in one spot. A great 101 for first timers or a primer for everyone who would like to be on top of things this year. What’s voting above vs below the line? How do I make my preferences work best? How do I know if my #1 vote won’t be passed onto another party? Are How To Vote cards dodgy? What if no one wins a majority of seats? Evan Ekin-Smyth from the Australian Electoral Commission joins me to nut it all out and I share all the best hacks ...
May 05, 2022•38 min•Ep. 42
Who is “Albo"? The Labor leader has been in politics for 26 years and yet many Australians struggle to name the guy or pick him in a line-up. His opponents capitalise on this and paint him as meek and not upfront, even “not on the ball”. In this chat with Karen Middleton, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper who also wrote Albanese’s biography, we get a very different picture of a sensitve but gritty and strategic operator who “operates 10-steps ahead of anyone else”. We talk his...
May 04, 2022•47 min•Ep. 41
There’s a lot we don’t know about our current Prime Minister. And what we do know - daggy dad, makes curry on the barbecue, Sharkies fan - is crafted by the ex-marketing man himself, the bloke who gave himself the moniker “ScoMo”. His biographer the Nine newspapers’ Sean Kelly joins me to talk through our PM'S past; the Hungry Jacks ad; how he left all previous jobs “under a cloud”; where his slogans and tactics came from; as well as his love of the Pentecostal church, whose followers believe th...
May 01, 2022•36 min•Ep. 40
On today’s ep we pull apart the corruption, lies, the removal and defunding of crucial bodies that hold governments to account, the stacking of boards with fossil fuel executives and the dead crook behaviour that has defined the current Government. Mike Seccombe is the national correspondent for The Saturday Paper and has covered this descent into what some political commentators have described as the worst era in Australian politics. It all explains why 81% of Australians want a federal anti-co...
Apr 28, 2022•30 min•Ep. 39
This is where things get a bit fun! And, actually, this episode explains WHY i decided to do this election series. So. The policy and ideas gridlock is real. And there’s a reason for it. But there’s also a solution and policy think tank The Grattan Institute has mapped it out with research. It’s to vote in a number of climate-focused MPs who do not belong to either of the major parties. As it happens, there are about 30 running across Australia this election, and if three of them (give or take) ...
Apr 26, 2022•37 min•Ep. 38
In this episode, we lay out where things are at as we head into the election campaign proper. Consider it a primer (if you’re just starting to get engaged in all this election guff). I’m joined by cofounder of @TheDailyAus Zara Seidler and Walkley Award-winning journalist, comedian and activist Jan Fran to chat through the frustration and fatigue (why we’re feeling it), as well as what is actually mattering to us…particular policies and issues to look out for (they’re not what you expect). We al...
Apr 24, 2022•33 min•Ep. 37
Yep, a one-stop pod that shows how we can make our vote count toward a more caring, humane, vibrant Australia on May 21. To kick off, I explain why I think this election is the most important in recent history, why things feel so fractured and dismal (you’re not imagining it; the country has swerved well off track!), but most importantly how we can strategically shake things up election day and land a hopeful result. I’ll be posting twice a week over the next month or so, speaking to my old frie...
Apr 21, 2022•19 min•Ep. 36
Frankly, if the world needs anything right now it's better, more authentic, and discerning communication . In so many ways we seem to have lost track of how and WHY we get into such polarised positions. Sara Nass is a world expert (and the unofficial organiser of) the global authentic relating movement. I invite her to share tips on how we can be more artful at relating . How do we RELATE to people who've gone down conspiracy rabbit-holes? How do we navigate teenagers who've been in a pandemic c...
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 35
It's time to give a shit. To fire up. To say yes — and mean it. Whether you're endlessly scrolling Netflix for the perfect movie or looking for a date online or wanting to make a “difference", it's time to commit. Global democracy expert Pete Davis says we've been hoodwinked into thinking we need to keep our options open. But our creative urges, our sense of humanity, our political system needs decisiveness, and all that flaking is eroding society (not just the dating scene!). We talk how to bui...
Mar 31, 2022•48 min•Ep. 34
Economic anthropologist Jason Hickel is possibly the leading voice in the degrowth movement that's bubbling about the place. Heard of it? Degrowth pivots around the wild idea that constant growth - and GDP - is the wrong goal. Instead, human, and planetary wellbeing should be our marker of progress. You know, if we want to survive. I drill Jason on the implications: the necessary end of capitalism, four-day work weeks, accepting renewable growth can't save us (eek!), the uncomfortable truth that...
Mar 22, 2022•50 min•Ep. 33
The 'world's most influential philosopher' loves to whack us around the head with our own morality. Aussie-born Peter Singer, the guy who brought us vegetarianism (and is also dubbed the most “dangerous” man on the planet) has spoken out on euthanasia, abortion, bestiality, cancel culture and mandatory vaccinations. But this episode he gets us wrestling with the ‘effective altruism' movement he helped bring about. We go in hard. Can you be good if you don't give a chunk of your income away? Is i...
Mar 14, 2022•51 min•Ep. 32
Author, Johann Hari reckons our ability to focus didn't just disappear — it was stolen! This is a crisis and it's not your fault. Johann explains why you touch your phone 2167 times a day, why the average office worker can only focus on a task for three minutes, and why our kids' attention is shot. But it's one thing to lose the joy of reading a long book, it's another to distract an entire society away from democracy, peace and, well, survival. This is what distresses me most - we've become a s...
Mar 08, 2022•53 min•Ep. 31
Political reporter for The Guardian and sexual assault survivor Amy Remeikis joins me for International Women's Day to give an insider's view on the vile situation for women in politics - and beyond - in this country. The national conversation has erupted over the past 12 months and accusations from inside Parliament House itself continue to unfold. Amy reveals why the usual political deflection tactics didn't work, why it's perfect we're all angry and the shocking statistics that put Australia ...
Mar 01, 2022•43 min•Ep. 30
Leading international political scientist Brian Klass answers the Big Questions we're all asking: Why does it seem everyone in charge is a narcissistic psychopath? Does power corrupt or is it just that dodgy people are really really good at weaselling their way into power? And how does our PM get away with brazenly lying? It's a great time in history to get Brian in; he interviewed 500 leaders around the world — presidents, cultists, war criminals, and even drank wine with the daughter of a cann...
Feb 22, 2022•45 min•Ep. 29
Meet the 82-year-old radical Catholic nun who's the most prominent campaigner against the death penalty in the US. Sister Helen Prejean wrote ‘Dead Man Walking', which became the movie (Susan Sarandon played Helen). In this episode you'll hear about the horrifying close calls, when prisoners have been spared moments before their execution and other statistics that have us confront our humanity. But first, why did Sister Helen become a nun and… how do you handle a life without sex!? Sister Helen'...
Feb 15, 2022•47 min•Ep. 28
This is the third in a series of bonus episodes of Wild for the holiday period, as inspired by my New York Times bestselling book ‘first, we make the beast beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety'. I explore how I turn my anxiety into a superpower, something I practice daily. In this episode I'm joined by Brooke McAlary from Slowyourhome.com and we explore ways I listen to my anxiety and use it to change direction to a better life. I use these techniques daily. This episode reminded me of the inter...
Jan 25, 2022•19 min•Ep. 27
Ahead of season 3 of Wild, here's another bonus episode for the holiday period, a time we tend to reserve for getting our lives in order for the year ahead. These bonus eps are inspired by my New York Times bestselling book ‘first, we make the beast beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety'. In this episode I'm joined by Brooke McAlary from Slowyourhome.com and we explore some simple techniques to add to your morning routine for a less anxious life, along with a meditation to start your day. For mor...
Jan 18, 2022•17 min•Ep. 26
Before we launch season 3 of Wild, here's a few bonus episodes for over the holiday period. They're inspired by my New York Times bestselling book ‘first, we make the beast beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety' and the first one is a rundown of the best techniques and tricks to reduce anxiety while travelling, with a quick meditation, perfect to do on planes or on the bus or in a hotel room. I'm joined by Brooke McAlary from slowyourhome.com If you're new to meditation or think you're bad at med...
Jan 11, 2022•15 min•Ep. 25
Wild is returning for season 3 February 2022, until then: Follow Wild with Sarah Wilson: https://podfollow.com/1548626341 Find out more about Sarah Wilson: www.sarahwilson.com Get your copy of Sarah Wilson's book This One Wild and Precious Life: A hopeful path forward in a fractured world here https://amzn.to/3vs3tf2 Connect on Instagram: www.instagram.com/_sarahwilson_ Sign up to my Substack Newsletter for more thoughts and more on Wild: https://sarahwilson.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/list...
Dec 28, 2021•1 min•Ep. 24
Emily Atkin is America's foremost climate journalist and founder of the Heated newsletter, awarded Best Environmental Journalism of 2020.. I remember first coming across Emily on Twitter when she posted about fossil fuel media campaigns. Her Tweet targeted Twitter. The then Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren subsequently retweeted Emily's tweet, tagging Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey …who then changed Twitter's policy around fossil fuel advertising. It was all just a bit meta. And super powerful. ...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 23
Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times -bestselling author. He holds three Guinness records for various ludicrous long bike treks across the planet and he's also a bone fide explorer who has discovered things about ancient civilizations and, most notably, about cultures where people live the longest, called the Blue Zones. Dan and I met when I wrote a blog post about his Blue Zones back shortly after the last ice age (2009) and he chimed in on the comments. We became lon...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 22
