Humans, being. with Lael Stone

Friendship, Bec Sparrow says, is a bumper bar on your life. It doesn't stop the hard things from happening – it cushions the impact when they do.

Bec is one of Australia's most trusted voices on teen and tween life - author of seven books, co-host of ABC's Parental as Anything with Maggie Dent, co-founder of Birds of a Feather (Australia's largest online book club for women), and a woman who has spent more than twenty years studying the science and art of friendship. She is also, by her own admission, a deeply introverted person who has had to...

I started this episode thinking about endings, the ones I'm walking towards in my own life right now, and somehow that musing turned into one of the most life-affirming, funniest conversations about death I have ever had.

I’ve spent years sitting with families through birth, and I’ve always felt that birth and death are close cousins, both thresholds, both asking something of us we rarely feel ready for. So when Dr Hannah Gould, cultural anthropologist, death studies scholar and author of How to Die in the 21st Century, sat down across from me, it felt like...

Teresa Palmer has five children, a two-decade film career, a podcast, a supplement brand, and at the time of recording, she was filming God of War in Vancouver - playing the goddess of fertility, which feels exactly right. Through all of it, she’s doing the same quiet work the rest of us are: healing the little parts of herself that didn't get what they needed, so she can show up with her heart forward for the people she loves most.

In this chat, we talk about birth and all its complexities, we talk about parts work an...

This episode starts with dreaming and ends with dreaming - and in between, Luke Bateman takes us through everything that happens when you stop letting yourself do it.

Luke played professional rugby league for the Canberra Raiders - 71 first-grade games, thousands of hours of training camps and hotel rooms and locker rooms - and in almost all of that time, he kept his love of fantasy fiction completely hidden. The shame of it, he says, was shaped by a very specific idea of what it meant to be a man. And unpacking that idea has been the...

There's something about a Missy Higgins song that lands in your chest before you've even registered the words. Somehow, she gets to the feeling first - the part of you that you haven't quite found language for yet.

Missy's music has been part of the soundtrack to my life for over twenty years, especially in my mothering years. So sitting across from her, I was a little bit in awe. Missy’s so generous in her honesty about the hard stuff: the writer's block that made her question her whole identity, the divorce that undid the story sh...

Amantha calls her AI 'Sunny'. She talks to it on the drive to the gym, like she's chatting to a friend. And it has quietly changed how she works, how she writes, and how she gets the thinking out of her own head.

Dr. Amantha Imber is one of the sharpest, most generous humans I know. An organisational psychologist, the founder of Inventium, host of How I Work, the first Australian to win a Thinkers50 Innovation Award, the author of four bestselling books, and her brand new one, The Energy Game, lands in July.

In...

The question I get asked the most by parents is, "Does this work?" So this week I sat down with two of the people most qualified to answer it.

For the better part of two decades, I have been teaching parents to parent differently. To skip the punishments and the rewards. To look behind the behaviour. To make space for big feelings instead of shutting them down. And the whole time, in the back of my mind, has been the quiet question every parent asks themselves... am I getting this right?

My answer was always...

There's a version of strength the world rewards – capable, tireless, always fine. And then there's the cost.

Gorgi Coghlan is someone I've adored from the moment we met. She's formidable, warm, wildly accomplished, and the kind of person who makes you feel seen immediately.

We talk about the imprints that drive us – the little girl who worked hard to be seen by a father whose love came through providing, not presence.

We explore:

"What am I making this mean?" That question might change how you move through conflict with your partner. Because the real work isn't making your partner wrong…it's getting curious about yourself.

I wanted to talk about what makes relationships tricky and what makes them actually work, and in this episode, I share my own story; how I went from completely collapsing whenever Mike got upset, to finally learning how to hold my centre. How we survived the brutal early parenting years when we were both drowning and how post-traumatic stress cracked me open and forced me to...

There's a strange kind of comfort in staying exactly where you are – even when that is hurting you. In this episode, I’m talking with clinical psychologist Dr Emily Musgrove, and we discuss why the familiar feels safe even when it isn't, and what it actually takes to find our way back to ourselves.

An imprint I have - from watching the busy women in my family – was that if you're not doing three things at once, you're lazy. That's the thread Emily and I pulled on together. We both grew up watching women just go, go, go – a...

Libby Trickett surfaced from the pool at the Beijing Olympics, saw the number one next to her name, and waited for the feeling of being enough. It didn't come.

Libby is mum to five children, including baby Archie, who was snuggled on her chest throughout our entire conversation. She opens up about postnatal depression after her first daughter, Poppy, about the Father wound that quietly drove her to the pool every single day, and about the moment she realised that winning gold wasn't going to make her whole. We also explore her passionate advocacy for keeping girls...

There are conversations that feel like they're about one thing, but they're actually about something else entirely. This one starts with laughter… and ends up in a tender place.

Ryan Shelton is such an excellent human. He's one third of The Imperfects alongside Hugh and Josh van Cuylenburg, and a face on Australian screens for the better part of two decades, from Rove to Hamish & Andy. I knew going into this chat that it'd be warm and funny and real.

We talk about what it costs to keep seeking approval, the psychology behind why so ma...

I grew up with Ali Daddo on my wall. And like so many of us, I looked at that image and thought - that's it. That's what it means to arrive. What I didn't know - what none of us knew - was that even being the ‘it’ girl comes with challenges.

This beautiful conversation really opens up about the pressures we feel as a woman, from the tween and teen years, into motherhood and menopause. We explore Ali's "standing in front of a 747 jet engine" image of society's pressure not to age, and what women actually find...

What if the story you tell about your body isn’t really yours to begin with?

In this warm, honest, and beautifully grounded conversation, I sit down with Steph Claire Smith – co-founder of KIC, model, podcaster, and mum – to explore the imprints that shape how we see ourselves, and what it takes to slowly, gently, rewrite them.

Steph grew up in the public eye at a time when the wellness world had a very particular idea of what health was supposed to look like. We talk about what it meant to internalise that, how it showed...

What if the feelings you’ve spent a lifetime pushing down are the very things asking to be heard?

In this solo episode, I want to talk about something people ask me about all the time – what does it actually mean to “do the work”? I recognise that the majority of us grew up in homes where feelings weren’t exactly welcomed. Anger got shut down. Tears got ignored. Mistakes got shamed. And so we learned pretty early that the safest thing to do was to push it all down and get on with it. The problem is, those...

What if the worst thing that ever happened to you turned out to be the thing that taught you how to live truly?

In this deeply moving and beautifully honest conversation, I sit down with Lisa Corduff – podcaster, storyteller, entrepreneur, and solo mum to three extraordinary kids – to explore what it means to carry grief, raise children through loss, and still choose joy.

Lisa's husband Nick died in September 2019 while travelling in India and Lisa’s challenge was to keep showing up, to stay open to find joy even inside profound grief. We talk about the gi...

What if the moment that changed your life wasn’t a success story... but a 15-year-old boy dying with his feet planted on the ground, reminding you not to waste yours?

In this raw, joyful, and deeply moving conversation, I talk with Tommy Herschell – former Queensland primary school teacher, founder of ‘Find Ya Feet’, and one of the most genuinely human people I’ve had the privilege of knowing.

This conversation is about the moment Tommy hit rock bottom. It’s about what it really means to find your feet – to stop, think about where you are, and t...

What if authenticity isn’t something you find... but something you return to?

In this warm, honest, and at times deeply moving conversation, I sit down with Kat John; coach, author, and one of those rare humans who just radiates something you want to lean into. Kat helps people come home to themselves, their hearts, and what really matters. And in this conversation, she does exactly that - for herself, and for all of us listening.

We explore:

What happens when the voice in your head that's kept you "safe" your whole life starts to get quieter... and you're not sure who you are without it?

In this beautiful, warm and deeply honest conversation, I sit down with Josh van Cuylenburg - co-host of The Imperfects podcast (one of Australia's biggest mental health podcasts), freelance filmmaker, visual storyteller, musician, dad of two little humans, and a really, really lovely guy!

Josh and I explore the beautiful, messy reality of parenting two little boys, what it really feels like to be in the trenches...

Sometimes the challenges in life bear the greatest rewards!

In this honest and tender conversation, I sit down with Sarah Pound, nutritionist, recipe writer, author of two best-selling cookbooks, and the creator behind Wholesome by Sarah, where over 1 million followers turn to make food feel effortless and joyful.

But this conversation goes way beyond recipes and Instagram. Sarah and I explore the beautiful, messy reality of navigating competition, comparison, and understanding that creativity comes in many forms. We explore:

What if the thing that triggers you most about your child's behaviour is actually showing you exactly what needs healing in you?

In this solo episode, I wanted to lean into something that I've been exploring for nearly 20 years – why parenting feels so hard, and why we react the way we do. Because whilst we all start off hoping we'll be calm and connected, the reality is often frustration, shame, guilt, and wondering why our kids push our buttons so intensely.

This isn't about more parenting tools or strategies. It's about understanding what's happening inside of...

What if we stopped measuring our worth by what we achieve, and started remembering who we actually are?

In this heartwarming and playful conversation, I sit down with Ben Crowe, Australia's most in-demand mindset and performance coach, founder of Mojo Crowe, and someone who deeply understands that we are human beings first, and human doings second.

Ben works with elite athletes and high performers, but this conversation goes far beyond sport or success. It's about what it means to simply be human... to play, to explore, to be worthy regardless of outcome. And to remember...

What if the very things we judge ourselves most harshly for are actually the doorways to our deepest growth?

In this raw and moving conversation, I sit down with Dr Billy Garvey – developmental paediatrician, podcaster, and someone who understands that our struggles aren't problems to fix, but invitations to understand ourselves more deeply.

Billy works with children and families navigating neurodevelopmental differences, but this conversation goes far beyond diagnosis and treatment. It's about what it means to be human, to carry pain, and to find our way toward wholeness.

We explore:

What does it really mean to belong? And what happens when we're brave enough to step into uncomfortable places to create a sense of belonging for others?

In this deeply moving first episode, I sit down with Rana Hussain – founder of ‘Good Human’, broadcaster, board member, and one of the most courageous humans I know. Rana was the first Muslim woman appointed to a national sporting board, and today sits on the boards of Welcoming Australia, Reconciliation Australia, and Basketball Australia.

But this conversation isn't about achievements or accolades... it's about the human experience beneath them a...