The Understanding Boys Podcast

Series 4

Conversations about what makes a good man and more

Season 3

17 episodes
Episode 17

Dennis Barbour

Dennis about his quest to fulfil the shortcomings around health care for adolescents and young adult males.

47min
Episode 16

Jon Muir

Jon talks about his adventures and about listening to his heart.

44min
Episode 15

Margie Danchin

Dr Margie talks to us about balancing work life as a parent, raising healthy boys and about vaccination, health and impact of the global pandemic.

48min
Episode 14

Alex Rathgeber

Award-Winning actor, Alex shares his thoughts on change and challenge, what it’s like to be a performer and about finding your voice.

50min
Episode 13

Emma Murray

Emma tells her own story, and talks about being a mum, the challenges she has faced, and what we can gain by thinking about not only who we are but how we think about who we are

60min
Episode 12

Hunter Johnson

Hunter talks about boys and their relational capabilities and creating authentic spaces for kids.

49min
Episode 11

Kylie King

Dr King shares ideas around prevention, conversations and resources for parents.

37min
Episode 10

James Tomkins

What has elite sport taught James, how he applies those lessons as well as learning new lessons from being a parent.

45min
Episode 9

Matt Englar-Carlson

Matt talks about the profound impact his dad had on him and how in turn he is trying to be a great dad for his kids.

64min
Episode 8

Daniel Petre

Daniel Petre author of ‘Father Time’, an Australian classic, talks about being a dad being mindful as parents and about achieving balance in a working life.

45min
Episode 7

Monty Badami

Dr Monty Badami looks through an anthropological lens to explore how we can help boys find their place in the world and offers some useful tips that you can use at home.

54min
Episode 6

Robert Blum

Dr Robert Blum talks about the impact of gender on boys (and girls) while telling some incredible stories from his lifelong experience working with adolescents.

44min
Episode 5

Megan De Beyer 2

Megan talks about ‘how to raise a man’, the role of nature in a post-pandemic world, and some tips about managing your son’s anger.

46min
Episode 4

Arne Rubinstein

Dr Arne shares some stories about the powerful effect of Rites of Passage and some of elements of which you can use at home from his experience.

40min
Episode 3

Jacqui True

Dr Jacqui True talks about about parenting, what she learnt during Covid lockdown and also a bit about how we can connect our boys into understanding better ways of being for the benefit of all.

44min
Episode 2

Stephen Day

General Day talks about leading with emotion, integrity and reason, how to find moral courage, and the importance of humility.

49min
Episode 1

Will Pucovski

Will chats to us about his professional life, his work as a cricketer and what it has taught him while also sharing four key questions that he wished he knew as a young man.

44min

Season 2

7 episodes
Episode 7

Micah

In the final episode for series 2, our podcast is turned on its head in an interesting twist with Micah Swann.

34min
Episode 6

Angie

Angie shares her thoughts on people and rules. How schools have handled COVID, what it’s been like and what she’s learnt.

16min
Episode 5

Angus

Angus talks about what makes him happy, about being the eldest child, online boundaries and parental controls as well as male stereotypes and the future.

25min
Episode 4

Kaya

Kaya reflects on a time of lockdown in Melbourne, and about what’s important. She’s got a great story to tell too.

13min
Episode 3

Taj

Taj speaks about the future, what he’s learnt in high school, while he has fantastic story too about being seen.

27min
Episode 2

Juliet

We hear from Juliet on sailing, being at sea, society and schools as well as life in lockdown in Melbourne, Australia.

16min
Episode 1

Aubrey

Aubrey who tells us what he’s been doing, about fixing his motorbike and what he enjoys about camping and the future.

15min

Season 1

20 episodes
Episode 20

Ross Featherston

The eighth headmaster of BGS, Ross shares his wisdom and understanding on how to raise boys, he gives us some takeaways and his thoughts about what it’s like to be a parent.

44min
Episode 19

Raelene Plozza

An Instructional coach and Head of Literacy, Raelene focuses on motivating adolescent boys to read and how parents can help with this most crucial aspect of learning.

48min
Episode 18

Andrew Lauterstein

Andrew is an Olympic medallist and World Championship medalist swimmer. Now a business owner he is a mentor and advocate of life balance and planning for life after sport.

40min
Episode 17

Damien Bolton

Professor Damien talks about parenting, medicine, and shares some insights into the importance of teaching boys to ask for help.

36min
Episode 16

Nathan Lovett Murray

Nathan Lovett-Murray is a former AFL footballer and is now an Indigenous Mentor, a producer, and an educator, raising awareness of racism and its impact on wellbeing.

28min
Episode 15

Dawn O’Neil AM

Dawn O’Neill AM is a lifelong advocate and thought leader on mental health having led major reforms in social and mental health sectors.

40min
Episode 14

David Leser

David Leser is a journalist, feature writer and public interviewer and author of ‘Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing’, an investigation following the #MeToo movement.

39min
Episode 13

Judy Chu

Dr Judy Chu is a lecturer in Human Biology at Stanford University with a fantastic insight into into masculinity issues that are relevant to all men and boys.

62min
Episode 12

Trevor Hendy AM

Former Ironman Australia Trevor Hendy AM shares his journey from professional lifesaver to motivational speaker and life coach, and the lessons that he has learnt.

57min
Episode 11

Dianne Vella-Brodrick

Head of Research at the Centre for Positive Psychology, Dianne has a special focus on young people while working with organisations to assess and promote wellbeing.

60min
Episode 10

Jim Lawrie

This podcast will be a little different to our usual format we’ll explore Jim’s artistry as a young man, talk about growing up and his thoughts on masculinity.

43min
Episode 9

Michael Reichert

Michael explains that paradigms about boys needing to be stoic and ‘man like’ is actually destructive and changing the culture lies with parents, educators and mentors.

51 minutes
Episode 8

Megan De Beyer

International parenting expert Megan gives her tips on how to navigate the challenging teenage years and foster connected, meaningful relationships between parents and sons.

48 minutes
Episode 1

Tim Costello

Reverend Tim Costello speaks with Dr Ray Swann about faith and the importance of modelling empathy in the shaping of good men.

33 minutes
Episode 2

Lisa McCune

Lisa McCune, one of Australia’s most successful screen and theatre actors, shares her experiences on mentorship, motherhood and modern manhood.

40 minutes
Episode 3

James Kerr

The author of Legacy, discusses how he uses the power of storytelling to reach out to young men and encourage them to have a good understanding of self and authenticity.

31 minutes
Episode 4

Steve Biddulph AM

Steve Biddulph AM is an author, activist and psychologist who has written influential bestselling books; and lectures worldwide on parenting, and boys’ education.

28 minutes
Episode 5

Simon Rice

Leading mental health researcher, Dr Simon Rice outlines a collaborative research project with BGS around positive masculinity to improve outcomes for boys’ mental health.

34 minutes
Episode 6

Liz Dawes

Liz Dawes speaks earnestly on helping children deal with loss. She shares her son’s own battle with brain cancer and her continued determination to raise awareness and funds.

29 minutes
Episode 7

Jeff Kennett AC

Jeff Kennett AC, founding Chairman of beyondblue, speaks on what it takes to be a good man today and shares his aspirations to reduce the impact of depression and anxiety.

21 minutes