The Osher Günsberg Podcast

Mia Freedman is a publisher, author, podcaster, mother and all-around media-mogul. She started her career in the then highly-competitive Australian magazine industry, and soon became youngest-ever editor of Cosmopolitan magazine at the age of 24. In the middle of this career explosion she fell pregnant, and set a course for her the rest of her career which would see her balancing work, family, and the numerous attacks in the press that come with being a smart, outspoken and strong-willed woman in the public eye. Along with her husband, Mia runs the incredibly successful website Mamamia.com.au, which is a part of the Mamamia Women’s Network. This is the second time Mia’s been on the show, she came on back on Episode 30, and a lot has changed, which we do go into. Mia’s new book is called “Work Strife Balance” and is learnings from her experience of running a massive media company, being a public figure, and being a mother of three kids at the same time. Her book is out now and I thoroughly recommend you grabbing a copy, particularly if like me you’re drowning a little bit in all of the busyness that has somehow consumed our lives in the last few years. You can find Mia on twitter & instagram @miafreedman and do let her know if you hear anything that resonates with you here. Come now to a third floor converted warehouse in Sydney which bustles with the sound of about one hundred employees, while we chat in her purpose built podcast studio over a nice cup of black tea.

Mark Maloney is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, from a family of similarly excellent business people. His father built many different companies including an incredibly successful mining logistics company The Mac. However Mark is also successful in his own right  - working as an investment banker in London before heading back to run The Mac before floating it on the stock exchange in 2007 and being a part of making his whole family multi-millionaires overnight. But Mark’s story isn’t all about the incredible amounts of hard work that he put in, nor about the giddy amount of success he achieved - it’s also about how having more money than he could spend failed to make him happy, and how he ultimately found that happiness. Mark has since branched out into other industries, including the fabulously successful Sumo Salad food franchise - which has kept me fed for many a flight around the wide brown land that’s for sure. I’m very grateful to Mark for coming over to my place to do this - he’s an imposing figure at well over six ft tall - and sat down for a frank an honest conversation at my kitchen table over a bit of dahl and a cup of tea.

Michael Ware is a legendary international war correspondent originally from Brisbane, Australia. Through his career, Michael’s style has always been a first-person, front row seat to some of the most confronting and dangerous situations on this planet. From modern-day witch-hunting in Papua New Guinea, to profiles of deadly Mexican drug cartels, to going in to Afghanistan only weeks after 9/11 and being one of the few Western journalists to live full-time in Iraq during the war. He was the Bureau Chief for Time Magazine in Baghdad before switching over to television for CNN, also in Baghdad. Needless to say, Michael has seen the worst the world can dish up. And during this conversation, he openly gives first-hand accounts of some of the things he’s witnessed during war. This week you may have seen cruise missiles being launched from a US destroyer hundreds of kilometers from their targets in Syria. This is not the kind of war Michael has seen. He talks about the fog, the horror, the gore and the death he has seen. Not to sensationalize it - but to describe it, so that you and I may know what it is we’re asking for when our leaders decide to send troops into a country in our name. So here’s a warning right up top. This discussion goes to some dark places. I’ll say right now, if you have any difficulty hearing what Michael talks about, please do call lifeline in Australia on 13 11 14 - or whatever 24hr counseling line is in your part of the world. It’s a tough story to hear but it’s an important story to hear because if you’re listening to this, you won the genetic lottery. Whatever stars and planets aligned I don’t know - but you’re listening to this on an internet connected device somewhere in the world that is safe. And that is not how the majority of the world live. Michael’s struggles with his demons are well documented, and when I first met him on a rooftop in NYC back in 2012 - he was very open about his PTSD. It was pretty obvious from his body language that I don’t press him on what caused it, but I’m grateful that five years later he and I were finally able to talk. We met in a wonderful old hotel in Sydney, right in the middle of the city. He was in town to talk about his new documentary series Uncensored, where he embeds himself into some of the most risky groups of people on the planet. From militant pro-Russian biker gangs, to the hill tribes on PNG, to the much-hated paparazzi of L.A., Michael brings a first-hand account of what he sees. The show is in Australia on National Geographic and it’s bloody incredible. Do what you need to see it. We do talk about the first episode with the Russian Bikers, but don’t worry we won’t spoil it for you. This is a heavy chat, but it’s important for you to hear. I had a coffee beforehand, but you - like Michael, may need a drink as we go. So hold on - because this is me and one of Australia’s finest, Michael Ware.

Hayden Cox is a revolutionary surfboard designer from Sydney Australia. About ten years ago, he disrupted the traditional way of making surfboards much to the chagrin of the incumbent players - and patented a completely new way of making surfboards, which also gave surfers completely new ways to ride those surfboards. Even if you don’t like the beach - just listen to Hayden’s inspiring journey of how he created his business when he was still in High School, followed his passion relentlessly and created something world-beating along the way. He’s a lovely human being, came to the house with his wife and business partner -  Danielle and they even brought coffee which is always a way to my heart. Hayden’s got some brilliant business ideas, he thinks about business and the industry he’s in completely differently than many people I’ve met. His desire to shift the way his industry is focused is fascinating to listen to, and I’m sure you can apply his lessons to your own life no matter what the scale of the change you’re trying to make is. Hayden outlines a lot of what we talk about in his book “New Wave Vision”  which is one of the best business books you’ll read if you’re interested in the new way the global economy is moving, or even if you just need a kick in the butt to get your own work moving along. Go get his book. Go ride one of his surfboards. Or just listen, this one’s a real gift. Come sit at my kitchen table on the Eames Chairs with Surfer, Shaper, business man and disrupting entrepreneur, Hayden Cox.

Michael Lawrence is co-Founder of Garage Entertainment The world’s largest action adventure film & TV collection - with over 3000 films around surfing, snow sports, cycling, and anything else that involves humans, adventure and the defying of gravity and or the elements. Most notable is Michael’s landmark documentary film Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water - a film narrated by Russell Crowe. He’s a passionate storyteller, businessman and visionary in the field of digital distribution. He’s got a great story to tell and I’m grateful he came over on a Thursday afternoon to tell it. Enjoy this cup of tea and a chat with Michael Lawrence.

Josh Zepps is a very talented Australian broadcaster based in West Hollywood in Los Angeles California. He’s done many things over his extensive career however his latest project “We the people live” is a podcast focused on making debate healthy again. In the last few years, you may have noticed online and elsewhere - especially in politics - that reasoned debate and discourse has vanished from the public space. Opposing viewpoints get shouted down from polarized positions, and utterly disregarded purely because they came out of the mouth of someone who identifies with a different part of the political spectrum as you. So Josh is trying to bring debate back, and often has viewpoints on his show that are confronting - however he moderates the conversation in such a way that despite my initial knee-jerk reaction to hearing these things, I’m able to see past that and into the deeper concept behind what the person is talking about. So right up front - right here - I will tell you this conversation will use words and phrases and cover concepts that we aren’t used to hearing. To talk about the problem with debate it’s important to talk about the different parts of why debate is broken. And part of that is restraining our initial reactions to hearing concepts and hypotheticals that aren’t entirely unimaginable but are still confronting to hear. You’ll know what I’m talking about when we get there. I highly recommend you check out Josh and find episodes he’s guested on other shows - particularly Joe Rogan’s incredible podcast where he often goes to dig deep into what is happening in the world at the moment. This is a heavy political conversation - but it’s one I feel is healthy to have, and I don’t even mind if you do this one in chunks - listen to five minutes of it, go check an episode of the Dollop - come back here and listen to five minutes more. You can find Josh on twitter @joshzepps. We recorded this over Skype so a big thanks to my podcast producer Andy Maher for chopping it together and making magic out of a dog’s breakfast of audio files.

Simon Gillett is a patron of the Amy Gillett Foundation, an Australian safe cycling lobby that pushes for safer conditions for all road users, particularly around getting the “A metre matters” laws passed around the country.  Amy was an olympic Rower who competed in the Atlanta Olympics - Simon was her coach, they were married a few years later. Amy Gillett was married to Simon at the time of her tragic death in Germany in 2005. The laws that the AGF have been fighting for have been passed in many parts of Australia - but are yet to be passed in Victoria. The move to make the laws legal was recommended five months ago after a parliamentary inquiry, but has not yet been passed into legislation. If you’re Victorian could you please get in touch with Daniel Andrews & Luke Donnellan and let them know. Their Instagram handles are @DanielAndrewsmp & @LukeDonnellanmp. I spoke with Simon the day before Amy’s Gran Fondo which is a 120km race along a fully closed Great Ocean Road down in Victoria every September. Even if you’re not into cycling - I’m sure you’ll enjoy this conversation with Simon Gillett.

Stav Davidson is known as “The Survivor” in Australian radio. He’s been through around seven different line-ups but remained as the sole common player in B105 and now Hit105’s breakfast radio team. That’s no mean feat. When you think of how many times the breakfast team in your neck of the woods has changed - Stav has always been there. I’m so grateful to work with him, I learn from him every day - he’s funnier and faster than anyone I’ve ever worked with, and he never writes any of it. It comes out of him sometimes before he’s even thought of it - by that I mean the punchline comes out of his mouth and it’s the first time he’s heard it. His story is intense, so there’s a trigger warning right here at the top if talk about IV drugs or women’s shelters is something likely to put you in a dark place today. I couldn’t be more grateful to get to work with this man every morning. He’s the epitome of professionalism in radio. Enjoy a chat in an unused news booth with Stav Davidson.

Rachel Neylan is a Professional Cyclist who’s a part of the Orica-Scott team, she’s an Olympian, a silver medalist at the World Championships and a very driven and fascinating human being.  Rachel Came to my house just before Christmas after reaching out to say she listened to the podcast on Twitter.  She’d even post #podsie photos of her training rides when she was in Rio in the lead up to last year’s Olympics.  So she came around to my house and we had a chat - a chat that was so engaging, that I didn’t end up talking to her about the biggest thing to happen in the previous year, going to Rio.  Occasionally as an interviewer I get so caught up in the conversation that the ground we are covering is so engaging that it’s sometimes as good a story as the thing that they’re really known for.  I texted Rachel afterwards to apologize and she responded that it was in fact a relief to not have to talk about Rio again.  Reason being it was a quite emotional journey that she’d covered many times - which involves talking about the death of her Father at the start of 2016.  For whatever reason, we didn’t go there but when the chat was over I didn’t feel I’d missed out on getting an authentic connection with Rachel at all.  If you’d like to know in greater detail about Rachel’s path to the Olympics there’s a great SBS article which you can read. So come to our humble apartment in Bronte, the first time I’ve had an Olympian in this house, I still get a thrill meeting athletes of that calibre.  This is a cup of tea at my kitchen table with Rachel Neylan.

Tim Daley is the head honcho over at CMC, a 24hr Country Music Channel on Foxtel. He grew up in Colorado Springs and eventually made his way to Australia - a tale he will share with you today. Tim was also my first ever producer in television. He was given the task of helping me, a guy who had never been on television - look a little less like I had never been on television. He was the man that indoctrinated me into life in Bondi Beach and became my upstairs neighbour for a few years. I’m grateful to know Tim, and even more grateful that he took time from his very busy work day to schlep all the way out to the beach to come talk with me. There’s a long riff at the end of this about where rock ’n roll went. Particularly in light of the Grammys just gone where the most relevant rock act to come on stage was Metallica - a band who’s biggest album came out 25 years ago in 1991. I’d be interested to know your thoughts too. Either way, enjoy this chat about how a kid from Colorado Springs to Australia via Public Enemy to become one of the most important names in Country Music.

Ben St. Lawrence is an Australian middle-distance runner, a two-time Olympian and an all around interesting guy. We met at a Story Club show, one of his friends came up and said “hey you should get Ben on the podcast!” and we exchanged email addresses and then we were able to make it happen. Ben’s not the first Olympian I’ve had on the show, however his story  - his particular triumph over adversity and refocus of his life is one worth hearing. He came to our old place in Bondi just before we moved out, where we talked about finding the thing you were good at, then finding out you were also good at drinking heavily and sleeping in, and then deciding that you’d prefer to do one and not the other. It’s a great story. Find him on twitter @bennysaint and let him know you heard him here.

Michael Beveridge is an Australian radio broadcaster who is known to breakfast audiences from his national weekend show, and night audiences from You Tube Hits which he hosted up until the end of 2016. Originally coming to the attention of Australians from his stint on Big Brother, Michael is prolifically funny on twitter @Mickyb273 - he and I caught up in Melbourne late 2016 when he was in a bit of limbo as often happens in the world of radio. His employment status comes up quite bit during the conversation, and it’s important for you to hear because unemployment or underemployment is a common theme in my industry. In TV we work for ten-twelve weeks at a time with no guarantee of coming back next season - and in radio you’re only as good as your last survey, so the Centerlink is always on your mind. Michael is an incredibly funny man, he’s astonishingly smart and a quicker than I could possibly fathom. Enjoy this chat on a sunny Melbourne day with Michael Beveridge.

Laura Kmetko is an Australian Circus Performer who’s currently a part of the Cirque Du Soleil production of “Kooza” which is currently in Melbourne before moving on to Perth in April. Even though she’s been with Cirque for many years, this is her first time performing in Australia. We went along to the show in Sydney last year and it was incredible. I’ve seen a number of Cirque Du Soleil shows - including a few in Las Vegas in the permanently installed theatres constructed specifically for the productions. It’s worth going to Vegas to check those out - no need to gamble or go to nightclubs. We met Laura Backstage in Sydney and she agreed to come on the podcast, it was great to have a chat with​​ someone who’s found a way to make her passion her career. Go and see the show if you can. It’s fantastic.

Peter Helliar is an Australian comedian best known as the bloke on the end of the desk every night on the news program “The Project”.  He’s also a producer, a director, a writer and an actor.  He’s a mad football fan, a loving and devoted father, and someone who’s worked very, very hard to be where he is.  I was so happy that he came around to our old place in Bondi - he’s one of the busiest people on the planet, so to get this much of his time was superb.  Enjoy this chat with Peter Helliar.

I'm far away on a holiday but thought I would check in to say a quick hello