
Human Cogs Podcast
What if the stories we hide are the ones that shape us most?
Human Cogs is the podcast that rips the veneer off everyday life to reveal the raw human truths that lie underneath our everyday lives.
Hosted by award-winning entrepreneur, startup investor and ABC journalist and presenter Madeleine Hanger (Grummet), alongside psychologist and media commentator Sabina Read, each episode unpacks big ideas, untold truths and the messy magic of being human.
From life’s darkest moments to its most profound joys, our extraordinary guests share secrets they’ve never told, surprising insights into love, loss, success and identity — and the hard-won wisdom that just might change the way you live, think and feel.
If you're curious about what really makes people tick this is the podcast for you.
🎧 Subscribe now and listen wherever you get your podcasts.🌐 www.humancogs.com
Latest episodes

Mar 9, 2021 • 53min
Ep. 31 Dom Price on how to work from anywhere, why cancer changed him and how to do your own life audit.
Dom Price sees the future. But he’s not a late-night hotline psychic. Dom is the globally renowned work futurist at Atlassian – Australia’s first multi-billion dollar software company. Dom’s superpower is his ability to inspire people to transform the practices of their working lives, so they can work anywhere, with real flexibility and purpose – and design the futures they want to intentionally step into. But what first strikes you about Dom is that he is unmistakably from Manchester, has boundless curiosity and is infectiously joyous. In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet go deep with Dom on how we work, why we work, how his recent battle with cancer catalysed his own work-life shifts – and why we should all be doing audits on ourselves every Friday afternoon. In the current COVID world, we, unfortunately, couldn’t be in the room together for this chat, so we apologise if the sound quality is a bit dodgy in this episode. It’s well worth a listen though – this conversation is loaded with heaps of gems. Guest: Dom PriceWebsite: DomPrice.meSocials: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, TedX Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 2, 2021 • 39min
Ep. 30 Matija Squire on teenage pregnancy, shaking off societal labels and becoming the person you decide to be.
At the age of 16, Matija Squire was close to being classified as just another statistic. Pregnant, a school dropout and estranged from her family, she was isolated living in a small country town, contemplating her next steps. This episode of Human Cogs tells the remarkable story of what happened next, when against all odds and with the judgement of society against her, Matija chose to have her son. The years that followed were tumultuous and uncertain, as she navigated raising a child when she was still a child herself. At 19, with a 3-year-old in tow, unemployed and nearly broke, she felt destitute and broken. Fast forward to now, and Matija is today an accomplished Lecturer, Speaker, Business Owner, Board Director, Startup Mentor and COO, who found a new way forward for herself and her son through the life-changing gateway of education, and the catalysing power of a stranger seeing the potential in her that she couldn’t see in herself. Matija believes your circumstances should never dictate your potential, and that “The only person you are destined to become, is the person you decide to be.” Guest: Matija SquireSocials: Instagram, LinkedIn Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 23, 2021 • 39min
Ep. 29 Dr Michelle Woolhouse on the anxiety epidemic, the mind-body relationship + how to heal yourself inside out.
Dr. Michelle Woolhouse, a GP and expert in integrative mind-body and nutritional medicine, tackles the anxiety epidemic through a holistic lens. She discusses the pitfalls of over-medicalization and the importance of preventive lifestyle changes. Michelle emphasizes self-compassion as a crucial element for mental wellness amid societal pressures, particularly on women. Additionally, she highlights the role of resilience and community support in managing stress, advocating for emotional regulation and deep breathing techniques to navigate life's challenges.

Feb 9, 2021 • 49min
Ep. 28 Lisa Winneke on releasing self-loathing, exploring masturbation and healing our wounds through parenting.
This is a conversation that starts and ends with the heart. But, in between, we touch on the taboos of mothers wanting time away from their children, female masturbation and sexual pleasure, and the very real and deep pain of self-hatred. Lisa Winneke is the founder and host of The Good News Guide, a podcast host, speaker, author and truth seeker with qualifications in numerous energy modalities. She has mined the depths and pain of her own decades of living with an eating disorder, feeling alone and misplaced in her family and later at school, and the eternal search to find the salve to her suffering. Lisa has now come to a place where she is no longer trying to fix herself, but simply sit still – and live with love. Guest: Lisa WinnekeWebsite: lisawinneke.comSocials: Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Podcast Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 2, 2021 • 42min
Ep. 27 Johnny Di Francesco on preparing to fail, the thrill of recognition and detaching from emotions to succeed in business.
Not many of us know when we’re very young, just what course our life is going to take. At the age of 19, Johnny Di Francesco knew exactly what he didn’t want. He had watched his single Mum juggling two jobs working around the clock to bring up three kids, and he learned that grit, determination and very hard work was the recipe he needed for business success, personal satisfaction and financial security. Fiercely independent and driven to make his mark, Johnny opened his first business at 19, was running 7 businesses by the age of 23, and fast-forward to today, he sits at the helm of the international Gradi restaurant and retail empire. His Neapolitan Pizza was named the best in the world at the World Pizza Championships in Italy, where he beat 600 competitors from 35 countries, and he now plans to continue his international expansion. But underneath all this, is a man who is insatiably hungry to learn and perfect his craft, who relishes the thrill of the chase, and who takes each and every failure as a learning opportunity. Here’s our chat with ‘Mr Pizza’, Johnny Di Francesco. Guest: Johnny Di FrancescoWebsite: 400gradi.comSocials: Instagram Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 26, 2021 • 52min
Ep. 26 Sarah Wilson on finding vulnerability, nurturing hope for us and our planet and making this one wild and precious life count.
This year on Human Cogs, we are mixing it up! As always, we are all about having meaningful conversations minus the small talk, and in this episode, Sabina Read takes to the mic for a one-on-one with the passionate, thought provoking, raw and ever-curious Sarah Wilson. Sarah is a former journalist and ex-editor of Cosmo magazine, and was the host on Season 1 of Masterchef. She wrote the Masterchef. She wrote the New York Times best sellers - I Quit Sugar and First, we make the beast beautiful; and her 11 cookbooks have sold in 52 countries. Today, Sarah lives minimally, and is a passionate author, activist and campaigner for mental health and climate issues. In this chat, Sarah shares her experiences living with bipolar, being diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, and arriving at a time in her life where both she, and the world, seemed devoid of hope. As a young person, Sarah says being vulnerable was an alien concept to her, and that writing her latest book This One Wild and Precious Life was a form of therapy, an invitation for our souls to do life differently, and a quest to nurture a hopeful path forward in a fractured world. If Sabina could choose a group of dinner guests that inspire and challenge the way we live and think, Sarah would be at the top of the list! Guest: Sarah WilsonWebsite: sarahwilson.comSocials: Instagram, Podcast Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 18, 2021 • 39min
Ep. 25 George Georgievski on creating school lunches with heart, chess as an analogy for relationships and the power of loving unconditionally.
The first thing you notice about George Georgievski is that he wears his heart on his sleeve. He also carries the story of his life, grief for his father, and love for his daughters on his skin, in a series of tattoos that extend up and down his arms and torso. The same arms that have created lunchboxes that have inspired millions of people across the world, seen him rise to fame on TV, gain 135K Instagram followers, be an Ambassador for Jamie Oliver's Ministry for Food - and go completely viral as The Most Inspiring Lunchbox Creator in the World. But according to George, he’s just an ordinary dude from Geelong, quietly making lunch for his kids, each meal an act of love, created with care, fondness and attention like it’s the last meal he’ll ever make. In this episode of Human Cogs, to be honest, we don’t really talk about lunch. We go straight for the full smorgasbord of who George really is, explore his tough upbringing, and the months he spent as a teenager living alone after his father died suddenly, mother was hospitalised and he had to leave school to fend for himself and find a way to survive. Today, George is not just surviving but thriving, and relishing every day. Guest: George GeorgievskiWebsite: The School Lunchbox Socials: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedInGeorge’s latest book is Air Fryer Express. Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 12, 2021 • 43min
Ep. 24 Kimberlee Wells on leading with empathy, turning the tide on discrimination and using advertising to impact positive change for all.
Kimberlee Wells is a global trailblazer in advertising and brand marketing, has worked with Australia's largest brands including ANZ, Medibank, Qantas, Optus, Australia Post and the Federal Government, and has led ad agency, TBWA toward a values-based culture to embed more purpose in both her staff and the clients she works with. A champion for LGBTIQ rights; women's financial inequality; and minority groups, Kimberlee was invited by the United Nations to share her positive mission on a global stage. In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read explore who is brand Kimberlee, what really drives her, and why her early childhood experience of discrimination set a framework for fighting for injustice, the unseen and the unheard. A force for good in business and a crusader for creativity, Kimberlee is now grappling with the loneliness of leadership, how to care for self when you’ve spent a lifetime helping others and how to put her own needs on the map. Guest: Kimberlee WellsWebsite: TBWASocials: Twitter Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 5, 2021 • 50min
Ep. 23 Ben Crowe on editing our own stories to dream big, why who we are matters more than what we do and how the universal quest for unconditional love impacts us all.
Ben Crowe has become one of the sports industry’s most “in-demand” professional mentors, and over the past two decades has worked with tennis great Andre Agassi, Olympian Cathy Freeman, champion surfer Stephanie Gilmore and both the Australian Men’s and Women’s Cricket Teams. He’s also credited with taking tennis player Ash Barty to world number 1, and coaches Richmond premiership captain Trent Cotchin and AFL coaches Alastair Clarkson and Damien Hardwick. So what’s his secret sauce? In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read chat with Ben about his global work as a leadership mentor, storyteller, life coach and advisor, his passion to help high performing people unlock and unblock themselves, and his deep focus on authenticity, vulnerability and the need to move toward pain. But in a world crying out for purpose and connection, Ben’s insights don’t just apply to elite athletes. CEOs, teenagers, retirees, parents and indeed all humans want to feel accepted and loved unconditionally. Ben emphasises that we all have the power to edit our own stories, to dream big not small, and to use intentional mindset shifts to get to the seat of who we each really are, which matters more than what we do. Guest: Ben CroweWebsite: MojoCrowe.comSocials: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 30, 2020 • 40min
Ep. 22 Jamila Rizvi on pushing to the edge, navigating a new cancer-treated body and why women elders need to pass down their stories.
Jamila Rizvi is an author, presenter and political commentator and writes regularly for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Good Weekend and Sunday Life. She is also a commentator on The Project, Today, The Drum and ABC News Breakfast, and the Chief Creative Officer of Future Women. Described as one of the preeminent voices of young Australian women online, Jamila is a refreshing force for change, advocate for women, and pushes conversations and ideas to work toward a more equal world. In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Madeleine Grummet and Sabina Read talk to Jamila about her quest to push to the edge (and sometimes over it), the costs of living life at full throttle and her ongoing health battles with brain cancer which have forced her to confront the discomfort of living in her new body and grieving the old one. Jamila reflects on her metric of success, never wanting to leave anyone feeling left out, and the value of passing down wisdom from women who have gone before. Read Jamila's latest book, Untold Resilience, here. Guest: Jamila RizviWebsite: JamilaRizvi.com.auSocials: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine GrummetProducer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website. Got some thoughts on today's episode you'd like to share? Join in the convo at insta @human.cogsWant to support our show? We will sprinkle you with loving kindness and all good things if you CLICK FOLLOW on Apple and Spotify! Or if you're really feeling it, please leave us a REVIEW.Thanks for listening! Learn more and support the show: https://www.humancogs.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.