Ellidy Pullin is Heartstrong, and then some....

She’s one of the most well known women on Australian TV, and yet, as she marks three years on air as the co-host of Sunrise, Natalie Barr reveals she was initially reluctant to accept the job and found herself second-guessing whether she was right for the role. 

She also opens up about establishing an on-air rapport with Matt Shirvington after the departure of long time co-host David Koch, tuning out the white noise of social media - and how she handles speculation about the supposed tension between her and her female colleagues. “Whatever a catfight is, I can’t remember any in the Sunrise office,” she tells Something To Talk About. 

At 55, she is feeling more confident than ever – even if her inner Catholic school girl fears it might be “bragging” to admit it.  But it’s also a chapter of her life that has seen her two sons both move out of home, leaving Natalie and her husband adjusting to being empty-nesters. 

See more of Natalie Barr weekdays on Sunrise on Channel 7 and 7Plus.

You can see Nat’s cover shoot in today’s Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)

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Few women in Australian media - or, for that matter, the country’s public sphere as a whole - have exerted as much influence or blazed as many trails as Ita Buttrose AC, OBE.

Now, as she prepares to step down from her role as chair of the ABC, the 82-year-old publishing veteran joins Something To Talk About for a frank discussion about her final months at the ABC, which have been marked by controversy and scrutiny following the departure of fill-in radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf late last year.

Ita also responds to her critics, reveals whether she harbours any regrets when she takes stock of her career and shares her view on whether it is really possible to separate reporting from commentary in the era of social media and 24/7 opinion cycle. 

Ahead of International Women’s Day, Ita tells host Sarrah Le Marquand whether she ever suffers from the voice of self-doubt that haunts so many women, and if, after nearly six decades in the workplace, she still encounters the boys club. 

And, of course, after five years at the helm of the ABC, what will she do next?

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)

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Today on Something To Talk About, Jules Robinson sits down to reveal some big family news: nearly three and a half years after she and her husband Cameron Merchant welcomed their son Ollie, she is pregnant again.

Since finding fame in 2019 and meeting Cam on Married At First Sight, Jules has gone on to launch businesses and a fashion label, hosted a podcast and will soon publish her first book, an advice manual that she says reflects her accidental role as a “modern-day agony aunt”. 

Now, as she revels in her second pregnancy, Jules is opening up about her and Cam’s hopes to grow their family even further, as well as her struggles with PMDD, a medical diagnosis that she says turned her into a “complete Jekyll and Hyde”. Plus: Jules reveals whether she and Cameron are watching the current season of MAFS, and whether they would go on the show in 2024. 

Ask Jules by Jules Robinson is available for pre-order via Simon and Schuster. 

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leah Purcell has worn a number of different hats across her prolific career. Actor. Director. Author. And yes… even a stint as Shania Twain’s support act.

But beyond the accolades and the awards, it’s her behind-the-scenes work in which she takes the most pride - whether acting as a First Nations cultural advisor on set, or mentoring thousands of Indigenous actors and performers over the years.

Today, Leah sits down with Something To Talk About to discuss the scope of her influential career, but also to speak frankly about her devastation over the Voice to Parliament referendum, the mother whose death she says “set me free” and the difficult but joyous childhood that led her to where she is today.

High Country will premiere with a double episode on Tuesday March 19, exclusively on Binge.

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At first glance, they may not seem to have much in common. Julie Bishop is a former foreign minister and current university chancellor, while Pip Edwards is co-founder and creative director of one of the country’s most successful activewear brands.

But in the past five years, they have forged an unlikely yet extremely close friendship that has endured despite their vastly different backgrounds, careers, ages and family circumstances. 

So what happens when you put Bishop and Edwards - who are undoubtedly two of the most talked-about women in Australia - in front of a microphone? We invited them in to the studio for a lively and free-flowing conversation to find out what they have to say about supporting each other through media scandals and relationship woes, how they handle the paparazzi (even the ones who - yes - hide behind garbage bins), their mutual fashion for passion and what they’re texting to one another in private.

You can find Julie Bishop on Instagram @honjuliebishop, or check out her website for more information. 

You can find Pip Edwards on Instagram, or via her website P.E Nation. 

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She rose to fame as the literal girl next door on the hit TV series Packed To The Rafters, but actor Zoë Ventoura has always remained something of an enigma. In fact, she has so carefully maintained her privacy that no-one even knew she was pregnant until after her son was born. Over the course of her two-decade career in show business, she has only reluctantly revealed much about herself. Until now.

In her most in-depth interview yet, Zoë joins Something To Talk About and opens up about why she chooses to be so guarded, her quest to keep her young son’s face off social media (and away from the paparazzi), why her current onstage role in Chicago: The Musical is actually a return to her performing roots - and the surprising new career path she just might embark upon someday. 

Chicago: The Musical is playing in Melbourne from March 23, Sydney from June 9 and Adelaide from August 4. Visit chicagomusical.com.au

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Radio and television presenter Erin Molan - who joins Stellar as a regular columnist this year - sits down with Something To Talk About for a poignant and at times heartbreaking conversation about the war she has waged against her own body since the age of 14. 

Speaking frankly about the loathing, disgust and punishment she unleashed on herself for more than 20 years as she built a career in the high-pressure world of network television, Erin reveals how she finally reached a point where she’d had enough - and explains why she is now letting go of self-judgement - both for her own sake and the sake of her young daughter.

If this episode raises any issues or concerns, you can reach out to the Butterfly Foundation, or call Lifeline on 13 14 11.

You can hear Erin each morning on 2DAYFM’s Hughesy, Ed and Erin. 

Listen to our previous conversation with Erin Molan here. Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Something To Talk About takes a break, we are revisiting some of the most candid and revealing moments from the almost 50 guests who have joined us in conversation on this podcast over the past year. 

Even at a time when more taboos are being broken than ever before, the topic of money is still not considered to be polite dinner-table conversation. But while gloating about wealth or prying into the salary of a relative or friend is one thing, a wider discussion around financial security and literacy is something more of us are growing comfortable with – particularly women.

When Jackie O sat down in conversation with Something To Talk About in May, she was asked about her decision to show up in person at an auction to buy her luxurious new home. “I hate showing off wealth,” she explained, “but at the same time, I shouldn’t be embarrassed by it.” It was an exchange that ignited countless headlines and prompted many follow-up conversations about how Jackie O has become an example of a woman feeling comfortable about her earning power. 

Michelle Bridge later told Something To Talk About how Jackie had inspired her to also be more upfront and proud of the empire she has built. And as somebody who works with women’s community shelters, Michelle is also mindful of the importance of women taking control of their finances, particularly given women over 55 are the fastest-growing demographic of homeless people in Australia.

Sally Obermeder, meanwhile, was also very open about the highs and lows of her path to launching a successful business, including the hard-won lessons she and her co-founder sister learnt along the way. Despite starting her career as a finance reporter, Sally was also very honest about the steep learning curve she embarked on to attain financial literacy.

And given we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, self-described finance nerd David Koch shared the advice he would give to those who want to build a secure future in challenging times. 

And then there was Sarah Wilson, who also generated headlines across the country when she explained how and why she has stopped buying things, and issued a friendly challenge to her fellow Australians to discover the stress-free joys in curbing our consumption.

Hear the full conversation with each of the five guests featured in this episode here:

Listen to Jackie O here.

Listen to Sally Obermeder here.

Listen to David Koch here.

Listen to Michelle Bridges here. 

Listen to Sarah Wilson here.

Something To Talk About will return with brand new episodes in late January 2024

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Something To Talk About takes a break, we are revisiting some of the most candid and revealing moments from the almost 50 guests who have joined us in conversation on this podcast over the past year. 

If ever anyone needed proof that women are increasingly refusing to disappear from public life once they reach an age that would once have seen them supposedly past their “expiry date”, then they would find it in this sixth episode of the Something To Talk About summer series,

And it’s not just career success that so many Australian women are finding in their late forties, fifties, sixties and seventies - they are also discovering that with age comes, yes, wisdom, but also happiness, self-confidence and a sense of calm.

Today’s episode features four such women at the top of their game both professionally and personally, including Nicole Kidman, who says that at 56, she is revelling in making what she calls “teenage choices” when it comes to everything from the roles she chooses to the clothes that she wears. 

Rebecca Gibney - who turns 60 at the end of this year but often still thinks she’s 35 years old, declares that she is still acting by the age of 90, she plans to be less Driving Miss Daisy and more Betty White.

Ahead of turning 50 later this year, Asher Keddie reflects on the hard won joys of working and living in a time when women’s voices, and stories, are being listened to and celebrated more than ever -  while Liz Hayes, another fixture of Australian TV, reveals how she stared down sexism throughout her career to remain on screen much longer than she would have ever thought possible when starting out as a young reporter. 

Hear the full conversation with each of the four guests featured in this episode here:

Listen to Nicole Kidman here. 

Listen to Liz Hayes here. 

Listen to Asher Keddie here. 

Listen to Rebecca Gibney here.

Something To Talk About will return with brand new episodes very soon

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Something To Talk About takes a break, we are revisiting some of the most emotional and revealing moments from the almost 50 guests who have joined us in conversation on this podcast over the past year. 

The complex issue of becoming a parent, or the conscious decision not to, is at the heart of today’s episode. We begin by revisiting our powerful conversation with influencer and cult brand co-founder Sarah Davidson, who shared her experience of pregnancy loss with Something To Talk About to break the taboo around speaking publicly about miscarriage - especially given Sarah found it impossible to find stories of other women who had experienced pregnancy loss but were yet to conceive again. After opening up about her heartache and grief after miscarrying last year when she and her husband Nick decided to start trying for a baby, Sarah and Nick have since shared a happy update with her followers - they are expecting a baby boy later this year. 

This issue was also at the centre of my interview with British author and podcaster Elizabeth Day, who spoke with such candour that she moved many listeners to tears when detailing the anger, the grief - and ultimately, the acceptance - that she experienced when coming to terms with this chapter of her life. Having famously coined the term ‘fertility privilege’, Elizabeth had many thought-provoking observations as to what we should and shouldn’t share on social media when navigating baby news. And how can we support the people in our lives who have had that choice taken away from them? 

With these conversations being brought to the fore more than ever before; as Michelle Andrews of the Shameless Media empire told Something To Talk About, the decisions regarding if and when to have children is her ‘Roman Empire’. At 29, Michelle explained how the dialogue around babies, pregnancy and pregnancy loss is not only the issue keeping her up at night, but occupying the minds of many of her generation.

And what of those who have decided to be childfree, and yet are forced to contend with the judgement and unsolicited questions from others over that decision? Maria Thattil is one such woman, and as she told this podcast, the choice to raise a child shouldn’t be made to fix something in your life or appease the people around you. 

But for those who are equally certain they do want to have children, radio presenter Fifi Box has demonstrated that there are many different ways to create a family. As a single mother to two beautiful daughters, the youngest of whom was conceived via IVF, Fifi was incredibly generous in talking Something To Talk About’s listeners through the highs and lows of that process. 

A warning that today’s episode touches on subject matter that could be triggering for some listeners. For support or information about pregnancy loss, visit miscarriageaustralia.com.au

Hear the full conversation with each of the  guests featured in this episode here:

Listen to Sarah Davidson here.

Listen to Elizabeth Day here.

Listen to Michelle Andrews here.

Liston to Maria Thattil here.

Listen to Fifi Box here. 

Something To Talk About will return with brand new episodes in late January 2024

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.