The Understanding Boys Podcast

Professor Damien Bolton is an academic, a researcher, and a surgeon. He holds numerous positions, as Professor, Head of Department at the Austin Hospital, to an honorary fellow of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

He’s published hundreds of papers, book chapters, reviews, and supervised many PhD students. He is also the proud dad of three boys and has a focus and a passion for mens’ health.

He provides a particular insight, as a specialist in urogenital cancer and urology working with an aspect on which men perceive their identity, on the changing landscape of the discussion around mens’ health.

Damien talks about parenting, medicine, and shares his thoughts on the importance of teaching boys to ask for help.

Nathan Lovett-Murray, former AFL footballer and now Indigenous Mentor at Brighton Grammar School, has had an interesting career.

He was listed by the Essendon Football Club in 2003 where he helped to establish the first Reconciliation Action Plan for an AFL Club.  He also found the time to launch his own indigenous hip hop label, Payback Records. 

Since his retirement from AFL, Nathan has committed himself to improving the lives of people within Victoria’s Indigenous communities. He is an Indigenous Welfare Support/ Development Coach at St Kilda Football Club, producer of a documentary on Nicky Winmar and an educator on raising awareness of racism and its impact on wellbeing.

Nathan is the proud father of two sons and his tribal ancestry can be traced back to the Wamba-Wamba and Guditjmara.

Dawn O’Neil AM received her Order of Australia for services to the community and to Mental health. A thought leader, she is currently the Ambassador of the ‘Breathing Space Executive in Mental Health & Wellbeing Program’ at Fisher Leadership.

Dawn was the chair and founding member of homelessness social enterprise STREAT, where she created a legacy that has seen many young people at risk feel a deep sense of belonging and connectedness.

Previously the CEO of Lifeline Australia, one of Australia’s largest charities, and CEO of BeyondBlue, Dawn’s extensive work in this space saw her receive the Outstanding Contribution Award from Suicide Prevention Australia in 2010.

It’s fantastic to have Dawn on the podcast to share her knowledge and experience.

David Leser is well known for being a journalist, feature writer and public interviewer. He’s an Australian author of seven books, most recently ‘Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing’, a twofold investigation following the #MeToo movement, patriarchy and toxic masculinity.

David embarked on this journey despite the criticisms and appropriateness of a male responding to a women’s private hurt publicly revealed by the #MeToo movement. He believes that the story of women’s oppression can’t be told without examining men’s role as oppressors. 

David is passionate about the injustices of discrimination against women and unearths how men can be part of the solution.

Dr Judy Chu is a lecturer in Human Biology at Stanford University.  At Harvard for her doctorate, she researched boys’ gender socialisation, relationships and development during early childhood and adolescence.  Judy is the co-author of When Boys Become Boys, which offers a new way of thinking about a boy’s development. Her work aims to help foster a healthy resistance in boys against the pressures they face to conform to expected masculine behaviours, and looks at how they cope with identity and their place in society. Judy has a fantastic insight into this area so join us as we delve into masculinity issues that are relevant to all men and boys.

Trevor Hendy AM is a household name. A former Ironman Australia and professional lifesaver, Trevor Hendy AM, is now a life coach, mentor, author and wholistic personal trainer. Trevor's journey from lifesaver to sought after motivational speaker is an interesting one - he has won six Australian Open Ironman titles, is a four-time winner of the Uncle Toby's Super Series and an Australian champion kayak paddler. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000 for services to the community and surf lifesaving. Trevor acknowledges that fame came at a price early in his career and is now able to reflect on how that made him a better man today.

Professor Dianne Vella-Brodrick is Head of Research at the Centre for Positive Psychology at The University of Melbourne. Dianne’s research interests include the development and evaluation of wellbeing programs, particularly positive education and performance optimisation.  Dianne’s current project is Bio Dash, a world first program that is being tested with Brighton Grammar students, using biofeedback to improve performance, develop mindfulness and stress-management strategies. Dianne serves on numerous research advisory boards.  Her research has a special focus on young people.  She has worked with not for profit organisations, schools from all sectors, community services and large commercial organisations to assess and promote wellbeing for all. 

In today’s podcast we speak with musician – singer/songwriter Jim Lawrie. For the past decade Jim has made a name for himself as an emerging independent artist. Jim Lawrie’s songs explore a range of ideas and emotions from love, loss to the joy and wonder of life.  

Today’s 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. 

In today’s podcast we speak with musician – singer/songwriter Jim Lawrie. For the past decade Jim has made a name for himself as an emerging independent artist. Jim Lawrie’s songs explore a range of ideas and emotions from love, loss to the joy and wonder of life.  

Today’s 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. 

Dr Michael Reichert is a world renowned psychologist and author of several books including 'How to Raise A Boy' which aims to help boys grow into strong and compassionate men. Based in Philadelphia, Michael runs a practice specialising in work with boys, men and their families and is involved in a number of research projects.  He has conducted global studies for the International Boys’ School Coalition in relation to effective practices in boys’ education and served as the supervising school psychologist at an independent boy’s school.  Today, Michael explains how the paradigms about boys needing to be stoic and ‘man like’ can actually be destructive and the key to changing the culture lies in how parents, educators and mentors help boys develop socially and emotionally. 

Megan De Beyer is a psychologist, parenting expert and mindfulness coach. Based in Cape Town, Megan travels the globe promoting positive parenting through her parent workshops, in which she guides mothers and helps them to navigate the challenging teenage years.  Megan’s mission is to educate parents in order to foster connected, meaningful relationships with their children.  Her strategies and tips are designed to empower parents through better understanding with the aim of developing boys into strong and caring men.  

The Hon Jeff Kennett AC is a former politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999 and a member of Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1976 – 1999. He is the founding Chairman of Beyond Blue, a national organisation that has worked to reduce the impact of depression and anxiety in the community since 2000. He is President of Hawthorn Football Club and currently works as a media commentator. Jeff and his wife Felicity are the proud parents of four children.

Liz Dawes is a savvy businesswoman and passionate about helping her community. Liz founded the Robert Connor Dawes foundation after her son passed away from brain cancer in 2013. Five years on, she has grown the charity to be the biggest paediatric brain cancer foundation in Australia. As CEO and Chairwoman of the board, Liz now manages Connor’s Run, the country’s largest paediatric brain cancer event with 4000 participants, and has been crucial in lobbying the Federal Government to secure funding for a disease which kills more young people than any other cancer.

Mental health is a growing concern for young people in our community. Dr Simon Rice is a leading researcher in mental health for young men and has a background in elite sport and education. In this podcast with Dr Ray Swann, he shares insights on the topic of stoicism and discusses a collaborative research project around positive masculinity to improve outcomes for boys' mental health.

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

James Kerr, author of Legacy speaks with Dr Ray Swann on his views on modern manhood, values and the importance of relationships. He shares his experience working with the world’s most successful sporting team, the All Blacks. Through the power of storytelling, James offers sound advice to younger men to have a good understanding of self and authenticity.

Lisa McCune speaks on the power of mentorship through her journey in the performing arts – benefiting from challenges resulting from working outside the comfort zone. Through an open discussion, Lisa shares her experiences of motherhood and what she believes are the most important qualities to impart in shaping the modern man.

Reverend Tim Costello, Chief Executive of World Vision Australia discusses his views on humanitarianism and how to encourage younger people to be actively involved in making a difference. He speaks with Dr Ray Swann about his passion for justice, faith and the importance of modelling empathy in the shaping of good men. 

Conversations about what makes a good man and more.