Best Samantha Sutherland Podcasts (2025)

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Khayshie Tilak Ramesh on antiracism and changing the conversation 44:54

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6d ago44:54

44:54

The first time Kayshie Tilak Ramesh experienced racism was in year three. Later, despite being born in Griffith, NSW and raised in Bendigo, VIC, when she was the multicultural youth commissioner she was asked to share her refugee story. Now, she’s changing systems, one conversation at a time. In this conversation, Khayshie will share her recent exp…

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Write On: 'Apple Cider Vinegar' Creator and Showrunner Samantha Strauss 40:03

8d ago40:03

40:03

“In my mind, Belle is going through life, at least our version of Belle – I've never met the real Belle – she’s going through life with this hole inside, this overwhelming need for approval, that social media absolutely capitalizes on and she just keeps trying to feed the beast. She hasn't grown up with the healthiest of role models herself. She ha…

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Louise Baxter on the power of positivity at the Starlight Foundation 51:39

13d ago51:39

51:39

Louise Baxter had a very successful career in advertising, when she hit a moment of truth, and realised she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. Fast forward, and Louise has now been CEO of Starlight Foundation for 16 years, proving through action (and results) that a culture of positivity doesn’t just feel good — it drives every b…

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Write On: 'Matlock' Creator & Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman 37:59

15d ago37:59

37:59

“The most important thing that I've learned as a storyteller is that I have to treat every character in the show as though they're the lead in the show, and they are never doing anything so that I can prompt a move from another character. They are doing things that are true to what they want and their motivation. So that's what makes that architect…

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Nareen Young on cultural load and authentic inclusion 49:01

20d ago49:01

49:01

Professor Nareen Young is Associate Dean, Indigenous Engagement and Leadership at UTS Business School, and leads the Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research. She is one of Australia’s most respected workplace diversity practitioners and thinkers. For 15 years, prior to UTS and Jumbunna, Nareen was the Director of PWC Indigenous Cons…

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Sophie McCarthy on financial independence and confidence through action 48:50

27d ago48:50

48:50

Sophie McCarthy had some big shoes to fill. Her mother Wendy has been at the forefront of feminist activism for decades, and Sophie picked up the mantle and is making her own huge impact on gender equality. As CEO of McCarthy mentoring, Sophie partners with leading companies to design programs that drive change, engage people and develop leaders. W…

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Write On: 'Running Point' Showrunner David Stassen 34:12

1M ago34:12

34:12

“It’s not ripped from the headlines. We’re not using any of [the Buss family’s] real-life stories and putting them into our show. Because Mindy [Kaling], Ike [Barinholtz], and I have so many influences like Arrested Development, 30 Rock, The Office and Succession, we’re coming up with our own fun stories and fun situations to put this dysfunctional…

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Leonora Risse: Beyond leaning in 50:18

1M ago50:18

50:18

In Apolitical’s list of 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy, you find Jacinda Ardern, former PM of NZ, and you also find today’s guest Dr. Leonora Risse. Leonora is an economist who specialises in gender equality. Her focus is women in the workforce, gender pay gaps, why there aren’t more women in leadership, societal norms that see women …

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Write On: 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Director/Co-Writer Trey Edward Shults 39:05

1M ago39:05

39:05

“It was a lot of empathizing. I would do long phone calls with Abel (Tesfaye, aka the Weeknd) after we had met, just basically talking to him and finding out more of his history, where he was at in different phases of his life, where he’s at today, and using those to create a character. And part of creating that character is I’ll find my own person…

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Write On: 'Nonnas' Screenwriter Liz Maccie and Director Stephen Chbosky 38:25

1M ago38:25

38:25

“Sometimes it’s easier to find and access your truth through ‘pretend’ characters. So I had this embarrassment of riches of this true story but in my heart, I was like, ‘I totally get to tell my truth!’… So my advice is find a way to do it, and if you have to do a mind trick by saying, ‘I’m writing this pretend character’ that’s fine, but put all t…

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Claire Harvey on why we work (when it’s so hard) 1:00:01

1M ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Claire Harvey has opinions. But as Editorial director of The Australian she’s also very good at waiting to hear what you think. With an interest in journalism that started at her parents dining table piled high with newspapers, and the radio and TV news on, she’s gone from copy girl working for free to her current role. Now, she has two kids, leave…

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Write On: 'Shadow Force' Director/Co-Writer Joe Carnahan and Co-Writer Leon Chills 28:59

2M ago28:59

28:59

“For me, I don’t know how you could not make [a script] personal. I think drama allows you to hide how personal it is. I think that’s kind of what I like about writing in the genre space. On the outside looking in, it just looks like a big action movie. It doesn’t look like a personal story. But there are personal elements like my mom was a working…

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Write On: 2024 Big Break Short Film Winner Brandon Osterman and Seed&Spark 42:22

2M ago42:22

42:22

On today’s episode, we speak to writer Brandon Osterman, whose short script ‘The Naughty List’ won last year’s Final Draft Big Break Short Screenplay Category. As part of his prize package, he received a consultation with Sav Rodgers, Marketing Manager for Seed&Spark, the film industry’s most popular crowdfunding platform. Sav joins the conversatio…

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Write On: 'Good American Family' Co-Showrunners Katie Robbins and Sarah Sutherland 43:22

2M ago43:22

43:22

“One of the things we talked a lot about in the room is that very rarely do people set about their day saying, ‘Okay, I’m going to go do some evil.’ But for most people, we’re all sort of the leads in our own stories and we’re all crafting the narrative of who we want the world to see us as. And we do start to believe that. You tell yourself these …

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Libby Lyons: The gender super gap and taking risks in your career 43:47

2M ago43:47

43:47

If you look at Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People Working in Gender Policy for 2018 and 2019 you find Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Michelle Obama, the United Nations High Cmomissioner for Human Rights and first female president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet… and today’s guest Libby Lyons. Libby started her career as a teacher, working her way all the w…

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Annika Freyer: Men as Allies 45:01

2M ago45:01

45:01

I asked ChatGPT, and it told me that men still hold 70-80% of formal positions of power, across most domains, globally. And because of that very power imbalance, women can’t achieve equality on our own. We need men to be involved, and to use the power our current systems grant them, to shift things. And that’s exactly what Champions of Change Coali…

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Amanda Sterling: Fixing Cultures not Women 43:52

2M ago43:52

43:52

Spoiler alert: when women leaders leave organisations after having kids, it's not because they "lack confidence" or "opt out." But the reality is, organisations are struggling to recruit and retain women in leadership, and women are struggling to stay. Dr Amanda Sterling's groundbreaking PhD research exposes how the denial of women's physical exper…

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Kate Thwaites Assistant Minister for Women 48:25

2M ago48:25

48:25

We talk about changing the system, not the women. Sometimes we’re talking about workplaces when we discuss structural change, and today we’re talking about the government’s role in gender equity with Kate Thwaites MP, the Assistant Minister for Women. Kate co-wrote Enough is Enough, about the pervasive culture of sexual violence and harassment with…

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Karina Kallio on Community and Finding our Role 51:12

3M ago51:12

51:12

Karina Kallio has a background as a fashion designer, then had a bit of an awakening to the impact of the industry and a calling to what is her role in the world – all of which was strengthened by being a mother. Karina believes we exist best in community - a theme that comes through often in this podcast. The power of community in thriving and dri…

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Write On: 'NCIS Origins' Showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal 37:42

3M ago37:42

37:42

“If you can make the twists [in the story] hit your character in an emotional way and set up their emotional arc, then when the case twist intersects with them, if it's hitting them in the deepest way, in the most unexpected way, maybe – then you've done your job. So it's getting that emotional arc to really bounce off of the crime story in the mos…

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Write On: 'Dying for Sex' Co-Creator & Co-Showrunner Kim Rosenstock 46:57

3M ago46:57

46:57

On today’s episode of Write On, we chat with Kim Rosenstock, co-creator and co-showrunner for the new limited series, Dying For Sex, starring Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate and Sissy Spacek. Based on a true story, Dying for Sex is about a woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer who abandons her husband of 15 years to begin a journey of sexual…

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Lael Stone on Creating Wellness Through Connection and Community 49:42

3M ago49:42

49:42

Lael Stone is a parenting expert, but really she’s a humaning expert. I’ve shared her conversation with the Imperfects about parenting yourself first more than any podcast I have ever listened to. She has worked as a birth educator, post-natal trauma counsellor, a parenting educator, with teens around sexuality, she created Woodline primary school …

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Write On: 'The Residence' Creator & Showrunner Paul William Davies 43:07

3M ago43:07

43:07

“I didn’t really set out to make Cordelia (Uzo Aduba) quirky. I just wanted to make her distinctive. I just really thought about who I wanted her to be and how I thought [birdwatching] would be an interesting way for her to approach her job. And the very first thing that came to me was just her use of silence and her ability to just be comfortable …

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Katherine Boiciuc Artificial Intelligence, in person connection and designing your life 46:36

3M ago46:36

46:36

I have to confess I’m technologically challenged. Or, as today’s guest Katherine Boiciuc, also known as KB, puts it, I’m a technology teenager. Learning every day but throwing tantrums about it. KB is EY’s Oceania Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. We met at a conference, and when she was on stage she said everyone in the company works in IT …

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Write On: Peter Katz - Manager & Producer, Story Driven 35:04

3M ago35:04

35:04

“Sameness is terrible. Your goal is to cut through it. If you have a unique perspective, you’re going to take vampires or anything that everybody thinks they know and do it in a way that’s really exciting and gets people really pumped up about it. There are all these incredible worlds to explore, but there just needs to be somebody that can take yo…

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The Parenthood with Georgie Dent 51:41

3M ago51:41

51:41

The average cost of daycare in Sydney is around $180 per day. If you have a child in care 4 days a week, that’s more than $33k a year on daycare before the subsidy. For one child. And that’s if you can even access it, which is an increasing issue in regional areas of Australia where there are childcare deserts, but also in major cities where people…

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Allegra Spender: Women and Climate as Political Drivers 43:08

3M ago43:08

43:08

According to Peter Dutton, the housewives of Australia are at home doing their household budgets. According to Allegra Spender, women are out in the world demanding leadership who don’t expect them to be at home ironing. Allegra is the Independent MP for Wentworth, focusing on bringing humanity back into politics, climate action, building a kinder,…

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Write On: 'Long Bright River' Showrunner Nikki Toscano 35:44

4M ago35:44

35:44

“With an adaptation, you can never give back your first read. So, what are you taking away? What fills your soul? Why do you want to tell this story? And then that becomes sort of the North Star. And I’m tethered more by that North Star than by the actual moves that are happening in the book,” says Long Bright River showrunner, Nikki Toscano, about…

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Rae Cooper on What Women Want at Work 51:35

4M ago51:35

51:35

When you look up Professor Rae Cooper on Google Scholar, there are 2659 citations. Rae is Professor at the University of Sydney, where she is the founding Director of the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work. She also has multiple fellowships, collaborations with groups like the Australian Human Rights Commission and the OECD,…

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Dr Charlotte Middleton on Perimenopause 47:13

4M ago47:13

47:13

I currently have plantar fasciitis, which is essentially a sore heel, and I’ve been told it can be symptom of perimenopause. But what can NOT be a symptom of perimenopause I ask!? Well, on this episode I am joined by Dr. Charlotte Middleton. She’s an integrative GP with over 25 years of expertise, specialising in women’s health. She founded Dr Char…

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Joy Adan on permission to rest and play 46:57

4M ago46:57

46:57

Joy Adan is a Filipino-born presenter, writer and artist from Western Sydney. She’s passionate about challenging the status quo, and said after she had children she sat down with her husband and said, ‘whatever this partnership is, the terms have now changed.” If you want some honest truths – like I love my child AND I find this really hard – are i…

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Write On: Comedy Writing with Brent Forrester 41:50

4M ago41:50

41:50

“My recommendation to anybody who is writing animation is to take advantage of the things you can do in animation that you can’t do in live action, which is to spend an infinite amount of money, right? If you and I are going to write a scene and you say, ‘Oh, let’s set it on a battleship, but then space aliens come and suddenly we’re transported to…

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Jane Caro: The invisibility of aging, the invisibility of motherhood and activism through humour 54:27

4M ago54:27

54:27

Jane Caro is a renowned feminist author and social commentator, known for saying exactly what’s on her mind. She’s known for her sharp wit, her humour and fearless advocacy for gender equality, and is a pioneering feminist in Australia who’s name you most likely already know. Jane is a Walkley Award winner, a Member of the Order of Australia, a mot…

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Re-Release White Feminism with Koa Beck 55:12

5M ago55:12

55:12

*This summer we're re-releasing previous episodes that we loved. Here is Koa Beck episode from 2021*By Samantha Sutherland

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Write On: 'The Performance' Co-Writer Josh Salzberg 43:38

5M ago43:38

43:38

“Fugler (Robert Carlyle) was a character that I really connected with from the beginning. I know it sounds a little strange that the Nazi was my way into this, but it really was that idea of, ‘How can we get inside his head and make sure that he’s a fully fleshed out person that way?’” says Josh Salzberg about trying to make his villain, a Nazi nam…

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Re-Release Jess Hill - See What You Made Me Do 1:28:27

5M ago1:28:27

1:28:27

*This summer we're re-releasing previous episodes that we loved. Here is Jess Hill episode from 2021* Investigative journalist Jess Hill wrote the award-winning See What You Made Me Do, about the national emergency of domestic abuse in Australia. It’s a riveting but deeply distressing look at the real-life stories of women and children, how the jus…

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Write On: 'Inside Out 2' Co-Writers Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein 1:00:55

5M ago1:00:55

1:00:55

“People think sequels are easier, and I’m like, ‘No, no, it’s much harder. It is much harder to write.’ They have never written sequels, those people, because you need to do everything as well as the first and yet better, and go to new places, follow all the world rules, but create new ones. I mean, it’s just so many balls in the air,” says Meg LeF…

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Re-Release Lisa Annese on our gendered roles at home and work 50:18

5M ago50:18

50:18

Diversity Council of Australia CEO Lisa Annese is a self-described feminist and activist, working to improve gender equality in Australian workplaces. She is passionate about the connection between the gendered roles we still expect at home with a lack of progress for women in workplaces. Lisa shared research from the DCA that shows men’s mental he…

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Write On: 'The Boys' Creator & Showrunner Eric Kripke 56:45

5M ago56:45

56:45

“The most subversive thing this show could do is make you cry… If you really boil down television, really cook it in the pan, it’s the character business. I’m in the character business. Movies are in the plot and spectacle business, for television, there’s a thing about laying in bed and watching someone in your bedroom or living room that you real…

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Re-Release Stop Fixing Women with Catherine Fox 55:14

5M ago55:14

55:14

*This summer we're re-releasing previous episodes that we loved. Here is Catherine Fox episode from 2019* The speed of change with the gender equality, and changes that contribute to hope The Persisterhood The seven myths of women at work The four stages of gender equity awareness The male breadwinner model in Australia and how it impacts progress …

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Re-Release Kirstin Ferguson on #CelebratingWomen 58:00

6M ago58:00

58:00

*This summer we're re-releasing previous episodes that we loved. Here is Kirstin Ferguson's episode from 2019* Kirstin Ferguson shared the inspiring stories of 757 women in her #CelebratingWomen movement as a push back against the toxicity of the online world for women. In this conversation we talked about the movement, her resulting book WomenKind…

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Write On: 'Conclave' Screenwriter Peter Straughan 32:07

6M ago32:07

32:07

“If everything's being played on the surface, it's very hard to make that character come to life. You want hinterland, you want subtext. You want the things that are buried, the things that we don't know about them, the things that maybe they don't know about themselves. And always, the story is about this excavation of what's underneath the surfac…

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Write On: 'Only Murders In The Building' Co-Creator & Showrunner John Hoffman 40:07

6M ago40:07

40:07

“There's no greater laugh than when you're at your most vulnerable. You're at a funeral, or you're in church and something's happening and there's great reprieve from the most human moments through humor. And even in those moments, something is funny or human and fumbling. And that scene itself [when Charles discovers Sazz’s ashes], when I was watc…

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Re-Release Jamila Rizvi - Gender Parity, Community and Imperfection 44:15

6M ago44:15

44:15

*This summer we're re-releasing previous episodes that we loved. Here is Jamila Rizvi episode from 2018* We will rise together or not at all Jamila Rizvia is an author, presenter, political commentator, the newly appointed editor-at-large of Future Women, former editor-in-chief of MamaMia. She has written two books, Not Just Lucky and The Motherhoo…

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Write On: 'Dune: Part One & Part Two' Screenwriter Jon Spaihts 35:30

6M ago35:30

35:30

“In most genre fiction where heroes and villains clash, the hero is intrinsically reactive. The villain starts making trouble and that’s the beginning of the story. If the villain had never showed up, the hero would have lived a pleasant and unremarkable life and had a lovely time. And nothing novel-worthy would have popped up. But the villain come…

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Write On: 'Nosferatu' Writer/Director Robert Eggers 37:13

6M ago37:13

37:13

“As someone who’s been obsessed with vampires since I was a little kid, I don’t totally know [why we love vampire movies so much]. Obviously, sex and death are always interesting and in vampire stories, including the very earliest accounts of folk vampirism in Eastern Europe, that connection has always been there. Some of these early folkloric vamp…

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Re-Release Consciously choosing the life you want, with Caroline Patrick 37:01

6M ago37:01

37:01

*This summer we're re-releasing previous episodes that we loved. Here is Caroline Patrick episode from 2018* “I remember those days were just so challenging. He was traveling for work, I was traveling for work...There was a moment where we were just hoping the various planes we were on weren’t delayed so that we could pick up the kids!” Caroline Pa…

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Write On: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Co-Writer & Director Shawn Levy 36:59

6M ago36:59

36:59

“I would argue that the movies, the plays, the stories that endure and certainly that resonate in the most populist and global way are the ones where we’re not just observing a piece of storytelling, we’re participative in some way and it’s connective. How can any of us who are flawed humans connect with a flawless hero? The beauty of Wade [Deadpoo…

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Re-Release Tracey Spicer - Outspoken Women 51:33

6M ago51:33

51:33

*This summer we're re-releasing previous episodes that we loved. Here is Tracey Spicer episode from 2018* Equality starts in the lounge room before the boardroom. Tracey Spicer is a television presenter, journalist and author. Recently appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for her work in journalism and for her ambassadorships for socia…

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Write On: 'Nickel Boys' Writer & Director RaMell Ross 30:53

6M ago30:53

30:53

On today’s episode of the Write On podcast, we speak with RaMell Ross about his new film Nickel Boys about two young Black men who get sent to a reform school in 1960s Jim Crow South. The film is heartbreakingly beautiful and already getting plenty of Oscar buzz. In the interview, Ross admits he didn’t know how to write a screenplay when he decided…