The Dad Whose Sons Survived

Geoff Huegill’s name is synonymous with success. He’s a swimmer and dual Olympian, with 72 international medals under his belt.  At the height of his career, he held eight world records and was known for his incredible comeback after coming out of retirement in 2008 - winning two gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, breaking a Games record and even his own personal best time. But he’s had his struggles - getting caught with a small amount of cocaine at the races, being in the public eye and scrutiny over his fitness. In this episode, Geoff talks openly about how he came back from those low points, how he deals with the harder emotions, and reveals the last conversation he had with his Dad - when he was just 12 years old.

Kristie Clements started out in fashion as a receptionist at Vogue Magazine - and ended up being editor-in-chief for 13 years.  In between the two jobs, she lived in Paris in the 1990s, at the height of the supermodel era, mixing with all the big names: Linda Evangelista, Galliano, Tom Ford. Michael Hutchence and Bono. She worries, now, that instead of changing our clothes, we can change our faces too easily and that there is a sameness in beauty today. Kirstie shares why she no longer looks in the mirror much anymore and why, in this stage of her life, a rich internal life is key.

Colleen Gwynne was the chief investigator of one of Australia's most-publicised murders - that of Peter Falconio, who was killed by Bradley John Murdoch in 2001. Falconio’s girlfriend Joanne Lees managed to escape, and Colleen saw how wrong the cops got it, when it came to how Joanne’s story was told to the world. Colleen shares why she wanted to join the police, how her mother instilled values of respect and fairness and empathy in her and her siblings, and the darkest days of her life when she was wrongly accused of a crime.  Colleen now lives in rural Victoria. She finds it hard to wind down, even though she’s no longer working in the social justice space. Her desire to make life better for kids who haven’t had the best start in life, still drives her today.

Mianne Bagger transitioned in the 1990s. In 2004, she became the first openly transitioned woman to play in a professional golf tournament. She describes herself as “transexual”, not “transgender” - and thinks too many people are now being lumped under the trans label and that gender activism is too loud. She’s all about doing life her own way. She tells the story of when she decided to hand over the keys to her house, realising that the conventional way of living was not for her. Now, home is a van, where she cooks and sleeps and travels where she wants, visiting friends along the way.

Di Sheehan was a young, unwed mother in the 1970s, and was told her baby died at birth. She signed discharge papers when she left the hospital and tried to move on with her life. Four decades later, she received an email from a man who said he thought Di might be his mother. The discharge papers she signed were in fact adoption papers - a common practice in that time, to force women to give up their babies. Di now has a relationship with her son and has reconciled the lost decades with her first-born.

Heston Russell’s career had to be private. As a special forces soldier, few could know what he was doing and where he was going. But that all changed when he found his platoon leading the media headlines. The ABC published reports saying the platoon he led had been involved in shooting and killing unarmed Afghan civilians, breaking the rules of war. Heston sued the ABC for defamation. Here, Heston chats about growing up in Brisbane, his 16 years in the military, and building a values-based life.

Port Arthur is a name synonymous with Australia’s worst modern-day massacre: 35 murdered, and 25 wounded. On that day, Phil Pyke was in his early 30s and became part of the story: his job, to guard the hospital room of the shooter, Martin Bryant. He speaks of how challenging that was, his time in the police and army, how his mental health started to spiral - and how it’s his golden retrievers that helped him find his way back.

Grant Howard is an anomaly: a miner with four decades under his belt, and a climate activist. When he saw how much his environment was changing, he wanted to make a difference - and he stayed in his mining job - for a while. Grant chats about growing up in Wollongong, surfing, and his first day in the mine at 17 years old. Now, he trains young miners and finds solace in nature.

His suicide attempt was interrupted at the last minute – then his sons survived a school shooting. Meet Darren Wagner, the man who holds hope for others.

Imagine carrying a photo with you as a kid, hoping to meet your family one day. That was Faith Agugu’s childhood. Now, she stands up for grey hair and the privilege of getting older.