The pub where mental health is just another conversation
Australian mental health crisis: what actually works when a mate is struggling. Stuart O’Neill survived a suicide attempt in Taiwan and rebuilt his life by opening a coffee shop, then Australia’s first mental health pub, where ordinary conversations save lives. ⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses suicide, grief, which some listeners may find distressing. If […]
Beyond Overcoming: How to Build a New Life When the Old One Dies
After surviving a fatal car accident at 23 that killed her husband and left her unable to use her arms, Jayne Myer Tucker rebuilt her life across three continents, completed a PhD on decision-making in governance, and discovered decades later that her lifelong epilepsy was hidden from her. This is how she chose to keep […]
A Life in Three Acts with Muscular Dystrophy | Leanne Watson | Golden Threads | Kintsugi Heroes
In this moving episode of Golden Threads: Stories of Disability and Resilience, host Daniel Dougherty shares an intimate conversation with Leanne Watson, a remarkable woman living with limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). Leanne opens up about her life journey, from a privileged upbringing in Melbourne to the gradual physical challenges posed by her diagnosis. This […]
Why Disability Inclusion Starts With One Simple Question
Disability inclusion and leadership. Eighteen years ago, Cathy Hockey stepped into an employment program for people with intellectual disabilities with no experience in the field. A simple tool, a one-page profile capturing what each person valued and how to support them, became the foundation for everything: hiring, team-building, and later her entire coaching practice. ⚠️ […]
Disability and Mental Health: How Daniel Searle Rebuilt His Life After Losing His Sight | Golden …
Daniel grew up sighted on an Australian farm, playing cricket and tennis, until his vision deteriorated over a few months at 16. Leber’s optic neuropathy-a genetic condition affecting the optic nerve-meant no cure and no driving license. The initial years were marked by denial and shame; he rejected mobility aids and pushed himself to impossible […]
Paul Jamieson: Nine Years After the Wakeboard, the Mango, and the Hand Squeeze That Said He Was S…
For almost two years after his brain injury, Paul Jamieson could not eat or drink anything. When his speech pathologist finally decided he was ready to try, she asked him what he wanted. He said mangoes. He still remembers exactly what it tasted like. Nearly nine years ago, Paul was wakeboarding on a lake in […]
Golden Threads: Stories of Disability & Resilience @kintsugiheroes Coming Soon
New Podcast Series Coming Soon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎙️ ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit Australian podcast network sharing real stories of resilience, disability, and transformation. Named after the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — the philosophy that what’s been broken can become more beautiful for the mending — every episode […]
Why I spent years refusing the one thing I needed most
Daniel lost his sight at 16 to a genetic condition he couldn’t control. But his story isn’t about overcoming disability. It’s about learning to see differently, finding strength in asking for help, and building a life of purpose beyond what he thought he’d lost. ⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses mental health & wellbeing, which […]
One page, one person: Cathy Hockey on disability inclusion and what it really takes to lead
The one-page profile that changed everything ⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief, which some listeners may find distressing. If you need support, you’re not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au Eighteen years ago, Cathy took a job leading a small employment program for people with intellectual […]
The weight of letting go | Naomi O’Byrne | Golden Threads
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief, which some listeners may find distressing. If you need support, you’re not alone — help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au Naomi O’Byrne’s story spans 27 years of motherhood shaped by her daughter Sarah’s complex disabilities. What began as discovering developmental delays […]