Stories and Stanza

Епизоди

• 
  Navigating Redundancy: Grief, Identity and Finding Yourself Again 12.09.2026 47мин

  Send us Fan Mail What happens to your sense of self when the job you gave years to suddenly no longer needs you? In this Fail With Me episode, Abhra sits down with Claire, a fellow writer, for an honest conversation about redundancy, job loss and the quiet grief that comes with it. Recorded at Sam Merrifield Library in Moonee Ponds, this is Stories and Stanza's first one-on-one in-person interview. Abhra and Claire have both recently been through redundancy. Instead of a neat success story, ...
• 
  Can You Predict How People Will Behave? Jim Marshall on Septemics 11.09.2026 1ч 23мин

  Send us Fan Mail #StoriesAndStanza #Septemics #HumanBehaviour #SelfImprovement #EmotionalIntelligence "95% of the problems in industrialised society are because people don't understand people, including themselves." That conviction sits at the heart of Septemics, a system Jim Marshall spent decades building. In this episode, Abhra sits down with Jim to explore his book Septemics: Hierarchies of Human Phenomena. Jim describes Septemics as a philosophical science grounded in direct observatio...
• 
  Art Is an Act of Survival — Dancer Alexandra Beller on Aloneness, Healing & Finding Your Voice 06.09.2026 48мин

  Send us Fan Mail GNiYQGXxQongx5BIPosv "This is what it feels like to be alive. Does anybody recognise it?" Dancer and choreographer Alexandra Beller believes that's the question at the heart of all art — and the answer is what makes us feel less alone. In this episode of Stories and Stanza, Alexandra shares 25 years of lived experience inside the creative process — from performing with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to teaching artists how to trust themselves while creating. We ex...
• 
  From Trauma to the Page | A Nurse's Journey Through Writing & Forgiveness — Nancy Jasin Ensley 24.08.2026 51мин

  Send us Fan Mail #WritingAsHealing #PTSD #MentalHealth #StoriesAndStanza #Resilience "I decided I didn't want to be afraid all the time." That one decision changed everything for Nancy Jasin Ensley — and it might change something for you too. In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host Abhra sits down with Nancy — a writer, registered nurse, teacher, and grandmother of fourteen from rural Michigan — for a conversation that moves between the craft of writing and the work of healing. Nancy shar...
• 
  What If Your Happiness Isn't Yours? Redefining Happiness With Charu Moorjani 15.08.2026 31мин

  Send us Fan Mail What does it mean when your life looks perfect on the outside but something feels deeply off inside? In this episode of Fail With Me, I sit down with Charu Moorjani — Australian author of The Happiness Pathway, mindset coach, and wellbeing storyteller — for a conversation about what happens when the version of happiness you've been chasing was never actually yours. Charu's turning point came during her honeymoon in Macau, when she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome an...
• 
  Moonee Valley Writing Group on Craft, Community, Resilience & New Work 10.08.2026 42мин

  Send us Fan Mail What happens when you pass a mic around a library table and ask four writers why they keep showing up? This is the first ever in-person episode of Stories and Stanza — recorded live at Sam Merrifield Library in Moonee Ponds with the Moonee Valley Writing Group. Frances McKay talks about her published nonfiction Pieces of China and reads from her humorous novel-in-progress Postcards from Paris, about a young Australian au pairing in 1970s Paris. Claire describes turning a re...
• 
  Writing Scary Books: What I Learned from NaNoWriMo 09.08.2026 47мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host speaks with writer Diana Gunn about her writing journey from starting at age eight and using NaNoWriMo to build discipline and finish projects to publishing five books, including her recent Gothic horror vampire novel Woman of Sorrow and Blood. Gunn discusses planning versus drafting fast, how challenges like NaNoWriMo can help writers start and develop confidence, and why she created the Weeknight Writers community to provide year-...
• 
  From Cancer Diagnosis to Bestselling Novelist 02.08.2026 40мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Stories and Stanza, I sit down with writer, musician, and cancer fighter Ray Hartjen to talk about his brand new novel, The Iranian Fiasco — a Tom Clancy-inspired espionage thriller published on April 7th and available wherever books are sold. Ray's story is unlike any I've heard on this show. After being diagnosed with multiple myeloma — an incurable but treatable blood cancer — in 2019, he didn't slow down. Instead, he grabbed life by the shoulders and as...
• 
  Eradicating Loneliness Through Connection, Compassion, and Boundaries 25.07.2026 57мин

  Send us Fan Mail Relationship coach, YouTube creator, and author Stacy Rocklein joins Stories and Stanza to discuss her mission to eradicate loneliness by helping people feel seen, known, and understood in their relationships. A former math teacher turned coach and author, Stacy shares how finding her purpose led her to this deeply personal work. She reframes failure as a pathway to intimacy when it's felt and shared rather than avoided, and emphasizes emotional "fluency" — sitting with feeli...
• 
  Solving Dyslexia: The Method That Jumps Kids 8 Grade Levels in Months 23.07.2026 43мин

  Send us Fan Mail #dyslexia #neurodiversity #learningdisability Russell Van Brocklen, the Dyslexia Professor, reveals the writing-based method that helped students jump 8 grade levels in months — at less than 1% of the cost of private dyslexia schools. If your child struggles with reading and writing, this episode could change everything. Russell was flunked by SUNY Buffalo despite earning a recommended A-minus through the NY State Assembly Internship Program — all because of his dyslexia acco...
• 
  Why Your Political Views Aren't Fully Your Own: Personality, Conditioning & Filter Bubbles 10.07.2026 1ч

  Send us Fan Mail What if your political identity has less to do with facts and more to do with personality and conditioning? In this episode of Stories and Stanza's Fail With Me series, host Abhra sits down with psychologist Jennifer Cox to unpack the psychology behind political identity — without labeling any side as right or wrong. Using the Big Five (OCEAN) personality framework, they explore research linking higher openness to left-leaning tendencies and higher conscientiousness to right-...
• 
  Why Love Languages Aren't Enough — Missing Skill That Actually Saves Relationships | Laziena Hodge 23.06.2026 1ч 15мин

  Send us Fan Mail We know our love languages. We've read about attachment styles. We've even set boundaries. So why do we still struggle to stay connected when conflict hits? In this episode of Stories and Stanza, Laziena Hodge — relational intelligence speaker and creator of the Relationship Repair Language framework — joins Abhra to unpack what actually happens inside us during conflict, and why knowing your patterns isn't the same as knowing how to repair. Laziena shares her deeply persona...
• 
  Why Men Suffer in Silence 21.06.2026 1ч 8мин

  Send us Fan Mail What happens when men are told to toughen up, push through, and never ask for help? In this episode of Stories and Stanza — recorded in solidarity with Men's Mental Health Awareness Month — I sit down with Joelle Camille, somatic therapist, body-brain rewiring practitioner, men's coach, speaker, and facilitator, for one of the most honest conversations I've had on this podcast. This isn't a one-sided interview. Joelle turns the mic on me — asking about my own journey with ang...
• 
  You Are Not Your Thoughts: Mindfulness, Leadership & Radical Acceptance | Dalida Turkovic | Fail With Me 15.06.2026 1ч 11мин

  Send us Fan Mail What is mindfulness, really? And what happens when we confuse achieving with living? In this episode of Fail With Me — Stories and Stanza's series on mental health, resilience, and the messy, beautiful work of becoming — host Abhra Pal sits down with Dalida Turkovic, an ICF-certified leadership coach and certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher with 30+ years of experience guiding executives and communities across Asia, Europe, and beyond. Dalida Turkovic's story is anything...
• 
  How Do I Know What Kind of Help I Need? 08.06.2026 43мин

  Send us Fan Mail What if the hardest part of getting help isn't the therapy itself — it's knowing where to start? In Part 2 of our conversation with counsellor and psychotherapist John Cuturilo, we go deeper into one of the most common questions people carry about mental health: How do I know what kind of support is right for me — and how do I know if it's actually working? Whether you've been in therapy for years or haven't taken that first step yet, this episode gives you the tools, languag...
• 
  The Warning Signs We Miss: Robert Mahoney on Behavioral Threat Assessment 01.06.2026 1ч 23мин

  Send us Fan Mail What if violence could be predicted — and stopped — before it ever happens? In this episode, we sit down with Robert Mahoney, founder of TVTP Solutions, who argues that there is no such thing as a random act of violence. Every attack follows a recognisable, interruptible pathway — if you know what to look for. Robert walks us through behavioral threat assessment, the "three buckets" of identity, purpose, and community, and why our defensive approach to security is leaving us ...
• 
  The Dark Humor That Saved My Life in the Psych Ward 18.05.2026 1ч

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host Abhra sits down with Robert Rickelmann for an unflinching conversation about a life shaped by mental illness and addiction. Robert grew up with crippling anxiety — and discovered early on that alcohol made him feel fearless, confident, and finally comfortable in his own skin. That relief came at a devastating cost. What began as a coping mechanism consumed his law school career, his sense of self, and nearly his life. In 1996, Robe...
• 
  This Artist Illustrates What OCD Actually Feels Like 17.05.2026 44мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host sits down with writer, illustrator, and mental health advocate Mia Mason to explore her book Worry's Whispers — a collection of illustrated poems woven together with a graphic-novel section that follows Drew's journey through OCD and anxiety, from isolation all the way to seeking help, diagnosis, and resilience. Mia shares her personal journey, including her own lived experience of OCD as "sticky" intrusive thoughts, morality fears, and reassurance-seeki...
• 
  Manifestation Isn't About Wanting More—It's About This 10.05.2026 1ч 2мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host Abhra and guest David Allen Brown discuss reframing a “midlife crisis” as a midlife renaissance, exploring how depression can feel like numbness that can turn to despair. Brown shares his background as a teacher, speaker, and writer, his divorce and move from Indianapolis to New York City, and how finding a good therapist after COVID and committing to honesty became a turning point. They examine authenticity as both a personal and c...
• 
  Migration, Belonging, and the Courage to Write 04.05.2026 1ч 2мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this Stories and Stanza “Between the Lines” episode, host Abhra interviews writer Áine , an Irish immigrant living on the U.S. East Coast, about how journaling from age 14 evolved into publishing fiction and nonfiction. Áine describes feeling “immigrant shell shock,” finding courage through immigrant literature, and being accepted into a university fiction workshop that revealed how others perceive a writer’s narrative voice. She recounts the shock of her first short story...