Strength, Vulnerability, and Learning how to ask for help.

Many men are taught how to be strong — but not how to be supported.
In this episode, we sit down with Dan Repitoli, Federal Member for the Hunter and Special Envoy for Men’s Health, for a deeply personal conversation about shame, responsibility, resilience, and vulnerability.
Drawing on his own experiences and public role, Dan reflects on identity, pressure, and the quiet courage it takes to ask for help.

This is a conversation about rewriting old rules and learning how to stay connected — to yourself, and to the people who love you.

Words for the Year, Wildlife Encounters, Survival, Growth and Momentum 

A new season of If These Trees Could Talk begins in the space between presence and momentum.

In this season-opening episode, we share our words for the year, introduce the evolving direction of the podcast, and welcome a new branch of storytelling.

Through Australian wildlife encounters, survival instincts, and the symbolism of the Chinese zodiac, we explore what we’re shedding — and what we’re ready to move toward. 

P.S Please buy a snake bite bandage!!

This episode marks the Season 2 finale of If These Trees Could Talk — a pause at the end of a long, heavy, meaningful year. We’re reflecting on the places we’ve walked, the stories that found us, and the moments that changed how we see the world. Some of this year unfolded quietly, some of it hit hard, and not all of it came with neat answers, but every step left its mark.

This is also our thank you. To everyone who listened, shared, messaged, challenged us, or carried these stories alongside us; this only exists because you show up. This episode isn’t a highlight reel or a goodbye, just a moment to acknowledge the growth, the weight, and the connection that made this year what it was. We’re grateful you walked it with us.

This episode asks a simple question with a definitive answer: What does showing up really look like? From the rolling hills of Deepwater to the everyday Australian homes where people quietly fight their battles, we explore how connection can be a shield, a comfort, and sometimes the difference between holding on and letting go.

We’re joined by Stuart O'Neill — Suicide Prevention Advocate, Public Speaker, the driving force behind Australia’s first mental health pub and author of Just One Reason, a 5 times best selling - raw and powerful account of his own journey through the darkest corners of mental health attached to a simple yet profound toolkit to help others. Stu’s work is a reminder that resilience isn’t something we find alone. It grows when we circle the wagons — when we gather close, create safety, and refuse to let anyone stand on the edge without support.

In this episode we unpack the power of listening, the courage it takes to tell the truth, and the remarkable change that happens when communities decide to show up for each other with compassion instead of judgment. 

This is an exploration of the wagons we build — the human ones — and the strength we discover when we stand together.

We finally wrap up our story about Katherine Knight. Part three is about her sentencing and our analysis of her mental health. We explore the courtroom drama, the public outrage, and the historic life sentence that made Katherine Knight the first Australian woman to receive such a punishment. But beneath the headlines lies a deeper, more disturbing conversation — what was happening inside her mind?

Drawing from psychiatric evaluations, media portrayals, and our own analysis, we examine whether Katherine’s actions were driven by madness, malevolence, or both. This episode confronts the uncomfortable truth about accountability, pathology, and evil — and forces us to consider where justice ends, and understanding begins.

Part two of this shocking story is about the brutal murder of John Price — a killing so gruesome it shocked even the most seasoned investigators. We trace the final, terrifying days leading up to his death, when obsession turned to rage and love curdled into violence. Through police reports, witness accounts, and psychological insights, we reconstruct the night Katherine Knight crossed the final line.

It’s a descent into unimaginable brutality: the culmination of years of volatility, control, and manipulation. As the evidence unfolds, we confront not only the horror of what she did, but the chilling precision with which she carried it out. This episode asks a haunting question — what happens when unchecked rage and deep-seated trauma finally explode?

Before she became Australia’s most infamous female killer, Katherine Knight was a child shaped by chaos, violence, and neglect. Part one of this 3 part series dives deep into her early years — from a brutal and scandalous family history to a childhood marked by trauma and cruelty. We explore the people, places, and patterns that molded her: the violent home she grew up in, her disturbing fascination with death and dominance, and how those early cracks in her psyche began to widen into something far more dangerous.

It’s a story that forces us to ask — was Katherine born violent, or did her environment create her? And how do cycles of abuse, secrecy, and shame forge someone capable of such horror?

Australia is full of roads that are more than they seem, haunted stretches where ghostly encounters and dark history linger long after sunset. From the mysterious light chasing drivers on Lemon Tree Passage Road, to the violent tragedies of Glebe’s Street with No Name, and the legends of the Pilliga Princess and Yowie sightings along the Newell Highway, these haunted roads are where folklore, fear, and unexplained phenomena collide. 

Buckle up for a spooky adventure along Australia’s most unsettling drives.

High in the Blue Mountains, the road at Mount Victoria Pass twists steep and narrow through rock and mist. By day, it’s breathtaking. But by night, it carries a darker reputation. Travelers whisper of a woman’s ghost drifting through the fog. Her story etched into the stones of the pass nearly two centuries ago.

This is the story of Caroline Collits. A child of the early colony whose short life was marked by hardship, betrayal, and violence. Her murder in 1842 shocked the settlement and left behind more than a legend, it left a haunting reminder of injustice that echoes into the present.

In this episode, we explore the history, the haunting, and the legend of the ghost of Victoria Pass. Was Caroline just a tragic figure of the past, or does she still walk the road today? 

In honour of World Suicide Prevention Day, we share the story of Don Ritchie, the “Angel of The Gap,” whose quiet compassion saved hundreds of lives. We explore what it really means to be present for someone in crisis, and how connection can be life-saving.

We also look at the real-life Patch Adams, the man behind the movie and why he challenged Hollywood’s portrayal of mental illness. Along the way, we reflect on the loss of Robin Williams, and I share my own lived experience with suicide and what changed the way I think about prevention.

This is a deeply human story about pain, hope, and the importance of community. Join us, and this World Suicide Prevention Day, let’s commit to checking in on each other — because compassion and connection can save lives.

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses suicide, mental illness, and lived experiences of crisis. If this topic is distressing for you, please take care while listening. 

In this episode, we head to Beowa National Park, to uncover the lesser-known stories behind one of Australia’s most infamous colonial figures, Benjamin Boyd- whose dicey legacy is literally etched into the landscape. 

We explore a life of ambition, influence, and wealth—and the human cost that history has often left unrecorded. From the lives of South Sea Islanders coerced into labor to the whitewashing of history in museums and memoirs, we uncover the shadows behind celebrated landmarks and heroic myths.

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses historical instances of exploitation, coercion, and violence, including the forced labor of South Sea Islanders and the impact of colonial practices on Indigenous communities. Listener discretion is advised.

From defying his millionaire father to racing in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Peter Warner lived a life that refused to follow the map. His life reads like fiction - except every word is true.

In this episode, we follow the remarkable journey of the man who rescued six Tongan boys from the island of ‘Ata - a story that made headlines around the world.

But that was just one part of a life spent chasing purpose across oceans, through storms, and into places most people would never go.

Join us as we trace the wake of a quiet adventurer who kept turning up in the right place at exactly the right time. 

In this episode, we are joined by Eva Angophora — a rewilding facilitator, ancestorial skills practitioner, and deep believer in nature as teacher. Eva feels most at home outdoors, immersed in the rhythms of the wild: foraging, building, tanning hides, and guiding others back to connection with the natural world.

You might recognise her from Alone Australia Season 3, where she moved through what most of us would see as one of life's toughest challenges with a quiet, grounded power that caught the attention of viewers across the country.

We talk about what it really takes to survive, not just in the wild, but in ourselves. About the lessons nature offers us, if we’re willing to slow down and listen and how solitude can strip us back to who we really are. This is a conversation about healing, self-reliance, and the kind of softness that’s often mistaken for weakness, but might just be our greatest human strength.

Hidden deep in Tasmania’s remote west coast, Sarah Island was once one of the most feared penal settlements in the Australian colonies. Surrounded by dense wilderness and raging seas, it was a place of secondary punishment — a last stop for the resisters who refused to fall in line. In this episode, we are joined by Kiah Davey from the Round Earth Company to take a closer look at the history of Sarah Island and the realities of daily convict life there.

Kiah and the team at The Round Earth Company, bring the island’s stories to life through guided tours and engaging site-specific theatre. Together we explore the history, the hardship, and the humanity of those who lived and laboured there. From shipbuilding and isolation to punishment and resistance, we unpack what made this place so notorious and what makes it so incredibly special.

During our recent trip to Tasmania, we had a surprising highlight.  Our hike to The Confluence — the meeting place of two rivers — and what we found was confronting. The Queen River, once flowing clear through the Tasmanian wilderness, is now known as Australia’s most polluted waterway.

Decades of mining in Queenstown left more than a scar on the land — they poisoned the water, stripped the hills bare, and rewrote the natural order. In this episode, we explore the legacy of mining, the price of progress,  and a personal reflection on what standing in that space stirred. 

In the vast, unforgiving landscape of outback Australia, strange lights have been appearing for over a century, hovering, following, and vanishing without a trace. 

In this episode, we head deep into the red desert to explore the legend of the Min Min lights. 

In this episode we step into the truth of our History, tracing the events of June 1838, when 28 unarmed Wirrayaraay people were brutally murdered at Myall Creek Station. We explore what happened, how it happened, and the long shadow it cast over the nation, one that still lingers today.

This episode was recorded during Reconciliation Week. It is in our act of remembering, reckoning and honoring truth-telling, that we bring you this episode and the personal reflection that accompanies it. 

Some content may be distressing. Please listen with care.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains the names and experiences of Aboriginal people who have passed. 

In this episode, we join Anne and Renata from Newcastle Ghost Tours, legends of the Aussie paranormal scene, for an after-dark investigation of Tomago House. 

Nestled deep in the wetlands, this grand colonial homestead has seen nearly two centuries of ambition, heartbreak, resilience. Built by barrister and reformer Richard Windeyer, and kept alive by the unbreakable will of his wife Maria, Tomago House is more than a relic of the past. It’s a place where stories linger and, if you listen closely, where whispers of its former residents can still be heard through the silence.

Join us as we explore the natural beauty and charm of Patonga and then dive into the darker waters of its history. Because not far from this picture-perfect shoreline, its waters once gave up a secret it had been holding onto for years: a man strapped to a steel crucifix, known only as Rack Man. In this episode, we unravel the eerie mystery that ties this unsolved murder to the river’s depths, and to the tranquil little town we thought we knew.

In every corner of history, desperation has driven women into impossible choices.

From the lonely banks of the Paterson River to the locked wards of the Newcastle Industrial School. From whispered agreements on Oakhampton Road to courtroom trials designed to shame. We trace the hidden stories of women like Ada Murray and Mary Ann Hughes.

We look back, not because history is a lesson, but because it is a mirror.

A UNESCO World Heritage listed wonder where dramatic mountains meet turquoise lagoons, and time seems to slow down. Just 11 kilometres long and home to only a few hundred lucky residents, Lord Howe feels like stepping into another world, rich with rare wildlife, untouched beaches, and incredible coral reefs.

I share our adventures, including our brush with fame on the tarmac as well as our discovery of the Catalina A24-381 flying boat wreck — a haunting piece of history linked to Rathmines, not far from my own backyard. 

It’s a place of natural wonders, and a reminder of just how extraordinary our corner of the world can be.

In this episode, we uncover the forgotten stories of the first plague victims, the struggles of Sydney’s working poor, and the city’s sluggish response to a looming health crisis. As we look back, we ask: what has really changed? From 1900 to 2019, from the Black Death to COVID—have we learned from history, or are we doomed to repeat it?

For over 150 years, Manly’s Q Station served as a quarantine site for those arriving in Australia, isolating the sick to prevent deadly diseases from spreading. Thousands of people passed through its doors, many never leaving, their final moments spent in its eerie hospital wards and secluded burial sites. Today, its historic sandstone buildings and abandoned corridors stand as a chilling reminder of its haunted past, with countless stories of ghostly encounters and unexplained phenomena.

We experienced this history firsthand on a ghost tour, walking through the shadowy hallways and dimly lit rooms where spirits are said to linger. From strange whispers in the darkness to sudden drops in temperature, the atmosphere was thick with an unsettling energy. Whether it was our imagination or something truly otherworldly, one thing was certain—Q Station’s past is far from silent.

In 1917, Harry was convicted of murdering his first wife, Annie Birkett. The case was sensationalized, his gender identity exploited for scandal, and public discourse was shaped not by justice, but by shock and misunderstanding. At a time when even the most basic conversations about gender were unheard of, Eugene’s life was a painful testament to the cost of forced secrecy.

But as we examine his life and the events that led to that fateful moment, we must ask, how much of this tragedy was shaped by the world around him? 

In a society where he could have lived openly, without fear, without persecution, would things have taken a different path? Would his life, and Annie’s, have reached a different ending?

History often remembers its outlaws, its murderers, and its tragic figures, but it rarely asks—what could have been different? In this episode, we step back over a century to tell the story of Eugenia Falleni,  who lived a life defined by secrecy, survival, and society’s rigid boundaries. Born in Italy in 1875 and later making his way to Australia, Eugenia lived as Harry Leo Crawford, a transgender man navigating a world that had no language, no acceptance, and no space for the truth of his identity.

 For years stories have circulated about a mysterious man who roams Victoria's High Country known only as The Button Man. In this episode we ponder is he actually the Australian version of the Boogie Man as he has often been depicted, with people trying to connect him to the many disapearences in the remote region or is he just a man who we should all really look up to. 

(AI Generated Image)

 In 1975, Nigel McAree was shot in the back of the head and then decapitated at Governor Game Lookout in Sydney's Royal National Park. 

In this powerful episode, we speak with Nigel's niece Narelle Spencer about the enduring pain of her family's loss and their unwavering hope for answers. 

In this episode we head to Ararat, Victoria and take a look inside J Ward which began it's life as the Ararat County Gaol and later became apart of the Aradale Lunatic Asylum and was used to house the Criminally Insane. 

Are Australia’s legendary wild men just folktale, or is there more to the whispers in the bush? In this episode we sit down with River Morris, a proud Wiradjuri man, who shares his personal knowledge and experiences with The Hairy Man — the Yowie. We unpack the lore, the lived experience and the mystery that still lingers deep in the Australian landscape. Make up your own mind… but maybe keep your ears open next time you’re out in the trees. 

In this week's episode we head along The Great Ocean Road to Aireys Inlet for a trip down memory lane. 

We revisit some of our childhood obsessions, explore Split Point Lighthouse and take a peek into the life of convict William Buckley and how his dash to freedom left a marked impression on all of us, without us even knowing it. 

Continuing the deep dive into The Family, this episode focuses on the survivors — those who broke the cycle and escaped a shadowy world of coercion. Stories of resilience, loss, and the long road to healing sit at the heart of this powerful second chapter.

Enter the world of The Family, Australia’s most infamous cult. In Part 1 we examine the rise of Anne Hamilton-Byrne and the beginnings of a power that warped devotion into control, and innocence into exploitation.

Step back into the colonial frontier with the story of Andrew Scott — better known as Captain Moonlite. This isn’t just a tale of bushranging; it’s a portrait of a man whose friendships, defiance and fraught identity made him one of the most compelling figures of the Australian bush.

Dive into the secret life of one of Australia’s most remarkable birds. Join expert Dr Alex Maisey as we explore how lyrebirds move through forest and memory, why their song echoes culture and country, and what their mysterious behaviors teach us about listening to nature.

In the Riverina town of Junee stands a grand old homestead that has seen more than a century of sunrises, storms and secrets — the Monte Cristo Homestead. In this episode, we unearth the history and hauntings that have made it one of Australia’s most talked-about haunted houses.

We begin with the early years of settlement and the Crawley family who built Monte Cristo, exploring how ambition and tragedy shaped its walls. From there, we follow years of strange, unsettling encounters — from unexplained footsteps in empty halls to the eerie impressions of visitors and residents alike.

Out on the wild, open edge of Twofold Bay on the far South Coast of New South Wales, there was a partnership unlike any other — a bond between humans and the great wild hunters of the ocean. In this episode, we dive into the astonishing story of Old Tom, the killer whale who didn’t just swim with the tides — he helped shape the history of a place, and the people who lived on its shores.

We journey to the Davidson Whaling Station, where a pod of orcas known as the Killers of Eden worked with whalers to drive migrating baleen whales into the bay — a remarkable collaboration that blurred the lines between nature and culture, predator and partner.

Episode 1 | Truganini

Trugganini was more than a name in a footnote. She was a Nuenonne woman of strength, intelligence and resilience, navigating tidal waves of invasion, loss, diplomacy, survival and resistance during one of the most brutal chapters of this land’s history. Her life was shaped by dispossession, by the pressures of colonial power, and by her own fierce will to endure — not as a tragic symbol, but as a witness to the forces that tried to erase her people.