Episódios

  • Troy Kinne - It’s What’s Inside That’s Backwards
    Nov 16 2025

    Troy Kinne’s heart is in the right place. As in, it’s on the wrong side.

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    In fact, many of Troy’s organs are in the ‘wrong’ place. Which can be hard on the immune system, but great material for a stand-up comedian.

    Joining us in the Vulnerabilitea House, and answering the question, ‘when is a time you’ve felt ashamed?’ Troy takes us on a journey, from being offered a (life)line by a fish and chip shop in his 20’s, to the effect that being sick for an entire year had on his mental health.

    Troy chats to Josh about the light he found in his darkest times, and how living without fear allowed him to venture into the comedy world for the first time.

    Speaking about success, and whether it will ever be enough, Troy is really open about what it is like to have to find yourself again after realising that you are no longer the underdog, and how hard it can be to offer your current self compassion.

    Troy, what a pleasure.

    If you’d like to watch this full episode on YouTube, follow this link - https://youtu.be/ZZm6VAq7g_o

    🏆Win a set of our new Vulnerabilitea House Cards, mate! Exactly the same as the regular set, but with “mate” written on every card. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/47BpGvX

    Chapters:
    0:00 – An episode years in the making
    7:40 – When is a time that you’ve felt ashamed?
    16:21 – Reality of chronic illness
    24:50 – Reality of chronic illness during a pandemic
    29:53 – The positive payoff of depression
    38:37 – Constantly on the rollercoaster
    48:43 – When you’re no longer the Underdog
    55:57 – At what point will it be enough?

    🫖 Other Imperfects episodes mentioned in this episode

    • Hugh & Penny - The Elephant in the Relationship - https://bit.ly/446GPeG

    📺 Things to watch

    • The Magic Basket - https://bit.ly/4p0R6RF
    • Dr Google - https://bit.ly/4otHfnE
    • Flint Town Docuseries - https://bit.ly/49TJjAK
    • Fearless - https://bit.ly/444z3Su

    📖 Things to read

    • A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle - https://bit.ly/4oYUrke

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5

    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hora e 14 minutos
  • Dr Emily - Am I Sick or Is It Anxiety?
    Nov 9 2025

    Do you ever feel anxious about your health?

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    Same. And it is the fundamental uncertainty of our health which can make this anxiety really exhausting, complicated and, well, hard, to live with.

    Back in the studio with our resident psychologist Dr Emily Musgrove, we’re going to unpack this perpetual state of worry; how it’s exacerbated by our fight or flight response, how to respond when someone’s seeking assurance and how to surf the urge and sit with your discomfort.

    Josh, being Josh, asks some hard hitting questions about accepting the certainty of death, and Dr Em talks through what it looks like to be so fearful of dying that it’s stopping you from living.

    Of course, we don’t ever want people to stop getting checked out by a medical professional. This episode is focused on untangling what is worry, what is excessive worry, and when is it reasonable.

    Dr Em, it was so great to hang out.

    If you’d like to watch this full video on YouTube, follow this link -

    💌Join 3,000+ people getting our takeaways and favourite moments from this episode in our weekly newsletter - http://bit.ly/45NyQDy

    🫖 Other Imperfects episodes mentioned in this episode

    • Bryan Brown - The Value of Being Alive - https://bit.ly/4hTxwok
    • Dr Emily - Grief Lightening - https://bit.ly/3LnCmxP
    • Dr Emily - The Certainty of Uncertainty - https://bit.ly/47XXcfU
    • Dyson Heppell - Whatever It Takes … To Forgive - https://bit.ly/4nIym8F

    🎧 Things to listen to:

    • It’s Not What You Think podcast - https://bit.ly/3LnFg5K

    📖 Things to read:

    • The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga - https://bit.ly/3JJJnZk

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5

    Chapters:
    0:00 – Our fears for our health
    9:54 – Are you a hypochondriac?
    15:59 – Exacerbation of the fight / flight response
    23:08 – The difficult positions of GP’s
    29:48 – Not feeding the loop
    35:19 – Body checking and post-diagnosis anxiety
    39:50 – Accepting the certainty of death
    50:55 – First time parent fear
    53:24 – Obsession with being well

    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hora e 3 minutos
  • Bryan Brown - The Value of Being Alive
    Nov 2 2025

    Not to be dramatic, but Bryan Brown is an Australian icon of the silver screen.

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    Cast in over 80 film and tv projects throughout his career, working with people such as Jennifer Aniston, Ben Stiller and Sigourney Weaver (possibly biggest name drop we’ve ever had), Bryan was all set for a life of numbers and mathematics before he allowed himself to be guided by joy.

    Joining Josh and Ryan in the Vulnerabilitea House, Bryan answers the question, ‘what has been the scariest moment of your life?’

    Covering all elements (literally), Bryan recounts a near drowning, and a close call with flames, before he was grounded by his first experience with anxiety.

    Chatting to Josh and Ryan about what it felt like to have his perception of mental health changed, Bryan talks about becoming comfortable with vulnerability, what it means to be a man, and how he was able to ask for help.

    Bryan, it was an absolute pleasure.

    If you’d like to watch this full episode on YouTube, click here -

    📖 Things to read:

    • Hidden, by Bryan Brown - http://bit.ly/48Qzfbw

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    💌To subscribe to our newsletter, my imperfect email, click here - http://bit.ly/45NyQDy

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5

    Chapters
    0:00 – Australian Icon Alert
    9:23 – How do you live as a man?
    12:54 – What has been the scariest moment in your life?
    22:16 – This could all end
    25:23 – When anxiety becomes physical
    35:54 – The Human Experience
    41:08 – Embracing the No’s
    45:56 – Finding his voice through story
    49:46 – Friends, girls + growing up



    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    56 minutos
  • Hugo Toovey - The Reality of Surviving Cancer. Twice.
    Oct 26 2025

    Hugo Toovey has beaten cancer, twice. But this is far from the whole story.

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    In this special bonus episode, Hugo joins Hugh, Ryan and Josh to talk about health; how to know when to go to a doctor, how to wrangle with the emotions of being cancer free and how to be vulnerable with the people who love you most.

    Extraordinarily open in the hope that it will help someone else, Hugo discusses his fertility and decision to have kids, how being a parent has effected his outlook on life, and how exhausting it was acting like everything was okay.

    Hugo, you’re a lifesaver.

    If you’d like to watch this full video on YouTube, follow this link: https://youtu.be/00RG9jPCGXs

    🩺Things to do (for your health):

    • Order a Bowel Cancer Screening Kit - http://bit.ly/47A6cYt
    • Check out Hugo’s charity 25 Stay Alive - https://www.25stayalive.com

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    💌To subscribe to our newsletter, my imperfect email, click here - http://bit.ly/45NyQDy

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5

    Chapters
    0:00 – The other side of cancer free
    12:36 – An invincible young bloke
    15:54 – Knowing your ‘normal’
    24:40 – Doom, burden, guilt, escape
    36:17 – The vulnerability ice-breaker
    44:05 – The biggest killer
    49:33 – 25’s the new 50
    52:25 - Being responsible, just in case
    1:01:10 – And what does she mean to you?

    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hora e 14 minutos
  • Melanie Bracewell - Untangling a Toxic Relationship
    Oct 19 2025

    Have you ever dated someone you knew, logically, was a bad idea? A puppeteer twenty years your senior, perhaps?

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    Melanie Bracewell has, and she joins us in the Vulnerabilitea House to answer the question, ‘who do you go to advice for? Why?’ (spoiler: it’s not her puppeteer ex-boyfriend).

    Unpacking the disarming realisation that all of our parents were once our age, Mel talks to the guys about making useful mistakes in your twenties, finding a litmus for what loves looks and feels like, and how to make friends with people as an adult (who aren’t already on your netball team).

    Mel bonds with Hugh about the realities of an ADHD brain and the fallacy of thinking you are super organised for something, and most importantly, the burst of self-compassion that can come from a diagnosis.

    Mel, we’ll be your side-by-side friend.

    If you want to watch this full episode on YouTube, follow this link - https://youtu.be/NDKke1ATdLE

    🫖Other imperfects episodes mentioned in this episode

    • Matt Okine - Comedy & Tragedy - http://bit.ly/4q5LW8f
    • Hannah Ferguson - Outspoken but Not Broken - http://bit.ly/4qcCHDy
    • Campbell ‘Struthless’ Walker - Withdrawing with Drawing - http://bit.ly/4q8MHgO

    📺Things to watch

    • Cheap Seats - http://bit.ly/3KNoEnA
    • Mel’s YouTube Special ‘Forget Me Not’ - http://bit.ly/4hbCQ63

    💻Things to check out

    • Meladoodle (Mel’s Tumblr blog) - http://bit.ly/4mXO1AF

    🎟️Things to buy tickets for

    • Mel’s Live Tour ‘A Little Treat’ - http://bit.ly/46ZoZuU

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    💌To subscribe to our newsletter, my imperfect email, click here - http://bit.ly/45NyQDy

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5


    0:00 – Can you just give me the clothes off your back?
    12:48 – Who do you go to for advice and why?
    23:57 – Realising your parents are human too
    27:20 – The no-strings puppeteer
    31:24 – A lot to un-pack, a lot to understand
    35:56 – Side by side relationships
    43:16 – Making useful mistakes
    50:02 – Dodging a break-ups and short term memory loss
    59:27 – Replying to negative comments


    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hora e 17 minutos
  • Dr Emily - Goals For Your Goals
    Oct 12 2025

    Whether you’re a ‘new year new me’ aficionado, a 5-year planner, or get sweaty at the thought of setting goals, this episode is for you.

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    Joined by our resident psychologist Dr Emily Musgrove, we’re unpacking goal setting, which at its core, is the intention to change our behaviour.

    In this episode, Hugh, Ryan and Josh, with the help of Dr Em, talk through why goals may seem intimidating, and how to reconcile the idea that there is no growth when you are not changing.

    Leading us into a very lovely introduction of a strengths-based approach to change, Dr Em explains SMART goals using Hugh’s bedtime as a real-life example. And for those with a particularly strong inner critic (or rocky relationship with goals), Dr Em gently guides Hugh, Ryan and, especially Josh, through the blessing of allowing ourselves some slack, leading from the feet up and engaging in committed action.

    AND, we learn about temptation bundling and Hugh’s taste in music (not as dirty as it sounds).

    Dr Em, you’re in all of our inner cheer squads

    To watch this full video on YouTube, follow this link: https://youtu.be/bUOUs0UKg_w

    🫖 Other Imperfects episodes mentioned in this episode

    • Chrissie Swan - Honesty - http://bit.ly/3IQd6zq
    • Getting Vulny - Josh’s Big Announcement - http://bit.ly/4h5RI5V
    • Dr Emily - The Meaning of Mid-Life - http://bit.ly/3IZGQtE
    • Dr Emily - What Are Your Values? - http://bit.ly/4mZwvvI
    • Kemi Nekvapil - A Compass for When You’re Lost - http://bit.ly/4q2UFIw
    • Maria Ruberto - Sleep Your Way To Your Top - http://bit.ly/470shxZ
    • Josh van Cuylenburg - Midlife Crisis Averted - http://bit.ly/4mRxLkt

    📖 Things to read

    • Unstuck by Dr Emily Musgrove - http://bit.ly/4o8JFay
    • Rick Hanson, The Inner Caring Committee - http://bit.ly/4h7USGq
    • Katy Milkman, Fresh Start Effect - http://bit.ly/3J2sKrq

    🎧Things to listen to

    • River Deep Mountain High by Celine Dion - http://bit.ly/48Wuk8J

    💻Things to do

    • VIA Character Strength Ranker - http://bit.ly/4h2KYFJ

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    💌To subscribe to our newsletter, my imperfect email, click here - http://bit.ly/45NyQDy

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5

    Chapters
    0:00 – A strange start to the episode
    3:42 – Chrissie Swan tells us to move forward
    13:58 – Strength-based approach to change
    22:18 – SMART domains for change
    34:57 – Strategies to achieve your goals
    44:56 – Lapse vs relapse
    51:09 – The fresh start effect, motivation slump and metaphors galore!
    59:09 – Celebrate!
    1:08:31 – Now is the time to get on the wrong train

    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hora e 16 minutos
  • Kemi Nekvapil - A Compass for When You're Lost
    Oct 5 2025

    If you’re not navigating your life through your values, what are you using?

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    Our lord and saviour is back (in a secular, informal way).

    Kemi Nekvapil is back in the Academy of Imperfection to talk all things values: what they are, how we choose them, and how you add croissant as one of yours. Extending the conversation of our previous episode on values with Dr Em, Kemi talks with the guys about how their current personal values are working in their life.

    Introducing terms such as val-rules, aspirational values and umbrella values, Kemi walks them through the difference between manipulation and modelling, and why the hard work starts AFTER we’ve chosen our values.

    In a peak behind the metaphorical (and literal, hi Producer Bridge) curtain, we discuss what went down in our company values session with Kemi, and how these values come into play in a day-in-the-life of The Imperfects production team.

    If you’d like to watch this full episode on YouTube, follow this link - https://youtu.be/TV-GL3dgtjg

    🫖Other Imperfects episodes mentioned in this episode

    • Dr Emily - What Are Your Values? - http://bit.ly/4nWgRCf
    • Hugh’s Open Letter to Parents of Neurodivergent Parents - http://bit.ly/4gVbQYu
    • Kemi Nekvapil - How to Live a Life Without Apology - http://bit.ly/4q3NLCW
    • Kemi Nekvapil - The Secret of Your Success - http://bit.ly/473cJuv

    📖Things to read

    • Grounded Success, by Kemi Nekvapil - http://bit.ly/4mOWw0J
    • Power, by Kemi Nekvapil - http://bit.ly/4nTsZnn
    • The Gift of Asking, by Kemi Nekvapil - http://bit.ly/4nvKgU8
    • Dare to Lead, by Brene Brown - http://bit.ly/46GMMzC

    💻Things to check out

    • Kemi’s Website - https://www.keminekvapil.com

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    💌To subscribe to our newsletter, my imperfect email, click here - http://bit.ly/45NyQDy

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5

    Chapters
    0:00 – Third time (which is a charm)
    6:38 – Croissant as a value
    12:54 – Josh’s values are a pink flag
    27:56 – Who you are vs who you want be
    33:45 – Real world, reframing and living in alignment
    38:06 – Trying on your values and setting goals
    42:44 – Imperfect (company) Values
    1:03:02 – Same value, differing actions
    1:08:43 – How to get pants on a three year old

    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hora e 16 minutos
  • Josh van Cuylenburg - Midlife Crisis Averted
    Oct 2 2025

    The mid-life update we've all been waiting for.

    🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep

    In the final instillation of the Vulnerabilitea Volume 2 Cards Announcement Week, where Ryan, Hugh and Josh have each answered one of the 52 brand-spanking-new-vulnerable-questions, it’s Josh’s turn.

    Answering the question, “what moment from your life are you grateful for, that profoundly changed you?” Josh reflects on the recording of the episode; Dr Emily – The Meaning of Mid Life, where he vulnerably disclosed that he was really struggling with finding meaning in the second half of his life.

    Sparked from this moment of authentic connection, Josh shares with Hugh and Ryan how he was able to find compassion for himself and the joy of adopting a beginner’s mindset.

    Josh, we love it when good things happen to great people. And we love you!

    This can be a stand-alone episode, however Ryan and Hugh’s have been absolute corkers (and we don’t say corker lightly) and you can listen to them here https://bit.ly/3VBvcrH and here http://bit.ly/4nNXNWK.

    If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, follow this link - https://youtu.be/MrL2No3YiLQ

    🫖Other Imperfects episodes mentioned in this episode

    • Ryan Shelton - The Friend I Want To Be - https://bit.ly/3VBvcrH
    • Hugh van Cuylenburg - This Is Burnout - http://bit.ly/4nNXNWK
    • Dr Emily - The Meaning of Mid Life - https://bit.ly/4nNzmIP
    • Maria Ruberto - Advancing Despite Adversity - https://bit.ly/3Kr9KTP
    • Maria Ruberto - Sleep Your Way To Your Top - https://bit.ly/4nHTc8s
    • Dr Emily - Other People Matter - https://bit.ly/46SBaL0
    • Rick Davies - Living with OCD - https://bit.ly/4ndG2Ae

    📖 Things to read

    • Hitch-22, by Christopher Hitchens - https://bit.ly/4gC4yZk

    📺 Things to watch

    • Homer Simpson’s Spice Rack - https://bit.ly/46PCzlD

    🩷To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    🩵To purchase our journal (or your novel) My Imperfect Life, click here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz

    💌To subscribe to our newsletter, my imperfect email, click here - http://bit.ly/45NyQDy

    🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu

    🩷 AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5

    The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    23 minutos