No Filter

For most of her childhood, Chloé Hayden felt like she didn’t belong.
She was bullied at school, moved through ten different schools and struggled to exist in environments that didn’t understand her. When she was diagnosed as autistic at thirteen, there were almost no conversations about neurodivergence and no one she could look to who felt like her.
Today, she has become that person for millions of others.
Through her role as Quinni in Netflix’s Heartbreak High and her advocacy online, Chloé has become one of the most visible autistic women in the world.
But becoming a voice for others comes with its own cost.
In this conversation with Kate Langbroek, Chloé opens up about the pressure of representation, the emotional toll of advocacy and what it means to build a life that belongs to her, not just the movement she helped create.
Heartbreak High Season 3 premieres globally on March 25, 2026 on Netflix.
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What To Listen To Next:
Listen: Concetta Caristo Changed Her Name to Escape a Violent Home
Listen: Rachel Ward Looks Her Age. When Did That Become Radical?
Listen: For 15 Years, No One Was Listening To Lainey Wilson. Now She's Everywhere
Listen: Supermodel Rachel Hunter Was The Ultimate 90s Muse - Then She Walked Away
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Feedback: [email protected]
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CREDITS:
Guest: Chloe Hayden
Host: Kate Langbroek
Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown
Executive Producer: Bree Player
Assistant Producer: Coco Lavigne
Audio Producer: Jacob Round
Video Producer: Josh Green
Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we have recorded this podcast.
Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello No Filter Listeners. We know how much you love an extraordinary story. Have we got one for you.

Sometimes, a pivot isn’t triggered by a failure.Sometimes, it happens because you keep looking for a way to make the world a little bit fairer.

Anne Aly was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and moved to Australia when she was just two years old. Her parents worked hard in factory jobs to give their family a foothold here, and those early experiences of displacement, resilience and possibility stayed with her.

By her late twenties, Anne was a single working mother raising two young boys in Perth on the minimum wage. She knew what it meant to juggle life’s demands with no safety net, and she used that as fuel to keep pushing forward.

She went back to study. And then studied some more, earning a Master’s and a PhD focused on countering violent extremism. From there, Anne became a globally recognised expert in her field, advising the United Nations, publishing hundreds of academic works, and even being the only Australian invited to speak at President Obama’s White House summit on countering violent extremism.

But academia was never where her story stopped.

In 2016, Anne took another monumental pivot — into politics. She was elected as the Federal Member for Cowan, becoming the first Muslim woman in the Australian Parliament, and then a minister in federal government, shaping policy on multicultural affairs, small business and international development.

Along the way, she has championed issues close to her heart, from community safety to meaningful support for domestic and family violence survivors, turning her own life experience into public purpose.

In this episode, Anne talks about how she navigated seismic life shifts with grit, compassion, and that same drive to make space for voices too often overlooked — and how she keeps pivoting even when the stakes are high.

THE END BITS:

Want more from Sarah Davidson? Check out her podcast Seize The Yay.

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Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.

CREDITS:Guest: Anne AlyHost: Sarah DavidsonExecutive Producer: Courtney AmmenhauserSenior Producer: Sally Best

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After being crowned Jungle Queen and winning $100,000 for charity, Concetta chose to donate the prize to Full Stop Australia, the organisation that helped her family escape domestic violence when she was growing up.
As a child, Concetta lived in a home where violence and fear were constant. Eventually, her mother made a secret call to a domestic violence hotline and began planning what the family would later describe as their escape.
Concetta, her mother and her sister left their home, fled across the country and started again under new names.
In this conversation with Kate Langbroek, Concetta speaks openly about the childhood she kept secret for years, the moment everything changed for her family, and the complicated journey of rebuilding a life after violence.
She also reflects on the strange path that led her to comedy, the inner critic that still lives in her head, and the joy she has found in finally being able to live freely.
If this conversation raises anything for you, support is available. Full Stop Australia runs a 24-hour confidential helpline for people affected by sexual, domestic and family violence. Details are in the show notes.
You can listen to Concetta Caristo on triple j Breakfast.
SUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media
What To Listen To Next:
Listen: Rachel Ward Looks Her Age. When Did That Become Radical?
Listen: For 15 Years, No One Was Listening To Lainey Wilson. Now She's Everywhere
Listen: Supermodel Rachel Hunter Was The Ultimate 90s Muse - Then She Walked Away
Listen: Michelle Slept by Her Son’s ICU Bedside for Most of Last Year
Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here.
Watch No Filter on YouTube. Follow us on Instagram here. Follow us on TikTok here.
Feedback: [email protected]
Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.
Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.
CREDITS:
Guest: Concetta Caristo
Host: Kate Langbroek
Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown
Executive Producer: Bree Player
Assistant Producer: Coco Lavigne
Audio Producer: Jacob Round
Video Producer: Josh Green
Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rachel Ward recently went viral for a video filmed in a paddock on her farm. The internet had a lot to say about how she looked.
At 66, the former Thorn Birds star suddenly found herself at the centre of a global conversation about ageing, beauty, and what people expect women who were once famous for their looks to look like decades later.
In this episode of No Filter, Rachel talks to Kate Langbroek about the viral moment and why she believes the reaction had very little to do with her and everything to do with society’s discomfort with women ageing in public.
Rachel reflects on her extraordinary life, from British aristocracy to international fame, from Hollywood film sets to regenerative farming on the mid north coast of New South Wales.
She also speaks candidly about mental health, the “crumbles” that forced her to reassess everything, and the instinct she has learned to trust when it is time to leave one chapter of her life behind and begin another.
CREDITS:
Guest: Rachel Ward
Host: Kate Langbroek
Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown
Executive Producer: Bree Player
Assistant Producer: Coco Lavigne
Audio Producer: Jacob Round
Video Producer: Josh Green
Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For 15 years, Lainey Wilson chased a dream that didn’t seem to want her back.
She was rejected. Overlooked. Living in a camper trailer in Nashville while the industry moved on without her.
Now she’s one of country music’s biggest stars.
In this episode of No Filter, Lainey reflects on the decade-and-a-half grind behind her so-called “overnight success” from auditioning for Idol and The Voice, to impersonating Hannah Montana for five years, to going viral in a way she never expected.
She talks about faith, exhaustion, ambition, meeting Miley Cyrus after years of portraying her on stage, and the advice from Keith Urban that reframed everything.
You can find Lainey’s latest music, tour dates and more at laineywilson.com.
CREDITS:
Guest: Lainey Wilson
Host: Kate Langbroek
Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown
Executive Producer: Bree Player
Audio Producer: Jacob Round
Video Producer: Josh Green
Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.