Better Than Yesterday with Osher Günsberg

In this episode of Better Than Yesterday, Osher Gunsberg sits down with acclaimed Australian musician, author and father Josh Pyke for a wide-ranging conversation about anxiety, parenting, creativity, technology and the future of music.
Josh opens up about his experience with anxiety, including the moment he had to walk off stage in the middle of a panic attack. He shares what he has learned about changing his relationship with anxiety, rather than constantly trying to fight or escape it.
The conversation also explores raising children in an increasingly overwhelming digital world, and Josh explains why he and his wife have chosen to keep social media out of their children's lives, and why protecting curiosity, imagination and genuine connection matters more than ever.
As chair of the PPCA, Josh also offers a fascinating perspective on the changing music industry, from streaming and royalties to the rise of AI-generated music. He discusses the importance of ensuring artists are properly compensated and their work is used with consent, while questioning what could happen to Australian music and culture if human creativity becomes harder to discover and support.
Along the way, Josh reflects on songwriting, children's books, collaboration and the mysterious magic that happens when creativity clicks. It's an honest and thoughtful conversation about anxiety, fatherhood, technology, art and what we might lose if we stop making space for distinctly human creativity.
LINKS
Josh's latest album 'Kingdom Within' is available now
Follow Josh on Instagram
Josh's website
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How do you switch off a busy brain when it’s time to sleep?
It's not an easy question to answer because there's no one-size-fits-all solution. But if you've had trouble getting a good night's rest, I have two hacks for you to try you may not have heard of before.
This episode is inspired by my seven-year-old son and the power of asking “why?” five times - a simple technique that can help us get beneath the surface of a problem and understand what’s really going on.
I share two techniques that I’ve found surprisingly effective: counting backwards to give the brain a sense of certainty, and cognitive shuffling, which uses random words and mental images to stop the brain from trying to solve problems when it should be sleeping.
This is an episode you can put on as you go to bed, and hopefully I can inspire your brain to relax, allowing you to drift off into a better night's sleep.
Did it work? Let me know via the links below.
LINKS
Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
Watch full stories recorded live at  Story Club on YouTube
Listen to the Story Club podcast
Get tickets for our next Story Club show
Get Osher's latest books here
Send a pic of what you're looking at to sendosheremail@gmail.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the way we work actually making us less productive, more stressed and increasingly disconnected from ourselves?
In this episode of Better Than Yesterday, Osher Gunsberg is joined by performance and workplace expert Nick Petrie to explore why burnout, stress and rumination have become such defining features of modern work — and what we can do about them.
Nick shares insights from his own experience, including being diagnosed with stomach cancer at just 27 while playing professional rugby in Japan, and explains how the experience taught him about the difference between pressure, stress and rumination. He reveals why our brains can become trapped in cycles of thinking about problems rather than solving them, and how learning to recognise those patterns can help us regain control.
The conversation also explores the changing world of work and the impact of AI. Rather than necessarily giving us more time, Nick argues that new technology can increase expectations and create an even greater need for boundaries, focus and recovery.
Nick also introduces a different approach to productivity: “pulse more than hustle.” Instead of trying to operate at maximum intensity all day, Nick explains how alternating between different modes of work, protecting periods of deep focus and understanding when your brain performs at its best can lead to more sustainable performance.
Osher and Nick also discuss career reinvention, the importance of adapting when the skills that once made you successful are no longer enough, and why learning to switch off may be one of the most important skills in the modern workplace.
It's a practical conversation about burnout, resilience, productivity, AI, overthinking and the future of work — and how to build a career and life that can actually be sustained.
LINKS
Nick's book 'Burn Bright: 10 Habits to Sustain High Performance in an Always-On World' is available now
More about Nick and his work
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Listen to the Story Club podcast
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Get Osher's latest books here
Send a pic of what you're looking at to sendosheremail@gmail.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is there a wrong way to apologise? Well...maybe.
In this episode, I'm exploring what it really means to say sorry. Drawing on lessons from teaching ethics to my son's school class, plus my experiences with recovery, I'm taking a closer look at why a genuine apology goes far beyond simply saying the words.
Let me know your thoughts through the links below.
LINKS
Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
Watch full stories recorded live at  Story Club on YouTube
Listen to the Story Club podcast
Get tickets for our next Story Club show
Get Osher's latest books here
Send a pic of what you're looking at to sendosheremail@gmail.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dami Im one of Australia’s most distinctive and accomplished voices. But there's a deeper story to her success.
Arriving in Brisbane from South Korea as a nine-year-old, she grew up navigating life between cultures, and eventually went on to win The X Factor Australia and build a hugely successful career as a singer and songwriter. But behind the bright lights and screaming fans was a very human struggle with insecurity, self-doubt and the feeling that perhaps she didn’t quite belong.
In this conversation, Dami opens up about the people who believed in her when she struggled to believe in herself, including the extraordinary mentorship she received from Dannii Minogue. Dami and Osher discuss about what it means to take ownership of your achievements, the pressure to be perfect, and how the discipline she learned through music has shaped her life.
Then they go deeper — unpacking growing up as an immigrant in Australia, finding belonging through community and faith, the changing influence of Korean culture around the world, and the lessons Dami wants to pass on to her own children. And perhaps most importantly, they talk about the challenge of building a career and pursuing your passions while also being a mum, and learning that being proud of yourself doesn’t have to mean losing your humility. It’s a really honest conversation about identity, resilience, ambition, family and finding the confidence to say: 'I deserve to be here'.
Enjoy this chat with Dami Im.
LINKS
Watch Dami's 'Proud Of Me' music video
Follow Dami (@damiim) on Instagram
More info and tour dates
Sign up to the Better Than Yesterday newsletter
Watch episodes of Better Than Yesterday on YouTube
Watch full stories recorded live at Story Club on YouTube
Listen to the Story Club podcast
Get tickets for our next Story Club show
Get Osher's latest books here
Send a pic of what you're looking at to sendosheremail@gmail.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.