Seize the Yay

Happy New year lovely yayborhood and welcome to our first episode for 2026. I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and holiday period.

If you’ve been on the internet at all in the past few years, our first guest will need no introduction but just in case I’m thrilled to have Lia Georgantis with us this week, the dynamic CEO and creative force behind Girls with Gems.

This cult-favourite Australian fashion boutique first began in the form of intimate jewelry parties hosted by Lia and her Mum but quickly evolved and exploded into a must-shop destination for women everywhere with the launch of their iconic Double Bay boutique. Lia soon left her promising law career to take the reins of the business and transformed it into a trend-setting haven for real-life wardrobes and real-life women and if that weren’t enough, also went on to launch her own in house label Sneaky Link that has equally exploded onto the scene.

As you’ll hear, after mutually long time following first time calling, we got along like a house on fire and Lia’s energy is absolutely infectious so I couldn’t think of a better guest to kick off the year. Her approach to taking risks, chasing dreams and learning on the fly is both refreshing and motivating so if you need a little kick into gear, she is your woman.

SHOP GIRLS WITH GEMS HERE.

LINKS

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+ Join our Facebook community here
+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk regularly on Seize the Yay about the unlikely but incredible places you can end up and how many of the best experiences in life are unplanned. You already know how blown away I was to be approached by one of our intelligence services a few months ago and given access to a real life spy for one of our most fascinating episodes to date, which was not only unplanned but never even considered being such an outlandish impossibility.

But if you told me that would snowball into a four part dedicated espionage and intelligence miniseries, which would include not only two further intelligence officers from an even more secret spy service but also its Director General who then invited me as the first external visitor in the history of that service to record at their top secret training facility in an undisclosed location? I would have absolutely laughed in your face at the sheer impossibility and ridiculousness that it could ever happen… and yet it did… so, here we are…

I could not be more honoured or thrilled to present as our guest this week the actual head of our most secret organisation, Kerri Hartland - the Director General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (or ASIS as we will refer to it). As the first female and first external deputy director general of ASIO and now the first female Director General of ASIS, Kerri is my absolute hero not least because she turned up in head to toe pink with a warmth and openness belying the power of her position and her awe-inspiring experience.

Within the understandable confines of operational secrecy, Kerri opens up about the challenges of a stellar career of “firsts”, her experiences as a powerful female leader in a sea of black and navy clad males, whether her life resembles anything like that of M in James Bond (dropping a few Seize the Yay exclusives), and also the humbling role of Mum that she comes home to also experiencing the ubiquitous “juggle”. I still can’t believe I actually got to pick such an extraordinary brain and share many invaluable lessons on seizing the yay.

We are also releasing a second episode at the same time as this one sharing part of ASIS’ story from a different lens through the eyes of two senior intelligence officers, Jess and Tara - not their real names. So, you have plenty to catch up on this week jam-packed with jaw dropping storytelling and reflections - I feel so lucky to be sharing this with the yayborhood and hope you all enjoy as much as I did!

Visit the new ASIS website here.
Follow the new ASIS Instagram here.

LINKS

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah
+ Join our Facebook community here
+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk regularly on Seize the Yay about the unlikely but incredible places you can end up and how many of the best experiences in life are unplanned. You already know how blown away I was to be approached by one of our intelligence services a few months ago and given access to a real life spy for one of our most fascinating episodes to date, which was not only unplanned but never even considered being such an outlandish impossibility.

But if you told me that would snowball into a four part dedicated espionage and intelligence miniseries, which would include not only two further intelligence officers from an even more secret spy service but also its Director General who then invited me as the first external visitor in the history of that service to record at their top secret training facility in an undisclosed location? I would have absolutely laughed in your face at the sheer impossibility and ridiculousness that it could ever happen… and yet it did… so, here we are…

I could not be more honoured or thrilled to present as our guest this week the actual head of our most secret organisation, Kerri Hartland - the Director General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (or ASIS as we will refer to it). As the first female and first external deputy director general of ASIO and now the first female Director General of ASIS, Kerri is my absolute hero not least because she turned up in head to toe pink with a warmth and openness belying the power of her position and her awe-inspiring experience.

Within the understandable confines of operational secrecy, Kerri opens up about the challenges of a stellar career of “firsts”, her experiences as a powerful female leader in a sea of black and navy clad males, whether her life resembles anything like that of M in James Bond (dropping a few Seize the Yay exclusives), and also the humbling role of Mum that she comes home to also experiencing the ubiquitous “juggle”. I still can’t believe I actually got to pick such an extraordinary brain and share many invaluable lessons on seizing the yay.

We are also releasing a second episode at the same time as this one sharing part of ASIS’ story from a different lens through the eyes of two senior intelligence officers, Jess and Tara - not their real names. So, you have plenty to catch up on this week jam-packed with jaw dropping storytelling and reflections - I feel so lucky to be sharing this with the yayborhood and hope you all enjoy as much as I did!

Visit the new ASIS website here.
Follow the new ASIS Instagram here.

LINKS

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah
+ Join our Facebook community here
+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when your entire identity is built on being the best in the world? For Jana Pittman, one of Australia's most famous athletes, the singular goal of Olympic gold was repeatedly torn away by devastating injuries and gut-wrenching losses.
You might think her biggest pivot was swapping the running track for the bobsled, becoming one of the very few athletes in history to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
But that wasn't it. Her real pivot was walking away entirely from being an elite athlete to become a doctor - all while raising six children.
In this episode of Pivot Club, Sarah Davidson speaks with Jana about this massive career change. They unpack how you cope with failure when your mindset is "silver is the first loser", and how you go from being one of the best in the world to a complete beginner back at the bottom of the ladder, surrounded by people half your age.
Jana shares the unfiltered story about how this profound pivot emerged from a period of intense personal and professional struggle - through divorce, miscarriages, failed exams and the financial lows of moving back into her own garage to make ends meet.
Join us for a raw lesson in resilience, a look into the unseen "messy middle," and a powerful reminder that your lowest moments can be the fuel for your greatest chapter yet.

THE END BITS:
Want more from Sarah Davidson? Check out her podcast Seize The Yay.
Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.
Feedback: [email protected]
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CREDITS:
Guest: Jana Pittman
Host: Sarah Davidson
Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser
Senior Producer: Sally Best
Want more Pivot Club? Listen here:
This show was brought to you in partnership with Charles Sturt University. Australia's largest and most experienced online uni. Take the next step. Search Charles Sturt University online.
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.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is another voice you are likely to have had in your ears many times with an incredible career spanning over a decade conquering basically every media format there is. From his earliest days, Mitch Churi could be found on the stage, on the airwaves or on a screen near you mastering everything from theatre, dramatic acting and stand up comedy to presenting, podcasting and radio.

From childhood dreams of being on the radio, Mitch worked his way up to headlining his own late night show, co-hosting the Pick Up with Laura Byrne and Britt Hockley and taking KISS FM to some of their highest numbers ever and all before the age of 30. But then, in a surprise to the entire nation, it was torn away when he was unexpectedly axed in a wave of redundancies and taken off air.

We love a pathyay pivot on this show whether engineered on purpose or experienced involuntarily and have many times explored the idea that the universe has crazy ways of giving you a little push to where you’re meant to be. Having taken just TWO WEEKS to turn this tragic surprise into his very own The Mitch Churi Chat Show, Mitch is such an empowering example of this and in just a few weeks he’s already reached wild heights debuting with Tyra Banks as a guest, Rosie O’Donnell releasing the morning we recorded and him politely excusing himself after our chat because one KHALED was waiting on him…

What I love most about this wasn’t having a yap with someone I’ve long time followed, first time called or getting some tips from an industry heavyweight but Mitch’s surprising honesty about the challenge of redefining success and how actively he is still working on embracing this new chapter of his life. I loved this chat so much and will definitely be back with a part two in the future!

Watch the Mitch Churi Chat show here.

LINKS

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah
+ Join our Facebook community here
+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.