TEA WITH JULES

Strap in for a good old fashioned catch up.

In this episode, Jules sits down with her manager, dear friend and fan favourite Lisa Johnston for one of their much loved life chats. No agenda, no big lessons, just two friends, a lot of banter and some very funny stories. Consider this your permission to feel completely normal about all the chaos of everyday life.

Spring has sprung, and with it comes the great return of leg shaving, a deep and important debate about waxing versus laser, and an unforgettable confession about the rogue chin hairs that arrive out of nowhere the moment you hit a certain age. It's the kind of honest, nobody says this out loud chat that makes you feel gloriously seen.
From there the girls get into Lisa's brave new era on the netball court, the uniform reality nobody warned her about.

This is a warm, silly, feel good episode about the small stuff that makes up a real life. Pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in for a laugh.

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Welcome Back, Lisa Johnston
00:40 — Spring Has Sprung, and So Has the Leg Shaving
01:18 — The Great Debate: Waxing vs Laser
02:33 — Let's Talk About the Rogue Chin Hairs
05:46 — Lisa's Brave New Era: Joining a Netball Team
08:24 — The Uniform Nobody Warned Her About
10:29 — The Marathon, the Runners and a Lot of Admiration
12:02 — Could We All Benefit From a Few Gels?
14:46 — The Saga Begins: The Case of the Missing Purse
18:43 — Then the Keys Went (And They Cost a Fortune)
21:02 — And Then the AirPods
24:30 — Losing Absolutely Everything: A Very Relatable Spiral
27:11 — Lisa Comes Bearing a Gift: The Notebook
28:40 — Writing It All Down, Every Single Day
32:40 — The Netball Grand Final Heartbreak
36:34 — On Sideline Yelling and Being the Scary Coach
38:53 — Coach Lisa: Adding It to the Bio
39:50 — Words to Live By: Don't Lose Stuff
40:34 — The Theme Park and the Car Keys
41:09 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules

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Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liane Moriarty is one of Australia's most loved and successful authors, the brilliant mind behind Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and The Husband's Secret, and so many other stories that have captivated millions of readers around the world.

Her writing is funny, clever, sometimes dark, and always incredibly observant about the way we live, love and relate to one another. And now she's returning to the world of Big Little Lies with her new novel, Big Little Truths.

In this joyful and fascinating conversation, Jules, a self confessed book lover who treats authors like rock stars, sits down with Liane to go behind the curtain of one of the great writing careers. They begin with Liane's origin story, growing up the eldest of six, and the dad who paid her a dollar a book to write stories as a child, giving her her very first publishing deal. She shares the winding road through advertising and marketing, the sisterly rivalry that lit the spark, and how she finally came to write her first novel.

Liane is wonderfully candid about the craft itself, why she doesn't read her own genre, how she treats writing like a nine to five job, where her ideas actually come from, and the panic of having an idea that's a little too close to someone else's. Liane tells the story of Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon optioning Big Little Lies, what it was like to live with her characters as they came to life on screen, the strange experience of watching someone else interpret your work, and being bored on a set surrounded by Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon.

Warm, funny and full of insight, this is a real treat for book lovers and storytellers alike. Pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in.

Connect with Liane Moriarty:
Website: https://www.lianemoriarty.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lianemoriartyauthor/

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introducing Liane Moriarty
00:44 — Like Having Beyoncé in the Chair: Jules the Super Fan
01:36 — The Origin Story: Eldest of Six and a Family of Storytellers
02:13 — The Dad Who Paid a Dollar a Book: Her First Publishing Deal
02:28 — Dead Man's Island and the Enid Blyton Influence
03:32 — The Winding Road Through Advertising and Marketing
04:14 — The Sister Who Published First, and the Spark It Lit
07:05 — Why She Doesn't Read Her Own Genre
08:14 — Treating Writing Like a Nine to Five Job
10:00 — Where the Ideas Actually Come From
12:35 — The Panic of an Idea That's a Little Too Close
13:55 — Plotting, Pantsing and Finding the Story
17:23 — The Balance of Light and Dark in Life and Fiction
19:01 — When Your Books Aren't for Everyone
19:39 — Writing So the Reader Feels Okay at the End
22:19 — The Introvert Who Observes Everything
25:41 — Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and the Call That Changed Everything
27:19 — "If We Option It, Get Excited"
28:37 — Living With Your Characters as They Come to Life on Screen
30:23 — When a Character Is Different on Screen Than on the Page
32:03 — Why Everyone Interprets a Book Differently
34:57 — Bored on Set With Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon
37:02 — Big Little Truths: The Women Are Perimenopausal Now
38:03 — The Deeper Themes: Shame, Individuality and More
38:37 — So What Are the Truths Now?
41:57 — Why the Truth Is Always Changing
42:49 — Two Audiences: The Book Readers and the Show Watchers
49:04 — The Pressure of Success and the "What Does She Do Next" Feeling
51:26 — Why She's Simply Looking Forward to the Next Book
53:04 — Her One Profound Answer, and the Birthday Party Wisdom
56:19 — If She Could Tell Her Younger Self One Thing: Wear Sunscreen
57:32 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules

Connect with Jules
Get Jules' Newsletter
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Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lisa Messenger is one of Australia's most recognisable entrepreneurs, best known for building The Collective Hub into a global media brand that inspired millions of people to think differently about business, creativity and taking risks.

But Lisa has never been someone to stand still. She has spent her career reinventing herself, and today that reinvention looks a little different. The Collective Hub has evolved into a digital community and app, she's become a passionate advocate for helping people embrace AI in practical ways, and she's continuing to challenge what modern entrepreneurship can look like. She's also, in her own words, living on a farm with 29 chickens, a three-year-old, and another baby on the way.

In this warm and wide-ranging conversation, Jules and Lisa talk about reinvention, motherhood, identity, AI and what it really means to build a life that evolves as you do. Lisa opens up with remarkable honesty about the rise and the reality of The Collective Hub, growing too fast, losing control, and the brave decision to let go of the thing everyone knew her for. She and Jules go deep on the identity question that follows, who are you when the thing that defined you falls away, and how you learn to hold your achievements a little more loosely.

This is an uplifting, honest and inspiring conversation about the courage to keep becoming who you're meant to be. Pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in.

Connect with Lisa Messenger and The Collective Hub:
Website: https://collectivehub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisamessenger/
The Collective Hub: https://www.instagram.com/collectivehub/

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introducing Lisa Messenger
01:14 — Setting the Intention: Anything Is Possible
01:33 — The Pinup Girl for Doing It Anyway
02:33 — Farm Life, 29 Chickens and a Baby on the Way
02:47 — Why She Says No More Than She Says Yes
05:15 — The Queen of Reinvention
06:22 — Forty Books and a Life of Curiosity
07:52 — Writing Fiction: The Story of Jess and Justin
08:15 — What's Next: The New Book, Matchstick
11:07 — Where It Began: The Collective Hub Magazine
14:50 — Growing Too Fast and Losing Control
15:21 — The Systems and Processes She Never Had
19:27 — The Brave Decision to Let It Go
22:13 — Who Am I With All of That Stripped Away?
23:05 — Attaching Your Identity to the Thing You Built
25:26 — When Fewer People Want a Piece of You
27:44 — We Meet People at Different Stages of Their Lives
32:43 — The Collective Hub Reborn as a Community and App
34:42 — Live Sessions, AI Tools and a New Digital Age
37:55 — From Technologically Inept to AI Advocate
41:04 — Model the Greats: How She Teaches AI
42:53 — Her Simple Secret: Just Keep Asking
45:20 — Getting Productive and Protecting Her Time
46:41 — The Fertility Journey: Eight Years and 18 Rounds of IVF
47:57 — Surrogacy and Welcoming a Second Baby
48:55 — The Sweetest Question From Her Son
51:57 — Why Success Means Less to Her Now
53:45 — What She Wishes More Women Knew Before Chasing Success
54:46 — Reinventing Is Fun
55:19 — Barefoot, Giggling and Truly Happy
56:16 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules

Connect with Jules
Get Jules' Newsletter
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Follow Tea with Jules on Instagram
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Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Nici Sweaney is one of Australia's leading voices on artificial intelligence, but what makes her story so compelling isn't just her credentials. It's her mission to make AI accessible, practical and empowering, especially for women.

She understands AI from the inside out: the algorithms, the machine learning, the data, and the biases that shape the technology we're all beginning to rely on. In 2022, as generative AI emerged, Nici had a feeling the world was about to change. She famously woke her partner up in the middle of the night to say, this is going to change everything. She was right.

Since launching AI Her Way, she has built a multi-million dollar business while raising four children, working a four day week, and teaching thousands of women how to confidently embrace AI rather than fear it. She was named Australia's Female AI Leader of the Year, featured on the Forbes Women 2025 list, and recognised by Microsoft as one of the top AI entrepreneurs to watch. Earlier this year, when Reese Witherspoon encouraged millions of women to start learning about AI, she pointed people toward just a handful of experts, including Dr Nici Sweaney.

She's also refreshingly honest about the risks. Privacy and what you should never share, the emotional attachment trap, why these tools get things wrong, and the powerful conversations she has with her own children about how they use it. If AI has ever made you feel overwhelmed, behind or a little afraid, this is the conversation that changes everything. Pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in.

Connect with Dr Nici Sweaney and AI Her Way:
Website: https://aiherway.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ai_herway/

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introducing Dr Nici Sweaney
01:33 — Setting the Intention: Empowerment, Not Overwhelm
02:32 — Let's Talk About the Fear Around AI
04:33 — The Real Risk: Losing Our Creativity and Critical Thinking
05:13 — Why Fear Isn't an Excuse to Step Away
06:48 — Moving Fast: Don't Become an Early Lagger
09:29 — Why Women Need to Help Shape AI Right Now
13:04 — Bias, and Why These Tools Start to Represent Us
14:47 — Privacy: What You Should Never Share
15:44 — A Real Example: Using AI to Triage Your Inbox
18:53 — The Emotional Attachment Trap
19:17 — The Morning Her Five-Year-Old Ran In
23:03 — Kids and AI: The Rules She Has at Home
23:27 — The Exercise She Set Her Eleven-Year-Old
25:24 — Why Our Kids Will Need These Skills
29:30 — Think of AI Like an Intern
29:46 — Or a Puppy You Have to Train
28:37 — Why AI Gets Things Wrong, and How to Handle It
32:03 — AI as the Operating System for Your Life
37:01 — Where to Start: Just Pick One Task
37:30 — The Magic Prompt: Ask AI to Interview You
39:38 — Is It Supposed to Be This Hard?
40:43 — A Simple Example: Making Time for Lunch
43:25 — Custom GPTs and Getting AI to Read and Write for You
47:31 — Running a Multi-Million Dollar Business With Two People
48:40 — What Actually Is an AI Agent?
49:16 — The Difference Between an Assistant and an Agent
53:19 — How She Designs an Agent
57:40 — Why Creativity Is Becoming Less About Technical Skill
59:42 — The Place Only Humans Can Sit
01:02:37 — The Gift of Time, and Why She Lies Awake Grateful
01:04:23 — Her Biggest Fear if Women Don't Embrace AI
01:04:54 — How You Know AI Is Being Used Well
01:05:39 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules

Connect with Jules
Get Jules' Newsletter
Watch Tea with Jules on YouTube
Follow Tea with Jules on Instagram
Follow Jules on TikTok

Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tania Doko is the powerhouse voice behind Bachelor Girl, whose music has become part of the soundtrack to Australian life.

Tania and James Roche formed Bachelor Girl in 1992, and their debut album Waiting for the Day went double platinum and won the ARIA Award for Producer of the Year. It delivered Buses and Trains, a song that won APRA Song of the Year, sits in Australia's 100 Greatest Songs, and remains one of the most played Australian songs of the past 25 years.

Now Bachelor Girl are celebrating that iconic debut with a beautiful reimagined release, featuring Delta Goodrem, Jessica Mauboy, Darren Hayes, Tommy Emmanuel and, in a full circle moment for Jules, her husband Guy Sebastian. But this conversation goes far beyond fame and songwriting.

Jules, a self confessed super fan, sits down with Tania to talk about the woman behind the voice. They explore how Tania first discovered she could sing and the natural high she has chased ever since, her Greek heritage and unconventional path into music, and the story of how Buses and Trains, a song she never dreamed would be a hit, came to capture the imagination of a nation.

Connect with Tania Doko and Bachelor Girl:
Website: https://taniadoko.com/
Bachelor Girl: https://bachelorgirl.com/

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introducing Tania Doko of Bachelor Girl
01:08 — Jules the Super Fan Has Her Moment
05:05 — Why Music Takes Us Back Like Nothing Else
08:38 — Greek Heritage and an Unconventional Path Into Music
12:55 — Discovering She Could Sing
14:16 — The Natural High of Singing That's Never Been Replaced
18:37 — Getting Signed by Two Major Labels
21:04 — Buses and Trains: The Universal Song That Captured a Nation
21:50 — Why She Never Thought It Would Be a Hit
24:35 — Writing Songs in a Cubby House
26:34 — Finding Success in Sweden and Scandinavia
28:30 — Protecting the Voice: The Reality of Your Instrument
35:56 — The Wedding Ring Story
38:49 — Facing Burnout
40:51 — The Brave Decision to Bring Bachelor Girl Back
42:59 — Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
44:25 — The Prison Gig That Moved Her to Tears
45:52 — A Songwriter's Dream: Hearing the Album Reimagined
50:06 — Going Into Hiding, and Coming Back Out
51:39 — You Are Afraid, Reimagined With Kaylee Bell
54:06 — Singing With Guy and the Full Circle Moment
55:21 — The Meaning Behind Permission to Shine
57:00 — The Most Adventurous Project of Her Career
59:43 — A Live Moment: Stare at Real Love
01:01:46 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules

Connect with Jules
Get Jules' Newsletter
Watch Tea with Jules on YouTube
Follow Tea with Jules on Instagram
Follow Jules on TikTok

Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.