Uncommon Ground with Talal Yassine

World champion boxer and cancer survivor Billy Dib sits down with Talal to trace an extraordinary life. From a corner shop in Engadine and schoolyard racism to the bright lights of world titles, celebrity promoters, heartbreak, and healing. Billy shares how his father’s “kill them with kindness” philosophy and a devoted English teacher (who taught him to read with boxing magazines) shaped the resilience that carried him through two world championships, ‘boxing politics’ with Floyd Mayweather and 50 Cent, the grief of losing his first wife Sarah, and his own brutal battle with cancer.
This story is about faith, family, and choosing courage when everything inside you wants to quit. Billy opens up about what it really takes to become (and stay) a champion and the day he was ready to “die in the ring” to keep a promise.
He also talks about his new children’s book Boys Can Cry (And Billy Dib Does Too) a message to young boys that strength and tenderness can live in the same heart.
Episode Running Order

Intro (00:00)
Engadine beginnings, standing out & schoolyard racism (01:05)
“I couldn’t read” — Ms Chetty, boxing mags & a new path (06:30)
Family corner shop, customer service & “kill them with kindness” (12:10)
Discovering boxing at 12 (PCYC Sutherland origin story) (17:40)
Amateur grind, self-belief & the “Muhammad Ali” robe (23:30)
World title mindset: going where your opponent won’t (28:20)
Life as champion: training load, team, injuries (the shoe mishap) (35:15)
Golden Boy years: Tyson, De La Hoya & big-league lessons (41:30)
Mayweather vs 50 Cent: deals, fallout & career detour (48:00)
Love & loss: Sarah’s illness, grief & learning to ask for help (55:45)
“Something’s wrong” — pain, hospital chaos & diagnosis (1:02:20)
Chemo war: bone-deep pain, faith, nurses & not quitting (1:08:40)
Remission, secret comeback bout & Ring Magazine award (1:13:10)
New chapter: fatherhood, faith & Boys Can Cry (1:18:30)
Quick-fire: misconceptions, guilty pleasures & advice to 21-year-old Billy (1:22:00)
Closing reflections & outro (1:25:30)

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At just 27, Fatima Payman made history as the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman elected to the Australian Parliament. Her election was more than symbolic, it was a moment of visibility that resonated deeply across Australia, especially for young people who had never seen themselves represented in public life.
In this candid conversation with Talal Yassine, Fatima shares her extraordinary journey, from refugee roots in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to growing up in Perth, to the unlikely path that took her into student activism, union organising, and finally the Senate. She speaks openly about her late father’s influence, the lessons of resilience and faith her parents instilled, and the weight of carrying both community hopes and personal expectations.
Fatima also reflects on the challenges of navigating politics as a young woman of colour, the racism she faced at university, the pressures within party politics, and the personal cost of taking a stand when her conscience collided with party lines. She explains why she chose principle over convenience, even at the risk of her career, and how she continues to redefine what representation can look like in modern Australia.
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Episode Running Order
Intro: who is Senator Fatima Payman and why her story matters (00:00)
Early memories: Pakistan, reunion with her father, arriving in Australia (02:05)
Family history & politics in the blood: grandfather’s role, dad’s influence (05:10)
Faith & agency: choosing the hijab at 12 and owning the decision (08:15)
Growing up in Perth: Islamic school, belonging, first brushes with prejudice (11:20)
Uni shock: “Do you have a bomb?” and turning ignorance into dialogue (14:30)
First activism win: saving the campus café with a petition (17:40)
Enter Labor: coffee with Pierre Yang, volunteering, first campaign (20:25)
Young Labor president: diversifying the room and building field muscle (23:15)
Union organiser: aged care to factories—rights, persuasion, and trust (26:40)
Preselection saga: citizenship hurdle, “you won’t win #3,” and the upset (30:05)
Day one in Canberra: Senate school, staff, and the reality of power (33:45)
October 7 as turning point: platform vs. party line (36:30)
Speaking out: genocide language, pressure, and double standards (40:00)
Crossing the floor: consequences, conscience, and fallout for Jacob (44:10)
Leaving Labor: independence day and what came next (48:05)
Building Australia’s Voice: party launch, tour of WA, 2025 run (51:00)
Beyond Palestine: housing, climate, HECS, aged care, youth voice (55:05)
Not the Greens: balance of power and why she stayed independent (58:00)
Quick-fire Q&A: misconceptions, guilty pleasures, advice to young women (1:01:20)
Closing reflections: courage, cost, and representing WA on her terms (1:04:10)
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Season 2 of Uncommon Ground opens with David Campbell, one of Australia’s most versatile performers, an actor, singer, television presenter, and proud father.
In this intimate conversation with Talal Yassine, David reflects on the complexities of identity, from a childhood raised by his grandmother in Adelaide to discovering the truth about his parents and navigating the weight of being Jimmy Barnes’ son. He speaks candidly about trauma, ADHD, and the long path to self-acceptance.
David also shares the lessons of fatherhood, why being present matters, and how to ‘break the chain’ of generational pain. From cabaret stages in New York to breakfast television at Channel 9, he opens up about the triumphs, failures, and reinventions that shaped him, and the balance between ambition, authenticity and love.
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Episode Running Order
Opening: Season 2 begins with David Campbell (00:00)
Childhood in Adelaide: heat, red brick houses and ABBA on TV (02:00)
Growing up with his grandmother and finding his name (05:00)
School years, anxiety, ADHD and music as an outlet (09:00)
Brothers, sisters and redefining family (14:00)
Discovering the Barnes side and a fractured childhood truth (18:00)
Coping with trauma, forgiveness and healing family ties (24:00)
The role of his grandmother: discipline, love and survival (29:00)
Building a relationship with his mother (33:00)
Fatherhood, breaking the chain and learning vulnerability (37:00)
From Adelaide youth theatre to Sydney stages (43:00)
Cabaret in New York, Broadway mentors and early failures (48:00)
Returning home: Shout! Sony Records and reinventing himself (53:00)
Channel 9, television, and the partnership with Sonia Kruger (57:00)
Work ethic, comparison, and “the chip on the shoulder” (1:01:00)
Fatherhood revisited: lessons, mentors, and protecting children (1:06:00)
Quickfire questions: misconceptions, guilty pleasures, advice (1:09:00)
Closing: reflections on authenticity and resilience (1:10:00)
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Journalist, author and academic Stan Grant joins Talal Yassine for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about identity, faith, and the cost of speaking out.
From a childhood of poverty and constant movement across rural New South Wales, to interviewing world leaders and reporting from some of the globe’s most dangerous conflict zones, Stan’s story is one of resilience, grit, and unflinching honesty. He opens up about growing up Wiradjuri, the hard love of his father, and the strength of family that carried him through homelessness and hardship.
Stan reflects on his meteoric rise through journalism, the toll of frontline reporting, and the burden of being one of Australia’s most visible Indigenous voices. He speaks candidly about racism, burnout, and his controversial departure from the ABC, but also about the things that sustain him: faith, philosophy, music, and the enduring power of love.
This episode moves between the personal and the profound, from childhood memories tied to songs on a transistor radio, to the philosophy of history and modernity, and finally his vision for a more generous Australia rooted in respect and hope.
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Episode Running Order
Opening: The art of conversation vs. interview (00:00)
Earliest memories: music, hats and a travelling childhood (04:00)
Life on the move: cars, caravans and sawmills (09:00)
Hard love, resilience and lessons from his father (15:00)
The wider family and responsibility beyond his years (20:00)
Discovering books, philosophy and a world beyond poverty (25:00)
From mail boy to university: the turning point (32:00)
Breaking into journalism: copy boy, cadetship and the fast rise (38:00)
Reporting Canberra politics and hosting prime-time TV by 27 (45:00)
CNN years: the world stage, conflict zones and PTSD (50:00)
Returning home: ABC, Sky and disillusionment with hosting roles (58:00)
Family life: meeting Tracey, raising four children and following bliss (1:05:00)
Race, identity and the unfinished business of Australia (1:12:00)
Faith, philosophy and the last sigh of Christ (1:18:00)
Yindyamarra Trust: giving, love and building respect (1:25:00)
Quickfire round: misconceptions, guilty pleasures, advice to young Stan (1:28:00)
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Cameron Kerr has spent 25 years at the helm of Australia’s Taronga Zoo, transforming it from a traditional attraction into a global conservation powerhouse. A zoologist and conservationist at heart, Cameron’s story begins in the rock pools of Collaroy and the paddocks of rural NSW, where a pet donkey and injured rabbits sparked a lifelong love of animals.
In this conversation, Cameron reflects on a career that bridges science, business and ethics. He shares candid stories, from rescuing rabbits as a boy to running one of Australia’s most complex conservation organisations. We also hear about the moral dilemmas of keeping animals in zoos and how Taronga is leading world-first efforts to save species from platypuses to corals.
Cameron also opens up about leadership, values, and resilience, including what it takes to guide a thousand-strong team through crises like COVID, and how passion, patience and persistence can drive systemic change.
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