You’re Gonna Want To Hear This

When everyone else swam for shore, Charlie Verco paddled the other way: straight towards a great white shark. On a clear, busy Saturday morning at Coogee Beach in June 2026, the 25-year-old surf lifesaver and elite board paddler was training when a woman, Leah Stewart, was attacked just ahead of him. What he did next made headlines around the world.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains detailed descriptions of a shark attack and serious injury that some listeners may find distressing.
Charlie grew up a North Bondi nipper and is now one of the country’s best ocean paddlers, the youngest ever winner of the Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard World Championships. In this conversation he walks Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt through the rescue minute by minute: reading the shark’s behaviour, the moment Leah was dragged under, towing her to shore one-armed when she lost consciousness, and the lifeguards and paramedics whose training saved her life on the sand.
It is a story about courage, but Charlie is uneasy with the word hero. He talks honestly about fear, adrenaline and imposter syndrome, how surf lifesaving and sport trained him to think under extreme stress, what a shark expert later told him, and why he is now urging two things: better shark safety on Australian beaches, and for people to donate blood.
In this conversation, Charlie Verco joins Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt to talk about the Coogee Beach shark attack, what it takes to act in a crisis, fear of the ocean, surf life saving, and why blood donation saves lives.
This episode covers:
The Coogee Beach great white shark attack: what Charlie Verco saw on Saturday 13 June 2026
Why he paddled towards the shark instead of swimming to safety
What it is like to come face to face with a great white shark
How surf lifesaving training and Ironman racing prepared him to act under extreme stress
Towing an unconscious woman to shore one-armed on a paddleboard
What a shark expert later told him about great white behaviour
The beach response: tourniquets, lifeguards and the teamwork that saved a life
Managing fear, adrenaline and the shakes after a traumatic rescue
Going back into the ocean: how Charlie feels about the water now
Shark safety in Australia: drones, detection and what he thinks needs to change
On being called a hero, and the imposter syndrome that comes with it
Why he is urging Australians to donate blood, especially O negative

If this conversation raises issues for you, support is available.
In Australia, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support. To support the cause Charlie raises in this episode, you can donate blood through Australian Red Cross Lifeblood (O negative is especially needed in emergencies).

Donate blood (Australian Red Cross Lifeblood): https://www.lifeblood.com.au
Support Leah Stewart (family GoFundMe): https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-leah-stewart-victim-of-shark-attack-in-coogee

Follow Charlie Verco on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/char1ieverco/
🎧 Listen to You’re Gonna Want to Hear This and follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/youre-gonna-want-to-hear-this/id1849312864
Listen and follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Vsxq2nZIMJLnywOXfuxqZ
👀 Watch and subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@marieclaireau

Credits:
Host: Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt
Supervising Producer: Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting: Rachel Fountain
Learn More: You’re Gonna Want to Hear This is a production of Marie Claire and Are Media.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains themes of childhood abuse, physical punishment, sexual trauma and coercive control. If you or someone you know needs immediate assistance, call 000. For confidential 24/7 crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au. Support is also available through Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or at beyondblue.org.au.
What if leaving your faith meant losing everyone you'd ever loved?
This week on You're Gonna Want To Hear This, Marie Claire Australia Editor Georgie McCourt speaks with author Bek Condello about her extraordinary journey out of one of Australia's most controlling Pentecostal churches.
Raised inside the Geelong Revival Centre, Bek grew up believing the outside world was dangerous. Every aspect of life, from education and friendships to marriage and work was dictated by church leaders. Curiosity was discouraged, obedience was demanded, and fear shaped almost every decision.
In this deeply personal conversation, Bek reflects on the childhood she now recognises as abusive, the lasting impact of religious trauma and the heartbreaking reality that leaving meant losing her family, community and identity.
She also opens up about purity culture, consent, body shame, marrying to escape one form of control only to enter another, and the years it took to trust herself and build a life on her own terms.
Today, Bek has transformed unimaginable loss into purpose. As the state of Victoria investigates high-control religious groups, she explains why sharing her story has become about much more than personal healing... it's about helping others recognise coercion, reclaim their autonomy and know they're not alone.
This episode covers:
Growing up inside the Geelong Revival Centre
How high-control religions shape identity
Religious trauma and childhood abuse
The psychological impact of fear-based faith
Purity culture, consent and bodily autonomy
Escaping a controlling church
Rebuilding life after leaving a cult
Learning to trust yourself again
Why leaving is a process, not a single moment
Bek's advocacy for survivors of coercive religious groups
Can You Handle a Girl Like Me? by Bek Condello is available from mid-July.
Stay up to date with Marie Claire Australia on Instagram
🎧 Listen to You're Gonna Want to Hear This and follow us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
👀 Watch and subscribe to You're Gonna Want to Hear This on YouTube 📺 for full episodes and clips.
Credits:
Host Georgie McCourt
Edited by Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting Rachel Fountain
With thanks to our amazing team at Marie Claire
Learn More:
You're Gonna Want to Hear This is a production of Marie Claire and Are Media.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when the search for answers becomes a dangerous obsession?
Georgie sits down with journalist and author Hannah McElhinney to discuss her book Wormhole, the true story of her cousin Lauren.
Lauren spent much of her life battling debilitating symptoms and collecting diagnoses including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and POTS, while struggling to find meaningful answers from the healthcare system.
As her trust in traditional medicine eroded, she was drawn deeper into online communities promoting controversial and unproven treatments - including coffee enemas, bleach protocols, ozone therapy and hyperthermia treatment.
At just 37 years old, Lauren travelled alone to Malaysia for an alternative treatment she hoped would finally make her well. She never came home.
Hannah shares the heartbreaking story behind Lauren’s death, and the broader questions her story raises about health anxiety and the booming wellness industry.
The conversation also explores Hannah’s own experiences with IBS, OCD and health anxiety, and how her personal journey informed her understanding of Lauren’s search for answers.
This episode contains discussions of health conditions and unproven treatments, please see your doctor for medical advice.
This episode covers:
The true story behind Wormhole
Lauren’s decades-long battle with chronic illness
Why chronic illness can leave people vulnerable to misinformation
The rise of alternative medicine and wellness culture
The online communities that fuel medical distrust
The dangers of unregulated treatments and medical tourism
Chronic Lyme disease and the controversy surrounding the diagnosis
The intersection of health anxiety, OCD and chronic symptoms
Women’s experiences of being dismissed within healthcare systems
The fine line between hope, desperation and exploitation
How Hannah’s own health journey shaped her understanding of Lauren’s story
What Lauren’s life can teach us about trust, wellness and living fully
Wormhole by Hannah McElhinney is available now.
Read more on Marie Claire: The 'treatment' that went horribly wrong in Malaysia, and the wellness world behind it
Stay up to date with Marie Claire Australia on Instagram
🎧 Listen to You’re Gonna Want to Hear This and follow us on Apple Podcasts orv Spotify
👀 Watch and subscribe to You're Gonna Want to Hear This on YouTube 📺 for full episodes and clips.
Credits:
Host Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt
Edited by Charlie Potter
Supervising Producer Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting Rachel Fountain
Learn More: You're Gonna Want to Hear This is a production of Marie Claire and Are Media.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever stood in a room wondering why you walked in, burst into tears over something small, or lain awake at 3am completely exhausted? You’re not going crazy, and you’re not “just busy”. It could be perimenopause.
Dr Mary Claire Haver is one of the world’s leading voices in women’s health: a board-certified OB-GYN, menopause specialist and #1 New York Times bestselling author whose books The Galveston Diet and The New Menopause sparked a global conversation about menopause, and whose appearances on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett and The Mel Robbins Podcast have reached tens of millions of women. Her new book, The New Perimenopause: An Evidence-Based Guide to Surviving the Zone of Chaos and Feeling Like Yourself Again, is the guidebook women have been desperately searching for.
This one gets personal. At 44, Georgie has been told by her own gynaecologist that she’s “just busy”, then handed an HRT script with no explanation of how to use it. Dr Haver explains why that dismissal is so common, what’s really happening inside the body during the hormonal “zone of chaos”, and why suffering through it is optional.
In this conversation, Dr Mary Claire Haver joins Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt to talk perimenopause symptoms, misdiagnosis, hormone therapy (HRT), brain fog, rage, weight gain, weight-loss drugs, osteoporosis, low libido, and the one message every woman needs to hear.
This episode covers:
The perimenopause symptoms doctors dismiss: anxiety, rage, brain fog, insomnia, weight gain and low libido
Why perimenopause can start in your mid-30s, 7 to 10 years before menopause
How to tell the difference between depression, burnout, ADHD and hormone-driven changes
Why so many women are misdiagnosed and prescribed antidepressants instead of hormone therapy
Is HRT safe? The real benefits and risks of menopause hormone therapy
Menopause and divorce: the viral “two camps” debate
Why belly fat can double or triple in menopause, and why more cardio isn’t the answer
Ozempic-style weight-loss drugs (GLP-1s), muscle loss and the “GPS” rule: GLP-1 + protein + strength training
The osteoporosis statistic every woman needs to hear: 50% of women will have an osteoporotic fracture
How vaginal oestrogen cuts recurrent UTIs (and sepsis) by 50%
Low libido in perimenopause: the five causes of sexual dysfunction, and where testosterone fits in
Dr Haver’s message: “Perimenopause is inevitable. Suffering is not.”
The New Perimenopause by Dr Mary Claire Haver is out now.
🎧 Listen to You’re Gonna Want to Hear This and follow us on Apple Podcasts
Listen and follow on Spotify
👀 Watch and subscribe to You’re Gonna Want to Hear This on YouTube 📺 for full episodes and clips.
Credits:
Host: Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt
Supervising Producer: Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting: Rachel Fountain
Learn More: You’re Gonna Want to Hear This is a production of Marie Claire and Are Media.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses mental health challenges, including suicidal thoughts and ideation. If you or someone you know needs immediate assistance, call 000. For confidential 24/7 crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au. Support is also available through Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or at beyondblue.org.au.
What if the person you're most afraid of becoming is yourself?
Every month, writer Emma Hardy found herself trapped in a cycle of rage, despair, anxiety and emotional chaos. Then it would pass, and life would return to normal - until the cycle began again.
In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt sits down with Emma to discuss her debut memoir, Periodic Bitch: A Memoir of Menstruation, Madness and Monsters, a raw exploration of life with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
Together, they discuss PMDD, from uncontrollable anger and emotional outbursts to the relief and complexity of finally receiving a diagnosis. The conversation moves beyond the condition itself, examining how women's pain is misunderstood, dismissed or pathologised, and why conversations about female rage remain so uncomfortable.
Emma also explores the surprising cultural influences behind the book, from horror stories and hysteria to medical research conducted on rats, and the question at the heart of Periodic Bitch: when is a mood just a mood, and when does it become an illness?
In this episode:
What PMDD actually is, and why it's often mistaken for severe PMS
Emma's journey to diagnosis
Georgie's personal experience living with PMDD
The impact PMDD can have on relationships, careers and self-worth
Why female anger is so often labelled as madness
The link between PMDD, mental health and emotional regulation
Medical misogyny and the challenges women face when seeking treatment
Why PMDD remains under-researched and under-diagnosed
The fascinating stories of women whose crimes were linked to premenstrual disorders
How Emma learned to stop fearing her emotions and start understanding them
This is a conversation about hormones, identity, rage, resilience and the stories women are told about their bodies.
Buy the book: Periodic Bitch: A Memoir of Menstruation, Madness and Monsters by Emma Hardy.
If this conversation raises issues for you, support is available.
More from Emma on Marie Claire: Emma Hardy is starting the conversation on PMDD women have been waiting to have
Listen to You're Gonna Want to Hear This and follow us on Apple Podcasts
Listen and follow on Spotify
Watch and subscribe to You're Gonna Want to Hear This on YouTube for full episodes and clips.
Credits:
Host: Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt
Edited by Charlie Potter
Consulting Producer: Jessie-Lee Klass
Supervising Producer: Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting: Rachel Fountain
Learn More: You're Gonna Want to Hear This is a production of Marie Claire and Are Media.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.