Insightful

Geoff Huegill’s name is synonymous with success. He’s a swimmer and dual Olympian, with 72 international medals under his belt. At the height of his career, he held eight world records and was known for his incredible comeback after coming out of retirement in 2008 - winning two gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, breaking a Games record and even his own personal best time. But he’s had his struggles - getting caught with a small amount of cocaine at the races, being in the public eye and scrutiny over his fitness. In this episode, Geoff talks openly about how he came back from those low points, how he deals with the harder emotions, and reveals the last conversation he had with his Dad - when he was just 12 years old.

Colleen Gwynne was the chief investigator of one of Australia's most-publicised murders - that of Peter Falconio, who was killed by Bradley John Murdoch in 2001. Falconio’s girlfriend Joanne Lees managed to escape, and Colleen saw how wrong the cops got it, when it came to how Joanne’s story was told to the world. Colleen shares why she wanted to join the police, how her mother instilled values of respect and fairness and empathy in her and her siblings, and the darkest days of her life when she was wrongly accused of a crime. Colleen now lives in rural Victoria. She finds it hard to wind down, even though she’s no longer working in the social justice space. Her desire to make life better for kids who haven’t had the best start in life, still drives her today.

Di Sheehan was a young, unwed mother in the 1970s, and was told her baby died at birth. She signed discharge papers when she left the hospital and tried to move on with her life. Four decades later, she received an email from a man who said he thought Di might be his mother. The discharge papers she signed were in fact adoption papers - a common practice in that time, to force women to give up their babies. Di now has a relationship with her son and has reconciled the lost decades with her first-born.

Port Arthur is a name synonymous with Australia’s worst modern-day massacre: 35 murdered, and 25 wounded. On that day, Phil Pyke was in his early 30s and became part of the story: his job, to guard the hospital room of the shooter, Martin Bryant. He speaks of how challenging that was, his time in the police and army, how his mental health started to spiral - and how it’s his golden retrievers that helped him find his way back.

His suicide attempt was interrupted at the last minute – then his sons survived a school shooting. Meet Darren Wagner, the man who holds hope for others.

When Angie Jordan’s abusive husband of forty years died she went through his paperwork and found her eulogy, written by him. Hear her story of facing every possible fear, and living life on her terms.

Over her dead son’s body, Charlotte Charles kissed him on the forehead and promised she would get him justice. You won’t regret meeting this extraordinary, ordinary, woman.

Melissa Kang was ‘Dolly Doctor’, giving advice to Aussie teens about boobs and sex. She’s wise and warm, and a kick-ass ping pong player, too.

Insightful is the new podcast series from SBS, hosted by Kumi Taguchi. From sex and relationships to health, wealth, and grief Insightful offers deeper dives into the lives and first person stories of former guests from the acclaimed TV show, Insight.