Stories and Stanza

Send us Fan Mail “If you want to be a writer and you’ve put pen to paper already, you are a writer.” Diana Rampton trained as an engineer and spent years working in construction in Sydney and London. It took about ten years, and three books, before she felt ready to call herself an author. Six books in, she writes sparkling Regency romantic comedies, with plenty of humour, no sex and a lot of historical detail. In this episode of Between the Lines, Diana shares her journey from engineer to au...

Send us Fan Mail What if you didn’t have to be a good poet to heal through poetry? In this episode of Stories and Stanza, I’m joined by Margaret Bryden, a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, author and founder of Sage Insight Therapy. Margaret shares the idea at the heart of her book, How I Understand It: A Bad Poet’s Guide to Mental Health & Resilience, and why she calls it “bad poetry”: writing that is honest rather than impressive, accessible rather than perfect, and free of the...

Send us Fan Mail What did you have to perform in order to survive? That's the question writer, trauma educator and memoirist Lisa Lacy puts at the centre of this conversation. It's one that tends to stay with you long after the episode ends. For nearly three decades, Lisa worked in corporate healthcare education and ran a highly successful consulting business. From the outside she looked polished and put together. Behind the scenes, she was being swallowed by addiction and a mental health c...

Send us Fan Mail World Mental Health Day Community Talk: Men’s Mental Health, Support Systems & Real Change | Stories and Stanza Live ft. Joelle Camille Host Abhra reflects on Stories and Stanza’s second in-person community talk show event in Melbourne — held on October 10th, World Mental Health Day — with guest Joelle Camille, somatic therapist, men’s coach, and body-brain rewiring practitioner. The event was postponed by a week after Joelle fell sick, but the shift turned out to be sere...

Send us Fan Mail #StoriesAndStanza #BetweenTheLines #PeterGunn #EpicPoetry #CreativeDiscipline "Embrace the suck. Embrace the mud." Peter Gunn learned that lesson crawling under barbed wire in Air Force boot camp, and he's been living by it ever since. In this episode of Between the Lines, I sit down with Peter, a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran, bodybuilder, guitarist and poet, who is on a mission to bring epic poetry back from the dead. We talk about how he went from being a morbidly obese...

Send us Fan Mail "Use your words," we tell our children. But what if they don't have the words yet? In this Fail With Me conversation, clinical psychologist Dr David S. Marcus explains why emotional language is a skill that has to be built, not something children simply pick up, and how parents can build it with them. Most of us parent the way we were parented, for better or worse. Dr Marcus has spent 40 years working with families under stress, and he unpacks what actually helps a child fee...

Send us Fan Mail Why doesn't self-awareness lead to change? Shadow journaling coach Oliver Mann, author of Shadow Journaling: A Field Guide to Personal Alchemy, explains why self-acceptance is the missing step between knowing your patterns and changing them. In his third conversation on Stories and Stanza, Oliver makes an uncomfortable point: awareness is only the first step, and on its own it can keep us more stuck than before. He and Abhra explore the hidden benefit in the patterns we say ...

Send us Fan Mail What happens to your sense of self when the job you gave years to suddenly no longer needs you? In this Fail With Me episode, Abhra sits down with Claire, a fellow writer, for an honest conversation about redundancy, job loss and the quiet grief that comes with it. Recorded at Sam Merrifield Library in Moonee Ponds, this is Stories and Stanza's first one-on-one in-person interview. Abhra and Claire have both recently been through redundancy. Instead of a neat success story, ...

Send us Fan Mail #StoriesAndStanza #Septemics #HumanBehaviour #SelfImprovement #EmotionalIntelligence "95% of the problems in industrialised society are because people don't understand people, including themselves." That conviction sits at the heart of Septemics, a system Jim Marshall spent decades building. In this episode, Abhra sits down with Jim to explore his book Septemics: Hierarchies of Human Phenomena. Jim describes Septemics as a philosophical science grounded in direct observatio...

Send us Fan Mail GNiYQGXxQongx5BIPosv "This is what it feels like to be alive. Does anybody recognise it?" Dancer and choreographer Alexandra Beller believes that's the question at the heart of all art — and the answer is what makes us feel less alone. In this episode of Stories and Stanza, Alexandra shares 25 years of lived experience inside the creative process — from performing with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to teaching artists how to trust themselves while creating. We ex...

Send us Fan Mail #WritingAsHealing #PTSD #MentalHealth #StoriesAndStanza #Resilience "I decided I didn't want to be afraid all the time." That one decision changed everything for Nancy Jasin Ensley — and it might change something for you too. In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host Abhra sits down with Nancy — a writer, registered nurse, teacher, and grandmother of fourteen from rural Michigan — for a conversation that moves between the craft of writing and the work of healing. Nancy shar...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean when your life looks perfect on the outside but something feels deeply off inside? In this episode of Fail With Me, I sit down with Charu Moorjani — Australian author of The Happiness Pathway, mindset coach, and wellbeing storyteller — for a conversation about what happens when the version of happiness you've been chasing was never actually yours. Charu's turning point came during her honeymoon in Macau, when she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome an...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you pass a mic around a library table and ask four writers why they keep showing up? This is the first ever in-person episode of Stories and Stanza — recorded live at Sam Merrifield Library in Moonee Ponds with the Moonee Valley Writing Group. Frances McKay talks about her published nonfiction Pieces of China and reads from her humorous novel-in-progress Postcards from Paris, about a young Australian au pairing in 1970s Paris. Claire describes turning a ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host speaks with writer Diana Gunn about her writing journey from starting at age eight and using NaNoWriMo to build discipline and finish projects to publishing five books, including her recent Gothic horror vampire novel Woman of Sorrow and Blood. Gunn discusses planning versus drafting fast, how challenges like NaNoWriMo can help writers start and develop confidence, and why she created the Weeknight Writers community to provide year-...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Stories and Stanza, I sit down with writer, musician, and cancer fighter Ray Hartjen to talk about his brand new novel, The Iranian Fiasco — a Tom Clancy-inspired espionage thriller published on April 7th and available wherever books are sold. Ray's story is unlike any I've heard on this show. After being diagnosed with multiple myeloma — an incurable but treatable blood cancer — in 2019, he didn't slow down. Instead, he grabbed life by the shoulders and as...

Send us Fan Mail Relationship coach, YouTube creator, and author Stacy Rocklein joins Stories and Stanza to discuss her mission to eradicate loneliness by helping people feel seen, known, and understood in their relationships. A former math teacher turned coach and author, Stacy shares how finding her purpose led her to this deeply personal work. She reframes failure as a pathway to intimacy when it's felt and shared rather than avoided, and emphasizes emotional "fluency" — sitting with feeli...

Send us Fan Mail #dyslexia #neurodiversity #learningdisability Russell Van Brocklen, the Dyslexia Professor, reveals the writing-based method that helped students jump 8 grade levels in months — at less than 1% of the cost of private dyslexia schools. If your child struggles with reading and writing, this episode could change everything. Russell was flunked by SUNY Buffalo despite earning a recommended A-minus through the NY State Assembly Internship Program — all because of his dyslexia acco...

Send us Fan Mail What if your political identity has less to do with facts and more to do with personality and conditioning? In this episode of Stories and Stanza's Fail With Me series, host Abhra sits down with psychologist Jennifer Cox to unpack the psychology behind political identity — without labeling any side as right or wrong. Using the Big Five (OCEAN) personality framework, they explore research linking higher openness to left-leaning tendencies and higher conscientiousness to right-...

Send us Fan Mail We know our love languages. We've read about attachment styles. We've even set boundaries. So why do we still struggle to stay connected when conflict hits? In this episode of Stories and Stanza, Laziena Hodge — relational intelligence speaker and creator of the Relationship Repair Language framework — joins Abhra to unpack what actually happens inside us during conflict, and why knowing your patterns isn't the same as knowing how to repair. Laziena shares her deeply persona...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when men are told to toughen up, push through, and never ask for help? In this episode of Stories and Stanza — recorded in solidarity with Men's Mental Health Awareness Month — I sit down with Joelle Camille, somatic therapist, body-brain rewiring practitioner, men's coach, speaker, and facilitator, for one of the most honest conversations I've had on this podcast. This isn't a one-sided interview. Joelle turns the mic on me — asking about my own journey with ang...

Send us Fan Mail What is mindfulness, really? And what happens when we confuse achieving with living? In this episode of Fail With Me — Stories and Stanza's series on mental health, resilience, and the messy, beautiful work of becoming — host Abhra Pal sits down with Dalida Turkovic, an ICF-certified leadership coach and certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher with 30+ years of experience guiding executives and communities across Asia, Europe, and beyond. Dalida Turkovic's story is anything...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of Stories and Stanza delves into the personal journey of renowned life coach Amanda Wakefield as she navigates life's challenges and transforms them into stepping stones to success. Despite obstacles such as failed marriages and battling cancer, she proves that it is possible to emerge stronger, wiser, and more resilient. A conversation about the concept of failure, Amanda's story provides encouraging narratives about normalising failure and shifting the societa...

Send us Fan Mail This is another episode of the 'In Author's Chair' segment, where we interview writers about their work, motivation, and challenges. Please join me in welcoming Dr Bella Elwood Clayton for today's episode. About the author: Dr. Bella Ellwood-Clayton is an award-winning author. She has a BA from Concordia University in Montréal and a PhD from the University of Melbourne in sexual anthropology—and, yes, that makes for interesting dinner party conv...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am happy to have you here. Please join me in welcoming Megan Gaul as a guest speaker. She is a health coach and facilitator from Staten Island, New York. In this lively discussion, she has shared her incredible journey of weight loss, failing and then turning around, but most importantly, unpacking our relationship with food. She is such a fun and experienced person to talk to. Learn about her journey and how she is helping people in the...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am happy to have you here. As a writer, I have always leaned towards poetry. I started this podcast to share honest, heartfelt, and evoking stories that make us see the beauty of life - which is where the show gets its name. In every episode, I will take you on a journey of human experience to uplift your spirit. Today is another episode of the 'Fail With Me' segment, where we explore what failure truly is and link it with emot...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am happy to have you here. As a writer, I have always leaned towards poetry. I started this podcast to share honest, heartfelt, and evoking stories that make us see the beauty of life - which is where the show gets its name. In every episode, I will take you on a journey of human experience to uplift your spirit. This is another episode of the 'In Author's Chair' segment, where we interview writers about their work, motivation...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am happy to have you here. Today is another episode of the 'Fail With Me' segment, where we explore what failure truly is and link it with emotional intelligence in a supportive space. In a messy and imperfect world where we celebrate success and whisper about failure hushedly, "Fail with Me" flips the script. Please welcome Eva Angvert as our guest speaker today. She started her journey in Self-Awareness and Integrative Heali...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! Today is another episode of the 'Fail With Me' segment, where we explore what failure truly is and link it with emotional intelligence in a supportive space. In a messy and imperfect world where we celebrate success and whisper about failure in a hushed tone, "Fail with Me" flips the script. Please join me in welcoming Brandy Patterson Walker as a guest speaker. She is a therapist and an intuitive who has just started her own private ...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am happy to have you here. Please join me in welcoming Penny Bingham for today's episode. Penny Bingham is an emerging writer, currently working on a hybrid memoir chronicling her seven years as a carer for her husband, who lived with Lewy body dementia. It is a warts-and-all account of the devastation a dementia diagnosis presents for the person with the disease, the carer and the family. Arising from her comprehensive journal of h...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am happy to have you here. I am a writer, and I created this podcast to bring out the real stories that make life as beautiful as poetry. I'll take you on a journey through the human experience, sharing stories and conversations to uplift your spirit. Whether you're a lover of literature, a writer, or simply someone who enjoys a good story, "Stories and Stanza" is the place for you. Today is another episode of the 'Fail ...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am excited to have you here. My podcast explores prose, poetry, and history. I'll take you on a journey through the human experience, sharing stories and conversations to uplift your spirit. Whether you're a lover of literature, a writer, or simply someone who enjoys a good story, "Stories and Stanza" is the place for you. Today is another episode of the 'In Author's Chair' segment, where we talk to writers about their work, publicat...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Stories and Stanza! I am excited to have you here. My podcast explores prose, poetry, and history. Every week, I'll take you on a journey through the human experience, sharing inspiring stories and conversations to uplift your spirit and inspire you. Please join me in welcoming Andrea Barton in the author's chair for today's episode. She is here to talk about her new book - The Godfather of Dance, and share her experience as a writer and editor. I am sure the...

Send us Fan Mail I stood, brushing off some of the mud that was beginning to cake on—effort in vain. “Since when did this jaded old curmudgeon care to drink the poison of nostalgia?” I remember saying to myself. As you can see, I’m in my late thirties, but the rest of the self-reflection was accurate. I breathed in the muck of the lake once again, tears dried, heart resolute, knowing it could be the last. “Well, Sisyphus,” thankfully, my parents were not so cruel as to name me such, “you know...

Send us Fan Mail "I am as powerful as my unspoken I'll walk with you if you take my hand show you the kind of magic that make sorrows light up the night or love showering in the rain, I am all of you and more." Poetry Writing Month (April) is a very up close and personal time for me as a writer. Today, when I join this community event with poets worldwide, all I can have is powerful and overflowing emotions. I hope you will like my journey. Here is to poetry and more. Wish to read about...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, and welcome to a new episode of Stories and Stanza, where the filmmakers from Chicago will join us as guests to talk about their upcoming project - Hello New Horizons, written, produced, and directed by Chundria Brownlow. Starring Camille Wiggins, Andre Ramseur, Jaclyn Jensen, and Hanah Chang. In "Hello New Horizons," a couple on the verge of divorce, Landon and Courtney, navigate a divorce settlement conference with their attorneys. As they review shared poss...

Send us Fan Mail Hello, everyone. Welcome to Stories and Stanza. This is episode 3 of the Fail with Me series. In a world where success is celebrated, and failure is often whispered about in hushed tones, "Fail with Me" flips the script. Here, we shed light on the shadows of defeat, recognizing them as fertile ground where seeds of growth are sown. Please join me in welcoming Sarah Zink as a guest speaker. Sarah is a retired consultant and behaviourist living in Central America in the be...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the latest episode of 'Stories and Stanza.' Today, I want to discuss a problem that has troubled me for a long time — anger. I recently attended a somatic workshop by Eva Angvert that helped me understand this better. Anger is a defence mechanism activated through triggers. It can be a natural human emotion that signals something is wrong, unfair, or threatening. However, social and emotional threats can trigger anger in modern life despite no material danger...

Send us Fan Mail Hey everyone, welcome back to 'Stories and Stanza', a podcast that explores poetry and the stories behind them. On today's episode, we will share a powerful poem that reflects on the cultural footprint of time and the lasting impact of our actions on the environment. History has always fascinated me, and today's story is about the often-overlooked role of Australia's first cameleers. These skilled camel handlers, many from regions like Baloch and Sindh, were crucial in buildi...

Send us Fan Mail "For a long time, I had thought that because of my lack of presence, this story would not be worthy - and for many, it still might not be. But perhaps for the few in this world who, like me, have also been chosen to carry this burden, they will, if nothing else, find comfort knowing they are not alone. Though most names and characters of my recount have been changed, the story I share is real. The voice that tells this story is real. It has been real not only for me but for m...

Send us Fan Mail Please join me in welcoming Stephen Gyde to the show today. Stephen is 44 years old and lives in London where he works in the corporate business sector. He is a passionate advocate for equality and enjoys writing. His interests include sports and the arts. He is a keen runner and plays golf. Stephen's love for writing began after his father read him The Hobbit. During our conversation, we will discuss Stephen's creative journey, his struggles with Dyslexia, his inspiration fr...

Send us Fan Mail Please join me in welcoming Sarah Zink to the show today. In a series of episodes, titled Fail with me, we will navigate many aspects of failure and healing. Sarah is a retired consultant and behaviourist living in Central America in the beautiful mountains of Boquete, Panama. She is passionate about emotional intelligence and mindful living. Sarah has authored several books, hosted radio and TV shows, and built and sold several businesses. An avid learner of ...

Send us Fan Mail The episode is named after a poem, in my last book - "Language of Water" In the creative world, a lot of pepole go through a period of void - from fear of failure to perfectionism and everything in between. This episode tackles the dreaded writer's block, that nemesis of storytellers everywhere. Is life a constant state of "waiting?" In this episode, we unpack the pressure to be perpetually happy and explore a different perspective. As usual, the episode includes ...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to a new episode of Stories and Stanza - where we will discuss the writing process. I welcome our guest, Steven Ross. Steven Ross is a Canadian Author and Poet from outside the Nation’s Capital. A weaver of dark words with a penchant for penning tales both visceral and disturbing, you will often find him lurking in the bloodstained shadows of the horror genre. Never one to be satisfied with being cast in a single mould, he also enjoys writing poetry focused on all as...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the latest episode of Stories and Stanzas! In this episode, we delve into a topic that many outside of Australia may not be familiar with - the rabbit troubles. We explore the history and impact of rabbits in Australia, a species that, despite their cute appearance, are considered pests in the country due to their detrimental effect on native wildlife and vegetation. In our fascinating narrative, we take you through the journey of how the first domesticated rabbits...

Send us Fan Mail What is your favourite time of the day? For some of us creatives, being nocturnal is part of our existence. Here is an episode with some stories of the night, along with two short poems I have written this week from a poetry prompt. Hope you will like it - let me know if you have any thoughts. See you in the next one. Wish to read about the episodes in advance or need a recap? Find us on 👉 SubStack. 📌 Follow us: YouTube | Facebook | X | Instagram ☕ Buy me a coffee 🛠️ To...

Send us Fan Mail Join me on a linguistic journey across continents as we celebrate International Mother Language Day! Today, we'll explore the rich tapestry of languages spoken in India and Australia, their fascinating histories, unique characteristics, and the challenges they face. Wish to read about the episodes in advance or need a recap? Find us on 👉 SubStack. 📌 Follow us: YouTube | Facebook | X | Instagram ☕ Buy me a coffee 🛠️ Tools we love: vidIQ · Descript Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Send us Fan Mail Hello! I am doing this to introduce myself and share the ideas behind my podcast. My podcast is Stories and Stanza. To find my podcast on any platform, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon, search with the title 'Stories and Stanza'. My website also has links to respective platforms. My name is Abhra - the 'A's in my name sounds like an 'O' in traditional Indian pronunciation. I live in Melbourne with my family and work as a technology architect in the financial serv...

Send us Fan Mail What if the hardest part of getting help isn't the therapy itself — it's knowing where to start? In Part 2 of our conversation with counsellor and psychotherapist John Cuturilo, we go deeper into one of the most common questions people carry about mental health: How do I know what kind of support is right for me — and how do I know if it's actually working? Whether you've been in therapy for years or haven't taken that first step yet, this episode gives you the tools, languag...

Send us Fan Mail What if violence could be predicted — and stopped — before it ever happens? In this episode, we sit down with Robert Mahoney, founder of TVTP Solutions, who argues that there is no such thing as a random act of violence. Every attack follows a recognisable, interruptible pathway — if you know what to look for. Robert walks us through behavioral threat assessment, the "three buckets" of identity, purpose, and community, and why our defensive approach to security is leaving us ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host Abhra sits down with Robert Rickelmann for an unflinching conversation about a life shaped by mental illness and addiction. Robert grew up with crippling anxiety — and discovered early on that alcohol made him feel fearless, confident, and finally comfortable in his own skin. That relief came at a devastating cost. What began as a coping mechanism consumed his law school career, his sense of self, and nearly his life. In 1996, Robe...