Katie Williams expands her idea of health in the new season of Better For It
Katie Williams has returned for a new season of her popular health podcast, Better For It, but with a twist. The new season will feature an expanded understanding of what constitutes health, reflecting Williams’ changing life experiences in recent times.
Podcast Week‘s Trent Thomas caught up with Williams to talk about the new and improved version of Better For It.
Following Williams having some health issues with her gut due to a parasite that she believes she got in Thailand, she said that she felt she had learned what she had needed to learn about her diet, but felt the need to explore other areas of creating a healthy life for herself.
“I reached a point where I knew what I needed to eat, I know what my body needs, and I don’t need to do these challenges now. And that’s the whole point of Better For It, which is self-discovery. I reached a point where I knew exactly what my body needed, it takes a lifetime to figure out your body, but I thought I’m pretty good now with these challenges.”
The show will use 10 health pillars to guide the content of the new season. These are: mental, physical, social, nutritional, emotional, financial, sexual, hormonal, organisational, and spiritual. Williams said that these pillars are a good indication of her multifaceted view of health.
“For me when COVID hit I lost a shitload of money, I even had issues with friends. I was stuck locked away with my girlfriend and my roommate, and there was just a lot of financial changes, major health changes, and changes in my sexuality as I met my girlfriend just before lockdown. Before COVID I was already wanting to broaden what Better For It was because I felt I was broadening myself and my version of health. My number one value is health and vitality. I realised that there’s so much more to help than what I’ve been talking about on my podcast. I wanted to expand the podcast as my version of what healthy is expanded, and as my life expanded. I’ve really dived a lot more into financial well being and better financial choices.”
Williams said that her health journey has always led the direction of the podcast, and the new topic areas now reflect where she is at in her personal life.
“I’m living in the East now, my rent has increased, I’ve become more of an adult with all different kinds of expenses. I am also thinking about investing and crypto and wanting to buy property and having all of these adult financial choices to make.
“I’m going to be talking about different types of therapy, kinesiology, energy worth, crypto, gut health and all the weird and wacky stuff that I do that I want to normalise. It’s basically giving a bigger platform to holistic health across broader categories.”
While this is an exciting change for Better For It, Williams said that she has more plans in mind on how to grow and expand the show, including doubling the number of episodes.
“I would like to see Better For It become a brand. I want to see Better For It be live events. I would love to see Better For It be a space for content. I’d love to do live podcasts. I would also love the show to have big international guests and have people come from America and have some big international names come through and people with really amazing stories. We’ve already got amazing guests on now but I’d love to see it be broadened I’d love to see it be international.”
[Listen to Better For It here]
LiSTNR remembers Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins
After the shock death of Taylor Hawkins, LiSTNR has compiled a number of tributes to the Foo Fighters drummer.
Only available on the app, LiSTNR has put together three podcasts.
The first is from Dave Gleeson, and features a series of listeners calling in and talking about how the loss impacted them and the memories they have of watching Foo Fighters in concert. The podcast also plays back audio of Hawkins talking about how he ended up in the band.
The second podcast features tributes from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
The third is a news bulletin from when Hawkins’ passing was first announced and features more audio of him speaking about how he knew he wanted to be a drummer.
To listen to the tributes, download the LiSTNR app.
Spotify shuts down operations in Russia
On March 2nd, Spotify released a statement detailing the closure of its Russian office in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
“In response to the crisis, we have taken several steps. We have closed our office in Russia indefinitely and we are providing individual support to our people in the region as well as our global community of Ukrainian employees,” they wrote at the time.
On Friday, Spotify released an update to say they had taken the step of shutting down all operations in the country.
“Spotify has continued to believe that it’s critically important to try and keep our service operational in Russia to provide trusted, independent news and information in the region. Unfortunately, recently enacted legislation further restricting access to information, eliminating free expression, and criminalizing certain types of news puts the safety of Spotify’s employees and possibly even our listeners at risk,” the update said.
“After carefully considering our options and the current circumstances, we have come to the difficult decision to fully suspend our service in Russia.”
SBS launches new podcast, Love Me, Love My Anxiety
SBS has launched a new podcast Love Me, Love My Anxiety. A companion to SBS original documentary The Swiping Game, Love Me, Love My Anxiety is a six-episode podcast that guides listeners through the world of dating and relationships when you live with anxiety.
Host Kevin Jin, a comedian with lived experience of anxiety and OCD, explores the many aspects of love and anxiety from first dates, to sex, break-ups, ghosting, and what happens when you find the one. He speaks to friends, fellow comedians, and people with lived experience, and invites mental health experts to share their advice on how to manage their anxiety and enter the dating world.
Episodes one and two of Love Me, Love My Anxiety are now live.
[Listen to Love Me, Love My Anxiety here]
Marketing podcast The Work gives the Women’s Network logo new life
The much-maligned Women’s Network logo – designed internally by a Federal Government department – has gained a reprieve. The Work is a new podcast by veteran ad men Sputnik and Dan Demaria which critiques “the work” of the advertising and wider marketing comms community from Australia and the world.
Demaria says: “We figured they weren’t using their “W” logo and our podcast features a “W” in the artwork so it’s a win-win. We’re pretty sure The Work has also been used before as a name – Campaign Brief maybe?”.
After 30 years working in ad agencies and marketing departments, the duo thought it time the world should hear what they had to say about the industry and its work.
Sputnik says: “Opinions are like assholes in that everybody has one – and I am one so this should be fun”.
Create Foundation’s Voices in Action podcast season two tackles out-of-home care
Create has launched the latest Voices in Action podcast episodes, featuring the voices of young people with an out-of-home care experience. Produced by Create Foundation, the podcast is a platform for children and young people to share their experiences growing up in care, the challenges faced, their achievements, and their insights for reforms.
The podcast topic choices are driven by children and young people in care, covering issues such as extending care, cultural identity, participation, and the stigma experienced when labelled a “foster kid”.
The first of the new podcast episodes features Adina sharing about growing up in care, and her journey towards achieving her qualifications as a lawyer and a social worker. Adina’s story highlights the positive difference that stability makes to a child’s development and wellbeing in their formative years. With a stable, strong support system, Adina graduated from high school, went on to complete her tertiary education and secured full-time work, all while continuing to advocate for systemic change.
Episodes may contain reference to child abuse or neglect, so listener discretion is advised. If you want to talk, call LifeLine: 13 11 14 or Kids HelpLine: 1800 55 1800.
[Listen to Voices in Action here]
Spotify tests out podcast discovery feed
Earlier this week, Aria Bracci from The Verge noticed a new tab at the bottom of her Spotify app: a tab dedicated to podcasts alongside the existing home, search, and library tabs.
A Spotify spokesperson said that testing out updates like this is something they do regularly, but they “don’t have any further news to share at this time” regarding the podcast tab.
After testing out the tab, Bracci found that “The page lets you swipe vertically through cards of different shows, with no clear order to what shows up next. When an episode is centered on the screen, a clip of its audio starts to play, and the page seems to recommend a mix of episodes from shows you subscribe to and those you don’t.”
Spotify acquired podcast discovery platform Podz last year for roughly USD $49.4 million, and the new tab appears to be a part of this deal.
