Life Uncut

Hey Lifers!
We have such a special one for you today. If it sounds a little different, that's because we recorded this in Benson Boone's room (yes, he invited us up!). And if you're wondering why Britt is flying solo for the intro, it's because Benson was SUCH a vibe that we spent half our time just chatting and laughing, the interview ran way over, and Laura had to sprint off for kid pick-up.
You know Benson from "Beautiful Things", the biggest-selling single on the planet in 2024 and now 12-times-platinum here in Australia. But nothing prepared us for how open, unhinged and genuinely lovely he is. Today he tells us a story he's never told publicly which ends with his pants fully around his ankles.
He also opens up about not owning a smartphone until he was 17, nearly becoming an architect, and how "Ghost Town" was literally the first song he ever wrote. He tells us about growing up with four sisters and his one and only celebrity crush (it runs in the family). Then he weighs in on a Lifer who's secretly dating two men at once, and answers the big one: would he ever date a fan?
Benson brings the Wanted Man Tour to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney this November. It's almost sold out, so get amongst it!
YouTube Timestamps
0:00 – Britt's solo intro: inside Benson's room and how a press junket actually works
3:56 – Accidentally Unfiltered: the shared bathroom, the pants-down tradition and the fan who walked in
7:45 – Why he didn't start singing until 17 (no smartphone and a plan to be an architect)
13:40 – His only ever celebrity crush, and why it runs in the family
16:01 – Ask Uncut: "Sally, you are the problem"
18:58 – Would Benson date a fan? Why he wants to do the chasing
Follow Benson Boone on TikTok and Instagram @bensonboone
Wanted Man Tour tickets via Frontier Touring

Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram
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Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne
Produced by Sophie Nathan
Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley
Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx
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Hey Lifers!

Britt has come armed with content this week, and it might be the thing that finally gets her cancelled. A spontaneous detour to Centennial Park, a helpless baby bird, and a pet-napping scandal... Plus Laura has stepped off a four-day cruise and straight into the studio, still swaying. She tells us about sea legs, and sober 11am karaoke in front of the breakfast buffet crowd. (Yes we get podcast karaoke too).

Then the moment you've all been waiting for. The breadcrumbs are over, and we can FINALLY tell you our big news: Life Unlocked, our brand new subscription on Patreon! It's all bonus content, nothing is being taken away, and your four free episodes a week aren't going anywhere. For $6.99 a month you'll get at least two bonus episodes a month, first access to live shows and merch, polls, a direct line to us, and an exclusive Ask Uncut answer from Hamish Blake. Anyone who subscribes in the first four weeks goes into a giveaway too.

Your horror housemate stories did not disappoint. We've got a dick in the kitchen sink, a man literally living in the walls, a booger-wallpapered bedroom, a top-bunk vomiter, a five cent piece dusting trap, and a threesome shadow puppet show performed for a housemate AND her religious mother.

⚠️ Content warning: This episode discusses sexual assault. If this is triggering for you, please skip from 33:05, or take care while listening. Support resources are listed below.

Then we shift gears to the Cornell Seven. A student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members after a message went out to the entire fraternity group chat. Two were expelled, five were told to attend a workshop and write an essay. After mass online outrage, New York prosecutors have reopened the criminal investigation. We talk about why survivors don't report, what happens to the bystanders who say nothing, when trial by social media helps and when it goes wrong, and what this means here at home. We close with a powerful message from an Australian headmaster to his students about what it really means to be a good man.

Everything discussed in relation to this case is alleged, and no charges have been laid at the time of recording.
On Friday, don't miss our interview with a forensic psychiatrist who has been following the Lindsay Clancy case closely.
Join Life Unlocked on Patreon: Life Unlocked

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome back
00:47 Britt accidentally kidnaps a baby bird
06:31 The dog Britt "rescued" from its own front yard
08:36 Laura's sea legs & sober cruise karaoke
14:30 Our big announcement: Life Unlocked
21:11 Horror housemates: the kitchen sink & the man in the wall
33:05 ⚠️ CW: The Cornell Seven
49:33 Consent culture in Australia & a headmaster's message to his students

If you need support (Australia):
1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 or 1800respect.org.au (24/7 national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling)
Full Stop Australia: 1800 385 578 (24/7 trauma counselling for people affected by sexual, domestic or family violence)
Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis support)
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25)
If you are in immediate danger, call 000

Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram
You can watch us on Youtube
Join us on tiktok
Or join the Facebook Discussion Group
Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne
Produced by Sophie Nathan
Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley
Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers! Welcome back to Ask Uncut, where we answer your deepest, darkest and most burning questions!
Something is coming… and for two people who have NEVER teased anything in seven years (we're too disorganised and do everything last minute), we're officially in our breadcrumb era. We've dropped one very Matilda-coded hint, and all will be revealed on Wednesday, so make sure you're listening!
Vibes of the week:

Laura – Rachel DeSalvo ceramics (handmade letters, ring dishes, vases… all stunning. Go follow her on Instagram)
Britt – Beef Season 2 on Netflix (you don't need to have seen season one!)
Bonus – The Gentlemen Season 2 on Netflix
Then it's into your questions!
Q1: MY FRIEND IS SUPER LAZY AT WORK AND EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT HER BEHIND HER BACK. DO I TELL HER?

I've worked with my colleague in the medical field for seven-plus years, and we've become very close friends. The problem is she has always been lazy at work. She avoids tasks by looking busy, hides when there's something difficult to do, and chats about her social life and kids when it's flat out. Lately it's got way worse, and I've found out every other colleague talks about her laziness behind her back and doesn't want to be paired with her. My husband says I should tell her because she's a good friend, but I hate conflict. Should I just leave it, since she'll eventually find out herself anyway?

Q2: HE WON'T STOP TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF IN THE THIRD PERSON

I started talking to a guy I've known for a few years, and our first date is in a month's time. We live in different states, so we've been on the phone and texting a lot, and everything is going great. However, he often refers to himself in the third person: "Steve got a little too drunk last night," "Steve was really busy today." It's giving me the ick hard. It's giving me reverse fanny flutters. I know it's not a new thing, but now that I'm interested in dating him, it's become a serious problem for me. Am I being too nitpicky, or is this actually gross? And how do I ask him to stop without hurting his feelings?
(Producer Soph has lived this one, and she will never recover from the words "Steve's turn for little spoon" whispered by a 6'5" man.)

Q3: MY NEW COLLEAGUE ASKED ME FOR COFFEE. IS IT A DATE OR NETWORKING?

I'm a happily married teacher, and a new colleague has joined our school. I haven't spoken to him much, but I just got this email: "Hi, I hope you're well. Just wanted to ask if you would like to go out for coffee or something sometime." Is he asking me on a date, or is this networking? Networking usually happens at conferences, not within the school. I also don't usually wear my wedding ring because I play sports and I'm constantly taking it on and off. How should I respond?

Q4: MY HOUSEMATES HIDE THEIR FOOD AND CLEANING PRODUCTS IF WE USE EVEN A MORSEL

My partner and I didn't know our housemates before they moved in; we thought living with friends was too risky. They told us they were full-time students who'd get jobs once uni started. Eight months in, neither has a job, so they're always home. We both work full time and we're out most of the time. All the furniture, crockery and TV subscriptions are ours, and we pay almost $150 more a week for the master bedroom and car park. But if we use even a bit of their pepper, it's hidden away the next day. I can see it all stashed in their bedroom and bathroom when the doors are open, lol. Is it normal to have your own of everything in a share house, or are some items fair play?
Laura has been the victim of a very tight housemate who asked her to replace a banana (the night after she'd cooked him dinner). Now we want YOUR housemate horror stories! What's the most unhinged, deranged thing a housemate has done to you? Send them in and we'll revisit it next week.
TIMESTAMPS

0:00 — Intro: we have something to announce (and a Matilda breadcrumb)
2:31 — Unsubscribe: AirDrop codes (and the Great Barrier Reef porn ferry)
4:37 — Vibes of the week: Rachel DeSalvo ceramics, Beef S2 & The Gentlemen
8:27 — Q1: My friend is lazy at work and everyone's talking. Do I tell her?
18:24 — Q2: He won't stop talking about himself in the third person
27:02 — Q3: My new colleague asked me for coffee. Date or networking?
34:46 — Q4: My housemates hide the pepper if we use a morsel
Keep your Ask Uncuts coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram, or post anonymously in the Facebook Discussion Group.
You can watch us on Youtube
Join us on tiktok
Or join the Facebook Discussion Group
Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne
Produced by Sophie Nathan
Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley
Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers!
Welcome to Offcuts, your little weekend snackkkk!
This week, Laura's seven-year-old daughter Marlie Mae has started writing her debut novel… working title: Sweet or Death… and we try to figure out whether we should be concerned or proud.
Then, we're forced to confront a horrifying truth: we are, technically, in our midlife. A viral Instagram list has us running through the tell-tale signs of a millennial midlife crisis and debating whether it's a crisis, or just a glow up.
We also unpack a new workplace survey on the most annoying office habit (spoiler: it's "pinging" people instead of just talking to them), and get into whether Gen Z really deserves the reputation they get for turning up late.
Then, Brené Brown's viral Marble Jar Theory has us divided: is tallying up every good and bad moment in a friendship a healthy way to check in, or the fastest way to make every relationship feel transactional?
We close out with a very serious deep dive into New York's new 10-minute timed public toilets, and the horror stories that come with them (fair warning: there's a pants-around-the-ankles moment in Hyde Park you will not forget).
Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram
You can watch us on Youtube
Join us on tiktok
Or join the Facebook Discussion Group
Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne
Produced by Lachy Pugsley
Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley
Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers!

Currently, 874 million women worldwide rely on modern contraception to prevent pregnancy. So today we're asking the question so many of us have had: why is that responsibility shouldered so heavily by women, and where are the men?
We're joined by journalist and documentary filmmaker Billie JD Porter, whose new documentary It's Different For Girls looks at why contraception has been treated as almost entirely a woman's responsibility; from the invention of the pill and the autonomy it gave women, through to the decades-long delay on a male alternative.
We chat:
The wild, gendered history of how the pill was first marketed - not to women, but to doctors
The three sexist caricatures used to sell birth control to women in the 60s and 70s
Tubal ligation vs vasectomy & the enormous gap in how often each is performed
The 1970 congressional hearing into the pill's safety that didn't invite a single woman to testify
Why male contraceptive research that started in the 1950s got shelved
Inside the clinical trials for the male contraceptive gel
Whether men can actually be ‘trusted’ with contraception
This conversation is intended to be informational and exploratory, and should not be taken as medical advice. If you have questions about contraception or reproductive health, please speak to your doctor or a qualified professional.
Find out more about Billie's documentary It's Different For Girls: Streaming now on Kinema
Follow Billie: https://www.instagram.com/billiejdporter/?hl=en
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.