The Understanding Boys Podcas‪t‬ Dr Ray Swann

Dr Arne Rubinstein is an internationally recognised expert in Rites of Passage, adolescent development and parenting. With over 30 years’ experience as a medical doctor, counsellor, mentor, speaker and facilitator, he has helped over 100,000 people globally with his program to support young people in making a safe and healthy transition into adulthood.

Dr Arne shares some stories about the powerful effect of Rites of Passage and some of elements of which you can use at home.

Dr Jacqui True is Professor of International Relations at Monash University where she is Director of the Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre. She is a Global Fellow at the Peace Research Institute, Oslo, an Editor of European Journal of International Security, and a former Australian Research Council Future Fellow.

We speak to Jacqui about parenting, what she learnt during Covid and also a bit about how we can connect boys into understanding better ways of being for the benefit of all.

Major General Stephen Day, DSC, AM, is a decorated soldier with a reputation as a distinguished and compassionate leader. His leadership in East Timor earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, however, General Day says that it is the failures that have most shaped his leadership philosophy.

General Day talks about his career as a solider, his current work at PwC and lessons learnt on leading with emotion, integrity and reason, how to find moral courage and the importance of humility.

In this episode we are joined by Will Pucovski, a professional cricketer playing at State level and having been selected to the Australian squad. Will chats to Ray about his professional life, his work as a cricketer and what it has taught him. Will also shares four key questions that he wished he knew as a young man.  

We hope you enjoy this week’s episode.

In the final episode for series 2, our podcast is turned on its head in an interesting twist with Micah Swann.

Micah interviews our host Dr Ray Swann, who shares his insights into why the podcast was started, what he has learned and who he looks up to. Ray also shares some book recommendations, tips for Year 12 students and dealing with expectations, and of course the question that all guests have been asked – a story he would tell a young boy.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

We spoke to Angie as Melbourne came out of lockdown about her thoughts on people and rules. How schools have handled COVID, what it's been like and what she's learnt.

We hope you enjoy this episode. 

In this series we speak to young people about life and their stories. What do these boys and girls think it is to be a good man these days and if they had a story to tell an adult, who’d listen, what would that story be? In these short interviews we explore these questions and much, much more.