What a Stranger Told Me
Storytelling meets human connection in this intriguing Australian podcast. Hosts Jon Coghill (Powderfinger) and Tim Reid (award-winning podcaster) travel around chatting with strangers of all ages & backgrounds - uncovering their raw, unique, and very personal stories. Take a break from the everyday, and dive into lives of people you’d never otherwise meet. And if you’ve got a story you’d love the world to hear, then call us on +61 489 272 286. Or maybe you'd like us to chat to strangers in your town, or maybe you’ve got a conference you’d like us to podcast from, then contact us at What a Stranger Told Me. Credits ... Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto Photography by Andy McColl & Will Reid
Episodes
Meeting the girl of your dreams started with mutual perving and a bold “We’re gettin’ married”. Sammy’s cheeky love story – nail gun accident, Valentine's magic, young romance – is funny, sweet, and full of butterflies. Hit play and feel the spark.
Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience & daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors Tim...
Picture a cantankerous bloke who speaks his mind about everything from new bridges to staying active after 70 – he did Everest Base Camp at 69, plans Annapurna at 71, and doesn't let bad knees stop him. Meet an ex-South African Aussie granddad with a no-bullshit vibe and big goals. This bluntly strange chat is funny, inspiring, and full of fire – hit play and get motivated.
Willy the busker spreads happiness like it’s his full-time job – because for him, it basically is. One minute he’s blasting Latin beats in Pitt Street Mall, the next he’s healing sick strangers in Chile and Israel with energy work, then finishing with an Elvis duet that turns strangers into mates. This busker life story is pure sunshine – hit play and let the joy take over.
Abattoir butcher stories can be wild – and this 50-year legend has them all. From playing Tom Jones for the ladies to watching school kids chew raw bones, surviving horrible accidents, and the guy who walked in wearing nothing but his knife belt. His abattoir butcher stories are funny, gruesome, and full of heart – hit play and step behind the counter.
Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilienc...
She always knew she’d quit her job and move to Australia before turning 35. At 33, a breakup became the catalyst: she quit her job, moved to Australia, sold everything, and bought a one-way ticket. Now living in her car and chasing a childhood dream, this French woman’s story of quitting her job and moving to Australia is the ultimate leap-of-faith tale.
Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, r...
Ever wondered how to get over a breakup when it's mutual but still stings? Meet Mitch, a 24-year-old support worker who swaps a planned couples' trip for a solo escape to Byron Bay after his first relationship ends. This raw street chat dives into incompatibility, self-reflection, and finding silver linings – listen for the honest takeaways that might just help your own heart heal.
Ever wondered what it's like getting tattoos in Bali from a total stranger's perspective? Meet Aaron, a scaffolder from Plymouth who's turned his three-week Bali escape into an epic ink mission – think full-leg Egyptian designs, astronaut vibes, and heartfelt memorials. This short, hilarious street chat is packed with unfiltered energy that'll have you booking your own adventure (or not) – listen in for the full story.
In Episode 20 of the What a Stranger Told Me podcast, Tim meets Simon – a retired lawyer who's traded courtroom chaos for Byron Bay's slow rhythms. This storytelling podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives. After 17 years as a cop and decades as a barrister, Simon moved to the coast in 2014 and never left. “Every day's my favourite,” he says with a grin. Retirement means mornings with nothing on the ag...
In Episode 19 of What a Stranger Told Me, Tim pulls up a chair at the Gympie Muster beside Jane Turner (not Kath!) – a veteran burns, ICU and emergency nurse who has spent decades on the absolute frontline of human suffering, and is now finally kicking back with a cold beer and a good book.
Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience & daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors T...
In Episode 18 of What a Stranger Told Me, Jon meets Richard at the Gympie Music Muster — a man who is laughing, drinking, dancing, and living louder than most sighted people, all while being almost completely blind.
Listen in to hear what it's like to be living life blind. Fifteen years ago Richard was in a tiny tinny off Western Port Bay, Victoria. The boat capsized in freezing winter water. His mate swam to shore; Richard c...
In Episode 17 of What a Stranger Told Me, Jon meets Hugh, an 18-year-old industrial design student who’s found clever, practical ways of living with a stutter while chasing his creative dreams. Waiting three hours early for a uni tutorial (after dropping off his girlfriend), Hugh opens up about turning what many see as a limitation into a toolkit he controls.
Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, re...
In Episode 16 of the What a Stranger Told Me podcast, Jon sits down with a Perth-born train driver who now calls Sydney home, though his heart never really left the west. Dragged across the country years ago by an ex-wife who hated WA, he stayed for the job he genuinely loves. “If I could drive trains back in Western Australia tomorrow, I’d be gone in a heartbeat,” he says with a laugh that doesn’t quite hid...
In Episode 15 of What a Stranger Told Me, Jon meets Chris, a passionate sound engineer and tour manager for the ARIA-winning Indigenous duo Electric Fields, grabbing a quick chat in Glenelg before his dad's birthday dinner.
This storytelling podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives. Fresh from headlining NAIDOC Week at Fed Square in Melbourne—sharing the stage with Isaiah Firebrace and The Violet Summers—Chr...
In Episode 14 of What a Stranger Told Me, Jon meets an anonymous health worker on her lunch break — a rare pocket of calm in a high-stress job. She’s been smoking for 40 years, quit once using hypnosis and medication, and now finds herself back at three to four cigarettes a day. This isn’t a public health lecture — it’s a raw, human conversation about why quitting smoking the second time feels harder, ...
In Episode 13 of the What a Stranger Told Me podcast, Jon meets Anna—a sleep coach on a working holiday, helping CEOs, trauma-affected kids, and exhausted parents learn to sleep well again. This storytelling podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives. Escaping Sydney’s “head down, butt up” grind, she’s house-sitting in a client’s off-grid palace, surrounded by silence and stars. “H...
Today we catch up with a Sydney magician on day two of a two-week holiday—and he's feeling a little punchy. As always, the What Stranger Told Me podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives.
Twenty years making kids gasp with colouring books and vanishing silks, he’s traded the stage for Cable Beach sun. “Just chilling,” he says. No tricks, no reveals - just a break from the grind. He’s self-ta...
Today you'll meet Rhys in Episode 10 of What a Stranger Told Me - a 20-year-old qualified butcher who’s already lived a lifetime in boots and blades. This storytelling podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives.
Apprenticed at 16, he’s sharpened knives that shave hair, run bandsaws through hands, and tomorrow he’ll dress a cow from paddock to plate. “I love the whole side of it,” he says...
Let's meet Emma—one of six siblings from a sprawling beef cattle clan, now bridging country roots with coastal life. The What a Stranger Told Me podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives.
Growing up, family stretched beyond blood: a tight-knit rural community where everyone leaned in. “We relied on each other.” With 18 cousins and a matriarch nan at the centre, gatherings were loud, constant, essen...
In Episode 9 of What a Stranger Told Me, Jon pulls up a chair with Lucy and Eliza—two young women whose cowgirl roots run deep, even in the suburbs. This storytelling podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives.
Raised on cattle properties across Queensland and New South Wales, they grew up mustering, riding, and breathing wide-open spaces. “It’s not the hat,” they say. “It’s in your blo...
It's time to meet a tattooed tough guy who retired wealthy at 36 after turning a tiny disability care business into a burgoning empire. This storytelling podcast captures raw stories from everyday people.
From housing trust violence—drug-addict parents, 11 schools, out of high school by year nine—he dodged jail and chose hustle. With ADHD as fuel, he bought the landlord’s building over coffee, stacked debt, and h...
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