‘No’ is a Complete Sentence (except if your name is Captain JAQ) (FIELD NOTES)

Everybody Needed Her. She Went Dancing Anyway. (GUEST CHAT)

What starts as a conversation about food quickly becomes a conversation about the invisible work women carry every day. In this episode of The C-Word, I talk with Namita Pandey, founder of Aurum Celebrations, about the mental load hiding in ordinary things: groceries, lunchboxes, leftovers, family calendars, clean fridges, changing diets, and the question women are somehow always expected to answer: what’s for dinner? We talk about migration, marriage, motherhood, grief, culture, midlife, ambition, and what happens when women spend a lifetime saying yes, often without even realising they’re saying it. And then there’s dancing. Even though people still need her, Namita is choosing joy, movement, business, beauty, and a life that belongs to her, too. This is a conversation about invisible labour, but it’s also about the radical little question women deserve to ask themselves: What do I want my life to look like? About Namita Pandey  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurumcelebrationsau/ 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

‘No’ is a Complete Sentence (except if your name is Captain JAQ) (FIELD NOTES)

My mental health has been rough lately. In this episode, I talk openly about panic attacks, suicidal ideation, medication changes, and what it feels like when hope slowly starts to return after a difficult few weeks. I also tell the story of an interaction with a man I’m calling Captain JAQ (Just Asking Questions). A podcaster who invited me onto his show, challenged my boundaries, and accidentally gave me a lesson in self-trust, consent, and the power of a single word: no. This episode explores anxiety, people-pleasing, feminism, microaggressions, and why so many women are taught to justify their decisions long after they’ve already made them. Sometimes the most important question isn’t whether someone else thinks you’re right. Sometimes it’s whether you’re willing to trust yourself when something feels off. The C-Word with Catharine Redden is where feminism, sex, frivolity, and fury all get a mic. 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

“You Should Lose Weight” Isn’t a Diagnosis: An Interview with Amanda Levitt (GUEST CHAT)

“Health” research tells us that 60 to 70% of people in the Western world are overweight or obese. And they never say that like it’s a good thing. If you, like me, are one of the many people living in a body considered fat, and you’ve ever been to your GP, primary care provider, or doctor for pretty much anything, only to be told to lose weight because apparently that’s a cure-all (spoiler alert: it’s not), this episode is for you. In this conversation, I talk with Amanda Levitt, a sociology PhD candidate at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, about fat phobia in medicine and healthcare. We talk about BMI, medical bias, shame, bullying, accessibility, blood pressure cuffs that don’t fit, gowns that don’t close, being dismissed before you’ve even finished explaining what’s wrong, and the way fat bodies are so often treated as a problem before they’re treated as human. Amanda’s work asks a vital question: what would healthcare look like if fat patients were actually listened to? This conversation is thoughtful, funny in parts, frustrating in parts, and probably going to feel very familiar for a lot of people. Plus puppies, kittens, sex, airplane tray tables, and the joy and danger of roller skating. You can find out more about Amanda’s work here: https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/cl9811 [https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/cl9811] And please follow her on Instagram. She shares incredible insights into fat phobia, along with some extremely cute puppy and kitten photos. https://www.instagram.com/whimsicalfemme [https://www.instagram.com/whimsicalfemme?igsh=MXM0cTA4bjEwMmZ1] 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

Pride Round and the Question the AFL Won’t Ask

A solo episode about Pride Round, psychological safety, queer inclusion, AFL culture, masculinity, and the difference between performative allyship and genuine cultural change in Australian Rules Football.  Catharine explores the AFL, AFLW, homophobia in sport, rainbow branding, and why visibility without safety is not enough. 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

Lou Nicholson: The MP, the Netballer, and the Cappuccino (GUEST CHAT)

This week, Lou Nicholson joins me on “The C-Word with Catharine Redden”. Lou is the newly elected independent member for Finniss in South Australia, the first woman ever elected to the seat, and in this conversation we talk about politics, public life, community, netball, democracy, aging, country towns, cappuccinos, and what people are quietly carrying right now. Lou first contested the seat in 2022, lost by a narrow margin, then came back in 2026 and won in one of the more unusual election results in South Australian politics. But this episode isn’t really about political strategy or party talking points. It’s about people. We talk about: • growing up as “strong Viking children” • why democracy is a “doing word” • whether women in public life still have to perform niceness • the emotional weight people are carrying • public transport, aging, and life on the Fleurieu • why netball matters more than you’d think • and what it means to represent a community in real life, not just on paper This is a warm, thoughtful conversation about modern political life, regional South Australia, and the women who quietly step forward and change things. 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]