In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Adriana Basile about healing, relationships, self-trust and coming back into the body.

Adriana’s gift is lived wisdom. She has done the work she now helps others do: returning to herself, building stronger relationships, and creating a life with more love, ease, awareness and embodied truth. She brings empathy, awareness and practical tools because she has walked through her own healing and continues to practise what she shares.

This is a conversation about holding space, healing after divorce, creating safer relationships, easing burnout, and learning to live and lead from a more grounded place.

This episode explores:
• Beauty therapy, business and the early art of holding space
• Divorce, healing and learning to have a relationship with yourself
• How couples can reconnect through everyday micro moments
• Love, gratitude and the daily practices that create ease
• Women’s circles, storytelling and the power of being witnessed
• Masculine and feminine energy, relationships and safer spaces for men and women
• Burnout, nervous system regulation and coming back into the body

Guest bio:
Adriana Basile is the founder of Evolve. She is a holistic healing coach, relationship and intimacy coach, somatic practitioner, women’s circle facilitator and circle facilitation educator / mentor.

Through coaching, somatic bodywork, energy healing, sound healing, restorative yoga / massage, nervous system support, intimacy practices and parts work, Adriana supports people to move out of survival patterns and back into connection, clarity and choice.

Guest links:
• Adriana Basile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianadbasile/
• Evolve: https://www.evolveadrianabasile.com.au
• Evolve Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evolve.adrianabasile
• LUX Retreats: https://www.instagram.com/lux.retreats.aus

Conversation reference:
• Louise Hay: https://www.louisehay.com/

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Adriana
00:52 Beauty therapy, business and learning to hold space
06:50 Divorce, healing and finding a relationship with herself
10:57 Helping couples reconnect through micro moments
14:14 Love, ease and gratitude as daily practice
22:07 Family, strength and women’s circles
27:02 Men, relationships and masculine / feminine energy
31:04 Burnout, softening and coming back into the body

Explore further:
Book a Lab: https://naturalgenius.com.au
Learn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.au
Subscribe to hear future episodes.

Credits:
Hosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Kiama and Benalla, 25 April, 2026
Produced at the Kiama office, 25 April - 4 May, 2026

Natural Genius Podcast https://naturalgenius.com.au

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Joanne Merrick about management, leadership, music, friendship, grief, and the impact we have on people.

Joanne is an architect of leadership transformation, author, neuroscience-informed talent strategist, and leadership development expert with 20+ years’ global experience across 5 continents and 22 countries. Her career includes leadership, learning and organisational development roles across Deloitte Consulting, Juniper Networks, Amazon Devices, Omnicell, 6sense, The Leadership Recipe and Island Health.

This conversation centres on a powerful idea: impact is everything.

Joanne shares why becoming a manager should be a conscious choice, not simply the next automatic career step. Management is not just “a new level in a game”. It is “a completely new game”, because managers and leaders have a profound opportunity to impact people’s lives in positive or negative ways.

Sam and Joanne also speak about bringing music into leadership development, living and working across cultures, the gift of long friendships, learning through grief, and why the impact we have on people becomes part of the legacy we leave.

Content note: this conversation includes brief reflections on grief and loss.

This episode explores:
• why management should be a conscious choice
• the difference between intention and impact
• how managers and leaders affect people’s lives
• bringing music, memory and personality into facilitation
• living and working across Australia, Hong Kong and the United States
• grief, appreciation and the legacy people leave
• Joanne’s book, Game On! Is Management Your Best Career Play?

Guest links:
Joanne Merrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-merrick/
The Leadership Recipe: https://www.theleadershiprecipe.com/
Joanne’s book: https://a.co/d/09pHXMMz

Conversation references:
Sander Dales: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanderfhdales/
Young Talent Time: https://www.youngtalenttime.tv/

Chapters:
00:02 Introduction to Joanne Merrick
02:02 Deciding whether management is right for you
08:40 Bringing music into leadership development
15:56 Intention, impact, legacy and Sander Dales
29:58 Living and working across cultures
42:40 Grief, appreciation and the legacy people leave

Explore further:
Listen to Natural Genius: https://naturalgenius.com.au
Learn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.au
Subscribe to hear future episodes.

Credits:
Hosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Kiama and Anacortes, USA, 26 April 2026.
Produced at the Kiama office, 26 April - 3 May 2026.
Natural Genius Podcast: https://naturalgenius.com.au

What happens when technology makes life easier, and also starts to take something from us?

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with designer, author and creativity activist Ben Rennie about technology, agency, adventure, family, systemic design and creating with technology.

Ben reflects on writing Be Kind, Rewind, leaving his phone behind, raising children through adventure and snow sports, building an independent creative studio, and why design needs to look beyond the immediate brief. This is a conversation about values, connection, creativity, and designing for the lives and communities we want to shape.

This episode explores

• Technology, agency and potential boundaries for digital tools
• AI, writing, critical thinking and trusting your own voice
• Adventure, family, skiing and building a life close to nature
• The pressure and possibility of growing a founder-led design business
• Systemic design, human-centred design and seven-generational thinking
• Values, connection, climate, community and designing for what comes next

Guest bio

Ben Rennie is a designer, author, speaker and creativity activist working across design, climate, sport and community. He leads Rennie Lab, chairs Design Declares Australia, and is the author of Lessons in Creativity. After 20 years building and leading Reny Studio, Ben’s work now explores systemic design, creativity, technology, and how we reshape the ways people live, connect and build.

Guest links

• Ben Rennie: https://benrennie.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrennie/
• Reny Studio: https://reny.studio/services/
• Ben's book: Lessons in Creativity: https://benrennie.com/pages/lessonsincreativity
• Ben’s writing: https://substack.com/@benrennie/posts
• Dear Luke & Ben podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/dear-luke-ben/id1598107677

Conversation references

• Miff Rennie: https://www.instagram.com/miffrennie/
• Zach Bush: https://www.instagram.com/zachbushmd/
• IDEO: https://www.ideo.com/
• frog: https://www.frog.co/
• Christian Duell’s Natural Genius episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1GdoioUsgMWdFLDOb5Motl

Chapters

01:33 Leaving the phone behind and Be Kind, Rewind
07:09 Boundaries, AI and agency
12:31 Adventure, writing and the last 10%
21:29 Systemic design, wayfinding, connection and seven-generational thinking
30:00 Snow, family and rebuilding life around nature
40:43 Values, separation and how we show up

Explore further

Book a Lab: https://naturalgenius.com.au
Learn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.au
Subscribe to hear future episodes.

About Natural Genius

Through conversations with leaders, thinkers, builders and practitioners across many fields, the podcast explores the signals that guide meaningful work and the choices that shape a life.

Credits

Hosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Sydney and Kiama, 14 April, 2026
Produced at the Kiama office, 14 - 28 April, 2026
Natural Genius Podcast https://naturalgenius.com.au