
The You Project is a 30-90 minute dose of inspiration and education hosted by Craig Harper with great stories, ideas, strategies and lessons from high-performers in sport, business, science, media and health.
All Episodes
- #1823 One-Legged Stools - David Gillespie
The You Project
Gillespo's back talking about his tuba career (it was short-lived), his reluctant piano years, his total lack of musical aptitude (and tone-deafness) and he throws some shade at the validity of the 'ten thousand hours of practice makes perfect' theory (to be honest, l'm with him). We also talk about an amazing molecule (Molecule of the Year in 1992) that can blow sh*t up (literally), treat numerous cardiovascular issues (like angina) and is also used (broadly) to help blokes get an... ahem. you know. Enjoy the chat. Erection. Couldn't help m'self.
12 Mar 2025 | 32 mins
- #1822 The Two-World Theory | Harps & Tiff
The You Project
This time on TYP, Tiff and I do a deep dive into the idea that you and I exist and operate in two-worlds; one that's external, physical, and visible (where 'life' happens) and another that's internal, non-physical, and invisible (where 'living' happens). We talk about the ever-present challenge of constantly navigating these two very-human 'places’.
11 Mar 2025 | 42 mins
- #1821 My Health Protocol - Harps (PT2)
The You Project
While this episode has been requested hundreds of times, it definitely won't be of interest to all. For better or worse, some people want me to do an episode on my personal health protocol, so here it is. In it, I talk about my diet, training (weights, cardio, flexibility), supplements, caffeine intake, sleep protocol, biological age, current fitness and health status (as rated subjectively by me), current body-fat level, weight, medication, cognitive function and training, and lots more. Enjoy. Or avoid (lol).
10 Mar 2025 | 25 mins
- #1820 My Health Protocol - Harps (PT1)
The You Project
While this episode has been requested hundreds of times, it definitely won't be of interest to all. For better or worse, some people want me to do an episode on my personal health protocol, so here it is. In it, I talk about my diet, training (weights, cardio, flexibility), supplements, caffeine intake, sleep protocol, biological age, current fitness and health status (as rated subjectively by me), current body-fat level, weight, medication, cognitive function and training, and lots more. Enjoy. Or avoid (lol).
09 Mar 2025 | 41 mins
- #1819 Our Lumpy Friendship - Bobby Cappuccio
The You Project
Bobby and I have been friends for about twenty-five years and it hasn't always been smooth sailing. Mostly yes, but not always. There have been some hard conversations, healthy disagreements, slightly-less-healthy disagreements and the odd honest misunderstanding but underneath it all, there was (is) always love, trust, respect and a strong brotherly bond. And fun, silly-ness and laughter. Of course. I liked this chat where we both got a little vulnerable and raw and spoke about all-things communication, connection, social and emotional intelligence, self-awareness and of course, friendship. Enjoy.
08 Mar 2025 | 48 mins
- #1818 The AI Doctor Is In - Patrick Bonello
The You Project
According to our resident Tai Chi-teaching, tech-obsessed, loveable, father-of-one (Fritz the wonder Schnauzer), more and more people are making an 'appointment' with 'Dr. ChatGPT' (or similar) to diagnose and treat whatever ails them. Of course, it seems like a terrible idea as Al gets stuff wrong but then, so do humans. Humans also get tired, hungry and distracted but Al doesn't. Personally, I'll keep consulting my human option but Al is certainly opening us all up to a new world of virtual possibilities. Tiff, Patrick and I chat about this and lots more in today's episode. Enjoy.
07 Mar 2025 | 54 mins
- #1817 The Torture Of OCD - Brad McEwan
The You Project
Brad McEwan is best known as an Australian Television Presenter and Sports Journalist, having hosted Network Ten's 'Sports Tonight' for almost a decade. Apart from being a media superstar (my words, not his), Brad and I have been friends for decades, having first met when he trained in one of my gyms. Brad is a man of depth, integrity and kindness and as always, this was a fascinating an insightful conversation where we went deep down the rabbit hole of OCD, anxiety, physical, mental and emotional health, self-regulation and lots more. Enjoy. youniversal.com.au
06 Mar 2025 | 56 mins
- #1816 The Proliferation of Coaches - Pete Shepherd
The You Project
Health Coaches. Business Coaches. Executive Coaches. Life Coaches. Exercise Coaches. Mind Coaches. Nutrition Coaches. High-Performance Coaches. And on it goes. In the old days, my Coach was the bloke who screamed at me on the footy field. Back then there was only really one kind of coach; the sporting kind. Not anymore. In this episode Pete, Tiff and I talk about the good and bad, the how and how-not-to, the what-to-seek and what-to-avoid in the ever-expanding field of coaching. Enjoy.
05 Mar 2025 | 53 mins
- #1815 What's on the Other Side of Goals? - Harps & Tiff
The You Project
This was a fun chat between the fledgling pianist and the old bogan, and we sure covered some ground. On the conversational menu was living authentically, the ten-thousand-hour mastery rule, the value of paying attention to the wisdom of our body (bio-feedback), the other side of goals, the benefit in doing something 'un-you', the willingness to bravely 'be the worst' at something (in the beginning) and Tiff's curious tendency to say the (non)word.. "haffening": Enjoy.
04 Mar 2025 | 50 mins
Well, this chat was a steep learning curve for the old bogan from Latrobe Valley. In this episode, Gillespo and I discuss the fascinating and complex history of the birth control pill - how a scientific breakthrough, a feminist movement, and a social revolution collided to change the world. But we also explore the unintended consequences, particularly for teenage girls. While the pill has empowered millions, emerging research suggests it may also pose serious risks to mental health, brain development, and long-term reproductive well-being. We dive into the hidden costs of hormonal contraception, why teenage brains are uniquely vulnerable, and whether the medicalisation of puberty is doing more harm than good. Are we too quick to prescribe the pill for acne, cramps, and irregular periods? And what alternatives should young women consider? This conversation is about science, ethics, and the delicate balance between freedom and risk. Whether you're a parent, a doctor, or someone who has taken the pill yourself, this chat might make you think differently about a drug that has shaped modern society. It’s an eye-opening discussion about empowerment, hormones, and the truth behind the tiny tablet that changed everything.
03 Mar 2025 | 35 mins
- #1813 The Fence Sitter - Harps
The You Project
In this thought-provoking episode of The You Project, we challenge the conventional wisdom that "picking a side" is always the right move. What if the most insightful perspective comes from the fence itself? We explore why our culture pushes us to choose teams, how tribal thinking warps our perception, and why maintaining thoughtful neutrality might be an act of courage rather than indecision. Join me as we examine the hidden benefits of seeing both sides and discover how "fence sitting" could be the vantage point we need in an increasingly polarised world.
02 Mar 2025 | 35 mins
- #1812 Is Biological Age BS? - Dr. Jeff Gross
The You Project
This chat with Dr. Jeff was a conversational smorgasbord of health, medicine and human optimisation. The good Doc and I spoke about hormesis (where exposure to a low dose of a potentially harmful stressor triggers a beneficial adaptive response), the truth about biological age, melatonin, hormone replacement therapy (for men and women), heat shock proteins, senescent zombie cells and we even get Dr. Jeff's thoughts on the ramifications (good and bad) of the new US Government (the Doc lives in Nevada). Enjoy.
01 Mar 2025 | 54 mins
- #1811 The Perfect Parent - Dr. Sam Casey
The You Project
I'm not a parent (so take this with a grain of salt) but I'm pretty sure that 'perfect parenting' is not the best or most realistic goal. In this chat, Dr. Sam and I discuss the pressure, expectations and demands (internal and external) around parenting in 2025, the 'thriving formula' for different kids, my very low-tech (no tech?) childhood compared with kids growing up never having seen a cow, walked in a forest, ridden a bike or played in mud, whether or not kids are more fearful now than a generation ago, the challenge of raising resilient, capable, adaptable kids and lots more. Enjoy.
28 Feb 2025 | 40 mins
Imagine growing up in the Gillespie household; no chemicals, no processed food, no seed oils, lots of cow, chook and fish in the fridge, probably some weird kind of filtered water, and definitely not a gram of sugar in sight. This was a fun chat where the feather ruffler and I put the Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines under the microscope and also took a run at a few other controversial topics. Enjoy. substack.com/@davidgillespie147423
27 Feb 2025 | 40 mins
- #1809 Quit Every Day - Bobby Cappuccio
The You Project
The super smart and loveable Bobby Cappuccio is back downloading the gold, as he does. Wow, this was a good chat (he says humbly). Well, I loved it; you might too. We spoke about the idea of 'quitting every day' (it'll make sense), self-compassion, ego-deconstructing experiences, the 'need' to be right, our shared experiences about being (essentially) dogmatic and unteachable (at times), electronic income-reducers (again, it'll make sense), Bobby's new-found agnosticism (to most things) and he shares a really vulnerable and powerful story about living hundreds of metres from the Twin Towers at the time of 9/11 and the impact it had on his life and his mindset. Enjoy. theselfhelpantidote.com
26 Feb 2025 | 58 mins
- #1808 Are You Wasting Your Potential? - Harps
The You Project
I'm fascinated with human potential; what's actually possible when somebody is genuinely prepared to do the work, face the fear, embrace the pain, overcome their self-sabotaging bulls**t and completely commit to the process of optimising what they have to work with. As someone who isn't wildly talented, brilliant or genetically gifted, l've long been obsessed with the challenge of defying my innate mediocrity and getting the most out of what l've got. This is a chat about that.
25 Feb 2025 | 30 mins
- #1807 What's Your Learning Potential? - Harps & Tiff
The You Project
Is it weird that at sixty-one I feel like I'm learning like a teenager? And that l'm going through a 'cognitive growth spurt'? And that my brain feels like it 'works better' than it did in my forties? While I spend much of my life teaching and coaching, l'm also a life-long learner who is still excited about what's next in my never-ending classroom. In this informal chat, Tiff and I talk about the fun, value and anti-ageing benefits of being a perpetual student. Enjoy.
24 Feb 2025 | 43 mins
- #1806 No D*ckhead Policy - Sally O'Connell
The You Project
In an industry overflowing with male CEO's (Real Estate), Sally O'Connell is something of a unicorn; she is the CEO is of the very fancy-schmancy (my term, not theirs) Abercrombys Real Estate, which operates primarily at the end of the market that I won't be shopping in any time soon. This was a fun and insightful conversation with an old friend (and employee) who continues to evolve, learn and lead with a refreshing blend of intellect, empathy, common sense, passion and social intelligence. And as per the title, Sally has a no DH policy. Enjoy. abercrombys.com.au
23 Feb 2025 | 61 mins
- #1805 Rate Of Perceived Exertion (RPE) - Dr. Jodi Richardson
The You Project
In Exercise Science there's a concept (tool, scale) that's used to assess how hard a person thinks they're working (1-10) based on their capacity, with 10 being their (perceived) absolute physical limit. It's called the 'Rate of Perceived Exertion' (RPE) scale. It's a subjective self-assessment (which makes it makes it more science-ish, than hard science) but nonetheless, I'm always interested in how hard people 'think' they're working (or perhaps, how much of their potential they think they're using) in the gym, but also outside the gym. In life. In this TYP extravaganza, Dr. Jodi (who has a PhD. in Exercise Physiology) and I do a deep dive around this concept (and lots more). drjodirichardson.com
22 Feb 2025 | 63 mins
- #1804 Should we be Scared of Technology? - Patrick Bonello
The You Project
Technology scares the crap out of Mary Harper. It's a language she doesn't speak, a skill she doesn't have and at eighty-five, she doesn't want to learn it and I don't blame her. For people like my mum, even having a conversation with someone who lacks awareness, patience and/or empathy (a person in a business or on the end of a phone call perhaps) can result in confusion, frustration, embarrassment and even anxiety. For the 3.1 million Aussies aged 70 and above, the ever-shifting technological landscape can be terrifying. As always, this is a fun chat with our resident nerd, boxer and potty-mouthed host.
21 Feb 2025 | 57 mins