Hey Lifers!

Welcome back to Ask Uncut, where we answer your deepest, darkest and most burning questions!

School holidays are officially over (parents, we made it), but Laura’s trip home from the coast did not go to plan. An hour and a half into the drive, ten minutes out of Wollongong, Matt calls and asks her to pull over and check for something…. Cue a full U-turn, a seven-hour version of a three-hour drive, and a five-year-old who handles it with more grace than any of us would.

Vibes of the week:

Laura – Worst Roommate Ever, Season 2, Episode 1: My BFF Tried to Kill Me on Netflix.

Britt – The Celebrity Traitors UK. We’re four episodes in and Joanne McNally is as funny as ever.

Then it’s into your questions!

Q1: MY HUSBAND IS THROWING ME A SURPRISE PARTY AND I DON’T WANT IT

I’ve just had a baby, and a few weeks ago I told my husband that my 40th is coming up and I really don’t feel like a big party. I specifically said, “Do not throw me a surprise party,” and gave him multiple reasons why. I’d much prefer to go away with just our family. He’s ignored me, and I’m 99% sure he’s planning one anyway. He planned a surprise birthday for me once before with my family and friends, which turned into him proposing. I’d clued into that one too, so I knew it was coming, and I hated the pressure of it all being about me. I’ve had to pretend all these years that I didn’t know. Am I being a bitch and ungrateful? Do I have to just relax and enjoy the party I specifically said I didn’t want, or do I bring it up again?

Q2: CAN I ASK FOR MONEY INSTEAD OF PRESENTS AT MY TODDLER’S BIRTHDAY?

I just listened to the episode on the wedding gift registry and wanted your thoughts. My daughter turns two soon, and we struggle with presents because she already has so many toys. For her first birthday party, we respectfully asked for no gifts, and if people wanted to give something, they could contribute to her bank account, so one day she can afford a car or a house (because the economy is fucked). We got some mixed opinions. For her second birthday, do we say nothing at all, or do we request the same thing as last year?

Q3: MY BOYFRIEND WEARS THE SAME TRACKIES TO THE GYM AND TO BED

My boyfriend goes to the gym in tracksuit pants. He’ll then have a shower, but put the same pants back on, and then get into bed, under the covers, and fully go to sleep in them. I keep telling him this is gross because gyms are very unhygienic, but he thinks I’m overreacting. I’d love for you to weigh in!

Q4: I’VE HAD FEELINGS FOR MY FRIEND FOR TEN YEARS. DO I SHOOT MY SHOT?

Please help talk some sense into me. I’ve had feelings for a male friend on and off for over ten years. We met at uni, and over the years he’s had a long-term girlfriend and we’ve lived in different cities. Since moving back, we’ve reconnected and caught up occasionally, including a recent five-hour evening having dinner and hanging out at his place. We have a lot in common and get along really well, but nothing romantic has ever happened. He’s quite reserved and I genuinely can’t tell if he’s interested. Lately my feelings have become almost obsessive. I’m extremely sensitive to rejection, I overanalyse every interaction, and I feel physically sick at the thought of him dating someone else. I’m terrified that confessing will ruin our friendship. Meanwhile I’ve been dating other men, including someone who is flying interstate to see me, but I worry I’m using dating as a distraction. Have I romanticised the idea of us after all these years? Should I finally tell him and risk rejection, or just try to move on? Or is there a less risky way to float the idea?

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 — Intro: Laura’s seven-hour car key disaster
7:03 — Vibes of the week: Worst Roommate Ever & The Celebrity Traitors UK
11:58 — Q1: My husband is throwing me a surprise party I don’t want
18:41 — Q2: Can I ask for money instead of presents at my toddler’s birthday?
25:48 — Q3: My boyfriend wears his gym trackies to bed
32:37 — Q4: I’ve had feelings for my friend for ten years. Do I shoot my shot?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers! Welcome to Offcuts, your little weekend snack!

Brittany is off doing other work this week, so Producer Soph has been called up from the producers’ chair to co host with Laura. Soph also has a very important question: is it weird to go to a dog park when you don’t have a dog?

Then Laura has a big update of her own: Poppy has taken her first steps (and Matt’s reaction was far too calm for Laura’s liking). Plus, a question that has divided the studio: which part of your foot do you use on the accelerator and the brake? Spoiler: one of us uses only her big toe.

Next, the story that Laura vetoed and everyone else overruled. Kelly Clarkson walked into a small Brooklyn shop, wanted a $15,000 wooden bird, and says she was treated like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

Then Transport for NSW has officially confirmed that you cannot reserve a car park by standing in it, and it comes with a $94 fine. Laura shares her unhinged Bondi Junction car park story from when she was eight months pregnant, and Soph reveals the most powerful day bed move she has ever witnessed on a cruise ship.

We close out with the Tinder Swindler, Simon Leviev, who is reportedly launching his own dating app called Safe Love. We unpack why this is horrifying, and look at the Singapore government’s AI matchmaking app. Would you let a panel of experts pick your partner?

Soph and Lachy also have their very first episode of Producers Cut on Patreon this Thursday, so go and subscribe if you haven’t already!

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Welcome Producer Soph!
• 2:03 Is it weird to go to a dog park without a dog?
• 5:03 Poppy’s first steps
• 7:54 Which part of your foot do you drive with?
• 10:31 Kelly Clarkson vs the $15,000 wooden bird
• 20:18 Can you reserve a car park by standing in it?
• 23:59 Laura’s Bondi Junction car park rage story
• 30:15 The Tinder Swindler’s new dating app

Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram

Join us on Patreon for exclusive content and bonus episodes

You can watch us on Youtube

Join us on tiktok

Or join the Facebook Discussion Group

Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne

Produced by Lachy Pugsley

Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley

Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers!
Did you know the average person is on track to spend 18 years of their life scrolling? Or that using AI to make a decision can cause a 64% drop in activity in your prefrontal cortex; the part of your brain responsible for thinking? Today we want to talk about how to not lose our minds as AI use increases. Joining us again is neuroscientist, international speaker and author of The Dose Effect, TJ Power.

Last time TJ joined us we talked about micro-habits and the small daily things quietly wrecking our dopamine. This time, we're going somewhere a little different: building a successful brain in the age of AI.

TJ breaks down exactly what AI is doing to our thinking, our creativity and our feelings, why the average person is on track to scroll for 18 years of their life, and the lesser known brain chemical, glutamate, that's quietly driving all of our decision fatigue. We also get into what this means for our kids and screens in schools, why TJ has banned AI from parts of his own life completely, and the very simple (and very effective) "safety check" habit rewiring your anxiety every time you pick up your phone.

Oh, and if you take one thing from this episode, put your phones in another room tonight and watch Good Will Hunting with your partner. TJ's orders.

Timestamps

• 00:00 — Welcome back TJ Power, and why AI is the new frontier for the brain
• 02:07 — What AI is actually doing to our brains: thinking, creating & feeling
• 12:58 — Glutamate: the "decision fatigue" chemical nobody's talking about
• 19:21 — Doomscrolling for 18 years of your life and what a "successful brain" really looks like
• 32:09 — Kids, iPads and schools in the age of AI
• 39:15 — TJ's actionable rules for using AI without losing your edge
• 49:04 — The phone-free rule saving their relationships (meals, bedroom, bathroom)
• 59:18 — TJ's OCD story and how to beat the phone "safety check" habit

You can watch our previous episodes with TJ here:
New Year, New You? The Micro Changes We Can Make To Have A Much Happier Life w/ TJ Power

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fx-uNOefOA

Dopamine and the ADHD Brain. CLOUD With Neuroscientist TJ Power!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJAgXI39gQQ

You can follow TJ on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tjpower/?hl=en

See him Live in Sydney

The DOSE Experience Tickets:

https://events.humanitix.com/the-dose-experience-tj-power-live

Join us on Patreon for exclusive content and bonus episodes

Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram

You can watch us on Youtube

Join us on tiktok

Or join the Facebook Discussion Group

Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne

Produced by Keeshia Pettit Soph Nathan

Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley

Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.