Bethany Clarke and Simone White were best friends.

They’d known each other since they were kids. So when they set off on a long-awaited backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, it was meant to be a joyful, carefree adventure.

But just three days into their holiday, everything changed.

At their hostel in Laos, Bethany and Simone attended happy hour drinks by the pool. What they didn’t know was that the drinks had been contaminated with methanol, a toxic and often fatal chemical sometimes found in unregulated alcohol.

Within 24 hours, both women were seriously unwell and found themselves in hospital. Simone didn’t survive. Bethany did.

This is the story of what happened next - the decisions no one should have to make in a foreign hospital, the grief of losing your best friend, and the unbearable weight of being the one left behind.

You can follow Bethany Clarke’s advocacy account and sign her petition here:

https://www.instagram.com/simonewhitemethanolawareness/

If this story has brought up anything for you, please reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Lifeline.org.au

To learn more about methanol poisoning and alcohol safety while travelling, visit DFAT SmartTraveller.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review

CREDITS:

Guest: Bethany Clarke

Host: Kate Langbroek

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Bree Player

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deborah Frances-White is the woman behind The Guilty Feminist, the podcast that’s sparked global conversations about modern feminism, contradiction, and calling ourselves in.

She’s a comedian, an author, a screenwriter, and a performer. But underneath all of that is someone who knows what it means to live in silence.

Adopted at birth and raised in a strict religious community, Deborah grew up in a world shaped by rules, obedience, and fear. She was taught to conform. To behave. To stay quiet. And she did, for a while.

In this episode of No Filter, Deborah shares the story of walking away from everything she was raised to believe, and how she found her voice in the aftermath. We talk about her new book, Six Conversations We’re Scared to Have, and why she's choosing to say the things most of us are too afraid to.

She speaks about gender non-conformity, shame, free speech, cancel culture, and the emotional impact of being publicly shunned. We also talk about comedy, and how it became the way she processes pain, connection and truth.

This is a conversation about identity, courage, and what happens when you stop being the person everyone expected you to be.

You can follow Deborah and find her book, Six Conversations We're Scared to Have, here:

https://www.instagram.com/dfdubz/?hl=en

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review

CREDITS:

Guest: Deborah Frances-White

Host: Kate Langbroek

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Bree Player

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Australian actor, Tim Pocock, was cast as young Cyclops in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he was a teenager growing up in a strict Catholic home - navigating a world where being gay wasn’t just discouraged, it was treated as something to be fixed.

In this raw and powerful conversation, Tim opens up about his time at Redfield College in Sydney - a school linked to Opus Dei. He speaks candidly about surviving conversion therapy, and the years he spent battling internalised homophobia.

Tim also shares what it was like to grow up silenced, how that trauma shaped his relationship with his body, his family and his faith, and what it took to finally unlearn it all - and live as himself.

This is a story of survival, truth, and reclaiming identity.

You can follow Tim and find his book, The Truth Will Set You Free, here:

https://www.instagram.com/timjpocock/?hl=en

If this conversation brought up any hard feelings for you - please seek help. You can reach Lifeline on 13 11 14

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review

CREDITS:

Guest: Tim Pocock

Host: Kate Langbroek

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Bree Player

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.