PODCAST · society
Pulling Threads
by Alex Cleary
Mostly shit talking, occasionally to great people...
Episodes
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Nobody Chooses Their Trade. Your Mum Does It For You
Nobody actually chooses their trade. Your old man did it, your mum signed you up, or a mate said the cash was good. This week the brothers pull apart how every tradie really ended up on the tools, then build the ultimate family out of six trades, argue about whether an auto sparky beats a…
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We Super Glued His Light, Siliconed His Toolbag And Fed Him A Reaper
Two brothers, a crib room full of degenerates, and years of workshop warfare. This week we pull the thread on the best stitch-ups we've ever seen underground, from a wobbulator that doesn't sound real to a bloke who walked out to his missus in his jocks. Plus the dad move that may have fed Mount...
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The AI Knows Where I Work, What I Drive And Where My Dogs Went
Alex asks his AI what it actually knows about him and it spits out where he works, what truck he drives, that his dogs got picked up by the rangers, and where the material for his jobs is stacked at the workshop. Then it gets creepier. We get into how Walmart worked out women were pregnant before...
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The Top 5 Servo Foods That Prove Australia Has Culture
Two brothers who've done more nine-hour drives across outback Queensland than they can count settle the only debate that matters. What is the greatest servo food in the country. Troy also drops off a sample at the fertility clinic and finds a USB stick full of surprises in the male room. Alex...
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The Council Took Our Dogs And Held Them Ransom
We left a gate open, both dogs bolted, and the council scooped them straight into the system. What followed was a two-day nightmare of hold music, an animal rescue place that wouldn't answer the phone, and a council rule that forces you to desex your dog at three months before you can get them...
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The Mental Trick That Turns Every Setback Into A Win
Welcome to the inaugural Page Parliament. That's the book club we can't call a book club because Alex would've bullied anyone who was in one. This week we pull apart To The Limit by Amber and Blaine Burke, one of the deepest female freedivers in the country and a 24-hour national champ who came...
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How To Run A Race That Makes Zero Money Off Ticket Sales
A random German backyard ultra just put on the best livestream in the game and it hurt to watch, because every idea we'd documented after King of the Hill they pulled off one by one. The event is never how you make the money. It's the vehicle to advertise how you make the money, and if you can't...
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Simon Cochrane: The Bloke Who Broke The Ultraman World Record On Coke And Red Bull
A 10K open water swim, 420 kilometres on the bike and an 84K double marathon across three days — and Simon Cochrane did the lot on Coke, Red Bull and Tailwind. That run set the Ultraman world record. This week he sits down with Alex and Troy and goes through 39 Ironmans, a Tarawera 100 miler won…
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The Cameras Died And I Had To Let It Go
We just ran Harry's Longest Mile and the livestream shit the bed in the first two hours. Two cameras dead, roaming cam audio clapped out, and Alex sitting up in the commentary box on one hour's sleep watching the whole thing fall apart. Then he cracked a Red Bull, stopped fighting it, and it…
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The Domestic Sparkies Who Left My Ceiling A Spider Web
Alex climbs into his roof cavity for the first time and finds out exactly what eight grand of domestic rewiring actually bought him. Spaghetti cables, insulation ripped up and left in a pile, and a condensation tube shoved together by some dodgy cunt that slowly rotted a hole through the heater....
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The Government Is Cutting Trades Short To Pump Out Tradies Faster
South Australia reckons it can fix the housing crisis by cutting apprenticeships short. Excavator operators in 18 months, road tunnel work halved, painting officially a trade you can knock out in three years. Alex and Troy pull it apart from the inside, because both of them came out of their own...
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The Sport Too Big For The Bloke Running It
Alex nearly got flogged with a crowbar outside a mine Christmas party, Troy front-kicked his bedroom door ready to fight an intruder that turned out to be a Korean-speaking robot vacuum, and both of them reckon backyard ultra is being held back by one bloke and a Facebook group. This one goes...
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The Greatest Heist In Mining History
Two brothers swap the wildest mine site theft stories they've ever heard, from copper cathodes snapping rear axles to the greatest amnesty backfire of all time. Plus, there's actual science behind why you mutter to yourself while looking for your keys. And Troy's Garmin watch saga reaches a new...
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The 10 Cent Scam That Australia Fell For
Alex went deep on how Australia's container deposit scheme actually works and the numbers are wild. Cleanaway and Tomra are making hundreds of millions, Coca-Cola benefits when you don't recycle, and you're earning $8.50 an hour feeding cans into a machine. Plus Troy finally admits Alex was right...
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The Renovation That Broke Me
Alex spent an entire week off work trying to build a deck. What he found underground nearly sent him over the edge. Buried rocks the size of a coffin, mystery pipes, failed inspections, and a $1,200 hole-digging bill with almost nothing to show for it. This is the most honest renovation meltdown...
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The Toxic Masculinity Test That Exposed Us Both
Alex and Troy take an online toxic masculinity test live and compare their results. It goes exactly how you'd expect. One brother scores more toxic than average, the other less, and Troy's wife somehow outscores them both on deceitful arrogance. Before that, the boys rip through their signs of...
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The First Race That Changes Everything
Troy just ran his first ever 50K ultra and beat Alex by 20 minutes. This episode is the full debrief. The emotions at the finish line, the fuelling disasters, the moments where it nearly fell apart, and a pair of spray-painted gold boots that might become a family heirloom. In this episode: -...
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Tim Kacprzak: The Sport Nobody Knows How To Get Paid For
Tim Kacprzak is back and he's still our most listened episode by a long shot. This time he walks us through 83 days of consecutive running, coaching Troy to his first 50K, and why backyard ultra might be the most exciting sport that nobody's figured out how to pay athletes for yet. In this…
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The Birth Crisis No One Is Talking About
Three tradies sit down and talk about the stuff blokes never talk about. Fatherhood, home births, obstetric violence, and why most men show up to the biggest moment of their partner's life completely unprepared. Then it gets loose with bush mechanic stories, mine site fuck ups, apprentice...
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The Online Course Scam That Almost Cost Me $4,000
Alex got strong-armed by an online PT course for eight months after trying to cancel. Debt collector threats, credit score scare tactics, fake final warnings. He used AI to fight back and won without paying a cent. This one's a masterclass in not rolling over when a company tries to bully you. In...
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The Sport That Refuses to Recognise Half Its Athletes
Blaine Burke dropped a carousel that put the entire backyard ultra world on notice. Women make up 5% of the field, the female world record holder gets recorded as a DNF, and the guy who invented the sport thinks splitting categories would ruin the whole point. Alex and Troy break down why that...
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The Sub 2 Hour Marathon That Nobody Will Remember
A bloke runs the first ever sub two hour sanctioned marathon and the guy who came second also breaks the world record. Nobody will remember his name. That kicks off a conversation about loneliness stats, making mates as an adult, the dumbest things operators have ever done on site, and whether...
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I Prepared Like a World Champion and Still Lost
Alex ran 38 hours at the Melbourne Front Yard Ultra and still walked away feeling like he never got to race. This is the raw, honest debrief of what went right, what went wrong, and why world-class preparation doesn't guarantee the result you wanted. In this episode: - The full breakdown of…
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The Household Product Scam Costing You 10x More Than It Should
Troy reverse-engineers a household scam that's been ripping off every Australian kitchen for decades, and the fix costs 17 cents and a hot glue gun. Alex breaks down the only cold weather running gear you actually need (hint: it's less than you think), and we get deep into the unwritten lore of...
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The Hair Loss Drug That Costs Men Their Manhood
Alex ran 100km solo through the night and started falling asleep on his feet six hours in. Troy discovered his smoko noodles are 800 calories. And there's a hair loss drug blokes are popping like vitamins that might shut down the one thing they actually need working. In this episode: - Alex's...
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The 104kg Man Who Ran 100 Miles With Zero Training
A 104kg bloke got punched in the back of the head, couldn't sleep for months, nearly lost his mind in London, and somehow turned it all into a career helping men sleep and a movement called the Heavyweight Running Division. Jordan Stanton is one of the most honest, high-energy guests we've had on...
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Coles Scammed Every Australian And Nobody Noticed
Hannah finally cracked the sourdough code, Coles got caught running one of the most genius scams in Australian retail history, and we found three small things that gave us outsized returns in life. Plus we get into whether your wife not taking your last name should be a deal breaker. Spoiler: we...
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The $98,000 Mistake That Could Have Been Avoided
A bloke lost $98,000 on a house deposit because he was two days late and then decided to take it to court instead of taking the money back. That story alone tells you everything you need to know about this episode. Alex and Troy get into the dumbest financial decisions blokes make, why you need…
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The Man Who Has It All (And Why He's A Better Role Model Than Any Influencer)
After watching the Manosphere documentary, Alex went straight to a Gordon Ramsay doco and couldn't stop thinking about the contrast. One side is a bunch of blokes getting rich telling young men women are objects. The other is a bloke with six kids, 70 restaurants, and the same wife for 20 years....
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The Near Death Experience That Changed How I Work Forever
Alex nearly got cooked alive on a recycling plant floor when an operator reached over his shoulder and switched a live circuit back on mid-job. Troy got pinned against a locomotive by a runaway bobcat. And that was before they got to the shaft inspection where a concrete door exploded at exactly...
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The Job Perks That Make You Never Want to Leave Mining
Mining perks are a different animal entirely. Free tools, supplier kickbacks, box seats at State of Origin, Lady Gaga tickets, and flying anywhere in the world on the company's dime — Alex and Troy break down the wildest job perks they've ever had, and some of them are genuinely unbelievable.…
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Tim Kacprzak: Your Kids Don't Hear What You Say They Watch What You Do
Tim Kacprzak grew up with a rough family environment, was 25 kilos overweight at 29, and couldn't button his shirt at a mate's suit fitting. Now he's one of Australia's most decorated ultra endurance athletes with a 37% career podium rate. This one goes deep on fatherhood, breaking generational...
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AI Just Did Two Days Of My Work In 10 Minutes
AI agents just did in 10 minutes what used to take days of research, and it scared the shit out of both of us. This week we also break down a 12,345 pull-up world record, a family who scammed a $600 steak dinner with an armpit hair, and a Norwegian Olympic medalist who confessed to cheating on…
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#064 - Can You Have Friends of the Opposite Sex?
If you’re in a relationship, where’s the line between “we’re mates” and “this is getting a bit too close”? We get stuck into the best-friend boundary, the situations that look innocent on paper, and why the door being “slightly open” is still a problem. From there it turns into the usual Pulling...
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#063 - “Public Figure” in Your Facebook Name Is Criminal
Someone out there is deadset calling themselves a “public figure” on Facebook, in their actual name. Not the bio, not the grey little tag, the name. We saw it, nearly threw up, and had to unpack what kind of person does that, and why it feels so criminal. Before we get there though, we kick off...
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#062 - “It Worked.” The Moment We Realised This Event’s Bigger
There was a moment mid-event where the ticket sales just kept popping off, and the fear flipped into this one thought: holy shit, it actually worked. Not just “the race went well”… but the whole idea of what we’re building. We talk about how the livestream turned king of the hill into proper...
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#061 - Yorkmania: Cape York to Tassie with a Hammock and a Trailer
Merlin didn’t just “go for a run”. He dragged a little trailer from the top of Australia all the way to Tassie, slept in a hammock on the side of the road, and woke up every day to do it again. We talk the real logistics and the real shit parts: 126 days, about 5,700km, what he ate, how he found...
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#060 - The Swiss Army Knife Every Man Should Have
Most blokes reckon they’re “capable”… until something actually goes wrong and they’re standing there like a stunned mullet. In this episode we rip into what makes you a “bitch” when shit hits the fan and what the bare minimum should be if you want to be a dependable man, not just a loud one. We...
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#058 – We Built Something Bigger Than A Race
What started as a brutal endurance race turned into something way bigger than we expected. This episode pulls back the curtain on King of the Hill — the chaos, the 12-hour days, the mistakes, the wins, and that quiet moment after pack-down where you realise it actually worked. We talk…
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#057 - The Story Behind Maple Movement
His gut shut down, his body gave up — and that’s where Maple Movement began. He wasn’t chasing enlightenment — he was just trying to fix his gut. What started as crippling health issues turned into a full-blown wake-up call that changed everything. Dan from Maple Movement opens up about hitting…
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#056 - The Wizard, The Bitch & The Big Horse
We’re back with another round of bloke logic, bad nicknames, and deep chats disguised as bullshit. From why some blokes are “wizards,” others are “bitches,” and who earns the title of “big horse,” this ep is all about the culture that makes Aussie men who they are. Bring your sense of humour,...
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#055 - Should Trans Athletes Hold Women’s Records?
We kick off with the FKT controversy — a trans athlete breaking the women’s record on the Appalachian Trail — and ask the hard question: should that stand? From there, we shout out this week’s Harry dragging a rowing machine up a mountain, debate whether pissing on the lawn is stingy or smart…
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#054 - When Failure Fuels Growth (and Gambling Drains It)
What if failure was the missing piece in your growth? In this ep we talk about how to reframe losses, spot the lessons, and keep moving forward when most blokes quit. We discuss what the perfect ratio between failure and momentum is and We also call out the Australian gambling culture, why it…
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#053 - Is It Racist to Fly the Aussie Flag?
This week we shout out Shane Kent, one of only 64 people to ever complete the brutal Arch to Arc from London to Paris and then dive headfirst into a bigger question: is it racist to fly the Australian flag? Have your say: @clearlyruns @pt.pod
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#052 - From sparky to house flipper
From sparky to house flipper making six figures on projects Sam Harper breaks down how he escaped the grind and built his own lane. This episode dives into the risks, the sleepless nights, and the moments he nearly fucked it all up. If you’ve ever thought about trading stability for freedom…
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#051 - The King of the Hill (Pyry Liukkonen)
Have your say - @clearlyruns @pt.pod @coachpyry
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#050 - Huberman was wrong, all time aussie put downs & running he length of the UK
Have your say - @clearlyruns @pt.pod
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#Bonus - Find That Dog
Have your say - @clearlyruns @pt.pod
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#049 - Liam Henderson
Have your say - @clearlyruns @pt.pod
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#048 - Getting arrested & raising 50k
Have your say - @clearlyruns @pt.pod
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Pulling Threads have?
Pulling Threads currently has 96 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Pulling Threads about?
Mostly shit talking, occasionally to great people...
How often does Pulling Threads release new episodes?
Pulling Threads has 96 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Pulling Threads?
You can listen to Pulling Threads on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Pulling Threads?
Pulling Threads is created and hosted by Alex Cleary.
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