Head Noise: a podcast from James Graham

A rugby league superstar discovers the truth about what football has done to his brain - and faces up to deeply confronting questions about risk, reward, masculinity and responsibility.

Head Noise: The Australian’s unmissable new podcast on sport’s biggest issue

Head Noise is a groundbreaking investigative 6-part podcast series by James Graham and The Australian’s Jessica Halloran. It looks at the long-term consequences of concussion and the risks, rewards and responsibilities involved in playing contact sports.

James Graham is one of the hardest men in rugby league: a prop who spent 17 years in first grade and Tests, and was renowned for his fearless, hard-tackling style, famously breaking the cheekbone of fellow star Sam Burgess in the 2014 NRL Grand Final.

He’s also the first NRL player to announce he’ll donate his brain to science, and has begun exploring exactly what damage his brain has sustained during his sporting career and how he can delay the onset of dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Subscribers to The Australian have complete access to Head Noise investigation. Subscribe to The Australian here.

Head Noise is now available in The Australian’s app each Monday (iOS | Android), or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Episode 1: What have I done to my brain?

Football superstar James Graham begins a gripping journey to confront sport’s hottest issue: concussion. In this series, we’ll meet the stars of AFL, Olympic sports and rugby union as they face the truth about head trauma.Graham, one of rugby league’s greatest ever hard men, reveals the day he feared he was losing his mind, even as he was fulfilling the dream of stardom born in his Liverpool childhood. And we meet league stars including Immortal Wally Lewis, who reveals a shocking secret.

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Episode 2: Matty Johns’ badge of honour

James Graham interviews superstar Matty Johns, who shocks James with some revelations: he was first knocked out cold at the age of six, and suffered 80 concussions during his glittering league career. Johns, Australia’s most successful ex-footballer, tells James he has no regrets, and shares his thoughts on how to protect players from themselves.

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Episode 3: Hard knocks and broken hearts

NRL great James Graham takes us inside one of the most brutal concussions he suffered on the field. Graham also interviews former Roosters captain Boyd Cordner, who retired at age 29 because of concussion. Boyd opens up on his toughest moments in his final seasons in his most revealing interview on the issue yet and explains how the paralysing headaches caused by concussions affected his day-to-day life. James also reveals the results of his brain test with Dr Alan Pearce.

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Episode 4: Days of Thunder

James Graham opens up in-depth about his mental health battles like never before. Former Wallaby Berrick Barnes reveals the hidden toll of concussions on his stellar rugby union career - and why he followed his heart to play bush footy after retirement. It’s a decision Barnes now says was ‘f…ing stupid’.

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Episode 5: A Dad’s dilemma

Football saved James Graham from straying to the wrong side of the law - but was it worth the risk? We hear what his own Dad, John, thinks. James confronts every parent’s choice: do I let my own kids play contact sport? We bust some myths - and superstars Matty Johns, Berrick Barnes and Shaun Smith open up on kids playing sport. All the while James gets closer to discovering what 100 concussions in rugby league did to his brain.

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Episode 6: The moment of truth

James Graham receives the news no one wants to hear in a neurologist’s rooms. The impact of his glorious 17-year playing career, which also yielded around 100 concussions, has taken a toll but how does he feel about it? In this episode James also calls for changes across the game to protect both present and past players.

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Bonus episode: ‘Am I going to die?’

One of the hardest men to have played rugby league, Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll, joins NRL great James Graham for a special one on one interview. Spudd reveals to Graham his ‘probable CTE diagnosis’ and pleads for the NRL to pay for brain scans for all former players. ‘Spudd’ also reveals some very dark times.

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, call Lifeline (13 11 14) or the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), or see a doctor.Macquarie University’s Concussion Connect email: [e-mail]