Richard Flanagan’s masterful new novel Question 7 is his most personal book yet: a tribute to his parents and to his island home of Tasmania, and a hypnotic melding of dream, history, place and memory. Beginning with Flanagan’s father’s imprisonment near Hiroshima when the atom bomb was dropped, Question 7 traces a chain reaction of events, from th…

Join co-hosts and co-creators Maria Birch-Morunga and Kate Robinson for a special live recording of their hit podcast Being Biracial, coinciding with International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Along with special guests, comedian Aurelia St Clair and AFLW champion Darcy Vescio, they discuss navigating the world as a mixed-race p…

Known for literary masterpieces like The Sisters Brothers and French Exit, Canadian writer Patrick deWitt has been delighting readers for more than a decade. In his latest work, The Librarianist, deWitt’s distinctive verve and humour come to the fore. His exploration of the life of retired Oregon-based librarian Bob Comet masterfully blends melanch…

Jane Harrison’s work has captivated audiences globally, earning her international acclaim for plays including Stolen and Rainbow’s End. With an impressive body of work and a deep commitment to promoting and developing First Nations perspectives – including as the Director of the Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival – Harrison has establish…

Richard Ford is a true literary luminary. The author of eight novels and four short story collections, Ford’s illustrious career spans nearly five decades and numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Independence Day. At this special Melbourne event hosted by journalist Jonathan Green, Ford discusses his exceptional career a…

Author Jane Smiley has been hailed as one of the Great American Novelists of the 20th century. Her remarkable career spans more than 30 books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece A Thousand Acres and The Last Hundred Years trilogy. At this exclusive in-conversation event with host David Francis, Smiley looks back on her incredible life…

Taylor Swift’s concerts have shifted the economic climate of entire cities; she has prompted US Senate hearings about major ticketing reforms and industry-defining conversations about copyright and ownership; and her public and private life have driven tabloid fodder for decades (Kimye drama, anyone?). The pop icon’s genre-bending career and reputa…

Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani was imprisoned on Manus Island for over six years, and during that time he became acutely aware that oppression takes root when people look away. He was determined to use his sharpest weapon – his words – to survive, and to expose Australia’s inhumane treatment of asylum seekers. Now, in 2023, not only is…

Before he found runaway success with his debut novel, Boy Swallows Universe, and follow-up All Our Shimmering Skies, Trent Dalton spent decades as a journalist investigating the real-life social inequities that underpin his third novel, Lola in the Mirror: poverty, violence, homelessness – and the power of hope. The result is a moving, darkly funny…

For the Wheeler Centre’s 2023 end-of-year showcase, a host of the brightest names in Australian stand-up comedy – including Janty Blair, Scout Boxall, Nat Harris, Zoë Coombs Marr, Vidya Rajan, Dane Simpson and Alex Ward – came together to gaze into the Wheeler Centre’s crystal ball and answer some burning questions about what lies ahead. What will …

When acclaimed songwriter and performer Jen Cloher (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāpuhi) started to learn about their Māori heritage their whole outlook on life changed. In the new podcast series, Everybody’s Trying To Find Their Way Home, Cloher speaks with icons like Dr. Lou Bennett about Sovereign Language Rematriation and Emma Donovan about the lasting legacy …

Acclaimed actor, activist and 2023 Sydney Peace Prize-winner Nazanin Boniadi shares her dream of a 'a free, prosperous and secular democratic Iran'. Iranian-born actress Nazanin Boniadi has had an impressive onscreen career, including leading roles in the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Homeland. But it’s her major role as a human rights …

Leigh Sales is one of Australia’s most beloved journalists. A veteran anchor of the ABC’s flagship current affairs program 7.30, the new presenter of Australian Story, co-host of hugely popular podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 with Annabel Crabb, and a bestselling author, Sales has been recognised with three Walkley Awards over the course of a career that h…

The author of The Great Believers and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Rebecca Makkai is back with an explosive new work. Described by the New York Times as ‘spellbinding’, I Have Some Questions for You is part campus novel, part true-crime podcast investigation, all told through the lens of the #MeToo era. Join Makkai and host Rachael Brown as t…

In this episode, acclaimed science journalist Ed Yong takes us beyond the limits of human perception to uncover the world through the eyes of animals. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us explores the boundless sensory environments animals occupy, offering a reminder of the intricacies of nature and how little we t…

In this episode, Caroline O’Donoghue, bestselling author and host of the award-winning podcast Sentimental Garbage discusses her new novel The Rachel Incident. Set in Ireland against the backdrop of the post-economic crash of 2009, The Rachel Incident delves into the realm of youthful yearnings, early adulthood, and the bittersweet transition from …

Pop culture aficionados Kate Jinx and Brodie Lancaster join us for a special live recording of their hit podcast See Also. Each week on their pod, Brodie and Kate skip across the pop culture spectrum and dissect the TV shows, films and books everyone is talking about, forgotten cult classics they’ve been revisiting, and everything in between. Booke…