Good Reading Podcast: Recent Episodes
Good Reading Magazine
Book talk and author interviews aimed at helping you discover your next favourite read, presented by Good Reading Magazine.
The Memory Tapes is a new podcast from the National Library of Australia that brings history to life through the voices of the people who lived it. Drawing on one of the nation’s most significant oral history collections, the series explores remarkable stories of resilience, innovation, creativity, migration, activism and everyday life. In each episode, oral historian Dr Shirleene Robinson AM combines firsthand accounts with expert storytelling to reveal the people behind Australia’s history.From Nobel Prize-winning scientists and pioneering artists to community leaders, workers and families, The Memory Tapes offers listeners a rare opportunity to hear Australians tell their stories in their own words. These recordings capture not only historical events, but the emotions, memories and experiences that give them meaning. Through ten themed episodes, the podcast opens a window into the National Library’s extraordinary Oral History Collection, inviting audiences to discover the voices that have shaped Australia’s past and continue to inspire its future.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Barbara Lemon about why oral history is an essential part of the Australian record of our history, how the emotional truth contained within these recordings communicates something beyond mere facts and opinions, and how listeners can access The Memory Tapes podcast and book through the National Library of Australia's website.
Lies shines light on lesser-known aspects of the Nazi Regime. It gives voice to the complex moral struggles of German women, the forgotten resistance of Gentiles married to Jews, the dangers of contested history, the evils of Himmler’s racial studies programme and the unsung bravery of German museum curators who saved their nation’s treasures.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Elisabeth Storrs about creating historical fiction in a world where history is contestable, the compromises women and families were compelled to make under the Nazi regime, and the often overlooked consequences of World War I that sowed the seed for World War II.Paperback and digital editions of Fables and Lies can be found at Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/fables-lies-elisabeth-storrs/book/9781835744086.html
Langwarrin, Victoria, 1914. The whole world is at war. In Langwarrin on the Mornington Peninsula, fourteen-year-old Jack Thorning is the best marksman in military cadet training. His brother, Matt, taught him everything he knew, after their father died. But now Matt has joined the war effort, and it's up to Jack to hold down the home front and help his mother run the family orchard.When a group of 'enemy aliens' are sent to Langwarrin to be held prisoner at the military base, tensions in the town run high. For Jack and his best friend, Walter, the war feels closer than ever. Like the rest of the town, Jack and Walter want nothing to do with the German prisoners. But as the war progresses, the inmates at the camp are put to work doing manual labour on the farms around Langwarrin, including Jack's family orchard, and Jack begins to see that the prisoners are people, too.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Danielle Binks about her home town and her fascination with it's war-time history, how the works of Shakespeare still resonate for young people today, and why World War I's impact in shaping events of the 20th Century is often overlooked.
Fifteen Feet Tall is Warren Rankine's own account of a journey from trauma, tragedy, sadness, to, success and self realisation. Others may have put him on a path. Ultimately he forged his own.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Warren Rankine about his memoir - story of childhood trauma, personal development, growth and achievement. Warren is joined by Tracy Yong who helped bring his story to print through the process of self-publishing with FolioFox
Usually when a friend is dying, there’s not much you can do. But what if there was?James O’Loghlin’s best friend at university was Jum Wallner, but once careers and kids came along, they drifted apart. That was, until the day Jum felt a pain in his side and remembered he had grown up in a house filled with ‘Mr Fluffy’ asbestos insulation. Nearly everyone who contracts an asbestos disease gets it from their work and is entitled to compensation or financial support. Jum discovered that if you got one from your home, tough luck. You were on your own. Before he died, Jum wanted to change that.James leapt at the chance to help him. But with zero lobbying experience, how were they going to persuade the ACT Labor Government and the Federal Liberal Government to work together to help the victims of the 1000 ‘Mr Fluffy’ houses? In the middle of Covid, how would they attract national media attention? Most importantly, as Jum’s illness worsened, could they get it done in time?This is a story about amateurs figuring out how to influence government, how friendship can drift and then be found again, and how tragedy can make it clear what really matters.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to James O'Loghlin about the changing contours of friendship as we move through life, how he came to be an activist for the victims of Canberra's 'Mr Fluffy' houses, and how to to prepare for final conversations with dying friends.
Australia is a country celebrated for its wildlife, yet native species are in crisis. In the last 200 years, Australia has lost more biodiversity than any other developed nation.In this book, award-winning science writer Justine E. Hausheer encounters pygmy possums that live high in the Snowy Mountains, hears the booming calls of bitterns from their adopted home in the Riverina’s rice fields, crouches after dark in the spinifex grasslands listening for the elusive night parrot and meets adorable fat-tailed dunnarts who might hold the answers to reviving the Tasmanian tiger. The Vanishing Wild immerses us in the harsh reality of the extinction crisis – and shows us the future of conservation and what can be done to save Australia’s native species.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Justine Haushseer about the ever-growing list of endangered species from the iconic koala to the little known pygmy blue tongue lizard, the ethical challenges of de-extinction technologies and... what exactly are the Cane Toad Olympics?
After suffering a loss, Janine and her husband, Kamal, need a fresh start. They leave their family and everything they know in Manchester and move to Bamblethorpe, a picturesque Lancashire village where they expect nothing but peace and quiet. It’ll be just what Janine, a thriller writer, needs to work on her next manuscript.But the peace of their new village life is disrupted when longtime local Alexa Clarke goes missing. Did she leave her husband, like some people suspect? Or is there credibility to the rumours that something more nefarious has happened to Alexa?Frozen by writer’s block, Janine stumbles into investigating Alexa’s disappearance, and the more she discovers about Alexa’s life, the more complicated things become. Nothing is as it seems, and Janine begins to realise that there are disturbing parallels between Alexa’s life and her own. What starts as curious procrastination quickly spirals into a tangled web of secrets, lies and a truth Janine may not be ready to face … if she survives.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jess Kitching about the accidental merging of genres in her writing, how a tree change to a quiet English village comes with hidden dangers, and how grief and loss changes lives.
For Amy, being a doctor was supposed to mean winning at life. Helping people. Saving lives. Having a secure job. Earning good money. Tick, tick, tick, tick. But now, in her second year in a city hospital the reality is a world away from Amy's med school dreams. She is finding out that people don't always want to be 'helped', the pay barely covers rent, her hours are ridiculous, her favourite patients are getting sicker, and her surgical trainee boyfriend has recently gone shy on proposing.What Amy does have are the friendships forged by dealing with recalcitrant patients, endless nightshifts, and crying in the emergency department bathrooms. And a belief that maybe, underneath it all, it's a job that's still worth doing.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kerry Jewell about giving the reader the complete hospital/medical training experience, why the idea of being a doctor isn't necessarily the reality, and how cynicism, sarcasm and black humour are all part of the job.
Three first responders – a paramedic, a police officer and a firefighter – are motivated by a desire to serve the community. But they are drawn to their work by more complicated impulses as well: a need for control, an acute awareness of danger, and childhood experiences they are still running from.Peter, a paramedic, served at high-profile disasters including the Port Arthur massacre and the Beaconsfield mine collapse. Despite helping countless people, he is haunted by the lives he couldn't save.Tara, a firefighter, experienced devastating loss at a young age. She found camaraderie in the fire brigade, but also confronting reminders of her past.Brett, a police officer, survived childhood neglect and abuse. Policing offered a way to impose order, but it eventually forced him to question his rigid moral view of the world.In telling their stories, Martin McKenzie-Murray draws on his own experience and his research into trauma and recovery to ask profound questions about human motivation and survival. What draws people to these intense professions, and how does their work reshape them? And what happens when their carefully built walls between past and present, personal and professional, start to crumble?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Martin McKenzie-Murray about why we need know about the experiences of first responders, why it is a vocation and not just a job, and reasons for the reluctance to seek treatment for the PTSD that many first responders suffer from.
Peter Marralwanga (1916–1987) was a leading figure in one of the great art practices of the world. He grew up in western Arnhem Land surrounded by artists painting in rock shelters and he learned to paint this way himself. The subjects of his paintings were the Djang who made his country and placed the spirits of people within it. Marralwanga’s story highlights the way bark painting became important as a way of evading assimilation policies rife within Northern Territory towns. Marralwanga established an outstation at Marrkolidjban where he could teach his children how to properly care for Ancestral lands, with part of this care involving a knowledge of how to paint. As a senior person who had travelled widely in his youth, and gained extensive ceremonial knowledge, Marralwanga was highly influential among a broad group of painters. Ivan Namirrkki, a painter of note and Peter Marralwanga’s son, has provided here his own account of his father’s life.This book tracks Marralwanga’s life of learning about country and conveys the religious meaning of numerous major works, offering outsiders a richer understanding and appreciation of Arnhem Land art. It also shows the crucial role of individuals working for the community arts cooperative Maningrida Arts and Culture in facilitating Marralwanga’s rise to recognition as a major Australian and world artist.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Luke Taylor about the tradition of Aboriginal bark painting that Peter Marralwanga drew from, the depth of knowledge of Aboriginal culture and ceremony that he brought to his paintings, and the political dimension to Marralwanga's work and its role in the developing land rights movement of the 1960s and 70s in Australia.
In Raven Mother, Jane Messer weaves together her Jewish family’s tragic story – stretching back and forth between Berlin, Israel, Palestine, Melbourne and Sydney. Messer retraces the steps of her Jewish grandmother Bella, as she tries to understand her life in pre-war Berlin and Mandate Palestine, to post-war Melbourne where she didn’t survive the surviving, and why her father was abandoned in England before the war. In this powerful, beautifully written and insightful book, Messer spends time in Berlin, Israel and Palestine and grapples with the effects of nationalism, both historical and contemporary. Along the way, she speaks with historians, activists, refugees and scholars, and constantly to her beloved father.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jane Messer about the origins of the old German term, 'Rabenmutter', the city of Berlin under the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, and what she discovered about her grandmother Bella along the way.
Theresa Miller has spent decades working as a journalist and now media trainer, coaching people across all industries – from CEOs and academics to climate campaigners, entrepreneurs and artists – to communicate confidently, clearly and concisely. In Speak Up, she shows you how to successfully share your expertise and experience with an audience – whether it’s creating an inspiring work presentation or media release, blitzing a job interview or nailing your message on a podcast, panel, TV or radio interview. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Theresa Miller about why the demand for public speaking is bigger than ever, why being an expert in your field is not enough to get your message across, and why preparation and presentation skills are fundamental to good communication.
In 1986 on Phillip Island, a young woman called Beth Barnard was savagely murdered and her boyfriend’s wife, Vivienne Cameron, went missing. The police immediately jumped to what they thought was the obvious conclusion: in a jealous rage, Vivienne had killed Beth and then herself. Vivienne’s body was never found.But Vikki Petraitis wasn’t convinced. The official line didn’t explain all the evidence, and it certainly didn’t seem like the behaviour of a mother with two small boys. Fascinated by both the case and the bias it revealed in investigators, Petraitis wrote her first true-crime book about the murder, with Paul Daley, and decades later made a podcast on the case. Both brought new evidence and testimony to light, and asked questions that were not asked at the time.To mark the fortieth anniversary of Beth’s murder and Vivienne’s vanishing, Petraitis brings together all her discoveries and true-crime experience in a brilliant forensic investigation into what happened all those years ago, and why.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Vikki Petraitis about why she has returned to this forty-year-old cold case, about her insights into the Philip island community, and why she is not convinced that the police investigation had reached a reasonable conclusion.
Debra Dank had long been desperate to paint a fuller picture of her family, to add flesh to the name-bones and the few precious stories she possessed. Debra had been aware of her father's five siblings, some of whom had died before she could come to know them, but there were always whispers and gaps and silences. Her parents had experiences that affected how Debra grew up, but hers seemed to be one of the very few Aboriginal families who had escaped having children stolen, who had viewed this horror from a seemingly safer distance. What Debra discovered would shatter everything she thought she knew about her family and her past. The information she uncovered revealed that her paternal grandmother had given birth to ten children. Four had been taken from her.Ankami is written from the perspective of those left behind, those who search always for the faces of stolen and lost Aboriginal children, now known only through a few cruel, thoughtless words written by a violent pastoral manager and a paternalistic colonial administrator, a footnote in a yellowed letter.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Debra Dank about the culture of silence she faced in uncovering her family history, the memories she relied on to tell this story and those she was compelled to imagine in the absence of the family she never knew, and the inadequacy of Australian standard english in describing, expressing and communicating Aboriginal culture and the words she invents to address that problem.
When rebellious Ruby is bequeathed her late grandfather’s personal letters, she is pulled from peacetime 1973 Australia, to 1917 World War 1 France. Without identification or any way home, she sets out to right a wrong that has broken her family for generations. She meets her young grandfather, an Australian soldier, who has a secret family – a French wife and daughter. Ruby is the only person who knows the true danger they are in, and sets out to rewrite her family’s past. A local resistance fighter Henri, with secrets of his own, is the only person who can help her. As they navigate dangerous terrain, Ruby is torn between the love of this mysterious hero, and the life she left behind.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Vicki Bennett about the enduring power of the hand-written letter, how the letter can facilitate communication across time and generations, and her deep personal and family connection to this story.
Things are going well for Matt Buchanan. After some hard times, life is peaceful as sole-charge constable for the small, isolated settlement of Haast on New Zealand's wild West Coast. He's made friends among the locals, won their trust. He keeps their little world safe. And he's working in spectacular surroundings - the fierce Tasman Sea, the dense beech forest, the dark, cold swamps, the snowy Southern Alps.But then his much-loved predecessor, Gus, is discovered beside a river with a bullet through his head. He'd been looking into a disturbing murder-suicide from 1978: the parents' bodies were found, but not their daughter's. Suspecting a darker truth, Matt is certain the answers can't be too far away in this close-knit community. How does former forest service ranger Liam, with his gang links, fit into the story? What about Joe, the alcoholic hermit whose knowledge and intelligence seem so at odds with his appearance and lifestyle?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Chris Blake about the wild west coast of the South Island of New Zealand as the perfect setting for a dark and bloody crime thriller, how Senior Constable Matt Buchanan might have has escaped his demons, and the challenges for Chris Blake as both a serving police officer and an award-winning novelist.
When acclaimed historian Henry Reynolds moved from Hobart to Townsville to teach Australian history in the 1960s, he discovered the books of the period covered very little about northern Australia and First Nations peoples. He set out to help remedy the situation and ended up transforming Australian history in ways he could never have imagined. In 'Looking from the North', Reynolds again turns Australian history on its axis with an exploration of colonisation north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Reynolds tells the stories of the European, Chinese, Japanese and Pacific Islander people who were vital to the settlement of the north. Along with the experience of First Nations peoples, from employment on stations and as native police to the land rights and homelands movements,In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Henry Reynolds about how the the colonisation of Australia's north was very different to the south, how there has never truly been a 'white Australia' in this part of this continent, and why the implications of the Australian Federal government's white paper Our North, Our Future of a decade ago may be contrary to Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007.
Overnight, Seka Torlak’s life as a regular teenager is upended as Srebrenica, her once peaceful town, falls under siege and she faces starvation, shelling, and sniper attacks. When desperately needed antibiotics and food disappear and are sold on the black market, Seka vows to investigate the corruption and bring the culprits to justice. As the war ravages Srebrenica, Seka's resilience is tested as she navigates the harsh realities of war. Yet, amidst the devastation, she finds a glimmer of hope as her relationship with Ramo blossoms from friendship to love. But as she fights for justice and love the brutal war threatens to tear everything apart.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Amra Pajalic about the complex Balkan history behind this story, Amra's own experience of living in Bosnia, and how historical fiction has the power to tell the stories of real people amidst the brutal realities of war.
Retired academic Martin Pottinger's romantic aspirations for the delectable head of his former university's archaeology department, Professor Mary Blake, seem about to be realised. If only he could devise a plan to manage the demands of his eccentric elderly mother, Edwina. Recently bereaved Grace Cavendish spends her days helping out at All Souls Church, making it her mission to drown out the Reverend Rod's tone-deaf hymn-singing and give each funeral recipient a hearty send-off. Yet the peace she craves remains elusive despite the comforts offered by psychic medium Rhondda and her eight-year-old son, Hudson. When Martin and Grace meet and bond at an All Souls service, they unwittingly set off a chain of events with far-reaching consequences. They become funeral crashers. But who could have predicted that crashing funerals might have such life-changing and life-affirming outcomes?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Joanna Nell about how funerals are not just a stage in the grieving process, her role as a GP in aged care and advocacy for ageing positively, and creating stories and characters that reflect the realities of later life.
Retired academic Martin Pottinger's romantic aspirations for the delectable head of his former university's archaeology department, Professor Mary Blake, seem about to be realised. If only he could devise a plan to manage the demands of his eccentric elderly mother, Edwina.Recently bereaved Grace Cavendish spends her days helping out at All Souls Church, making it her mission to drown out the Reverend Rod's tone-deaf hymn-singing and give each funeral recipient a hearty send-off. Yet the peace she craves remains elusive despite the comforts offered by psychic medium Rhondda and her eight-year-old son, Hudson. When Martin and Grace meet and bond at an All Souls service, they unwittingly set off a chain of events with far-reaching consequences. They become funeral crashers. But who could have predicted that crashing funerals might have such life-changing and life-affirming outcomes?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Joanna Nell about how funerals are not just a stage in the grieving process, her career in aged care and advocacy for ageing positively, and creating stories and characters that reflect the realities of later life.
'I am Nannertgarrook' is based on the true story of Tasma Walton’s ancestor, a powerful, heart-wrenching novel about maternal love that endures against pitiless odds. Kidnapped by sealers and enslaved far from her homeland, Nannertgarrook has a spirit that refuses to bow/ From her idyllic life in sea country in Nerrm (Port Phillip Bay, Victoria), Nannertgarrook is abducted and taken to a slave market, leaving behind a husband, daughter and son. Pregnant when seized, she soon gives birth to another son, whom she raises with the children of her fellow captives.
In the distant highlands, a puma named Dusk is killing shepherds. Down in the lowlands, twins Iris and Floyd are out of work, money and friends. When they hear that a bounty has been placed on Dusk, they reluctantly decide to join the hunt. As they journey up into this wild, haunted country, they discover there's far more to the land and people of the highlands than they imagined. And as they close in on their prey, they're forced to reckon with conflicts both ancient and deeply personal.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tasma Walton and Robbie Arnott about their ARA Historical Novel Society of Australasia's prize winning novels for 2025. Tasma and Robbie share their thoughts about the role of mythology within the genre of historical fiction, the destruction of landscape and culture that has come with colonisation, and how very different approaches to research have informed their novels.
Europe, 1940. With war on their doorstep, German classmates Klara and Rachel, and French brothers Lucien and Paul, are forced to leave their homes. They are taken to Gurs, a French detention camp in the south-west of France. It's a crowded place, with little comfort and even less food. When Klara and Rachel are promised safe refuge in a remote French village, Lucien and Paul are anxious to join them — and will risk their own lives to get there. Filled with adventure, danger and intrigue, this is the story of four unlikely friends desperate to escape from a war that keeps coming closer.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Suzanne Leal the source of her fascination with World War II history, why finding the right setting for young people's introduction to historical fiction is critical, and why combining themes of loss, resilience and empathy with a great story are essential to engaging with the subject.
"How do you library?" is a statewide campaign that aims to expand visitation and encourage deeper engagement and participation at libraries across Queensland by highlighting the diversity of services, programs, resources and surprising things people can do at their local library.
Libraries offer much more than you think; they are places for everyone to connect to knowledge, ideas, technology, community, history, and even other people, the list goes on. Using the word library as a verb invites the reader to consider how they currently engage with their library and how they can curate their own experience to connect to the people and things that matter to them.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katie Edmiston about how your local library is no longer just about books, magazines and newspapers but are now critical community hubs for learning, engagement and services, how going digital has opened up new worlds for accessing information and broadening collections of all kinds, and while libraries will remain the go-to destination for quality information and research guidance, libraries around the state have a bright future that will continue to serve the changing needs of both urban and rural communities.
Hirsch is checking firearms. The regular police audit: all weapons secured, ammo stored separately, no unauthorised person with keys to the gun safe. He’s checking people, too. The drought is hitting hard in the mid-north, and Hirsch is responsible for the welfare of his scattered flock of battlers, bluebloods, loners and miscreants.He isn’t usually called on for emergency roadside assistance. But with all the other services fully stretched, it’s Hirsch who has to grind his way out beyond the Mischance Creek ruins to where some clueless tourist has run into a ditch.As it turns out, though, Annika Nordrum isn’t exactly a tourist. She’s searching for the body of her mother, who went missing seven years ago. And the only sense in which she’s clueless is the lack of information unearthed by the cops who phoned in the original investigation.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Garry Disher about the character of Paul Hirschhausen he originally envisaged, how his own research into far right and sovereign citizen groups turned out to be very timely, and why small town Australia is defined by the people who live there.
When Little Peach Tree was just a sapling, all they could see was row upon row of other peach trees. And, on top of the hill, watching over the orchard - the Peach King. As seasons pass, bringing cycles of change, Little Peach Tree grows and grows. But darker changes are stirring. Soon rain is scarce, the forests turn brown, animals flee and the sky turns red.To protect the orchard, the Peach King faces grave danger and Little Peach Tree must find their voice.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Inga Simpson and Tannya Harricks about their shared passion for the natural world, why stories of resilience in nature have meaning for us all, and why the peach is the king of fruit.
For Blake 'Blakey' Johnston growing up around the beaches of Cronulla, life was good and surfing was everything. At sixteen, he turned pro and took off around the world, chasing his dream to become the world's best. The thing about dreams, though, is that they change - sometimes by choice and sometimes by circumstance. For some people, that change can be too much.'SwellBeing: Everyone Deserves to Feel Awesome' is a powerful memoir and mental health toolkit from the world record holder for longest surf. Blake Johnston's first book is an honest and inspiring story about carrying a family history of suicide and struggling with mental illness, what he did to rise back up and the lessons he wants to share to help others. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Blake Johnston about his idyllic childhood growing up in the beachside suburb of Cronulla, his early success on the pro surfing circuit, and the toolkit everyone one needs to make it through the tough times and live their best lives.
Jessie Hickman was a woman who lived outside the norms of her time. A brave and formidable woman, Jessie lived a life full of adventure, action and danger. At the age of eight she joined a travelling bush circus, learning to perform as a whip cracker, sharpshooter and rough rider. She would perform dangerous feats, like tightrope walking or handstands on bare-backed ponies. When the circus closed, Jessie became an outlaw and cattle rustler, famous for her daring escapes.This picture book brings to life the fascinating but little-known story of Jessie Hickman (1890–1936), Australia’s so-called ‘Lady Bushranger’. This lavishly illustrated picture book immerses the reader in the wilderness of what is now the Wollemi National Park as Jessie’s life unfolds with every turn of the page.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac their shared passion for Australian history, about life in a travelling bush circus at the turn of the twentieth century, and how a young girl from humble beginnings became an Australian bush legend.
When 37-year-old Leila suffers a health tragedy, she doesn't recover as quickly as she expected. Her partner, James, suggests a year away from the city - they'll stay on his family farm, where the wide, open spaces and clean country air will help her come to terms with her grief. But the property is remote and the house oppressive. Leila is disturbed by strange noises, fleeting visions and intrusive dreams. James worries that her medication is causing hallucinations.As Leila's isolation grows amid the haunted landscape, so does her suspicion that she isn't the first woman James has relocated to the farm. Is what she's experiencing real? Or is it all in her head?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jessica Mansour-Nahra about the power of imagery to create a ghostly atmosphere, how isolation can lead to heightened sensory experiences, and how a barren, open landscape can contribute to an intense feeling of claustrophobia.
Walking Sydney invites you to walk with a city’s writers as they share their places of home and imagination. From the streets of the suburbs to the shores of the harbour, as we walk amid diasporas, countercultures, activists, artists, dreamers and thieves, the city comes alive with story. Written by Belinda Castles from walks taken with fifteen writers, Walking Sydney is an opportunity to see the city afresh. Eveleigh and Carriageworks with Jazz Money – Surry Hills with Fiona Kelly McGregor – The Rocks, Walsh Bay and Circular Quay with Gail Jones – Parramatta with Eda Gunaydin – King Street, Newtown with Vanessa Berry – Freshwater with Malcolm Knox – Yagoona and Bankstown with Sheila Ngọc Phạm – Rushcutters Bay Park and Elizabeth Bay with Delia Falconer – North Willoughby and Middle Cove with Jakelin Troy – Casula and Liverpool with Max Easton – Kings Cross, Elizabeth Bay, Darlinghurst and Surry Hills with Neal Drinnan – Bronte and Clovelly with Beth Yahp – Bankstown and Punchbowl Boys’ High School with Michael Mohammed Ahmad – Cooks River with Michelle de Kretser – City and Redfern with Larissa Behrendt.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Belinda Castles about her fascination for the people, places and history of the city of Sydney, why walking is both a physical and creative experience, and the hopes she has for the future of this city and for its people.
Brisbane, 1975: Andie Tanner's world is small but whole. Her mum is complicated, but she adores her dad and the kennel of racing greyhounds that live under their house. Andie is a serious girl with plans: finish school with her friends, then apprentice to her father until she can become a greyhound trainer, with dogs of her very own.But real life rarely goes to plan, and the world is bigger and more complicated than Andie could imagine. When she loses everything she cares about - her family, her friends, the dogs - it's up to Andie to reclaim her future. She will need all her wits to survive this new reality of secrets and half-truths, addictions and crime.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Toni Jordan about how her varied work history found its way in this story, how the triangulation of mother, father and daughter shapes relationships and character, and how we are all truly children in adult form.
After years away from his home town of Melbourne, Luke Harris is back on track. All he wants is a normal job, his own house and a dog. But Luke is a man with a past, when life was anything but peaceful and his skills ran to the dark side. A past not easily forgotten – or forgiven. When he crosses paths with Gus Alberici – the brutal criminal he worked for as a teenager – he's dragged reluctantly back to his old life. Luke's father has vanished, along with a chunk of Gus's cash. And something is up with his new girlfriend's father. As his past and present collide, can Luke keep his long-held secrets – and outsmart a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tanya Scott about the long journey to her first novel, how her work in mental health informs her fiction writing, and why accountancy is the perfect cover for a criminal lifestyle.
Bryce Courtenay was one of Australia's highest-selling and most-loved authors. From his first book, The Power of One, he captivated readers. Many of his fans would have thought they knew him, and they did - they knew the version of him that he wanted to present to the world. To his son Adam, Bryce Courtenay was larger than life, mercurial, and impossible to know completely. In this moving, unforgettable memoir, Adam searches for the real Bryce. His father was a natural born storyteller and occasional fabulist whose tales never quite felt true. He was a man who forever publicly grieved the loss of his son Damon, the subject of April Fool's Day, but who seemed reluctant to connect with his remaining two sons.Several years after his death, Bryce still looms large in Adam's life. In seeking to understand his father, who made so many people happy with his books, Adam recounts his own 1960s and 1970s childhood, Bryce's career in advertising and his metamorphosis into bestselling novelist. In the years after The Power of One, Bryce became a household name even as his personal life was plagued by tragedy and heartbreak - some of his own making. All the while Adam did his best to love his father and hang on through the wild ride of his life.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Adam Courtenay about his idyllic childhood, his father's rollercoaster career in advertising, and how his father's talent for storytelling was present from the very early years.
News cowboys – it was the nickname the reporters and camerapeople at Seven Network’s Los Angeles bureau jokingly gave themselves as they headed off on assignments, not knowing what to expect and often unprepared for what they found. It was a way of coping, of not taking too seriously what was often deadly serious, as they witnessed some of the worst moments in recent world history.For 18 years Mike Amor was one of those journalists. He was on the ground during 9/11 and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He reported on mass shootings from Port Arthur to Sandy Hook, covered the earthquake in Haiti and the astonishing rescue of a little girl named Winnie, investigated Mexican drug cartels, came under fire in Gaza – and much more. There were good times, too – following the Olympics or Chloë McCardel’s record-breaking Cuban swim.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Mike Amor about his pathway to a career in journalism and as a foreign correspondent, the sometimes grim reality of covering some of the biggest news stories in the world, and the mental and physical toll it has taken on him, on his wife and on his son.
Where’s Moon? follows a day in the life of June, a toddler who is searching for the moon! The story was written by Speech Pathologist, Olivia Purvis, and edited by her sister, Amelia. The story was inspired by their young nephew, Sebastian, who innocently enquired about the Moon’s whereabouts one day. Olivia’s inner Speech Pathologist could not resist weaving a strong narrative with a variety of language features to support emergent literacy during shared book reading. The story works in harmony with the illustrations to invoke a sense of wonder while making subtle references to Australian culture. This “cheeky” book is sure to capture the hearts of young and old!In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Olivia Purvis about the origins of Where's Moon?, how elements of her speech pathology training found their way into the book, and the importance of an enthusiastic caregiver in engaging young children and enhancing language development.
The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson tells the story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s friendship with the charming Eugene Chantrelle and the murder mystery that contributed to Robert’s need to create a novel focused on the dualistic nature of the psyche.From a séance with the Shelleys at Boscombe Manor to a haunted wardrobe made by an infamous Scottish criminal, the novel is underscored by the story of two writers very much in love. Fanny and Robert were married in 1880, when she was forty and he was twenty-nine. An American who divorced her philandering husband to marry Robert, she was already the mother of children, a self-supporting writer, and with intelligence and wit very much the rock in their relationship.Brilliantly told in Fanny’s voice, this atmospheric novel is both the story of an unconventional literary relationship and a page-turning mystery that reveals the truth about the people, objects and events that inspired Stevenson to write The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Belinda Lyons Lee about her fascination with all things nineteenth century, the remarkable Fanny Osbourne Stevenson, and how a haunted wardrobe may have been the genesis of a literary classic.
In the dying days of the Roman republic, a remarkable woman steps out of the shadows and beyond the boundaries imposed on her sex, driven by an unstoppable ambition. Kaarina Parker's stunning debut novel, told in the compelling voice of this brilliant woman from history, brings Fulvia and the society in which she lived vividly to life.Born into a wealthy but unimportant family, Fulvia is raised in the peace of the Etruscan countryside but longs for a life of excitement and influence. When her father dies and her inheritance is threatened, she makes her way to the city of Rome to secure her future.Motivated by both passion and opportunism, Fulvia marries Clodius, a hedonistic young senator. They are perfect partners - risk takers, scornful of convention and eager for change. Although Clodius is heir to a leading aristocratic family, he has spent his life criticising the rules of his class and championing the common people. As a wife and mother, Fulvia fulfils her role in a society that denies women any influence outside the home - but she is also a ruthless political strategist, intent on seeing her husband rise through the ranks of Rome's governing body, the senate. And, through him, wielding her own authority. But Rome is a dangerous place, and power can become notoriety overnight. Fulvia soon learns just how high the stakes really are, and that her ambitions may come at a terrible cost.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kaarina Parker about her passion for Roman history, the hedonsim of the late Roman Empire, and how Fulvia, a young woman from the provinces, rose to become one of its most influential citizens.
The liver's ability to heal and regenerate can greatly improve your wellbeing. Clinical nutritionist and bestselling author Sarah Di Lorenzo’s four-week plan has helped hundreds of her#diet patients repair their inner health and now she’s sharing it with you.One in three Australians have a fatty liver, one of the most prevalent liver conditions worldwide. Revitalising your liver health can increase energy, aid weight-loss, improve sleep, slow aging, reduce headaches, improve skin health, reduce brain fog and lower anxiety.The Liver Repair Plan offers practical guidance, easy-to-follow meal plans, and more than 50 delicious, nutrient-dense recipes that will support your liver's health and vitality.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sarah Di Lorenzo about what this incredible organ does for our body, it's amazing capacity for repair and the simple steps we can all take to improve every aspect of our wellbeing.
As animals, our brains float above the planet’s surface. We were made to be mobile and carry our intelligence with us. A huge leap for mankind is happening right now. Contained within our minds and everything around us is the solution to our anxiety. Ecologist and naturalist Simon Mustoe shows us how to consume a more balanced variety of knowledge to become healthier and happier by reconnecting with nature. The key to avoiding disaster is to work within the natural balance of our beautiful world. Cats can make us too conservative (or just enough). Grasshoppers, eels and blue gropers teach us to solve global obesity and food crises. Simply saving wildlife in our own backyards can reduce cost of living by sixty or seventy times.How to Survive the Next 100 Years unlocks the power of our relationship with animals and nature and shows us we are already on our way to rebuilding a healthy, habitable planet.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Simon Mustoe about how our consumption of negative news about the environment can affect our hope for the future of the planet, how animals and re-wilding can change our environment in a very short space of time, and how positive change is happening at all levels – from the corporate down to your local environment.
In the early 1980s, when Erna Walraven decided to follow her dreams and become one of the first female zookeepers in Australia, she thought her biggest challenges would be feeding big cats and subduing irate gorillas. In fact, it was her male colleagues who made work miserable, harassing and humiliating her for doing a 'man's job'. So, she looked to the animals under her care to prove them wrong.Despite what Erna's colleagues seemed to think, the females of the animal world were far from weak and demure. Elephant matriarchs led their herds; female bonobos revelled in sexual exploration; emu mothers abandoned their chicks to the care of their fathers. Her colleagues wouldn't dare tell a female tiger that hunting was a 'male's job' - why were they so intent on limiting Erna? In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Erna Walraven about the sexist, male-dominated culture that greeted her when she first started working as a zoo-keeper at Taronga Zoo in 1983, the wonders of the animal world and what animals taught her about feminism, and how the culture of zoo-keeping has changed for the better.
In the magical city of Nevermoor, long-buried secrets are coming to light, and Morrigan Crow's life is about to turn upside down. When Morrigan is invited into Nevermoor's wealthy Silver District, she discovers a world of extravagance and a family mystery she's eager to unravel. She could never imagine where it will lead: a white wedding, a golden dragon and a red pool of blood.Embroiled in suspicion and danger, Morrigan leaps headfirst into a murder investigation, while also grappling with her ever-growing Wundersmith powers. And although her friends are there to help, she fears that could change if they learn she's keeping a terrible secret of her own. As shadowy forces awaken in Nevermoor, can Morrigan find a killer and solve the mystery in her own past before the clock strikes midnight?In this episode Gregory Dobbs gets a first-hand tour of the world of Nevermoor, direct from it's creator, Jessica Townsend. Jessica also talks about the developing powers of the exceptional Wundersmith that is Morrigan Crow in this spellbinding tale of magic, mystery and murder.
Vaccination is arguably the greatest public health achievement in history, yet the disappearance of many diseases has also seen an increased focus on the side effects of vaccines and the rise of the anti-vax movement. The COVID-19 pandemic propelled anti-vaccination sentiment into the mainstream – including from some leaders in the medical profession – in an explosion of pseudoscience and disinformation that’s made it increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction.In Vaccine Nation, internationally acclaimed epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre examines the history of vaccines and how they work, vaccine safety, public policy, cutting-edge new technologies, and the miraculous new developments in vaccines to fight cancer and other chronic diseases. At a critical time when vaccination rates are falling globally, MacIntyre argues that science must reclaim the stage or we will lose centuries of gains that vaccines have brought to the world.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Raina MacIntyre about how vaccines work and why they are essential for public health, about the new mRNA technology and how it may change our treatment for a whole range of conditions, and the threat of misinformation, pseudoscience and the ant-vaccine movement on the progress of medical science.
You may have heard the story of the man from Snowy River and his fearless ride through the mountains. This is Colt’s story, of nickering mares and a rearing stallion. How did Colt escape the man? What did Colt see, feel and smell as he charged through the bush?Beloved children’s author Dianne Wolfer responds to The Man from Snowy River, creating an essential companion to the original poem. It is illustrated with exquisite collages by Erica Wagner, which convey the depth of emotion with great tenderness. They encapsulate the mood of Wolfer’s text, transporting the reader into the Snowy Mountains.End-matter includes the full text of Paterson’s poem, along with additional information on Paterson himself, brumbies and the Snowy Mountains, and bush poetry. All gathered together, this is a new Australian classic in the making.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to author Dianne Wolfer and illustrator Erica Wagner about their inspiration for recasting this iconic piece of Australian bush poetry, their deep connection to the Snowy Mountains, and the man behind the legend of 'The Man From Snow River'.
The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance ended in 1824 with a series of massacres conducted by settlers in the Bathurst region. From the 1830s, colonists began occupying more and more Aboriginal land across western New South Wales and stocking it with sheep and cattle. By 1838, a dramatic fightback began across the entire frontier of the colony. What has been called the Second Wiradyuri War of Resistance, from 1839 to 1841, was, in fact, part of a vast arc of conflict from present-day northern Victoria through to southeast Queensland. At the time, it was seen by many contemporaries as a concerted and coordinated ‘uprising’.In Uprising, Stephen Gapps reveals the incredible story of this extensive frontier resistance warfare for the first time – a series of wars that were conducted along a huge area of the Murray-Darling river system, across many First Nations’ lands, in a concerted defence of River Country.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Stephen Gapps about why we are yet to fully recognise that the colonisation of Australia was achieved through frontier wars, how wool was one of the prime economic drivers for the invasion, the extensive networks of communication that existed for First Nations across the colony of New South Wales and why memorials to this war should form part of our national remembrance.
‘What does it mean to be on land that was taken from other people? Now that we know how the taking was done, what do we do with that knowledge?’Kate Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River. More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville is still grappling with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, “on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation”. So she decides to go on a kind of pilgrimage, back through the places her family stories happened, and put the stories and the First People back into the same frame, on the same country, to try to think about those questions. This gripping book is the result of that journeyIn this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Grenville about where her journey into her family history took her and what she found there, about the words and language we've adopted to describe the history of colonisation of Australia, and where the defeat of the referendum on a Voice to Parliament might lead us as a nation.
Ange Crawford is the winner of the the inaugural Walker Books Manuscript Prize. With themes including coercive control, coming of age, and finding yourself, her debut young adult novel, How to be Normal, authentically deals with timely issues with insight, sympathy and well crafted humour.Good Reading and six students from Cerdon College in Merrylands, NSW, caught up with Ange to ask her about her inspiration and what to do if you know someone who is experiencing coercive control.Age Guide 12+
From the coast of Western Australia to Sydney’s suburbs, young people are discovering nature in their neighbourhoods and setting up nesting boxes for birds, cleaning up waterways, planting to attract bees and koalas, and building insect hotels. They’re learning about amazing native species and finding ways to protect them.The Bee Squad inspires you to take part in these exciting adventures and projects that support threatened species by doing things like:learning how to put together a nature sleuth toolkitplanting to attract pollinatorsusing the tally sheet to record flora and fauna sightingsfollowing the tips to ace your wildlife photography.The best part is, you don’t need to live near a national park or protected area to get involved – you can make a difference from your balcony, backyard, local park or school.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Judy Friedlander about biodiversity and why it is so important to all species in the food chain, why pollination is critical and not limited to just bees, and how 'Biodiversity Champions' can work together to create change and a greater appreciation of the natural world.
The Unlocking: An Autism Story unfolds in pandemic-stricken Melbourne, charting one family’s desperate battle against the escalating behavior of their autistic toddler. Amid the lack of in-person services, Harry exhibits severely restricted eating, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, crippling separation anxiety, and a demand avoidance that impedes every function in his young life. Harry meets the description of Pathological Demand Avoidance, a sub-type of autism that is not yet recognised in Australia, where an individual exhibits an anxiety-based need for control by avoiding the ordinary demands of living. During a break between lockdowns, and with much trepidation, the family embark upon a journey with applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapy. ABA is an intensive therapy considered the gold standard in early intervention for autism, but with a controversial past. The outcome is life-changing. Beneath the veil of dysfunction and anxiety, they discover an outrageously creative, highly intelligent, and hilarious little boy.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Porscia Lam about the attitude adjustment she was compelled to make, the challenges she faced in understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance and Applied Behavioural Analysis therapy, and the impact on her family's mental health.
When nineteen-year-old farm girl Adelaide Hoffman applies for a cadetship at the Gunnawah Gazette, she sees it as her ticket out of a life too small for her. The paper's owner, Valdene Bullark, seeing something of the girl she once was in young Adelaide, puts her straight to work. What starts as a routine assignment covering an irrigation project soon puts Adelaide on the trail of a much bigger story. Water is money in farming communities, and when Adelaide starts asking questions, it's like she's poked a bull ant's nest. Someone will do whatever it takes to stop Adelaide and Val finding out how far the river of corruption and crime runs.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ronni Salt about her mysterious life on X, the people, the places and exploring beneath the surface of small town life in the Riverina, and why why water and corruption go hand-in-hand.
After a 30-year absence Agnes is returning to Australia, the country of her birth, at the behest of her aging, narcissistic mother. Having undergone a long period of psychotherapy she now entertains a hope that burning questions will be answered, haunting mysteries solved, and buried memories encouraged into the light. Something has blighted her life since childhood. Something has cast a long shadow over her existence, affecting her ability to grasp at life fully, to develop sustained relationships and to appreciate her own sense of self-worth.In a leafy suburb of Sydney, a chance meeting in front of her early childhood home resurrects memories of a traumatic event. This represents the moment young Agnes starts to realise, and repress, feelings of confusion, cruelty and alienation from those who should love her the most. Agnes – A childhood betrayed and reclaimed is the revelatory, true account of one woman’s determination to grapple with - and heal - the ills that have beset her past.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Judy king about how a memoir becomes a novel, why remembering can influence the shape of a novel, and how creativity can lead to redemption.
All Kim wants to do is play Dungeons & Dragons with his friends and ride his bike around the local lake. But he has always lived in the shadow of his younger sister. Eila is a prodigy, and everyone talks about how smart she is, though in Kim's eyes, she has no common sense. So when Eila finds an enigmatic, otherworldly globe which gives her astonishing powers, Kim not only has to save his sister from herself, he might also have to save the world from his sister!In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Garth Nix about his childhood obsession with the Dungeons and Dragons board game, how that game was fundamental to his development as an author, and the snippets of his own childhood growing up in Canberra that have crept into this story.
Will Helloran is sixteen years old and lives with his father in the Canberra dome complex that protects its inhabitants from the corrosive atmosphere outside. At night his dreams are haunted by his beloved uncle Adam, who unexpectedly died in his sleep almost a year ago. As the nightmares grow increasingly disturbing, Will comes to believe that his uncle's death may have been suspicious - and he begins investigating. Meanwhile, his best friend Ender is becoming concerned about her brilliant, troubled twin Magda, who has a top-secret intelligence role. When Magda disappears, Will is drawn into a web bigger than he can imagine. If he and his friends are to survive, he must navigate his way out of the treacherous dreamscape while staying safe in the waking world.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Isobelle Carmody about why the city of Canberra became the setting for 'Comes the Night', why dreams can be the catalyst for action in the real world, and why it was important to introduce a political dimension into the story.
Swimming Sydney is a tale of 52 swims in and around Sydney that take place over a calendar year. From Palm Beach to Cronulla, Mount Druitt to Bondi, Chris Baker swims at iconic beaches, municipal pools, harbour baths, tidal rock pools, bushland lakes and a backyard pool. Taking his weekly plunges, Baker reflects on friendship, history and family, and how swimming can help us better understand ourselves.Swimming Sydney is a valentine to the beautiful obsession of swimming in the world’s most beautiful city. It’s a book for everyone who loves swimming, who loves Sydney, and who understands that storytelling is the best way to navigate life’s emotional currents.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Chris Baker about what swimming means to him, how swimming connects us to people, place, community and history, and why his favourite swim is a place of memory and remembrance.
A controversial entrepreneur is murdered in a remote mountain valley, but this is no ordinary case. Ivan and Nell are soon contending with cowboy lawyers, conmen, bullion thieves and grave robbers. But it's when Nell discovers the victim is a close blood relative that the past begins to take on a looming significance.What did take place in The Valley all those years ago? What was Nell's mother doing there, and what was her connection to troubled young police officer Simmons Burnside? And why do the police hierarchy insist Ivan and Nell stay with the case despite an obvious conflict of interest?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Chris Hammer about how his early non-fiction became the foundation for his crime thrillers, how his landscapes in rural Australia give rise to his characters and plots, and why small towns are great places for setting crime fiction.
When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice. Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Granny Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Melissa Lucashenko about what historical fiction stories can they tell us about our past and our present, the sources Melissa draws on to create her carefully drawn characters, and the hope she harbours for the future of First Nations storytelling and the nation as a whole.
Royal Blue is a royal racing pigeon from a long line of champions. Every morning he wakes in his comfortable loft at Sandringham House, eats the very best seeds and spends the day training with his best friend to be the fastest and strongest pigeon in Britain.But there’s a war going on, and things are changing. Then one day the King himself comes to the loft and chooses Blue for a very special assignment. As Blue goes on missions, helping with rescues, carrying secret messages and facing dangers he never could have imagined, one thing will become clear: never underestimate a pigeon.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Beverley McWilliams about how she came to know so much about pigeons, why telling s story from a pigeon's point of view was so much fun, and how her love of history helps her create great stories for children.
From balancing on a wingtip to circling with eagles, Take Flight tells the stories of Australian women who have leapt, tumbled and dived, and reached for the stars. Helicopter pilot Alida Soemawinata ascends over Kata Tjuṯa. Paramotor pilot Sacha Dench follows migrating swans from the Arctic tundra to the English countryside. Birdwoman Stef Walter wing walks. Hot air balloonist Donna Tasker glides over Bristol, Myanmar and much of Australia. Gomeroi astrophysicist Krystal De Napoli studies the Seven Sisters in the dark night sky. Aerobatic pilot Emma McDonald debuts her solo routine at an airshow high above the glittering Gold Coast. In Take Flight, author and pilot Kathy Mexted celebrates the determination, skill and expertise of ten women who have beaten the odds to find success and joy in our skies.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kathy Mexted about how to build a flying family, the passion and inspiration that has driven Australian women to take to the sky, and what it takes to address the risks and overcome the fear of flying in all its manifestations.
Derry knows no other life than that of a captive on Cram's Rock, shunned by the other young prisoners for being Cram's poison taster. Until the day everything changes, when a traveller arrives, on the run from the sinister El executioners. She leaves Derry with a magical notebook full of secrets, secrets that might hold the key to Derry's destiny – and his past.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Emily Rodda about the joy she still finds in writing fantasy fiction for young people, the fascination she feels for all her characters, and the importance of cultivating imagination in all aspects of our lives.
Two fugitives, a man and a child, drive all night across a stony desert. As dawn breaks, they roll into an abandoned mine site. From the vehicle they survey a forsaken place – middens of twisted iron, rusty wire, piles of sun-baked trash. They’re exhausted, traumatised, desperate now. But as a refuge, this is the most promising place they’ve seen. The child peers at the field of desolation. The man thinks to himself, this could work. So begins a searing, propulsive journey through a life whose central challenge is not simply a matter of survival, but of how to maintain human decency as everyone around you falls ever further into barbarism.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tim Winton about the climate change challenge that is already upon us, what a post-apocalyptic existence might look like and how even in the face of the gravest of situations can still bring out the best in us.
Two fugitives, a man and a child, drive all night across a stony desert. As dawn breaks, they roll into an abandoned mine site. From the vehicle they survey a forsaken place – middens of twisted iron, rusty wire, piles of sun-baked trash. They’re exhausted, traumatised, desperate now. But as a refuge, this is the most promising place they’ve seen. The child peers at the field of desolation. The man thinks to himself, this could work. So begins a searing, propulsive journey through a life whose central challenge is not simply a matter of survival, but of how to maintain human decency as everyone around you falls ever further into barbarism.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tim Winton about the climate change challenge that is already upon us, what a post-apocalyptic existence might look like and how even in the face of the gravest of situations can still bring out the best in us.
Justin Fox on the pathway to his first novel, 'Quietly Waiting'Tanya is a strong, independent young woman living in England. Surrounded by limitless possibilities, her biggest fear is not being able to find her true place in the world. Never usually driven by emotions, her world is turned upside down when she meets Evan. Evan is instantly her soulmate connection and he feels the same way about her. When Evan is deployed to Afghanistan, to fight a war he does not understand, Tanya must wait at home, feeling helpless to the cruel events beyond her control. As she waits, Tanya delves into the history of her family and discovers a connection with an ancestor who also found strength in her time of need. Tanya draws strength from an unexpected source, as she is visited in her dreams by others who have travelled the same path. These women become her safety net as she encounters troubling times.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Justin Fox about the inspiration for his debut novel, the experience of love in the shadow of war, and what connecting stories across history reveals about human nature.
We all want our kids to grow into happy, healthy adults and the first ten years count more than any other time in our lives. So what should we be doing to give them the best chance? Most books on childhood stop at age five and start again in adolescence. They miss the critical primary school age years leading to adolescence - the years that make all the difference.With a background in paediatrics and an over thirty-year career monitoring and broadcasting the latest medical research, Dr Norman Swan fills that gap. He has unparalleled experience in delivering straight-talking, honest, unbiased and commonsense health information. Norman Swan knows what issues parents are worried about throughout childhood. Drawing on the questions he hears time and again, in this book he gives you the information you want and the answers you need to raise healthy and happy children, with a particular focus on the crucial years of five to ten - the runway to adolescence.So You Want to Know What's Good for Your Kids? is a one-stop handbook that you can trust to clear away all the unnecessary advice, allowing you to focus on what makes the difference for kids. Norman Swan replaces myths, half-truths and misconceptions with practical knowledge on topics that parents agonise about - including sleep, diet, school refusal, screens, social media, what genetics determine and what you can and can't change, anxiety, ADHD and much, much more. This book will help you focus on the decisions that can make your kids the best they can be.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Norman Swan about why being a “good enough” parent avoids many of the pitfalls of parenting, why presenting ultra-processed foods can lead to problems down the line, and why parenting should to be tailored to each child as individuals.
L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Writing Contest in 1983 to provide "a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged." The 559 winners and published finalists of the Writing Contest have published over 8,000 novels and short stories, created 36 New York Times bestselling novels, and their works have sold over 60 million copies. Selected from a field of thousands of entrants from 180 countries, Volume 40 features winners from eight countries: Canada, China, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, and the USA, and from Dunedin, New Zealand, illustrator winner Connor Chamberlain, with his illustration of the fantasy story "Da-Ko-Ta."In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to the president of Galaxy Press about the 40th Anniversary volume of Writers of the Future, along with science fiction author Sean Williams and illustrator Connor Chamberlain, about their experiences as winners of the Writers of the Future and Illustrators of the Future contest.
L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Writing Contest in 1983 to provide "a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged." The 559 winners and published finalists of the Writing Contest have published over 8,000 novels and short stories, created 36 New York Times bestselling novels, and their works have sold over 60 million copies. Selected from a field of thousands of entrants from 180 countries, Volume 40 features winners from eight countries: Canada, China, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, and the USA, and from Dunedin, New Zealand, illustrator winner Connor Chamberlain, with his illustration of the fantasy story "Da-Ko-Ta."
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to the president of Galaxy Press about the 40th Anniversary volume of Writers of the Future, along with science fiction author Sean Williams and illustrator Connor Chamberlain, about their experiences as winners of the Writers of the Future and Illustrators of the Future contest.
'Refugia' is an unparalleled work of vision and political fury from Noongar and Yawuru poet and scholar Elfie Shiosaki. Inspired by the beeliar (Swan River) and the NASA James Webb Space Telescope’s first year of science, this collection draws on colonial archives to contest the occupation of Noongar Country. As the bicentennial year of the colony of Western Australia approaches, Shiosaki looks to the stars and back to the earth to make sense of memory and the afterlife of imperial violence.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Elfie Shiosaki about her ever-expanding galaxy of stories around the Swan River colony, exploring the history and resilience of Noongar people through her work, and how her research has revealed a new vision for understanding the past and possibilities for the future.
It's 1989 and for a young Jewish-Australian violinist, a scholarship to Berlin is the chance of a lifetime. Germany is on the verge of change as the wall is torn down, and Susanna is swept along by the tumultuous event. Under the careful guidance of Stefan Heinemeyer, her renowned violin teacher and the grandson of a Nazi, she begins a composition in memory of her grandmother, Mirla, who died in the Buchenwald concentration camp during the Second World War, and Susanna is inspired to retrace Mirla's final footsteps.It's a journey that reconnects Susanna to her heritage and propels her musical gift to extraordinary heights. Yet as a forbidden yearning for Stefan begins to unfurl, Susanna's life is forever changed, and the repercussions will echo through decades and across continents. In a world where history, society and inherited traumas threaten to silence Susanna and prevent her from ever becoming her true self, can she find the courage to reclaim her power as a woman, a musician, and a composer, and in so doing, lay her haunted past to rest?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Shelley Davidow about her own experience of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the consequences of love and history across time and generations, and the Berlin of today, decades after that dramatic moment in 1989.
It's 1989 and for a young Jewish-Australian violinist, a scholarship to Berlin is the chance of a lifetime. Germany is on the verge of change as the wall is torn down, and Susanna is swept along by the tumultuous event. Under the careful guidance of Stefan Heinemeyer, her renowned violin teacher and the grandson of a Nazi, she begins a composition in memory of her grandmother, Mirla, who died in the Buchenwald concentration camp during the Second World War, and Susanna is inspired to retrace Mirla's final footsteps.
It's a journey that reconnects Susanna to her heritage and propels her musical gift to extraordinary heights. Yet as a forbidden yearning for Stefan begins to unfurl, Susanna's life is forever changed, and the repercussions will echo through decades and across continents.
In a world where history, society and inherited traumas threaten to silence Susanna and prevent her from ever becoming her true self, can she find the courage to reclaim her power as a woman, a musician, and a composer, and in so doing, lay her haunted past to rest?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Shelley Davidow about her own experience of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the consequences of love and history across time and generations, and the Berlin of today, decades after that dramatic moment in 1989.
The most painful of Evie Cormac's memories have been locked away, ever since she was held prisoner as a child - a child whose rescue captured hearts and headlines. Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven's mission is to guide her to something near normality. But today, on a British beach, seventeen bodies wash up in front of them. There is only one survivor, with two women still missing. And Evie's nightmares come roaring back . . .Whatever happened all those years ago lies at the core of this new tragedy. Because these deaths are no accident. The same dark forces are reaching out, dragging her back into the storm. Evie must now call upon Cyrus's unique skills, and her own, in their search for the missing pieces of this complex and haunting puzzle. But will that be enough to save them? And who will pay for the past?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Robotham about how he came to be a writer of international crime fiction, the course of developing his two main characters Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac, and what continues to drive him as a writer.
The most painful of Evie Cormac's memories have been locked away, ever since she was held prisoner as a child - a child whose rescue captured hearts and headlines. Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven's mission is to guide her to something near normality. But today, on a British beach, seventeen bodies wash up in front of them. There is only one survivor, with two women still missing. And Evie's nightmares come roaring back.
Whatever happened all those years ago lies at the core of this new tragedy. Because these deaths are no accident. The same dark forces are reaching out, dragging her back into the storm. Evie must now call upon Cyrus's unique skills, and her own, in their search for the missing pieces of this complex and haunting puzzle. But will that be enough to save them? And who will pay for the past?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Robotham about how he came to be a writer of international crime fiction, the course of developing his two main characters Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac, and what continues to drive him as a writer.
Meg’s life is woven into the fabric of St. Stephens. It’s a tapestry made of two precious children, a hidden truth, and a husband whose ideas of a perfect wife do not match her own. When Meg puts her foot down on a third kid, gets a job, and is empowered by the same book group that was meant to keep her in her place, her marriage begins to disintegrate. Set in a tiny Mormon community, this is a novel about resilience and courage – the fierceness of mother-love and the power that comes with never forgetting who you really are.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katherine Allum about the desert of the American Southwest as the perfect setting for a novel brimming with tension, what it is feel out-of-place in a mormon community, and the power of mother love in rediscovering one's true identity.
Meg’s life is woven into the fabric of St. Stephens. It’s a tapestry made of two precious children, a hidden truth, and a husband whose ideas of a perfect wife do not match her own. When Meg puts her foot down on a third kid, gets a job, and is empowered by the same book group that was meant to keep her in her place, her marriage begins to disintegrate. Set in a tiny Mormon community, this is a novel about resilience and courage – the fierceness of mother-love and the power that comes with never forgetting who you really are.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katherine Allum about the desert of the American Southwest as the perfect setting for a novel brimming with tension, what it is feel out-of-place in a mormon community, and the power of mother love in rediscovering one's identity
During the Second Sudanese Civil War, thousands of South Sudanese boys were displaced from their villages or orphaned in attacks from northern government troops. Many became refugees in Ethiopia. There, in 1989, teacher and community leader Mecak Ajang Alaak assumed care of the Lost Boys in a bid to protect them from becoming child soldiers. So began a four-year journey from Ethiopia to Sudan and on to the safety of a Kenyan refugee camp. Together they endured starvation, animal attacks and the horrors of landmines and aerial bombardment. This eyewitness account by Mecak Ajang Alaak’s son, Yuot, is the extraordinary true story of a man who never ceased to believe that the pen is mightier than the gun.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Yuot Alaak about life for the Dinka people of South Sudan before the civil wars, the terrible life for a child soldier, and the wonders of arriving in the city of Adelaide as a Sudanese refugee.
During the Second Sudanese Civil War, thousands of South Sudanese boys were displaced from their villages or orphaned in attacks from northern government troops. Many became refugees in Ethiopia. There, in 1989, teacher and community leader Mecak Ajang Alaak assumed care of the Lost Boys in a bid to protect them from becoming child soldiers. So began a four-year journey from Ethiopia to Sudan and on to the safety of a Kenyan refugee camp. Together they endured starvation, animal attacks and the horrors of landmines and aerial bombardment. This eyewitness account by Mecak Ajang Alaak’s son, Yuot, is the extraordinary true story of a man who never ceased to believe that the pen is mightier than the gun.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Yuot Alaak about life for the Dinka people of South Sudan before the civil wars, the terrible life for a child soldier, and the wonders of arriving in the city of Adelaide as a Sudanese refugee.
In this enticing new cookbook, Dr Clare Bailey shows you how to create fabulous bakes, sweet treats and desserts with recipes that are low in sugar, high in protein yet irresistibly delicious!From family favourites such as brownies, cheesecakes and crumbles to healthy cupcakes and bite-size muffins, The Fast 800 Treats Recipe Book brings you sweet treats and savoury snacks that won't send your blood sugars soaring. Featuring 80 indulgent recipes that make use of healthy and natural ingredients, plus top tips on ingredient swaps and how to weave these recipes into your Fast 800 Programme, this book is full of snacks and treats for every occasion.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Clare Bailey about the fundamentals of the Fast 800 Keto diet, why snacks can still be part of a healthy diet, how to reset the sweet palate, and the many tasty and healthy substitutes that are available to use in place of processed ingredients to create delicious treats the whole family can enjoy.
In this enticing new cookbook, Dr Clare Bailey shows you how to create fabulous bakes, sweet treats and desserts with recipes that are low in sugar, high in protein yet irresistibly delicious!
From family favourites such as brownies, cheesecakes and crumbles to healthy cupcakes and bite-size muffins, The Fast 800 Treats Recipe Book brings you sweet treats and savoury snacks that won't send your blood sugars soaring. Featuring 80 indulgent recipes that make use of healthy and natural ingredients, plus top tips on ingredient swaps and how to weave these recipes into your Fast 800 Programme, this book is full of snacks and treats for every occasion.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Clare Bailey about the fundamentals of the Fast 800 Keto diet, why snacks can still be part of a healthy diet, how to reset the sweet palate, and the many tasty and healthy substitutes that are available to use in place of processed ingredients to create delicious treats the whole family can enjoy.
As a boy, Gerard McCann was sexually abused by a Catholic priest at his local church. As a grown man, he confronts the trauma of what he suffered and the psychological aftermath of his experience, grappling with shame, guilt and the devastating impact it had on his family, relationships and sense of self. Despite what he endured, Gerard’s story is one of hope and healing, of acknowledging pain and seeking support, of honesty and justice.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Gerard McCann about the extremes of devotion his family had to the Catholic faith, the moral dilemma he harboured as a child, and the dissection of a long-held secret that led to the writing of this book and a pathway to healing.
Some people are born into bad situations, some people have bad situations thrust upon them, and some people find bad situations through their dodgy choices, lack of information and personal idiosyncrasies. Julia’s life sits at the intersection of all three.From high school dropout on a psych ward to card-carrying lesbian on a motorbike, from enduring a controlling relationship with her ex-lover’s brother to being chased by a media scrum outside a Perth court, the life of beloved children’s author Julia Lawrinson is stranger than fiction – and she draws on all her power as a storyteller to turn a life of intense headlines into a wild, marvellous tale.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Julia Lawrinson about a childhood characterised by domestic dysfunction and intergenerational misery, and how her love of reading and writing became both an escape and a pathway to a career as an award-winning author of books for children and young adults.
Thrown out of the pack for being a weakling, Laurence the Wolf is down on his luck. He knows he’s strong, and brave, and cool, but nobody else seems to think so. What’s more, he’s STARVING. A clever plot to gobble up Little Red Riding Hood once and for all is foiled by all the creatures of the fairytale forest and just as things are getting desperate, he catches a whiff of something delicious. Could those be . . . vegetables?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ben Miller about why Lawrence, the Big Bad Wolf, has taken to writing a diary, why Lawrence has been thrown out of the wolf pack and why he likes to tell stories from the point of view of the bad guy.
Thrown out of the pack for being a weakling, Laurence the Wolf is down on his luck. He knows he’s strong, and brave, and cool, but nobody else seems to think so. What’s more, he’s STARVING. A clever plot to gobble up Little Red Riding Hood once and for all is foiled by all the creatures of the fairytale forest and just as things are getting desperate, he catches a whiff of something delicious. Could those be . . . vegetables?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ben Miller about why Lawrence, the Big Bad Wolf, has taken to writing a diary, why Lawrence has been thrown out of the wolf pack and why he likes to tell stories from the point of view of the bad guy.
During the years of the Great Depression, Cressida Morley and her eccentric family live in a weatherboard cottage on the edge of a wild beach. Outsiders in their small working-class community, they rant and argue and read books and play music and never feel themselves to be poor. Yet as Cressida moves beyond childhood, she starts to outgrow the place that once seemed the centre of the world. As she plans her escape, the only question is: who will she become?The End of the Morning is the final and unfinished autobiographical novel by Charmian Clift. Published here for the first time, it is the book that Clift herself regarded as her most significant work. Although the author did not live to complete it, the typescript left among her papers was fully revised and stands alone as a novella. It is published here alongside a new selection of Clift’s essays and an afterword from her biographer Nadia Wheatley.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Nadia Wheatley about the life and times of the Charmian Clift and George Johnston 'author couple', the charming story of life on the NSW South Coast during the years of the Great Depression, and what 'The End of the Morning' could have been.
During the years of the Great Depression, Cressida Morley and her eccentric family live in a weatherboard cottage on the edge of a wild beach. Outsiders in their small working-class community, they rant and argue and read books and play music and never feel themselves to be poor. Yet as Cressida moves beyond childhood, she starts to outgrow the place that once seemed the centre of the world. As she plans her escape, the only question is: who will she become?
The End of the Morning is the final and unfinished autobiographical novel by Charmian Clift. Published here for the first time, it is the book that Clift herself regarded as her most significant work. Although the author did not live to complete it, the typescript left among her papers was fully revised and stands alone as a novella. It is published here alongside a new selection of Clift’s essays and an afterword from her biographer Nadia Wheatley.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Nadia Wheatley about the life and times of the Charmian Clift and George Johnston 'author couple', the charming story of life on the NSW South Coast during the years of the Great Depression, and what 'The End of the Morning' could have been.
Psychiatry registrar Doctor Hannah Wright, a country girl with a chaotic history, thought she had seen it all in the emergency room. But that was nothing compared to the psychiatric ward at Menzies Hospital. Hannah must learn on the job in a strained medical system, as she and her fellow trainees deal with the common and the bizarre, the hilarious and the tragic, the treatable and the confronting. Every day brings new patients: Chloe, who has a life-threatening eating disorder; Sian, suffering postpartum psychosis and fighting to keep her baby; and Xavier, the MP whose suicide attempt has an explosive story behind it. All the while, Hannah is trying to figure out herself.In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion about the importance of shining a light on the frontline of mental health through fiction, exploring the challenges of illness and treatment for both patients and professionals, and giving a voice to the spectrum of people dealing with mental illness.
Matilda, Jo, Penny and Cressy are all women at the top of their game; so imagine their surprise when they start to be personally overlooked and professionally pushed aside by less-qualified men. Only they're not going down without a fight. Society might think the women have passed their amuse-by dates but the Revenge Club have other plans. After all, why go to bed angry when you could stay up and plot diabolical retribution? Let the games begin...In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kathy Lette about why women are so drawn to revenge, why Australian women make the best heroines and embracing the journey through menopause and discovering the paradise beyond.
Acclaimed wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta has been mugged by whales, touched by a baby whale and covered in whale snot. In Humpback Highway, Pirotta dives beneath the surface to reveal the mysterious world of humpback whales — from their life cycle and the challenges humans present, to why whale snot and poo are important for us and the ocean. Plus the cutting-edge new technologies that allow us to see where they swim, listen to them talk and spy on them underwater.Whether you’re a whale lover or you’re simply curious about the underwater world, 'Humpback Highway' will inspire and give you a new respect for these majestic, marine giants.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Vanessa Pirotta about how she became a whale scientist, why Australia's 'humpback highway' is key to understanding whale behaviour, and Vanessa also tells us what kind of parents whales make, and what the future holds for this incredible species.
'All Time High' is a comprehensive guide on how to enter the cryptocurrency market as a complete beginner and to prosper. Cryptocurrencies have the power to radically transform not only our financial lives, but our personal freedom, sovereignty and mindset. Powered by blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies offer a new way for investors to create wealth and a potential early retirement without having to be a trader, have financial knowledge or a prior skill level. Sydel Sierra has documented this success blueprint in five easy steps and within each part are the practical tools to discover the power of this asset class.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sydel Sierra about what exactly is cryptocurrency and why it is so important in the financial world of the future, why Bitcoin is the foundation of this asset class but why holding a portfolio of cryptocurrencies is crucial in finding success in investment, and why good research is critical when exploring this investment class.
For years the firefighters of New York’s Engine 99 have rushed fearlessly into hot zones, saving countless lives and stopping devastating blazes in their tracks. They’ve also stolen millions from banks, jewellery stores and art galleries. With their inside knowledge and specialist equipment, they’ve become the most successful heist crew on the East Coast.Their newest member, Andrea ‘Andy’ Nearland, is not what she seems either. She’s an undercover operative, hunting the men of Engine 99 for a host of crimes – including the murder of an off-duty cop and the disappearance of a mother and child. As the clock counts down to the gang’s most daring heist yet, loyalties begin to fray and mistrust boils over. Andy’s career is all smoke and mirrors, but infiltrating this crew of ‘heroes’ might prove to be her most dangerous job of all .In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Candice Fox about the challenges of setting her latest crime thriller in the ultimate setting of New York's legendary boroughs of crime, why the opening pages of a heist caper are so important, and why perfectly harmonious criminal gangs are boring.
Named after a famous fictional character, librarian Bridget Jones was raised on a remote cattle station, with only her mother’s romance novels for company. Now living alone in Fremantle, Bridget is a hopeless romantic. She also believes that anyone who doesn’t like reading just hasn’t met the right book yet, and that connecting books to their readers is her superpower. If only her love life was that easy.When handsome Italian barista Fabio progresses from flirting with love hearts on her coffee foam to joining the book club she runs at her library, Bridget prays her romance ‘curse’ won’t ruin things. But it’s the attention of her cranky neighbour Sully that seems to be the major obstacle in her life. Why is he going to so much effort to get under her skin? She soon discovers that not all romances start with a meet-cute, but they might just end in happily ever after…In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Rachael Johns about how our idea of libraries as dull places is now a thing of the past, how exploring relationships and friendships are at the heart of what she writes, and why romance fiction endures by changing with the times.
Compassion continues Julie Janson’s emotional and intense literary exploration of the complex and dangerous lives of Aboriginal women during the 1800s in colonial New South Wales, which she began in Benevolence as a counter narrative to colonial history in Australian literature. Compassion is the dramatised life story of one of Julie Janson’s ancestors who went on trial for stealing livestock in New South Wales, and it is an exciting and violent story of anti-colonial revenge and roaming adventure. A gripping fictive account of Aboriginal life in the 1800s, Compassion follows the life of Duringah, AKA Nell James, the outlaw daughter of the Darug hero of Benevolence, Muraging.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Julie Janson about shaping the character of her ancestor Duringah, and charting her exploits as “the wild native thief”, and how juxtaposing the natural and spiritual worlds of the Darug nation with the terrible reality of life during colonial times illuminates the rich shared history of New South Wales.
'36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem', is a book-length poem that is an urgent, unsettling reckoning with identity and the violence of identity, embedded with racism, oppression and historical trauma. But it also addresses the violence in those assumptions – of being always assumed to be outside one’s home, country, culture or language. And the complex violence, for the diasporic writer who wants to address any of this, of language itself.Making use of multiple tones, moods, masks and camouflages, Le’s poetic debut moves with unpredictable and destabilising energy between the personal and political, honouring every convention of diasporic literature – in a virtuosic array of forms and registers – before shattering the form itself. Like his award-winning book, 'The Boat', '36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem' conjures its own terms of engagement, escapes our traps, slips our certainties. As self-indicting as it is scathing, hilarious as it is desperately moving, this is a singular, breakthrough book.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Nam Le about how his first love has always been poetry rather than the prose of his first book, 'The Boat', how the double-bind of the experience of living in Australia as a man with Vietnamese heritage and how it is reflected in his poetry, how language can be imperialist, even destructive yet continues to shape us as a society and as humans.
Most of us have done our time in the retail trenches, but service stations are undoubtedly the frontline, as Melburnian David Goodwin found out when he started working the weekend graveyard shift at his local servo.From his very first night shift, David absorbed a consistent level of mind-bending lunacy, encountering everything from giant shoplifting bees and balaclava-clad goons hurling cordial-filled water bombs from the sunroof of their BMW, to anarcho-goths high on MDMA releasing large rats into the store from their matching Harry Potter backpacks.Over the years, David grew to love his mad servo, handing out free pies and chocolate bars on the sly as he grew a backbone and became street smart. Amidst the unrelenting chaos, he eventually made it out of the servo circus - and lived to tell the tale.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to David Goodwin about what drew him to working in the wee hours at his local servo, the myriad of characters and space cadets he encountered along the way, and the how the people he met and the stories they had to tell changed his life.Sound effects by zapsplat.com
Robert ‘Goupong’ Anderson, was once the fastest man in Australia and world-record holder. Goupong, his little sister Dot, and his best friend Jonathan belong to the Ugarapul people, the Green Tree Frog tribe, and live with their families and others within the harsh confines of the Deebing Creek Mission – a place run by the malevolent Boss Man.Goupong and Jonathan are focused on winning the mission’s biggest running race that year, but when mysterious noises, unexplained occurrences and biblical events begin to plague the local area they are forced to investigate. Weaving fact with fiction, 'Robert Runs' explores the tough reality of mission life and the events leading up to the fateful day of the Deebing Creek Massacre.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Mariah Sweetman about honouring the life and stories of her ancestors, finding the character of the young Goupong through her research, and adopting a story structure that brings different perspectives together to reveal the complexity of our shared history.
Until well into the twentieth century, heartbroken men and women in Australia had a legal redress for their suffering: jilted lovers could claim compensation for 'breach of promise to marry'. Hundreds of people, mostly from the working classes, came before the courts, and their stories give us a tantalising insight into the romantic landscape of the past – where couples met, how they courted, and what happened when flirtations turned sour. In packed courtrooms and breathless newspaper reports, love letters were read as contracts and private gifts and gossip scrutinised as evidence.In 'Courting', Alecia Simmonds brings these stories vividly to life, revealing the entangled histories of love and the law. Over the long arc of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, pre-industrial romantic customs gave way to middle-class respectability, women used the courts to assert their rights, and the law eventually retreated from people's romantic lives – with women, Simmonds argues, losing out in the process.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Alecia Simmonds about the history of a breach of promise action, how the law was applied to love in the earliest days of the colony, the wonderful characters and fascinating stories that can be found in the legal archive and what was won and lost with the introduction of the Family Law Act in 1975.
As a young girl growing up in a strict ultra-Orthodox family, Dassi's life was preordained - marry young, live a devout life and raise children within the Adass community's religious rules. This righteous path would keep her safe from the immodest, secular world just a few blocks away in suburban Melbourne. But the Adass community was not safe for Dassi.Dassi was fifteen when her revered school principal, Malka Leifer, started to single her out. Dassi's cloistered and harsh upbringing meant she didn't have the words for what was happening to her, but she knew it was very, very wrong. It would take her years to break free of the secrecy which pervaded the community and tell the police of her betrayal. And only then would she find out others, including two of her sisters, had also been abused, and would learn some in the Adass community had helped Leifer flee to Israel. With the only world she knew crumbling around her, Dassi found the strength to fight, leading a brave fifteen-year campaign to bring Leifer back to face Australian courts.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dassi Erlich about the foundation and teachings of the Adass Jewish community and her terrible childhood experience, the decision she made to leave the sect, her fight to bring her sexual abuser Malka Leifer to account, and the support she received in writing a difficult memoir.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to James Foley about where his ideas come from, the great characters he has created – Sally Tinker (the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve), Joe Tinker (full-time baby) and Charli Stevenson (foremost biologist under the age of eleven). We explore the hilarious and often quite smelly adventures they get up to, along with Sally's amazing range of inventions. There's also a few Dad jokes along the way.In 'Brobot' Sally Tinker knows she can build a better brother than the messy, smelly version she has. Sally’s invention – Brobot – is fantastic … until the remote breaks and Brobot careens out of control.In 'Gastronauts', the brain-enhancing nanobots Sally is testing have been accidentally swallowed by her baby brother, Joe. The only way to stop Joe from turning into a superbaby and wreaking super havoc is to shrink herself and travel inside Joe’s body on a mission to tackle the problem head-on.In 'Stellarphant' Stella wants to be an astronaut. There is only one problem: Stella is an elephant. Every time she applies to Space Command, they come up with a new reason she can’t join. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Stella is determined to reach for the stars.Sound effects by zapsplat.com
In 1940, as the Nazis sweep toward Lithuania, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara defies his government and secretly issues visas to fleeing Jewish refugees. After the war, Sugihara is dismissed and disappears into obscurity.Three decades later, in Australia, Rachel Margol is shocked when her engagement reveals a long-held family secret: she is Jewish. As she grapples with this deception and the dysfunction it has caused, unspoken tragedies from the past begin to come to light. When an opportunity arrives to visit Chiune Sugihara, the man who risked his life to save the Margols during World War II, Rachel becomes determined to meet him. But will a journey to Japan, and the secrets it uncovers, heal the family or fracture them for good?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Linda Margolin Royal about the origins of this story in her own family history, the plight of Jewish refugees in Lithuania in 1940, and the remarkable Japanese diplomat who risked his own life to save others.
Cassie has settled into life in Hedgely when, out of the blue, her troubled cousin, Sebastian, comes to stay for Hallowe'en. Sneering and scornful, Sebastian trails after Cassie and her friends, interfering with their coven projects and belittling the dangers of the faery world. But Cassie, Rue and Tabitha have bigger problems - as the nights grow longer, a dark shadow creeps out of the Hedge and villagers start behaving strangely, possessed with the desire to find a mysterious object.When the Hedgewitch is called away, the girls decide to investigate and discover that whoever is controlling the villagers is seeking a faery relic: an ancient and dangerous weapon, hidden somewhere in the village. Their magical training will be put to the test as they venture deeper into the Hedge and race to find the faery treasure before it falls into the hands of the Erl King.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Skye McKenna about discovering the land of Faerie and the dangerous people a reader might encounter in the Forest of Hedge, the magical people and places in the village of Hedgely everyone should visit, and Cassie Morgan's journey from fledgeling to fully qualified witch.
Nedingar is the story of a young child who wants to meet their Ancestors (Nedingar), to know them, learn from them and follow their ways. The child's mother gently explains that they have already met their Ancestors, yesterday, today and tomorrow, and that they are everywhere in Country, walking close behind them. Beautifully illustrated by Leanne Zilman, Nedingar is a lyrical, dual language picture book from two debut Noongar creators that celebrates the beauty of Country and family.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Isobel Bevis about her own indigenous heritage, the significance of the willy-wagtail in Noongar culture, and unlocking the door to reading and understanding a dual language picture book.
Bush Bugs is a colourful array of Australian insects that will captivate young children. From spiky stick insects to hairy spiders, from blood-sucking mosquitos to dung-eating blow flies and feasting wasps, this is a fun and easy-to-read book introducing tiny readers to tiny bush critters.Crow Baby tells the story of a baby born with two spirits – one human and one crow. The baby grows up to be Daisy Crow, a girl who lives with humans by day and flies with the crows in her dreams. Crow Baby is a bittersweet story of sacrifice, metamorphosis and change. It introduces key First Nations concepts of dream journeys and spiritual gifts to young readers aged 6+ and gives them much to think about and discuss.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Helen Milroy about creating a shortlist of our amazing bush bugs, finding the beauty in a blowfly, tracing the origins of the Daisy Crow character and how her background in mental health shapes her approach to storytelling.
On a Bright Hillside in Paradise, tells the story of a family of convict descendants in the back-blocks of Tasmania, on a farm in a place called Paradise. They lead hard-scrabble lives. The drama begins when strangers arrive, Christian Brethren evangelists who hold big revival meetings in local barns.On a Bright Hillside in Paradise tackles big questions of faith and family but remains grounded in the dreams and strivings of its beautifully drawn characters. Higgs takes lives that history might have judged as small and imbues them with immense dignity and complex and compelling inner lives.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Annette Higgs about the long journey from idea to great story in a first novel, the fascinating family connection she has to the characters in the story and the social impact of the arrival of the Christian Brethren on the isolated communities of north-western Tasmania.
Three couples, friends since high school, rent a luxurious house in the mountains for an unplugged weekend of drinking and bushwalking. No internet, no phones, no stress. On the first night, the topic of partner-swapping comes up. It's a joke - at first. Not everyone is keen, but an agreement is made. The lights will be turned out. The three women will go into the three bedrooms. The three men will each pick a room at random. It won't be awkward later, because they won't know who they've slept with - or can pretend they don't.When the lights come back on, one of the men is dead. No one will admit to being his partner. The phones still don't work, and now the car key is missing. They're stranded. And the killer is just getting started ...In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jack Heath about the hidden dangers within an adult game of truth or dare, the virtues of a murder case where everyone and no one appears to be the killer, and how dark humour can make murder fun.
Two women from different worlds in Renaissance France cross paths in a way that changes both their lives. One is Marguerite de Navarre, a King’s sister. Powerful, privileged and widely admired, Marguerite must nonetheless marry where she is told to, regardless of her feelings, and – despite the thrilling new ideas of religious reform causing upheaval in France – must toe the line for the good of her brother’s kingdom. Ever a risk-taker, she does what she can to protect her reformist friends.The other is a cast out, itinerant child who longs to be a printer like her late father. Jehane goes dressed as a male by the name of Josse, at first for safety’s sake and then by choice, fending off the risks of being alone, unprotected and born female, poor but trying to live in freedom. These two remarkable women, the rich and poor come together in the most unexpected of ways.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tracy Ryan about the challenges facing women in Renaissance France, how inventing a fictional character to complement the real Queen of the Navarre opened up storytelling possibilities, and how poetry, journal entries and Queen Marguerite's own writing have enriched the social and political fabric of this story.
A woman abandons her city life and marriage to return to the place of her childhood, holing up in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of the Monaro. She does not believe in God, doesn't know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive life almost by accident. As she gradually adjusts to the rhythms of monastic life, she finds herself turning again and again to thoughts of her mother, whose early death she can't forget.Disquiet interrupts this secluded life with three visitations: a terrible mouse plague, the return of the skeletal remains of a sister, presumed murdered, who left the community decades before to minister to deprived women in Thailand, and a troubling visitor to the monastery pulls the narrator further back into her past.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Charlotte Wood about how she came to choose a nameless narrator as her storyteller, why the Monaro plains hold such meaning for her, and the benefits of writing someone else's memoir.
Over seventy years had passed since Mira Unreich was freed from a concentration camp in Germany. On that spring day in 1945, she found herself alive, against all odds. In the decades that followed, she never explained the mystery underpinning her survival. How could Mira say that in the Holocaust 'I learned about the goodness of people'?When Mira's journalist daughter Rachelle realised time was running out for Mira, who was ill with cancer, she resolved to ask her mother questions. It would be the most important interview of her life: a chance to discover the secrets to her mother's joy, and an opportunity to fit together the jigsaw puzzle pieces of her own life. Mira's words would lead Rachelle along a surprising path, where she learned for the first time what a truly extraordinary life her mother had led.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Rachelle Unreich about her mother Mira's idyllic childhood interrupted by war, the time spent in concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and Mira's incredible capacity to survive and to thrive despite the horrors of her past.
Penny Albright is a daughter of the thorn coven, forced to patrol the veil between the realms of Life and Death. Each night, one thorn witch—and only one—must cross the veil by burning at the stake. Each morning, that witch draws on their magic to return. Failure to follow the rules risks the veil and risks them all. Thorns, Tides, Embers, Storms, and Ores. All five covens are bound in servitude to the tyrant High Warden of Halstett.But one morning, Penny's favourite sister Ella doesn't return. And that night, determined to find her, Penny breaks the rules. She burns in secret. And she discovers that all isn’t as it seems in Life or Death. Her journey leads her to Malin, a devastating lord with too many secrets; to Alice, a mysterious captive prophet; and to a rebellion brewing in the shadows beneath the city. And as Penny's world splits, she’ll face a devastating choice. Because it’s not just her sister’s life that hangs in the balance. It’s the fate of all magic.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katharine J Adams about the three words that led to her imagining a vast new magical universe, the hierarchy of characters and their rituals that drive the kingdom of Halstett, and why libraries are good places to hang out.
Crown Resorts, the Bond Group, James Hardie, HIH Insurance, Geoffrey Edelsten’s Allied Medical Group, 7-Eleven and Rio Tinto, the list goes on…Australia has suffered from the continual sting of business scandals since corporate cowboys like Alan Bond and Christopher Skase wrought so much damage during the 1980s. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Australians have been affected, with many left traumatised when corporations collapse due to gross mismanagement and profits being put before people.Award-winning author Quentin Beresford takes us inside corporate Australia’s highest-profile scandals and the factors that drive them — the rise of celebrity CEOs, timid regulators, inept boards, the murky links between big business, governments, banks, media and lobby groups — and explores a path towards higher ethical standards from organisations. It’s a wild ride into the heart of corporate Australia.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Quentin Beresford about the continuous string of corporate scandals that has plagued Australia over the last forty years, the gallery of rogues who have been at the helm of these scandals, and the scourge of crony capitalism and the lack of regulation that has allowed these scandals to proliferate.
It's 2012 and in Northern Afghanistan, an international crisis has erupted. A group of NGO workers have been kidnapped by local insurgents and are now hidden in a winding mountain region. After attempts to negotiate a deal with the bandits fail, and with the lives of the hostages hanging in the balance, there is only one option... the SAS and Navy SEALs are sent in to find and free them.The Rescue is the action-packed story of the special forces' attempts save the hostages from almost certain death. Drawing on classified sources and using his own personal insight into the inner-workings of these units, Andy McNab gives a page-turning account of this incredible mission.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Andy McNab about the state of the Afghan war in 2012, the complex network of individuals and organisations both remote and on the ground who make rescue operations possible, and the importance of reliable intelligence in preparing for these kinds of dangerous missions.
In 1977, twenty-seven-year-old Robyn Davidson set off with a dog and four camels to cross 1,700 miles of Australian desert to the sea. A life of almost constant travelling followed. From the deserts of Australia, to Sydney's underworld; from Sixties street life, to the London literary scene; from migrating with nomads in Tibet, to 'marrying' an Indian prince, Davidson's quest was motivated by an unquenchable curiosity about other ways of seeing and understanding the world.Davidson threw bombs over her shoulder and seeds into her future on the assumption that something would be growing when she got there. The only terrain she had no interest in exploring was the past. In Unfinished Woman Davidson turns at last to explore that long avoided country. Through this brave and revealing memoir, she delves into her childhood and youth to uncover the forces that set her on her path, and confront the cataclysm of her mother's suicide.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Robyn Davidson about the challenges she faced in writing about her mother, her chaotic early life and relationship with her family, and the enduring curiosity that continues to inspire her nomadic lifestyle.
Twelve-year-old Billy Pyke has a talent for sorting things out, whether it’s his chaotic family home or the busy book stall at Paddy’s Market. In 1871, the market is the loud, smelly, marvellous heart of Melbourne, and Billy is delighted to work at the book stall there for the eccentric Mr Cole. When his new friend Kezia warns him of a sinister magician called the Obscurosmith, Billy can’t believe her stories of magical deals gone horribly wrong – until he sees them happening. And the night that the Obscurosmith crosses a terrifying and dangerous line, Billy realises something: if he wants the Obscurosmith stopped, he’ll have to do it himself.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Amelia Mellor about her fascination for 19th century history and Melbourne's Paddy's Market, how magic and history converge at Coles Book Arcade, why digging around in the vault of history can turn up the strangest things.
Macedonia, 1917. The great city of Salonika is engulfed by fire as all of Europe is ravaged by war. Amid the destruction are those who have come to the frontlines to heal: surgeons, ambulance drivers, nurses, orderlies and other volunteers. Four of them—Stella, Olive, Grace and Stanley—are at the centre of this extraordinary new novel, which takes its inspiration from the wartime experiences of Australians Miles Franklin and Olive King, and British painters Grace Pailthorpe and Stanley Spencer. In Jones’s imagination these four lives intertwine and change, each compelled by the desire to create something meaningful in the ruins of a broken world.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Gail Jones about the intersection of two momentous events of World War I, how four figures from history became characters in her novel by winding back the clock on their lives, and the importance of exploring stories that take a different perspective on the experience of war.
This illustrated memoir explores the evolution of one of Australia’s finest design minds. A visual delight, it ranges from photos of childhood gardens and goats to hand-drawn plans for Paul’s earliest designs. Through never-before-seen materials, the story behind Paul’s vision is revealed – and we see the creative workings that come to fruition in meticulous and timeless gardensIn this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Paul Bangay about his early foundational experiences in horticulture, the people and opportunities that lured Paul down the pathway to garden and lanscape design, and the new directions his work is taking in response to climate change.
Edinburgh, haunted by the ghosts of its many writers, is also the cold case beat of DCI Karen Pirie. So she shouldn't be surprised when an author's manuscript appears to be a blueprint for an actual crime. Karen can't ignore the plot's chilling similarities to the unsolved case of an Edinburgh University student who vanished from her own doorstep. The manuscript seems to be the key to unlocking what happened to Lara Hardie, but there's a problem: the author died before he finished it. As Karen digs deeper, she uncovers a spiralling game of betrayal and revenge, where lies are indistinguishable from the truth and with more than one unexpected twist.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Val McDermid about why 'Tartan noir' is so much part of Scottish culture, and why DCI Karen Pirie has to take up reading crime thrillers to solve a murder.
'The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac' is the official companion to the Harry Potter stories – the ultimate compendium of wizarding lists, charts, maps and all things magical! Discover magical places, study wandlore, encounter fantastic beasts and find out about the witches and wizards who lived. This dazzling gift book brings together beloved characters, unforgettable moments and iconic locations from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone all the way through to The Deathly Hallows. It's the ultimate magical miscellany, filled with facts and fun about the wizarding world, beautifully catalogued and brilliantly explored. Joyfully illustrated throughout in full colour by seven stunning artists and tingling with things to spot on every page, this is the ideal introduction to the Harry Potter stories for new readers and the perfect book for families to share.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Levi Pinfold about immersing himself in the Harry Potter world, the magical ideas that lead to fabulous illustrations, and the incredible range of styles, techniques, artists and materials that have inspired his art.
Salt River Road is a compelling coming-of-age novel about grief and healing set in a small town in the 1970s. In the aftermath of their mother’s death, the Tetley siblings’ lives are falling apart. Left to fend for themselves as their family farm goes to ruins, Rose sets out to escape the grief and mess of home. When she meets Noongar Elders Patsy and Herbert, she finds herself drawn into a home where she has the chance to discover the strength of community, and to heal a wound her family has carried for a generation.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Molly Schmidt about the challenge in writing about Indigenous characters from a non-indigenous perspective, the deep and lasting consultation she undertook with the Noongar people, and her own story of a grieving family rediscovering their connection to country.
Gigorou (jig-goo-roo) means ‘beauty’ or ‘beautiful’ in Jirrbal, the language of Sasha Kutabah Sarago’s grandmother. Growing up, Sasha didn’t feel gigorou. At a young age, she was told, ‘You’re too pretty to be Aboriginal’. Since then, she’s been on a journey to reconcile her conflict with beauty. In this intimately fierce, funny and reflective book, Sasha retraces her footsteps as a beauty assistant, model and magazine editor to find the answers she’s searching for. Through conversations with her matriarchs, and the creation stories gifted to her, Sasha unlocks an ancestral wisdom – the key to healing and reclaiming her femininity.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sasha Kutabah Sarago about how beauty and wisdom together are the true foundation of beauty, her journey from beauty salon to the catwalks of the world, and finding places where women of all colours can discover and celebrate their own sense of beauty.
There are more than 50 000 species of spiders. They surround us in our daily lives and, contrary to popular belief, the vast majority are completely harmless to humans. James O’Hanlon takes us from his backyard to all corners of the globe (and even outer space!) to explore these fascinating creatures and show us why they’re not so scary after all. You’ll encounter everything from miniscule jumping spiders with super intelligence to giant tarantulas whose venom could one day save your life. Clearing up spider myths and misconceptions, James O’Hanlon introduces readers to the beauty of their lives, including remarkable hunting techniques, the fascinating engineering of spider silk and the spiders that live in extremes — from underwater to the slopes of Mount Everest.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to James O'Hanlon about why spiders are awesome and don't deserve their scary reputation, the amazing array of forms and behaviour in the spider world, how we've ventured into the minds of spiders to discover they are not only beautiful but incredibly smart too, and the most important things to consider when you think you've been bitten.
When Anna Funder returned to the work of her literary hero George Orwell looking for escape and inspiration, re-reading his books and biographies, Anna Funder uncovered his forgotten wife – and it’s a revelation. Eileen O’Shaughnessy’s literary brilliance shaped Orwell’s work and her practical nous saved his life. But why – and how – was she absent from the story? Using newly discovered letters from Eileen to her best friend, Funder recreates the Orwells’ marriage, through the Spanish Civil War and WW II in London. As she rolls up the screen concealing Orwell’s private life she is led to question what it takes to be a writer – and what it is to be a wife.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Anna Funder about writing a 'counter-fiction' to those presented by George Orwell's earlier biographers and their 'fiction of omission' and why Orwell the artist and Orwell the man may be entirely different.
When five couples pool their resources to live in a house located where a turquoise lagoon meets the sea, the quirky little offshore community of Cook's Basin is shocked. How will ten people - one in a wheelchair and one with a hauntingly familiar face - survive where the only way in or out is by boat? When a member of the household is found floating face down in the bay, the police insist the death was accidental but the bizarre circumstances have locals scratching their heads. Former journalist turned café owner Kate Jackson is curious to discover why a group of retirees in their late seventies would choose such an isolated location. Then a throw-away line in an old magazine story leads to shocking revelations.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Susan Duncan about why everyone is so happy in the boat-only access hamlet of Cook's Basin, and how the continuity of life and character throughout her stories, explores the fragility of love and relationships and the healing power of kindness.
The crime of sextortion has reached epidemic proportions, fuelled by both sex offenders and organised scammers targeting our most vulnerable online. Children are some of the internet's most prolific and most naive users, and increasing numbers are finding themselves caught in an evil web of networked manipulators.Up to 70 percent of all new sexual exploitation content online is victim-produced, and much of it follows the same script and the abuser then blackmails their victim - for money or for more content. It's a script well-known to Detective Inspector Jon Rouse, who, for three decades, headed up Taskforce Argos, the expert arm of Queensland Police dedicated to hunting down online predators and rescuing children from abuse. In collaboration with Rouse, Madonna King tells the story of their investigations, from undercover cases to operations on a global scale, exploring what makes a victim and what makes an abuser, and distils the work that goes into bringing down perpetrators.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Madonna King about how 'sextortion' works and why it differs between boys and girls, Madonna explains the detailed and time-consuming work it takes to track down a predator, and how we must all begin that difficult conversation in order to foster greater awareness.
Many Australians know lines from Dorothea Mackellar’s classic poem ‘My Country’ by heart, very little has been written about the poet’s extraordinary life. From her childhood and youth in Sydney’s Point Piper and Pittwater, to discovering her love for the Australian landscape on her brother’s farm in Gunnedah, Dorothea engaged with the intellectual elite of Sydney and abroad as she embarked on a decades long literary career that saw her linked to some of the leading lights of her day.Battling against a masculine tradition of Australian bush poetry led by Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, Dorothea Mackellar boldly carved out a place for herself, leaving an indelible mark on the Australian imagination. Now, for the first time, the poet's unconventional life story is told – a hidden gem of Australian history, and a tale of one woman’s extraordinary passion for her poetry, her family, and her country.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Deborah Fitzgerald about the boon and the burden of Dorothea Mackellar's most famous verse and the deep feeling she harboured for Australia and its landscape, and the remarkable contribution Dorothea Mackellar made to Australian literature.
Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, 1944, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, but Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.Seventy-five years later, thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell's Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, and one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in a flour sack, which Roza, Hannah's mother, quickly hides. Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering. At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years, as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to 'bear witness' to history. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kirsty Manning about the role of the Mauthausen concentration camp in the Nazi regime's grand plan, the way Kirsty's research leads her to distil real people into fascinating characters, and how the the trauma of war filters down through generations, altering the course of their lives.
Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, 1944, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, but Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.
Seventy-five years later, thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell's Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, and one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in a flour sack, which Roza, Hannah's mother, quickly hides. Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering. At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years, as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to 'bear witness' to history.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kirsty Manning about the role of the Mauthausen concentration camp in the Nazi regime's grand plan, the way Kirsty's research leads her to distil real people into fascinating characters, and how the the trauma of war filters down through generations, altering the course of their lives.
Britain, 1961: the beautiful blonde baby Diana is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom. But Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents’ messy divorce. She struggles at school but finds refuge through romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince.In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Charles is nearing thirty and the right girl needs to be found, fast. She must be young, aristocratic and completely free of past liaisons. Pure and innocent.Eighteen-year-old Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her yearning to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is perilous. There are hidden dangers. Ruthless schemers. Can Diana’s romantic dream survive?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Wendy Holden about creating a voice for the young Diana Spencer, the characters both real and imagined that brought Diana Spencer and Charles together, and the role the British press played in this fractured fairytale.
Britain, 1961: the beautiful blonde baby Diana is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom. But Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents’ messy divorce. She struggles at school but finds refuge through romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince.
In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Charles is nearing thirty and the right girl needs to be found, fast. She must be young, aristocratic and completely free of past liaisons. Pure and innocent.
Eighteen-year-old Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her yearning to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is perilous. There are hidden dangers. Ruthless schemers. Can Diana’s romantic dream survive?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Wendy Holden about creating a voice for the young Diana Spencer, the characters both real and imagined that brought Diana Spencer and Charles together, and the role the British press played in this fractured fairytale.
From the author of Fake History, comes a shocking yet hilarious look at ten of the greatest liars from our past, examining these previously unquestioned idols and exposing what they were trying to hide.Whether it's virtuous leaders in just wars, martyrs sacrificing all for a cause, or innovators changing the world for the better, down the centuries supposedly great men and women have risen to become household names, saints and heroes. But just how deserving are they of their reputations?Exploring everything from Captain Scott's reckless hunt for glory and Andy Warhol's flagrant thievery to Coco Chanel's murky Nazi past, Otto English dives into the hidden lives of some of history's most recognisable names. Scrutinising figures from the worlds of art, politics, business, religion and royalty, he brings to light the murkier truths they would rather have kept buried away, at the same time as celebrating the unsung heroes lost to time.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Otto English about the narrative arc of the hero that all these candidates share, the JFK post-assassination myth that was built by his wife Jacquie Kennedy, the revolutionary Che Guevara who turned out to be a brutal murderer, and the curious case of the Bunyip aristocracy that Australia narrowly avoided.
From the author of Fake History, Otto English, comes a shocking yet hilarious look at ten of the greatest liars from our past, examining these previously unquestioned idols and exposing what they were trying to hide.
Whether it's virtuous leaders in just wars, martyrs sacrificing all for a cause, or innovators changing the world for the better, down the centuries supposedly great men and women have risen to become household names, saints and heroes. But just how deserving are they of their reputations?
Exploring everything from Captain Scott's reckless hunt for glory and Andy Warhol's flagrant thievery to Coco Chanel's murky Nazi past, Otto English dives into the hidden lives of some of history's most recognisable names. Scrutinising figures from the worlds of art, politics, business, religion and royalty, he brings to light the murkier truths they would rather have kept buried away, at the same time as celebrating the unsung heroes lost to time.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Otto English about the narrative arc of the hero that all these candidates share, the JFK post-assassination myth that was built by his wife Jacquie Kennedy, the revolutionary Che Guevara who turned out to be a brutal murderer, and the curious case of the Bunyip aristocracy that Australia narrowly avoided.
A near-fatal car accident has left Jane in a coma. When she wakes, she has no idea who she is. Initially comforted by unlikely spectres from past cases, Jane is unaware of everyone else’s concerns: the police who believe she was deliberately run off the road; a lawyer whose files were in her car at the time of the accident – files he should never have lent her; her neurosurgeon who fears a relapse; and her partner, Tim, who has to cope with the fact Jane remembers almost nothing of the last two years – including their relationship.
A young woman called Luna keeps luring Jane back to the present. Linked to a thirty-year cold case from Jane’s past, Luna has a quest of her own she can only solve with Jane’s help. But if Jane wants to help Luna, she first needs to heal herself, and there just might be reasons beyond the accident that are hampering Jane’s recovery.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Roger Simpson about delving into the character of Dr Jane Halifax, the frightening prospect of amnesia and Jane's pathway to recovery, and the layers of complexity that make this story critical to understanding Jane Halifax, forensic psychiatrist.
A near-fatal car accident has left Jane in a coma. When she wakes, she has no idea who she is. Initially comforted by unlikely spectres from past cases, Jane is unaware of everyone else’s concerns: the police who believe she was deliberately run off the road; a lawyer whose files were in her car at the time of the accident – files he should never have lent her; her neurosurgeon who fears a relapse; and her partner, Tim, who has to cope with the fact Jane remembers almost nothing of the last two years – including their relationship.
A young woman called Luna keeps luring Jane back to the present. Linked to a thirty-year cold case from Jane’s past, Luna has a quest of her own she can only solve with Jane’s help. But if Jane wants to help Luna, she first needs to heal herself, and there just might be reasons beyond the accident that are hampering Jane’s recovery.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Roger Simpson about delving into the character of Dr Jane Halifax, the frightening prospect of amnesia and Jane's pathway to recovery, and the layers of complexity that make this story critical to understanding Jane Halifax, forensic psychiatrist.
One of the lucky few with a job during the Depression, Peggy’s just starting out in life. She’s a bagging girl at the Angliss meatworks, a place buzzing with life as well as death, where the gun slaughterman Jack has caught her eye – and she his.
How is her life connected to Hilda’s, almost a hundred years later, locked inside during a plague, or La’s, further on again, a singer working shifts in a warehouse as her eggs are frozen and her voice is used by AI bots? Let alone Maz, far removed in time, diving for remnants of a past that must be destroyed? Is it by the river that runs through their stories, eternal yet constantly changing – or by the mysterious Hummingbird Project, and the great question of whether the march of progress can ever be reversed?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kate Mildenhall about bringing historical fiction and speculative fiction together to create great stories, how playing with AI and ChatGPT led to insights into what ChatGPT can do, and how working with different literary elements led her to the creation of new structures.
One of the lucky few with a job during the Depression, Peggy’s just starting out in life. She’s a bagging girl at the Angliss meatworks, a place buzzing with life as well as death, where the gun slaughterman Jack has caught her eye – and she his.
How is her life connected to Hilda’s, almost a hundred years later, locked inside during a plague, or La’s, further on again, a singer working shifts in a warehouse as her eggs are frozen and her voice is used by AI bots? Let alone Maz, far removed in time, diving for remnants of a past that must be destroyed? Is it by the river that runs through their stories, eternal yet constantly changing – or by the mysterious Hummingbird Project, and the great question of whether the march of progress can ever be reversed?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kate Mildenhall about bringing historical fiction and speculative fiction together to create great stories, how playing with AI and ChatGPT led to insights into what ChatGPT can do, and how working with different literary elements led her to the creation of new structures.
Bob is sixty-five years old, confined to a Perth nursing home. But thirty years ago, he killed a man in the remote northern Kimberley mining region. He offers to show Sparrow where the body is, but there's a catch: Sparrow must travel north with him under the guise of being his carer. They are accompanied on the drive by another nursing home resident: Luke, thirty years old, paralysed in a motorbike accident. As they embark on their road trip through the guts of Western Australia, pursued by outback police and adrenaline-soaked miners, Sparrow begins to suspect that Bob's desire to head north may have sinister motivations. Is Luke being held against his will? And what lies in store for them when they reach their goal?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Peter Papathanasiou about his affection for road trip stories and what confined spaces can to do a character, how his characters are always more than they appear to be, how the intersection between the Australian outback and the mining industry cultivates a 'do or die' mentality.
Drawn from the pages of history and cutting-edge science, Thaw is a gripping read that will forever change how you see the frozen continent – and those who seek to conquer it.
In 1912, five British explorers struggle across the Antarctic landscape, through howling winds and plummeting temperatures, seeking the safety of their camp. Today, as the world's ice sheets begin to melt and surrender their secrets, renowned glacial archaeologist Missy Simpson works to discover the true cause of the explorers' deaths – a subject that has intrigued researchers for more than a century. In hallowed halls of learning and on the icy polar plateau, these risk-takers must grapple with the unfathomable power of the natural world and the dramatically changing weather – while navigating their own complicated relationships.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dennis Glover about how history has treated Scott's ill-fated expedition, why meteorologist George Clarke Simpson was central to the recounting of this story, and what it all means in the context of devastating climate change.
Drawn from the pages of history and cutting-edge science, Thaw is a gripping read that will forever change how you see the frozen continent – and those who seek to conquer it.
In 1912, five British explorers struggle across the Antarctic landscape, through howling winds and plummeting temperatures, seeking the safety of their camp. Today, as the world's ice sheets begin to melt and surrender their secrets, renowned glacial archaeologist Missy Simpson works to discover the true cause of the explorers' deaths – a subject that has intrigued researchers for more than a century. In hallowed halls of learning and on the icy polar plateau, these risk-takers must grapple with the unfathomable power of the natural world and the dramatically changing weather – while navigating their own complicated relationships.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dennis Glover about how history has treated Scott's ill-fated expedition, why meteorologist George Clarke Simpson was central to the recounting of this story, and what it all means in the context of devastating climate change.
Matt Majendie on life and death with the big-wave surfers in 'Nazare'
In a small fishing village on the coast of Portugal, a select band of surfers take unimaginable risks, pushing the boundaries of their death-defying sport as they seek to go bigger than ever before. Their goal? To ride the Everest of the ocean - the 100-foot wave.
Sports journalist Matt Majendie was welcomed into the inner circle of Nazare's tight community to chronicle their incredible highs and terrifying lows. Follow the endeavours of Britain's leading big-wave surfer, a former plumber from Devon, Andrew Cotton; trailblazing Brazilian female surfer Maya Gabeira; current World Record holder German Sebastian Steudtner; Portuguese Nic von Rupp and jet-ski driver Sergio Cosme, nicknamed 'the Guardian Angel of Nazare' for his daring rescues, in this gripping read.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Matt Majendie about what make the Nazare big waves so special, the four individuals who have conquered the 'Everest' of big-wave surfing - and lived to tell the tale, and how Nazare's tight-knit group of surfers have become a community.
In a small fishing village on the coast of Portugal, a select band of surfers take unimaginable risks, pushing the boundaries of their death-defying sport as they seek to go bigger than ever before. Their goal? To ride the Everest of the ocean - the 100-foot wave.
Sports journalist Matt Majendie was welcomed into the inner circle of Nazare's tight community to chronicle their incredible highs and terrifying lows. Follow the endeavours of Britain's leading big-wave surfer, a former plumber from Devon, Andrew Cotton; trailblazing Brazilian female surfer Maya Gabeira; current World Record holder German Sebastian Steudtner; Portuguese Nic von Rupp and jet-ski driver Sergio Cosme, nicknamed 'the Guardian Angel of Nazare' for his daring rescues, in this gripping read.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Matt Majendie about what make the Nazare big waves so special, the four individuals who have conquered the 'Everest' of big-wave surfing - and lived to tell the tale, and how Nazare's tight-knit group of surfers have become a community.
'Cast Mates: Australian Actors in Hollywood and at Home' is a group biography of Australian acting giants across the ages.The larger-than-life personalities that form the heart of this book — Errol Flynn, Peter Finch, David Gulpilil and Nicole Kidman — have dominated cinema screens both locally and internationally and starred in some of the biggest films of their eras — including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Network, Crocodile Dundee and Eyes Wide Shut. From the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s to the streaming wars of today, the lives of these four actors, and their many cast mates, tell a story of how a nation’s cinema was founded, then faltered, before finding itself again.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sam Twyford-Moore about the four generations of Australian actors and their movies that beat a path to Hollywood, the historical roller coaster ride of Australian film funding, and the missed opportunities for David Gulpilil and the indigenous Australian film industry.
'Cast Mates: Australian Actors in Hollywood and at Home' is a group biography of Australian acting giants across the ages.The larger-than-life personalities that form the heart of this book — Errol Flynn, Peter Finch, David Gulpilil and Nicole Kidman — have dominated cinema screens both locally and internationally and starred in some of the biggest films of their eras — including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Network, Crocodile Dundee and Eyes Wide Shut. From the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s to the streaming wars of today, the lives of these four actors, and their many cast mates, tell a story of how a nation’s cinema was founded, then faltered, before finding itself again.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sam Twyford-Moore about the four generations of Australian actors and their movies that beat a path to Hollywood, the historical roller coaster ride of Australian film funding, and the missed opportunities for David Gulpilil and the indigenous Australian film industry.
Since 1901, thirty-one different leaders have run the national show. Whether their term was eight days or eighteen years, each prime minister has a story worth sharing.
Edmund Barton united the bickering states in a federation. The unlucky Jimmy Scullin took office days before Wall Street crashed into the Great Depression. John Curtin faced the ultimate challenge of wartime leadership. John Gorton, Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating each shook up their parties' policies so vigorously that none lasted much longer than a single term. Harold Holt spent three decades in parliament, only to disappear while swimming off the coast of Victoria just under two years into his first term. John Howard's triple bypass is the stuff of legend. Julia Gillard overthrew Kevin Rudd and Kevin Rudd overthrew Julia Gillard, thus paving the way for Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison … And then came Anthony Albanese. With characteristic wit and expert knowledge, Mungo MacCallum and Frank Bongiorno bring the nation's leaders to life in this updated edition of a classic book.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Frank Bongiorno about Mungo MacCallum's perspective on our political leaders, the two new chapters on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese that he has contributed to this updated edition, and the affection and admiration Mungo retained for all our Prime Ministers - good, bad or indifferent.
Since 1901, thirty-one different leaders have run the national show. Whether their term was eight days or eighteen years, each prime minister has a story worth sharing.
Edmund Barton united the bickering states in a federation. The unlucky Jimmy Scullin took office days before Wall Street crashed into the Great Depression. John Curtin faced the ultimate challenge of wartime leadership. John Gorton, Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating each shook up their parties' policies so vigorously that none lasted much longer than a single term. Harold Holt spent three decades in parliament, only to disappear while swimming off the coast of Victoria just under two years into his first term. John Howard's triple bypass is the stuff of legend. Julia Gillard overthrew Kevin Rudd and Kevin Rudd overthrew Julia Gillard, thus paving the way for Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison … And then came Anthony Albanese. With characteristic wit and expert knowledge, Mungo MacCallum and Frank Bongiorno bring the nation's leaders to life in this updated edition of a classic book.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Frank Bongiorno about Mungo MacCallum's perspective on our political leaders, the two new chapters on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese that he has contributed to this updated edition, and the affection and admiration Mungo retained for all our Prime Ministers - good, bad or indifferent.
Jimmy is a kid growing up fast on the poorest street in small town rural Australia. He tries to do everything right and look out for his alcoholic mum and his disabled younger brother. His older brother is in jail, so it's up to Jimmy to hold things together. And small-town life is unforgiving if you're from the other side of the tracks: But Jimmy soon learns that even when you get things right, everything can still go wrong.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Mark Brandi about his memories of the 1980s that form the setting of his book, why growing up in a small country town has both pleasures and perils, and how a now extinct interstate train journey can carry hopes and dreams in both directions.
Jimmy is a kid growing up fast on the poorest street in small town rural Australia. He tries to do everything right and look out for his alcoholic mum and his disabled younger brother. His older brother is in jail, so it's up to Jimmy to hold things together. And small-town life is unforgiving if you're from the other side of the tracks: But Jimmy soon learns that even when you get things right, everything can still go wrong.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Mark Brandi about his memories of the 1980s that form the setting of his book, why growing up in a small country town has both pleasures and perils, and how a now extinct interstate train journey can carry hopes and dreams in both directions.
For over four decades, world-leading independent medical research organisation the Centenary Institute has been producing breakthroughs in our biggest health challenges – cancer, cardiovascular disease and the many other problems stemming from inflammation. In The Good Gut Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Professor Phil Hansbro explains why inflammation is the fundamental cause of almost all disease, and what you and your gut can do about it.
This book outlines the factors causing inflammation, and dives deep on the one you can control: your diet. The Centenary Institute have gathered together their latest research and joined forces with Australian author and chef ‘Fast Ed’ Hamalgyi. Fast Ed shares 50 versatile, delicious recipes to show you that taking control of your nutrition. The book also includes invaluable nutrition tips from Dr Clare Bailey.
In this episode Professor Phil Hansbro explains how about inflammation occurs and why it can lead to chronic disease, the distinction between good inflammation and chronic inflammation, exactly why fibre is the hero of any diet, and why Fast Ed Halmagyi's recipes are a pathway to a healthy biome.
For over four decades, world-leading independent medical research organisation the Centenary Institute has been producing breakthroughs in our biggest health challenges – cancer, cardiovascular disease and the many other problems stemming from inflammation. In The Good Gut Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Professor Phil Hansbro explains why inflammation is the fundamental cause of almost all disease, and what you and your gut can do about it.
This book outlines the factors causing inflammation, and dives deep on the one you can control: your diet. The Centenary Institute have gathered together their latest research and joined forces with Australian author and chef ‘Fast Ed’ Hamalgyi. Fast Ed shares 50 versatile, delicious recipes to show you that taking control of your nutrition. The book also includes invaluable nutrition tips from Dr Clare Bailey.
In this episode Professor Phil Hansbro explains how about inflammation occurs and why it can lead to chronic disease, the distinction between good inflammation and chronic inflammation, exactly why fibre is the hero of any diet, and why Fast Ed Halmagyi's recipes are a pathway to a healthy biome.
Chris Glasl joined Victoria Police at nineteen, with one aim in mind: to become a member of the Special Operations Group. Ultra-fit and highly trained, the SOG are called to the most dangerous missions: hostage situations, gunmen on the loose and risky mobile intercepts.
After going through a gruelling elimination process, Chris joined the SOG thinking he was becoming part of a unit that was untouchable, indestructible and bonded so closely together they were a brotherhood like no other. Instead, Chris experienced a unit rife with bullying, lies and betrayal. In combination with the dangerous missions they undertook and the pressure he experienced with each one, Chris needed a release valve - and he found it by taking drugs. This is the ultimate insider account of what it takes to be one of the toughest police officers in the world - and the price it demands.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Christophe Glasl about the dream and the reality of joining the Victorian Police Special Operations Group, the heart-in-the-mouth moment that almost cost him his life, the culture of bullying and intimidation that he was confronted with, and his journey through depression, and drug and alcohol abuse.
Chris Glasl joined Victoria Police at nineteen, with one aim in mind: to become a member of the Special Operations Group. Ultra-fit and highly trained, the SOG are called to the most dangerous missions: hostage situations, gunmen on the loose and risky mobile intercepts.
After going through a gruelling elimination process, Chris joined the SOG thinking he was becoming part of a unit that was untouchable, indestructible and bonded so closely together they were a brotherhood like no other. Instead, Chris experienced a unit rife with bullying, lies and betrayal. In combination with the dangerous missions they undertook and the pressure he experienced with each one, Chris needed a release valve - and he found it by taking drugs. This is the ultimate insider account of what it takes to be one of the toughest police officers in the world - and the price it demands.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Christophe Glasl about the dream and the reality of joining the Victorian Police Special Operations Group, the heart-in-the-mouth moment that almost cost him his life, the culture of bullying and intimidation that he was confronted with, and his journey through depression, and drug and alcohol abuse.
Twenty-five years after the end of the World War II, ageing British Special Operations Executive Noah Ainsworth is reflecting on the secret agent who saved his life when a mission went wrong during his perilous, exhilarating years in occupied France. He never knew her real name, nor whether she survived the war. Inspired by her father's wartime exploits, Noah's daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers. What follows is the story of Fleur and Chloe, two otherwise ordinary women who in 1943 are called up by the SOE for deployment in France. Taking enormous risks with very little information or resources, the women have no idea they're at the mercy of a double agent within their ranks who's causing chaos. As Charlotte's search for answers continues, new suspicions are raised about the identity of the double agent, with unsettling clues pointing to her father.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kelly Rimmer about the real women that inspired her characters, the secrecy surrounding the Special Operations Executives even after the war had ended, and her passion for exploring the secret lives of real people through historical fiction.
Twenty-five years after the end of the World War II, ageing British Special Operations Executive Noah Ainsworth is reflecting on the secret agent who saved his life when a mission went wrong during his perilous, exhilarating years in occupied France. He never knew her real name, nor whether she survived the war. Inspired by her father's wartime exploits, Noah's daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers. What follows is the story of Fleur and Chloe, two otherwise ordinary women who in 1943 are called up by the SOE for deployment in France. Taking enormous risks with very little information or resources, the women have no idea they're at the mercy of a double agent within their ranks who's causing chaos. As Charlotte's search for answers continues, new suspicions are raised about the identity of the double agent, with unsettling clues pointing to her father.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kelly Rimmer about the real women that inspired her characters, the secrecy surrounding the Special Operations Executives even after the war had ended, and her passion for exploring the secret lives of real people through historical fiction.
In 1846, linguistics professor Fabrice Cleriquot is despatched from Lyon to the Swan River Colony, sent away with a box full of silkworms to stop him from bringing more disgrace upon the family. Accompanying him on board the Elizabeth are twenty-eight mismatched and misguided Catholic missionaries including Dom Salvado, who seeks to create a Spanish Benedictine monastery deep in the bush, and the Irish Sisters of Mercy, who are fleeing a dreadful famine. Given the job of distributing a huge donation from a wealthy benefactress, Fabrice bears witness to the folly of his travelling companions whose presumptuous attempts to rescue the colony and the original inhabitants from themselves, can only lead to tragedy.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Peter Burke about the reality of the Swan River colony in 1845, the various groups of missionaries and their competing interests in the battle for the souls of the indigenous people and the free settlers, and exploring different points of view through historical fiction.
In 1846, linguistics professor Fabrice Cleriquot is despatched from Lyon to the Swan River Colony, sent away with a box full of silkworms to stop him from bringing more disgrace upon the family. Accompanying him on board the Elizabeth are twenty-eight mismatched and misguided Catholic missionaries including Dom Salvado, who seeks to create a Spanish Benedictine monastery deep in the bush, and the Irish Sisters of Mercy, who are fleeing a dreadful famine. Given the job of distributing a huge donation from a wealthy benefactress, Fabrice bears witness to the folly of his travelling companions whose presumptuous attempts to rescue the colony and the original inhabitants from themselves, can only lead to tragedy.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Peter Burke about the reality of the Swan River colony in 1845, the various groups of missionaries and their competing interests in the battle for the souls of the indigenous people and the free settlers, and exploring different points of view through historical fiction.
Australians love dogs – big dogs, little dogs, fluffy couch potatoes and hardy working dogs. We have one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. 'Australia’s Dogs' is a celebration of the dog in Australian life, exploring the human-canine bond, and reflecting on the crucial role played by dogs in our life and work. Learn more about Australia’s home-grown dog breeds that played a central role in the development of pastoral industries, as well as the iconic dingo and its place in Indigenous life, and the Australian ecosystem.'Australia’s Dogs' is generously illustrated with images drawn from the rich collections of the National Library of Australia. Some capture a photographer’s love for their own dog, while others tell epic tales of survival in harsh conditions, comment on an element of social history or record a significant moment. As the incredible variety of images shows, the story of dogs in Australia is a subject that is historically significant, with a broad and enduring appeal.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katherine Kovacic about the ancient bond between dogs and humans, how and why Australian dog breeds have become part of our folklore, and what the vast collection of photographs held in the National Library Of Australia's archive tells us about ourselves and the connection we have wth our canine companions.
Bhutan is known as the land of Gross National Happiness, a Buddhist Shangri-la hidden in the Himalayas. But in the late 1980s, Bhutan waged a brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign against its citizens of Nepali ancestry, including Om Dhungel and his family.Bhutan to Blacktown tells Om Dhungel’s remarkable story — his journey from a remote village to a senior position in the Bhutanese Civil Service, to life as a human rights activist in Nepal and, eventually, to his work as a community leader in Blacktown, western Sydney. Every step prepared Om for the central role he would play in settling more than 5000 Bhutanese refugees, in one of the most successful refugee initiatives in Australia’s history.Written with Walkley Award-winning journalist James Button, Bhutan to Blacktown is a story of grit and struggle, humour and irrepressible optimism — and how losing nearly everything shaped one man’s character and fate.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Om Dhungel about the period of Nepalese ethnic cleansing that forced him to reconsider his life in the Buddhist nation of Bhutan, his role in resettling the Nepalese in Australia, his role as a community leader in Blacktown and what community means for him.
In December 1943, five courageous war correspondents join a British air raid on Berlin. They are Australians, Alf King from the Sydney Morning Herald and Norm Stockton from the Sydney Sun; Americans, Ed Murrow from CBS and Lowell Bennett from the International News Service; and Norwegian journalist and activist, Nordahl Grieg. Each is assigned to one of the 400 Lancaster bombers that fly into the hazardous skies over Germany on a single night. Of the five, only two return to file their stories.After parachuting out of his doomed aircraft, one reporter is taken prisoner. From there his captors take him on a remarkable tour of bombed-out German cities. In 'Despatch from Berlin, 1943', Anthony Cooper and Thorsten Perl uncover this incredible true story of life on both sides of the war.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Anthony Cooper about the massive operation that was supposed to end the war, the rationale for undertaking one of the most ambitious air raids in history, and the five correspondents who risked their lives to support the war effort.
When Kerri Sackville decided to stop filling every idle moment with distraction and learn to be comfortable alone, her quality of life soared. From boosting creativity and productivity, improving self-awareness, building resilience and moral courage, to improving relationships and connection with others, a bit of alone time is vital to wellbeing. But with smart phones, social media, endless streaming and podcast options, as well as the demands of work, family and friends, spending meaningful time on your own can feel impossible, unnecessary, or even indulgent.In The Secret Life of You, Kerri Sackville analyses society’s attitude towards solitude – why is it okay to eat breakfast at a café on your own but faintly tragic to dine alone? She identifies the roadblocks in the way to unplugging, contemplates aloneness as opposed to loneliness, and looks at the difference between true connection and mere connectivity. Kerri provides practical advice on how to become comfortable in your own company, in order to enjoy – and even cherish – time alone.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kerri Sackville about the difference between loneliness and being alone, why a little alone time can build resilience and mental toughness, and some of strategies we can all use to cultivate our inner lives and build stronger connections.
'The Prize' revisits the 1943 Archibald Prize scandal, when portrait painter William Dobell was temporarily stripped of the prize for his expressionistic portrait of Joshua Smith. The Art Gallery of New South Wales trustees were taken to the Supreme Court of New South Wales by vexatious competitors Mary Edwards and Joseph Wolinski, claiming that the winning painting was a caricature, not a portrait. The fallout from the case was devastating for both Dobell and Smith who had been likely lovers in a socially conservative Sydney. In the aftermath, never met or spoke to each other again.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kim Anderson about the tensions arising from a nation extracting itself from a culturally conservative past and embracing a modernist future, and the challenges in characterising the intimate relationship between William Dobell and Joshua Hill.
Meet Leslie Bird, the irascible matriarch of a big bonkers Bird family, coming-of-age and to the boil, as the secrets and slights that have shaped her and her hapless husband's lives impact their children in the most profound and complex ways.'Things She Would Have Said Herself' is a darkly funny, deeply moving novel that documents the lengths and breadths one woman will go to, to ignore her own and others' pain and what happens when she's confronted by it one sweltering Christmas day.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Catherine Therese about the things that have shaped her main character Leslie Bird – a life full of regret, the habit of her Catholic faith, and now menopause, along with the words that cannot be spoken in the Bird household and how humour maintains this author's sanity.
The islands of Prospera lies in a vast ocean in splendid isolation from the rest of humanity, or whatever remains of it. Citizens enjoy privileged lives dedicated to the highest creative ideals. When their life time is up they are despatched to the mysterious island, The Nursery, to be 'reiterated' as a fresh-faced teenagers. Proctor Bennett is a Ferryman, a specialist enforcer whose job it is to shepherd the soon-to-be 'reiterated' into their next life cycle. But Proctor is experiencing strange dreams and puzzling connections to people he has never met before and an unshakeable feeling that something is wrong with this world: something important, something greater than anyone could possibly imagine, something which could change the fate of humanity itself.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Justin Cronin about crossing genre borders, what it takes to build a science fiction-fuelled dystopian world and the bureaucracy required to run it, and his exploration of the physical and psychological limitations of the increasing life span of the human race.
The islands of Prospera lies in a vast ocean in splendid isolation from the rest of humanity, or whatever remains of it. Citizens enjoy privileged lives dedicated to the highest creative ideals. When their life time is up they are despatched to the mysterious island, The Nursery, to be 'reiterated' as a fresh-faced teenagers. Proctor Bennett is a Ferryman, a specialist enforcer whose job it is to shepherd the soon-to-be 'reiterated' into their next life cycle. But Proctor is experiencing strange dreams and puzzling connections to people he has never met before and an unshakeable feeling that something is wrong with this world: something important, something greater than anyone could possibly imagine, something which could change the fate of humanity itself.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Justin Cronin about crossing genre borders, what it takes to build a science fiction-fuelled dystopian world and the bureaucracy required to run it, and his exploration of the physical and psychological limitations of the increasing life span of the human race.
Meet the Tobin family... Joy is an immigrant who left Ireland with her three children under difficult circumstances. She is a troubled mother who has spent her life running and hiding from her past while trying to raise her children in New Zealand as best she can. Conor, the high-achieving son is a high-profile media figure and CEO. He's walking a fine line between self-promotion and self-detonation. Frances, the 'perfect' middle child - now a wife and mother - is about to make a mistake that could destroy her marriage. And then there's Sinead, the youngest daughter and acclaimed writer who is wrestling with writer's block. Sinead resorts to desperate measures to deliver her next book to her publishers. When Joy's children receive the news that she has only days to live, they rush to her side. Each is at a crossroads in their lives and together they must deal with their collective past in the hope of ensuring up their future.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Anne Tiernan about the trauma of dislocation and the void it creates, how a mother's dysfunctional life can cast a long shadow over her children, and even in tragedy there is light at the end of the Tobin family tunnel.
This is a story about Clare, Louisa and Chris. And sometimes Paul, and less often, Beth. It is about what to do when your husband tells you that he doesn't love you anymore. And what to do when your wife leaves you after too many rounds of IVF. It's about helping your new friend with her funeral catering business, and discovering that, sometimes, the most unlikely of pairings are the very, very best. It is about food that is outrageously good and comforting to sad people.Catering, like life, doesn't always go according to plan, and as Clare, Louisa and Chris's stories become more intertwined, they learn that life will always manage to break in to remind you of just how good it can be. And, for once, not being sensible, and throwing away everything you know. This is a book about living. After all, the thing about death is that it makes life important.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dianne Yarwood about how opposites attract and even complement each other, the skill in finding the right tone for food for a wake, and plenty of great food ideas for celebrating life and death.
Kylie Schnabel has a perfectly ordered life - but that's about to be disrupted by one disastrous week. As the eldest child in a single-parent family, Kylie's always had more important things on her mind than smiling for random strangers. Controlling her job, her home, her romantic life and - most importantly - her family takes all her concentration. She's always succeeded, though, because that's just who Kylie is. When her fiercely independent mother breaks an ankle and needs help, it's up to Kylie, as usual, to fix things. She reluctantly packs her bags and moves in, but back in her childhood home, things start to unravel. Could it be that Kylie's carefully curated life is not so perfect after all?In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Toni Jordan about looking deeper into the Schnabel family dynamics through the controlling figure of Kylie, why syncing with your partner's Fitbit is not always a good idea, and how losing control might just be good for you.
Kylie Schnabel has a perfectly ordered life - but that's about to be disrupted by one disastrous week. As the eldest child in a single-parent family, Kylie's always had more important things on her mind than smiling for random strangers. Controlling her job, her home, her romantic life and - most importantly - her family takes all her concentration. She's always succeeded, though, because that's just who Kylie is. When her fiercely independent mother breaks an ankle and needs help, it's up to Kylie, as usual, to fix things. She reluctantly packs her bags and moves in, but back in her childhood home, things start to unravel. Could it be that Kylie's carefully curated life is not so perfect after all?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Toni Jordan about looking deeper into the Schnabel family dynamics through the controlling figure of Kylie, why syncing with your partner's Fitbit is not always a good idea, and how losing control might just be good for you.
The Laughter Effect is a timely reminder that we could all do with a little more lightness in our lives. Ros Ben-Moshe shares the science of laughter and the practical ways to include more of it in our days.Drawing on positive psychology and neuroscience, along with practice and wisdom from humour and laughter therapy, Ros Ben-Moshe offers a new dimension to self-care, elevating mindfulness, gratitude and self-compassion. Enriched by case studies from around the globe, Ros shares how the Laughter Effect enhances resilience to stress, and awakens a positive change.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ros Ben Moshe about the science behind the healing power of laughter, finding and celebrating the humour in our lives, and discovering the pathway to a laughter mindset as the foundation for joy, resilience and wellbeing.
Novelist JB Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. For days they sail in the sun. They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. Patrick is a legendary film director and JB's one-time professor. Much older than JB, Patrick is a maverick film director and a cult figure - a god in the eyes of many. But now his success is waning while JB is on the cusp of winning a major literary prize.When a storm strikes the cruise, the bliss is shattered. With nothing but dark water all around, under mysterious circumstances, Patrick falls overboard. As the search for Patrick's body, the consequences of his death and the truth about their relationship ripple through JB's consciousness. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Stephanie Bishop about JB Blackwood's journey of creative emancipation from beneath her husband's shadow, how to write an authentic sex scene, and the intense psychological thriller that emerges out of the process of exploring the depths of JB's creative consciousness.
Novelist JB Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. For days they sail in the sun. They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. Patrick is a legendary film director and JB's one-time professor. Much older than JB, Patrick is a maverick film director and a cult figure - a god in the eyes of many. But now his success is waning while JB is on the cusp of winning a major literary prize.
When a storm hits the tranquility of the cruise is shattered. With nothing but dark water all around and under mysterious circumstances, Patrick falls overboard. As the search for Patrick's body, the consequences of his death and the truth about their relationship ripple through JB's consciousness.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Stephanie Bishop about her lead character JB Blackwood's journey of creative emancipation from beneath her husband's shadow, how to write an authentic sex scene, and the intense psychological thriller that emerges out of the process of exploring the depths of JB's creative consciousness.
In 1914, when the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, it is the women who must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who work in the bindery at Oxford University Press in Jericho. Peggy is intelligent, ambitious and dreams of studying at Oxford University, but for most of her life she has been told her job is to bind the books, not read them. Maude, meanwhile, wants nothing more than what she has.When refugees arrive from the devastated cities of Belgium, it sends ripples through the community and through the sisters’ lives. Peggy begins to see the possibility of another future where she can use her intellect and not just her hands, but as war and illness reshape her world, it is love, and the responsibility that comes with it, that threaten to hold her back.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Pip Williams about what it was to be a 'bindery girl' at Oxford University Press in the years before World War I, the massive social change the 'Great War' brought for women, and the fascinating characters that have great stories to tell.
Tanya Plibersek was elected to federal parliament aged just twenty-eight, and has lived almost half her life in the public eye. She is the longest-serving woman in Australia’s House of Representatives. But how much do we know about what drives her, what she values, and what we can expect from her next?Margaret Simons draws on exclusive interviews with Plibersek, her political contemporaries, family and close friends to trace the personal and political strands of this modern Australian story. She considers Plibersek’s role in the Rudd and Gillard governments, Labor’s soul-searching years in opposition and Plibersek’s position in the Albanese cabinet. She also sheds light on the personal currents that have carried Plibersek, through moments of joy and tragedy, to become the person she is today.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Margaret Simons about the early life of the Plibersek family, the important issues Tanya has championed throughout her political life, the background to her well-honed skills as a media communicator and whether Tanya Plibersek might have the qualities necessary to rise to the very top.
Tanya Plibersek was elected to federal parliament aged just twenty-eight, and has lived almost half her life in the public eye, and is the longest-serving woman in Australia’s House of Representatives. But how much do we know about what drives her, what she values, and what we can expect from her next?
Margaret Simons draws on exclusive interviews with Plibersek, her political contemporaries, family and close friends to trace the personal and political strands of this modern Australian story. She considers Plibersek’s role in the Rudd and Gillard governments, Labor’s soul-searching years in opposition and Plibersek’s position in the Albanese cabinet. She also sheds light on the personal currents that have carried Plibersek, through moments of joy and tragedy, to become the person she is today.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Margaret Simons about the early life of the Plibersek family, the important issues Tanya has championed throughout her political life, the background to her well-honed skills as a media communicator and whether Tanya Plibersek might have the qualities necessary to rise to the very top.
Centering on St. Joseph's, a Catholic orphanage in Vermont, Christine Kenneally shares the stories of survivors who have fought to expose the truth and hold the powerful - many of them Catholic priests and nuns - to account. As these stories have come to light, the laws in Vermont have been forced to change, including the statute of limitations on prosecuting them. Christine also exposes the international institutional abuse including those Ireland, the UK and in Australia institutions in rural Victoria, Western Australia and inner-city Sydney and relates the heart-breaking stories of young children that only now coming to public attention.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Christine Kenneally about where her investigation into the treatment of children in orphanages across the world began, the accounts of abuse and even murder within these institutions that were once dismissed as mere stories, and the victims that have spoken up about the systemic abuse and the journalists that listened.
In June 1926, a posse of police officers and white civilians murdered at least twenty Oombulgurri people at Forrest River in the Kimberley. After the massacre, a conspiracy of silence descended. Witnesses vanished. One of the massacre’s perpetrators was Bernard O’Leary, a former soldier whose land holding was known as ‘the underworld’. At the 1927 Royal Commission into the killings, O’Leary was portrayed by his lawyer as a simple honest backwoodsman who was framed. In this powerful account, Kate Auty argues that O’Leary was in fact ‘vicious, brazen and a bullshitter’, with ‘a propensity for brutality’. Although never charged, O'Leary played a leading role in the murders, and his duplicitous testimony thwarted the commission’s work.
Driven by both forensic and moral judgement, the book exposes the injustices embedded in Australian settlement history, and the culture of denial that has prevented truth-telling in this country.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kate Auty about the history of Australia we've been told in the past and the new era of truth telling we are embracing, Bernard O'Leary's dark past of violence and wilful deception that makes him the likely candidate as the driving force behind this horrific massacre, and the enduring legacy of white 'justice' that continues to haunt First Nations peoples to this day.
Everyone pays a premium to live in Esperance. The wealthy community of Esperance is picture-perfect. Big houses, stunning views, beautiful people. A brand new running track for the local club to jog around in the evenings. From the outside, it looks like paradise. But the women of the town know the truth: you can hide anything - from wrinkles to secrets from your past - if you have enough money. You could even hide a murder.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ali Lowe about inventing a place where enough is never enough, why a beach setting raises the stakes, and where humour fits in to bloody murder.
The British Navy, the largest in the world, is for the first time in a century under serious threat. World War 1 is imminent. Three very different characters converge to change the course of history.
The eminent female archaeologist Gertrude Bell is exploring the ancient treasures of Persia. The charismatic Englishman Jackie Fisher, Admiral of the Fleet, is battling to convince the British Navy to modernise. William D'Arcy, a determined Queensland businessman is in the process of founding the Middle East's oil industry. Together these extraordinary personalities shine a light on one of the most dramatic periods of the twentieth century. Love too, weaves a path through these important historical events: from Persia to London to Far North Queensland and Gallipoli, this fascinating story is populated by a host of famous (and infamous) characters, from Winston Churchill and T. E. Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia'), to the new King Edward VII and Wilhelm II, the Emperor of Germany.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Paul Ashford Harris about the events that marked enormous change for the British Empire, the three great figures in the early 20th century history that each played important roles in that new century, and how different the geo-political world might have looked without them.
New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the kerb, and in the blink of an eye five people are dead. It's a rich man's car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all, just a shell-shocked servant who cannot explain the strange series of events that led to this crime.
In the shadow of lavish estates, extravagant parties, predatory business deals, and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined: Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the family's ranks. Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the curious journalist caught between morality and desire. Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family-loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Deepti Kapoor about the realities of life as an 'untouchable' in the Indian caste system, the rise of her main character Ajay, from abject poverty to the glittering and brutal world of India's mafia, and the consequences of India's momentous transition from socialism to capitalism in the late 20th century.
Chronic pain is a major cause of human suffering. Yet pain that persists for three months or more is often unrelated to any physical injury. So why does it still hurt? Research over the last few decades shows that many of us — sufferers of chronic pain and health practitioners alike — are victims of a trick of the nervous system. Where we believe that pain has its root in a damaged body, it is the brain that prolongs the hurting long after the body has healed.
Paul Biegler, a science journalist and former doctor who has been on his own pain journey, investigates the true source of chronic pain — our brain's so-called neuroplasticity — and emerging therapies, including cognitive therapy and graded exercise exposure, that take advantage of that same neuroplasticity to rewire the brain and end the suffering.
Through conversations with scientists, doctors, and people who have overcome chronic pain, Biegler shines a light on the rigorous new studies — and emotional personal stories — that are changing the way we understand and treat pain. Most importantly, he shows how to take control over persistent pain and truly heal.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Paul Biegler about the role central sensitisation and maladaptive neuroplasticity play in our physical response to pain, how people experiencing chronic pain are actually activating emotionally laden brain areas, why movement, exercise and pacing are beneficial in recovery, and how the power of knowledge can overcome chronic pain.
The Australian Autism Handbook is the go-to guide for parents whose children have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. It is a practical and comprehensive guide to every aspect of raising an ASD child, including early signs and symptoms, getting a diagnosis, the importance of early intervention, and expert advice on finding your way through the medical maze.
This new edition book has been completely revised and updated with new chapters on dads and siblings, the teenage years, and expanded information on autism and Asperger's syndrome and the DSM5 diagnostic criteria. The second part of the book is an invaluable resource guide which lists federal and state supports along with a comprehensive list of websites and books.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Benison O'Reilly and Seana Smith about their own experience in raising children with ASD from birth to adulthood, how our understanding and diagnosis of ASD has changed, why girls may have been under-diagnosed, and invaluable hints and tips on working with the NDIS.
The Smash Hits Nick vs The World is the life and times of tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios. With his unconventional playing style, constant battles with authority, a knack for bad behaviour and an uncontrollable temper, Nick continues to make headlines in sport whether he’s winning or losing.
Kyrgios: The Smash Hits celebrates Australia’s ultimate tennis headliner featuring yarns, quotes, interviews and stats on the small-town boy discovering his natural talents at a sport he doesn't really like.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sam and Paul Harvey about why we love to hate Nick Kyrgios while other nations admire him, the double standards on display in his casting by the media, what illustrator and caricaturist Paul Harvey sees in Nick Kyrgios and why we need characters like him in professional sport.
Aimee Maguire is about to lose everything because she can’t afford to pay the rent in her Byron Bay alternative book shop. Her engagement is also on an official time-out. Then the arrival of her micro-influencer niece, Freya, sets off a chain of events that ends with Aimee tangled up with a group of influencers-turned-reality TV stars, exposing her to the absolute worst of humanity. There just might be a silver lining somewhere, amid the chaos, but Aimee needs to embrace the one thing she’s been fighting hard – change.
This is a story of the cashed-up celebs, desperate wannabes, cranky Karens and cringeworthy hashtags – everything we love and hate about reality TV – that's 'The Hemsworth Effect'
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to James Weir about why satire is the only way to write about reality TV, how 'The Hemsworth Effect' really is changing lives in and around Byron bay, and how even a 'Byron Karen' can learn to move with the times.
A Chinese astronaut is found dead in a NASA training environment in Houston, Texas. No one can explain how he got there. Amid fears of a diplomatic catastrophe, the CIA dispatches Timothy 'Hangman' Blake to investigate a convicted kidnapper who works in the facility. Blake is deeply insane, afflicted by terrible urges he can barely control - but he's also brilliant. A secret Chinese spacecraft may be surveilling the United States, though Blake can see something much more sinister is going on. He might just survive long enough to uncover the truth but even if he does, will anyone believe him?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jack Heath about somehow making a cannibalistic antihero likeable, how Timothy Blake can be both an asset and a liability for the CIA, Jack's fascination for science fiction and accidentally inventing new genres of fiction.
In this compelling and comprehensive work, renowned historian Frank Bongiorno presents a social and cultural history of Australia’s political life, from pre-settlement Indigenous systems to the present day.
Depicting a parade of dreamers and schemers, Bongiorno surveys moments of political renewal and sheds fresh light on our democratic life. From local pubs and meeting halls to the parliament and cabinet; from pamphleteers and stump orators to party agents and operatives – this enthralling account looks at the political insiders in the halls of power, as well as the agitators and outsiders who sought to shape the nation from the margins.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Frank Bongiorno about the nature of indigenous politics before colonisation, the early figures and institutions of the colony that have had lasting impacts on the way we live today, the issue of immigration that has shaped Australian politics since the early years, and the reasons behind the relative stability of Australian politics through two centuries of colonisation.
Growing up Wiradjuri is a collection of personal stories by Wiradjuri Elders. The writers are Uncles and Aunties who came of age in New South Wales in the 1950s and 1960s.
In a strong collective voice, they share their stories of the difficulties of marginal life, backbreaking labour and family separation, but also of fond memories of their own Elders, Aunts and Uncles who cared for them and taught them culture. Contributors describe happy memories of family and community life on country, working the land, sitting around campfires, hunting, fishing, and playing games in the bush with their cousins, brothers and sisters. They talk about the values that were imparted by parents and grandparents, what it means to come from a family where everyone takes care of each other during hard times, and the work they have done to build stronger communities.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Anita Heiss about bringing together this collection of short stories from Wiradjuri Elders, how the common values of family, care, friendship and fun that are part of these stories are things we all share, and how we can all play a part in reconciliation by reinvigorating indigenous culture through great storytelling.
'The Passion of Private White' describes the meeting of two worlds: that of the intensely driven anthropologist Neville White, and the world of hunter-gatherer clans in remote northern Australia with whom he has lived and worked for half a century, mapping their culture and history in breathtaking detail. As White began to understand this ancient culture struggling between the demands of Western modernity and the equally pressing need to preserve their lands, customs, laws and language, he was also trying to transcend the mental scars inflicted on the battlefields of Vietnam. When White began taking his old platoon mates to the homeland, two wildly different groups found in each other some of the solutions and some of the therapy they both needed.
This book is the result of Don Watson's has had his own fifty-year relationship with Neville White: it is a towering achievement, a profound insight into both our recent and our deep history, the coloniser and colonised.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Don Watson about his fifty-year friendship with Neville White, what brought Neville White to study the clans of North-Eastern Arnhem Land and the moment Neville crossed the line from scientific observer to activist and advocate for a nation of people struggling between competing demands.
Katrina Nannestad is the winner of the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Society's prize in the Children and Young Adult category for Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief
It's spring, 1942. In an idyllic Russian village the sky is blue, the air is warm and sweet with the scent of flowers. But it's the height of World War II and the German Army are advancing on the Eastern Front and suddenly an entire Russian village is razed to the ground. Only six-year-old Sasha remains and he is alone in war-torn Russia. Found alone in the forest, Sasha is 'adopted' by a group of Red Army soldiers as they drive back the invading Nazis. Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief is a story of war and destruction but also an enduring tale of love and friendship and of survival in the most difficult of times.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katrina Nannestad about turning a true story into an award-winning novel for children, the strategies she uses in casting stories of war that children can relate to, and why historical fiction has an important role to play in discovering and explaining history to young people.
In the midst of an unfolding disaster, seven people are trying to survive on a small boat in a world completely transformed by an apocalyptic flood. Haunted by entwined pasts, the characters must voyage from a small town through a world that seems increasingly fantastic. Each will face their past, some will die, and the boat will take some to a miraculous new world but only fifteen-year-old Charlotte will discover that death is not always death.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Allen C Jones about how his experimental approach to poetry and prose somehow became a page-turning thriller novel, what the microcosm of seven people in a tiny boat floating in a vast featureless body of water can tell us about humanity, and how a universal disaster could have unexpected outcomes.
As heir apparent to his father’s global media empire, Lachlan Murdoch is one of the world’s most powerful people. Yet despite a life in the spotlight, Lachlan’s personality, politics and business acumen remain enigmatic. In this compelling biography, acclaimed journalist Paddy Manning explores Lachlan Murdoch’s upbringing, political beliefs and role as head of Fox Corporation – the man ultimately responsible for Fox News. This is a book about power, apprenticeship, politics and succession in a high-stakes world.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Paddy Manning about Lachlan Murdoch's early life in a family where business and family were inextricably linked, Lachlan's meteoric rise through the family newspaper business and early successes and failures as a businessman, Lachlan's role and responsibility as Chief Executive of Fox News, and what might happen at the passing of Rupert Murdoch.
Allan Reader is one of the last traditional bat-makers and is struggling tokeep the family business alive in a small workshop in Melbourne. When gifted young batter Todd Harrow catches Allan's eye, he selects the best piece of willow he's harvested in years to make a Reader bat for him. As Harrow charts a meteoric rise to the highest echelons of the sport, Allan's magical bat takes centre stage, awakening something special in both men. But in cricket, as in life, nothing is guaranteed and with great success comes the prospect of failure and the strain it places on relationships – and the human body.
Willowmanis a love letter to the art and beauty of cricket and a meditation on the inner lives of men and women, for whom it is a way of life.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Inga Simpson about the miracle timber that is white willow, the glory and the tragedy of a life in cricket, the relationship between the sport, music and the art of crafting cricket bats, and the real people that were the inspiration for this remarkable story.
When Stephanie Plum turns up for work at Vinnie's Bail Bonds she finds office manager Connie hasn't shown up for work. Stephanie's worst fears are confirmed when she gets a call from Connie's abductor. He says he will only release Connie in exchange for a mysterious coin that was left as collateral at the Bail Bonds Office. The problem is the coin is nowhere to be found. Stephanie must enlist the help of Grandma Mazur, her best friend Lula, good cop Joe Morelli and hunky security expert Ranger to rescue Connie and find the coin. As the kidnapper grows more threatening Stephanie has no choice but to step outside her comfort zone and the law - and go rogue.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats with Janet Evanovich about how the shaping of the Stephanie Plum character became a long-term project, why Stephanie doesn't really need to choose between her love interests Joe Morelli and Ranger, and what food tells us about 'The Burg' and the cast of colourful characters that drive the story in 'Going Rogue'.
K2 O'Hero is a seemingly ordinary boy from a truly extraordinary family - he and his twin sister Izzabird have been sworn to keep their family's history of magical explorers a secret. Not even their infuriating step-siblings, Theo and Mable, know magic exists. They believe K2 to be the most hopeless person they have ever known.
But K2 has a secret gift. He draws maps of worlds that are beyond the wildest of imaginations. Worlds with six hundred moons, burning rivers, armoured robots and dark, twisty jungles alive with cannibal plants who hunt by the smell of fear. K2 and his warring siblings are going to have to use this gift to cross over into another world on a daring rescue mission to save the one thing they agree on: their baby sister Annipeck. With a terrible beast and a petrifying robot assassin in their way, they must work together and learn how to be brave - because the future of their family is at stake.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs cats to Cressida Cowell about the way her writing and illustration work hand-in-hand in her creative process, how she brings fantasy and reality together to tell real human stories, and her fascination for magical maps from a very early age.
Twelve-year-old Billy Pyke has a talent for sorting things out, whether it’s his chaotic family home or the busy book stall at Paddy’s Market. In 1871, the market is the loud, smelly, marvellous heart of Melbourne, and Billy is delighted to work at the book stall there for the eccentric Mr Cole. When his new friend Kezia warns him of a sinister magician called the Obscurosmith, Billy can’t believe her stories of magical deals gone horribly wrong – until he sees them happening. The night the Obscurosmith crosses a terrifying and dangerous line, Billy realises something: if he wants the Obscurosmith stopped, he’ll have to do it himself.
Amelia Mellor delivers another race-against-time adventure loaded with tricks, riddles, magic and mayhem in this action-packed prequel to The Grandest Bookshop in the World.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Amelia Mellor about working backwards, the different ways her characters handle their magic skills, and the inspiration she took from Melbourne's Coles Book Arcade and the series of Coles Funny Picture Books.
Mia Swainson is an environmental engineer and member of the ACT Climate Council. Happy Planet Living outlines achievable steps for change and the simple everyday things that can make a big difference. Learn how to make your home carbon positive, achieve zero waste living, and get more from reusing and recycling. Try the 'buy nothing new” challenge for a week or a month or even a year. Introduce 'meat free Mondays' and explore delicious and healthy recipes. Discover the joys of 'home-made' and be inspired to become part of the solution. This is the essential guide to a climate positive lifestyle and sustainable living.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Mia Swainson about the importance of knowing your own carbon footprint and how to measure it, finding that middle ground in the quest for sustainable and regenerative living, and why we shouldn't just leave the heavy lifting to government and business.
It's the early 2000s and 9/11 is fresh in the world's memory. The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, and a new threat is emerging: suicide bombings, ordered by military commander of the Taliban, Mullah Dadullah.
The Hunt is a powerful retelling of a real-life Special Forces mission to catch Dadullah. Using classified sources and his unique insight into the way the SAS works, Andy McNab gives a page-turning account of what it took for the Special Forces to find their target and take him down. It's a story of hostage negotiations, undercover missions and a final, epic assault on Dadullah's compound.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Andy McNab about how fiction is the best and safest medium for true storytelling, why senior military leaders considered Mullah Dadullah an important target, and the psychology behind that thinking – and the experience of the hunt through the eyes of a professional soldier.
In 'The Superpower Transformation' Emeritus Professor Ross Garnaut charts the course for Australia to become a leader in a world of zero-carbon emissions. He outlines new evidence that stronger and earlier action on climate change would be good for jobs and incomes and particularly in regional and rural Australia. Garnaut also shows how Australia can meet its obligations set at the Paris and Glasgow climate conferences – and the costs for not doing so.
With contributions from Mike Sandford, Ligang Song, Frank Jotzo, Isabelle Grant, Susannah Powell and Maite Meinshausen, 'The Superpower Transformation' covers electricity, hydrogen, steel, exports, carbon-capture in the landscape and reveals how much Australia has to gain by making the most of the opportunities that are available to us right now.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Emeritus Professor Ross Garnaut about why it's in Australia's interest to take a leadership role in the transformation to a zero-carbon future, how green hydrogen is already a reality and why using our wealth of renewable energy resources to produce green hydrogen will transform Australia's economy and ensure our national prosperity into the future.
In The Superpower Transformation Emeritus Professor Ross Garnaut charts the course for Australia to become a leader in a world of zero-carbon emissions. He outlines new evidence that stronger and earlier action on climate change would be good for jobs and incomes and particularly in regional and rural Australia. Garnaut shows how Australia can meet its obligations set at the Paris and Glasgow climate conferences – and the costs for not doing so.
With contributions from Mike Sandford, Ligang Song, Frank Jotzo, Isabelle Grant, Susannah Powell and Maite Meinshausen, The Superpower Transformation covers electricity, renewable energy, hydrogen, steel production and rare earth minerals, exports, carbon-capture in the landscape and reveals how much Australia has to gain by making the most of the opportunities that are available to us right now.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Emeritus Professor Ross Garnaut about why it's in Australia's interest to take a leadership role in the transformation to a zero-carbon future, how green hydrogen is already a reality and why using our wealth of renewable energy resources to produce green hydrogen will transform Australia's economy and ensure our national prosperity into the future.
Despite their iconic status in Australia koalas remain a mystery. As a species they are threatened in some states but dying from overpopulation in others. Koala A Life in Trees shines new light on the life and challenges facing this fascinating marsupial.
Fuelled by her background in biology, Danielle Clode delves into the world of koalas to discover what's behind that sweet face. From their megafauna ancestors to the disastrous effects of colonisation, this is the story of their complex relationship with humans and what the future holds for this extraordinary animal.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Danielle Clode about the ancient ancestors of the koala, why fossils are so rare and the wealth of information a single fossil jaw can tell us, the intricate relationship between our own Eucalypt forests and this icon of Australian fauna, and why the loss of habitat is the koalas' greatest threat.
A series of brazen, violent and ritualistic murders have police baffled and the killer leaves few clues as to their motive or identity. Inspector Eric Ringer is desperate for Dr Jane Halifax to profile the killer but memories of their last case make Jane hesitate to take on the case. But there's something about the killer that intrigues Jane and as more bodies join the list of violent murders she is compelled to find answers. A psychopath is a psychopath any way you slice it and this is where Jane Halifax excels – but she must overcome her own apprehensions and get into the mind of this killer before he strikes again.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Roger Simpson about turning the highly successful TV series 'Halifax f.p.' into a dark and twisted psychological thriller, how the passage of time has treated his characters after a twenty-three year interlude, and what you can do in a novel that you can't do on a TV screen.
A series of brazen, violent and ritualistic murders have police baffled and the killer leaves few clues as to their motive or identity. Inspector Eric Ringer is desperate for Dr Jane Halifax to profile the killer but memories of their last case make Jane hesitate to take on the case. But there's something about the killer that intrigues Jane and as more bodies join the list of violent murders she is compelled to find answers. A psychopath is a psychopath any way you slice it and this is where Jane Halifax excels – but she must overcome her own apprehensions and get into the mind of this killer before he strikes again.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Roger Simpson about turning the highly successful TV series Halifax f.p. into a dark and twisted psychological thriller, how the passage of time has treated his characters after a twenty-three year interlude, and what you can do in a novel that you can't do on a TV screen.
April Clarke-Cliveden is vivacious, bright, and occasionally vicious—the ultimate 'It' girl, She quickly pulled Hannah Jones into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily. By the end of the year, April was dead.
A decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realises that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ruth Ware about what it takes to be the 'It' Girl at an Oxford college, how exploring differences and divides can form the basis for great characters and settings, and why isolation and claustrophobia play such potent roles in her thrillers.
After twelve years in corporate banking, Michelle Lee gave up her career for a life beyond the office. Trekking the 100km Kokoda trail in 2012 sparked Michelle’s love for extremes adventure and she is now Australia’s first woman to row any ocean solo. In 2019 she completed a 68-day solo, unassisted row across the Atlantic Ocean, battling the elements, her own self-doubt and the obstacles she overcame just to get to the starting line. Alone is the story of Michelle Lee's determination to push boundaries and to test herself on the quest to reach her full potential.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Michelle Lee about how her upbringing brought about a very specific mindset, the physical, mental and emotional challenges she encountered in preparing for and undertaking a race across the Atlantic, and what she learned about herself along the way.
A mystery illness is making people bake ancient cakes, speak dead languages and then fall asleep and never wake up. When Trilby Moffat's mother Arwen catches this strange sickness, Trilby must find her only other surviving relative, a 300-year-old aunt who lives in a secret antique shop on the edge of time.
The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat is the story of how one ordinary girl finds herself on a deliciously fast-paced adventure, fleeing to an island where time doesn't exist, where cats are particularly rude and cake is always on the menu. Here she will take on the most treacherous job of all time.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs is joined by young podcaster Grace Grenfell to really put the pressure on Kate Temple to reveal just how dangerous it is to be Trilby Moffat. Together we explore why words and cake are so important to Kate Temple, what exactly Benjamin the thylacine is doing in this story, how we might find our way to the Lost In Time Antiques store, and what Kate really knows about time.
Treasure House is the story of the Stewart Dawson dynasty: watchmakers and jewellers, Australian pioneers of Jazz Age popular culture and entertainment, property tycoons and philanthropists. They counted stars of stage and screen, earls and princes among their connections. It's also a story of marital duplicity and deception, hubris and abuse of privilege, hedonism, fraud, and criminal violence. Treasure House traces the rise and fall of a once great family that left a trail of victims and damaged lives.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Geoff Nadin about how he came upon the story of the Stewart Dawsons, the marketing ingenuity and business acumen that laid the foundations for a great family fortune, the glamour and excess of the Stewart Dawsons enterprises in 1920s Australia and the eventual squandering of a legacy and final plunge into obscurity.
Elaine Pearson is the Asia Director at Human Rights Watch and a board member of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women. Elaine has spent a lifetime defending human rights around the world. From human trafficking in in Nepal to the 'drug war' in the Philippines, to the treatment of detainees in Papua New Guinea and in Australia and her experiences in Sri Lanka and Nigeria. Chasing Wrongs and Rights is a deeply personal survey of human rights abuses and governments' failure to address them. It sometimes shows humanity at its worst, but also introduces us to people at their best – compassionate, resilient and determined individuals pressing for change.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Elaine Pearson about her early experiences as an advocate for Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women at the United Nations in Geneva and how it shaped her career, the refugees in detention on Manus Island that she met and reported on, the time she spent in an Amsterdam prostitutes window, and the challenges that countries across Asia pose for human rights into the future and what we can do about it.
When climate scientist Joelle Gergis set to work on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, the research she encountered kept her awake at night. The evidence gathered by the world's top climate scientists showed that impacts on our climate were occurring faster than anyone had predicted.
Joelle Gergis takes us on a journey through the science of the IPCC's report and shares her personal reflections and insists there is cause for hope - if we embrace cultural and social change we can create a better world. Humanity's Moment is a climate scientist's personal guide to rekindling hope and a call to action to restore our relationship with each other and with the planet.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Joelle Gergis about her role as a lead author on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's latest report on the state of the planet, the evolving research that scientists undertake, the social and cultural change that we need to embrace in order to overcome the greatest challenge humanity has every faced, and the hope we should all harbour in our future.
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. Now, with her parents and brother both killed in a vicious civil war, Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors. Salama is thinking about leaving, but who will help the people of her beloved country? With her heart so conflicted, her mind has conjured a vision to spur her to action. His name is Khawf, and he haunts her nights with hallucinations of everything she has lost. Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are decide how she will fight for Syria's freedom.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Zoulfa Katouh about the forgotten war in Syria and her deep connection with her homeland, why young people need to know about the psychological effects of war, and the powerful symbol that the lemon tree represents in Syrian culture
When Lucia and her dad come to stay for a week, Idris hadn't prepared himself for Lucia. Lucia loves spying and is convinced that Idris' mum is a spy. But even Idris has to admit that there is something unusual about their family trip to the zoo. Were his eyes playing tricks on him when someone secretly dropped something into his Mum's bag? And who is the Countess and what's happened to all the pangolins in the zoo? Maybe it IS time for some spying after all, so together Idris and Lucia go on the hunt for answers.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs is joined by young podcaster Leo Grenfell who gives Andy McNab a real grilling on all things about spies. We find out if Andy has ever been a spy, how Andy and Jess French managed to write a book together, and what Leo himself would do if he was a spy.
London 1937. Two sisters, Ida Cook, a budding romance novelist and Louise, an ordinary typist for the civil service share a passion for opera. They use their meagre savings to travel to Germany and Austria to hear their favourite opera stars, many of them Jewish. On the eve of World War II these middle-aged spinsters became part of a network that outwitted the unsuspecting Nazis and helped twenty-nine Jewish families escape persecution. 'Overture of Hope' is the daring story of the Cook sisters' humble beginnings to the great opera houses of Europe and the unlikely rescue missions they undertook.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Isabel Vincent about how the Cook sisters became part of the inner circle of the German opera world, the moral dilemma faced by Clemens Krauss one of Hitler's favourite conductors, and the ingenious methods Ida and Louise used to smuggle Jewish refugees and their belongings out of Nazi Germany.
Hidden deep in the jungles and mountains of the Southwest Pacific during World War II were Australia's secret army – a group of men and women who reported every movement of the Japanese invaders to Allied intelligence.
The Coastwatcher organisation was formed from a group of volunteers – plantation owners, policemen, missionaries and government officers living in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Armed with basic radio technology they were tasked with watching over Australia's porous northern border. They faced not only exhaustion, tropical diseases and malnutrition but were in constant danger of capture and torture by the Japanese military. Their work proved critical to the outcome of World War II.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Veitch about the state of naval intelligence for the Royal Australian Navy prior to World War II, the impact of the bombing of Pearl Harbour on Australia's intelligence capacity, and the stories of brave men and women who risked their lives by a manning a critical communications network from remote islands in the Pacific.
At the age of twenty-eight Ben Bravery found himself facing the terrifying spectre of stage three colorectal cancer. As a scientist, Ben understood the seriousness of the condition but what he didn't expect was how being a patient would make him feel. After difficult and complicated surgery and months of chemotherapy he decided he needed a change – and to make change. The intense medical training he then pursued to qualify as a doctor gave him a new perspective into a healthcare system under pressure and the challenges doctors face every day. 'The Patient Doctor' is an open and honest account of his experience as both a patient and a doctor and what we need to do to ensure that both are treated with care and compassion.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Ben Bravery about the harsh physical reality of colorectal cancer, how better communication could improve the experience of diagnosis, treatment and recovery, the surprising place he found the care he needed, and how the whole experience led him to the study of psychiatry and a pathway to a better understanding of both sides of the healthcare system.
Nilesh Makwana on 'Terminal 4 An Entrepreneur's Journey From Bicycle to Business Class'
Nilesh Makwana is the CEO of the global award-winning business illuminance Solutions. This memoir is a vivid, honest and often hilarious look back on a life full of challenges, of good luck and bad and all the things Nilesh learnt along the way. It's a blueprint for how to succeed at university, in business, and how to bounce back after failure. Nilesh Makwana has forged his own path and shares his experience in the hope that his story might ignite a spark and furnish hope and self-belief in others.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Nilesh Makwana about his humble beginnings in Gujarat, India, the challenges of life as an international student, the job that opened his eyes to the world, the power of persistence and the unstoppable entrepreneurial spirit inside him.
Winter has come to North Carolina and Temperance Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. One night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball. GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. More bodies turn up to complicate matters and each mimics a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyse years before.
Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on and then Katy disappears. With the help of Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, and Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s Montreal-based beau, they discover that revenge is the real motive. Tempe will have to revisit the past to unravel the present.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kathy Reichs about living and breathing Temperance Brennan, the bizarre and gruesome real-life cases that find their way into her books, and how science can be the catalyst for casting great characters, stories and settings.
Daryl Van Tongeren has been researching social psychology and the virtue of humility for over ten years. As the first book on humility in the field of psychology, 'Humble' is a milestone in the exploration of the benefits of humility to the individual and to society. This remarkable book shares the foundational research and new ideas about why humility is important, how to nurture it for personal and societal change, and why we need it now more than ever.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Daryl Van Tongeren about the research into social psychology and the the virtue of humility, how humility can work positively with ambition and achievement and transform our ideas about leadership, and why humility can function as a liberating, empowering and revolutionary force.
Things are getting messy for Stella Prentice: her husband is away; she's juggling a full-time job with a family that includes a demanding four-year-old and a tricky stepdaughter. Stella reluctantly hires an au pair in the hope that she will help lighten the load. Elise, a staunch feminist and Stella's mother-in-law thinks this is a terrible idea but promises not to meddle.
Ava, the much-anticipated au pair finally arrives to fill the void, but she too is facing her own life challenges. But she comes bearing a handful of cherished recipes passed down to her from her mother. Together these three women will attempt the seemingly impossible: create order out of chaos and find love and comfort in the mess.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tori Haschka about the three women in this story each searching for solutions, the essential ingredient to a great feast, and finding great ideas and stories in lived experience.
Sam Vincent was a twenty-something writer working in Canberra when he gets a call from his mother – his father has got his hand caught in a wood chipper. When Sam returns to the family farm to help out, it is the beginning of a process that leads him to think differently about the farm, his father and his relationship with both.
Sam's farming apprenticeship is an education in grit and shit but gradually Sam moves from farmhand to custodian of the land, and along the way he finds himself embracing the idea of regenerative farming. The result is a not only the introduction of new methods of farming but a continuation and development of his father's ideas about how a farm should operate.
'My Father And Other Animals' is an affectionate, funny and surprising memoir, deeply rooted in the notion of regeneration – of land, family and culture.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sam Vincent about how his father didn't quite fit the profile of the archetypal Australian farmer, the moment when Sam's life took a new and unexpected direction, and how learning to work with the land and the idea regenerative farming became a passion.
Vince Reid left the small town of Manson a decade ago, promising never to return. But now an insurance company wants him to investigate a claim on a suspicious car crash and he is forced to relive all that drove him away from the place he grew up.
As Reid's investigation unfolds, nothing is as it seems: rumours are swirling about the popular woman who crashed the car, killing her husband - the man linked to the mysterious disappearance of two local girls. As Reid veers off course he finds himself in the dangerous position of taking on the town – again.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to J.P. Pomare about creating tension in the setting of crime fiction, turning an unremarkable person into a great character, and using the art of deception to get inside the reader's mind.
In August 1925, Audrey Jacob shot dead her former fiance Cyril Gidley in full view of hundreds of guests at a charity ball in Perth's Government House. This was supposed to be an open shut case of wilful murder – until lawyer Arthur Haynes is assigned to her defence. Haynes' ability to find the right legal angle and to play the press and the jury, led to a sensational result.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Leigh Straw about Perth and Fremantle in the 1920s, the emerging phenomenon of the flapper, the importance of a savvy and well-connected lawyer, and Leigh Straw's obsession with true crime and the untold stories of women.
Teacher and single Mum Alex is escaping the city in search of new start with her young daughter; Bellbird River matriarch Victoria finds herself at a crossroads when globe-trotting, opera-singing cousin Gabrielle moves back home; town baker and Bellbird River fixture, Janine is confronting her past and her present; and newcomer Debbie is trying to leave a painful past behind and create something new.
Amid the melodies and camaraderie of the Bellbird River Country Choir each of these women will find the courage to put the past behind them and discover that friendship is much closer to home than they ever realised.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sophie Green about the cast of female characters that are at the heart of Bellbird River, the sustaining power of friendship and love, what's in and what's out of the Bellbird River Country Choir's choral repertoire, and how music can build bridges and bind communities.
Jason Bourne has faced many killers in his time but none more dangerous than the assassin that calls himself Lennon. Bourne believes this elusive killer has a new employer called the Pyramid. The only clue to the group's agenda is a young German woman whose identity turns out to be a lie and who now lies dead in a Washington D.C. Park.
Finding the truth about this woman may be Bourne's only chance to finally catch Lennon and undercover the conspiracy behind the Pyramid. The trail leads Bourne from Iceland to Washington D.C and to New York. The chase comes with high stakes as Bourne's former lover, Abbey Laurent finds herself in the crosshairs of Lennon and the Pyramid.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Brian Freeman about walking in the footsteps of Robert Ludlum, why Jason Bourne endures as a character after forty years, spinning the web of intrigue into one of the most intense thrillers yet, and why the Jason Bourne books continue to be among the most powerful psychological thrillers of the genre.
To the first European colonists, Australian wildlife was bewildering. Marsupials, monotremes and the vast array of birds and snakes were strange and hostile. A bustling animal trade soon developed in both directions. While rabbits, foxes and starlings were unleashed on the Australian landscape, native animals soon found themselves as stuffed or live specimens in zoos and private collections around the world.
Into this picture stepped a remarkable band of enthusiastic amateurs determined to get to know these strange creatures. Over the next 150 years they would advance the understanding of Australian fauna and transform public attitudes. 'Of Marsupials to Men' is the story of those fearless and sometimes foolish individuals who were prepared to risk their lives in the name of science.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Alistair Paton about the 'gentlemen' naturalists in the early days of the Australian colony and their curious approach to the 'exotic', the first collectors and the legacy of John Gould, the emergence of the 'snake men', and more recent portrayals of Australian naturalist in the media.
As liberating Allied forces surged towards Paris following the D-Day landings of 1944 a group of downed airmen were being held in the infamous Fresnes Prison. Amid great secrecy, 168 airmen – including several from Australia and New Zealand – were evacuated to the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp, accompanied by orders for their execution. At Buchenwald they witnessed such extreme depravity that it would haunt them all their days.
Colin Burgess has personally interviewed and corresponded with dozens of the surviving airmen in the process of research Destination Buchenwald, including New Zealand Squadron Leader Phil Lamason who led the group through their darkest hours. Destination Buchenwald is a compelling story of extraordinary bravery, comradeship and endurance,
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Colin Burgess about the state of the war in August 1944, the corrupt administration of Buchenwald and the appalling treatment and conditions these prisoners suffered, and why the Australian government continued to deny that Australian and New Zealand servicemen had ever been interned at Buchenwald.
Meet Carol, Sofia and Bonnie whose lives have been intertwined since primary school. Their hopes, dreams and heartaches have been shared for decades. Through the observant eyes of journalist Melissa, we witness the pressures that threaten to unravel some long-held secrets that have never been shared.
Together they are the Tap Cats, a Queensland-based tap-dancing group facing unexpected challenges when they enter the Seniors Superstar competition. Set in the stunning landscape of the Sunshine Coast, the women tap their way through their own trials and tribulations, united by the thrill of the dance and the challenge of competition.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Christine Sykes about the inspiration behind Tap Cats, the secret to ageing gracefully and finding common ground through dance, and exploring the issue of forced adoption and that dark period in Australian social history.
Young journalist Jules Roth is handed an intriguing assignment: to find a painting stolen by the Nazis 75 years ago. Little does she know that ruthless art dealer and powerful heiress, Margaux de Laurent, is on the same mission. De Laurent gets everything she wants and has the money and resources to back it up. Their goal is to locate Ernst Engel's expressionist masterpiece that has deep family connections with links to the Holocaust.
Woman On Fire invites readers into the world of the powerful elite and the obsessions and emotional tension that drive it. Here is a tale of secrets, love and sacrifice and a work of art that burns brightly in the minds of those that desire it.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Lisa Barr about creating powerful female characters, the lengths to which people will go to to pursue and satisfy their passions, and the remarkable truth behind the cache of masterpieces stolen by the Nazis and the legacy that lingers to this day.
Dean is a small-time thief funding a drug habit. Sarah is a junior police officer on extended stress leave. Mary, a former school teacher, is an alcoholic living on the edge. Their paths cross at the local leagues club when Dean's grand plan for an armed robbery comes undone. Now irreversibly linked, each must decide who to betray, who to trust and who to protect. What they choose to do will change the course of their lives.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to James O'Loghlin about leaving a career in corporate law for the inglorious side of criminal law, creating likeable, loveable characters from ordinary people, and the moment when life spins out of control and paths cross for better or worse.
Twenty years ago, Cyrus Haven's family was murdered by his paranoid schizophrenic brother Elias. Now Elias is being released from a secure psychiatric hospital and the question of forgiveness is on Cyrus' mind.
As Cyrus prepares for the Elias' homecoming two women go missing and one man is dead. Evie Cormac, now the ward of Cyrus, has an incredible gift for spotting a liar and was a witness to one of the abductions. Dark secrets are revealed as the crimes are unravelled but Cyrus and Evie know better than anyone how the past can come back to haunt you.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Robotham about the developing characters of Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac, the trouble with having a character like Evie Cormac in the mix, and solving the crime, finding the criminal and keeping your options open in the process of writing.
In Telltale, Carmel Bird seizes on the enforced isolation of the pandemic to re-read a rich library of books from her past and to reconnect with people, time, place, myth, image and the whole experience of her writing life.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Carmel Bird about the reading rules she set for herself during pandemic lockdowns, how an early memory was sparked by a fascination with literary bridges, and the influence her childhood reading library has had on her work as an author, essayist and storyteller.
A discarded nineteenth century painting depicting a magnificent horse and its proud black groom is the starting point for Geraldine Brooks' deep dive into one of the darkest periods in American history.
Kentucky 1850. Enslaved groom Jarret, forges a close bond with a foal that will carry it to the highest echelons of thoroughbred racing in America. On the eve of the Civil War an itinerant young artist makes his name from painting the horse reconnects with Jarret on a perilous night far from the glamour of the racetrack.
In this sweeping story of spirit, obsession and injustice Geraldine Brooks sets the reader on a journey from the antebellum to the present day in a powerful and compelling portrait of the enduring consequences of slavery.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Geraldine Brooks about her mid-life obsession with horses and the research that led her to one of the greatest thoroughbred racing stories story in history, the exploitation of enslaved black trainers, jockeys and grooms and the plundering of their expertise for the benefit of their white owners, and why it was important to connect this grim history with events in the 21st century.
In 1977 Vera 'Toddie' Hayes and Florice 'Beezie' Bessire thought they were about to embark on the trip of a lifetime when Vera's nephew Vern Jr made them an unbelievable offer: drive a camper van from Stuttgart to Bombay and finally to Australia. Little did they know the van was packed with two tonnes of hashish.
'Betrayed' is the fascinating inside story of Toddie and Beezie's wild ride across continents, their arrest by Australian narcotics agents and all that the women faced in their desperate fight for release. Sandi Logan was on the ground at the time and draws from the women's diaries and interviews to tell the incredible tale of the infamous 'drug grannies'.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sandi Logan about the proposition put to Toddie and Beezie by their nephew Vern Jr, the arduous journey across Europe and the sub-continent, and the struggle for freedom in an Australian political environment that was stacked against them.
In the 1990s Phil Barker left the male-dominated world of the Daily Telegraph to work on magazines such as NW and Woman's Day. It was the golden age of Australian magazines with circulation at an all-time high. But along came the internet. A failure to deal with the challenges of the digital age saw a once great industry fall into decline.
In 'Axed! Who Killed Australian Magazines', Phil Barker tracks the highs and lows of Australia magazines' journey from prince to pauper. From the bad content deals to a lack of understanding of the Australian market and a failure to prepare for the future, this book brings together all the sordid details, the downfalls that didn't need to happen, and the great characters that defined Australian magazines.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Phil Barker about the golden age of Australian magazines in the 1990s, the largesse and the excess of an industry at its peak, the challenges of the digital world that were barely met, and casualties and the survivors of a once great industry.
A violent workplace attack nearly 30 years ago left Wendy Davis with trauma that has permeated her entire life. The police investigation at the time was woefully inadequate and Wendy found herself virtually ignored while the perpetrator faced only relatively minor consequences. Despite being plagued by anger and guilt, Wendy tried to bury the incident and move on with her life.
The experience resurfaced when Wendy was contacted by police in 2016 in relation to the investigation surrounding the Claremont serial killer, Bradley Edwards, the man who had attacked her. Don't Make a Fuss: It's only the Claremont Serial Killer is a memoir no woman should have to write – a remarkable story of survival and a reflection on the aftermath of violence.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Wendy Davis about losing her voice and living with trauma, being drawn into the sinister world of a serial killer, and how speaking up and writing her memoir has helped her come to terms with a terrifying experience.
Dr John Tickell is a medical doctor, health researcher and author who has spent decades studying the health and longevity of people around the world. His formula of Activity, Coping and Eating, draws on his medical experience, extensive international research, and the lifestyle patterns of the longest living people on earth.
'Your Best Immunity: Build Resistance the ACE Way' is your guide maintaining and increasing your immunity. How the immune system works and the factors that can depress our immunity are explained along with immunotherapy treatments and the best ways to increase our resistance to everyday viruses and to cancer.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr John Tickell about how we all can maintain and improve our immune system beyond what our genetics dictate, how the healthiest people in the world manage to also be the longest living, and how Dr John Tickell's 'ACE way' can improve your immunity through strategies around Activity, Coping and Eating.
Adam Bowman, a second-string journalist at a Sydney newspaper, may be the only person with enough inside knowledge to uncover the links between a murder on the grounds of a private school and the notorious 'Blue Moon Killer'. But Bowman will have to venture into the darkest places of his childhood to piece together a series of shocking crimes.
Detective Sergeant Rose Riley is part of the taskforce desperately trying to find the killer before he strikes again. Bowman may turn out to be her trump card or may just bring the whole investigation crashing down and put her own life in danger.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Matthew Spencer about why the Parramatta River is the perfect setting for 'Black River', exploring the fraught connection between police and journalists, and creating great characters from apparently ordinary people.
Margaret Cunneen worked for 30 years as a Crown Prosecutor on cases involving murder, pedophiles and rapists and became a specialist in child sexual assault law. In 2019 Margaret took up practise as a defence counsel.
The Boxing Butterfly is Margaret Cunneen looking in the rear-view mirror. It chronicles an eventful career which included cases such as the Skafs gang rapes, the Robert “Dolly” Dunn pedophilia case and the so-called “Butcher of Bega” for unspeakable medical practice. This is gruesome and confronting work but Margaret Cunneen has proven herself to be no shrinking butterfly.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Margaret Cunneen about the benefits of being a taekwondo 4th Dan Black Belt, the “reformatting” of her career in the switch from prosecutor to defence counsel, and finding and maintaining empathy and compassion from both sides of the bar.
Carolina Fonçeca is a lonely sixteen-year-old girl confined to a remote Brazilian sugar plantation in the 1850s. Her life changes when the French explorer, naturalist and diplomat, the Count de Castelnau stumbles out of the Amazon rainforest, delirious and near death. With a head full of Balzac and dreams of Parisian life, she nurses him back to health and makes the decision to follow him back to Paris as his lover. What Carolina doesn’t know is that François has a wife and son back in France.
The Natural History of Love is a meticulously researched work of historical fiction based on the lives of the Count de Castelnau and Carolina Fonçeca. From their first meeting in the Brazilian jungle to the Salons of Paris and eventually to Federation-era Melbourne, and against the backdrop of a time when Darwin's theories were transforming society, this is a fascinating story, masterfully told.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Caroline Petit about recreating a grand love story from dusty files and letters, the collision between religion, black magic and the natural sciences, and giving a voice to a remarkable woman silenced by the annals of 19th century history.
Austria, 1936. Esther Simpson works for a British organisation that rescues academics from the cruel Fascist and anti-Semitic regimes taking hold in Europe. On a dangerous trip to Vienna, Esther falls in love with Harry Singer, a young Jewish academic and musician.
When Harry is detained on the Isle of Man while waiting for news of his parents, Esther pleads with the government for his release. When Harry is eventually liberated, they each face an impossible choice.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Caroline Beecham about bringing Esther Simpson to life in an epic love story, the real person behind the character, the music and the beauty of the city of Vienna, and the important and continuing work of rescuing academic refugees.
By the age of twenty-five, Sophie Cachia was a happily married mother and digital marketing expert with a very successful business powered by documenting her every move online. Then, in a single moment, everything changed. Sophie met a woman who prompted her to question her own life and relationship.
'And Then There Was Her' is a frank and deeply honest memoir, documenting Sophie's path to greater awareness, empowerment and acceptance as she navigated identity, sensuality and the true meaning of authenticity as a mother and a woman.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sophie Cachia about the momentous event that changed her life, how she now views her privacy differently, and why we should all embrace change in our search for happiness.
May 1915. As war rages in Europe, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Adelaide for England, determined to make her own contribution. She arrives at Harefield House – a stately home donated by its expatriate Australian owners. There she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers.
As casualties mount, the hospital sends out a desperate call for help. Jessie Chester, a quiet young seamstress from Harefield village steps up as a volunteer. She meets Private Bert Mott, a recuperating Australian soldier, but the looming threat of his return to the Front hangs over them.
Cora’s and Jessie’s hearts and lives hang in the balance as waves of injured and dying soldiers threaten to overwhelm the hospital. This is a war against despair and death, fought with science and love and at great personal cost.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Victoria Purman about the treasures housed in the Australian War Memorial archive, honouring the stories of real life war heroines within an epic work of historical fiction, and illuminating an important contribution to the annals of Australian history.
When Chloe Hooper's partner is diagnosed with an aggressive and deadly cancer she had to find a way to tell their two sons. Could the news be broken as a bedtime tale? To find out, Chloe Hooper went on a quest to find the book that might help.
From the Brothers Grimm to Frances Hodgson Burnett to Tolkien and Dahl, Hooper followed the trail of the world's favourite authors. The result is a profound and moving exploration of the books and the lives of iconic authors in search of the perfect bedtime story.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Chloe Hooper about the revelations she experienced in her exploration of children's literature, how we started avoiding talking about death and loss with children, and how the right language can bring wisdom and light to a difficult subject.
You might know them as Isabelle, Kerry and Emmie Silbery from Foxtel’s and Channel 10’s series Gogglebox, a program where they share their thoughts on the week’s TV offerings. But even from the comfort of the couch it was clear that the Silbery's were a connected, supportive and loving family.
In 'Out of the Box', these three strong, independent women open up, sharing intensely personal stories and thoughtful opinions on the female experience across three generations. Motherhood, infidelity, grief, money, feminism, body hair – and men! No topic is off limits. This is a book to inspire mothers and daughters to start talking and sharing, and having conversations that will bring them closer together.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Isabelle, Kerry and Emmie Silbery about the gig that was Gogglebox, growing up under radically different social and economic circumstances, and the messages they want men to hear.
Ricky Bird loves making up wild stories for her little brother Ollie. Her outlandish plots and whimsical characters help fortify them against the hopeless reality of their lives. Her father has abandoned her and her family has moved to a bleak new neighbourhood. Worse still, her mother's new boyfriend has come with the furniture.
Ricky's greatest weapon is her imagination and she uses it to set her world to rights. But despite her best efforts Ricky's world starts to spiral out of control, that is, until a gypsy fortune teller makes a life changing prediction.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Diane Connell about the incredible power of storytelling, how sadness and laughter can coexist, and the challenges for young girls growing up in a world with unlimited possibilities but also of dangerous consequences.
The small town of Nannine was once a thriving outback centre but years of punishing drought have taken their toll. Nannine still has one claim to fame: the unsolved disappearance nineteen years ago of Evelyn McCreery from the bedroom she shared with her twin sister Mina.
Mina McCreery's life has been defined by intense and ongoing public scrutiny. That reaches a whole new level when private investigator Lane Holland rolls into town with the million-dollar reward in mind. WAKE is a powerful story of how family tragedies can become public property and the darker motivations to solving a crime.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Shelley Burr about how trauma ripples through the lives of people in a small farming community, how the speculations of online murder forums can turn private lives into a public obsession, and what the study of soil science brings to the writing of crime fiction.
Soar into a world where unicorns are real but also deadly and can only be tamed by the riders who hatch them. Skandar Smith has always wanted to be a unicorn rider but when the terrifying Weaver steals the most powerful unicorn in the world, becoming a unicorn rider turns out to be very dangerous idea. And what if Skandar turns out to be the villain rather than the hero?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs is joined by young reader Grace Grenfell to chat with Annabel Steadman about what draws her to the dark side of fantasy adventure, why she chose unicorns and turned them into ferocious creatures and what makes a real hero.
When writer Catherine Deveny faced the end of a seventeen-year relationship with the father of her children she knew she had to create space for a new life. She had no idea what lay on the other side of months of tumult but it wasn't the first time Catherine had taken a plunge into the unknown.
In this heartfelt memoir, Catherine traces the path of a tumultuous life from a chaotic childhood to finding herself in share-houses in the 1980s and navigating the highs and lows of a creative life, family legacies and intimate relationships.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Catherine Deveny about moving on from relationships, the importance of acquiring “fuck-off status”, overcoming an oppressive Catholic upbringing and learning to live life on her own terms.
Jackie Huggins and Ngaire Jarro are sisters from the Bidjara and Birri Gubba Juru nations. One hundred years since the birth of their father John Henry 'Jack' Huggins III, they decided to research and write about about a man they hardly knew.
Jack Huggins was one of only fifty indigenous servicemen to enlist in the Australian Armed Forces in WWII. 'Jack of Hearts QX11594' is a great story of tradition and survival that spans more than a century as two sisters look deep into their family history.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jackie Huggins and Ngaire Jarro about the tradition of indigenous men serving their country in wartime, their own journey to the Thai-Burma Death Railway to walk in the footsteps of their father Jack, and the challenges of bringing together a great oral tradition with dedicated historical research.
Mark Tedeschi AM QC has worked as a Barrister and Crown Prosecutor on some of Australia's most significant criminal cases. He led the prosecution in the conviction of Bruce Burrell for the brutal murders of Kerry Whelan and Dorothy Davis. Together these cases were a high watermark in the Australian criminal justice system and resulted in important reforms around how a jury makes decisions.
In this fascinating factual account, Missing Presumed Dead begins with an examination of the life of Bruce Burrell and the extreme narcissistic tendencies that sanctioned a life of criminal activity. Mark Tedeschi takes the reader on a journey through the criminal justice system, from the pre-trial hearings and early decisions of the DPP to abandon the trial, to the complex circumstantial case and detailed bodies of evidence that eventually led to Bruce Burrell's conviction.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Mark Tedeschi about the depth and complexity of the police investigation underpinning the case and how circumstantial evidence can build a successful prosecution even without the physical evidence of a body.
The author’s proceeds from the publication of Missing Presumed Dead will be donated to Australian charities that assist and support victims of crime, the families of deceased victims, and the relatives of those who have gone missing.
At the age of seventy Ruth Wilson found herself grappling with both a physical diagnosis that affected her hearing and balance and unfathomable feelings of sadness. Ruth took the radical decision to leave her conventional life and reclaim her voice in search of personal healing. In this poignant and insightful memoir of love and self-acceptance Ruth discovered the curative power of reading.
From a young age, Ruth had looked to Jane Austen's heroines as the models for whom she wanted to become. Upon re-reading these six classic novels with greater intent Ruth found the remedy she was looking for. From the sunshine of 'Pride and Prejudice' to the autumnal notes she found in 'Persuasion', Ruth reveals the wisdom and the lessons they contain for us all.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ruth Wilson about falling out of love with the world, undertaking a PhD at the age of eighty, the art of reading and of re-reading, and how she found the remedy for her ills in her favourite author.
Jo Baaker is drawn back to the island of Texel to investigate the provenance of a 17th century silk dress unearthed by a local diving team. It offers a tantalising opportunity to explore the way people lived during Holland's Golden Age. Jo's research leads her to artist and intellectual Catharina van Shurman and her companion Anna Tesseltje and the mystery deepens as she delves into Anna's history. The beautiful silk dress soon becomes emblematic of lives and fortunes won and lost.
And Jo has other reasons for returning to her birthplace. As details about her own past emerge it disrupts everything she thought she knew about her own troubled past.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Lauren Chater about cultural dress theory, researching the former inhabitants of clothing, turning real historical figures into great female characters and Lauren's habit of disappearing down historical rabbit holes.
When writer and musician Eliza Hull fell pregnant her excitement was tempered by the thought of the complexities she was about to face as a person of disability. More than fifteen percent of Australian households have a parent wth a disability but their stories are rarely shared. Eliza set out to gather stories from a diverse range of people on the disability spectrum and in the process, created a valuable resource and provided rare insight into their lives.
So how does a mother who is blind, mix formula? How do people react when a mother and child with dwarfism walk down the street? How do Deaf parents know when their baby is crying? In We've Got This, twenty-five parents who identify as Deaf, disabled or chronically ill discuss the highs and lows of their parenting journeys.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Eliza Hull about the origins of We've Got This, about Disability Pride, the systemic problem of attitude from health professionals in conceiving and raising children as a disabled parent, and the shocking but sometimes heart-warming stories from contributors to this collection.
In a lonely farmhouse in Norfolk, 1703 Thomas Treadwater is a rational, modern man but he is hiding a terrible secret. Upstairs is a woman locked in an endless sleep, but she is beginning to stir and the powers she holds have the potential to unleash horrific consequences.
As Thomas tries to unravel the mystery of what has happened, he uncovers a tale of superstition, of something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck years before.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Rosie Andrews about the historical threads than bind this story, the power of witchcraft, the enlightenment and the enthusiasm for knowledge, creating an authentic recreation of a momentous period in history, and taking the step beyond to create a great story.
Miriam Duffy is a respectable North Shore widow, real estate agent and devoted mother. When her youngest daughter Ally finds true love, Miriam is cautiously happy. As time goes by Miriam watches in disbelief as Ally's 'perfect' husband begins a campaign of controlling behaviour that cuts them off from her family.
In response to escalating reports of horrifying family violence, fearless commentator and feminist icon, Jane Caro has written a deeply-felt novel about when love turns from nurture to threat in the most surprising of circumstances.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jane Caro about when love becomes power and control, the fundamentals behind our problem with domestic violence, the obstacle of the law and the importance of compassion, and why men should read this book too.
In 1845 Eliza Acton produced the first cookery book for domestic use, 'Modern Cookery In All Its Branches Reduced to System of Easy Practice for the Use of Private Families'. It revolutionised cookery in the home and introduced the concept of the recipe as we know it.
But the details of Eliza Acton's life are a mystery. Her recipes, informed and styled by her poetry, are the narrative of her life. Annabel Abbs has reimagined this extraordinary life as a work of historical fiction bringing together not only the food but the facts and the fiction to create a story of great social change and female emancipation.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Annabel Abbs about Eliza Acton's landmark contribution to the culinary arts and how new ingredients transformed British food, exactly why Eliza Acton's recipes read so beautifully and the grand story of imagination and invention Annabel Abbs weaves around them.
Sophie Carlton is an understudy of great promise just waiting for her moment in the spotlight. When star soprano Margaret Gardiner suddenly disappears right before the opening night of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Sophie's greatest wish may have come true. But sometimes dreams come with a price.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Julie Bennett about growing up in the Sydney Opera House, why Madama Butterfly was the perfect operatic companion to the story, her passion for Italian tenors and her long-running love affair for everything Sydney.
Vivian Walker is dying but that's NOT on her list of things to do. Being terminally ill is frustratingly routine but Vivian is determined to prepare for D-day by making lists of things to do.
The Very Last List of Vivian Walker is the darkly funny debut novel that will make you laugh, cry and wonder if you've crossed out all those things on your own lists of things to do
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Megan Albany about the power of making lists and what happens to them, why we find it so difficult to talk about death, and how lists manage to transcend gender, age and time to become a universal binding force for humanity trying to organise itself.
Have you ever wondered how we can live a more ethical life? Michael Schur has all the answers to the questions we've been asking ourselves for thousands of years. By sifting through centuries of hard work and introspection by some of the smartest people ever known and eliminating the dull and migraine-inducing parts, Michael Schur has produced the ultimate guide to navigating the ethical dilemmas of modern life
Michael Schur is the writer and executive producer of The Good Place, the award-winning Netflix series that made moral philosophy fun. Now he's written this foolproof guide to making the correct moral decision in every situation, anywhere in the world.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Schur about why you should read his book instead of a book by an actual philosopher, a 30-second all-encompassing unifying theory that explains “good” and “bad” people, the moral dilemma of leaving the shopping trolley in the carpark, and why Aristotle is eminently more readable that Wittgenstein.
During the darkest days of the Holocaust, Leo and Mina Fink rallied all the forces at their disposal to rescue the Jewish survivors of Nazi death camps. Together they initiated welfare programs, provided urgent relief and resettled thousands of Jewish settlers in faraway Melbourne.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Margaret Taft about the Jewish diaspora in Melbourne, what led Leo and Mina Fink to marshal local and international agencies to spearhead the resettlement of displaced Holocaust survivors, and how overcoming bureaucracy and public opinion changed the world for the greater good.
Dr Michael Mosley presents the latest scientific research explaining how the ketogenic diet works and why it is good for you. This new approach helps you lose weight safely, improve mood and reduce blood pressure, inflammation and blood sugars.
The Fast 800 Keto is a dynamic new weight loss program that combines a ketogenic diet with low-calorie intermittent fasting to give you the key to long term success. It includes clear advice on which foods will help put you into ketosis, and an easy step-by-step program along with 50 delicious low-carb recipes and menu plans.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Dr Michael Mosley about why intermittent fasting and rapid weight loss is the best approach, how to 'flip the metabolic switch', the importance of quitting processed food, and how honesty is the best policy in making a permanent lifestyle change.
F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is an icon of American literature. But what if this timeless classic was told from a completely different perspective?
Jillian Cantor reimagines the glittering world of the Jazz Age through the eyes of three of Fitzgerald's female characters, Daisy Buchanan, Daisy's best friend Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy, a suffragette fighting for women's rights and for the life of her sister Myrtle Wilson, trapped in an abusive marriage. Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, and ultimately the murder of a man driven by money, power, love and desire. This inspired reimagining of The Great Gatsby poses the question: who really killed Jay Gatsby?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jillian Cantor about her long-held fascination with The Great Gatsby, finding different points of view for a icon of American literature, and crossing the line from historical fiction to crime fiction.
Amalia and Alex fist set eyes on each other at an Oxford college bar. What begins as a friendship soon follows the tricky path to romance. But love comes at a cost – its intensity is both thrilling and terrifying when it threatens the most perfect of friendships.
Set across four years and five cities, 28 Questions is suffused with music, literature, art, sex, philosophy and the exquisite pleasure and pain of first love. This is a novel about growing up and figuring out who you are along the way.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Indyana Schneider about creating a queer love story, finding a unique storytelling form, and how music attaches itself to our lives, loves and memories.
When Sylvia Beach opens an English-language bookshop on the bohemian Left Bank, Sylvia cannot know she is making literary history. Shakespeare and Company soon becomes the meeting place for emerging writers and a second home for the American Lost Generation living in Paris.
Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound are frequent visitors and profound friendships blossom within the welcoming and tolerant atmosphere of this unique bookstore. None more so than that between James Joyce and Sylvia Beach. When Joyce's controversial novel Ulysses is banned, Beach takes on the task of publishing the most infamous book of the century but at deep personal cost.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kerri Maher about the real Sylvia Beach, walking the line between fact and fiction, and finding the real people behind the towering literary legacy of some of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
Gabe Ahern makes his living trapping wild dogs in the remote rangelands of Western Australia. When he stumbles upon a gang of people smugglers about to execute one of their victims, Gabe's solitary life is thrown into turmoil.
When he rescues young Afghan refugee Amin from certain death, Gabe is reluctantly drawn into a vicious game where he becomes the hunted. Confronting crooked police, wily roo-shooter Chase Fowler and a ruthless criminal gang, Gabe must rely on all his bush skills and cunning just to come out alive.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Trant about drawing on real-life experiences to create great characters, his own awakening to the plight of refugees and his respect for the wild dogs of the Australian outback.
Freak Out is the story of how we as a nation were dragged into global culture by the unstoppable momentum of rock and pop music. The music of the sixties spoke to young people, encouraging them to engage with the world in a new way and to embrace the changes all around them.
The sixties witnessed an explosion of musical styles that crossed musical borders and changed minds. From The Beatles to Bob Dylan, from the Fugs to King Crimson, Tony Wellington explores the extraordinary chain of events that brought new meaning and exerted enormous influence on the way we lived and viewed the world.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tony Wellington about why the sixties continues to be a musical and social reference point, how bands like The Beatles and individuals like Bob Dylan bands drove musical and social change, and how Australia came of age in a defining period of music history.
Ray Vialoux is in big trouble and he needs Marshall Grade's help. Over dinner in a Brooklyn restaurant the conversation is cut short by a gunshot that leaves Ray Vialoux dead on the floor. As Marshall investigates, he discovers there's more to the murder than meets the eye.
Exit.45 is the third book in the Marshall Grade series and takes us into the depths of the murky world of NYC drug dealers, bag men, bent cops and mob players.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ben Sanders about the journey from New Zealand to New York, his lifelong passion for crime fiction and the advantages of being a crime fiction outsider.
In this collection of essays Ann Patchett steps outside the world of fiction into the general mess of life. Exploring themes of family, friendship, marriage, failure and success, These Precious Days is a personal meditation on the universal themes that affect us all.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Ann Patchett about the easy joy of the essay, getting your house in order, and how a late night short story led to a life-changing friendship with Tom Hanks.
This monumental collaboration between award-winning author John Hughes and internationally-acclaimed painter and printmaker Marco Luccio breathes new life into ancient stories. A work of art in itself, this magnificent limited edition, individually signed and numbered book brings together Hughes' unique gift for storytelling and Luccio's bold and energetic images in the media of charcoal, etching and drypoint.
In a series of narrative adaptations of Greek tragedies incorporating versions by Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides, John Hughes explores the universal themes of love, power, war, hate, revenge, sadness and ambition in evocative new renderings. In response, Marco Luccio has captured the spirit of ancient Greece, in all its beauty and its terror in a series of images that are the visual equivalent to Hughes epic tales.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to John Hughes about the journey from idea to reality, bringing ancient stories into the present, why the Greek legends still resonate with readers today, and meeting the challenge of a colossal and ambitious production five years in the making.
Jock Serong is the winner of 2021 Historical Novel Society's ARA Prize for Historical Fiction for the second book in a three part trilogy exploring the history around the Furneaux group of islands off the north-eastern coast of Tasmania.
Eliza Grayling reluctantly sets off from Sydney Cove on the Danish schooner Moonbird in search of the wreck of the Howrah, lost in the islands of the Bass Strait carrying valuable but uncertain cargo. Her fellow passengers include her blind alcoholic father, a curious cross-dressing captain and the mysterious Dr Gideon, a botanist and apparent man of science.The journey is compromised by several deaths while at sea and when the Moonbird approaches it's destination, the truth they seek is not all it seems.
This remarkable work of historical fiction brings together real historical figures and events with vividly imagined characters to recreate a journey into the disturbing heart of a brutal period in Australia's colonial history.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jock Serong about the role of historical fiction in opening up our hidden history, his fascination with the Furneaux Islands and how real and imagined historical figures can coexist in fiction writing and bring history to life.
Christine Manfield's love affair with India and Indian food goes back more than thirty years. Extensive travel and a brilliant culinary mind, marked by an insatiable curiosity has culminated in a book that goes beyond what we think of as Indian food.
Indian Cooking Class brings together everything Christine has learned and all recipes she has collected into a guide to Indian cuisine that opens up new worlds for the home cook. From classic curries to new takes on salad, recreating irresistible snacks and refreshing our taste for seafood and desserts, this is a book for everyone and all dietary persuasions looking for a way into one of the world's great cuisines.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Christine Manfield about using Indian spices successfully, making the distinction between spice and heat, looking beyond Vindaloo and Butter Chicken and opening a window on the vast and varied world of Indian cuisine.
Following on from David Hunt's first two volumes of The Unauthorised History of Australia, Girt and True Girt, Volume 3 takes a humorous look into the people that laid the foundations of a nation and our cultural identity. It's an epic tale of charlatans and costermongers, of bush bards and even bushier beards and ladies who just weren't going to take it anymore.
Meet Alfred Deakin, our second Prime Minister, who took advice from the dead; Sir Henry Parkes, whose legendary libido spawned at least seventeen children; and Catherine Helen Spence whose feminist utopian vision for the future included free contraceptives and easy divorce. These are but a few of the citizens who helped make Australia what it is today – for better or worse!
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to David Hunt about the men and women who set out to define and redefine our national identity, why it's important to crap on our national icons and the dangers of infusing irony into writing about Australian history in Girt Nation: The Unauthorised History of Australia Volume 3.
Lynne McGranger is the longest serving female cast member of a television soap opera in Australia, having starred as Irene Roberts on Home and Away for over twenty-eight years. But before Home and Away, there was a varied career in the theatre and in the playground at Lugarno Public School as a Grade 4 teacher.
In this hilarious and heart-warming memoir, Lynne talks about her early family life, surviving the perils of fad diets as a teenager, a stint in stand-up comedy and on to a very public career as Irene Roberts on Australia's favourite beach-side soap, Home and Away.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Lynne McGranger about separating Lynne from Irene, the transition from teaching to acting, and the highs and lows of the creative life.
Oscar is out and about looking for the best place to skateboard when he comes across two other kids who reckon they've found it. Holding a mirror at just the right angle gives you a one-way ticket to the world's greatest skate park. Through a crack in reality, Oscar finds himself on an urgent quest, along with the Mettlestone-Staranise sisters, to unlock a silver spell that's trapped the Elven city of Dun-sorey-lo-vay-lo-hey.
'The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar From Elsewhere' is the fourth book in Jaclyn Moriarty's Kingdoms and Empires series.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jaclyn Moriarty about the origins of the cheeky, skateboard-wielding boy named Oscar, how you're never too young to be a sceptic, and how just looking like an adult doesn't necessarily make you one.
Fear has led Rachel to a reclusive life on the land with only occasional contact with the outside world. Her solitude is interrupted by a hammering on the door. Before her stand a mother and a baby. They are running for their lives from a mysterious sickness sweeping Australia.
Rachel is faced with a difficult choice: to bring these strangers to safety in a world she has completely rejected or continue her precious existence in isolation. The decision she makes will change her life.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Inga Simpson about setting a terrifying doomsday story in the beauty of the NSW South Coast, the glory of a life of solitude and the nexus between nature writing and fiction.
When we think of great Australian explorers, Sir Hubert Wilkins isn't a name that immediately comes to mind. Despite this, there have been few Australians to have seen more of planet earth and thrived in more hostile environments than Wilkins.
From humble beginnings in rural South Australia, Wilkins' early career was in cinematography but his capacity for acquiring skills together with a consistently evolving scientific mind took him all over the planet: from documenting rare species in Northern Australia, to navigating a path across the North Pole and then sailing a submarine under it, there have been few people his equal.
Peter Fitzsimons' latest book documents, in incredible detail, a life of adventure, of unparalleled achievement, and of uncanny sensibility and foresight.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Peter Fitzsimons about why Sir Hubert Wilkins doesn't immediately appear in our collective memories as one of Australia's greatest explorers, why Wilkins was a man ahead of his time, and cutting through the mythology around Australian history with great research.
In the summer of 1989, a local teen goes missing from the idyllic suburb of Camp Hill. As rumours of Satanic rituals swirl, schoolteacher Tom Witter becomes convinced he holds the key to the disappearance. As dark secrets are revealed and consequences to past actions are faced, Tom learns that the only way out of the darkness is to walk deeper into it.
Wild Place peels back the layers of suburbia, exposing what’s hidden underneath and poses the question: why do good people do bad things?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Christian White about what we think we know about the people we share our suburb with, Christian's fascination with everything 1980s, and the art of turning a neglected piece of bushland into an evil presence.
'We Are Wolves' is the winner of the 2021 Historical Novel Society's ARA Historical Novel Prize in the Children's and Young Adult category. Behind this incredible work of fiction lies the true story of thousands of German children left to fend for themselves in the forests of East Prussia at the end of the Second World War.
Liesl, Otto and Mia are leading a perfectly contented life blissfully unaware of the horrors of the Second World War. When the Red Army advances on Germany in 1945, their lives are changed forever. Escaping into a dangerous forest alone and at the the height of a winter blizzard they are faced with unimaginable challenges in their quest to survive.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katrina Nannestad about turning a true story into an award-winning novel for children and why historical fiction has an important role to play in discovering and explaining history to young people.
When they are still little girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make the promise to their father that they will always stay together. When Cibi and Livia are ordered to Auschwitz-Birkenau labour camp by the Nazis, Magda manages to hide out for a time in a neighbour's attic near her family home.
Eventually the sisters are reunited in Auschwitz where they renew that promise, this time to each other. Together they manage to survive the death camp and forge a new life for themselves.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Heather Morris about the fortuitous moment that was the catalyst for Three Sisters, the power of familial bonds and turning real people into great characters to bring history to life.
Tess is a single mother with a three-year-old daughter Poppy but being an overprotective mother is complicating all of her personal relationships. When Tess finds a dark and disturbing drawing among Poppy's other colourful drawings she is convinced Poppy has witnessed something terrible. But's it's only a child's drawing – isn't it?
While Tess will do anything to protect her daughter, she doesn't know who or what she is protecting her from. The path Tess takes only leads to more uncertainty and a place where she doesn't know who she can trust.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French about the fundamentals of a psychological thriller, cultivating anxiety and uncertainty in their characters and the importance of a well made Negroni in the process of writing.
Celeste is having a very bad summer. Her parents are off travelling the world and she's left with little sister Esme and they're both desperate for adventure. When a magical flying bus crash-lands in their front yard carrying cousin Ferd, they get just want they needed.
Wherewithal Way is Ferd's house and while it looks like an ordinary house it's really a portal to magical realms full of strange creatures and even stranger adventures. When something tries to break in through the portal in the pantry – the door to the mystical Realm of Forests – their entire existence is under threat.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Samantha-Ellen Bound about portal fantasies, folklore and faeries, and what's to come in this brilliant new four-part series, Seven Wherewithal Way.
Having worked in Afghanistan and Mexico, Damien Cave thought he understood something about the subject of risk. When he brought his young family to Australia to set up the New York Times' Australian bureau he was unexpectedly confronted with an entirely new approach to managing risk. Instead of being eliminated or romanticised he found a culture that respected and even embraced the idea.
Following extensive research and interviews, Damien began asking himself critical questions about the American approach to risk he was familiar with. Into the Rip explores the idea that a managed exposure to risk where communities undertaken that responsibility together, has the potential to build true self-confidence and a clearer pathway to happiness and fulfilment.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Damien Cave about communal parenting, the Australian institution of Nippers and surf life-saving, the dangers of the self-esteem movement, and overcoming fear in his pursuit of the Bronze Medallion.
Dame Nellie Melba was Australia's first international superstar, taking Europe and America by storm with a voice that thrilled the world. Most Australians imagine an imperious Dame dressed in furs and large hats, but behind the public facade lies a story of a young woman struggling to overcome social expectations in pursuit of a dream.
After surviving an abusive marriage she found true love with a would-be King of France, an affair that brought both scandal and personal fulfilment into a life that characterised by both suffering an enormous international success.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Robert Wainwright about the life and loves, the triumphs and the disappointments of a talented woman finding her way in the world.
Pip doesn't like going home anymore. Her Mum isn't the same since her new boyfriend moved in and to cap it off her best friend Mika has moved away. When she finds an injured baby dragon that needs her care she starts to believe anything is possible.
In this charming story of love, loss and survival, Karen Foxlee weaves a magical tale exploring what it really means to love and nurture while finding the courage to embrace change.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Karen Foxlee about becoming emotionally invested in her characters, bringing her storytelling back to Australia, and how daydreaming ignites her imagination.
In this series of interconnected essays Delia Falconer explores how it feels to live as a reader, a writer and a lover of nature in a era of unprecedented change.
From an 'unnatural' history of coal to the effect of a seal turning up in a park just below her apartment Delia embarks on a searching and poetic examination about the meaning we can find in the change that is all around us.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Delia Falconer about why we are already using the term Anthropocene, observing the changing world around us and the implications of the double line-break in Signs and Wonders: Dispatches from a time of beauty and loss.
Born evil or simply mad? Frederick Bailey Deeming was known and reviled across three continents. He spent years travelling under various aliases, preying on the innocent, the gullible and the desperate.
The Devil's Work raises fresh questions about Deeming's role in the Whitechapel murders and the identity of Jack the Ripper. In an era when spiritualism and a fascination with the afterlife was rife, Deeming's story attracted some of the world's most powerful and influential people, including Australia's second Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Garry Linnell about one of Australia's most notorious criminals, the attraction of the big stories and bringing history to life in The Devil's Work: How Australia hunted and hanged the serial killer who shocked the world: Jack the Ripper.
As a child growing up in country Queensland Lisa Millar dreamed of having a big life. Now with years on the road as an ABC Foreign Correspondent behind her, she shares her moments of joy among the reporting on grief and tragedy.
Lisa battled a debilitating fear of flying that threatened her life and career but only now has she been able to reflect on a joyful childhood, the journey that brought her here, and the change she has witnessed along the way.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Lisa Millar about growing up in an aviation-obsessed family, facing her fears and embracing the big and the small moments in life.
Back after suspension, Detective Sergeant Robert Cardilini is immediately tasked with solving domestic violence cases. To complicate matters, his new partner is the eager and idealistic young Detective Lorraine Spencer.
When a young woman is found bleeding and tied to a chair it leads to a sinister game of exploitation reaching the highest echelons of society. When Spencer goes out on a limb to unravel the mystery, the question is: will Cardilini be there to catch her?
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Rosalba Jeffreys about Perth in the 1960s, the return of Detective Sergeant Robert Cardilini and turning her husband's manuscript into a book.
Josie de Bray was a brothel madam who owned most of Roe Street, Perth from WWI up to the 1940s. This immensely readable social history uses the life of Josie de Bray as conduit into the lives of her friends and competitors – the many women who paraded in their petticoats on the verandas of Roe Street, and who were kept from the public view and were secret keepers themselves in the seamier side of town.
In this episode, author and researcher Leigh Straw chats to Heather Lewis about the stigma of sex work past and present, and the process of writing The Petticoat Parade.
Australia has been directly involved in the nuclear industry for decades: from the establishment of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission in 1953 to the secret tests at Maralinga and the decision to export uranium in the 1970s and 1980s. Whether we like it or not we are part of the global nuclear industry and bear a moral obligation as guardian of around 30% of the world's uranium deposits. In Long Half-life, Professor Lowe exposes the fundamental challenges politicians and decision-makers face when their own time horizons rarely go beyond next year's budget or election.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Professor Ian Lowe about landmarks in the political debate around nuclear power, the importance of ordinary people in the decision-making process, and the continuing existential threat to the human race the nuclear industry poses.
Three housemates. One dead, one missing and one accused of murder.
Melbourne journalist Olive 'Oli' Groves is obsessed with the 'Housemate Homicides' a story that set career in motion nine years earlier. When the one missing housemate suddenly turns up dead the whole story comes flooding back for Oli.
Paired with enthusiastic and tech-savvy millennial Cooper Ng to reinvestigate the case, Oli is forced to confront both her past and the present in a new media landscape that's turned digital. Oli soon discovers that her search for the truth may find the answers lie much closer to home.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sarah Bailey about the life of a cold case in the news cycle, exploring the friction in generational differences and the challenges of creating a new character.
Tori Swyft wakes up in a Barcelona hotel room to a gruesome murder scene. With a splitting headache and no memory of the night before, her world is in turmoil. Could she really have done such a thing? If she didn't then who did?
A man known only as The Voice phones her with revelations of a shocking video proving Tori is the murderer. Set within the seedy world of global politics and counter-espionage, Tori soon finds herself in a race against time to prove her innocence.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs chats to John M Green about the new breed of female spy, the real threat of technology in the arena of geo-politics, and his love affair with the city of Barcelona.
Battle scarred investigative journalist and former war correspondent John Bailey is picking up the pieces of his life after the death of the one woman who helped him hold it all together. He's got a new job, he's given up the drink and he's somehow even acquired a four-legged companion.
When Federal Police raid his home armed with a warrant granting unprecedented powers, Bailey is determined to get to the truth. While investigating the rise of a global white supremacist group, it becomes clear that Bailey himself is now a target and a deadly enemy emerges from the shadows.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tim Ayliffe about the alt-right movement, politics and the pressures on investigative journalism in a world where opinion often triumphs over truth.
In this deeply personal reflection on women's lives and creative desires Nikki Gemmell explores the struggle she experienced in finding her own creative space. Dissolve is a meditation on those difficult times in establishing herself as a writer, but also a conversation with all young women who are seeking to fulfil their own creative desires.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Nikki Gemmell about emerging from the humiliation of heartbreak in her early twenties, building confidence as a writer and how to 'un-lady' yourself.
It's 1967 in Lithgow (the 'arsehole of the universe') and a young Roy Slaven is a promising student at the De La Salle Academy. He is already demonstrating early evidence as a sporting savant. Blessed with uncanny abilities with the ball, Roy experiences a moment of religious enlightenment when Uncle Baz presents him with an Australian Rugby League team jersey.
John Doyle was right there beside Slaven during this formative year and when Slaven approached him to record those momentous times in book form, he could hardly refuse. The result is Blessed - an honest and truthful account of the life and loves, the trials and tribulations, and the triumphs and tragedies of the boy who was to become the man, Rampaging Roy Slaven.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to John Doyle about the genius behind the torpedo pass, what constitutes 'Catholic values' and the making of Rampaging Roy Slaven.
Tim Richards is a freelance travel writer and Lonely Planet guidebook contributor who loves chasing down a story with an historical angle. He decided to shake up his life by embarking on an epic train journey across Australia.
Covering some 7,000 kilometres, his train journey began in far north Queensland and boarding iconic trains like the Indian Pacific, Overland and Spirit of Queensland. Along the way Tim encounters giant crocs, archetypal Australian publicans and the ghosts of Australia's pioneering past.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs chats to Tim Richards about the people, the places and the history that make train travel in Australia a unique experience and a joy for the armchair traveller.
Scarlett Jacques is the girl everyone wants to be – charismatic, wealthy and desirable but also dangerous and manipulative. She's the coolest kid at Maypole House, a secondary college for the offspring of the wealthy. When she befriends teenage mother Talullah Murray, things get weird.
When Talullah suddenly goes missing, her mother Kim is thrown into a panic. Meanwhile Sophie Beck, an author of thrillers and recent arrival at Maypole House, stumbles on clues that lead to very dark places. In this tense psychological thriller, people are never what they seem. As relationships form and splinter the past is reawakened and a cold case broken open.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Lisa Jewell about the process of invention, exploring complex relationships and getting to the dark places of crime writing.
Grab a copy: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/Xx4LJg
Dianne O'Brien (Auntie Di) grew up believing her Irish adoptive mother Val was her birth mother. When Val died while Dianne was still a teenager her whole life changed. Raped at the age of 15 and sentenced to time at the notorious Parramatta Girls Home, Auntie Di suffered years of horrific domestic abuse and a cruel betrayal.
At the age of 36 Auntie Di discovered she was a victim of the 'stolen generation' and is actually a Yorta Yorta woman. This revelation reawakens her fighting spirit and helps her come to terms with a traumatic past.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Auntie Di about surviving child abuse and domestic violence, the power of forgiveness, and finding pathways to a better future.
When Indigenous lawyer Jasmine takes her mother Della on an historical tour of the UK's most revered literary sites, Jasmine hopes it will heal old wounds and help them reconcile their past. While Jasmine immerses herself in her literary idols, Della rediscovers the wisdom of her own culture and storytelling. As both women grapple with their place in others' lives, a powerful reminder of a mysterious family tragedy, buried in their past, propels old secrets to the surface.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Larissa Behrendt about the joy of fiction, her journey to the top echelons of the law and academia, and the bright future of Indigenous storytelling.
For over three decades Dr Norman Swan has been answering the questions Australians have been asking about the medical and lifestyles issues that concern all of us. With his trademark honest, straightforward approach Dr Norman Swan brings it all together in this one-stop handbook that helps us get to the truth.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Norman Swan about the real Mediterranean diet, living younger longer and the importance of a wholistic approach to health and wellbeing.
It's not easy to maintain grace and good humour through the peaks and troughs of modern living. Throw in a pandemic, political upheaval and environmental disaster and you've got a recipe for a life of endless worry.
In a time when mental health is more important than ever, Brigid Lowry offers thoughts on living simply and learning how to nourish yourself and those around you. Informed by contemporary psychology and Zen Buddhism, Brigid provides insights into everything from grief and loss to love and friendship, and the importance of self-care.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs chats to Brigid Lowry about maintaining a positive mind-set, finding joy in life, and cultivating a greater appreciation for hot and cold running water.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/3gdGkG6
In 1942 Eve Langley published her first novel The Pea Pickers to critical acclaim. Hailed as a tour de force, it tells the story of two feisty sisters who wander the Australian countryside dressed as men.
In Eve Langley and the Pea Pickers, Helen Vines deftly unravels the threads of a life story that became curiously entangled with the author's works of fiction. This compelling new biography paints a portrait of a complex family constellation plagued by mental illness and obscured by a veil of secrecy.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs chats to Helen Vines about piecing together a story from previously unexamined letters and repositioning The Pea Pickers as a landmark in Australian literature.
Most of us fail to confront the reality facing our ageing parents. Our inclination is to wait and see what happens but when a simple thing like a fall occurs, it can precipitate a crisis which can be devastating both for parents and the whole family.
Avoiding the Ageing Parent Trap is an essential guide for all families as their elders approach the years of inevitable physical and mental decline. Packed full of information, cautionary tales and practical strategies and solutions, this book is designed to help families avoid disaster.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Brian Herd about his more than 20 years experience working in Elder law, dealing with family crisis, and how commonsense planning can help you navigate for the best outcomes.
From searches for serial killers and missing persons to the persecution of migrants and Aboriginal people, David Price takes us back to a time when the line between lawmakers and criminals was lightly drawn. Based on a wide array of contemporaneous accounts of life in the Gascoyne, these sometimes shocking, sometimes disturbing true crime stories depict an era when Australia’s laws served to maintain order rather than to secure justice. Dark Tales from the Long River offers a window into an evolving history of Western Australia that is still struggling into the light.
In this episode, David Price joins Heather Lewis to chat about the history of Western Australia's frontier days, and how his family history ties into the book.
Sinéad Stubbins has always known that there was a better version of herself lying just outside of her grasp. That if she listened to the right song or won the right (any) award or knew about whisky or followed the right Instagram psychologist or drank kombucha, ever, or enacted the correct 70-step Korean skincare regime, she would become her ‘best self’.
In My Defence, I Have No Defence raises the white flag on trying to live up to impossible standards. Wild and funny and wickedly relatable, it is one woman’s reckoning with her complete inability to self-improve and a hilarious reprieve for anyone who has ever struggled to be better.
In this episode, Sinéad joins Heather Lewis to chat about revisiting all the awkward moments of her life, and how to avoid being too self deprecating.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/3uMXi3v
In an atmosphere of chaos where social structures and the environment have been shattered by the effects of climate change, Li is tracking her lost daughter Matti across a disintegrating country. Resourceful and determined but alone and on foot, Li will need to draw on every instinct just to survive.
In this relentless and utterly terrifying psychological thriller, Unsheltered poses questions we all dread and asks if our humanity is enough protection in a dystopian world where nothing and nobody can be trusted.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs chats to Clare Moleta about what makes a refugee, imagining a post-apocalyptic world and how the future may already be here.
About the book: https://bit.ly/3vrPg17
July 2014, a lonely road at twilight outside Croppa Creek, New South Wales: 80-year-old farmer Ian Turnbull takes out a .22 and shoots environmental officer Glen Turner in the back.
On one side, a farmer hoping to secure his family’s wealth on the richest agricultural soil in the country. On the other, his obsession: the government man trying to apply environmental laws.
The brutal killing of Glen Turner splits open the story of our place on this land. Is our time on this soil a tale of tragedy or triumph – are we reaping what we’ve sown? Do we owe protection to the land, or does it owe us a living? And what happens when, in pursuit of a legacy, a man creates terrible consequences?
In this episode, author Kate Holden joins Heather Lewis to talk about the research process of her first true crime novel, and how the events at Croppa Creek link back to Australia's colonial relationship with the land we reside on.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/3h0idwo
Kyle Mewburn grew up in the sunburnt, unsophisticated Brisbane suburbs of the 1960s and '70s in a household with little love and no books, with a lifelong feeling of being somehow wrong – like ‘strawberry jam in a spinach can'.
In this book, Kyle describes this early life and her journey to becoming her own person – a celebrated children’s book author, a husband and, finally, a woman. She shares the dreams, the prejudice and the agony of growing up trans and coming out, the lengthy physical ordeal of facial feminisation surgery, and her experiences as a woman – good, bad and creepy.
In this episode, Heather Lewis chats to Kyle Mewburn about the process of writing her first book for adults and first memoir, and about the trans experience.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/3xAU3yv
When Rod Barton applied for a job at the Australian Department of Defence he had no idea where it would lead. For the next few decades he found himself disarming militia in Mogadishu, flying to Baghdad as a UN weapons inspector and hunting for Iraq's so-called weapons of mass destruction.
In this extraordinary behind-the-scenes account of a life straight out of an adventure novel Rod Barton unmasks a world of lies, secrecy and deception ruled by politics rather than truth.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Rod Barton about his life as an intelligence officer, working for the UN and the CIA and stepping out from behind the shadows.
More about 'The Life of a Spy' - https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/MXAbx3
As he reluctantly celebrates his 100th birthday, Jack Furey casts his mind back to his experience during World War II as a police sergeant in Far North Queensland. Here, the arrival of the Americans to set up a new airforce base has brought with it a swag of trouble.
The small town of Wangamba is plagued by rumours of prostitution and backyard abortions and violence soon erupts. In an atmosphere of racism and resentment Sergeant Jack Furey is determined to uncover the truth behind a string of murders.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to T W Lawless and Kay Bell about getting inside the mind of Jack Furey and working together on their first collaborative novel.
More about Furey's War - https://bit.ly/33aK6ty
*Content warning: This podcast contains discussions of sexual assault and violence against women. Listener discretion is advised.'
Kathryn Heyman's childhood was marked by violence, poverty and chaos. She was left with no real example of how to create a decent life but she had one thing in her favour – she was a reader. The power of stories provided a means of escape and a pathway to a reimagined life.
After experiencing the trauma of sexual assault as a young woman, Kathryn made the decision to put her past behind her. She found herself as a deckhand on board a fishing trawler in the Gulf country. Here, among tough working men and the treachery of the sea she rediscovered her true self.
Kathryn Heyman chats to Gregory Dobbs about writing a difficult memoir, rejecting the constrictions of patriarchy and the transformative power of words.
More about 'Fury' - https://bit.ly/3ucQ7BT
Homecoming is a work of extraordinary beauty that awakens the voices of four generations of Elfie Shiosaki's family. Written using archival records, family letters and oral history, it is the culmination of five years of research that shares stories of indigenous resistance and renewal.
Homecoming weaves a vivid tapestry of history, language, memory, landscape and spirit that asks something special of the reader. It is a book to be treasured, a reminder of a brutal past and a remarkable story of survival.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs talks to Elfie Shiosaki about research and writing, about new and ancient ways of storytelling and the process of recasting history in a unique form.
A huge celebrity in her day, Kate Kelly was eventually forgotten while the reputation of the Kelly Gang graduated from folklore to cultural icon. Kate was a talented horsewoman and often ran decoy for the Gang and was present at the infamous gun battle at Glenrowan.
In later life she changed her name in an attempt to escape the notoriety but her life ended in tragedy. Kate was found drowned in a lagoon outside Forbes but the circumstances around her death remain a mystery.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs talks to Rebecca Wilson about her fascination with the Kate Kelly story and how she came upon this missing chapter in Australian history.
'Remember' is the first non-fiction novel from neuroscientist and 'Still Alice' author Lisa Genova, which delves into how memories are made and how we retrieve them.
In this episode, Heather Lewis chats to Lisa about the process of writing her first non-fiction novel, how she got started in neuroscience, and some mind-blowing facts about the brain.
This anthology of Australian surf writing celebrates the diversity of surf culture from epic surf adventures in Mexico to the relationship of humans with the sea and to Taj Burrows final campaign in Fiji. Featuring the writing of Sally Breen, Emily Brugman, Sam Carmody Madelaine Dickie, Jake Sandtner and Mark Smith, these non-fiction stories explore the passion, the fear, the joy and the pain of Australian surfing culture in Australia and abroad.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Madelaine Dickie and Sam Carmody about a surfing as a sport, a culture and a lifestyle told in very different ways.
More about the book: https://bit.ly/3rwsvpZ
Catherine Leroy, Frances Fitzgerald and Kate Webb arrived in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968 at the height of the war. Leroy was a French daredevil photographer; Frances Fitzgerald a blue-blood American intellectual; and Kate Webb was the first Australian woman to report on the war in Vietnam.
Together these three women permanently shattered the barriers to women reporting on war in a field of journalism dominated by men. You Don't Belong Here is the story of the lives and legacy of three journalists that fills a void in the history of women and war.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs talks to Elizabeth Becker about the barriers these women faced and their extraordinary achievements in reporting on the complex and highly politicised Vietnam war.
More about the book: https://bit.ly/3lPIePw
Paula is a dedicated GP who witnesses the brutal murder of her friend and her children at the hands of their estranged husband and father. Paula is haunted by the thought that she couldn’t protect them when they most needed it.
Soon after a patient with suspicious injuries attends her surgery and Paula is faced with a decision that could make this woman safe but also compromise everything her training as a doctor has instilled in her.
The Family Doctor is a thrilling and provocative novel about women’s fury, grief and the preciousness of life.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Debra Oswald about a problem very much of these times.
More about The Family Doctor: http://bit.ly/2OOmoQ2
Helen Fitzgerald vividly portrays small town life, and a woman and a land in crisis in her latest thriller 'Ash Mountain'.
Fran vowed she'd never return to Ash Mountain but circumstances draw her back to a blisteringly hot summer in the rural town of Ash Mountain. Confronting the past and dealing with future are sidelined by an impending disaster – a mega-fire is roaring towards Ash Mountain and it will expose all kinds of secrets in its wake.
In this episode, Gregory Dobbs chats to Helen Fitzgerald about growing up in a small Victorian country town, about Blue Light Discos and how disaster and humour can be comfortable bedfellows in this ripping disaster thriller.
More about Ash Mountain: https://bit.ly/387v7U5
After World War II, Sydney experienced a crime wave that was chillingly calculated. Discontent mixed with despair, greed with callous disregard. Women who had lost their wartime freedoms headed back into the kitchen with sinister intent and the household poison thallium, normally used to kill rats, was repurposed to kill husbands and other inconvenient family members.
Yvonne Fletcher disposed of two husbands. Caroline Grills cheerfully poisoned her stepmother, a family friend, her brother and his wife. Unlike arsenic or cyanide, thallium is colourless, odourless and tasteless; victims were misdiagnosed as insane malingerers or ill due to other reasons. And once one death was attributed to natural causes, it was all too easy for an aggrieved woman to kill again.
This is the story of a series of murders that struck at the very heart of domestic life. It's the tale of women who looked for deadly solutions to what they saw as impossible situations. The Husband Poisoner documents the reasons behind the choices these women made - and their terrible outcomes.
Grab a Copy: http://bit.ly/2Of3u4H Read our Q&A with Tanya Bretherton: http://bit.ly/2NZv7i9
Susan Johnson exposes the truths and deceptions in relationships amid a blossoming online friendship between two women in 'From Where I Fell'.
Pamela and Christhani live on different continents, but through a series of email exchanges the two women begin sharing the stories of their lives. Although temperamental opposites they soon establish a connection based on the common ground of grief, loss and new beginnings. 'From Where I Fell' is a funny and endearing story of how unlikely friendships can be the catalyst for deep reflection, new directions and confronting the past.
In this episode. Gregory Dobbs chats to Susan Johnson about the what inspired her to recast the epistolary novel in contemporary form and the overlap between fiction and non-fiction.
From Where I Fell: http://bit.ly/3kelLuz
Nora Fawn's daughter Hope disappeared four years ago and only maintained contact through her big sister Joy. But last night Hope rang Nora to say, 'I'm coming home, I'm getting married, the wedding is in three weeks and it's your job to organise it.'
Desperate to regain her daughter's love and prove her worth as a mother Nora accepts the challenge. Through the medium of a discarded diary, Nora plots the hilarious and emotional journey to redemption through the rocky terrain of mother-daughter relationships and a wedding to end all weddings.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Gretel Killeen about the confounding complexity of mother-daughter love across three generations.
My Daughter's Wedding: https://bit.ly/2ZIGopk
Bec and Kate are sisters, but they couldn’t be less alike. Bec lives the domestic dream with her surgeon husband Stuart and three perfect children. So why is she so attracted to free-spirited Ryan? Kate’s life is hardly a dream. But when she meets Adam – tall, kind, funny – things start looking up. Until she finds out he’s been keeping secrets from her.
Then there is the incident both sisters are desperate to ignore…
Will they discover that some mistakes can’t be put right?
In this episode, Max Lewis joins debut author Katie McMahon to chat about her suburban thriller The Mistake.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/37Fwidp
A young woman gets ready to go to a party. She arrives, feels overwhelmed, leaves, and then returns. Minutely attuned to the people who come into her view, and alternating between alienation and profound connection, she is hilarious, self-aware, sometimes acerbic, and always honest.
And by the end of the night, she’s shown us something radical about love, loss, and the need to belong.
In this episode, filmmaker and writer Madeleine Ryan joins Max Lewis to chat about her prismatic debut 'A Room Called Earth'.
Michael Brissenden's second crime thriller Dead Letters brings counter terrorism expert Sid Allen into the sordid and complicated world of Canberra politics.
From the seedy backstreets of 1980s Sydney to the corridors of power in contemporary Canberra, Sidney Allen must pursue the truth behind a baffling crime. Dan LeRoi, rising star of politics and Chair of the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has been shot dead. But it's not all it seems.
Life becomes complicated for Sid when he joins forces with tenacious journalist Zephyr Wilde. She's still getting letters from her dead mother who was murdered twenty years ago. They're both asking too many questions and knowing who to trust will make the difference between life and death.
Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Brissenden about the nexus between journalism and politics, and reflections on a lost Sydney.
Grab a copy: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/4ZQgM
We're more connected that ever before says Maggie Hamilton and yet feelings of loneliness and isolation have never been more prevalent. We are now more affluent and busier and yet we are leaving our homes less and less as we become more dependent on technology to communicate. 'We've become strangers, exiled from people and situations that are meaningful to us.' says Maggie
When We Become Strangers examines in detail all levels of human interaction and looks into the future with a warning for what we might become. Parenting, love and relationships, brain fatigue, entertainment and the changing nature of the workplace are put under the microscope and placed in the context of our increasing reliance on technology to solve problems.
Maggie proposes simple and effective solutions and actions we can all take to restore the balance and reclaim our unique selves and the places we live and work.
In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to Maggie Hamilton about how we can reconnect with our fellow humans in a world of instant digital gratification.
Grab a copy: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/rAWOR
In secluded Devlins Reach, on the shores of the Hawkesbury River, three bodies are unearthed in an excavation site. When a wilderness expert, Park Ranger Taylor Bridges, is called in to assist local police, he soon discovers the town has an unsettling history – one to match Taylor's own haunted past.
But the quiet location and picturesque beauty of The Reach are hiding something darker than Taylor could have anticipated. Within the town's tight-knit community of loggers, store owners and tight-lipped locals, someone is targeting the residents one by one.
As a torrential storm surges ever closer, and the river swells at the levee walls, The Reach goes into lockdown. With no way in or out, Taylor finds himself in a race against the power of nature to find a desperate killer before the whole town goes under.
In this episode, B Michael Radburn chats to Max Lewis about the origins of his Taylor Bridges series, how the Hawkesbury region in NSW inspired the titular Reach and its buried secrets, and how exciting it is to work on a film of your own book.
More about The Reach: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/BqNK4
Aaron Smith's new memoir holds up a unique mirror to Australia. What he sees is at once amazing, disturbing and revealing.
The Rock explores the failings of our nation's character, its unresolved past and its uncertain future from the vantage point of its most northerly outpost, Thursday Island. Smith was the last editor, fearless journalist and the paperboy of Australia's most northerly newspaper, The Torres News, a small independent regional tabloid that, until it folded in late 2019, was the voice of a predominantly Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal readership for 63 years across some of the most remote and little understood communities in Australia.
The Rock is a story of self-discovery where Smith grapples to understand a national identity marred by its racist underbelly, where he is transplanted from his white-boy privileged suburban life to being a racial and cultural minority, and an outsider. Peppered with his experiences, Smith gradually and sensitively becomes embedded in island life while vividly capturing the endless and often farcical parade of personalities and politicians including Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott.
In this episode, Aaron Smith joins Max Lewis to unpack his thoughts around The Rock, and how his time on Thursday Island has shaped his life.
Find out more: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/m9Ex7
Join Aaron in a special Zoom launch event for The Rock, Thursday 10 December: https://bit.ly/3lPbjZY
Australian and New Zealand crime and thriller writing is booming globally, with antipodean authors regularly featuring on awards and bestseller lists across Europe and North America, and overseas readers and publishers looking more and more to tales from lands Down Under.
Hailing from two sparsely populated nations on the far edge of the former Empire - neighbours that are siblings in spirit, vastly different in landscape - Australian and New Zealand crime writers offer readers a blend of exotic and familiar, seasoned by distinctive senses of place, outlook, and humour, and roots that trace to the earliest days of our genre.
Southern Cross Crime is the first comprehensive guide to modern Australian and New Zealand crime writing. From coastal cities to the Outback, leading critic Craig Sisterson showcases key titles from more than 200 storytellers, plus screen dramas ranging from Mystery Road to Top of the Lake. Fascinating insights are added through in-depth interviews with some of the prime suspects who paved the way or instigated the global boom, including Jane Harper, Michael Robotham, Paul Cleave, Emma Viskic, Paul Thomas, and Candice Fox.
In this episode, Craig Sisterson joins Gregory Dobbs to chat about how he began his love with crime, and his experiences founding the Ngaio Marsh awards and Rotura Noir.
More about Southern Cross Crime: https://bit.ly/2UbPzvK
It is 1953 and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Farrat and the McSwiney clan have been searching for their resident dressmaker ever since she left Dungatar in flames. And they aren't the only ones. The inhabitants of the town are still out for revenge (or at least someone to foot the bill for the new high street). So when Tilly's name starts to feature in the fashion pages, the jig is up. Along with Tilly's hopes of keeping her secrets hidden...
In this episode, author Rosalie Ham joins Gregory Dobbs to chat about returning to Tilly Dunnage and the residents of Dungatar, 20 years after readers were first introduced.
Find out more: http://bit.ly/2MrtwuC
Tim Flannery’s new book 'The Climate Cure: Solving the Climate Emergency in the Era of Covid-19' marks a change in attitude toward those in government and the lack of action in the fight against climate change.
'The Federal Liberal/National Party is the last blockage in the fight against climate change,' says Tim Flannery. While state governments and local councils are doing great things in advancing clean energy prospects, the Federal government is holding the entire country to ransom – there are just 25 sceptics in this Federal Liberal/National Party.
Gregory Dobbs talks to Tim Flannery about the challenges and the solutions to the climate emergency and busts a few myths along the way.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/322cNcf
Ground-breaking music educator Dr Anita Collins' new book The Music Advantage draws on the latest international neurological research to reveal the extraordinary and surprising benefits of children learning music. Music plays an important role in brain development that promotes learning, concentration and the ability to persevere with challenging tasks.
Gregory Dobbs talks to Anita about the value of singing to your baby and why sound is one of the most valuable senses in cognitive development. Discover why learning music as a child supports and promotes learning and is a critical component in learning to read. Music learning, says Dr Collins, promotes confidence and persistence, and creates a culture of lifelong learning that has benefits right through to adulthood.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/3nMf3O3
Sergeant Nick Chester has dodged the Geordie gangsters he once feared and is out of hiding and looking forward to the quiet life. But gold fever is creating ill feeling between prospectors, and a new threat lurks in the form of trigger-happy Americans preparing for doomsday by building a bolthole in the valley. As tensions simmer, Nick finds himself up against an evil that knows no borders and no depths.
In this episode, Alan Carter joins Max Lewis to talk about his experiences living in the Wakamarina Valley of New Zealand inspired the latest chapter in the Sergeant Nick Chester series, 'Doom Creek'.
More about the book: https://bit.ly/3d7AzYI
As the owner of a successful events company, throwing away huge volumes of leftover food at the end of the day came with the territory. But when Ronni Kahn hit midlife, she found herself no longer able to turn a blind eye to her food waste problem. Hand delivering the untouched food to homeless shelters around Sydney became her renegade solution. Little did she know that fixing her small problem at work would lead her to unlock a hidden purpose at the very core of her inner life.
Now founder and CEO of the food rescue organisation OzHarvest, Ronni leads hundreds of staff and thousands of volunteers with the goal to nourish Australia. She serves in an advisory capacity to government and is an instrumental leader in changing federal laws to improve social justice and environmental policies.
'A Repurposed Life' is the story of how Ronni found her voice, her heart and her deepest calling. From her early years growing up under the brutal system of apartheid South Africa, to a socialist commune in Israel, Ronni finally settled in Australia to discover a profound new way of living. Shared with the humour, warmth and energy that have made her an internationally renowned keynote speaker, this heartfelt exploration of the choices that define us will speak to anyone seeking a more passionate expression of being alive.
In this podcast, Ronni joins Greg Dobbs to chat about finding her calling in OzHarvest, and the process of co-writing the memoir with her daughter-in-law, Jessica Chapnik Kahn.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/3lecbqW
Heather Morris, author of the internationally bestselling novels The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey, grew up on a farm in rural New Zealand. On her way back across the paddocks from school, Heather would visit her great-grandfather and listen to his experiences of war - stories he told only Heather. From a young age Heather discovered that people would tell her their stories if she stopped and listened.
In Stories of Hope, Heather Morris will explore the art of listening - a skill she employed when she met Lale Sokolov, the Tattooist of Auschwitz. It was her ability to listen that led him to entrust her with his story. Stories of Hope will examine Heather's extraordinary journey, in the form of a series of beautifully rendered tales of the people she has met, the remarkable stories they have shared with her, and the lessons they hold for us all.
In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to Heather Morris about why she wanted to write 'Stories of Hope', and the experience of writing her first memoir.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/3n7NfmD
In 1907, Alice Mitchell was arrested for the murder of five-month-old Ethel Booth. During the inquest and subsequent trial, the general public was horrified to learn that at least 37 infants had died in Mitchell's care in the previous six years. It became clear that she had been running a 'baby farm', making a profit out of caring for the children of single mothers and other 'unfortunate women'. 'The Edward Street Baby Farm' retraces this infamous tragedy and a trial which gripped the nation and led to legislative changes to protect children's welfare.
In this episode, Stella joined Max Lewis to chat about her experience writing the book, and its relevance today.
More about the book: https://bit.ly/3jg3hZt
Manchester, 1867
Stephen Doyle arrives in Manchester from New York. He is an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War and a member of the Fenians, a secret society intent on ending British rule in Ireland, by any means necessary. Now he has come to seek vengeance.
James O'Connor has fled grief and drink in Dublin for a sober start in Manchester as Head Constable. His mission is to discover and thwart the Fenians’ plans. When his long-lost nephew arrives on his doorstep, he never could have foreseen how this would imperil his fragile new life – or how his and Doyle's fates would come to be intertwined.
In this episode, Booker Prize longlisted author Ian Mcguire joins Max Lewis to unpack his gritty new historical fiction novel, The Abstainer.
Enter to win a copy: https://bit.ly/3irDzRu
Conscripted into the Polish army as Hitler’s forces draw closer, Jewish soldier Tolek Klings vows to return to his wife, Klara, and son, Juliusz. However, the army is rife with anti-Semitism and Tolek is relentlessly tormented. As the Germans invade Poland, he is faced with a terrible dilemma: flee home to protect his family – and risk being shot as a deserter – or remain a soldier, hoping reports of women and children being spared by the occupying forces are true.
What follows is an extraordinary odyssey that will take Tolek – via a daring escape from a Hungarian internment camp – to Palestine, where his ability to type earns him the title of ‘The Miracle Typist’, then on to fight in Egypt, Tobruk and Italy. A broken telegram from Klara, ending with the haunting words, ‘We trouble’, makes Tolek even more determined to find his way home and fulfil his promise.
In this episode, Leon Silver joins Greg Dobbs to tell the true story of his father-in-law Tolek Klings that inspired his book The Miracle Typist.
Enter to win a copy: https://bit.ly/2ZzFVGk
Every evening, Allison watches her husband's new house, desperate to find some answers. Every morning, she puts on a brave face to teach kindergarten. She's a good teacher, everyone says so - this stalking is just a tiny crack in her usual self-control.
A late enrolment into her class brings little Gracie. Allison takes the sick girl under her wing, smothering Gracie with the love she can't give her own son. When Gracie has a chance to go to America for treatment, Allison whips up the community into a frenzied fundraising drive.But as others start to question her judgement and the police arrive at her door, Allison wonders if she can trust herself. Has she crossed a line?
How far will the good teacher go to save a life? And whose life will that be?
In this episode, Greg Dobbs joins Petronella McGovern to chat about her latest psychological thriller, The Good Teacher.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/34Y5JiS
In 1820 Sarah McCaffrey, fleeing arrest for her part in a failed rebellion, thinks she has escaped when she finds herself aboard the Serpent, bound from London to the colony of New South Wales. But when the mercurial captain's actions drive the ship into a cliff, Sarah is the only survivor. Adopting a false identity, she becomes the right-hand woman of Molly Thistle, who has grown her late husband's business interests into a sprawling real estate and trade empire. As time passes, Sarah begins to believe she might have found a home - until her past follows her across the seas ...
In this episode, Meg Keneally joins Greg Dobbs to chat about her new historical fiction novel 'The Wreck'.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/3htHvRf
Mim’s husband is missing. No one knows where Ben is, but everyone wants to find him – especially The Department. And they should know, the all-seeing government body has fitted the entire population with a universal tracking chip to keep them ‘safe’.But suddenly Ben can’t be tracked. And Mim is questioned, made to surrender her passport and threatened with the unthinkable – her two children being taken into care at the notorious BestLife.
Cornered, Mim risks everything to go on the run to find her husband – and a part of herself, long gone, that is brave enough to tackle the journey ahead. From the stark backroads of the Australian outback to a terrifying sea voyage, Mim is forced to shuck off who she was – mother, daughter, wife, sister – and become the woman she needs to be to save her family and herself.
In this episode, Kate Mildenhall joins Max Lewis to chat about living in an almost-dystopia while writing 'The Mother Fault', the influences of her own motherhood on her writing, and almost dying while researching for the book.
The Mother Fault: https://bit.ly/2CXX18M
A family favour their son over their daughter ... Shan attends university before making his fortune in Australia while Yannie must find menial employment and care for her ageing parents. After her mother’s death, Yannie travels to Sydney to become enmeshed in her psychopathic brother’s new life, which she seeks to undermine from within …
Revenge is a novel that rages against capitalism, hetero-supremacy, mothers, fathers, families – the whole damn thing. It’s about what happens when you want to make art but are born in the wrong time and place. S L Lim brings to vivid life the frustrations of a talented daughter and vengeful sister in a nuanced and riveting novel that ends in the most unexpected way. It will not be easily forgotten.
In this episode Max Lewis joins S L Lim to talk the fiery follow up to 'Real Differences', the 'grubby compromises' we make to in order to create art, and the inspiring work of the brit-pop band Pulp.
Revenge: https://bit.ly/2YCTlRw
Drawing on his experiences as a child of Burmese migrants fleeing a military junta and his evolution from a naive law clerk, too shy to speak, into a lawyer whose ponytailed flamboyance and unbridled willingness to speak truth to power riled many within the legal establishment, Andrew Boe delves into cases he found unable to leave behind. These cases have shaped who he has become.
Taking us from a case of traditional punishment gone wrong in the Gibson Desert to deaths in police custody on Palm Island and in Yuendumu in the Northern Territory - places where race relations are often stalled in a colonial time warp - to an isolated rural home, and the question of what is self-defence after decades of domestic abuse; to cases of children abandoned, 'stolen' and then fought over; and into prison interview rooms and courthouses around the country where Boe defended serial killers, rapists, child sex offenders, murderers as well as the odd politician - he holds fast to the premise that either every one of us is entitled to the presumption of innocence or none of us are.
In this episode, Andrew joins Max Lewis to expand on 'The Truth Hurts' - explaining our misconception that the justice system is designed to find the truth, and the effect of the Black Lives Matter movement on this country's tragedy of Indigenous deaths in custody.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/2PzuYz3
It’s hard to be excited about the future right now. Jess Scully asks, What can we do? The answer is: plenty! All over the world, people are refusing the business-as-usual mindset and putting humans back into the civic equation, reimagining work and care, finance and government, urban planning and communication, to make them better and fairer for all.
Meet the care workers reclaiming control in India and Lebanon, the people turning slums into safe havens in Kenya and Bangladesh, and champions of people-powered digital democracy in Iceland and Taiwan. There are radical bankers funding renewable energy in the USA and architects redesigning real estate in Australia, new payment systems in Italy and the Philippines that keep money in local communities, and innovators redesigning taxation to cut pollution and incentivise creative solutions.
Glimpses of Utopia is a call for optimism. Humans everywhere are rising up to confront our challenges with creativity, resilience and compassion. Harnessing technology and imagination, we can reshape our world to be fair and sustainable. Jess Scully shows us how.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/31gNDFp
Identical twins only look the same …
Beautiful twin sisters Iris and Summer are startlingly alike, but beyond what the eye can see lies a darkness that sets them apart. Cynical and insecure, Iris has long been envious of open-hearted Summer's seemingly never-ending good fortune, including her perfect husband, Adam. Called to Thailand to help sail the family yacht to the Seychelles, Iris nurtures her own secret hopes for what might happen on the journey. But when she unexpectedly finds herself alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean, everything changes.
Now is her chance to take what she's always wanted - the idyllic life she's always coveted. But just how far will she go to get the life she's dreamed about? And how will she make sure no one discovers the truth?
Written with the chilling suspense of The Girl on the Train and Before I Go to Sleep, The Girl in the Mirror is an addictive thriller about greed, lust, secrets and deadly lies.
In this episode, Rose joins Erin Christie to discuss what it's been like writing her first novel and releasing it during a pandemic, and how it was to create a family of siblings who share an intense rivalry, despite the lovely and supportive relationship she shares with her own sister.
How far you would you go for love? Franny Stone is determined to go to the end of the earth, following the last of the Arctic terns on what may be their final migration to Antarctica.
As animal populations plummet and commercial fishing faces prohibition, Franny talks her way onto one of the few remaining boats heading south. But as she and the eccentric crew travel further from shore and safety, the dark secrets of Franny’s life begin to unspool. A daughter’s yearning search for her mother. An impulsive, passionate marriage. A shocking crime. Haunted by love and violence, Franny must confront what she is really running towards – and from.
In this episode, Erin Christie speaks to Charlotte McConaghy about The Last Migration - and the incredible amount of research that went into it - launching a book in a pandemic, and leaning into the climate crisis.
Buy the book here: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/bE316
Hailed as ‘a fearless exposer of folly, vice and crime’ when it first hit the streets in the 1890s, Truth was later condemned by a High Court Judge as ‘a wretched little paper, reeking of filth, injurious to the health of house servants and young girls’.
Adrian Tame knows that better than anyone as he worked for Truth for more than a decade as a reporter and news editor. In the years it was owned by the Murdoch family he worked alongside young Rupert as he cut his teeth on the shock horror scandals that graced the pages of Truth when it was selling a whopping 400,000 copies a week.
Funny, often outrageous and always thoroughly entertaining, The Awful Truth is a rollercoaster ride through an colourful era of newspapers and larger-than-life reporters that we will never see the like of again.
In this episode, Adrian joins Max Lewis to chat about revisiting his scandalous time at 'Truth' (including a Bikie story too shocking for the book), and his opinions on journalism today.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/2DlcwHW
Suddenly, when the country caught fire, people realised what the government has not: that climate change is killing us. But climate deaths didn’t start in 2019. Medical officers have been warning of a health emergency as temperatures rise for years, and for at least a decade Australians have been dying from the plagues of climate change – from heat, flood, disease, smoke. And now, pandemic.
In this detailed, considered, compassionate book, Paddy Manning paints us the big picture. He revisits some headline events which might have faded in our memory, and brings to our attention less well-publicised killers. In each case, he has interviewed scientists to explore the link to climate change and asks how – indeed, whether – we can better prepare ourselves in the future.
In this episode, Paddy joins Max Lewis to open up about his experience in writing the book, and how the current climate disaster and COVID-19 pandemic have more in common than we might think.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/30c2sKk
As a child, Julie dreamed of being somewhere else, of making a difference. Now, she can’t wait to meet the nuns she will live with and the children she will provide physiotherapy for in Ethiopia.
But Julie has trouble sticking to convent rules and soon finds herself wondering how much difference a single physio can make anyway.
When she takes a teaching role at a university, Julie finally feels closer to fulfilling her dreams – training Ethiopia’s first physiotherapists, treating paediatric patients, and losing her heart to a handsome colleague.
Then civil unrest reaches the university, forcing Julie’s students to choose between their safety and their future. When it comes to being a part of change, why do all steps feel like small steps?
In this episode, Max Lewis joins Julie as she reflects on her time in Ethiopia.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/3f6vsao
Murph Cooper is famous … and he's not happy about it.Kid Normal and the Super Zeroes used to save the day in secret. But suddenly everyone knows who they are.
Oily villain Nicholas Knox has told the public that superheroes are dangerous. He wants to lock them all up and take over the world! Cue evil cackling
Murph must expose Knox's evil plan, or the world of heroes is doomed forever!
In this episode, Max Lewis joins Greg and Chris to chat about the 'Kid Normal' series, and it's thrilling final book.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/2AiG5II
In 2015, Eva Holland was forced to confront her greatest fear when her mother unexpectedly had a stroke and passed away. After the shock and grief subsided, Holland was sent on a deep dive into the science of fear, digging into an array of universal and personal questions.
On her journey, Holland meets with scientists who are working to eliminate phobias with a single pill, she explores the lives of the few individuals who suffer from a rare disease that prevents them from ever feeling fear, and she immerses herself in her own fears, including hurling herself out of a plane.
In this episode, Max Lewis chats with Eva Holland about her debut 'Nerve', to find out more about her journey into her own fears, and how she came out the other side.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/2LZAlpq
On a night of raging winds and rain, Captain Cook's Endeavour lies splintered on a coral reef off the coast of far north Australia. A small disparate band of survivors, fracturing already, huddle on the shore of this strange land - their pitiful salvage scant protection from the dangers of the unknown creatures and natives that live here.
Watching these mysterious white beings, the Guugu Yimidhirr people cannot decide if they are ancestor spirits to be welcomed - or hostile spirits to be speared. One headstrong young boy, Garrgiil, determines to do more than watch and to be the one to find out what exactly they are.
In 'On a Barbarous Coast', Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick tell a story of what might have been if things went a little differently. The pair joined Max Lewis to chat about creating fiction from reality, and the importance of Indigenous perspective when it comes to the discovery of this land.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/3d888ZC
When urban academic Hayley Katzen moves to a remote Australian cattle property to live with her farmer girlfriend, she hopes, at last, to find home.
But this is no happy-ever-after tree change. Lecture halls, law reform and the arts are replaced with castrating calves, shovelling manure, fire-fighting and anti-gas blockades. In a place that attracts people who live by their own rules, Hayley must confront her limitations and preconceptions to forge her own identity.
Grab a copy of Untethered here: https://bit.ly/2VFwZh9
Anna Austen has always been told she must marry rich. Her future depends upon it. While her dear cousin Fanny has a little more choice, she too is under pressure to find a suitor.
But how can either girl know what she wants? Is finding love even an option? The only person who seems to have answers is their Aunt Jane. She has never married. In fact, she's perfectly happy, so surely being single can't be such a bad thing?
The time will come for each of the Austen girls to become the heroines of their own stories. Will they follow in Jane's footsteps?
In this episode, historian Lucy Worsley chats to Erin Christie about her love of history and Jane Austen, and how she plans to pass this on to the next generation of young girls through her writing.
It’s 1972. When hot-headed, impetuous Jack Muir gets off the ship in Durban, he fails to get back on. Instead, he sails into misadventure, fleeing the stifling town of Genoralup to try to lose himself in South Africa at the height of apartheid. But the past has a way of catching up with you, and soon Jack is running again, this time to a kibbutz in Israel.
In the course of a lifetime, Jack will travel far, always caught between fleeing from and seeking those things he needs: a mother’s precious gift, a lover in a time of war, the loss of a child, a kind and steady woman.
And, across time and across continents, old Jack Muir will remember those who helped him become a decent man, a better father and a friend.
In this episode, Western Australian author Jon Doust chats with Greg Dobbs about 'Return Ticket', the final book in his trilogy that began with the Booker longlisted 'Boy on a Wire'.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/2Y9AZIj
Lizzie, Megan and Sam became accidental friends over good coffee, banter and wrong-world jokes at school drop off. Lizzie is a part-time midwife with four kids and a secret past. Sam is an ex-chef and stay-at-home dad with an absent, high-flying corporate wife. Megan is an ex-model single mum with a thriving online business and no time for loneliness. None of them have much interest in their school community, but when tragedy deals Baytree Primary's reputation a potentially crippling blow, this unlikely trio have to step up. Forced out of their respective comfort zones, Lizzie, Megan and Sam learn more about each other, the school and themselves than they thought possible.
Beginning as a short-form web series, 'The Drop-Off' by performing/writing duo Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish has been adapted to a full length novel. Max chatted about the journey from screen to page, and working together as a married couple.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/2VGjAoZ
[CONTENT WARNING: This podcast features discussions of homophobia, mental health and suicide. Furthermore, the intro contains homophobic slurs/language, violence and references to suicide. If you'd like to skip this section, skip to 1:20 in the podcast.]
The debut book of Sydney-based Journalist and reporter Shannon Molloy, 'Fourteen' is a story about his fourteenth year of life as a gay kid at an all-boys rugby-mad Catholic school in regional Queensland. It was a year of torment, bullying and betrayal – not just at the hands of his peers, but by adults who were meant to protect him.
Shannon joined Max Lewis to chat about the cathartic process of writing the book, the unfortunate fate of Safe Schools and how it may have helped a teenager like him, and the best pop bangers of the late 90s.
Grab a copy of Fourteen: http://bit.ly/2VYGEjj
From the author of 'The Lace Weaver' comes a new historical fiction novel, drawing from the unseen character of a Jonathan Swift's classic 'Gulliver's Travels'.
London, 1702. When her husband is lost at sea, Mary Burton Gulliver, midwife and herbalist, is forced to rebuild her life without him. But three years later when Lemuel Gulliver is brought home, fevered and communicating only in riddles, her ordered world is turned upside down.
Grab a copy of Gulliver's Wife: http://bit.ly/3adcZH4
[CONTENT WARNING: This podcast contains descriptions of war and mental illness that may upset listeners. Discretion is advised. In addition, the intro contains descriptions of violence against a child; skip to 1:34 in the podcast if you'd like to avoid this.]
As a boy living in the Dinka tribe in what is now South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, Ayik Chut Deng was a member of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). During his time as a child soldier, he witnessed unspeakable violence and was regularly tortured by older boys. At age nineteen, he and his family escaped the conflict in Sudan and resettled in Toowoomba, Australia.
Overcoming a childhood filled with torture and war was a process of lifelong learning, choices and challenges that included a remarkable chance encounter with a figure from his past, and an appearance on national television.
In this episode, Ayik Chut Deng joined Max Lewis to chat about the writing of his memoir 'The Lost Boy: Tales of a Child Soldier', and how he overcame unimaginable trauma to become the man he is today.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/2UutFVx
Prague, 1943. Taken from her home in Prague, Hana Lederova finds herself imprisoned in the Jewish ghetto of Theresienstadt, where she is forced to endure appalling deprivation and the imminent threat of transportation to the east. When she attracts the attention of the Czech gendarme who becomes her guard, Hana reluctantly accepts his advances, hoping for the protection she so desperately needs.
Sydney, 2010. Manipulated into a liaison with her married boss, Tessa knows she needs to end it, but how? Tessa's grandmother, Irena, also has something to hide. Harkening back to the Second World War, hers is a carefully kept secret that, if revealed, would send shockwaves well beyond her own fractured family.
In this episode, Suzanne Leal joins Max Lewis to share the true story of wartime betrayal that inspired the decade-spanning twists and turns of her latest novel, 'The Deceptions'.
Out now via Allen & Unwin: https://bit.ly/2UrR8qi
In 1901, the word bondmaid was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.
Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.
Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word bondmaid flutter to the floor unclaimed. Esme seizes the word and hides it in an old wooden trunk that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.
In this episode, Pip Williams joins Greg Dobbs to share the true stories (and real women) behind the first Oxford dictionary, and how it informed her latest book.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/2vWWQHg
Hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, and allergic to bullshit, Jean is not your usual grandma. She’s never been good at getting on with other humans, apart from her beloved granddaughter, Kimberly. Instead, she surrounds herself with animals, working as a guide in an outback wildlife park. And although Jean talks to all her charges, she has a particular soft spot for a young dingo called Sue.
As disturbing news arrives of a pandemic sweeping the country, Jean realises this is no ordinary flu: its chief symptom is that its victims begin to understand the language of animals — first mammals, then birds and insects, too. As the flu progresses, the unstoppable voices become overwhelming, and many people begin to lose their minds, including Jean’s infected son, Lee. When he takes off with Kimberly, heading south, Jean feels the pull to follow her kin.
In this episode, Laura Jean McKay joins Max Lewis to chat about the process behind her apocalyptic/speculative fiction debut, and what animal she'd most like to talk to.
Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/2QX1Pzb
When investigative journalist Chrissie O’Brian lands a senior job at The Argus, she is desperate to escape the nightmares of her past. Her life has become a daily battle to numb the pain. But her job is something she can do better than anyone else – and the only thing that keeps the memories at bay.
A face-off on the waterfront between the unions and big business is just the kind of story to get her career back on track. But after a dockworker who confided in her turns up dead, Chrissie becomes obsessed with unravelling the truth. When a gruesome threat lands on her desk, it's clear someone is prepared to do anything to stop her.
In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to Karina Kilmore about how she weaved her decades of experience as a journalist, and her family history of unions and dock workers, into her debut crime novel 'Where the Truth Lies'. Out now via Simon & Schuster.
Where the Truth Lies: https://bit.ly/2Wxs0jv
In 'When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains', Ariana Neumann dives into the secrets of her father’s past: years spent hiding in plain sight in wartorn Berlin, the annihilation of dozens of family members in the Holocaust, and the courageous choice to build anew.
Ariana Neumann joined Gregory Dobbs to chat about how the process of uncovering her father's past.
Grab a copy of When Time Stopped: http://bit.ly/3cmDsUB
John Kinsella's memoir of his rural life takes us deep into the heart of what it means to belong and unbelong. The joys and travails of childhood, adult addictions, missteps and changing directions are acutely captured in poignant and poetic detail.
In his most intimate prose work to date, Kinsella never shies from writing about the violence and intolerance of those scared of difference, and the ways in which his ethics have sometimes been met with disdain or outright hostility. But with nuance and humour he also celebrates rural community and its willingness to lend a hand.
In this episode, John joins Max Lewis to chat about belonging, creating a dialogue, decolonisation and anti-consumerism, and the best vegan meal.
Grab a copy of Displaced: http://bit.ly/3bOlIku
1703: The wild east coast of Scotland.
Returning to her home town of Pittenweem, fishwife and widow Sorcha McIntyre knows she faces both censure and mistrust. After all, this is a country where myth and legend are woven into the fabric of the everyday, a time when those who defy custom like Sorcha has are called to account.
Based on the shocking true story of the witch hunt of Pittenweem, 'The Darkest Shore' is a beautifully written historical tale of the strength of women united against a common foe, by one of Australia's finest writers - Karen Brooks.
Emma Harvey chatted to Karen about how her history in the army inspired her love of maps, representing the women ignored by history, rude Scottish booksellers, and the novelty mug her step-mother hates.
Grab a copy of 'The Darkest Shore': http://bit.ly/32m4V4j
Below Deck is the highly anticipated debut contemporary novel from author Sophie Hardcastle. A heartbreakingly poetic and haunting story about the vagaries of consent, about who has the space to speak and who is believed.
In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to Sophie about the themes of consent and reclaiming the body, and how her Synesthesia influenced the novel's vivid prose.
Grab a copy of Below Deck: http://bit.ly/3ad6zYu
In December 1932, as the Depression tightened its grip, the body of a woman was found in Queens Park, Sydney. It was a popular park. There were houses in plain view. Yet this woman had been violently murdered without anyone noticing. Other equally brutal and shocking murders of women in public places were to follow. Australia's first serial killer was at large.
Tanya Bretherton is the acclaimed author of The Suitcase Baby and The Suicide Bride, and her latest book The Killing Streets unpacks Australia's first serial murders and the panic that followed. In this episode, Max Lewis chats with Tanya about the social history of the case, and what gave her the true crime bug.
Grab a copy of The Killing Streets: http://bit.ly/2P0EUll
When a stand-off with her best friend sees nineteen-year-old Emily Clements stranded in Vietnam, she is alone for the first time and adrift in a new environment. With seemingly nothing to lose, she makes the biggest decision of her life – to stay. But Emily's attempts to bridge a yawning loneliness spur a downward spiral of recklessness, as she hurtles from one sexual encounter to the next. It will take a truly terrifying experience for her to'It understand that sex is both a weapon and a wound in her battle for self-worth and empowerment.
'The Lotus Eaters' is a sharply written story of self-redemption from an exciting young voice in Australian memoir that dissects the patterns of blame and shame women can form around their bodies and relationships. In this episode, Emily chats with Emma Harvey about the process of re-visiting her tumultuous time in Vietnam, the intersection between beauty standards, self esteem, and language, and her favourite Vietnamese phrases.
In 1946 two young Hungarian refugees arrive in Naples after losing everyone they loved before the war. Vera Frankel and her best friend, Edith Ban, are haunted by their terrifying escape from a train headed for Auschwitz after their mothers threw them from the carriage, promising they would follow. But instead the girls find themselves alone in a frozen, alien land.
Anita Abriel based 'The Light After The War' on her mother Vera's experiences of surviving the holocaust and carving out a new life for herself in Naples, Venezuela and finally Sydney. Max Lewis chatted to Anita about the personal story behind the book, her experiences in writing her first historical fiction novel, and the powers of love and fate in her writing.
The Light After the War: http://bit.ly/3aMEXKS
What if the baby you gave birth to belonged to someone else?
Grace and Dan are in their forties and have been on the IVF treadmill since the day they got married. Priya and her husband Nick are being treated at the same fertility clinic, and while they don't face the same pressure as the Ardens, the younger couple have their own problems.
A year on, one of the women learns her embryo was implanted in the other's uterus and must make a devastating choice: live a childless life knowing her son is being raised by strangers or seek custody of a baby who has been nurtured and loved by another couple.
Emma Harvey chatted to journalist and writer of 'The Mothers' Genevieve Gannon about the real cases of IVF mixup that inspired her book, and how Australia's IVF policy stacks up with the rest of the world.
Grab 'The Mothers': http://bit.ly/2TZqQvI
In a peaceful coastal town, a young woman is found brutally murdered, a piece of scripture held tightly in her hand. Local detective Charlotte Callaghan is put on the case, and she’s glad for the distraction – Gull Bay can be a hard place to keep a secret, and she’s holding on to a few.
A gripping crime novel about murder, betrayal and the monsters who hide in plain sight, The Devil Inside examines the line between good and evil, and how circumstance can alter a person’s life in the blink of an eye. In this episode, Max Lewis chatted to D L Hicks about how his two-decades of service to the Victorian Police Force influenced the twists and turns of his debut novel.
The Devil Inside: http://bit.ly/37Emazx
Critically acclaimed and bestselling author of the ‘Caleb Zelic’ series, Emma Viskic, is back with book three: ‘Darkness for Light.’ In this episode of the Good Reading podcast, Emma shares the challenges of writing a deaf detective, Sulari Gentill’s favourite travel snack, and why she steers clear of supernatural horror. 'Darkness for Light,' is out now: bit.ly/38RPF1R
For the first time in history, it is now within our reach to eradicate extreme poverty on a global scale. In this episode, Peter Singer speaks to both the head and the heart, demonstrating how each of us has the opportunity to make a huge difference in the lives of others, without diminishing the quality of our own.
The 10th anniversary revised eBook and celebrity-read audiobook of 'The Life You Can Save' is out today and completely FREE: thelifeyoucansave.org/the-book/
Get involved and start giving: www.thelifeyoucansave.org.au/
Benjamin Gilmour has been a paramedic for the past twenty years. He has seen his fair share of drama. But the summer of 2008 remains etched in his memory for the very worst reasons.
'The Gap' is a vivid portrait of the lead-up to Christmas; an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at what happens after the triple-zero call is made – the drugs, nightclubs, brothels, drunk rich kids, billionaires, domestic disputes, the elderly, emergency births, even a kidnapping.
In this episode, Max Lewis chats to Benjamin Gilmour about the arduous process of writing 'The Gap', and reflecting on his month from hell over a decade on.
The Gap: http://bit.ly/2pY5KBv
For half a lifetime, journalist Martin Scarsden has run from his past. But now there is no escaping.
In 'Silver' the follow-up to the bestselling 'Scrublands', Chris Hammer continues the story of Martin Scarsden as he returns to his hometown of Port Silver. Soon he and his new partner Mandy Blonde are embroiled in a brutal murder and a media storm, bringing them face to face with their past.
In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to Chris Hammer fresh from winning the Crime Writers' Association New Blood Dagger Award, to find out how his decades of experience as a journalist gives his crime writing a unique spin.
Silver: http://bit.ly/2D4j3Dq Scrublands: http://bit.ly/2uOwsvt
Back when Harry Bosch was just a rookie homicide detective he had an inspiring mentor, John Jack Thompson, who taught him to take the work personally and light the fire of relentlessness for every case. Now John Jack is dead and Harry inherits a murder book that Thompson took with him when he left the LAPD 20 years before — the unsolved killing of a troubled young man in an alley used for drug deals.Bosch brings the murder book to Renée Ballard and asks her to help him find what about the case lit Thompson’s fire all those years ago. That will be their starting point.
The bond between Bosch and Ballard tightens as they become a formidable investigative team. And they soon arrive at a worrying question: Did Thompson steal the murder book to work the case in retirement, or to make sure it never got solved?
In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to best-selling author Michael Connelly about returning to the 'bleached noir' of LA with his latest book 'The Night Fire'.
The Night Fire: http://bit.ly/2NIrRF0
Award-winning author of 'The Museum of Modern Love', Heather Rose, is a sixth-generation Tasmanian. In this episode, Emma Harvey sits down with Heather to talk about the importance of engaging with those we disagree with, how she learned to rid ego and romanticism from her craft, and why her explosive new satire ‘Bruny’ is proving more prophetic by the day.
'Bruny' by Heather Rose: bit.ly/32fkj0w 'Igniting the Fire' feature article: bit.ly/2NKHdru
[CONTENT WARNING: This podcast discusses issues of mental health and suicide]
In a small town, everyone thinks they know you: Charlie is a hardcore rocker, who's not as tough as he looks. Hammer is a footy jock with big AFL dreams, and an even bigger ego. Zeke is a shy over-achiever, never macho enough for his family. But all three boys hide who they really are. When the truth is revealed, will it set them free or blow them apart?
Invisible Boys is the debut novel of WA author Holden Sheppard, which draws upon his adolescence growing up as a gay man in the regional town of Geraldton. In this episode, Holden chats to Max Lewis about the trials and tribulations of writing such a personal book, looking back on the same-sex marriage plebiscite two years on, and what he would say to a young man struggling with his sexuality.
Invisible Boys: bit.ly/2pFHaon
If you'd told Mary Moody when she was 21 that she was going to grow up writing columns about compost, she would have thrown her hands up in horror. In 1971, off the back of a cadetship at Women's Weekly, Mary wanted to become a TV news reporter. Unfortunately for her, in those days, only men were afforded that gig. Instead she forged a diverse career as a 'show-biz' journalist, a 'hippy-dippy' stay-at-home mum, host of ABC TV’s Gardening Australia, bestselling memoirist and finally, an 'accidental tour guide.' The latter is the inspiration for her latest book, a memoir and adventure story about leading botanical treks in France, Morocco, Spain, Mongolia and the Himalayas. In this episode, Mary talks to Gregory Dobbs about learning, loving and losing a life partner. The Accidental Tour Guide: bit.ly/2pIlisI
'Paris Savages' is a fictional account of events from the late 19th century when human zoos were big business across Europe. It follows the journey of three Indigenous Australians from the Badtjala tribe of Fraser Island who make the perilous journey to Germany and France where they are admired, feared and exploited for mass entertainment masquerading as science and education.
In this complex and powerful story, layers of history are carefully peeled back to reveal a hidden world driven by profit and racism. Gregory Dobbs talks to award-winning author Katherine Johnson about the real people behind the story of Paris Savages.
Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Constantly in the shadow of death she quickly learns that survival comes at a price. She eventually finds herself imprisoned in the Russian gulag where survival is no less easy.
In this sequel to the international best-seller ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’, Heather Morris explains how this heart-breaking story came to be. Gregory Dobbs talks to Heather about the research, how she found the story and the real person behind Cilka's Journey.
Cilka’s Journey: bit.ly/2oq6k9N
The day after the 2015 Paris terror attacks, twenty-eight-year-old Canadian Jamil Jivani opened the newspaper to find that the men responsible were familiar to him. He didn’t know them, but the communities they grew up in and the challenges they faced mirrored the circumstances of his own life.
His book, 'Why Young Men' traces Jivani’s education as an activist fighting one of today’s most dangerous and intractable problems: acts of violence by angry young men. Jivani relates his personal story, his work with disenfranchised people of colour in North America and at risk youth in the Middle East and Africa, and his experiences with the white working class. He profiles a diverse array of young men – and those trying to help them – drawing parallels between these groups, refuting the popular belief that they are radically different from each other, and offering concrete steps towards countering this global trend.
Jamil joined Max Lewis to chat about the process of writing the book and revisiting his adolescence, the role of the media in shaping identity, and what parents can do to make sure their sons aren't going down a dangerous path.
Why Young Men: Dangerous Allure of Violent Movements and What We Can Do About It: http://bit.ly/2m2U2mw
‘It was cathartic, it was sad, it was humbling, it was joyful. I feel very exposed. But I don’t regret it.’ – Bernadette Agius on writing 'I’m Staying at Richard’s,' a heartwarming memoir on the joys and challenges of raising a son with Down syndrome.
In this episode, Bernadette breaks down misconceptions, shares some hilarious memories (like that time Richard unwrapped the entire family’s Christmas presents) and recalls how Richard reacted when he first read the book.
I'm Staying At Richard's: bit.ly/2kNsfX0
When she was a young girl, author and animal rights advocate Ondine Sherman wrote a letter to the editor of Animal Liberation magazine vowing that she would dedicate her life and career to improving the lives of animals. In 2019, she has more than made good on that promise, having co-founded the Australian animal protection institute, Voiceless, and published the Animal Allies series, a collection of young adult novels that inspire teenagers to question essential ethical issues. In this episode, Ondine talks with Emma Harvey about the incredible Alaskan wilderness, her favourite animal encounters, and the father-daughter relationship at the heart of her latest book 'Snow.' Snow: bit.ly/2k8Bpxb Donate to Voiceless: www.voiceless.org.au
Join Emma Harvey as she chats with the cover star of our September issue, Philippa Gregory, about her spectacular new series that exchanges the prosperity of the royal courts for the tidal marshes of 15th century Southern England.
'Tidelands' by Philippa Gregory: bit.ly/2ZN90eZ Buy any book from Booktopia this month and get FREE access to the digital edition of Good Reading: bit.ly/2jVr7jJ
Paullina Simons fans have been waiting in eager anticipation for another book from the prolific and internationally bestselling author of the Tatiana and Alexander series. Now she’s rolling out three at once.
In this episode, hosted by Emma Harvey, Paullina shares memories of growing up in Leningrad, drinking raspberry moonshine, and challenging readers' expectations in her genre-defying new trilogy, The End of Forever series.
The Tiger Catcher: bit.ly/2HuaFQd A Beggar's Kingdom: bit.ly/2HsRkPk
On Christmas Day in 1957, Ngarrindjeri man Joe Trevorrow admitted his 13-month old son, Bruce, to Adelaide Hospital. Within days, Bruce was living with another family, and Joe would never see his son again. In his new book'A Stolen Life: The Bruce Trevorrow Case',writer and politician Tony Buti meticulously and empathetically chronicles the story of Australia’s first and only successful Stolen Generations claimant, the irreversible anguish of a broken family, and a 13-year battle for justice. In the latest episode of the Good Reading podcast, Tony chats with Pip Leason about the harrowing life of Bruce Trevorrow, the reverberations of his case, and the work that remains to be done. A Stolen Life: bit.ly/2MX65NZ
Last year, Melbourne co-authors Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus enchanted readers everywhere with their hilarious debut rom-com 'The Book Ninja'. Now the powerpair are back to chat about their new book, 'While You Were Reading,' a warm and witty tale of friendship, first dates and beloved second-hand books.
In this episode, Ali and Michelle talk to gr's Emma Harvey about balancing friendship with co-authorship, sharing a Kindle account, and sneaking their new novel onto Melbourne's public transport.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 While You Were Reading by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus: bit.ly/2SQosVv Bookstagram: crazybooklady_ babblingbooks lifeandliterature reesesbookclub
What was life really like in the early years of the colony of Botany Bay?
Upon arrival, convicts and free settlers faced the perils of an unknown continent, thousands of miles from home and with a very uncertain future. This new Australian history shines a light on the illness, the chaos, the delusion and the terror experienced by everyone who arrived on these shores.
Gregory Dobbs talks to James Dunk about his new book Bedlam at Botany Bay which traces the history of madness in the early colony of Sydney and how the early settlers grappled with the challenges of a new country, taken from its Indigenous inhabitants, and ruled by the weight of imperial justice.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Bedlam in Botany Bay: bit.ly/2XCkxRa
Katherine Rundell has tiptoed along tightropes, piloted small planes, illegally strutted across the rooftops of Oxford, galloped through herds of zebras in Zimbabwe and hunted for tasty piranhas in the Amazon.
The Costa Award-winning author tells Angus Dalton how her daring adventures inspire her children’s novels including The Explorer and her new book about a daring heist in 1920s New York, The Good Thieves.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 The Explorer: bit.ly/30RlwM9 The Good Thieves: bit.ly/2YU9yPO
When he was ten years old, Armando Lucas Correa’s grandmother told him: ‘Cuba is going to pay very dearly for what they did to the Jewish refugees.’
She was referring specifically to the 1939 voyage of the St. Louis, an ocean liner that transported 937 Jewish refugees out of Nazi Germany to Havana, Cuba. Upon their arrival, the Cuban government refused to accept the passengers, and the United States and Canada also denied them entry. When the war broke out, 254 St. Louis passengers were killed in the Holocaust.
In this podcast, award-winning journalist and writer Armando Lucas Correa talks to Gregory Dobbs about the second instalment in his bestselling historical fiction trilogy, 'The Daughter’s Tale,' which continues to chronicle one of the most harrowing atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Read The Daughter's Tale: bit.ly/2xi8QA5
In 1994, location scout Claire Montgomery is trying to secure permission to shoot a TV show at a historic art deco cinema near a country town in Northern Queensland. In 1950, we meet Lena Lee, an ambitious Hollywood actress holding out for bigger roles and better characters, who is challenged by the male-dominated film industry and a scandalous affair.
In her decade-spanning new novel The Cinema at Starlight Creek, author Alli Sinclair asks one question: 'How far would you go to follow your dream?' In conversation with Angus Dalton, Alli tells us about exploring Hollywood in two different decades, scaling mountains, and writing romance.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8
Two hundred years from now, people are migrating en masse to the poles to escape soaring temperatures. Fifteen-year-old Finch lives with his father in a near-deserted coasted town south of Sydney. Soon they must follow the great migration south, but before they go, a newly arrived couple become a point of infatuation for young Finch.
Craig Ensor's The Warming is a beautifully written story about love and migration, set in an overheated world we could very well be heading towards. The author joins Angus Dalton.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 The Warming: bit.ly/2WAdckE
Crossings, the novel billed as the most daring debut in decades, is made up of three compelling stories: a letter written by lyric poet Charles Baudelaire to an illiterate young girl, a noir romance story in wartime Paris that begins in a graveyard and a tale about a woman with paranormal powers. They all weave together to create a stunningly imaginative story about seven lifetimes and two souls.
Author Alex Landragin joins Angus Dalton to tell us about his travel writing days in Africa, how he 'stole' this stunning story, and why literature is 'a form of recorded empathy’.
The so-called 'discovery' of Australia's world famous fauna is overwhelmingly associated with European men like John Gould and Joseph Banks. But Indigenous Australians had been living alongside these animals for tens of thousands of years, and it was their sophisticated zoological knowledge that allowed European naturalists to bring the attention of the world to Australia's bizarre and brilliant wildlife.
Penny Olsen and Lynette Russell join Angus Dalton to chat about their new book, Australia's First Naturalists.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Australia's First Naturalists: bit.ly/315eIdY
When nomadic Irish author James Delargy experienced the Western Australian outback, something about the landscape enthralled and terrified him.
He channelled that awe into 55, a new thriller with a terrifying premise. Two men turn up to a police station with the exact same story of being kidnapped by a serial killer - and each accuses the other of being the murderer.
Angus Dalton chats with James to find out how he came to imagine this gripping story.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 55: bit.ly/2QsjqgF
If you’ve ever wondered just what Bitcoin is and why you should care about it then Finn Brunton’s new book, Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, And Technologists Who Built Cryptocurrency, is essential reading for the modern citizen.
Gregory Dobbs talks to Finn about the genius and the madness behind the development of cryptocurrency.
The True Story of Maddie Bright by Mary-Rose MacColl follows a young serving girl on Prince Edward’s 1920 tour of Australia, a journalist hunting a story that could rock the literary world, and a reclusive elderly woman in Brisbane with secrets to keep.
Mary-Rose MacColl joins Angus Dalton to talk about celebrity, the royals, why lost infants often show up in her stories, and how a baby crow came to make a cameo in her poignant novel.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 The True Story of Maddie Bright: bit.ly/2WdBAVB For a Girl: bit.ly/2IQ1ZpC
In Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak, there are five Dunbar brothers living a chaotic suburban existence alongside a border collie, a cat, a pigeon, a mule and a furious goldfish named after the King of Men. Their father, the Murderer, has fled, and their mother, the Mistake Maker, is dead.
The Book Thief author joins Angus Dalton to talk about the decade it took to write Bridge of Clay, his reverence for books, and the stories that have made him.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Bridge of Clay: bit.ly/2KKYkuW Catch Markus at the Sydney Writers Festival: swf.org.au
The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is a sharply written literary mystery infused with nostalgia that leaves its readers guessing.
Journalist and author Felicity McLean joins Angus Dalton to talk 90s cuisine, the art of ghostwriting, Australian Gothic, and which iconic Aussie actor accidentally catalysed the writing of her novel.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 More about The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone: bit.ly/2GmkCz0
As an award-winning writer and a professor working in the realm of pharmacology and medical research, Susan Hurley has been published in both literary magazines and medical research journals.
She joins the Good Reading podcast to tell Angus Dalton about her life-saving research, the realms of medicine and biotechnology, and a medical trial that sparked the idea for her new thriller, Eight Lives.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Find out more about Eight Lives: bit.ly/2G2WCPU
Now the author of four novels who works in one of Australia's biggest publishing houses among blockbuster titles like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Boy Swallows Universe, Matt Howard never planned to make a life surrounded by books.
In this episode of the Good Reading podcast, Angus Dalton pays a visit to Matt's office to talk about his latest novel, The Time is Now Monica Sparrow, which centres on an aspiring writer, an accidental death, and a guy who takes Marie Kondo way too seriously.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Find out more about The Time is Now, Monica Sparrow: bit.ly/2G6ywoM
There's a war on truth, and the liars are winning.
So goes the warning of veteran investigative journalist Stephen Davis about the state of our media landscape. In his new book, Truthteller, Stephen reveals the 'toolbox' of methods used by governments and corporations to mislead the public and dodge accountability.
Here he tells Angus Dalton fascinating stories from his life as a journalist, from M16 agents and Russian threats to an unresolved case of alleged murder in Sydney, and how we foot-soldiers can contribute to the War on Truth.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Find out more about Truthteller: http://bit.ly/2UfDd8h
Chocolate serves as a muse for many a writer, but did you know that the arrival of the delicious elixir in England catalysed a movement towards a more literate, engaged and sober society?
For this episode of the Good Reading Podcast, historical fiction author Karen Brooks joins Angus Dalton to tell us more about chocolate's transformation of 17th-century London and her new novel, The Chocolate Maker's Wife.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Find out more about The Chocolate Maker's Wife: bit.ly/2TB1DEh
In her first book for adults since 2004, 'Gravity is the Thing', treasured children's author Jaclyn Moriarty writes about a mysterious self-help book called 'The Guidebook' that is sent to selected mailboxes one chapter at a time.
Jaclyn joins Angus Dalton in this episode to talk about getting sucked in to self-help, why she would like an external committee to be in control of her life, and why she has a bone to pick with her sister, Liane Moriarty.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 About Gravity is the Thing: http://bit.ly/2UeRYaA
Archivist and curator Vanessa Finney unearths Australia's earliest natural history photographs in Capturing Nature, her new book that reveals how scientific photography began at the Australian museum.
From tiny inch-long fish to whale skeletons as long as buses, the museum's camera captured thousands of extraordinary images that have never been seen by the public.
Angus Dalton heads to the museum to meet Vanessa and find out how photography revolutionised scientific understanding of nature and influenced the ideas of Charles Darwin.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 About Capturing Nature: bit.ly/2HAgMUQ
In his first series for adults, Canberra writer Jack Heath has created a compelling character who works as a consultant for the FBI and has a very peculiar palate ...
In this episode, Jack sits down with Angus Dalton to talk about Hangman and its new sequel, Hunter, getting published as a teenager, the ethical questions that surround cannibalism, and whether he'd mind being devoured upon dying. Yeah, things get weird.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 Find out about Hangman & Hunter: bit.ly/2CyljTt
As a writer, Simon Cleary brings art and creativity up alongside experiences of war. In his latest novel, The War Artist, a Brigadier called James Phelan escorts the body of a young soldier home from Afghanistan. Struggling to adapt back to civilian life, an encounter with a tattoo artist named Kira changes Phelan permanently - both inside and out.
Simon joined Angus Dalton to talk about the legacy of the Afghanistan War, PTSD, and the significance of tattoos in this episode of the Good Reading Podcast.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 About the book: bit.ly/2TXj8CN
Peggy Frew's Hope Farm was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize. The Melbourne writer and ARIA Award-winning musician is back with Islands, a novel about a family in crisis that covers many generations, viewpoints and timelines.
In this episode, Peggy tells Angus Dalton about creative doubt, running into the ocean in her undies, and 'the big, enormous, sprawling mess' of family.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 About the book: bit.ly/2VNkhdi
At a local playground where his daughter was playing, writer Jeremy N Smith met a woman who turned out to be a cybersecurity expert and a seasoned hacker. They got talking about her life and Jeremy quickly became fascinated.
His new book, 'Breaking and Entering: The extraordinary story of a hacker called Alien', is the result of that chance meeting. It's a fascinating profile of a daring hacker, a deep-dive into the history of cybersecurity, and a troubling wake-up call for those of us who'd rather not think about how vulnerable we are to hackers in our hyper-connected world.
Here Jeremy tells Angus Dalton about the death-defying form of hacking Alien was introduced to at MIT, and reveals why he's ditched using Google as a result of hanging out with hackers.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 About the book: http://bit.ly/2GOWBkG
If given the chance, would you adjust the past to avoid a terrible tragedy in the future? And if you went back in time 20 years and tracked down a younger version of yourself, what kind of person would you find?
These questions are central to Jennifer Spence's new novel, The Lost Girls. Stella slips back in time to 1997 and must disguise herself in the past, resist changing her family's fate, and attempt to get back to the present.
We spoke to the author about time travel, the innocence of 1997, and gleaning writing advice from a famous parable.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 About the book: http://bit.ly/2SKhgfZ
Jacqueline Kent was working as a book editor when she was assigned a set of humorous short stories by Kenneth Cook, author of the classic horror novel Wake in Fright.
Her dealings with Cook resulted in a 'volcanic' relationship and a brief marriage between two lovers of words. Jacqueline writes beautifully about her time with Ken in her new memoir, Beyond Words.
In this episode, Angus Dalton asks Jacqueline about the enduring legacy of Wake in Fright, a butterfly farm, and the changes she's watched unfold across the Australian book industry.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NGVDYK Listen on Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2MXSxQ8 About the book: http://bit.ly/2UKEobS
Yotam Ottolenghi is universally admired for a cooking style that is complex, layered, and brimming with freshness and colour. Unfortunately that can sometimes lead to a lot of preparation and even more washing up.
In his latest book, 'Simple', Ottolenghi proves that cooking his way doesn’t have to be so challenging. On the advice of his sister, Ottolenghi has created a book of recipes for the time poor or the outright lazy using a set of 10 fundamental ingredients. Gregory Dobbs asks about the perils and pleasures of cooking Ottolenghi style and how 'Simple' can help you get there.
Find out more about the book: http://bit.ly/2G54PFG
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/good-reading-podcast/id1402922430?mt=2
Punk rocker Dave Warner and documentary maker Alan Carter on how writing crime can result in being listed as a suspect for a cold-case murder and why Australian and New Zealand crime books are as much a force of nature as Scandi noir.
Alan Carter is the author of the Cato Kwong thriller series and the standalone novel 'Marlborough Man'. His latest book is 'Heaven Sent': http://bit.ly/2SRB1zh
Dave Warner's first book, 'City of Light' won the WA Premier's Book Award. His latest books are 'Before it Breaks' and 'Clear to the Horizon': http://bit.ly/2TLyPJu
Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/good-reading-podcast/id1402922430
Pip Drysdale grew up in Africa and Australia, moved to New York when she was 20 to act in indie films and theatre, got married in a black dress and divorced at 22.
In this podcast she chats to Emma Harvey about bad break-ups, method writing, and the Machiavellian men that inspired her thriller, The Sunday Girl.
More about The Sunday Girl: http://bit.ly/2snOseN
Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/good-reading-podcast/id1402922430?mt=2
Food history in Australia is divided into two eras: BG and AG (Before Garlic and After Garlic). In his new book, The Getting of Garlic, veteran food writer John Newton delves into how Australia foodies got over their fear of this now ubiquitous ingredient.
He also lays out how we moved from a country of charcoal chops and mushy peas to the creators of a vibrant, 'mongrel' cuisine with influences from across the globe.
And what's so special about a pie floater?
The Getting of Garlic: http://bit.ly/2QRlRfL
In 1981 Frauke Bolten-Boshammer left her beloved Germany to begin a farm with her husband, Frederich, in the isolated town of Kununurra in the Kimberley.
Tragedy soon followed, and Frauke was left alone to run a farm and raise a family in the Western Australian outback. But a discovery of global significance made by geologists nearby changed the course of Frauke's life forever.
'A Diamond in the Dust' is the story of how Frauke pioneered an outback diamond empire and put a tiny outback town on the world map. In this podcast, Frauke shares her experiences contending with crocodiles thrashing through Christmas lunch and offers the wisdom she has gleaned from a life marked by sadness, perseverance, and love in the outback.
Find out more about 'A Diamond in the Dust' here: http://bit.ly/2QiyXSD
[Please note that this podcast contains discussions of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.]
In his new book, 'New Jerusalem', historian Paul Ham casts his research net back some 500 years, to examine, in graphic detail, events in early 16th century Europe during the time of the Reformation.
Gregory Dobbs talks to Paul ham about the rise of the Melchiorite sect and the bloody siege of the Westphalian town of Munster. He explores the blasphemy, depravity, and grisly death of Christendom’s most defiant sect, and finds many parallels in today’s modern world.
'New Jerusalem': http://bit.ly/2Qd6FZX
Lee Child sells one of his Jack Reacher thriller novels once every 20 seconds. There are at least 100 million copies of his books in print.
The legendary thriller writer joins Angus Dalton to discuss Tom Cruise's recently announced departure from the Jack Reacher film franchise, the exact reasons why books are always better than movie, and how the death of Child's father led to one of the most personal Reacher thrillers yet.
He also touches on air conditioning, why we have Rupert Murdoch to thank for his books, the influence of Stephen King on latest novel, and how a fight between Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne would go down.
Find out about Past Tense, the 23rd Jack Reacher story, here: https://bit.ly/2DwsrB2
Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/good-reading-podcast/id1402922430?mt=2
'Our mother had a dark heart feeling'. So begins Karen Foxlee's new children's novel, Lenny's Book of Everything, a story of the beetle-obsessed Lenny Spink, a boy who can't stop growing, and an encyclopedia that broadens their entire world.
Karen Foxlee joins Angus Dalton to talk about her luminous, unforgettably moving book, and how her writing life began with sheets of butcher's paper in an outback mining town.
Find out more about Lenny's Book of Everything: http://bit.ly/2qS4igT
On 7 February, 2009, hundreds of bushfires tore across Victoria, taking 173 lives and destroying over 300 000 hectares of bushland and private property.
In this podcast, we sit down with with Walkley Award-winning author and journalist Chloe Hooper to speak about her new book ‘The Arsonist’, a captivating and haunting retelling of the Black Saturday bushfires through the eyes of those who were there, as well as the subsequent investigation and trial of firebug Brendan Sokaluk.
Chloe shares her own experience of the fires that swept past her house in Northern Victoria, discusses the role and response of governments when it comes to managing fires on a rapidly warming planet, and helps to answer the burning question: what kind of person is an arsonist?
Find the book: http://bit.ly/2RSh8Hi
What do you get when you put the story of history's greatest pandemic in the hands of the Queen of Crime? Something truly un-put-downable.
Minette Walters had sold over 25 million crime thriller novels when she stopped writing in 2007. In the midst of a 10-year hiatus, she made a grisly discovery in her town near Dorset, UK. That discovery inspired her new series about the Black Death that follows a heretical young woman, Lady Anne, as she defies the church to protect her people.
Books mentioned in this podcast:
The Last Hours - bit.ly/2B5IDrl The Turn of Midnight - bit.ly/2OHyWmE
'Seven Deadly Sins (And one very naughty fruit)' is an irreverent romp through gastronomical history. Comedian and presenter Mikey Robins serves up bizarre anecdotes about food from around the world that all relate to a deadly sin - from greed and gluttony to lust and envy.
Hear Mikey tell some outrageous foodie stories, both from the book and hilarious yarns he couldn't quite fit in. Mikey exclusively tells us the recipe for the cocktail named after him, tells the 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club' of fart jokes, and reveals the identity of the very naughty fruit he mentions in the title of his book!
Get a copy of Seven Deadly Sins here: http://bit.ly/2ESdk7n
Lynette Noni is the author of the fantasy YA series 'The Medoran Chronicles' and 'Whisper', a novel about a girl called Jane Doe who has been locked away and experimented on for years.
Olivia, Connor and Jenna from NSW's Central Coast Grammar School jumped behind the microphone and quizzed Lynette on everything from the hard hitting (how on earth do you write a book in just 26 days?!) to the hilarious (would you rather a leg-sized finger or a finger-sized leg?).
Find out more about Lynette's books here: http://bit.ly/2SpJPfO
Stephanie Alexander, who has sold half a million copies of her book The Cook's Companion, introduces the young and the uninitiated to good food with her new book, The Cook's Apprentice: Tips, Techniques and Recipes for New Foodies.
The legendary cook tells Gregory Dobbs about attacking pomegranates, her lamentations about modern eating habits, and how teaching her father to bake bread turned his life around.
Find out more about Stephanie's new book: http://bit.ly/2ynZXWM
In 2016, Archibald Prize-winning artist Ben Quilty travelled with Richard Flanagan to places where the Syrian refugee crisis was peaking. He had no idea what to make of the experience until he met a young girl named Heba, and asked her to draw him a picture of her home.
Find out more about Home: Drawings by Syrian Children - http://bit.ly/2R8ew81
As ABC political correspondent Laura Tingle put the finishing touches on her latest Quarterly Essay, 'Follow the Leader: Democracy and the rise of the strongman', Canberra descended into chaos. Dutton challenged, Turnbull fell, Morrison won.
After some lightning-fast edits, the updated essay came out in the wake of the turmoil, and it examines Australian politics and the leaders of Germany, America, and China in order to answer the question in the minds of many: What the hell is going on?
Angus Dalton quizzes Laura on the connections between political leadership and YA fiction, Trump’s Voldemortian qualities, and what needs to change in order for us to see a Prime Minister survive a full term.
For a guy who once thought that books were excruciatingly tedious, John Purcell has made quite the career from selling, reading, and writing them. He opened his own secondhand bookshop in his 20s, wrote a trilogy of bestselling erotica novels, and is now the Head of Books at Australian online bookshop, Booktopia. As part of that job, he's quizzed over a thousand of the world's brightest, bestselling writers.
Here John tells Angus Dalton about his oddball bookshop customers, how Catch-22 and 50 Shades of Grey kicked off his career as a published writer, and his satirical, sexy new novel, The Girl on the Page.
Books discussed:
The Girl on the Page by John Purcell: http://bit.ly/2QrLvDH The Secret Lives of Emma by Natasha Walker: http://bit.ly/2zQqf5n Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: http://bit.ly/2Rp6bNZ 50 Shades of Grey by E L James: http://bit.ly/2Oy167w Normal People by Sally Rooney: http://bit.ly/2Oy1bbk
Listen to John's podcast over at Booktopia here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/blog/podcasts/
Singer-songwriter Holly Throsby took Aussie fiction lovers by storm in 2016 with her debut novel, Goodwood. Her latest book, Cedar Valley, came to form because she couldn't quite leave the world of her first book.
Here Holly talks to Emma Harvey about quintessential Australian 'dagginess', Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and why a book tour is a hell of a lot better (though slightly less rock and roll) than a music tour.
Goodwood: http://bit.ly/2ReZyxL Cedar Valley: http://bit.ly/2zJCdxi
For this episode of the Good Reading Podcast, we hand over the mic to three Year 9 students of Brigidine College in Sydney. Together they quiz YA fantasy author Wanda Wiltshire on her 'Betrothed' series, and have a discussion about love triangles, the character traits of strength and independence, Sarah J Maas and other favourite books, and advice for aspiring writers.
Find out more about the book series here: http://bit.ly/2wzMIBB
‘It all started when a kid died.’
Meg Gatland-Veness is the author of the new Young Adult novel ‘I Had Such Friends’, a bold and heartfelt debut that is earning comparisons to ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and ‘Thirteen Reasons Why.’
In this podcast, Meg chats to Good Reading about growing up on Jaclyn Moriarty and Melina Marchetta, being a high school drama teacher, and why she believes it’s important to be upfront and honest in YA fiction.
Read more about 'I Had Such Friends': http://bit.ly/2BAaYZ4
Whether you're in need of a solid knock-knock joke, a cringeworthy pun, a hilarious yarn or a weird factoid you can whip out at a family barbecue, the Worland brothers are here to help.
Triple M radio host Gus Worland and his brother, writer Steve Worland, have created 'The Bloke-a-saurus: Jokes for blokes, fair dinkum funnies and true blue Aussie wisdom'. Ranging from groan-inducing corkers, mortifying dad jokes and side-splitting yarns (like the time Gus blew over 15 grand of Hugh Jackman's credit card), The Bloke-a-saurus is here to serve as on-the-dunny entertainment or to do the rounds of the family dinner table.
Royalties from the book with be going to the Gotcha 4 Life foundation, which trains male crisis counsellors. In this podcast, Gus and Steve chat with Angus Dalton about why suicide is the biggest killer for men under 45, and how they hope The Bloke-a-saurus can help bring families together and challenge toxic masculinity.
Get the book here: http://bit.ly/2BddEMi Gotcha 4 Life: https://gotcha4life.org/
If you are need of support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or visit their website: https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Please note: This podcast contains discussions of sexual abuse.
Bri Lee is the author of ‘Eggshell Skull’, a bestselling memoir about Bri's time as a Judge's Associate in Queensland, witnessing institutional injustices faced by women, children and minorities in sexual assault trials. The book is also a devastating coming-of-age story, as Bri’s recounts her own journey through the legal system as a plaintiff in her own case.
In this episode, Bri talks to Good Reading about the frustrations and triumphs of writing such a book, the ongoing fight for legislative change, and ‘f***ing chickpeas.’
Books mentioned:
Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee: http://bit.ly/2vqmjVv Beautiful Revolutionary by Laura Elizabeth Woollett: http://bit.ly/2OvSHi2 Night Games by Anna Krien: http://bit.ly/2KgSKLd
In Australia, judges are legally obliged to take a person’s apparent remorse into account when formulating their sentence, and yet how remorse is measured remains unclear. Kate Rossmanith’s new hybrid memoir, 'Small Wrongs: How We Really Say Sorry in Life, Love and Law', investigates legal, cultural, religious understandings of remorse and how they play out both in courtrooms and our personal lives.
In this podcast, Kate tells Emma Harvey - a former writing student of hers - about comportment and composure in the courtroom, interviewing Supreme Court judges, and why we expect apologies, and ask for redemption, in our everyday lives.
Get the book here: http://bit.ly/2uX9FO8
'Scrublands' by Chris Hammer begins with a young priest, Byron Swift, shouldering a high-powered hunting rifle and opening fire on his congregation in the tiny, drought-stricken town of Riversend. Martin Scarsden, a Sydney Morning Herald journalist, is sent to profile the town a year on from the massacre and discovers that there's far more to the killings than was initially reported.
Here Chris talks about his 30-year career as a journalist, his investigation into the families affected by the Millennium Drought, which influenced his choice of setting, and copping tough love from Australian crime writing legend Peter Temple, who lectured Chris at university.
Books mentioned in this podcast:
Scrublands by Chris Hammer: http://bit.ly/2uOwsvt The River by Chris Hammer: http://bit.ly/2mFKoDC The Broken Shore by Peter Temple: http://bit.ly/2v1JGEA Truth by Peter Temple: http://bit.ly/2NDa1QM Into the Night by Sarah Bailey: http://bit.ly/2JS0Ppv
Besides gambling destinations like Macau or Monaco, Australia has the highest amount of poker machines per capita in the world. New South Wales was the second jurisdiction - just behind Nevada in the US - to legalise pokies, and a Sydney manufacturer continues to be at the forefront of pokie machine design and production.
Drew Rooke's 'One Last Spin: The power and peril of the pokies' is a shocking investigation into the gambling's industry's power over politicians. It lays out how governments line their pockets with the billions fed to poker machines while gambling addicts' lives fall apart, and how the industry uses NRA-style techniques to block legislation that would help addicts, yet stem their profits.
In this podcast, Drew talks about the techniques poker machines use to beguile gamblers, the science of pokie addiction, and how his faith in the government to protect Australia's most vulnerable has been lost.
Get the book here: https://bit.ly/2KR6a5Z
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/good-reading-podcast/id1402922430?mt=2
What happens when a burgeoning movie star is killed on the set of a blockbuster zombie flick? Melbourne crime writer Sarah Bailey is back with her unforgettable character, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock, who has left her small regional town in favour of the big smoke. Sarah talks to Angus Dalton about women in the police force, books for boys, and why she's drawn to crimes on display.
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/good-reading-podcast/id1402922430?mt=2
For the launch of Good Reading's new podcast, sponsored by Pantera Press, we're joined by author of the Rowland Sinclair mystery novels, Sulari Gentill. She tells Angus Dalton about being turned away by the White Australia Policy, finding stories in the stars, her dapper amateur detective and the unsolved mystery of the Pyjama Girl Murder.
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/good-reading-podcast/id1402922430?mt=2