Tom Bamforth: The new frontiers of travel writing
Is the phrase ‘politically engaged travel writing’ an oxymoron? You might be forgiven for believing so, with travel sections in many newspapers increasingly focused on massage retreats, wine tourism and exotic cuisine. Tom Bamforth thinks travel writing can do so much more than that. He believes literary travel writing that embraces context, complexity and contradiction can bring attention to ...
35m Jan 27, 2016
35m
Queer Literature: Then and Now
They grow up so fast! This year marks significant birthdays for three celebrated works of Australian queer literature. Holding the Man, the memoir by Timothy Conigrave turns 20. Loaded, the first novel by Christos Tsiolkas turns 20, too. The Monkey’s Mask, the verse novel by Dorothy Porter, turns 21. To mark these milestones, we’ll explore the cultural impact of these three works and discuss t...
1hr 3m Jan 27, 2016
1hr 3m
Question Time: Generation Next: The Issues and Opportunities Facing Young Australians
With tertiary fees and youth unemployment on the rise, an uncertain job market, increasingly elusive home ownership, and climate change knocking on the door … you’d have to think things are looking a little grim for young people in Australia today. But there’s plenty of scope for optimism too. The number of young people working or studying in Australia has never been higher, controversial prop...
59m Jan 27, 2016
59m
You Read Me?
Do adults and kids have different ideas about what makes great children’s literature? Two of the best in the children’s book business, author Sally Rippin and author/illustrator Shaun Tan, will chat with Stevee and Keely, two young editors from children’s literary journal Early Harvest, as they explore writing, illustrating and commissioning for children. Do authors, illustrators and editors ...
2hr 17m Jan 08, 2016
2hr 17m
Culinary Geography
As access to exotic ingredients broadens our palates and seemingly distinct culinary cultures become fused, we are often still drawn to dishes that are personally meaningful – that draw on memory, ritual and a sense of place. For Marcel Proust, a single bite of madeleine cake was enough to unlock thousands of pages of memories. So what histories exist on the plates of Australia’s most celebrat...
58m Jan 08, 2016
58m
The Show of the Year 2015
Join us for a bonafide Wheeler Centre tradition – in which we unravel and revel in the delights and lowlights, majesties and travesties of 2015. Follow sugar-tongued songbird Casey Bennetto and a bevy of the nation’s most charmed and charming entertainers and writers – Santilla Chingaipe, The Listies, Marc Fennell, Penny Wong, First Dog on the Moon, Nicholas J. Johnson, Toby Halligan, Jane Car...
2hr 7m Dec 21, 2015
2hr 7m
Steve Albini
On the eve of Meredith Music Festival – where he’s playing with his band, Shellac – revered sound engineer and musician Steve Albini reflects on his storied career, his cultural and musical influences, recording and independent music, in conversation with broadcaster and music programmer Woody McDonald. Woody McDonald and Steve Albini
1hr 3m Dec 11, 2015
1hr 3m
Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman
Join this power couple of American literature as they interview each other on family and creativity. Find out how their partnership extends across various aspects of their lives, from raising children, to making marriage work and balancing their literary endeavours. Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman It’s hard to imagine a more fruitful blind date than the 1992 dinner in New York City that bro...
1hr 5m Dec 02, 2015
1hr 5m
The Interrobang: Mary Norris and Jane Caro: Why does ‘i’ come before ‘e’, except after ‘c’?
In the hierarchy of improbable things, a grammatical error in the pages of the New Yorker must certainly sit close to the top – and as copy editor at the notoriously fastidious literary institution, Mary Norris has been at the frontline of the fight against errant apostrophes for several decades. In conversation with Jane Caro at The Interrobang, Norris shared the story of her ascendance to th...
1hr 2m Nov 30, 2015
1hr 2m
The Interrobang: Why be good? Questions of work, love and feminism
Discuss the complexities of gender and power with the formidable critical faculties of Meghan Daum, Jane Caro, Geraldine Brooks, Nakkiah Lui and Sally Warhaft. While Roxane Gay has popularised the notion of being a ‘bad feminist’, one might ask: what does a good feminist look like? How about a good woman, parent, lover, worker? Why be good, anyway? Left to right: Jane Caro, Nakkiah Lui, Megha...
1hr 23m Nov 28, 2015
1hr 23m
A preview of our new podcast, Better Off Dead
Introducing Better Off Dead – a new podcast from Andrew Denton and the Wheeler Centre. Listen to a preview of our first episode, and visit wheelercentre.com/betteroffdead to hear more. In the first episode of Better Off Dead, writer and broadcaster Andrew Denton explains that since the painful and protracted death of his father Kit, he's been asking why good people are being forced to die bad ...
26m Nov 11, 2015
26m
Paul Keating and Kerry O'Brien
In 2013, ABC TV screened Paul Keating - The Interviews, a revealing four-part series on the life and career of the former prime minister, resulting from many hours of conversation with veteran journalist Kerry O’Brien. The material left on the cutting-room floor would have been enough to make any Australian political journalist weep. Keating is one Australia’s most intriguing, controversial and...
1hr 36m Oct 23, 2015
1hr 36m
Quarterly Essay: David Marr on Bill Shorten
How does it feel to find out you’ll be the next subject of a Quarterly Essay by David Marr? The good news is that you’re joining the ranks of some of the most influential people in Australian public life – Marr’s previous subjects include John Howard, Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd and George Pell. The bad news is that Marr is an incisive writer and a fiendishly thorough researcher with a knack for ...
1hr 2m Sep 23, 2015
1hr 2m
The F Word: Aboriginality
Maxine Beneba Clarke, Celeste Liddle and Melissa Lucashenko ‘Black women are socially not as entitled to take up space as white women,’ writes Indigenous feminist and unionist Celeste Liddle. ‘Our experiences are special, are marginal and therefore, no matter how much we may have achieved, reside on the periphery.’ The perception that feminism is characterised by a sense of solidarity remains...
1hr 4m Sep 22, 2015
1hr 4m
Dementia and Optimism: Christine Bryden and Paul Bryden
Christine Bryden was a science advisor to the prime minister and a divorced mother of three when she went to see a doctor about the severe migraines she was suffering. Shortly after, at the age of 46, she was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. That was in 1995. Two decades since her diagnosis, Bryden has written several books, been elected to the board of Alzheimer’s Disease International, t...
1hr 2m Sep 13, 2015
1hr 2m
Outbound: Landscape as Character
From Indigenous oral traditions, to the paintings of Eugene Von Guerard, to the books of Ethel Turner – the Australian landscape has proved a powerful and enduring presence in our national storytelling. But parts of our vast and diverse landscape are changing. Do the sweeping plains and ragged mountain ranges beloved of Dorothea Mackellar still inspire Australians and inform our sense of nation...
1hr Sep 09, 2015
1hr
Outbound: Question Time: Regional Focus
Beyond the city gates (okay, the urban sprawl) lies regional Australia: home to around a third of the nation’s population. Too often missing from the national conversation, the regions will be the focus of this Question Time event. We’ll examine the issues facing country communities and shine a light on the advances and innovations that are changing regional Australia as we know it. Think infra...
59m Sep 09, 2015
59m
No Relation: The Impact, Imitators and Legacy of David Foster Wallace
Is there any figure in the recent history of American literature who has generated as much cringe-inducing veneration – or as much dismay – as the late David Foster Wallace? During his lifetime, the author of Infinite Jest, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and many celebrated essays and articles was a cult figure of soaring intellect, dizzying creative ambition and slightly questionable fashio...
58m Sep 02, 2015
58m
Write of Passage: Growing Up with Morris Gleitzman
When it comes to writing stories for children and young adults, is anything off limits? For the past decade, in the Once series, bestselling children’s author Morris Gleitzman has been telling the story of Felix, a Jewish boy struggling to survive during the Holocaust. Gleitzman’s novels in this series – the latest of which, Soon, explores the aftermath of World War II – are rightly celebrated ...
1hr 1m Sep 02, 2015
1hr 1m
David Kilcullen and Robert Manne
David Kilcullen is one of the world’s most informed voices on military strategy, guerrilla conflict and terror, and the author of the forthcoming June Quarterly Essay on Islamic State. Australian-born, but now based in Washington DC, Kilcullen has twenty-five years of experience as a student and researcher of counter-terrorism and conflict zone ethnography. After serving as an Australian Army ...
1hr 4m Aug 21, 2015
1hr 4m
David Gulpilil in conversation with Margaret Pomeranz
From his very first film role in Nicolas Roeg’s landmark 1971 film Walkabout, the on-screen charisma of David Gulpilil was undeniable. Just 16 years old at the time, Gulpilil had the kind of presence – as both an actor and dancer – that held viewers entranced. Walkabout made the Yolngu man a star and in the decades since his debut, he’s become a regular (and often scene-stealing) performer in ...
1hr 4m Aug 19, 2015
1hr 4m
Africa Talks: Africa Is Not a Country
How does the Australian media report on Africa and the African community – or communities – in Australia? Is there a perception gap between reporting and reality? And how does this impact on African-Australians? Join our host, journalist Santilla Chingaipe, along with guests Stani Goma, Ginny Stein and Bertrand Tungandame to explore these questions. Left to right: Santilla Chingaipe, Bertrand ...
59m Aug 19, 2015
59m
The F Word: Romance
What role might romance play in rewriting the latent sexism embedded in our collective subconscious, over hundreds or even thousands of years? Can it teach women to discover (and ask for) what they want in bed? Join host Maxine Beneba Clarke as we get comfortable and explore it all, with speakers including Kate Belle, Kat Mayo and Beth Driscoll. The panel, from left to right: Maxine Beneba Cla...
1hr 12m Aug 19, 2015
1hr 12m
The Thalidomide Scandal: A Long Road to Justice
Thalidomide was an over-the-counter ‘wonder drug’, marketed to pregnant women in the 1950s and 1960s to treat morning sickness and anxiety. Lyn Rowe was born in Melbourne in 1962 with no arms and no legs after her mother took the drug during her pregnancy. In 2011, aged 49, Rowe finally won a multimillion-dollar settlement from the Australian distributor of thalidomide. It’s estimated that as m...
1hr Aug 10, 2015
1hr
Good conversation. Great wine: Gideon Haigh
Gideon Haigh is one of the most widely recognised names in Australian freelance journalism. Celebrated for his diverse interests and enthusiasms (he’s written on everything from digital media to Shane Warne to office architecture) and his impressively regular output (including 30 books and contributions to more than 100 different newspapers and magazines), Haigh’s latest work ventures into the ...
1hr 20m Aug 10, 2015
1hr 20m
Question Time: Supermarket Superpowers and Ethical Groceries
Competition drives prices lower and forces everyone to improve their game – so it’s in the consumer’s interest, right? Well, not really, unless price is the only thing you care about. The domination of major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths over our groceries has a wider impact than most of us realise: not just on what we buy, but on what Australian farmers grow, the kind of produce other ret...
58m Aug 05, 2015
58m
Mockingbird
To greet the release of Harper Lee’s long lost Go Set a Watchman, we present a unique, immersive tribute to its legendary companion, To Kill a Mockingbird. First published 45 years ago to immediate acclaim (and a swift Pulitzer gong), To Kill a Mockingbird’s influence runs deep – through the legal and political establishment as well as the literary world. With the help of six writers, thinkers...
1hr 38m Jul 15, 2015
1hr 38m
Question Time: Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians
Public opinion is now overwhelmingly in favour of the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia’s Constitution. What would be the symbolic and practical implications of such a change – and who is leading the push for a referendum? The panel: Madeleine Morris, Frank Brennan, Patricia Turner, George Williams and Jill Gallagher Join us for an exploration of the his...
1hr 2m Jul 15, 2015
1hr 2m
Walking the Walk: Next Steps Against Family Violence
Subscribe to the series  Podcast series The Wheeler Centre We investigate what a real, practical change in Australia’s relationship to family violence might look like – and grapple with questions of policy – with 2015 Australian of the Year and anti-family violence advocate Rosie Batty, Human Rights Law Centre executive director Hugh de Kretser, sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Brode...
59m Jul 03, 2015
59m
Beyond Bars: Reflecting on the Rights of Victoria’s Prisoners
In this discussion – recorded the day after riots broke out at the Metropolitan Remand Centre at Ravenhall in outer Melbourne – our guests focus on how we might strike a balance between community safety and the protection of human rights of prisoners. We’ll look at what restrictions are placed on prisoners’ rights, examine what’s happening in other jurisdictions and ask: what does rehabilitatio...
58m Jul 01, 2015
58m
A Land Without Giants
By now, we’re accustomed to hearing all kinds of predictions (and pronouncements) of the death of the media giant. But what would David be without Goliath? In a discussion sparked by media historian Bridget Griffen-Foley’s new book, A Companion to the Australian Media — a comprehensive survey drawing on 300 industry experts and professionals — we’re taking stock of the information economy. In ...
1hr Jul 01, 2015
1hr
Question time: Getting Older
It’s so often noted that it’s become a cliché, but it’s also a fact: the most populous generation of all time – the baby boomers – are hitting the pension years. Advances in medical technologies continue to maintain our bodies longer and ultimately extend lifespans … but they also cost money. Retirement ages are creeping upwards, not always by choice, as households calculate what they can affor...
1hr 1m Jul 01, 2015
1hr 1m
Lunchbox/Soapbox: Julian Cribb: Poisoned Planet
Everybody knows our food and environment have been polluted by chemicals, yet we remain ignorant of their potential effects and how we might avoid ingesting these harmful substances. We have become so inured to hearing news of chemical spills and dubious ingredients that we forget the danger posed by living in a chemical world. In his new book Poisoned Planet, award-winning journalist and auth...
31m Jun 25, 2015
31m
The F Word: Science
Scientific research and development have helped arm the case for gender equality – and in some cases, advances in science have helped escape gender-based pigeonholes and restrictions. (Think: the development of The Pill and its role in women’s liberation.) But science can also work to entrench prejudice, with studies interpreted to back up long-held assumptions of inherent differences (and diff...
1hr 3m Jun 25, 2015
1hr 3m
Michael Frayn
Satirist, comic essayist, novelist, playwright, reporter, columnist, translator, screenwriter, philosopher: all describe Michael Frayn. He is the author of Noises Off, Copenhagen and Democracy; critically-acclaimed and best-selling novels such as Headlong, Spies and The Tin Men; and has written extensively for the Guardian and the Observer. His exceptionally broad body of work showcases his wa...
1hr 2m Jun 25, 2015
1hr 2m
Peter Singer: Effective Altruism
Effective altruism is a new movement in the search for an ethical life that has emerged from his work on some of the world’s most pressing problems. It involves doing the most good possible and requires a rigorously unsentimental view of charitable giving. Philosopher Peter Singer urges that we spend a substantial proportion of our money and time to the organisations that will do the most good...
46m Jun 25, 2015
46m
The Fifth Estate: The Age of Defence
Fifth Estate host Sally Warhaft talks to defence expert and adviser to Chief of Airforce, Group Captain Catherine McGregor, about the shape of Australia's defence policy in action.
1hr 5m Jun 24, 2015
1hr 5m
The Fifth Estate: Sizing Up Government
As the dust settles on this year’s federal budget, the Fifth Estate turns its eye to matters economic with Ross Gittins, economics editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, and public policy experts Miriam Lyons and Ian McAuley. While the Federal Government expects to spend more in 2015 than at the height of the global financial crisis, it appears that well-funded health and higher education are in...
1hr 4m Jun 10, 2015
1hr 4m
Anne Manne On Narcissism
In The Life of I: the new culture of narcissism, Anne Manne scrutinises how prevalent narcissistic tendencies have become in popular culture, the workplace and social media. From Anders Breivik to Lance Armstrong to Elliot Rodger, Anne goes beyond the usual suspects of social media and celebrity culture to the deeper root of the issue: how a new narcissistic character-type is being fuelled by a...
1hr 3m May 29, 2015
1hr 3m
Emerging Writers’ Festival Launch: Accepted or Rejected
The Emerging Writers’ Festival launches its 2015 program with a game that puts you in the editor’s chair. How are written pieces deemed publishable? Do editors know what they’re doing? Is quality in the eye of the beholder? As four guests from this year’s Emerging Writers’ Festival present their writing, it’s up to you to decide if the piece has previously been accepted or rejected for publica...
41m May 23, 2015
41m
Level Up: Going deeper into video game culture
What do video games contribute to storytelling, stress-relief and society? As part of Freeplay 2015, we explore the prevailing issues and opportunities of game culture with Lawrence Leung, Vanessa Toholka, Scott Edgar and Leena van Deventer.
1hr 17m May 22, 2015
1hr 17m
Good conversation. Great wine: Hannie Rayson
Playwright Hannie Rayson is a much-loved Australian institution. She made history when her stage hit Life After George became the first play to be shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, and her first major success, Hotel Sorrento was made into a feature film and is a staple of VCE reading lists. She has also written for television, including popular hit Sea Change. In her long-awaited memoi...
59m May 16, 2015
59m
Africa Talks: Identity
African-Australians can face prejudice in their everyday lives, whether it’s increased likelihood of harassment by police or lazy assumptions that they come from backgrounds of poverty or violence. But identifying as African-Australian is also a source of strength, providing community ties and connecting to a rich culture. What does it mean to be an African-Australian? Who is an African-Austra...
1hr 7m May 13, 2015
1hr 7m
The Fifth Estate: Class Dismissed
In the past six months, Australia has seen the passing of two giants of the political stage — Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. Defined by the dismissal, and with vastly different leadership styles, their respective visions and energy for reform have left a lasting legacy. In this Fifth Estate, Sally Warhaft is joined by former Liberal MP, founding director of the Australian Institute of Multi...
1hr May 13, 2015
1hr
The Fifth Estate: Nick Davies: Ballarat
In this special spotlight edition of The Fifth Estate, we meet one of the most influential investigative journalists of our time. Nick Davies wrote more than 100 articles for the Guardian about scandalous crimes at Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World, which led to Britain’s Leveson Inquiry into the culture and practices of the press. He was also centrally involved in the publication of secret ca...
59m May 11, 2015
59m
The Fifth Estate: Nick Davies: Melbourne
In this special spotlight edition of The Fifth Estate, we meet one of the most influential investigative journalists of our time. Nick Davies wrote more than 100 articles for the Guardian about scandalous crimes at Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World, which led to Britain’s Leveson Inquiry into the culture and practices of the press. He was also centrally involved in the publication of secret ca...
1hr 5m May 06, 2015
1hr 5m
The Fifth Estate: Human Rights Watch
On the eve of the expected execution of Bali Ninie prisoners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in Indonesia, Fifth Estate host Sally Warhaft speaks with Tom Porteous, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch (Washington DC) and Julian Burnside, human rights and refugee advocate, about how we can form effective responses to human rights breaches … and how we can broach the logic of capital p...
57m Apr 28, 2015
57m
Getting Older: Elders in Conversation: Barry Jones
Barry Jones is a living treasure. Literally: he’s one of Australia’s 100 Living National Treasures, as voted by over 10,000 Australians. He led the campaign for scrapping the death penalty, and in 1984, as Minister for Science, was the first Australian politician to raise the issue of anthropogenic climate change. His long career in local, national and international politics has included five ...
1hr 2m Apr 08, 2015
1hr 2m
The F Word: Roxane Gay
Meet Roxane Gay, one of America’s most engaging new literary voices, in conversation with Maxine Beneba Clarke. Their wide-ranging conversation covers inclusive approaches to feminism and activism, as well as the role of race, history and power in informing An Untamed State.
1hr 9m Mar 12, 2015
1hr 9m
Middlesex: Queer Week: The Trans Body Politic
Our understanding of gender diversity has shifted exponentially over the past few decades, even reaching into the classroom. More than ever before children are dressing and living in their chosen gender, and courts are increasingly supporting their choices through mandated access to puberty blockers leading into their adult years. But what are the public attitudes to trans bodies, and how are t...
1hr 1m Mar 11, 2015
1hr 1m