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PODCAST

Sydney Writers" Festival

Sydney Writers" Festival

Australia"s largest celebration of literature, stories and ideas. Bringing together the world"s best authors, leading public intellectuals, scientists, journalists and more. Subscribe to our channel for new releases.

society & culture books

All Episodes

52:36

David Wengrow: The Dawn of Everything

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2025/01/23

What kind of world could we create if we stopped believing inequality is the price of progress? Archaeology professor David Wengrow’s groundbreaking book, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, co-authored with the late David Graeber, overturns the theories of Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens), Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel) and Steven Pinker (Enlightenment Now). Challenging dominant narratives that the agricultural revolution meant abandoning an egalitarian Eden, the book

en-AU

50:17

Your Favourites’ Favourites: Tony Birch and Graham...

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2025/01/21

In Your Favourites’ Favourites, our most loved writers introduce one of their favourite authors. Acclaimed Women & Children author Tony Birch sits down with debut writer Graham Akhurst, a Fulbright Scholar who drafted his YA novel, Borderland, while studying in renowned writing program at Hunter College in New York City. This gripping coming-of-age story follows a city-born First Nations teenager on an epic quest to figure out who he is. Join Tony and Graham as they discuss First Nations

en-AU

52:42

Hedley Thomas: How to Catch a Killer

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2025/01/16

If you thought you knew the backstory of The Teacher's Pet, the gripping whodunnit podcast downloaded by over 80 million listeners, think again. Two-time Gold Walkley Award–winning investigative journalist Hedley Thomas’ book takes readers behind the scenes of the podcast investigation with a blow-by-blow account of one of the most intriguing and enduring murder mysteries of our time. Get the scoop as Hedley reveals to Matthew Condon how fresh leads, old evidence and a groundswell of

en-AU

50:16

Bringing the Past to Life

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2025/01/14

“The past is a foreign country”, L.P. Hartley famously wrote. It is also a place readers can visit via masterful historical fiction. Be transported by esteemed panellists Francesca de Tores (Saltblood), Mirandi Riwoe (Sunbirds) and Abraham Verghese (The Covenant of Water) as they discuss the magic of bringing history to life for contemporary audiences. Learn how these authors conjure the past to make sense of the present and convincingly intertwine fact and fiction in their prose. Hosted

en-AU

50:42

Fantastical Worlds

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/12/18

Imagine another world with the fantasy writers who are redefining the wildly popular genre. Australian fantasy heavyweight Garth Nix (The Old Kingdom series) takes to the stage with ascending local star Shelley Parker-Chan (The Radiant Emperor duology) and global sensation Samantha Shannon (The Roots of Chaos series) to explain how they create expansive universes for their epic stories, heroes and heroines. This is must-listen episode for YA and fantasy fans alike! Hosted by Aimée Lindorff

en-AU

50:15

Sad Girl? Bad Girl? Mad Girl?

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/12/17

She may be self-absorbed, adrift or unhinged, but the ‘sad girl’ is taking the publishing industry by storm. Debut novelists Nadine J. Cohen (Everyone and Everything), Madeleine Gray (Green Dot) and Jessie Stephens (Something Bad is Going to Happen) have all created unforgettable protagonists who are fallible, at times unlikeable and painfully relatable. Hear from these exciting debut novelists as they discuss making and breaking this emerging genre’s rules, and how they crafted

en-AU

59:44

Aussie Crime All-Stars

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/12/10

From parched paddocks to sleepy coastal towns, the bodies keep piling up – and Australian readers can’t get enough. This panel brings together some of Australia’s hottest local crime writers, with Sulari Gentill (The Mystery Writer), Dinuka McKenzie (Tipping Point) and Benjamin Stevenson (Everyone on this Train is a Suspect). Dust off your Akubra for a thrilling chat about the outback noir genre and what makes Aussie crime fiction unique, with host Alex Adsett. This episode was

en-AU

48:10

Australia’s Place in the World

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/12/06

In the wake of a shift in the global power balance, how can Australia best protect itself? Two of Australia’s most interesting foreign policy thinkers take a fresh look at Australia’s place in the world and come to some surprising conclusions. Clinton Fernandes (Sub-Imperial Power) and Sam Roggeveen (The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace) tackle the big questions about the US alliance, the threat of China, and underneath it all, what kind of country Australia really is. Listen

en-AU

50:07

In Defence of Nature

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/12/02

What is the writer’s role in an era of profound ecological change? This panel event brings together leading local nature writers James Bradley and Bruce Pascoe to discuss how best to defend our environment. James’ latest book, Deep Water: The World in the Ocean, dives into the waves, and Bruce’s Black Duck: A Year at Yumburra investigates traditional agricultural practices that offer a blueprint for our farming futures. Reflect on our relationship with the natural world and what lies ahead, as James

en-AU

58:18

Paul Murray: The Bee Sting

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/11/28

"People have crazy lives," says Paul Murray. "The stuff that happens to – quote-unquote – ordinary folks is very operatic." Case in point: his Booker Prize shortlisted The Bee Sting which follows an unravelling household in the Irish Midlands who embody Tolstoy's proverb about unhappy families. Paul's third novel has been acclaimed by critics as “generous, expansive and glorious as a cathedral” (The Guardian). One of three superb Irish writers at this year's Festival, this is your chance to catch

en-AU

53:16

Feminist Firebrands

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/11/21

Four waves in, the feminist fight for gender equality is far from over. This panel brings together the powerful and incendiary feminist voices of Hannah Ferguson, Sisonke Msimang and Jennifer Robinson. Hear from these leading writers and activists who between them offer daring feminist opinions on topics ranging from freedom of speech, right-wing politics, racism, xenophobia, belonging and identity, taboos around sex and pleasure, as well as the legal judgements that continue to silence and

en-AU

54:44

The Drowning with Bryan Brown and Sam Neill

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/11/14

Last year, Bryan Brown interviewed Sam Neill at the Festival. This year, it was Bryan’s turn in the hot seat as Sam interviewed him about his gripping new crime novel, The Drowning. Bryan is one of the most recognisable faces on our screens with more than 80 film and television projects to his name. This sensational new thriller with his characteristic laconic style – humorous, tough and suspenseful – confirms his place as one of the great Australian storytellers. This episode was recorded live in

en-AU

60:01

Hidden Heroines

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/11/12

Going deep into the historical past, Lauren Groff (The Vaster Wilds, Matrix) and Francesca de Tores (Saltblood) create memorable heroines, real and imaginary, whose stories have not been told. Their portrayals of ordinary women doing extraordinary things – a girl escaping alone into the wilderness, a pirate on the high seas – are richly detailed and vividly alive. Coming out of hiding into our imaginations, these heroines are so fierce they jump off the page. Join Lauren and Francesca in

en-AU

62:54

Richard Flanagan and Anna Funder on Writing

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/11/06

Join two of the most admired writers in Australia today, Booker Prize–winning Richard Flanagan and Miles Franklin–winning Anna Funder as they discuss writing in the margins between fiction and non-fiction, history and memoir, personal and public. Historian Clare Wright leads this conversation, examining their genre-bending masterpieces. Through a hypnotic melding of dream, history, science and memory, Question 7 traces the ripples of history through Richard’s own family and is described by Anna as

en-AU

49:23

Dirty Laundry

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/10/29

While everyone has dirty laundry in their lives, not everyone will choose to air theirs publicly. Whether on social media, in written memoir, public speaking or on television, how can sharing the ‘self’ when the story touches on family and community, still be navigated ethically? What are the consequences and ramifications of bringing the personal into the public realm? Join writers Benjamin Law, Rhys Nicholson and Amy Thunig as they unpack the fallout on the other side of publication, with host

en-AU

50:58

PEN Lecture: Writing From Prison in Myanmar

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/10/22

Sean Turnell spent almost two years in Myanmar’s terrifying Insein Prison, accused of being a spy. Ma Thida was also incarcerated there, where, denied medical treatment, she came very close to dying. How did they survive? What hope do these important players in Myanmar’s government and politics hold for the return of democracy three years after the military seized power in a coup? In conversation with Catherine Renshaw. This event was presented in partnership with PEN Sydney and recorded live in

en-AU

58:43

Melissa Lucashenko: Edenglassie

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/10/15

Melissa Lucashenko describes her latest novel, Edenglassie, as her “big book” – a multigenerational epic that torches Queensland’s colonial myths and reimagines Australia’s future. Set in Brisbane and rivalling the romances of Too Much Lip and Mullumbimby, two parallel love stories play out two centuries apart. In both the colonial era and the present day, no one knows how far legacies will reach into modern lives. Sit down with this celebrated author as she is joined on stage by ABC RN’s Kate

en-AU

50:09

Julia Baird: Bright Shining

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/10/09

Following broadcaster and author Julia Baird’s multi-award-winning international bestseller, Phosphorescence, comes a beautiful and timely exploration of that most mysterious but necessary human quality: grace. Bright Shining: How grace changes everything asks what grace looks like today, how we recognise it, nurture it within ourselves and express it. For Julia, grace can be found by being kinder, bigger and better with each other. Sit down with Julia to discuss this luminous work, which The

en-AU

50:44

The Presence of the Past

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/10/03

As conflict plays out across an unnamed region, the protagonist in Parramatta Laureate of Literature Yumna Kassab’s Politica imagines how she will later narrate her experiences: “We hadn’t spoken for years but then the war broke out...” Sharing difficult stories is also at the heart of Miles Franklin Award winner Shankari Chandran’s Safe Haven, which follows a refugee threatened with deportation when she speaks out for other detainees. Sit down with Yumna and Shankari as they discuss their poignant

en-AU

58:01

Lauren Groff: The Vaster Wilds

Sydney Writers" Festival ·

2024/10/01

After smash-hit Fates and Furies, the modern-day marriage story that was Barack Obama’s book of the year in 2015, Lauren Groff’s novels have looked to the past to understand the present. Her latest historical novel, The Vaster Wilds, is set on the edge of the New World at an unnamed British settlement in the Americas. Fleeing violence, disease and starvation, a servant girl enters the wilderness alone. This spirited survivalist story has been critically acclaimed as “exhilarating” (The Guardian),

en-AU

188 results

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