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PODCAST

The Wheeler Centre

The Wheeler Centre

Subscribe to the Wheeler Centre"s podcast to hear full recordings of our talks, featuring the best in books, writing and ideas from Melbourne, Australia.

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

43:59

[Podcast Exclusive] Eric Puchner: Dream State

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/10/14

An exclusive Wheeler Centre live-recorded podcast featuring best-selling American author Eric Puchner, as he lifts the curtain on his latest novel 'Dream State', in conversation with host Ronnie Scott. Selected by Oprah for her book club in 2025 and an instant New York Times bestseller, 'Dream State' tells the story of Charlie, a gifted anaesthesiologist; his best friend Garrett, a brooding, introverted nerd; and medical school drop-out Cece, whose engagement to Charlie seems certain – until

en-AU

61:23

We Used to Be Journos: Live

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/10/07

Get your fix of honest and original media analysis from two insiders who’ve broken plenty of news and been broken by it, too. In this special live recording of We Used to be Journos, hosts Antoinette Lattouf and Jan Fran sit down to reveal the way the media works, from questionable editorial decisions that shape the weekly news to the stories that masquerade as unbiased reporting. They unpack some recent headlines and reveal how the media sausage gets made – so you know what you’re

en-AU

61:36

Liz Pelly: Mood Machine

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/09/17

In the age of algorithms, music is under constant pressure to respond to mood, brand and data.Hear from music journalist and cultural critic Liz Pelly with host Lauren Taylor in this sharp and insightful exploration into how streaming platforms have transformed our relationship with music. Pelly unpacks the shift from art to algorithm-driven content, where music is reduced to a commodified experience and listeners to mere data points.Drawing from years of investigative reporting culminating in her

en-AU

61:16

You Are Here with David Nicholls

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/09/02

Beloved author David Nicholls takes to the stage with host Beverley Wang, to discuss his latest novel 'You Are Here'.This talk was originally presented on Tuesday 20 May 2025 by The Wheeler Centre.In 'You Are Here', David Nicholls weaves the stories of these two seemingly disconnected characters, bringing them together in a powerful, emotionally rich narrative brimming with his trademark blend of warmth, wit and insight into the human condition.Hear from one of today’s most cherished writers

en-AU

59:29

Consuming Culture

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/08/19

Each year at the Melbourne International Film Festival, a panel of guests gather to dissect the highs and lows of the zeitgeist. Host Michael Sun, essayist and regular writer for the Guardian, is joined by actor and writer Maria Angelico, Chicago–based New York Magazine Vulture culture critic Angelica Jade Bastién and visiting Los Angeles Times film critic Amy Nicholson to discuss the most overrated, underrated and personal favourite moments in movies, TV, podcasts and books of the past

en-AU

44:21

Jacinta Parsons at Montalto

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/08/05

What can ageing teach us? For broadcast and writer Jacinta Parsons, the answer is – perhaps everything.Inspired by many conversations with women across the country, A Wisdom of Age captures the brewing tone of revolution that sits in the hearts of women who are ready to tell a new kind of story about the experience of growing older.Set against the backdrop of an intimate two-course dinner at Montalto, Parsons reflects on her own experience of ageing, alongside the powerful stories of the

en-AU

43:07

Lauren Roberts: Fearless

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/07/22

Join New York Times bestselling author Lauren Roberts in her exclusive Melbourne appearance to celebrate Fearless, the highly anticipated third and final book in the Powerless series. Romance, fantasy and intrigue collide in this runaway BookTok success known for its fierce heroine, witty banter and deliciously fraught enemies-to-lovers plot. After the shocking cliff-hanger ending of Reckless, Fearless sees Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya where Paedyn has a life-altering

en-AU

57:33

Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/07/08

In 2020, Cheng Lei was working as a business reporter for China's state-run English language television station when she was arrested on charges of sharing state secrets. She was detained in China for over three years under harsh conditions, including prolonged solitary confinement and restricted access to her family, before finally being released. Now, back in Australia and free to write and speak her mind, Lei recounts her story in A Memoir of Freedom, an extraordinary memoir of her arrest, trial,

en-AU

57:51

Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/06/18

American Jewish journalist Peter Beinart reflects on the world around him – and his place within it – amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza offers a timely reflection, seeking to reimagine what it means to be Jewish in the wake of the horrors unfolding in the Middle East. Drawing on Jewish tradition and history, and global efforts at moral reconstruction, Peter Beinart calls for a new story to take hold – one in which Palestinian

en-AU

35:53

Jeanette Winterson: 40 Years of Storytelling

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/06/04

In 1985, Jeanette Winterson published her debut novel – the groundbreaking and subversive Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. Genre-bending and narratively bold, it garnered then-rare mainstream success for a story that was fiercely feminist and challenged traditional gender roles. Four decades on, Winterson remains one of our most distinguished writers, renowned for her singular voice and restless curiosity. Her work spans a vast landscape of ideas, from artificial intelligence to religion, from

en-AU

36:51

Back to Back Barries Live: Does Anthony Albanese have...

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/05/28

Join Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry, hosts of the Guardian’s political podcast Back to Back Barries, for a clear-eyed analysis of the 2025 Australian federal election. After five weeks of relentless campaigning, Australians have cast their votes – and political commentators and former major party insiders Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry are here to offer a discerning examination of how, and why, we arrived at the results on 3 May 2025. In this special post-election live recording of the

en-AU

66:51

Jamila Rizvi and Rosie Waterland at Montalto

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/05/21

Over an intimate two-course dinner at Montalto, broadcaster and social policy expert Jamila Rizvi and comedian and podcaster Rosie Waterland come together with host Tracee Hutchison for a candid discussion about their deeply personal new book, Broken Brains. Drawing from their own experiences, Rizvi and Waterland reflect on their journeys with illness – Rizvi's rare brain tumour diagnosis and Waterland’s ongoing mental trauma from childhood abuse – and explore the unexpected ways

en-AU

71:19

Kara Swisher: Burn Book

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/05/07

Legendary tech journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher opens up about a lifetime of reporting on Silicon Valley with host Sophie Black. In a world where tech billionaires operate beyond the reach of government regulation and press scrutiny, Kara Swisher has devoted her career to holding them to account. Her new memoir Burn Book offers an insider’s history of some of Silicon Valley’s most influential companies, laying bare the utopian ideals and troubling compromises of the people who

en-AU

50:01

Love, Loss and Ambition with Brooke Boney

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/04/29

Trailblazing journalist and proud Gamilaroi woman Brooke Boney opens up like never before in All of It, her powerful debut essay collection. Like many millennial women, Brooke Boney is navigating a society that expects her to chase it all – career, success and personal fulfillment – while doing so under an unforgiving public gaze. In her highly anticipated essay collection, All of It, she reflects on the pressures of life in the spotlight as the first Indigenous host of Australian

en-AU

57:23

Pankaj Mishra: The World After Gaza

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/04/15

For the past 20 years, Pankaj Mishra has written incisive studies of a world marked by inequalities and the effects of globalisation. He has traced global histories of fascism, the impacts of rising nationalism and applied an astute lens to the fragility of our democratic institutions. Now, he sets his expert mind to the war in Gaza. Garnering praise from the likes of Rashid Khalidi, Naomi Klein and Hisham Matar, Mishra’s latest work, The World After Gaza, reckons with the latest devastating

en-AU

44:01

Fit Check: Size, Price and Sustainability in Fashion

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/04/01

In this panel discussion journalist Emma Do, A Plus Market founder Sam van Zweden and writer and podcast host Maggie Zhou examine the barriers within the industry and discuss the evolving vision of an inclusive fashion future. Moderated by cultural commentator Sabina McKenna, these fashion experts and enthusiasts explore the most pressing issues in fashion, from size inclusivity and high price points to ethical production and sustainable consumption. Unboxing the realities of mainstream fashion,

en-AU

46:41

Geraldine Brooks at Montalto

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/03/25

After spending their early years together in conflict zones as foreign correspondents, Geraldine Brooks and partner Tony Horwitz relocated from Australia to the idyllic Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, USA, to raise their children. The life they built there was one of meaningful work, good humour and tenderness. But all this ended abruptly when, during the spring of 2019, Brooks received a phone call with the news that Horwitz – just 60 years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy

en-AU

49:06

Rachel Kushner: Creation Lake

The Wheeler Centre ·

2025/03/18

Rachel Kushner’s new novel Creation Lake tells the story of Sadie Smith, an American spy-for-hire working in the secretive world of privately contracted surveillance. Tasked with infiltrating a commune of anarchists in rural France, she becomes entranced by a mysterious cult-leader-like figure named Bruno Lacombe who believes that freedom from the pain of the modern condition can only be achieved through a return to the ancient past. Creation Lake is both a canny homage to French noir and an

en-AU

57:58

Ben Shewry is Going to Die

The Wheeler Centre ·

2024/12/13

Ben Shewry knows obsession well. It’s what has propelled his innovative Melbourne restaurant, Attica, to national and global acclaim. His new memoir-meets-manifesto, Uses for Obsession: A (Chef’s) Memoir, is a reflection on leadership, hospitality and humanity, and an unforgettable look inside the sometimes-brutal world of cheffing. Shewry joins host Marieke Hardy for this special live episode of Hardy’s podcast, Marieke Hardy is Going to Die. They plan Shewry’s dream funeral

en-AU

61:06

Kasey Chambers in Conversation: Just Don't Be a...

The Wheeler Centre ·

2024/11/29

Content warning: This episode includes occasional course language. From her childhood in the Australian outback to the heights of her chart-topping international success as a singer-songwriter, country music icon Kasey Chambers has trusted her gut, stuck to her values and learned some hard truths, always while trying to live by the best advice she’s ever received: just don’t be a d**khead. At this special event at Geelong Library & Heritage Centre, Chambers discusses her new book Just Don’t Be

en-AU

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