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 ho…

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’…

Unapologetic, sometimes controversial, and always unflinchingly honest, Roxane Gay has built a remarkable career using her powerful voice to articulate the nuances of our most pervasive issues. Body image, civil rights, feminism, popular culture, social etiquette – you name it, Gay has written about it. The esteemed writer, professor and cultural c…

National treasure Noni Hazlehurst details her life on stage and screen and takes us behind-the-scenes of a brilliant career. Noni Hazlehurst’s versatility as a performer knows no bounds. A household name and a beloved actor, she's graced Australian screens and theatre stages for over forty years. From Playschool and Better Homes and Gardens, to Mon…

Critics Eda Gunaydin, Michael Sun and Cher Tan examine the present state and potential futures of literary criticism. Literary criticism seems to be in an endless state of decline. In so-called Australia, a particular flavour of cultural cringe is yoked to cultural hegemony: a critic might find themselves locked within the ivory tower, or self-cens…

Content warning: This recording includes occasional course language. Evelyn Araluen, Hasib Hourani and Mykaela Saunders discuss the careful craft of shaping a language unsettled. Trace the contours of language, seek out its limits and push. Histories are cut up, struck through, misplaced, misremembered. Join Evelyn Araluen, Hasib Hourani and Mykael…

What is the future of the great Australian novel? Novelists Jessica Au, Brian Castro and André Dao contemplate the novel, the nation and its literature with Lynda Ng. Marking 30 years since Brian Castro considered the ‘new novel’, three of Australia’s most talented contemporary novelists discuss the future of the form. Is there such a thing as a ‘G…

International bestselling author Rebecca F. Kuang discusses her groundbreaking novel Yellowface and the future of storytelling at this exclusive Melbourne event. Investigating diversity, racism and cultural appropriation with the thrilling pace of a Twitter meltdown, Rebecca F. Kuang’s 2023 novel Yellowface captivated readers across literary and Bo…

A runaway favourite of book clubs the world over, Bonnie Garmus’s debut novel Lessons in Chemistry transports readers to early 1960s California. Elizabeth Zott – single mother and brilliant chemist – unexpectedly finds herself hosting a television cooking show, and changes hearts and minds in the process. Inspired by Garmus’s mother’s generation of…

On the 5 November this year, the American people will go to the polls to make a choice, the impact of which will be felt around the globe. Will Republican nominee and now convicted criminal, former President Donald Trump, topple Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris?? How did America reach this point, and how will either candidate’s victory…

Award-winning journalist Heather Ewart hits the Back Roads to Kyneton to journey through her great Australian road trips. Over a career spanning four decades, Heather Ewart has been senior political reporter and a foreign correspondent posted to London, Washington and Brussels. Raised on a farm in country Victoria, her adventures have come full cir…

Our annual panel of pop culture experts Brodie Lancaster, Alison Willmore, Hannah Diviney and Jared Richards gather for a dissection of the zeitgeist. Baby Reindeer, The Bear and hot rodent men: lt has been a ferocious (and sometimes feral) year for pop culture, and it seems that we’re not slowing down any time soon. On the occasion of the 2024 Mel…

As part of The Wheeler Centre's 2024 Spring Fling program and in partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, listen to an exclusive podcast interview with celebrated writer Olivia Laing, interviewed by Sophie Cunningham. Olivia discusses her new book, The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise, which moves between real and imagine…

From ‘manfluencer’ culture and the rising popularity of Andrew Tate, to lists ranking teenage girls on their appearance, there’s an urgent need to address the widespread sexism and misogyny in our schools and wider society. Left unchecked, these harmful attitudes and behaviours will see rates of male violence against women continue to rise. In this…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers have been sharing stories on this continent for millennia. From best-selling and award-winning poetry, memoir and fiction to powerful works that defy categorisation, Blak writing depicts, challenges and honours culture, community and Country. Much-loved books by First Nations writers stand strong on she…

The Olympic Games have always been a site of soft diplomacy for participating nations. This has never been truer than in 2024, as athletes and countries prepare to compete from 26 July to 11 August at the Paris Olympic Games. Olympic champions Patrick Johnson and Kieren Perkins join award-winning sports reporter Tracey Holmes to discuss the future …

Meredith Whittaker is not afraid to take on tech giants. In 2018, she led the famous mass staff walkout at Google over the company’s laissez faire attitude towards sexual harassment allegations and the moral and ethical implications of its business practices. Now, as President of Signal, the not-for-profit encrypted and secure messaging app, Whitta…