Good Reading Podcast

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 journey In 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.

'How to Be Normal' Q&A with author Ange Crawford and Cerdon College Merrylands by Good Reading Magazine

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 toolkit planting to attract pollinators using the tally sheet to record flora and fauna sightings following 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.

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.

'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.

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.

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.

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.

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.