Good Weekend Talks

In this episode, we talk to Hannah Kent. The South Australian author burst onto the literary scene in 2013, with the publication of her debut historical novel, Burial Rites, about the execution of a young woman in Iceland, two centuries ago. The book was a global bestseller, optioned by Hollywood with Jennifer Lawrence attached to star in the film version, but Kent’s success also gave her that thing that all writers crave - not fame and fortune, but time and space to write. She followed Burial Rites with two more hit novels, The Good People and Devotion, not to mention a screenplay for Netflix, and now something different - a memoir. Kent talks to senior writer Konrad Marshall about “Always Home, Always Homesick”, which walks readers through the early life experiences that set Kent on the writing path, followed by her formative time as a teenage exchange student in Iceland, plus the forensic and emotional construction of her smash hit novel, and finally, the ghost who lingers and lives with her still.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Rutger Bregman. You might remember the Dutch historian and author from a 2019 appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which went viral after he called out millionaires and billionaires for tax avoidance. He joins us to talk about everything from the loss of America's moral authority after the re-election of Donald Trump, to why we need more ordinary people speaking up and defending principles of human decency. This week's Good Weekend features an extract from Bregman’s new book, Moral Ambition, examining our monstrous and long-running cruelty to animals. Hosting the conversation – which also delves into the corrosiveness of misogynistic male influencers, as well as the role of “realistic idealism” in improving our society's moral trajectory – is Good Weekend acting editor Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode - one week before the federal election - we talk to Kos Samaras. Samaras had a long career as a Labor strategist - particularly in running campaigns for the Victorian party - before founding the political consultancy firm RedBridge in 2020. He's one of the big thinkers in Australian politics, who grew up in a blue collar Labor family, and is now sometimes critical of Labor for what he sees as the neglect of its heartland voters. Samaras is one of many voices featured in this week's cover story - Battle for the battlers - about the challenges facing social democratic parties around the world (including Australia), written by the host of our conversation today, Good Weekend senior writer Gay Alcorn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Tim Rogers. Best known as the frontman for rock band You Am I, Rogers was born in Kalgoorlie, WA, but lived all over the country growing up, spending time in Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra, and now, rural Victoria. The 55-year-old has lived a big life so far as a songwriter, raconteur, talking head and author. He's had his struggles and his joys but has remained, as always, sartorially splendid. He speaks with Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall about addiction, mental health, footy, cycling, gardening, and his current tour with the band, celebrating the 30-year anniversary of its seminal sophomore album, Hi Fi Way.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Melinda French Gates. Famous as one half of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – one of the largest philanthropic outfits in the world – Melinda spent more than two decades overseeing the giving-away of more than $US77 billion. Then, in 2021, she and Bill divorced after 27 years of marriage, and Melinda began to chart a new path for her life. That new path is the subject of a feature profile in this week's magazine – "The 'Gigantic Joy' of a Fresh Start" – in which Gates discusses the end of her marriage, the hard-won pleasures of personal growth, and philanthropy in Trump's America. She joins us today to chat about all that and more, with Good Weekend senior writer, Amanda Hooton. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Ellie Cole. Cole, of course, is a childhood cancer survivor whose right leg was amputated when she was 3. Within weeks of that operation, she was swimming as a form of rehab, before ultimately going on to become the most decorated Aussie female Paralympian of all time, with 17 medals over four games. In recent years she’s become a rising star in Australian sports media, as a trusted and charismatic broadcaster, not to mention staunch disability advocate, and now children’s book author. Cole recently became a mum to her little boy Felix, and her new book – “Felix and his Fantastic Friends” – is inspired by his adventures in early childhood, and her own in motherhood. Hosting this conversation – about everything Cole’s relationship with her twin sister to the complicated challenge of Paralympic classification – is a man who covered Cole’s final games in Tokyo in 2021 – Sydney Morning Herald sports journalist, Tom Decent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Jane Flemming, who made her name in the late '80s and early '90s as a golden girl in track and field, a two-time Olympian – and Commonwealth Games gold medallist – specialising in the heptathlon and long jump. Flemming retired before the Sydney 2000 Olympics and transitioned into a career in media, marketing and management, but 18 months ago she took on a different role altogether, as president of Australian Athletics.It’s an exciting time to be in the role, too, with a host of local mid-career champions like Nina Kennedy, Jessica Hull and Matt Denny, not to mention junior stars on the rise like Torrie Lewis and Claudia Hollingsworth, Cameron Myers and, of course, Gout Gout. Flemming talks to Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall about everything from her early years as an athlete to the DNA tests being used to "protect women's sport", and the runway to Brisbane 2032.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Matt Kean. The former NSW state politician was once deputy Liberal leader, treasurer, and minister for energy and environment – but he’s now chair of the national Climate Change Authority. That means Kean helps set the Australian agenda in the fight against global warming, shaping federal policies on every hot-button green issue imaginable. Taking on the job was seen in some quarters – by conservative commentators, mostly – as a traitorous move by a “climate communist” now known to some as “Green Kean”. Our new climate change tsar is the subject of a feature profile this week – “Force of Nature” – and hosting this conversation about the powerful enemies Kean now faces, and the fight to save our natural world, is the acting editor of Good Weekend, Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Curtis Stone. The Melbourne-born, LA-based chef has run two celebrated restaurants in that city, earning several Michelin stars and praise from critics – yet in Australia he’s better known as the face of Coles, for whom he’s been an ambassador for 15 years. He’s back in town right now, about to cook for 1700 people at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s flagship event, the World’s Longest Lunch, in Kings Domain on March 21. Hosting this conversation, which covers everything from run-ins with restaurant critics to how Aussie meat pies are being received in LA, is Good Food’s eating out and restaurant editor in Melbourne, Emma Breheny.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Senator Katy Gallagher. The busy politician is close to both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and manages an almighty workload. With four big portfolios in finance, women, the public service and government services, she’s also firmly in the crosshairs of the opposition, which has promised to slash jobs, and cut back on diversity hires and working from home. Gallagher talks to us today about all of the above, but also her own life and times – including her unusual family upbringing, and the immense tragedy she suffered with the loss of her fiancé, Brett Seaman, when she was 26 and pregnant with their first child. Gallagher is the subject of our cover story this week – “From that worst place, I found a way out” – and hosting this conversation is the writer of that in-depth profile, freelance correspondent Deborah Snow.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Kara Swisher, the American journalist, author and podcaster who has been covering the tech sector for 30 years - and now finds herself at the epicentre of public debate over the convergence of tech and power in the new Trump administration. Swisher hosts the podcasts On With Kara Swisher, and Pivot, both of which are part of the Vox Media/New York magazine stable. Her tech sector memoir, Burn Book, sub-titled "A Tech Love Story", was released last year. Hosting the conversation - about everything from the nexus between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, to where Swisher finds solace and hope right now - is Good Weekend editor Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Callum Linnane, a principal dancer with The Australian Ballet. Linnane, 29, has been dancing since he enrolled in tap classes as a seven year old in regional Victoria. Now he’s a star of the show - the kind of person who does magazine spreads and launches spring fashion campaigns. (His social media followers have described him as everything from Australia’s answer to Rudolf Nureyev, to a young David Bowie.) Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall talks to this son of a bricklayer about growing up in Ballarat, surviving (and thriving) on the grandest stage, and his upcoming titular role in Nijinsky, the latest offering from The Australian Ballet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with journalist Peter Greste and actor Richard Roxburgh. Greste is a former foreign correspondent, arrested with two other Al Jazeera journalists in Cairo in 2013, ultimately serving 400 days in an Egyptian prison before his release. Roxburgh, meanwhile, is known for various acting roles in film (Moulin Rouge) and television (Rake). More recently, he has turned his dramatic talent to portraying Greste in a new film, The Correspondent. The pair speak with freelance writer David Leser.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak with Millie Millgate, the director of Music Australia, established by the federal government two years ago to support our contemporary music scene. It’s a tough gig given the issues facing the local music industry. Festivals have been paused or cancelled. Live music venues are struggling. And local hits are few and far between.Millgate knows the industry back to front, having started out booking acts for Sydney pubs, then working in artist management, before running the music export initiative “Sounds Australia”. She talks to Sydney Morning Herald senior writer Garry Maddox about everything from the “glocalisation” of music, to the power of algorithms, to how we’ll find the next G Flip or Kid Laroi.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode we speak with the author of a new book, Processed, about the downside of sandwich ham and salami, fried bacon, hot dogs, pepperoni pizzas and the like. Speaking with GW deputy editor Greg Callaghan, Morris-Marr explains how a raft of scientific papers link the nitrites used in many processed meats to improve flavour and eliminate bacteria, with cancer. She explores, too, why so many of us ignore such warnings.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode we speak with acclaimed author Helen Garner, who followed the travails of her grandson's footy team for her new book, The Season. She speaks with Konrad Marshall about what she now envies about male contact sports, the benefit of coming to footy with limited prior knowledge, and the debate over the book's cover image.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with CEO of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, on the eve of the 2025 tournament for a chat about his own background as a promising player and highly successful coach, plus about the game today. He sits with Good Weekend’s Konrad Marshall for some tips on the best players to watch and who he thinks might take home the trophies later this month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, who broke through two decades ago with her hit debut album The Sound of White, which dealt with teen and 20-something troubles. Now 41, Higgins has just produced a new album, The Second Act, which traverses the aftermath of the breakdown of her marriage. Higgins talks candidly with Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe about taking the audience with her on her life journey, the travails of songwriting and dating whilst being a single mum - and the joys of touring with a mostly female support crew. We'll be back in January 2025 with plenty of exciting interviews booked in the calendar, but for now please enjoy one of our most popular episodes from the past year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's episode, singer/songwriter Tim Minchin discusses the poison that is social media, how he emerged from his bruising time in LA and why he urges students to look after their bodies. In conversation with culture reporter Thomas Mitchell, he reflects also on his infamous George Pell song, and on the impending publication of his first non-fiction book, You Don't Have to Have a Dream (Advice for the Incrementally Ambitious). We'll be back in January 2025 with plenty of exciting interviews booked in the calendar, but for now please enjoy one of our most popular episodes from the past year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak to Academy Award winner Kate Winslet about her new film "Lee" - a biopic about the life of pioneering World War II correspondent Lee Miller, and her sensitive and stunning front-line photography. Hosted by Konrad Marshall, the discussion covers everything from the ups and downs for women in film, to life behind the lens. We'll be back in January 2025 with plenty of exciting interviews booked in the calendar, but for now please enjoy one of our most popular episodes from the past year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode, our last for 2024, we speak with two of the magazine's most beloved writers about the craft of long-form journalism. In conversation with Good Weekend editor Katrina Strickland, they discuss their most popular stories of the year, what it was like to cover the Paris Olympics and Olympians, where they get their ideas from and the most difficult and rewarding aspects of the job.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode, the eight-time world champion talks about the amazing places she's toured in her year out from competitive surfing. Speaking with Good Weekend senior writer (and keen surfer) Tim Elliott, she also discusses the rising popularity of women's sport, whether female competitors are any nicer to each other than their male counterparts - and the mind game she plays to psyche herself up for battle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode we speak with Perth pole vaulter Nina Kennedy, who won the trifecta of the three big global events in her sport this year. Kennedy speaks with Good Weekend senior writer Amanda Hooton about the big cry she had before the Paris final, how important it is to give her body time to recover, her onward march towards the LA Olympics - and whether Brisbane 2032 is within the realms of possibility.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode we speak with Shanghai-born, Melbourne-based artist Badiucao, who explains what it's like to remain under suspicion and surveillance for his political artwork. Badiucao, a Walkley-award winning artist with The Age, speaks with opinion editor Patrick O'Neil about his early life in China, the kind of things that still happen to him here in Australia - and that strange time someone pretended to be him.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode, actor, author and advocate Hannah Diviney speaks about what it was like to call out Lizzo and Beyonce for ableist language, how she doesn't always love her disability, and the freedom to be found in not always needing to be awesome. Speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald culture writer Thomas Mitchell, Diviney also talks about her the new Australian film, Audrey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode we speak with author Gina Chick, winner of the inaugural Alone Australia and author of the memoir We Are The Stars. Chick speaks with journalist David Leser about feeding birds from her own mouth as a kid, how she learned to embrace her weirdness as a young adult, and the wonder of discovering the identity of her famous literary grandmother.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak to Academy Award winner Kate Winslet about her new film "Lee" - a biopic about the life of pioneering World War II correspondent Lee Miller, and her sensitive and stunning front-line photography. Hosted by Konrad Marshall, the discussion covers everything from the ups and downs for women in film, to life behind the lens.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode we speak with former Australian Financial Review Rear Window columnist Joe Aston about the national airline and how its reputation has fallen among so many flyers. Aston, who penned the upcoming book, The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, speaks with senior Good Weekend writer Jane Cadzow about how he went from working for Qantas and writing a travel column, to being highly critical of the airline and its former CEO Alan Joyce, to why he wanted to capture that trajectory in a book (with a young baby in tow).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode we speak with Jon Ronson, who contends the attributes of psychopaths really do help them get ahead. Ronson, who wrote the 2011 bestseller The Psychopath Test, also explores how social media rewards those with an empathy bypass, and looks at the rise of public shaming. Speaking with Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall, he also makes a case for non-fiction writers like himself avoiding the temptation of fudging the truth - and the importance of humour in writing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobody's desk at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald has been as overflowing with books as that of Jason Steger, who recently left his job as books editor at the mastheads. On today's episode he talks with culture writer Kerrie O'Brien about his favourite interviews and books, whether he cops much abuse from writers after a bad review - and that time he drank too much with Richard Flanagan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's episode, American author, speaker and blogger Mark Manson discusses how the mantra of relentless positivity, which drives so much of the self-help industry, is full of pitfalls. He explains how negative emotions have a purpose - to drive us to do something - and why the willingness to look like an idiot occasionally guards against self-entitlement. He gives us tips on how to be realistic in our lives, how to maintain hope - and what not to do with cyber stalkers.  Hosting this talk is Good Weekend deputy editor, Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with health reporter Norman Swan, who has written a new book on the dos and don'ts of raising children up to the age of 10. Among other topics, Swan talks about how to set good eating habits, what to do about screen overload - and whether it's ever ok to let kids sip alcohol (answer: no). Hosting this conversation with the ABC broadcaster and author of So You Want to Know What's Good for Your Kids? is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The youngest ever editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, now owner of Private Media, publisher of Crikey, Eric Beecher has spent decades in and observing the media. In today's episode he discusses his conclusions on when it works best, and when it fails democracy, with his longtime friend, journalist David Leser. Beecher also discusses what it was like to work for Rupert Murdoch during his two year stint as editor-in-chief of The Herald and Weekly Times Group, and whether he was scared when, decades later, Lachlan Murdoch sued him.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's episode, singer/songwriter Tim Minchin discusses the poison that is social media, how he emerged from his bruising time in LA and why he urges students to look after their bodies. In conversation with culture reporter Thomas Mitchell, he reflects also on his infamous George Pell song, and on the impending publication of his first non-fiction book, You Don't Have to Have a Dream (Advice for the Incrementally Ambitious).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Markus Zusak, the bestselling novelist behind The Book Thief and Bridge of Clay, who has penned his first non-fiction book, Three Wild Dogs and the Truth, about Reuben, Archer and Frosty, the pound dogs he and wife Mika brought into their family. Zusak talks about the mad mayhem of sharing your life with a mongrel, and the importance of stripping away the veneer through which we so often view life, to expose its more messy reality. Hosting this conversation, in which Zusak discusses the conundrum of how much is too much to spend on a dog's dodgy knees, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, who broke through two decades ago with her hit debut album The Sound of White, which dealt with teen and 20-something troubles. Now 41, Higgins has just produced a new album, The Second Act, which traverses the aftermath of the breakdown of her marriage. Higgins talks candidly with Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe about taking the audience with her on her life journey, the travails of songwriting and dating whilst being a single mum - and the joys of touring with a mostly female support crew.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Jason Arrow, otherwise known as Australia's Alexander Hamilton. The South African-born, Perth-raised performer won the role for the musical's 2021 Sydney premiere, and has since played the titular character in Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland, Manila, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Hosting this conversation about everything from how he remembers all those words, to how he winds down post-show, to why he initially preferred the character of Aaron Burr in the story of America's forgotten founding father, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Anna Marsden, managing director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Back in 2018, Marsden's life changed overnight when she received news from then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull that the federal government was granting the foundation a record-breaking $443 million to help fortify the reef against the ravages of climate change. It was a controversial decision – the foundation was then a relatively small Brisbane-based conservation organisation and Turnbull's political opponents labelled it a “captain's call” – but six years down the track, funding has been allocated for a host of coral-saving projects. Marsden chats with Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe about what's been achieved to date, and the overall state of the reef following another bleaching event last summer, the fifth since 2016.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with best-selling author and social commentator, Roxane Gay. A decade after the publication of her much-talked-about book, Bad Feminist, Gay offers her unapologetic views on everything from body image, to writer's block, to the likelihood of Kamala Harris becoming America's first female president, to her current writing projects, which include - surprisingly - a romance novel with actor Channing Tatum. Gay is appearing for the Wheeler Centre at Melbourne Town Hall on August 27 and also in Sydney for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas on August 24 and 25.Hosting this conversation is senior writer and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, Jacqueline Maley.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with author Theodore Ell. From 2018 to 2021, Ell accompanied his wife on her diplomatic posting to Lebanon, and unexpectedly found himself a witness to a country on the brink. His new book, Lebanon Days, takes in an economic meltdown, mass protests and finally, tragically, the Beirut port explosion of 2020. Hosting this episode is Good Weekend deputy editor, Greg Callaghan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with the federal member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, who was swept into Canberra on a "teal wave" at the 2022 election. Spender talks candidly with The Sydney Morning Herald associate editor Deborah Snow about the aftermath of the April stabbings at Bondi Junction, the impact of war in Gaza on her constituents, and her determination to push tax reform onto the national agenda. Spender speaks also about the work ethic she inherited from her mother, the late fashion designer Carla Zampatti, and how her father, former Liberal MP John Spender, urged her not to run.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Matthew Evans, the Australian chef and restaurant critic turned Tassie farmer and food writer. Evans, who has written a new book called Milk, talks about the science behind dairy products, the truth and lies around them - and answers the curly question of whether cheese dreams are real. Hosting the conversation, in which Evans also discusses the big issues facing food producers, is the national editor of Good Food, Ardyn Bernoth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.