It's a Long Story

As it nears its 50th birthday, the Sydney Opera House is looking to the future with a 'Up Next' - a new podcast which talks to the artists who'll define the next 50 years of arts and culture in Australia. Join host Courtney Ammenhauser as she chats to a spectacular lineup of artists from a variety of creative disciplines as they make their way to one of the most famous performance venues in the world.In this bonus episode, Courtney talks with Yve Blake - playwright, screenwriter, songwriter, and beloved creator of the hit musical Fangirls. They chat about her overnight success, the Fangirls of Fangirls, and the sacred Mount Franklin bottle that touched Missy Higgins' lips.Episodes of 'Up Next' are released monthly and you'll find them wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denise Ho was always going to be an activist. The canto-pop superstar had built a massively successful music career and could’ve continued on her path of major-label success. But, in 2012, she became the first mainstream female singer in Hong Kong to come out as gay, and was promptly abandoned by much of the industry. She responded by setting up her own label and becoming a high-profile advocate for the LGBTQI community. In 2014, when huge pro-democracy protests broke out in Hong Kong, Denise’s activism went to a whole new level. She’s become one of the most prominent figures in the umbrella movement, spoken at the UN and all around the world, and continues to risk her own life and freedom on behalf of the cause. In this episode, she’s speaking with Benjamin Law at Antidote festival in 2019.

Not a lot of women get to practice law in Afghanistan, but attorney Kimberly Motley is one of the very few. Raised in a poor, majority black neighbourhood in Milwaukee in America’s midwest, Kimberly has made a career defending particularly difficult cases, and in learning how to navigate the Afghani legal system, she has also developed a unique understanding of inter-cultural approaches to justice. She’s talking to Benjamin Law at Antidote festival in 2019.  

When 24 Year old Zadie Smith published her debut novel, White Teeth, in 2000, she became an instant literary superstar. Two decades and several more novels, short story and essay collections later, her voice remains every bit as relevant. Never one to follow a trend, her writing has earned a reputation for originality and intellectual independence. Head of Talks and Ideas Edwina Throsby spoke to Zadie Smith when she was visiting the Sydney Opera House in November 2019.

Hello I’m Edwina Throsby Head of Talks and Ideas at Sydney Opera House and I’m here with some excellent news: this week we’re launching our new season of the podcast “it’s a long story”, where you can go deep with iconic writer Zadie Smith, Cantopop superstar and human rights activist Denise Ho, Miles Franklin winner Melissa Lukashenko, and loads more. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 

Uncover fascinating stories of the Opera House’s rich cultural heritage and design legacy in our new podcast series exploring the building as a work of art, the artwork within it, as well as the decade of renewal and how we are transforming our icon for the 21st century and future generations. Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  sydneyoperahouse.com/digital/podcasts/house-stories

Jess Hill & Sanam Maher Jess Hill and Sanam Maher, expert journalists on gendered abuse, come together in a cross cultural discussion to unpack male entitlement and female vulnerability. Hosted by Gina Rushton.

Feminists get a bad rap for being angry. But what would it be like if women were allowed to embrace their anger? American writer Soraya Chemaly has been calling for this shift for years. A prolific voice on the role of gender in culture and politics,  she has had a long career in media and technology. And, she has encountered a lot to be angry about. Her latest book, Rage Becomes Her is a celebration of female anger. It tackles the highly gendered way our culture regards anger, and questions why angry men are strong but angry women are crazy. This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.

Sohaila Abdulali did not want to write a book about her experience of being raped. It was a long time ago and she’d very much moved on with her life. But, after some articles she’d written about it went viral, she did write a book. 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape' is an incredible, genre-defying discussion of the troubling ways that rape and sexual violence are experienced and discussed. With no self-pity but much insight and a joyous character, she brings sensible, open thinking to an entirely taboo topic. Content Warning: this episode of It's A Long Story contains discussion of sexual violence. Support can be found at Lifeline: 13 11 14 and lifeline.org.au This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.    

How we define ourselves comes from a place of difference. At least that's what Carolin Emcke writes about in her book, How We Desire, which investigates gender and identity. But her own identity? Now that’s more complicated. Emcke has been reporting from war zones since the early 2000s, where she's witnessed and written about some of the most horrific acts humans are capable of. She is a fearless and completely original thinker on all things from the effect that atrocity has on those who are compelled to report upon it, to the ethics of journalism, to what it means to be queer today. This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.

Sarah Smarsh is the daughter of a teenaged mother, who was the daughter of a teenaged mother, who was the daughter of a teenaged mother. Born into a dirt-poor family in rural Kansas, Smarsh realised young that if she could get educated and not pregnant, she would be able to break the pattern of the women in her family. Her memoir, Heartland, is a wonderful tribute to those women, as well as a proud  insider’s look into a culture that is often mocked, reviled and misunderstood, and a searing critique of a political and economic system that entrenches inequality in America.  This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.

Joan Morgan grew up in the Bronx alongside a growing hip hop movement in the 1980s. Coming of age in the 90s, as hip hop became an international cultural phenomenon, Joan Morgan became one of the first women to write about hip hop for magazines. In 1999, Morgan coined the term “hip-hop feminism” in her groundbreaking book When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost which applied a feminist lens to a nortoriously sexist genre. More recently, she penned a definitive analysis of The Miseducation of Lauren Hill, to mark the 20th anniversary of that classic, seminal album. 

Tina Tchen doesn't remember the first time she met the Obamas. But what she does remember is the ground-breaking policies that she worked on with both Barack and Michelle during their time in the White House. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Tina has forged a top-notch career as a lawyer, activist and advocate, and has been focused on gender equity issues for over three decades, while raising two kids as a single mother. After #metoo she set up the legal defence fund for the group Time's Up, which to date has raised over $24 million dollars to support the legal cases of women who have been harassed at work.  She is a powerhouse, and she knows how to get things done. This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.

In this special episode of It’s a Long Story, host and ANTIDOTE festival curator Edwina Throsby is interviewed by Sydney Morning Herald Editor Lisa Davies about the 2019 festival. Discover the lineup here: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/festivals/antidote.html

Adam Liaw understands how Australian families eat. Emigrating to South Australia from Malaysia in the 1980s his childhood was a delicious mix of international cuisines. Adam’s precocious smarts fast-tracked his academic career, and landed him at law school well ahead of schedule. Moving to Japan in his twenties to work at Disney Asia, he was settling into Japanese culture. But everything changed when he applied on a whim for the second season of Masterchef Australia. Ten years, six books and one snow egg later, he now hosts award-winning SBS television series Destination Flavour. His columns and recipes provide a thoughtful culinary perspective and a solid knowledge of what you should put on the table tonight. Watch Adam with Yotam Ottolenghi

When Liz Jackson woke up one morning back in 2012 unable to feel her legs, her life radically changed direction. Diagnosed with a neuromuscular disease, Liz left her successful career in television to become a designer and activist, devoted to improving design for disabled people across the world. Her blog, The Girl with the Purple Cane, and her organisation The Disabled List, brings the unique insights and skills of disabled people and designers into the broader design conversation. Show notes: Watch Liz at ANTIDOTE 2018 Listen to her talk 'The Original Lifehackers'

It’s hard to remember what we used to cook before Yotam Ottolenghi burst into our culinary consciousness. His brand of colourful, vegetable-based food has transformed kitchens and tables the world over. Born in Jerusalem, Yotam was set to pursue an academic career after completing a master’s degree in comparative literature. However at age 30 he decided to move to London to become a chef, and his future was rewritten. His London restaurants have become cult destinations, his cookbooks are on everyone’s shelves, he’s a TV host, he’s one of the world’s most famous gay dads, and he’s one of the loveliest people you’re likely to meet. Show notes: Watch Yotam Ottolenghi in conversation with Adam Liaw  Listen to his 2014 conversation with Joanna Savill 5 things you don't know about Ottolenghi Win flights to London to visit his restaurant Nopi

As a hugely successful journalist and writer, and the founder of the international diet and lifestyle empire I Quit Sugar, Sarah Wilson might seem like the poster girl for perfect health. Yet anxiety and bipolar disorder have been with her throughout her life and career. Growing up in rural Australia in a big, poor family, she has always been driven to overachieve, editing national magazines, hosting the first season of Masterchef, writing a series of bestselling cookbooks, and amassing a small army of online followers. In her book First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, Sarah gives an unflinchingly honest account of her struggles with mental illness, and how anxiety doesn’t have to be a negative force in your life.

Walking through Kew Gardens in London with his family was formative for polymath, writer and tree-lover Jonathan Drori. With a career bridging engineering and broadcasting, he was part of the trailblazing team which created the very first iteration of BBC online, surfed the crest of the dotcom boom, and created a whole lot of very good BBC television programs. Yet the pull of the natural world held strong, and his book, Around the World in 80 Trees, explores the unique relationship of human beings with the trees that surround us, and the ways trees are tipping us off to the health of our societies and our planet. Show notes: Watch Jonathan Drori in Three Ways to Save the World

What Lisa-Ann Gershwin does not know about jellyfish probably doesn’t count, and no one gets quite as excited about gelatinous medusas as she does. Raised in California by hippie parents, her undiagnosed Asperger’s syndrome marked her an outsider during childhood. It wasn’t until she fell in love with marine biology that she started to find her way. Now an internationally recognised scientist, researcher and author, she has personally discovered 200 species of jellyfish and counting. And despite a life that hasn’t always been easy, Lisa-Ann remains one of the most infectiously joyful people you’re ever likely to hear. Show notes: Listen to Lisa-Ann's talk at ANTIDOTE    

Kevin McCloud had a childhood where everything was built from scratch, and his home was more like a workshop. So it’s no surprise that the built world eventually became the focus of his life and work. Yet in his earlier years Kevin wore many different hats, from working in an Italian vineyard, studying music, designing sets for the Cambridge theatre troupe the Footlights, owning a lighting design shop and designing the famous ceiling of the Harrods Food Hall in London. While this eclectic mix of experience may have been enough for some, Kevin’s best known as the host of the British lifestyle program Grand Designs. A champion for social housing and sustainable development, he continues to explore ways that architecture can benefit our lives.   Show notes: Watch Kevin McCloud at Sydney Opera House Watch our Opera House Grand Designs mini episode

When the war in Syria was tearing apart their home city of Homs, architect Marwa Al-Sabouni and her husband made the decision to stay there with their two young children, rather than to become refugees. In her memoir, The Battle for Home, she writes about the experience of continuing daily life in a battle zone, and of the importance of architecture in determining the fates of cities. Marwa’s work now is concerned with the impact of conflict on urban environments, and the possibilities that can emerge from rebuilding. She believes architecture can play an essential role in strengthening communities, and in healing her country. Show notes: Marwa's talk at ANTIDOTE

Back in his student days, science writer and journalist Mark Lynas was one of the first and loudest voices of the anti-GMO movement. He wrote some of the most-read articles about genetically modified organisms, led protests, and may or may not have coined the term “Frankenfood”. But then he really looked into the science of GMO, and did a full 180. In a world-famous speech in 2013, Mark retracted his earlier views, and apologised for having destroyed GM crops. He’s since worked with smallholder farmers in Asia and Africa who, use GMO to better cope with pests, diseases and droughts. He is still an activist, but now he forefronts science in his activism.

What do you do when you decide at the age of seven that the world is an unfair place and you need to try and change it? Raj Patel’s career has been dedicated to ending inequality. From studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, London School of Economics and Cornell, to learning about the inner workings of the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank as an intern, Raj was always going to be an activist. His writing about capitalism and contemporary politics is globally influential, and he continues to look for ways to change the political and economic systems that we live in. This episode is hosted by Edwina Throsby. Show notes: Watch Raj in Three Ways To Change The World Listen to his talk Smashing Capitalism for Beginners

How might literature change the world? American author Barbara Kingsolver has been asking this question through her best-selling novels and essays for years. After a self-described ‘curious childhood’ split between rural Appalachia and remote global locations where her doctor father was posted, she developed an independent spirit and an unshakeable love for the natural world. This passion manifested as activism during her biology degree, but despite becoming a scientist, it was literature than ultimately won out. Although she wrote several award-winning essays and novels through the late 90s and into the 2000s, it wasn’t until her novel The Poisonwood Bible was featured on Oprah Winfrey’s book club that Barbara skyrocketed to international fame. Barbara used her royalties to establish the Bellwether literary prize for socially engaged fiction, and she remains an activist at heart, with a body of work that is a testament to a belief in the power of the written word. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Edwina Throsby. - Show notes The Bellwether Literary Prize Barbara Kingsolver at Sydney Opera House The Poisonwood Bible on Oprah's Book Club Barbara Kingsolver on #metoo and feminists today

There’s a widespread assumption that we are all are better off in relationships, that you can and must find your soul mate, and that true love conquers all. Mandy Len Catron has been aware of the power of love stories, ever since her childhood in rural Appalachia in the American south. As the daughter of a cheerleader and a football coach, her family stories read like the perfect American Dream. But when the reality of life fell short of these idealised, and highly feminised, notions, Mandy turned to science to explore what other narratives might be available. From her research came a blockbuster essay in the New York Times, and then a book,  How To Fall in Love With Anyone. Mandy continues to write and think about how the powerful narratives from our childhoods and our culture can be flipped into something infinitely more interesting. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Edwina Throsby Show notes Mandy Len Catron at Sydney Opera House Mandy's New York Times Modern Love column Arthur Aron's 36 Questions to fall in love Elizabeth Brake on Amatanormativity  

There aren’t many places where we aren’t boxed in to strict categories. For English singer-songwriter CN Lester, music has always provided a safe space where these restrictions don’t apply. Raised in London by a family that encouraged them to think outside traditional gender roles, CN, who is gender queer and uses the pronoun they, grew up to be a committed activist. As well as co-founding the Queer Youth Network and Britain’s first gay-straight alliance, CN has written a memoir called Trans Like Me: A Journey for All of Us: which is a must-read for all trans people and those who want to understand them better. Now, they run a queer performance night in London that has the salient motto: Don’t make assumptions. Show notes: CN Lester on 'Trans Like Me' panel at All About WomenBuy their book  My Gender Workbook by Kate BornsteinDykes to watch out for by Alison Bechdel More info about CN's performance night Transpose in London

The daughter of Alice Walker, who wrote the African-American classic The Color Purple, and Melvyn Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer, Rebecca Walker’s intersecting and sometimes jarring identities were the foundation of her career. In 1992, her article for Ms Magazine ‘I am the Third Wave’ crystallised her thinking around feminism and activism. Its massive success spurred on her work: she established the Third Wave Fund to support young women from diverse backgrounds to pursue activism and leadership. Multiple memoirs, essay collections and a novel followed. Rebecca’s work has always been a response to her personal situation, be it family, identity, becoming a mother, masculinity, race, Buddhism, or a combination of all of these, and she has developed a strong and compelling ethos about what it means to live a feminist life in an ever-changing world. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Edwina Throsby. Show notes 'I am the Third Wave' article Rebecca Walker on beauty as resistance On Third Wave feminism Rebecca Walker's bibliography

As a middle-class girl from a happy family, Kate Bolick’s life was on track: go to college, get a job, and then, become a wife. But after losing her mother, Kate began to question this predictable trajectory.  In 2011, when she was in her thirties and still unmarried, Kate wrote an article that wove together her personal story with an economic analysis of singledom in the 21st Century. It was called All the Single Ladies and it became an online sensation. It served as the catalyst for Kate’s first book called Spinster: Making a life of one’s own. The memoir reflects on the intergenerational lessons and legacies of feminism, and is a call to arms for autonomous women everywhere. -- Video of Kate at All About Women 2018 All the Single Ladies article on The Atlantic

Raised in small town New Jersey, lifelong bookworm Fran Lebowitz has always done things on her own terms. After getting expelled from highschool, she answered the call and moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. She quickly became part of the legendary New York club scene of the 1970s, hanging out at Max’s Kansas City and writing for Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine. Her best-selling memoirs Metropolitan Life and Social Studies are brilliant chronicles of these times. Since then, she’s been watching as the world evolves and changes: and whether it’s sexuality, AIDS, activism, feminism, technology or presidents, she will most definitely have an opinion on it. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Edwina Throsby. Watch videos of Fran Lebowitz at Sydney Opera House on the Talks & Ideas Youtube Channel.

Growing up in the small community of Mimili in South Australia, Zaachariaha Fielding always knew he wanted to entertain. Moving to the city as a teenager, he quickly became a part of Adelaide’s music scene, before trying his hand on the reality TV show The Voice. But it’s in the duo Electric Fields where Zaachariaha has really begun to thrive. Crossing genres like soul, pop and electronica, the musical partnership with Michael Ross has led him to massive stages all around Australia and the world, and in 2017 they scored Best New Talent at the NIMA Awards. From intimate soulful odes to uplifting songs in Pitjantjara language, Electric Fields have become an unmissable part of any lineup. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Emily Nicol.

Irish Mythen has always had a love for the road. Moving as a kid from the south-east coast of Ireland to Africa and the Middle East, the sights, sounds and stories of these places inspired her. Like any good troubadour, she’s since traveled extensively, gathering tales and meeting people. Since then, Irish has built a strong following on the international folk music circuit, opening for the likes of Melissa Etheridge and Rod Stewart and taking the stage at some of Australia’s biggest festivals like Bluesfest and Woodford. Her powerful voice, paired with a sense of humour and knack for understanding people, instantly wins over crowds wherever she goes. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Emily Nicol. 

Raised between Darwin and his ancestral home of Gabagaba in Papua New Guinea, Airileke Ingram was drumming from a young age. His grandfather taught him traditional techniques, igniting a love for percussion that led to a world tour with the Australian Youth Orchestra. Since then, Airileke has played with some of our most prominent Indigenous musicians, soundtracked a Hollywood film and scored an ARIA nomination. But it’s his passion for making community through music that really drives Airileke. His latest collaboration is Sorong Samarai, featuring West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda. It brings together a talented mix of musicians from across Oceania, and is a rallying cry for freedom for West Papuans, sharing the unifying message ‘One people, one soul, one destiny’. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Emily Nicol.

Tamika Mallory has been protesting pretty much her entire life. From joining Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network at the age of 15 to working with the Obama administration on gun control legislation. As the national co-chair of the Women's March on Washington, Tamika proved that women are at the centre of the resistance against the Trump presidency. The Women's March was the largest single-day protest in US history and worldwide participation was estimated at being over 5 million. The movement sent a bold message to the new US government on its very first day in office that women's rights are indeed human rights. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Marc Fennell.

Author, politician, and former international civil servant, Shashi Tharoor is a man of many talents. He spent nearly 29 years at the United Nations as a peacekeeper and refugee worker culminating as undersecretary general. He's published 16 books, won numerous literary awards and was named by the 1998 World Economic Forum in Davos as a Global Leader of Tomorrow. Currently, Shashi is serving his second term as Congress MP in India. This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Marc Fennell.

Born in Nigeria to a Muslim father and a Christian mother, Inua Ellams fled with his family at age 12 to the UK. He spent his youth in London, then Dublin, then London again, and has said that his teenage years were characterised by perpetual crises of identity. Inua spent his life creating art, writing poetry, and going on long walks through the city. While everyone else was sleeping, he was searching for some sense of identity. This episode of It’s a Long Story is hosted by Marc Fennell.

Born in North Korea in 1993, Yeonmi Park grew up in a society devoted to ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong-Il. As a child she regularly came across dead bodies on the street and spent months at a time without electricity. And people she knew were executed for merely watching American movies. In 2007 Yeonmi and her mother escaped into China, but were captured and sold to human traffickers. Two years later they reached the Mongolian border, and eventually arrived in South Korea. This episode is hosted by Marc Fennell.

Growing up in New Jersey Amani Al-Khatahtbeh was a pretty normal kid. Then 9/11 happened and life changed forever. She spent her teenage years navigating growing racism and Islamophobia in America, and at the age of 17 she founded a blog called Muslim Girl. The site gave young Muslim women a platform to discuss all of the things – periods to politics. And over the years, it transformed from a part time passion project to a full time social movement, logging millions of hits every year. This episode is hosted by Marc Fennell.

One evening in 1996 the basement of the Cornelia Street Café in New York’s Grenwich Village came alive when Eve Ensler performed The Vagina Monologues for the very first time. Since then, her play has been translated into 48 languages and presented in over 140 countries with the world’s best stage and screen actors performing it to packed houses. In the 20 years that have passed since the premiere, Eve has gone on to write many more plays and books, start global political movements that have made over 100 million dollars for grassroots groups.  This episode of It's A Long Story is hosted by Marc Fennell.

An HBO Documentary, two best-selling memoirs, pop culture cover stories, beauty columns, speaking engagements, essays, social media - Janet Mock is doing it all. And at the same time, she's eager to expand beyond her personal experience and share the platform that she has built with others in her community who may not be as fortunate. Janet is arguably one of the most influential transwomen working in media and is using every tool available to her to tell the stories that shift and challenge preconceived notions about what is possible for transpeople.  This episode of It's a Long Story is hosted by Marc Fennell.

A kitchen in Melbourne's Footscray provided the humble origins for Camp Cope's Kelly-Dawn Helmrich, Georgia Maq and Sarah Thompson. Since joining forces in 2015, the trio haven't wasted a second of their time in the spotlight, using their newfound influence to launch the It Takes One campaign. Aimed at stopping harassment of women at live music gigs, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich has said of the project: “We have a platform now where people listen to us so we want to give back to other people who don’t have a stage to speak on.”

Since she was a kid, there was never any doubt in Izzi Manfredi’s mind that she wanted to make music. Meeting Jack Moffitt and Thomas Champion at university, the three formed The Preatures. With influences like The Beatles, the Divinyls and The Pretenders, the band achieved international success with the 2013 track, “Is this how you feel?”. Their latest release is Girlhood, a distinctly personal album, which draws on stories from Izzi’s own childhood and adolescence.

Nai Palm of Hiatus Kaiyote has recently been flying solo, with her debut album Needle Paw soon to be released. In spite of a turbulent childhood, she took solace in nature, in animals and in music, growing into the independent spirit and curious soul that has enchanted such artists as Erykah Badu, Animal Collective, Questlove and the late, great Prince.

Briggs is a rapper, comedian, actor, writer and fearless social critic. A proud Yorta Yorta man from regional Victoria, he took out the Australian Music Prize this year as half of the hip hop duo A.B. Original for their debut album Reclaim Australia, as well as appearing in the ABC's groundbreaking supernatural drama Cleverman and becoming a regular on satirical news programme The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.

S-Town's rich and thoughtful story telling captured the attention of audiences from around the world. Brian Reed, its host and co-creator, originally set out to find a new story for This American Life. Instead, he spent three years investigating the life and tribulations of small town Alabama resident John B. McLemore. The podcast captured audiences with the twists and turns of life in Bibb County, presenting an audio story akin to great literature.

Award-winning writer, journalist and public speaker, Thordis Elva was voted Woman of the Year in her native Iceland for her tireless campaigning for gender equality. She believes in ending the silence that still shrouds sexual violence, of which she is a survivor, and sees dialogue as a means of healing. She has long researched the effect of forgiveness in human relationships, an interest which took her across the globe and into the depths of her own heart, resulting in the book South of Forgiveness which she wrote with Tom Stranger.