Books and Authors Audio from ABC Fora TV Podcast
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Downloadable MP3 audio: talks and discussions on literature, books and authors. From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Fora TV.
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John Pilger Attacks The Australian Government
Fri, Nov 20, 2009
In a world filled with violence, poverty, and human rights abuses, the Sydney Peace Prize exists to promote justice and harmony throughout the world. This year the prize was awarded to journalist and left-wing provocateur John Pilger. As conflicts rage around the globe, Pilger argues that in Australia we have largely remained silent on injustices in the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He has also called for Australians to confront the issues facing the Aboriginal communities and the policies of the government in relation to boat people.
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Media 140: Tweeting Question Time
Fri, Nov 20, 2009
As more and more journalists around the world take to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, the way that news is reported and consumed is inevitably changing. Blogs and microblogs have broken down the barriers of repressive regimes and changed the way wars are reported. At the same time, they are providing new tools for journalists to communicate or collect information.
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Media 140: Twitter and the Iranian Democracy Uprising
Fri, Nov 20, 2009
In another popular session from the 2009 Media 140 conference about the impact of social media sites on journalism, panellists considered an event that highlighted the growing power of social media to shape the news: the pro-democracy uprising in Iran.
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Gordon Briscoe Remembers His Friend Charlie Perkins
Tue, Nov 10, 2009
Charles Perkins was one of Australia's most important activists and sportsmen. Throughout his life he campaigned for the equal rights of Indigenous Australians, and became the first Aborigine to become a head of a federal government department. His friend, Professor Gordon Briscoe was with him from the early days. He shared his struggles, and witnessed as Perkins succeeded in bringing the plight of the first Australians into the public consciousness. Here delivering the 2009 Charles Perkins Memorial Oration, Professor Briscoe recalls Perkins' fight for equality and liberty.
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Paul Barry on James Packer
Fri, Nov 06, 2009
Who Wants To Be A Billionaire? A question to which most people would probably reply with a shrug and a 'well, I guess I could give it a good try' type response. However journalist Paul Barry suggests that if being a billionaire meant being James Packer, no-one in their right mind would want to be one. In this talk at Stanton Library he looks at James as businessman, casino tycoon, scientologist, Kerry's son and Frank's grandson. And concludes that no-one who knew what all of this entails would want to be a billionaire for quids.
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Architects speak on cultural impact of skyscrapers
Fri, Nov 06, 2009
Are skyscrapers one of the few remaining opportunities for individuals to contribute something long lasting to society, a la New York's Chrysler Building, Chicago's Auditorium Building, Rome's various Palazzi or London's Royal Albert Hall? Or are they a destructive influence on cities - a means for self-aggrandisement, symbols of capitalism and fragmented societies? In this talk at UNSW some architecture's leading thinkers and practitioners gathered to launch the book 'Skyplane' and deal with this essential question: 'what effect to towers have on urbanism, sustainability, the workplace and historic city centres?' From the residential towers of Hong Kong, to the Australian context these architects consider environmental sustainability, economics and architecture as art you live and work in.
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Terence Tao on the Beauty of Prime Numbers
Fri, Nov 06, 2009
Former child prodigy Terence Tao has grown up to be one of the world's greatest living mathematicians. At 24 he became the youngest ever person appointed full professor at UCLA, and at the tender age of 31 he was awarded the maths world's highest honour, the Fields medal. Back in his childhood home of Australia, he visited the ANU to deliver this fascinating talk about one of his favourite subjects, prime numbers.
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Baroness Susan Greenfield on the Dangers Of Social Networking
Fri, Oct 09, 2009
With a recent study showing that up to 97% of Australians aged 16-17 use at least one social networking site, should we be worried? Increasingly children are raised in front of television and computer screens. What are the effects that this can have on brain development? Do websites like Twitter and Facebook contribute to a culture of short term attentiveness? Baroness Susan Greenfield is a neuroscientist at Oxford University and argues that we should be increasingly wary of how the changing technological environment is affecting the minds of the young.
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Christopher Hitchens and Tony Jones: Does Religion Poison Everything?
Wed, Oct 14, 2009
If there were any doubts about writer and general provocateur Christopher Hitchens ability to pull a crowd, they were entirely dispelled by the sold-out opening night of the first ever Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Presented by the Sydney Opera House and the St James Ethics Centre, the Festival brought together some of the more controversial thinkers from Australia and around the world. Hitchens's keynote address, followed by a discussion with our own Tony Jones, was an expansion on his bestselling, "God is Not Great: Religion Poisons Everything". Hitchens was at his polemical best, delivering a beautifully constructed speech supporting his argument that religion is not only completely implausible, but often actively destructive.
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What in the World is Going On?
Fri, Oct 02, 2009
Global financial crisis, climate change and a new administration in the United States government. These are just some of the big issues that have been compelling the international community in recent years. So what's next? Are the United States and the world better off under Barack Obama? What's the role of our global institutions in responding to these things now and for the future? And what countries will emerge on top? This session from the Melbourne Writers Festival, attempts to tackle some of these weighty concerns about where we going and what in the world is going on.
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Norman Doidge On The Brain That Changes Itself
Fri, Oct 16, 2009
The cliche that you can't teach an old dog new tricks may soon be obsolete. The more we learn about the human brain, the more we understand the potential that it has to change, adapt and grow. Traditionally the brain was seen as being like a machine, its neural pathways set in stone from childhood. But new studies have shown that the brain can be trained to recover from strokes or paralysis, lifelong habits can be broken, and aging brains be rejuvenated. Through new experiences and brain exercises we can alter our brain's anatomy to improve cognition, perception, memory and intelligence. In this enlightening session at the Sydney Writers Festival, Norman Doidge talks about the remarkable plasticity of the brain, and shares some examples of how we can open it up to new realms of possibilities.
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Sex, Knowledge and Society
Fri, Sep 18, 2009
Is science culturally based? Does gender play a role in scientific study? And why do famous philosophers always have beards? In this discussion from the Adelaide Festival of Ideas we find out more about some of the most important issues of our time; sex, knowledge and society. Tracing the history of the traditionally male-dominated disciplines of philosophy and science, the panellists discuss how we might alter the ways we think about gender and culture in the sciences and institutions.
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John Keane: What's So Good About Democracy?
Sun, Oct 25, 2009
We fight wars to defend it, vote to uphold it and pride ourselves upon it. But what's so good about democracy? In this wide ranging talk, Professor John Keane, author of "The Life and Death of Democracy", discusses the history of an evolving ideal that continues to shape our world, from the Ancients through to today.
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Tom Keneally on his history of Australians
Thu, Sep 10, 2009
Tom Keneally thinks that a history of Australia might be boring. A history of Australians, on the other hand, could never be. His new book, "Australians: Origins to Eureka" is a thorough and absorbing look at the characters that created our history. Through the stories of convicts, bushrangers, Aborigines and free settlers, Keneally shows how the backgrounds, beliefs and motivations of individuals combine to create a society and a culture. In this conversation with Tony Jones, Keneally discusses the people that make up the highs and lows of our nation's past.
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Chloe Hooper: Death on Palm Island
Fri, Sep 18, 2009
In November 2004 on Palm Island an Aboriginal man, Cameron Doomadgee, was arrested for swearing at a police officer. Forty minutes later he was dead in custody. The release of the pathologists' report, which found that Doomadgee had four broken ribs and died from a ruptured liver and portal vein, sparked violent riots in the community. Author Chloe Hooper went to Palm Island to cover the story of his death, and continued on to cover the trial of his accused killer, Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley. Here she talks with Christine Wallace at the Sydney Writers Festival.
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Bernhard Schlink on forgiveness and reconciliation
Thu, Sep 10, 2009
Do the descendents of those who commit atrocities inherit their guilt? And how important is it for subsequent generations say "sorry"? These are questions Australians have considered in relation to the Apology to the Stolen Generations, and they also resonate in other countries. Delivering the keynote address at the Melbourne Writers Festival last week, the German author of the novel "The Reader", Bernard Schlink, lectured on the role guilt plays in societies, and how contemporary Germany is still trying to come to terms with the Holocaust.
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Tony Maniaty on Shooting Balibo
Sun, Oct 25, 2009
Hundreds of thousands of people died following the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975. But it was the murder of five Australians and a British journalist by Indonesian soldiers in Balibo that helped keep the conflict simmering in our nation's consciousness for 30 years. Former ABC Journalist Tony Maniaty narrowly escaped the Indonesian forces himself at that time. Here he talks with John Birmingham about arriving in Balibo in 1975 to cover the unrest, days before the invasion, and returning recently to help research the story for a new Australian film on the topic "Balibo". Tony Maniaty and John Birmingham are at the Avid Reader book shop in Brisbane.
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Tony Abbott: Battlelines
Fri, Aug 07, 2009
Tony Abbott has just launched his book 'Battlelines', which offers a range of policy ideas for the coalition to consider in time for the next election. Many political observers say its release is a signal that Mr Abbott is positioning for his own run at the Liberal leadership. Here at the National Press Club in Canberra, he offers his thoughts on solutions to the declining birth-rate and aging population, and unveils some of his policy visions, including his analysis of approaches to health and education policy.
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Max Barry on Risk
Fri, Jul 31, 2009
What's more risky, buying a lottery ticket, running across train tracks, or not doing something you really want to? Risk can be complicated, and in this engaging and personal meditation, novelist Max Barry considers it from many angles. His talk is part of the 2009 Sydney PEN International Voices lecture series, being held at the State Library of NSW, and he is in conversation with The Chaser's Julian Morrow.
Download File - 32.9 MB
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Raimond Gaita on the Idea of Absolute Value
Mon, Oct 26, 2009
Is dignity an inalienable human characteristic, or is it merely tied to appearances, and as such external to our core humanity? How does an understanding of inherent value and dignity inform the way we care and empathise for each other? Would a more thorough respect for human value render us unable to torture? These are some of the big ideas addressed by philosopher Raimond Gaita in this challenging oration at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas.
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Kate Grenville on Artists, Writers and Climate Change
Fri, Aug 07, 2009
We all know what we could be doing to help the environment. We could install solar panels, or drive hybrid cars, or use fewer plastic bags. But there's often a big gap between what we know we should do, and how we actually behave. Delivering this keynote address at the Melbourne Festival of Ideas, novelist Kate Grenville argues that it is the role of artists and writers to inspire and move people to act on important issues like climate change.
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Marcus Chown on Why Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You
Fri, Jul 31, 2009
Twentieth century scientists produced some of the biggest ideas about the smallest things. The way humans understood the world - from the Big Bang to our very physical make up are explained by particles. The more particles are studied the more we are astounded by their properties and the way they act. In this mind blowing discussion at the Sydney Writers Festival Marcus Chown and Fred Watson discuss some of the developments in quantum physics including all the good stuff like string theory, dark matter and parallel universes.
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The Block: Past, Present and Future
Mon, Jul 06, 2009
More than any other urban area in Australia, the Block in Sydney's inner-city suburb of Redfern, has become a meeting place and, some say, spiritual home for city-dwelling Aborigines. However, it has also long struggled with problems of crime, violence and drug-dealing. When not in jail, stolen-generation member Bill Simon has lived on or near to the block for much of his adult life, and his recent book, "Back to the Block" is a moving and personal account of his life story and triumph over his demons. His friend, the Aboriginal Housing Company CEO Mick Mundine, is overseeing the proposed redevelopment of the area. Here, they're at Gleebooks, discussing the Block: its stories, its problems, and its importance.
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Sally Neighbour on Australian Woman Becoming an Islamic Extremist
Wed, Jul 22, 2009
Robyn Hutchinson was a typical Australian girl from the country town of Mudgee. A surfie chick in the seventies, she travelled to Indonesia, where she met and married a Muslim man. Her marriage didn't last, but her conversion to Islam did. Robyn became Rabiah, and spent the next 20 years in the inner sanctum of international Islamist organisations, marrying one of Osama bin Laden's deputies, and experiencing the Afghani reaction to the 9/11 attacks first-hand. In her extraordinary biography, journalist Sally Neighbour charts Rabiah's close and personal interactions with Jemaah Islamiyah, the Taliban and al Qaeda, and explores what turned an Aussie mum into an Islamic extremist.
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Kazuo Ishiguro on Writing and Music
Fri, Jun 12, 2009
Kazuo Ishiguro has been shortlisted several times for English literature's highest honour, the Booker Prize, and won it in 1989 with his novel "The Remains of the Day". His latest work, "Nocturnes", is a series of novellas that pick up on themes of aging, memory and music. Here, in an ABC Fora first, Kazuo Ishiguro is beamed live via satellite to the Sydney Writers' Festival where he chats about his life and his full body of work with Sandra Yates.
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How To Write Long-Form Investigative Journalism
Fri, May 29, 2009
With decreasing resources being allocated by newspapers for in-depth investigations, journalists often turn to book publishers to tell their stories. In this great session, Peter FitzSimons chaired a group of journalists and authors to share insights, and reveal some tricks and methods of their trade.
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Alex Ross: Listening to the Twentieth Century
Fri, Jun 12, 2009
As classical music composers in the twentieth century experimented with new rhythms, tones and sounds, audiences at symphonies reacted passionately. Throughout the ages, music has had the power to evoke powerful emotional responses. In the 1900s, music was intricately tied to politics, propaganda and war. While people were being manipulated and mutilated, so too was classical music experiencing its own dynamic upheaval. In this conversation with Ramona Koval at the Sydney Writers' Festival, music writer Alex Ross talks about some of the poignant moments in the history of music, and reveals how he is able to find beauty in the sounds that were often initially disdained.
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Christian Lander on Stuff White People Like
Fri, Jun 19, 2009
One day, while instant messaging with a friend about how great a particular television show was, Christian Lander, a PhD drop-out, came up with a funny idea and started a blog. Within a couple of months that blog had shot to huge international popularity, he'd signed with one of the biggest talent agencies in Los Angeles, scored a book deal and quit his day job. Just over a year later, he's touring the world talking about the topic of the book and blog, "Stuff White People Like." The list he's compiled includes recycling, expensive sandwiches, irony, organic produce, having ethnic friends and supporting worthy causes. It's a funny and insightful look at the cultural values of middle-class whiteness. Here, we've got a preview of the full talk, which we'll be bringing you in the next few weeks, where Christian explains his meteoric rise to Ben Pobjie.
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Christos Tsiolkas on "The Slap"
Wed, Jun 24, 2009
"The Slap" is a novel that has burst into our nation's conversations. An examination of Australian middle-class culture in the age of John Howard, its central consideration of whether it's acceptable to slap another's child, has kept dinner party conversations raging from Eltham to Fremantle. In this sold-out Sydney Writers' Festival session, novelist Christos Tsiolkas discusses his characters and themes with ABC journalist and writer Leigh Sales.
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Remembering David Foster Wallace
Thu, Sep 10, 2009
When the man commonly cited as the writer of his generation killed himself in 2008, his death caused an intense reaction among his millions of fans. Swarming online, readers and scholars of David Foster Wallace poured out their grief and disbelief on online forums and fansites. That DFW's suicide could catalyse such a personal response from millions of people who had never met him is testimony to his skill as a novelist and journalist: to read David Foster Wallace is to feel like you're inside his mind. At this session of the Sydney Writers Festival, a group of fans and academics gathered to pay tribute to the author of "Infinite Jest".
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Ellis, Hartcher, Warhaft and Jones on the Rise and Fall of Government
Tue, Jun 23, 2009
In this special ABC Fora-presented session of the Sydney Writers Festival, our own Tony Jones hosts a panel comprising of journalist Peter Hartcher, writer and provocateur Bob Ellis and Sally Warhaft, in her first public appearance since being sacked as the editor of the Monthly magazine. The topic up for discussion was our most recent change of government, when the previously unassailable John Howard was electorally humiliated by a nerdy little MP from Queensland.
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Ted Egan On The Crisis in Indigenous Australia
Wed, May 27, 2009
Singer, TV presenter and former Northern Territory Administrator Ted Egan has spent his life working with Aboriginal people, and in that time he reckons he's learnt a thing or two. His new book, "Due Inheritance", is a straight-talking and controversial manifesto about what he considers to be our deepest national crisis, the state of our Indigenous communities. Here, he's launching his book at the National Press Club in Canberra.
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Craig Schuftan On Romanticism and Rock n Roll
Fri, Jul 17, 2009
Who knew Lord Byron had something in common with My Chemical Romance? Armed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop culture, Craig Schuftan traces the history of romanticism in rock n roll, drawing comparisons between 19th century poetic giants and the heroes of indie, glam and emo music. In this talk with Zan Rowe, Schuftan explores the links between music, philosophy and literature and why nobody wants to own up to being emo.
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Malcolm Knox on Honour
Thu, Jul 16, 2009
In an age of video-referees, literary hoaxes and perjuring judges, is there any room for honour left in our society? What does this strangely archaic word even mean? In this thoughtful and engaging talk, given as part of the Sydney PEN International Voices lecture series, journalist and writer Malcolm Knox searches for a definition.
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Kristin Williamson Talks About Her Husband David
Fri, May 01, 2009
The publication of Kristin Williamson's book "David Williamson: Behind the Scenes" has raised numerous questions about the nature of biography. How close is too close to one's subject? How did she feel, revealing intimate details about her family and marriage? What was behind her decision to put herself so centrally into the narrative? What nicknames do she and David have for one another? Kristin Williamson answers all of these questions in a recent conversation with her old colleague David Marr, in front of an audience which includes her playwright husband, and her oldest son Jonathon.
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PJ O'Rourke On Being A Conservative
Wed, Jun 24, 2009
Deliberately offensive, determinedly provocative and extremely funny, PJ O'Rourke is the conservative journalist and satirist that makes even lefties laugh. In Australia recently as a guest of the Centre for Independent Studies, he used this talk at the National Press club to deliver a scattergun critique of conservatism. Hang in for the Q and A session, where he answers questions about gun control, the GFC and his personal drug use.
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Alain de Botton on The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
Fri, May 22, 2009
For most people the word work is synonymous with jobs, labour and occupations. The things we do to pay the rent. The mundane routine can often overshadow the nuances of the work that we do. In this talk at RMIT in Melbourne, philosopher Alain de Botton reminds us of the importance of appreciating the details of work and workplaces. In this way we can have a greater understanding of the impact our daily tasks have on culture and society, or perhaps decide that it's time for a new career.
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Blanche D'Alpuget on her literary influences and inspirations
Wed, Apr 29, 2009
Have you ever wondered about the inspirations behind successful people? Blanche D'Alpuget is the first speaker in a series at the State Library of NSW that invites authors to discuss their literary influences. In this warm and intimate talk, D'Alpuget takes us through her favourite and most treasured books. The stories and authors that inspired and informed her - from childhood, to her early career as a journalist in South East Asia, and her later career as both novelist and biographer.
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Shakira Hussein on Attitudes Towards Muslims In Australia
Fri, May 22, 2009
Since the 9/11 attacks on the USA, Muslims throughout the western world have been pigeonholed and often vilified. In this talk, given earlier this year at the ANU in Canberra, academic Shakira Hussein looks at some of the prejudices Australian Muslims are facing in the 21st century.
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Annette Gordon-Reed: The Obamas and Race in America
Sun, Oct 25, 2009
US historian Annette Gordon-Reed was in Sydney when she discovered she had won a Pulitzer Prize for her book "The Hemingses of Monticello", about President Jefferson's long-running and intimate relationship with his slave Sally Hemings. The evening after her award was announced, she delivered this talk at Sydney Ideas. A scholar of race history and relations in the USA, her topic was "Barack and Michelle Obama: Rewriting the Narrative of American History". To an adoring crowd, she described why, when seen as part of the continuum of American race politics, the Obama presidential victory is so very extraordinary.
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David Malouf on "Ransom" and storytelling
Wed, Jul 22, 2009
It's been a long time between novels for David Malouf. His most recent, "Ransom", is the first published in more than a decade, and retells the story of Homer's Iliad. In this talk at the Stanton Library, Malouf reflects on the themes of his novel, storytelling, legend and memory.
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Geoffrey Robertson on the History of Human Rights
Fri, May 22, 2009
Queen's Counsel, broadcaster and author Geoffrey Robertson has achieved international fame by defending high-profile cases, often representing victims of alleged human rights abuses. Here, at an event organised by Amnesty Australia, he gives a short history of human rights, from the Magna Carta to the present.
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Bronwyn Winter on the politics of the Hijab
Fri, Jul 24, 2009
An ostensibly simple piece of cloth can be one of the most controversial and divisive items in a society. In 2004, when the French Government decided to ban Muslim girls from wearing headscarfs - or hijab - to school, popular opinion split on the issue. Was it an authoritarian abuse of religious freedom? Or, was it a strike against religious ghettoisation, by a staunchly secular government? Bronwyn Winter has better part of two decades thinking and writing about the politics of the hijab, and here in conversation with Shakira Hussein at Gleebooks they explore the issues surrounding this highly politicised garment, which are very far from simple.
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Clive Small on the real-life "Underbelly"
Fri, Apr 17, 2009
In Australia right now, it's all about gangsters. Underbelly continues its dominance on the Australian TV ratings ladder. And the attention that the media is bestowing on bikie gangs is bordering on the obsessive.
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Stella Rimington on Being A Spy
Fri, May 22, 2009
Imagine your partner takes up a diplomatic post in India. While you're there, playing the role of the dutiful spouse at a cocktail party, a man taps you on the shoulder and asks if you'd like a job helping him in his office. It turns out that the shoulder-tapper is not just any man, but a spy. You accept, and within a short time are embarking on a career full of intrigue and mystery. Sounds unlikely, something from a fanciful movie plot? Well this is not some work of fiction, but rather how Stella Rimington found herself working for British Domestic Intelligence Agency, MI5.
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Peter Singer on Poverty
Fri, Mar 06, 2009
Do we as relatively affluent human beings have a moral duty to give to those who have less than us ? A completely staggering 1.4 billion people around the world live in what's described as "extreme poverty", or with an income of less than US$1.25 a day. This means that they are unable to reliably provide food, shelter, clean water and basic education for themselves or their families. So is it okay for us to nestle down in our big houses with overflowing pantries, wardrobes full of clothes we never wear and a $20,000 audio/visual system?
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Chris Puplick On Why The Arts Community Must Try Harder
Wed, Dec 24, 2008
Chris Puplick was Shadow Arts Minister in the late 1980s, and has since held several positions in arts administration, including serving on the board of the Griffin Theatre Company, the Freelance Dance Company and NIDA, and on the Theatre Board of the Australia Council. He was also President of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board.
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John Carroll On The Meaning Of Life
Fri, Dec 19, 2008
In an increasingly secular society, where do we look for spiritual meaning? In his book "Ego and Soul", sociologist John Carroll argues that spiritual fulfilment is an essential human requirement. But now we derive our spiritual experiences from every-day things: going to work, playing sport, spending time with family. Here, he's at Gleebooks, with social commentator Clive Hamilton.
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Augusten Burroughs On Himself
Thu, Jul 16, 2009
Augusten Burroughs has become famous for writing blackly funny accounts of his own seriously dysfunctional life. From his breakthrough memoir "Running With Scissors", to his most recent book "A Wolf at the Table", he recounts his experiences in extraordinary detail. Here, in conversation with Jennifer Byrne at the Melbourne Writers Festival earlier in the year, he was candid about his dreadful childhood, struggle with alcoholism and abusive father.
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Andrew Ness On Urbanisation In China
Fri, Dec 12, 2008
One of the byproducts of China's extraordinary development in the last few decades has been an explosion in its urban populations. At the recent Metropolis summit in Sydney, Asia researcher Andrew Ness described how this changing landscape has come about, and how the Chinese are planning for an urbanised future.
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Don Watson On The US Elections
Fri, Dec 19, 2008
It's just over a month since one of the most fascinating US elections of all time. Australian writer and former Paul Keating speechwriter Don Watson was in the United States for Barack Obama's historic victory and shared his first-hand observations of the American political landscape at the Sydney Institute.
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James Frey Reads From His New Novel
Mon, Dec 01, 2008
LANGUAGE WARNING: this talk contains frequent coarse language.
US writer James Frey's 2003 memoir "A Million Little Pieces", shot to the top of international bestseller lists when it was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey. Three years later it was revealed that many of the experiences described in the book were in fact made up, and a huge controversy erupted. But his latest book, "Bright Shiny Morning", is being hailed by some critics as his return to grace. Here, he's at the New Theatre in Sydney's Newtown reading from it.
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Geoffrey Blainey On Captain Cook
Fri, Dec 12, 2008
Geoffrey Blainey is one of Australia's best-known historians. His latest book is called "Sea of Dangers: Captain Cook and his Rivals". It examines the antipodean voyages of Cook and the French explorer Jean de Surville. Both men were at sea at the same time pursuing similar missions. But while Cook remains one of the most revered cartographers and discoverers of all time, de Surville has been relegated to the margins of history. Here, Professor Blainey is at the State Library of NSW. We join the talk as he's discussing the search for the "missing continent", a great southern land mass that eighteenth century Europeans believed to exist.
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Chris Masters On Being A Journalist
Fri, Feb 06, 2009
At the beginning of this week, veteran journalist Chris Masters filed his final story for Four Corners, the ABC current affairs programme he's worked on for 25 years. In this candid conversation with the ABC's Mark Colvin, he reflects back on an illustrious and award-winning career.
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Anna Funder On Courage
Wed, Jul 22, 2009
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Anna Funder shot to international prominence with the publication of her 2003 book "Stasiland", about the East German secret police, and the attempts of some brave citizens to resist their oppressors. Now working on a novel, the author has taken time out to write and deliver the final of the 2008 PEN International Voices lecture series. Her essay is about Courage.
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William McInnes In Conversation
Thu, Dec 04, 2008
William McInnes is probably best known to most of us as Nick in "Blue Heelers", or perhaps Max in "SeaChange". But he's also a prolific author, most recently of a book called "That'd Be Right". Here, at a Dymock's Literary Lunch he's in conversation with Susan Wyndham, Literary Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. And he's fabulously entertaining discussing the themes of his book: family, sport and politics.
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John Gray On The Big Issues
Thu, Nov 27, 2008
You're a senior British officer in WW2. You have a staff of 25 people. You discover someone in your department is leaking critical information to the enemy, which is causing British soldiers to be killed. What do you do?
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Antony Loewenstein: The Blogging Revolution
Thu, Dec 04, 2008
In countries where news is censored and limited, how important are blogs in getting information out, and how do people living in these countries use the internet?
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Steven Berkoff Pushes The Boundaries
Thu, Nov 20, 2008
He's been a leading force in British theatre for half a century, and is an accomplished actor on both stage and screen. Recently at Sydney Ideas, director Stephen Berkoff delivered a passionate lecture about the perils of limiting artistic freedom.
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Melissa Lucashenko On Survival
Thu, Jul 16, 2009
Australian history is full of images of ingenious settlers battling against the harsh, unforgiving land in order to survive. But is the European notion of 'survival' different from the indigenous one? In this brilliant address, the second of the PEN Voices lecture series, Aboriginal writer Melissa Lucashenko argues that it is.
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Tim Flannery: One Man And A Vision
Thu, Oct 16, 2008
His environmental vision earned Tim Flannery the Australian of the Year award in 2007. Recently delivering the Kenneth Myer annual lecture at the National Library in Canberra, he revisited his favorite themes - the environment and the future.
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IQ2: For A Sporting Nation We're Not Very Sporting
Wed, Dec 24, 2008
This IQ2 Debate was another sellout in Sydney's Angel Place Recital Hall, and the audience were wildly appreciative of the genuinely funny addresses. The topic under scrutiny was that "For a Sporting Nation, We're Not That Sporting." When the audience was polled on this question when they arrived for the event, a clear majority agreed with the proposition.
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All That Jazz
Thu, Oct 30, 2008
It's a life of late nights, small clubs and not much money. So why do jazz musicians keep on going, and what's the future for Australia's underground jazz scene?
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Bob Carr Reads A Lot
Thu, Sep 25, 2008
Former NSW premier Bob Carr has been re-styling himself as a man of letters. Here, delivering the inaugural Alex Buzo lecture at the University of NSW, the voracious reader applies his considerable literary knowledge to addressing the question, "Is human decency an impossible dream?"
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Sedaris, Rakoff and Watson ask: What's So Funny About America?
Thu, Jul 16, 2009
WARNING: THIS CLIP CONTAINS FREQUENT COARSE LANGUAGE.
"What's So Funny About America"? A good question, and if this genuinely hilarious session at the Melbourne Writers Festival is anything to go by, the answer is "lots". Cult US writer David Sedaris considers the question from the safe distance of his home in Europe, while author and ex-Keating-speechwriter Don Watson takes a ground-level look at the USA from its trains and buses. And Canadian-born, New York-based writer and satirist David Rakoff describes the process by which he became an American citizen.
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Germaine Greer Maintains The Rage
Thu, Jul 16, 2009
Australian academic export Professor Germaine Greer has made a career out of being provocative. Her first book, The Female Eunuch, has become an icon of feminist literature and is credited for contributing to the emancipation of the seventies woman. Since then she has provoked inches, miles and now kilometers of outraged attacks from all manner of columnists, journalists and commentators (including other feminists). Be it her request that female circumcision be regarded within cultural context in 1984's Sex and Destiny, or her passionate homage to the beauty of the teenage male body in The Beautiful Boy from 2003, her writing has sparked everything from contempt to outrage.
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali & The Big Ideas Forum
Thu, Sep 11, 2008
Somali-born writer, activist and feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali is best known for her explosive 2007 memoir, Infidel, which recounts a repressed and brutal childhood in a Muslim family, including being genitally mutilated by her devout grandmother. Having publicly lambasted both Islam and the prophet Mohammed, she has been the target of numerous death threats, and when she spoke recently at the Sydney Opera House, security was so tight that her presence at the event could only be announced that same morning.
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Helen Garner Spills Her Guts
Wed, Dec 24, 2008
Author Helen Garner is well-known for looking to her own life for inspiration for her writing. In this conversation with Caroline Baum at the 2008 Sydney Writers' Festival, she discusses her latest book, "The Spare Room", and delivers on her promise to "spill her guts".
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Literature
Contemporary Literature
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