Astronomers and astrophysicists are looking for exoplanets, that orbit around stars beyond our solar system in what is known as the Goldilocks Zone — the zone with conditions that might be just right for creating life. A fascinating discussion from the 2023 World Science Festival in Brisbane.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At the 2023 Sydney Writers Festival, Kate Evans discusses historical fiction with the celebrated authors — Geraldine Brooks, Pip Williams and Sally Colin-James.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At Perth Festival's Writers Weekend, Claire Nichols talks mothers & motherhood with Alice Pung author of 100 Days, Larissa Behrendt who's latest book is After Story, and Chloe Hooper who examines parenting in her memoir Bedtime Story.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At Melbourne's inaugural Now or Never Festival in 2023, Roman Coppola talks about how he grew up in the industry, his love of collaboration and setting up a fund to develop new talent in the industry.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At the 2023 Sydney Writers Festival, Kate Evans hosts a discussion featuring: Pulitzer Prize winning writer Colson Whitehead, Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton, Man Booker Prize winner Richard Flanagan and acclaimed debut novelist Tracey Lien.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At the 2023 Melbourne Writers Festival, writers speak about of how travel shapes our identity and gives us a better understanding of other cultures. Features Richard Fidler, Kris Kneen, chef Adam Liaw and artist & researcher Vicky Shukuroglou.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Two-time world debating champion Bo Seo and former High Court judge Michael Kirby, discuss how we might better listen to and disagree with each other, and Seo's new book, Good Arguments.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Since 2016 Jane Harper has published five bestselling novels, including The Dry and The Lost Man, and her latest Exiles. We'll hear why she's finishing up with one of her most popular characters in this conversation with Sarah L'Estrange, at the 2023 Melbourne Writers Festival.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A session hosted by Adam Liaw and Annabel Crabb at the 2023 Sydney Writers Festival, which features well known chefs revealing how an extraordinary meal had a huge impact on who they've become.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Best-selling author Lauren Groff's is in conversation with Kate Evans at the 2023 Canberra Writers Festival. Lauren Groff’s books include Arcadia, Fates and Furies, Matrix, and her latest novel The Vaster Wilds.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At the 2023 Sydney Writers Festival, writer Sarah Krasnostein is in conversation with veteran journalist and podcaster Hedley Thomas, and the renowned author Helen Garner.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Sarah L'Estrange speaks to Tracey Lien about her book All That's Left Unsaid, which tells of the aftermath of a shocking murder; and to Nina Wan's - who's novel The Albatross, explores love, duty and belonging.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australia's first female Prime Minister talks about the infamous Misogyny Speech, how she feels about it ten years on, and what the future look like for the next generation of female leaders.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Paul Barclay hosts a panel that asks can science save the world and does the world actually need saving? Hear from four big thinkers that are transforming extraordinary ideas into life changing discoveries.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Simon Holmes a Court hosts a challenging but ultimately optimistic panel discussion. He asks the panel for their insights into where we are at with climate change, and what are their hopes are for the future?Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The 2022 Booker Prize winning author Shehan Karunatilaka, in an entertaining conversation with Kate Evans, at the 2023 Melbourne Writers Festival.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Claire Nicholls in conversation with Japanese American author Sequoia Nagamatsu, about his debut novel How High We Go in the Dark, at Perth Festival's Writers Weekend.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In front of a huge crowd at the 2023 Sydney Writers Festival, Brian Brown interviews his old friend and fellow actor Sam Neill, about Sam's memoir, Did I ever tell you this?Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Geoffrey Robertson KC, a legendary barrister and human rights judge, poses hypothetical questions to a panel of high-profile guests, guiding them through the scenarios with interrogative questioning.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Geoffrey Robertson KC, a legendary barrister and human rights judge, poses hypothetical questions to a panel of high-profile guests, guiding them through the scenarios with interrogative questioning.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

What terrible secrets are hidden in the fictional landscapes of regional Australia? Three crime writers onstage at the Sydney Writers Festival with Kate Evans: Garry Disher, Hayley Scrivenor and Dinuka McKenzie. Small towns, big secrets.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Conversations with Irish Australian queens of crime: bestselling Irish born crime novelist, Dervla McTiernan discusses her move away from the Cormac Reilly series for her new standalone, The Murder Rule. Also, Aoife Clifford discusses her latest When We Fall and the ethics of true crime in fiction.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

'Business as usual' is not an option for governments dealing with an escalating climate crisis. It's now impossible to ignore or deny the grim manifestations, and warnings, that the planet is heating up. So how must governance and democracy change? What are the impediments to overcome if we are to decarbonise the economy, and adapt to a changing cl…

The influence and lasting impact of writers and writing is irrefutable.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Language changes when read aloud; previously unheard rhythms, timbres and tones come alive off the page.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Too much. Not enough. Too weird. Not weird enough. Sex is enjoyed, explored, exploited, and policed in countless ways. The pleasure and pain of writing about sex … with authors Jennifer Mills (The Airways, Dyschronia), evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks (Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, digital lovers, and algorithmic matchmakers), and Josephin…

Cancel culture, wokeness, politically correct; who gets to choose what's offensive and what's inclusive?Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Dry stone walls, ancient pathways, domestic landscapes and dread: English novelist Sarah Moss speaks to Kate Evans at the 2022 Melbourne Writers Festival about her latest novel, The Fell, and the importance of place in her writing.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

What does rereading mean to you, and why do you do it? At the 2022 Sydney Writers Festival Kate Evans was joined on stage by rereaders memoirist Ruth Wilson (author of the bibliomemoir, The Jane Austen Remedy), and scholar and literary judge Bernadette Brennan (whose literary biographies include Leaping into Waterfalls: The Enigmatic Gillian Mears …

How is history made, and who gets left out? History tells us where we came from, what happened along the way, and who we have become – our national identity. But history is the product of the cultural values and beliefs of the time in which it was written. Who gets to shape these shifting narratives? Why has history so often excluded and silenced F…

From books and ideas to music you get a front-row seat at the highlight events.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The new book Lohrey by literary critic and researcher Julieanne Lamond pays homage to Amanda Lohrey, the fearless writer, novelist and 2021 Miles Franklin winner whose career spans four decades. Sarah L’Estrange catches up with both women at the Melbourne Writers Festival.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Julian Barnes is the author of 13 novels including Flaubert's Parrot, The Noise of Time and the Booker-winning A Sense of an Ending. His latest novel, Elizabeth Finch, is about a life-changing teacher. From the Sydney Writers Festival, he talks to Claire Nichols about the influence of teachers on his life and what he's learned in a career that's sp…

Conspiracy theories are not a new phenomenon.But the internet and, recently, the pandemic have turbocharged the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation.A disturbing number of people are now getting sucked into online conspiracy cults. One of the most prominent is QAnon, whose believers think a cabal of Satanic-worshipping paedophiles ope…

What does the Australian country town of Gundagai make you think of? The statue of the "dog on the tuckerbox"? The old folksong, Along the road to Gundagai? Or do you think of the great flood of 1852 – the deadliest in our history - and the remarkable heroism of two Aboriginal men who saved over 60 people, using their bark canoes. Writer, Anita Hei…

What it is like to be a feminist in the public eye? A discussion from the 2021 Sydney Writers Festival with Laurie Penny author of Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults addresses, Journalist Virginia Trioli, who has published a revised version of her book Generation F: Why We Still Struggle With Sex and Power, and the host is author and femi…

Opinions trump facts and truth is no longer absolute. Science is under attack in a world where misinformation thrives, fake news can go viral and conspiracy theories are more popular than ever. How have we arrived at this place of mistrust and what can we do to stand up for science? Why should we trust scientists? Or perhaps more tellingly, what do…

From the 2021 Sydney Writers Festival Annabel Crabbe in conversation with Rachel Cusk - the author of the Outline trilogy (Outline, Transit, Kudos); the essay collection Coventry; the memoirs A Life’s Work, The Last Supper and Aftermath; and several other works.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A conversation with the renowned author Ruth Ozeki, speaking to Kate Evans. We hear about some of the characters that inhabit The Book of Form & Emptiness. About the integral role of objects in Ozeki’s latest novel, and the books within books. This talk was for the Wheeler Centres series Postcards from Abroad in 2021.…

Uluru is a spiritual place for indigenous people and it looms large in the national imagination. Historian Mark McKenna uncovered a hidden truth about an infamous frontier killing at Uluru in the 1930’s. Indigenous campaigner, Thomas Mayor, believes the “Statement from the Heart” could only have come from Uluru. Paul Barclay speaks to Mark and Thom…

Brit Bennett recently joined Claire Nichols in front of live audience at His Majesty's Theatre as part of the Perth Festival of Literature and Ideas. Together they discussed latest book The Vanishing Half, the complexities of race relations in America, her writing process and making the cover of Time Magazine.…

From the 2021 Sydney Writers Festival, a conversation between journalist and writer Rick Morton, and the celebrated essayist, speech writer and author Don Watson - best known for his books Recollections of a Bleeding Heart, Bush & Watsonia.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

It’s difficult to initiate social change - not only to make people understand that change is needed, but to get them to alter their behaviour and maybe even to get them to give up some things. Two young activists discuss strategies of how to motivate crowds and the power of taking action.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Presented by the Wheeler Centre, the Byron Writers Festival and the Newcastle Writers Festival — author Jonathan Franzen, with Sarah Kanowski, about his latest book Crossroads, his approach to religion, and how he's now being kinder to his characters.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

From the 2021 Sydney Writers Festival Paul Kelly in conversation with journalist and presenter Stan Grant. A memorable discussion about the role of literature and poetry in both their lives and the power of a story sung well.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Filmmakers Leah Purcell (The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson), Tony Ayres (Barracuda, The Slap, Seven Shades of Ambiguity) and Sarah Lambert (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) talk to Benjamin Law (co-host, Stop Everything!) about the joys and perils of adapting books for screen.Oleh Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A session from the 2021 Sydney Writers Festival in which we are doing the sort of traveling that we have all became familiar with during the pandemic – the journey of the imagination that books give us — transporting us in time and place. Guests: Tegan Bennett Daylight, Richard Fidler, Heather Rose and Maxine Beneba Clarke in conversation with RN's…

Following the first light to the dawn of the cosmos. New technology allows us to glimpse more of the earliest beginnings of the universe and with that it helps us to predict the future. Join a constellation of astrophysicists as they explore what the first stars looked like, the nature of dark energy and how the acceleration of the universe might e…