Good Weekend Talks

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.  Hosting this conversation is senior writer and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, Jacqueline Maley. Roxane Gay will appear at Carriageworks in Sydney, as part of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (24-25 August) and at Melbourne Town Hall (27 August), presented by the Wheeler Centre and Now or Never. 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.

In this episode we speak with economics commentator Cameron Murray, author of the book, The Great Housing Hijack, which looks at the factors behind Australia's housing crisis. Murray was one of the few who predicted the boom in home prices after the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosting a conversation that covers Murray's analysis of the underlying causes of the problem, international templates for improvements and the role of social housing in the solution is Good Weekend deputy editor, Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.