The Wheeler Centre

Acclaimed actor, activist and 2023 Sydney Peace Prize-winner Nazanin Boniadi shares her dream of a 'a free, prosperous and secular democratic Iran'. Iranian-born actress Nazanin Boniadi has had an impressive onscreen career, including leading roles in the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of  Power and Homeland. But it’s her major role as a human rights advocate that has led to her most recent recognition. Over more than two decades, Boniadi has worked tirelessly to elevate the voices and struggles of Iranian citizens and activists, fighting for the country’s democracy and freedom – particularly for women and children. She has advocated at the highest levels, including at the UN Security Council, the US Senate Human Rights Caucus, and in the British Parliament. Boniadi was selected as the recipient of the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize for ‘lending a powerful voice to support Iranian women and girls and their #WomanLifeFreedom movement, and for using a high-profile platform to promote freedom and justice in Iran’. At an unmissable event at The Capitol in Melbourne, Boniadi delivered a stirring keynote lecture on democracy and women’s rights, followed by a Q&A hosted by Mahsa Hajjari. This event was recorded on Tuesday 31 October 2023. It was presented by the Sydney Peace Foundation and RMIT Culture. Supported by the Wheeler Centre, Amnesty International, Future Women and the Victorian Women’s Trust. Featured music is ‘Fuzzy Feeling’ by Timothy Infinite.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leigh Sales is one of Australia’s most beloved journalists. A veteran anchor of the ABC’s flagship current affairs program 7.30, the new presenter of Australian Story, co-host of hugely popular podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 with Annabel Crabb, and a bestselling author, Sales has been recognised with three Walkley Awards over the course of a career that has seen her interview countless political leaders, innovators and artists. In her new book, Storytellers: Questions, Answers and the Craft of Journalism, Sales turns her talents on her remarkable peers – including Waleed Aly, Richard Fidler, Niki Savva and Stan Grant – revealing candid insights into the craft of journalism and the power of storytelling. Over an intimate dinner at award-winning winery Montalto, Sales was joined by her close friend Lisa Millar, co-host of ABC News Breakfast, as they shared insights from their careers in the media and offer a peek behind the curtain of this vital but often misunderstood profession. This event was recorded on Friday 6 October 2023 AT Montalto as part of Spring Fling. Presented in partnership with Montalto. The bookseller for this event was Antipodes Bookshop and Gallery. Featured music is ‘Mirror’ by Simon Winkler.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The author of The Great Believers and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Rebecca Makkai is back with an explosive new work. Described by the New York Times as ‘spellbinding’, I Have Some Questions for You is part campus novel, part true-crime podcast investigation, all told through the lens of the #MeToo era.Join Makkai and host Rachael Brown as they reckon with the past and interrogate just how deep our obsession with true crime runs. This event was presented in partnership with RMIT Culture. It was recorded on Saturday 14 October 2023 at The Capitol as part of Spring Fling. Spring Fling was proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund. Special thanks to official bookseller Readings and accommodation partner The Sofitel.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, acclaimed science journalist Ed Yong takes us beyond the limits of human perception to uncover the world through the eyes of animals. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us explores the boundless sensory environments animals occupy, offering a reminder of the intricacies of nature and how little we truly know about the planet we inhabit. In this remarkable book, Yong brings to bear the same clear-eyed insight that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for his COVID-19 coverage for The Atlantic. As part of Spring Fling, Yong joined Guardian Australia nature columnist Helen Sullivan live at The Capitol for a revelatory conversation. This event was presented in partnership with RMIT Culture. It was recorded on Saturday 14 October 2023 at The Capitol as part of Spring Fling.  Spring Fling was proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund. Special thanks to official bookseller Readings and accommodation partner The Sofitel.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Caroline O’Donoghue, bestselling author and host of the award-winning podcast Sentimental Garbage discusses her new novel The Rachel Incident. Set in Ireland against the backdrop of the post-economic crash of 2009, The Rachel Incident delves into the realm of youthful yearnings, early adulthood, and the bittersweet transition from carefree student to responsible professional. O’Donoghue joined Abigail Ulman live at the Wheeler Centre for Spring Fling to discuss the danger and delight of youthful dalliances, and the great love story of enduring friendship. This event was recorded on Thursday 12 October 2023 at the Wheeler Centre as part of Spring Fling.  Featured music ‘Golden Hour’ by Sarah the Illstrumentalist. Spring Fling was proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund. Special thanks to official bookseller Readings and accommodation partner The Sofitel.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pop culture aficionados Kate Jinx and Brodie Lancaster join us for a special live recording of their hit podcast See Also. Each week on their pod, Brodie and Kate skip across the pop culture spectrum and dissect the TV shows, films and books everyone is talking about, forgotten cult classics they’ve been revisiting, and everything in between. Bookending each episode with recommendations for restaurants, gigs, skincare, fashion and even life admin, they share everything you need to know to plug in to the zeitgeist. Since its launch in 2022, See Also has amassed a loyal following of listeners – and for Spring Fling, Kate and Brodie recorded the podcast’s first ever live episode! Joining them on stage at the Wheeler Centre were special guests, actor and writer María Angelico and live music from Harvey Sutherland. This event was recorded on Tuesday 10 October 2023 at the Wheeler Centre as part of Spring Fling.  Featured music is 'Let's go find the SUN' by Sarah the Illstrumentalist.See Also theme music performed by Harvey Sutherland and Meg Christensen (live at the Wheeler Centre) More from See Also Spring Fling was proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund. Special thanks to official bookseller Readings and accommodation partner The Sofitel.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her most ambitious work to date, acclaimed Goorie author and Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Melissa Lucashenko turns her hand to historical fiction. Edenglassie is a blazing epic set in colonial Queensland, spanning five generations to tell a story of legacy, love and resistance. At this exclusive Spring Fling event, Lucashenko discusses the hidden histories that shaped her extraordinary new work, which takes a torch to colonial myths and grapples with the ongoing realities of resistance. Lucashenko and host Evelyn Araluen consider how confronting the ugly truths of the past offers us a way to reimagine the future.  This event was recorded on Friday 6th of October 2023 at the Wheeler Centre as part of Spring Fling.  Featured music is ‘Different Days’ by Chill Cole. Spring Fling was proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund. Special thanks to official bookseller Readings and accommodation partner The Sofitel.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To celebrate the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling, we asked six beloved Victorian writers to reflect on the theme Above and Beyond: considering what it means to look further, delve deeper, and ask big questions of ourselves and the world around us. The following is an audio recording from award winning writer, speaker and appearance activist, Carly Findlay, reading her original essay for the project. This work was commissioned by the Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with the Wheeler Centre as part of Spring Fling, presented at venues across Melbourne from 2 to 14 October 2023. Visual artist ENOKi has created a series of vibrant, visually arresting illustrations in response to the written pieces. This collaborative project is available to view in person at City Square on Swanston from the end of September 2023. Read the essays in full and discover more audio recordings from the project at wheeler centre.com Featured music is ‘And Lucy Dreams’ by Lotus. This work was delivered in partnership with the Metro Tunnel Creative Program.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To celebrate the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling, we asked six beloved Victorian writers to reflect on the theme Above and Beyond: considering what it means to look further, delve deeper, and ask big questions of ourselves and the world around us. The following is an audio recording from award winning writer Alice Pung, reading her original essay for the project. This work was commissioned by the Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with the Wheeler Centre as part of Spring Fling, presented at venues across Melbourne from 2 to 14 October 2023. Visual artist ENOKi has created a series of vibrant, visually arresting illustrations in response to the written pieces. This collaborative project is available to view in person at City Square on Swanston from the end of September 2023. Read the essays in full and discover more audio recordings from the project at wheeler centre.com Featured music is ‘Handwriting’ by Frank Jonsson. This work was delivered in partnership with the Metro Tunnel Creative Program.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To open the Wheeler Centre’s 2023 Spring Fling series, six Australian cultural icons took to the stage at Melbourne Town Hall for an intimate evening of storytelling, reflecting on the moments that shaped them and called upon them to–go above and beyond in their careers, personal lives and creative endeavours. Hosted by Patricia Karvelas, the line-up of special guests included writer and disability activist Hannah Diviney, tennis champion Jelena Dokic, award-winning author Melissa Lucashenko, prominent campaigner for the Voice to Parliament Thomas Mayo, and Zimbabwean-Australian singer, actor and writer Rufaro Zimbudzi, followed by a very special musical performance by celebrated singer-songwriter Emma Donovan. The following reflection on the theme Above and Beyond was shared on Opening Night by proud Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man, Thomas Mayo. Thomas is the National Indigenous Officer of the MUA. He is a signatory of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and has been a leading advocate since its inception in May 2017. He is the Chairperson of the Northern Territory Indigenous Labor Network, advises the Diversity Council of Australia and the From the Heart campaign, and is an executive member of the Northern Territory Trades and Labour Council. Thomas has previously written five books published by Hardie Grant, and has articles and essays published in The Guardian, Griffith Review and Sydney Morning Herald. This event was recorded on Wednesday 4 October 2023 at Melbourne Town Hall. Featured music is Different Days by Chill Cole.Spring Fling is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, and is supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund. Special thanks to official bookseller Readings and accommodation partner The Sofitel.  Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.