The Wheeler Centre

In her latest book The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini explores the science and history of male dominance, arguing that patriarchy is neither natural nor inevitable, but rather a fragile system that is constantly remade and reasserted. Saini joined Karen Pickering for a bold conversation interrogating why, how and where patriarchy manifests and persists. She discussed the ways patriarchies are established and evolve over time, explored matrilineal systems that have been subverted by colonialism, and looked beyond old narratives to understand why the patriarchy persists today. This event was presented in partnership with the Victorian Women’s Trust.It was recorded on Tuesday 15 August 2023 at the Wheeler Centre.The bookseller for this event was Readings. Featured music was Different Days by Chill Cole.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling returns for 2023 and this year we’re going Above and Beyond. From October 2 to 14 we’re celebrating the big ideas and the small moments that make us human, and the creative thinking that drives us to be better versions of ourselves. Across 24 captivating events we’re looking further, delving deeper, and asking bigger questions with outstanding thinkers who are reshaping our world and envisioning extraordinary futures. To celebrate the return of Spring Fling, in this episode we revisit 2022's inaugural Opening Night gala event at Melbourne Town Hall, where a star-studded lineup of writers shared a personal ‘lightbulb moment’, reflecting on a defining shift that changed their mind, sparked a big idea or helped them blossom. Enjoy this highlight from multi-award winning writer Maxine Beneba Clarke. Tickets to Spring Fling 2023 are on sale now. Explore the full program at wheelercentre.com including details of this year’s Opening Night: Above and Beyond at Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 4th of October featuring Jelena Dokic, Thomas Mayo, Melissa Lucashenko, Hannah Diviney, Rufaro Zimbudzi, musical guest Emma Donovan. Hosted by Patricia Karvelas. ______ This event was recorded at Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 2 November 2022 as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling Opening Night: Lightbulb Moments.Featured music is Kwick Baby by Youth Community. Spring Fling is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and is supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund – a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hear from our Head of Programming, Veronica Sullivan, as she reflects on last year’s successful Spring Fling, and shares what’s in store for audiences this year. In 2023 the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling is going Above and Beyond: looking further, delving deeper, and asking bigger questions with outstanding thinkers who are reshaping our world and envisioning extraordinary futures. Across 24 captivating events from 2 to 14 October, hear from international guests Hernan Diaz (Trust), musician and artist Lonnie Holley, Rebecca Makkai (I Have Some Questions for You), Caroline O’Donoghue (The Rachel Project and host of the hit podcast Sentimental Garbage) and Ed Yong (An Immense World), alongside local luminaries including Leigh Sales, Trent Dalton, Melissa Lucashenko, Thomas Mayo, Pia Miranda and Andrew Quilty.Tickets to Spring Fling are on sale now at wheelercentre.com. Buy three or more eligible Spring Fling events and get 15% off your purchase. The Wheeler Centre is incredibly thankful for the generous support of its patrons Maureen Wheeler AO and Tony Wheeler AO; series partners The Moat and Readings; and event partners the E.W. Cole Foundation, Montalto, Museums Victoria and RMIT Culture. Special thanks to accommodation partner The Sofitel. Featured music is Kwick Baby by Young Community. Spring Fling is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and is supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund – a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, Colson Whitehead is the multi-award-winning and bestselling author of works including The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which was also adapted for the small screen, produced and directed by Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins. Whitehead begun his new Harlem Trilogy with Harlem Shuffle, a genre-hopping family saga that acts as a crime novel, a morality play, a social novel about race and power, and a love letter to Harlem. Its sequel, Crook Manifesto, was published in July 2023. For the Wheeler Centre’s World of Words, hear from Whitehead live in conversation with journalist and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe as he shares his creative process bringing bygone eras to life for the modern reader, discusses the challenges and rewards of writing a sequel for the first time, and immerses Melbourne audiences in the world of Harlem Shuffle. Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture. This event was supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership. It was recorded on Wednesday 24 May 2023 at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s World of Words series. Featured music is ‘Natural Habitat’ by Ealot.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup is being held Australia, and with more than two billion viewers expected to tune into this year’s tournament, it’s a landmark moment in Australian sporting history.  To celebrate, the Wheeler Centre invited players, media and passionate fans to come together for a special event exploring the significance of the Women’s World Cup in Australian sporting history and in the landscape of women’s sport. Activist and CBC Sports journalist Shireen Ahmed, Football Australia Legacy ‘23 Ambassador Azmeena Hussain, current National League player Emma Checker and inaugural Matildas captain Julie Dolan AM joined host Fiona Crawford to discuss personal and collective triumphs of women’s soccer, explore equality in all facets of the game, and reflect on this historic moment for Australia and for women in sport.This event was recorded on Saturday 29 July 2023 at the Wheeler Centre. Featured music is 'Traveling Again' by Sarah the Illstrumentalist.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the owner of Darjeeling Express, British restaurateur Asma Khan astounds diners with sumptuous Indian cuisine and inspires as an advocate for social change. The Darjeeling Express kitchen is proudly run by an all-women team, and has been recognised as one of London’s best restaurants by the Evening Standard. Khan herself has starred in Netflix’s award-winning series Chef’s Table and is the UN World Food Programme’s Chef Advocate for the United Kingdom. Visiting Victoria for the Wheeler Centre’s international writers series, World of Words, Khan sat down for a long lunch at award-winning winery and restaurant Montalto. With writer and editor Bhakthi Puvanenthiran, she recounts the twists and turns of her culinary career, discusses her new cookbook Ammu, and shares her philosophy of food as a conversation about our universal similarities, connecting and uniting us across the globe. Presented in partnership with Montalto. The bookseller for this event was Antipodes Bookshop and Gallery. The event was recorded on Thursday 25 May 2023 at Montalto. Featured music is ‘They Dream By Day’ by Krotos.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her latest work of non-fiction, renowned journalist and author Kate Legge turns her attention to the oft-taboo topic of infidelity. Drawing from her own experiences, Legge’s Infidelity and Other Affairs critically examines the concept of lifelong monogamy and explores whether the urge to be unfaithful can be considered a hereditary trait. In June, Legge joined radio producer and presenter Elizabeth McCarthy for an intimate lunch and thought-provoking conversation at Red Hill’s acclaimed winery Montalto. Together they unpacked Legge’s latest work, reflecting on the process of bringing personal experiences to the page, and the complexities of modern relationships and inherited histories. Presented in partnership with Montalto. The event was recorded on Friday 16 June 2023 at Montalto. Featured music is Violet Sky (Instrumental Version) by PHELLO.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dame Graça Machel is one of the world’s leading humanitarians and political activists. She was the first Education Minister of Mozambique, the co-founder and deputy Chair of The Elders, and has spent decades fighting for the rights of marginalised communities, earning international recognition and accolades. In 2010 she established the Graça Machel Trust as a Pan-African advocacy organisation focused on child health and nutrition, education, women’s economic and financial empowerment, leadership and good governance. She is also the only woman in modern history to have served as the First Lady of two countries, alongside Samora Machel and Nelson Mandela. At this exclusive World of Words event, Machel was in conversation with Dr Kudzai Kanhutu. Together they reflect on Machel’s remarkable life and work, and her lifelong devotion to advocating for women’s and children’s rights. Donations to Dame Graça Machel’s work Empowering and Educating African Women can be made via Rotary Australia here. This event was presented in partnership with Igniting Change and supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership. It was recorded on Tuesday 6 June 2023 at the Wheeler Centre as part of World of Words. Featured music is Living in a Fantasy by Pulsed.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Where are the people who are the other in this room? Because actually they have the skills, the capacity, the resilience, the understanding, and also they know where your blind spots are in terms of the way our social structures are set. We need them. They’re actually our experts” - Manisha Amin As part of Melbourne Design Week 2023, a panel of design experts examine the crucial role of design in breaking down barriers to social inclusion. Hear from Dr Manisha Amin, CEO of the Centre for Inclusive Design, which advocates for audiences that are often overlooked in the design process; and Simona Castricum, a multi-disciplinary creative and academic whose work explores queer and trans intersections in architecture, music, the public realm and civic life. And, joining halfway through the conversation, Honeycomb Access and Design architect Jenna Cohen shares her knowledge on designing accessible spaces and providing accessibility guidance to the building sector. Together with host Jess Lilley, Triple R broadcaster and co-founder of ethical advertising agency The Open Arms, they discuss the principles of inclusive design and why it is essential to an equitable society, looking beyond the practical and into the broader cultural and socio-political implications of design in our public spaces. This event was part of Melbourne Design Week 2023, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV. It was recorded on Wednesday 24 May 2023 at the Wheeler Centre. Featured music is Traveling Again by Sarah, the Illstrumentalist.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Coal, oil and gas shouldn’t be vilified. They’ve brought us the civilisation we have – but with side effects. The big one is carbon dioxide leading to global warming, and we have to do something about it” – Alan Finkel. The clean energy transition is one of the world’s largest economic and environmental challenges, with the potential to usher in a new age of electricity and transform the planet. In a recent edition of the Fifth Estate, host Sally Warhaft met with Alan Finkel, author and former Australian chief scientist, to discuss the science and politics behind clean energy. In his new book, Powering Up: Unleashing the Clean Energy Supply Chain, Alan Finkel outlines his ideas for transforming our energy landscape, which have drawn both praise and criticism around the world. Warhaft sat down with Finkel to learn about the possibilities and challenges of a clean energy future, explore how Australia could lead the way in the global transition, and provide guidance on the road ahead for Australian industries and consumers. This event was recorded on Tuesday 30 May 2023 at the Wheeler Centre. The bookseller was The Paperback Bookshop. Featured music is Different Days by Chill Cole.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.