The Wheeler Centre

“And he says, yes, the real Uluru Statement. So he pulls it out of this giant cylinder and lays it on my loungeroom floor. And everyone stands up and the most extraordinary thing happened. We felt it’s heart beating. And understood intuitively as Aboriginal people as we looked at that document that our ancestors were in the room with us while we looked at that” - Catherine Liddle.Australia is set to vote on a referendum to enshrine a First Nations voice in the constitution by mid-2024, a commitment made by the Albanese government during the 2022 federal election campaign The Voice to Parliament is seen by many as Australia’s opportunity to right longstanding wrongs, give First Nations people a seat at the table and recognise that we are a nation with more than 60,000 years of continuous culture. As a key campaigner for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Thomas Mayo has been at the forefront of the movement towards constitutional recognition. In 2017 he travelled around Australia with the Uluru Statement, speaking to many different people and communities and ultimately writing a book, Finding The Heart of The Nation, about his journey. This episode features highlights of Thomas Mayo in-conversation with Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC, the national non-governmental peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Together, they discuss Australia’s journey towards constitutional recognition for First Nations people in this special event recorded as part of the 2023 Castlemaine State Festival. Presented in partnership with Castlemaine State Festival. This event was recorded at Castlemaine Goods Shed on Saturday April 1st 2023. Featured music is Taargus by Jobii.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“And what we’re really talking about is vesting the sovereignty of Australia in the people. But actually, the most extraordinary and beautiful thing is we are going to vest in 65,230 years of history. That’s an amazing step to take and again, I think it’s only going to change us in positive ways” – Craig Foster.With the coronation of King Charles III in 2023, Australia’s relationship with the Crown will be a defining topic in the year. To kick off the Fifth Estate for 2023, Sally Warhaft sat down with Craig Foster, who has had a respected career as a Socceroos player and coach, sports broadcaster, and human rights activist, and was recently appointed as the new chair of the Australian Republic Movement. Together, they discuss the future of the Australian Republic Movement and Australia’s place in the Commonwealth.This event was recorded at the Wheeler Centre on Tuesday 28 March 2023. 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.

“I feel like the trick to writing about yourself is to not write about yourself. You are the sort of prism, or you know, the observational tank through which something is passing” – Sloane Crosley.From her much-loved essay collections, I Was Told There Would Be Cake, How Did You Get This Number and Look Alive Out There, to her bestselling novel, The Clasp, Sloane Crosley’s acerbic humour and observational wit has garnered her critical and popular acclaim. Now, in her second novel Cult Classic, Crosley takes readers on a surreal journey through New York City as a woman runs into a former boyfriend, then another ex, and then another … until it seems all of Manhattan is filled with the ghosts of romance past. In this episode, Sloane Crosley joins host Jaclyn Crupi to discuss Cult Classic, modern romance, and whether happy endings are possible in an age when the past is ever at your fingertips. Sloane Crosley appeared in partnership with Adelaide Writers’ Week and Sydney Opera House’s All About Women festival. The event was supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership. This event was recorded on Thursday 9 March 2023 at the Wheeler Centre. The bookseller for this event was Hill of Content Bookshop. Featured music is Diffuser by Shiruky.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“What I discovered eventually was to use all your resources to get as much support as you can, it makes a huge difference to everybody. And give up on asking people for help that don’t want to help you” - Esther Freud. Motherhood is an intense period of introspection and change. For some, these may be ideal conditions for creative inspiration to strike, but it comes with immense demands on time, money and energy. For the Wheeler Centre’s M/OTHER series, writer and musician Edwina Preston, British novelist Esther Freud and musician and mother Thndo explored the ideas and complications behind balancing art-making and motherhood. Together with host, Radio National presenter Hilary Harper, they delved into pertinent and honest questions about the roles of mother and artist, the barriers to creativity placed upon them by caregiving, and what structures can be put in place to better support mothers pursuing creative careers. This event was recorded on Saturday 4 March 2023 at the Wheeler Centre as part of M/OTHER: a weekend of fearless conversation about the ways ‘motherhood’ is experienced, portrayed and labelled by those who mother, have been mothered, wish they were mothers, do not identify as mothers, cannot or do not want to mother, and by society at-large. The official bookseller for M/OTHER was Neighbourhood Books. Featured music is ‘Travelling Again’ – Sarah the Illstrumentalist Conversations from M/OTHER may include references to topics such as mental health, reproductive rights, and childbirth. If you need assistance with any of these issues, you can learn more and seek advice via the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE), Perintal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) and Beyond Blue.  Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“It felt like energy, like the words, the story, it just felt like something that had to come out of my body. And if I wasn’t going to write it, I was going to scream it or I was gonna dig it, or something. I mean seriously, that’s where I was when I was writing this” - Rachel Yoder.An ode to the all-consuming and sometimes feral experience of motherhood, Rachel Yoder’s debut novel Nightbitch tells the story of a new mother who begins turning into a dog at night. Chronicling the joy, mundanity and instability of modern motherhood, Nightbitch drew international acclaim, cementing Yoder as one of America’s most exciting contemporary novelists and luring the attention of Hollywood, with a film adaption starring Amy Adams currently in production. For her first ever conversation event in Australia, Yoder joined Australian author Kate Mildenhall (The Mother Fault) to discuss the strangeness of motherhood, the challenges new parents often confront to retain a sense of self, and the many complexities involved in depicting the fullness of the mothering experience in fiction.This event was recorded on Friday, 3 March 2023 at the Wheeler Centre as part of M/OTHER: a weekend of fearless conversation about the ways ‘motherhood’ is experienced, portrayed and labelled by those who mother, have been mothered, wish they were mothers, do not identify as mothers, cannot or do not want to mother, and by society at-large. The official bookseller for M/OTHER was Neighbourhood Books. Featured music is ‘Different Days’ by Chill Cole. Conversations from M/OTHER may include references to topics such as mental health, reproductive rights, and childbirth. If you need assistance with any of these issues, you can learn more and seek advice via the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE), Perintal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) and Beyond Blue.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Women who often have the least amount of resources, that have the least safety net, that have the least visibility, that have the least voices or representation in parliament - are usually the ones who launch the fiercest protests. The most dangerous protests." - Fatima Bhutto. On International Women’s Day 2023, three powerhouse women came together for a galvanising conversation exploring politics and power through a global feminist lens. Bestselling Pakistani author Fatima Bhutto has spoken around the world about women in leadership, the role of violence in politics and the challenges of democracy, sharing her personal experiences growing up in a political family shadowed by violence. Author, journalist and artist Shokoofeh Azar sought political asylum in Australia after being jailed three times in Iran while covering stories about Iranian social and human rights issues. Her novel The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the International Booker Prize. With journalist and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe, they shared their personal and professional experiences as creative women in public life. Together, they interrogated the importance of freedom of speech and agency for women around the world, reflecting on the most pressing global issues affecting women and how feminist innovation can create a better, equal future.Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture. This event was supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership. This event was recorded on Wednesday 8 March 2023 at The Capitol. The official bookseller for this event was Amplify Bookstore. Featured music is AVA LOW - No One There.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2022, Jonathan Van Ness – Emmy nominated television personality, comedian, best-selling author, podcaster and hairstylist – joined Australian writer and transgender rights activist Nevo Zisin for a digital conversation about JVN's essay collection Love That Story, the contemporary queer experience, and the importance of sharing and celebrating everything that makes our stories unique. This digital event was recorded and released in May 2022 as part of the Wheeler Centre's Postcards From Abroad series. The online bookseller for this event was Hill of Content Bookshop. Featured music is City Phases by John Abbott.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"It was important to me to try and use the book to explore this shift and this gap between what I see in the media, what I see in fiction and on television and what I'd observed in life." - Natasha Brown Bold and provocative, Natasha Brown’s debut novel Assembly cuts to the heart of race relations in modern Britain. A clear-eyed and harrowing exposé of privilege, ambition and the legacies of colonisation, Assembly was shortlisted for the Folio Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize, the Orwell Prize and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Brown joined host Jamila Rizvi for the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling series for a wide-ranging discussion about race, class and identity. Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture and supported by Future Women. With thanks to UNSW Centre for Ideas. This event was recorded on Thursday 10 November 2022 at The Capitol Featured music is Diffuser by ShirukySupport the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Exercise is like a vacuum cleaner for aging tissue and renews your tissue. You can look at the biopsy of muscle and your muscle is frail and old. After you've done weight training, your muscle is indistinguishable from a young person's." Norman Swan With a career spanning over thirty years as a radio and television presenter, health journalist Norman Swan is a stalwart of the Australian media landscape. Over lunch at Montalto Winery, Swan discussed his career as a medical professional in the public eye and his latest book So You Want To Live Younger Longer? Combining wellbeing and health tips with scientific insights, the book provides a practical and factual perspective, sans sensationalism, about how to live a healthy and positive life – at any age. Join one of Australia’s most trusted medical voices for a conversation about lifelong health and communicating in a crisis. Hosted by Sally Warhaft. Presented in partnership with Montalto. This event was recorded on Thursday 29 September 2022 at Montalto. Featured music is Flyin - New LocationSupport the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Mark Twain said, fiction must be plausible, truth needn't be, or words to that effect. And truth is, it's so much more unlikely. And so everything in this book that seems unlikely, those are the true things." – Geraldine Brooks. Geraldine Brooks is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist behind works such as March, Year of Wonders and Foreign Correspondence. Her latest release, Horse, is a sweeping narrative that weaves together three encounters with Lexington, the greatest racehorse in US history, to explore the legacy of racism and slavery in America. Over a warming wintry lunch at Montalto, with produce straight from the kitchen garden, Brooks joined Santilla Chingaipe for a discussion about Horse, what drew her to the story of Lexington, as well as her own illustrious career. Presented in partnership with Montalto. This event was recorded on Friday 22 July 2022 at MontaltoSupport the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.