The Wheeler Centre

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.

"We do, we sing gospel, we sing country, we sing rock, reggae, we sing ballads. If we could, we'd do opera. You know, we just like all sorts of music. Our sound has been our harmony. That's our thing. You know, we just enjoy harmonising together." - Vika Bull Whether at church in suburban Melbourne; with The Black Sorrows; alongside artists including Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers and John Farnham; or on one of their seven studio albums, singer-songwriters Vika & Linda have been performing together since childhood. Their new collaborative memoir No Bull sees the sisters recount the highs and lows of their three-decade long career with honesty and humour. As part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas, Vika & Linda joined us for an afternoon of music and conversation. The duo spoke with journalist and broadcaster Namila Benson about their lifelong connection to music, their experience of releasing three albums in the last three years, and the significance of their Tongan heritage within their creative practice. This event was recorded at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling in September 2022. Featured music is Tellsonic - I See You Out ThereSupport the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'I don't start a novel thinking I have things to show you or tell you. I always start a novel because there are things I want to discover." - Kamila Shamsie. The author of seven novels, Kamila Shamsie has built an acclaimed career crafting explorations of the personal impacts of political, cultural and historical shadows. Now, the multi-award-winning writer turns her attention to the everchanging nature of female friendship, and the forces that bring people together, or tear them apart. Following the story of two best friends from Karachi to London, Best of Friends is Shamsie’s first novel since Home Fire, for which she won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, was shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize. In this episode, Kamila Shamsie speaks with Love and Virtue author Diana Reid about her latest work and explores our shifting perspectives on friendships, from fickle flings to the fiercely faithful. With thanks to UNSW Centre for Ideas Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture This event was recorded on Wednesday 9 November 2022 at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling program. Featured music is Johannes Bornlöf - Friend of Mine.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Content warning: The Wheeler Centre wishes to advise this recording includes discussion about human bodies in collections, which were taken from their cultural places against the wishes of First Nations communities. Repatriation is an issue at the heart of many cultural institutions, as museums and galleries reckon with the violent colonial histories that underpin significant portions of their collections. Once sought and traded as aesthetic trophies and scientific evidence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects and ancestral remains, housed and hidden in institutions across the world are thought to number in the many thousands. Malthouse Theatre’s production of The Return which premiered as part of RISING in 2022, engaged with the importance of returning these items and remains back to Country. This epic theatre experience spanned 250 years and explored the untold perspectives of these macabre true histories and the false justifications behind them. In this episode, hear from The Return’s writer John Harvey and co-director Jason Tamiru, along with senior curator Kimberley Moulton. With host Daniel James, the panel consider the play’s themes, alongside Moulton’s insights into alternative models of collection and display that prioritise community access and situate these cultural belongings within a continuous flow of history. At the intersection of creative exploration and institutional knowledge, they discuss how the repatriation of Ancestors can bring us closer to truth-telling and First Peoples agency in museums. Presented in partnership with RISING and Malthouse Theatre. This event was recorded on Tuesday 31 May 2022 at the Wheeler Centre. Featured music is DEX 1200 - The Chakra MovementSupport the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sophie Cunningham is one of Australian literature’s most influential figures. She is the author of seven books, a former editor of Meanjin, co-founder of the Stella Prize, and is currently an adjunct professor at RMIT University’s non/fiction Lab. Her novel This Devastating Fever, her first work of fiction in fourteen years, was the Melbourne City Reads pick for September 2022. Weaving together the life of Leonard Woolf, the turn of the millennium and environmental collapse, Cunningham examines questions about colonial history, the return of fascism, living through disaster and what it means to cultivate a full, loving and creative life. Join Cunningham and host Emily Bitto for an intimate conversation as they discuss this exhilarating new novel. This event was recorded on Tuesday 22 September 2022 at the Wheeler Centre. The Melbourne City Reads series is generously supported by George and Rosa Morstyn. The bookseller for this event was The Paperback Bookshop. Featured music is Golden Hour by Sarah, the Illstrumentalist.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For American novelist Andrew Sean Greer, the search for joy is a continued source of creative inspiration – as evidenced in his international bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Less, and now again in its humorously honest new sequel, Less is Lost. Warm, witty and profound, Less is Lost sees the lovable Arthur Less return for an unforgettable road trip across America as he confronts his personal demons and attempts to decipher the riddle of love. As part of the Wheeler Centre’s 2022 Spring Fling program, Andrew Sean Greer made his own journey to Australia to join writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law in-conversation. Together they waded through ageing, grief and unavoidable change to find creativity, friendship and love. This event was recorded on Wednesday 9 November 2022 at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas program. Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture. Andrew Sean Greer’s appearance was made possible with the generous support of Hachette Australia. Featured music is Tape Machines, Le June, Nbhd Nick - Br1ghter (Instrumental Version)Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What better way to celebrate Stephanie Alexander’s latest cookbook, Home, than with an intimate conversation at award-winning restaurant and winery Montalto. Hear Alexander reflect on her unparalleled five-decade career as a cook, writer and restaurateur, and the legacy she has built for generations of professionals and amateurs in kitchens around the country. This event was recorded on Thursday 21 April 2022. Presented in partnership with Montalto. The bookseller for this event was Antipodes Bookshop and Gallery 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.