Landfall: James Bradley on Facing the Future, Today

Today’s show is with James Bradley - renowned Australian author who is returning to the show a year after releasing what was one of my favourite books of 2024 - Deep Water, Life in the Ocean. James’ books have been nominated and awarded prizes all over the country, and in 2021 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to literature as a writer’. He’s written for the Guardian, The Monthly, The Saturday Paper and The Conversation. His work is incisive and always brilliantly written, and at a time when it’s difficult to keep up or fully appreciate what is happening in our world, I always enjoy seeing James’ work appear whether in book form, his essays or newspaper contributions.James is on the show today to talk about his upcoming book - Landfall. A return to more familiar territory for him of fiction after his first non fiction effort in Deep Water, this is anything but a normal read. Blending the science of climate change in a radically altered Sydney landscape in a medium term timescale, Landfall is a crime story where impending disaster, omnipresent surveillance technology, social dysfunction and forced migration are all background characters. This is a story of kindness, heartbreak, fear and hope. I loved reading it and I’m looking forward to getting to the launch of Landfall in Sydney on April 29 - search for James Bradley Landfall and Gleebooks to get your ticket too.James is a brilliant story teller. Landfall is another contribution on how we can think about time and futures, story and the stories we tell ourselves about the future, the practice of writing, writing as a tool and what all of this means for any and all of us who think in or use words as a medium of attempting change.Speaking to James and how he weaved kindness into Landfall, and with April’s substack being on the theme of unity, this quote from Marielle Heller is very apt - “With all of the bad things that are happening in the world right now, I think we need a message of togetherness and true unity. I believe that starts with personal reflection and then we can find kindness toward each other.”Til next time, thanks for listeningEvents are live and more are coming - follow on Humanitix.Follow on LinkedIn, Substack and Instagram. Today's show is delivered with Altiorem. Use the code FindingNature25 to get your 25% off an annual subscription. Today's show is delivered with Climasens. Mentions Finding Nature when you contact them for 50% off your first asset heat risk assessment. Send me a messageThanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram