PODCAST · society
The Wheeler Centre
by The Wheeler Centre
Subscribe to the Wheeler Centre's podcast to hear full recordings of our talks, featuring the best in books, writing and ideas from Melbourne, Australia.
Episodes
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Kate Grenville: A Mystery in 88 Letters
Hear from one of the country’s most acclaimed authors, Kate Grenville, on her dazzling new work of non-fiction – a colonial-era cold case that’s part locked-room mystery, part captivating exploration of a writer's imagination navigating the blurred boundaries between fact and possibility. The...
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Geetanjali Shree in Conversation
India’s great chronicler of memory, family, identity and belonging sits down with host Mridula Nath Chakraborty to discuss her luminous, genre-defying books and extraordinary literary career. Originally presented on Wednesday 12 August 2026 by The Wheeler Centre. ‘Anything worth doing transcends...
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Cory Doctorow: Enshittification
Tech critic Cory Doctorow on the broken promise of the utopian internet, the systems that sustain it and what it might take to reclaim a more open digital future. With host Professor Lisa M. Given, Director, Centre for Human-AI Information Environments at RMIT University. Originally presented on...
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The 2026 E.W. Cole Lecture: Alice Pung on Keeping Calm and Carrying On
What does it take to keep showing up to the blank page? Award-winning author Alice Pung offers reasons for optimism in this year’s E. W. Cole Lecture. Originally presented on Thursday 6 August 2026 by The Wheeler Centre, supported by the E. W. Cole Foundation. Two decades ago, Alice Pung…
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Mick Herron: Slough House and Slow Horses
An unmissable episode for Slow Horses fans, writer Mick Herron unveils the next instalment in his phenomenally successful Slough House series with host Jason Steger. Originally presented on Thursday 21 May 2026 by The Wheeler Centre in partnership with RMIT University. Spies lie. They betray. It…
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Stan Grant: When Words Fail Us
Hear from acclaimed author and broadcaster Stan Grant in this special edition of The Fifth Estate as he reflects on the fragility of words and why contemplation and philosophy matter in an era of increasing division, with host Sally Warhaft. Originally presented on Tuesday 16 July 2026 by The...
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Ed Coper: Angertainment
Ed Coper explains how angertainment has co-opted our social media feeds and taken over our lives, in conversation with Sushi Das. Originally presented on Wednesday 24 June 2026 by The Wheeler Centre and supported by RMIT University. Social media is no longer a platform for connection – it’s a...
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Amitav Ghosh in Conversation
Celebrated writer and thinker Amitav Ghosh explores rebirth, regeneration and the cycles of life with host Dr Sreedhevi Iyer. Originally presented on Wednesday 27 May by The Wheeler Centre in partnership with RMIT University. Amitav Ghosh is one of India’s most celebrated writers. With a career...
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Jimmy Wales: Founder of Wikipedia
Hear from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales as he discusses the importance of trust in our online and offline communities and how Wikipedia evolved into one of the internet’s most reputable sources of information. With host Sally Warhaft. Originally presented on Wednesday 20 May 2026 by The Wheeler...
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Kathy Lette: The Sisterhood Rules
Beloved humourist Kathy Lette joins host Elizabeth McCarthy to discuss her big-hearted, cheeky and deeply relatable novel, The Sisterhood Rules. Originally presented on Wednesday 25th March 2026 by The Wheeler Centre. Full of laugh-out-loud humour and flashes of devastating pathos, Kathy Lette’s...
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Emily Maitlis: From Headlines to a Fallen Prince
Acclaimed British journalist Emily Maitlis reflects on a remarkable career at the forefront of global news, sharing insights and behind-the-scenes stories from some of the world’s most explosive headlines. With host Sally Warhaft. Originally presented on Thursday 5 March 2026 by The Wheeler…
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Shaun Micallef: De'Ath Takes a Holiday
Join national treasure Shaun Micallef as he takes the stage to delve into this bitingly funny Victorian Gothic tale for the modern age. With Jacinta Parsons. Originally presented on Tuesday 31 March 2026 by The Wheeler Centre in partnership with Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Move over,...
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Who's Afraid of a Joke?
A host of Melbourne International Comedy Festival comics gather to explore how comedy survives, thrives and occasionally lands a punch on authoritarianism. The powerful often say they have a sense of humour. This turns out to be true – provided the joke is about someone else. From public...
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Nell Zink: Sister Europe
Literary icon Nell Zink joins host Jaclyn Crupi to discuss her seventh much acclaimed novel, Sister Europe. In this dazzling satire of modern life, an eclectic cast of characters gathers at a tedious literary award ceremony in Berlin. Over the course of the evening, their assumptions, foibles and...
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Laila Lalami: The Dream Hotel
Longlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction, Laila Lalami’s The Dream Hotel is a chilling dissection of surveillance culture, technological overreach and the quiet, everyday ways people become complicit in their own monitoring. Set in a near-future America shaped by predictive surveillance,...
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Kate Reid: On Fast Cars and Croissants
At 13, Kate Reid already knew exactly where she was headed: a career in Formula 1 and a life lived at full throttle. But after earning a degree in aerospace engineering and taking up a coveted position at one of the top F1 teams in the UK, she discovered that the reality didn’t match what she’d...
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One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Hear Omar El Akkad discuss his searing work, 'One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This' with host Tasneem Chopra. Sparked by his viral tweet during the bombardment of Gaza – viewed over 10 million times – Omar El Akkad’s 'One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This' lays bare...
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Sophie Gilbert: Girl on Girl
Hear from Atlantic culture critic and Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer Sophie Gilbert as she discusses her new book 'Girl on Girl' with host Kate Jinx. They dive into the pop cultural forces of the late 1990s and Y2K era that shaped and warped women's relationships with themselves and other women....
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Australian Story: Leigh Sales with Jelena Dokic
After arriving in Australia as a refugee, Jelena Dokic shot to fame when she made the semi-finals of Wimbledon at just 17 years of age. But off the court, there were even greater challenges: from her struggles with mental health to surviving the abuse of her tennis coach father. In this special...
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[Podcast Exclusive] Eric Puchner: Dream State
An exclusive Wheeler Centre live-recorded podcast featuring best-selling American author Eric Puchner, as he lifts the curtain on his latest novel 'Dream State', in conversation with host Ronnie Scott. Selected by Oprah for her book club in 2025 and an instant New York Times bestseller, 'Dream...
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We Used to Be Journos: Live
Get your fix of honest and original media analysis from two insiders who’ve broken plenty of news and been broken by it, too. In this special live recording of We Used to be Journos, hosts Antoinette Lattouf and Jan Fran sit down to reveal the way the media works, from questionable editorial...
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Liz Pelly: Mood Machine
In the age of algorithms, music is under constant pressure to respond to mood, brand and data. Hear from music journalist and cultural critic Liz Pelly with host Lauren Taylor in this sharp and insightful exploration into how streaming platforms have transformed our relationship with music. Pelly...
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You Are Here with David Nicholls
Beloved author David Nicholls takes to the stage with host Beverley Wang, to discuss his latest novel 'You Are Here'. This talk was originally presented on Tuesday 20 May 2025 by The Wheeler Centre. In 'You Are Here', David Nicholls weaves the stories of these two seemingly disconnected…
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Consuming Culture
Each year at the Melbourne International Film Festival, a panel of guests gather to dissect the highs and lows of the zeitgeist. Host Michael Sun, essayist and regular writer for the Guardian, is joined by actor and writer Maria Angelico, Chicago–based New York Magazine Vulture culture critic...
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Jacinta Parsons at Montalto
What can ageing teach us? For broadcast and writer Jacinta Parsons, the answer is – perhaps everything. Inspired by many conversations with women across the country, A Wisdom of Age captures the brewing tone of revolution that sits in the hearts of women who are ready to tell a new kind of story...
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Lauren Roberts: Fearless
Join New York Times bestselling author Lauren Roberts in her exclusive Melbourne appearance to celebrate Fearless, the highly anticipated third and final book in the Powerless series. Romance, fantasy and intrigue collide in this runaway BookTok success known for its fierce heroine, witty banter...
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Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom
In 2020, Cheng Lei was working as a business reporter for China's state-run English language television station when she was arrested on charges of sharing state secrets. She was detained in China for over three years under harsh conditions, including prolonged solitary confinement and restricted...
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Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza
American Jewish journalist Peter Beinart reflects on the world around him – and his place within it – amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza offers a timely reflection, seeking to reimagine what it means to be Jewish in the wake of the horrors...
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Jeanette Winterson: 40 Years of Storytelling
In 1985, Jeanette Winterson published her debut novel – the groundbreaking and subversive Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. Genre-bending and narratively bold, it garnered then-rare mainstream success for a story that was fiercely feminist and challenged traditional gender roles. Four decades on,...
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Back to Back Barries Live: Does Anthony Albanese have the guts for big reform?
Join Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry, hosts of the Guardian’s political podcast Back to Back Barries, for a clear-eyed analysis of the 2025 Australian federal election. After five weeks of relentless campaigning, Australians have cast their votes – and political commentators and former major party...
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Jamila Rizvi and Rosie Waterland at Montalto
Over an intimate two-course dinner at Montalto, broadcaster and social policy expert Jamila Rizvi and comedian and podcaster Rosie Waterland come together with host Tracee Hutchison for a candid discussion about their deeply personal new book, Broken Brains. Drawing from their own experiences,...
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Kara Swisher: Burn Book
Legendary tech journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher opens up about a lifetime of reporting on Silicon Valley with host Sophie Black. In a world where tech billionaires operate beyond the reach of government regulation and press scrutiny, Kara Swisher has devoted her career to holding them to...
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Love, Loss and Ambition with Brooke Boney
Trailblazing journalist and proud Gamilaroi woman Brooke Boney opens up like never before in All of It, her powerful debut essay collection. Like many millennial women, Brooke Boney is navigating a society that expects her to chase it all – career, success and personal fulfillment – while doing…
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Pankaj Mishra: The World After Gaza
For the past 20 years, Pankaj Mishra has written incisive studies of a world marked by inequalities and the effects of globalisation. He has traced global histories of fascism, the impacts of rising nationalism and applied an astute lens to the fragility of our democratic institutions. Now, he…
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Fit Check: Size, Price and Sustainability in Fashion
In this panel discussion journalist Emma Do, A Plus Market founder Sam van Zweden and writer and podcast host Maggie Zhou examine the barriers within the industry and discuss the evolving vision of an inclusive fashion future. Moderated by cultural commentator Sabina McKenna, these fashion…
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Geraldine Brooks at Montalto
After spending their early years together in conflict zones as foreign correspondents, Geraldine Brooks and partner Tony Horwitz relocated from Australia to the idyllic Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, USA, to raise their children. The life they built there was one of meaningful work, good...
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Rachel Kushner: Creation Lake
Rachel Kushner’s new novel Creation Lake tells the story of Sadie Smith, an American spy-for-hire working in the secretive world of privately contracted surveillance. Tasked with infiltrating a commune of anarchists in rural France, she becomes entranced by a mysterious cult-leader-like figure...
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Ben Shewry is Going to Die
Ben Shewry knows obsession well. It’s what has propelled his innovative Melbourne restaurant, Attica, to national and global acclaim. His new memoir-meets-manifesto, Uses for Obsession: A (Chef’s) Memoir, is a reflection on leadership, hospitality and humanity, and an unforgettable look inside…
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Kasey Chambers in Conversation: Just Don't Be a D**khead [Geelong]
Content warning: This episode includes occasional course language. From her childhood in the Australian outback to the heights of her chart-topping international success as a singer-songwriter, country music icon Kasey Chambers has trusted her gut, stuck to her values and learned some hard…
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Roxane Gay: Opinions
Unapologetic, sometimes controversial, and always unflinchingly honest, Roxane Gay has built a remarkable career using her powerful voice to articulate the nuances of our most pervasive issues. Body image, civil rights, feminism, popular culture, social etiquette – you name it, Gay has written...
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Noni Hazelhurst in Conversation: Dropping the Mask
National treasure Noni Hazlehurst details her life on stage and screen and takes us behind-the-scenes of a brilliant career. Noni Hazlehurst’s versatility as a performer knows no bounds. A household name and a beloved actor, she's graced Australian screens and theatre stages for over forty years....
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Liminal Festival: Critical Limit
Critics Eda Gunaydin, Michael Sun and Cher Tan examine the present state and potential futures of literary criticism. Literary criticism seems to be in an endless state of decline. In so-called Australia, a particular flavour of cultural cringe is yoked to cultural hegemony: a critic might find...
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Liminal Festival: Language Under Occupation
Content warning: This recording includes occasional course language. Evelyn Araluen, Hasib Hourani and Mykaela Saunders discuss the careful craft of shaping a language unsettled. Trace the contours of language, seek out its limits and push. Histories are cut up, struck through, misplaced,...
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Liminal Festival: The Novel
What is the future of the great Australian novel? Novelists Jessica Au, Brian Castro and André Dao contemplate the novel, the nation and its literature with Lynda Ng. Marking 30 years since Brian Castro considered the ‘new novel’, three of Australia’s most talented contemporary novelists discuss...
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Rebecca F. Kuang: Yellowface
International bestselling author Rebecca F. Kuang discusses her groundbreaking novel Yellowface and the future of storytelling at this exclusive Melbourne event. Investigating diversity, racism and cultural appropriation with the thrilling pace of a Twitter meltdown, Rebecca F. Kuang’s 2023 novel...
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Bonnie Garmus: Lessons in Chemistry
A runaway favourite of book clubs the world over, Bonnie Garmus’s debut novel Lessons in Chemistry transports readers to early 1960s California. Elizabeth Zott – single mother and brilliant chemist – unexpectedly finds herself hosting a television cooking show, and changes hearts and minds in the...
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Don Watson: On the US Election
On the 5 November this year, the American people will go to the polls to make a choice, the impact of which will be felt around the globe. Will Republican nominee and now convicted criminal, former President Donald Trump, topple Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris?? How did America…
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The Great Aussie Road Trip: Heather Ewart in conversation with Barrie Cassidy [Kyneton]
Award-winning journalist Heather Ewart hits the Back Roads to Kyneton to journey through her great Australian road trips. Over a career spanning four decades, Heather Ewart has been senior political reporter and a foreign correspondent posted to London, Washington and Brussels. Raised on a farm…
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Consuming Culture
Our annual panel of pop culture experts Brodie Lancaster, Alison Willmore, Hannah Diviney and Jared Richards gather for a dissection of the zeitgeist. Baby Reindeer, The Bear and hot rodent men: lt has been a ferocious (and sometimes feral) year for pop culture, and it seems that we’re not…
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The Garden Against Time: A Conversation with Olivia Laing
As part of The Wheeler Centre's 2024 Spring Fling program and in partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, listen to an exclusive podcast interview with celebrated writer Olivia Laing, interviewed by Sophie Cunningham. Olivia discusses her new book, The Garden Against Time: In Search of a...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Subscribe to the Wheeler Centre's podcast to hear full recordings of our talks, featuring the best in books, writing and ideas from Melbourne, Australia.
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The Wheeler Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Wheeler Centre have?
The Wheeler Centre currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Wheeler Centre about?
Subscribe to the Wheeler Centre's podcast to hear full recordings of our talks, featuring the best in books, writing and ideas from Melbourne, Australia.
How often does The Wheeler Centre release new episodes?
The Wheeler Centre has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Wheeler Centre?
You can listen to The Wheeler Centre on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Wheeler Centre?
The Wheeler Centre is created and hosted by The Wheeler Centre.
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