All Episodes
Better Words — 132 episodes
My Brilliant Career pt 2: discussing 'the very first Australian novel'
My Brilliant Career pt 1: Miles Franklin's trailblazing literary life
Book & film club: Heartstopper Vol. 6 & Heartstopper Forever
Book recommendation bonanza: crime books for people who don't usually read crime
Reviews: The Long Haul, Soft Serve, and Logging Off
The book adaptation phenomenon: why it's great news for readers and publishing
Reviews: Fruit Fly and Anne of Green Gables graphic novel adaptations
Pansy Books: How Matt Cain is rewriting publishing norms for LGBTQ+ authors
Book club: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Film club: People We Meet on Vacation
Reviews: Half His Age and Lost Lambs
Reviews: Esther is Now Following You and Bad Publicity
Trending TV and London musicals
Book club: Future Boy by Michael J. Fox
Our 2025 favourites
Aussie rom-com recommendations bonanza and Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run
Reviews: Girl Dinner, Park Avenue, The Americans and The Buccaneers
Book Club: The Names by Florence Knapp
Seasonal reading recommendations (for summer or autumn)
Reviews: The Life of a Showgirl, Make Me a Monster and Love Overdue
Book club: Rytual by Chloe Elisabeth Wilson
Reviews: Lucy Jane Wood's cosy fantasy, The Book Thief, and The Newsreader
The Thursday Murder Club movie is finally out! Here's what we thought
Watching TV the Y2k way and the upcoming releases we're excited for
Our 2024 favourites
Childhood, community and bookselling with Jennie Godfrey
From a parenting email to being a US bestseller with Emma Grey
Behind the glamour of Hollywood and writing about writers with Pip Drysdale
How we can live in the wake of trauma with Melanie Cheng
From writers rooms to writing a novel with Steph Tisdell
What it means to be experienced with Kate Young
Telling authentic teenage stories with Gary Lonesborough
Celebrating Pride with inclusivity and platonic love stories with Anna Zoe Quirke
Recent reads and musical performances
The strange timing of stories and juggling creative careers with Sophie Green
Romance tropes and quitting TV production to become an author with Amy Hutton
Big love stories and being published in a foreign country first with Emma Steele
Forms of masculinity and coming of age with Avi Duckor-Jones
Inside East Berlin and never giving up on getting published with Josie Ferguson
The Re-Read: Lauren Draper
The Re-Read: Bri Lee
Ghostwriting, ego and art with Liam Pieper
The expat experience and TV writing with Brydie Lee-Kennedy
The Re-Read: Jodi McAlister
A novel in stories and exploring family dynamics with Emma Darragh
Food, family and expectation with Lottie Hazell
Career apathy and doomed affairs with Madeleine Gray
Teenage pregnancy and abortion in Northern Ireland with Kelly McCaughrain
The Re-Read: Libby Page
Welcome to Better Words Podcast
Our 2023 favourites
Fancying your friend, writing with heart, and publishing prejudice with Matt Cain
Telling uncomfortable stories about complicated people and with Huma Qureshi
Teenage friendship circles and writing processes as a new mum with Megan Williams
Adult work experience and lessons from a marathon with Michelle Upton
String Theory and writing rom-com as a straight man with Jonathon Shannon
Chaotic comedy and the scam of striving for success with Eleanor Elliott Thomas
An accidental bestseller and the life-changing world of amateur drama with Janice Hallett
Storytelling across generations and writing for all ages with Alice Pung
Inherited trauma and Australian Jewish culture with Elise Esther Hearst
The highs and lows of small town life and re-discovering sport with Clare Fletcher
Arthurian legend meets queer YA romance with Lex Croucher
Enduring mysteries, serial killers and the dark web with Ashley Kalagian Blunt
The romance of French cuisine with Karina May
Haunted houses and horrifying insects in Vietnam with Trang Thanh Tran
Authentic wish fulfilment and green flag romance with Claire Christian
Owning your sexuality and overcoming shame with Josh Silver
'Dumb bitch lit' and situationships with Genevieve Novak
Verse novels and accidentally writing a 'pandemic book' with Karen Comer
Romantic tropes and transitioning from publishing to writing with Jessica Dettmann
Playing games and solving puzzles with Leanne Yong
The Re-Read: Our 2022 favourites
The Re-Read: Gabrielle Tozer and Rhiannon Wilde
The Re-Read: Pip Harry and Ellie Marney
The Re-Read: Laura Kay and Danielle Wood (Minnie Darke)
The Re-Read: Tobias Madden and Nina Kenwood
The Re-Read: Michelle's wedding and what we read on our UK trip
Sketch comedy and owning our mistakes with Hayli Thomson
Theatre kids, reality TV and studying pop culture with Jodi McAlister
Liminal spaces, burnout and female friendship with Abigail Bergstrom
Writing a book about grief that isn't sad with Lauren Draper
Female anger and family curses with Mary Watson
Growing up Lebanese and writing for a new audience with Sarah Ayoub
Writing about tricky topics in romantic comedy with Mhairi McFarlane
Public speaking clubs and the process of writing a novel with Katherine Collette
Vampires with a twist and genre constructs with Claire Kohda
Diabetes and choosing words carefully with Carly Nugent
Joyful Black stories and turning a blog into a book with Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Meet cutes, puzzles and publishing with Kimberley Allsopp
Our 2021 favourites
Festive recommendations for Christmas
Non-fiction November Recommendations
The future of dystopia and exploring the mother-daughter bond with Sara Foster
Gaming, esports and fanthropology with Alexis Nedd
The absurdity of the human body with Sarah Walker
Horror films, acting dynasties and the strange limbo of grief with Danielle Binks
Hybrid genre novels and the world of artificial intelligence with Eli Lee
Unlikely friendships, dads in YA and feedback from your favourite authors with Tobias Madden
Finding characters, PS I Love You and lessons from 18 novels with Cecelia Ahern
What makes a 'suspense' novel and leaving law for writing with Sonia Velton
Dramatic teen years and telling stories to find ourselves with Samera Kamaleddine
Millennial malaise, trivial grievances and what really matters in life with Bridie Jabour
Teenage male friendships, all-boys schools and peak-2000s culture with Rhiannon Wilde
Imagining alternate histories and fighting fascism through English literature with Jane Thynne
Life (and writing) after The Flatshare with Beth O'Leary
Feminism in a nuclear winter and anger as fuel for writing with Claire Zorn
Greek tragedies, feminist gothic literature and the power of teaching with Phoebe Wynne
Creating a music icon and oral history narratives with Dawnie Walton
Culturally diverse storytelling and the complexity of migrant experiences with Rebecca Lim
Violence against women, the 'perfect victim' myth and slow writing with Leanne Hall
Break-up revenge, queer friendships and anti-running propaganda with Laura Kay
Dating advice, queer rom-coms and writing for an American audience with Sophie Gonzales
Exploring abuse and trauma in children's fiction with Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Writing funny and publishing in a pandemic with Abigail Mann
Our 2020 favourites
Celebrating your truth and pimping pain with Arvin Ahmadi
Fat acceptance and living life unapologetically with Stephanie Yeboah
Fame and music stardom in YA with Frances Chapman
The balance between history and fiction with Alison Booth
The fluidity of adolescence and reflections on life and success with Meg Rosoff
Fairytale retellings and creating new narratives with Kalynn Bayron
Nobel prize winners and the craft of short stories with Laura Elvery
Violence, isolation and a changing Ireland with Louise O'Neill
The sorrow and bliss of writing life with Meg Mason
Asexual pride and publishing as a teenager with Alice Oseman
Folklore and circus 'freaks' with Nydia Hetherington
Exploring autism through YA fiction with Kay Kerr
Writing romance and escapist fiction with Laura Jane Williams
Exploring culture and religion through memoir with Zoya Patel (recast from December 2018)
Queer meet-cutes & Kindred stories with Michael Earp (Recast from May 2019)
Body positivity & the power of pop culture with Jenna Guillaume (Recast from March 2019)
Art as activism with Renée Watson (Recast from June 2019)