Strange Currencies

On this month’s episode of Strange Currencies, we run through our top fives of ’25—albums, films and books—alongside reflections on Connor’s debut cricket season. We also take a moment to remember Andy Rourke of The Smiths, climb aboard the Geese bandwagon, and debate the enduring appeal of Deftones. Recorded at Narrm Ngarrgu Library on 19 January 2026, on the unceded lands and waterways of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong / Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation.

In this episode of Strange Currencies, we dive into the unsettling worlds of J.G. Ballard to explore how the cinematic adaptations of Crash (Cronenberg, 1996) and High-Rise (Ben Wheatley, 2015) translate his vision of technology and greed peeling back the civilised veneer and dragging us toward our more primal selves. From a partial defence of men reading on trains to tangents through American Psycho, late-stage capitalism, and the proud tradition of intentionally “difficult” art, we roam widely before landing on something all too real: Melbourne University’s increasingly dystopian surveillance of students protesting its ties to arms manufacturers.

In this month’s episode—our second recorded at the new narrm ngarrgu Library—we explore two poems: Neika Lehman’s Dog House, winner of the 2024 Judith Wright Poetry Prize, and Pablo Neruda’s Tonight I Can Write (1924). Written a century and worlds apart, both reflect the truth that “Love is so short, forgetting is so long.” Recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurrundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

After a long break, Connor and Rob return with a wide-ranging chat: Connor’s unexpected dive into cricket, recent overseas travels, and a hefty Napoleon biography by David G. Chandler. The pair take on the ugly face of fascism close to home and abroad, before Rob relives the excruciating experience of sitting through graphic sex scenes in Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t—with his eldest daughter beside him. Connor shares his MIFF highlights, the two clash over The Doors, Zappa, and Springsteen, and lament the shrinking space for film criticism. There’s also a birthday to celebrate (Connor's), and one burning question to answer: is Rob a deadbeat dad for spending Father’s Day recording a podcast?

On our final episode broadcast from 3WBC we have a relaxed chat about music, life and a couple of short stories: Entropy by Thomas Pynchon and Drive My Car by Haruki Murakami. Little did we know it would be our last episode before a lengthy hiatus!

In this week's episode, we interview Jordan Prosser, a writer, filmmaker and performer based in Naarm. In 2022, he won the Peter Carey Short Story Award for Eleuterio Cabrera’s Beautiful Game, accessible on the Meanjin website, which is how we came to read and discuss it on Strange Currencies just a few months ago. His debut novel, Big Time, was released in July of last year, and is described as “a rollicking ride told by a master storyteller” in The Age. In Connor's view, the plot of the book could be summarised as Lester Bangs being handed a small vial of psychoactive drugs and parachuted into the setting of Brave New World or Slaughterhouse Five!

In this episode, we interview Andrea Pavleka about her award-winning short story The Golden Hour, which won the 2024 Peter Carey Short Story Award and was published in Meanjin, as well as her fascinating journey from a 30-year career as a Commonwealth prosecutor to studying writing, history, and archaeology—and even digging for dinosaurs.

This week’s episode is the second of a two-part special covering Strange Currencies’ top five movies, tv shows and novels for 2024. 

This week’s episode is the first of a two-part special covering Strange Currencies’ top five movies, tv shows and novels for 2024. 

In this week’s episode we chat about a couple of stories that appeared in Meanjin and were both winners of the Peter Carey Short Story Award: Andrea Pavleka’s ‘The Golden Hour’ and Jordan Prosser’s 'Eleuterio Cabrera's Beautiful Game'.

Guest host Hue shares her love for Amy Poehler's 2021 adaptation of Jennifer Mathieu's novel with Connor and Rob, and explains how the film led her to feminist punk.

In this week's episode, we discuss a couple of films directed by Derek Jarman. Connor attended a retrospective of his work at ACMI. Derek Jarman (1942–1994) was a groundbreaking British filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist whose unapologetically queer, provocative work was tragically cut short by AIDS-related illnesses. His films blend his diverse talents in writing, painting, stage design, costuming, and gardening, with themes ranging from the occult and anachronism to militant gay rights activism. In this week's episode, we discuss and politely disagree with one another about two of his films: Caravaggio (1986), and Wittgenstein (1993).

In this week's episode, we discuss a couple of short stories: 'Eighteen Bells Karaoke Castle (Sing Your Heart Out)' from Elizabeth Tan's Smart Ovens for Lonely People, and Philip K. Dick's 1956 classic, 'Pay for the Printer'. We also chat about the history of the meme.

In this week's episode, Connor chats to Indigo Bailey and Tiia Kelly, editors of Rough Cut, an online film publication that provides reviews, festival coverage, interviews, and curated media recommendations relevant to Australia. The interview took place on unceded Wurundjeri Woi wurrung land in Brunswick West on 4th October 2024.

In this week's episode, Connor brings in Barry Unsworth's Morality Play for discussion, a novel he recently read as part of his book club. Set in 14th-century England, Morality Play is about a group of travelling players, led by former priest Nicholas, who stage a play about a recent murder. As they unravel the truth behind the crime, the characters confront moral dilemmas, societal injustices, and the transformative power of storytelling, blending fiction and reality.

In this week's episode, guest host Rue shares her thoughts on the writing of Jenny Han and the film and TV adaptations of her work. In The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy, Belly navigates love and heartbreak during summer vacations at a beach house, torn between two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah. In the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series, Lara Jean's secret love letters are mysteriously sent out, leading to unexpected romance and self-discovery. Both series explore themes of adolescence, identity, and the complexities of love.

Dreams, Cormac McCarthy, Haruki Murakami, running, growing older... a free-wheeling return to air after a couple of weeks off due to sickness.