Sydney Writers' Festival

Matildas fever swept across Australia during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, taking hold of new soccer fans and diehards alike. But where do we go next to tap into the potential of women’s sport? Hosted by The Ticket podcast’s Tracey Holmes, this elite panel features Olympic rugby gold medallist Chloe Dalton (Girls Don’t Play Sport), Australia’s most decorated cycling Olympian Anna Meares and world champion pro-athlete Jana Pittman (Enough). Cheer on the sportswomen kicking goals for female athletes everywhere. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Physician and writer Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone, crafts a masterly narrative of three generations of a family in Kerala, through the eyes of a young girl, from her arranged marriage at the turn of the 20th century to her emergence as the matriarchal figure Big Ammachi. Solving the mystery of a family affliction – in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning – the book brings to life a vanished past and the impact of change on lives and communities. Examine the marriage of medicine and literature with Abraham, joined by host Roanna Gonsalves. Abraham Verghese appeared at this event via video link. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a male colleague took credit for her work, Bonnie Garmus channelled her rage into the unforgettable protagonist of Lessons in Chemistry Elizabeth Zott – a chemist-turned-celebrity cook who surreptitiously teaches housewives to subvert the status quo. With her debut, Bonnie became a multimillion-copy-bestselling novelist, whose novel has also been adapted into an Apple TV series starring Brie Larson. This 1960s-set comedy has inspired readers worldwide with its message that it's never too late to change everything – including yourself. Listen to Bonnie as speaks with Caroline Baum about science, sexism and success in your sixties. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has been a close ally of the United States since 1940, but what does this mean for contemporary politics when democracy is more fragile than ever? Donald Trump and his attacks on the US electoral system have raised red flags about the strength of American democracy. But in an age of disinformation and civic decline, signs of fragility are visible elsewhere, and Australia is no exception. Chaired by Festival favourite Barrie Cassidy, one of Australia’s most experienced political correspondents and analysts, this expert panel features former BBC foreign correspondent Nick Bryant (The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict With Itself), UNSW Sydney Professor of Law and constitutional democracy specialist Rosalind Dixon and Senior Fellow of the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre Bruce Wolpe (Trump’s Australia: How Trumpism changed Australia and the shocking consequences for us of a second term). Unpack the far-reaching ramifications of this relationship across trade, security, foreign policy and beyond. Together they will examine whether it’s too late to steer Democracy back on course in this defining moment with the ‘battle for the soul of America’ due to play out at the US Election later this year. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Praiseworthy is mighty in every conceivable way: mighty of scope, mighty of fury, mighty of craft, mighty of humour, mighty of language, mighty of heart.” – Stella Prize Hear from the winner of this year’s Stella Prize, Alexis Wright, as she joins judging panel chair Beejay Silcox in conversation to discuss her creative inspirations, writing process and prize-winning work, Praiseworthy. Celebrating original, excellent and engaging works by women and non-binary authors, the Stella Prize has helped elevate the careers of numerous Australian writers and has become one of the country’s most prestigious literary accolades. Alexis Wright appeared at this event via video link. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces”, begins Viet Thanh Nguyen’s debut novel, The Sympathizer, the internationally acclaimed bestseller that was recently adapted into an HBO series starring Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr. This duality is also at the heart of Viet’s highly original memoir, A Man of Two Faces, which details with sardonic wit and incisive analysis the double consciousness of a Vietnamese refugee growing up in North America. Listen to the celebrated author, hailed as “a conscience of American literature” (The New Yorker), in conversation with Benjamin Law. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“How other people live is pretty much all I think about,” writes Ann Patchett. Since her breakthrough novel, Bel Canto, won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Ann’s clever, compelling and expertly crafted portraits of other people’s lives have enamoured readers and critics alike. The author of bookshelf staples like Commonwealth and The Dutch House returns with another bestseller, Tom Lake – a meditation on young love, marriage and the lives people lead before having children. Hear stories from Ann and her writer penpal, Meg Mason (Sorrow and Bliss), on home, family and bookselling – with some Parnassus Books reading recommendations thrown in! This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

[Content warning: misogynistic violence, sexual assault] When Kate Manne’s first book Down Girl, a tightly argued analysis of misogyny, was published shortly after the full exposé of Harvey Weinstein, she became ‘the philosopher of #MeToo’ – someone who could explain in crisp and compelling terms what misogyny is and how it works. With her trademark combination of philosophical rigor and vivid storytelling, her next book Entitled took aim at male privilege and how it hurts women. Her new book Unshrinking: How to Fight Fatphobia targets particularly prevalent and oppressive aspects of misogyny – fatphobia and diet culture – proposing a radical rethinking of our bodies and the world. In her closing address, join Kate to build on this extraordinary body of work and consider what recent activism has changed, what has resolutely stayed the same and what has worsened. What might the future of misogyny look like? This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Annabel Crabb and Artistic Director Ann Mossop as they discuss the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival program. The pair talk about the 2024 Festival theme, Take Me Away, and how books let us escape into different worlds, live other lives and travel in time and space.  The 2024 Sydney Writers' Festival is out now. Head to our website to explore the program: https://www.swf.org.au/ Tickets on sale Saturday 9 March at 10am.  Thank you to 2SER for facilitating the recording of this podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

[Content warning: Child sexual abuse] Join internet darling Daniel Lavery as he lifts the lid on his writing life and Dear Prudence, a collection of the weirdest and wildest questions received during his tenure as Slate’s agony aunt. Filled with his always sympathetic, thoughtful and good-humoured advice, it offers a good dose of sense and compassion in an increasingly wonky world. Daniel reveals the secrets to dispensing wise counsel and talks about his broader career as the co-founder of legendary website The Toast and a New York Times–bestselling author. In conversation with Mon Schafter. This episode was recorded live at the 2023 Sydney Writers’ Festival.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestX (Twitter): @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.