Bri Lee is an author and freelance writer. Her first book, Eggshell Skull , won Biography of the Year at the ABIA Awards, the People's Choice Award at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, and was longlisted for the Stella Prize. Her latest work, Who Gets To Be Smart: Privilege, Power and Knowledge tackles the inequity in our eduction system. Her journalism has also appeared in publications such as The Monthly , The Saturday Paper , Guardian Australia and Crikey . CHAT WITH US Join our discus...
Jul 14, 2021•26 min•Season 4Ep. 14
Chapter 1: Changing things up this week, Jamila and Astrid throw the idea of a weekly theme away and talk about the novels they feel like. They also both confess their love for the humble street library (particularly during lockdowns). Chapter 2: Jamila brings 'Fleishman Is in Trouble' by Taffy Brodesser-Akner to the table. Beware, there is a spoiler! Chapter 3: Astrid reflects on three novels by Favel Parrett - 'There Was Still Love', 'When the Night Comes' and 'Past the Shallows'. CHAT WITH US...
Jul 11, 2021•18 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Maria Lewis is an author, screenwriter and film curator, and she knows everything about women and representation in fantasy. Her best-selling debut novel Who's Afraid? was published in 2016, followed by its sequel Who's Afraid Too? in 2017, which was nominated for Best Horror Novel at the Aurealis Awards. Who's Afraid? is currently being developed for television. Her Young Adult debut, It Came From The Deep , was released globally in 2018, followed by her fourth book, The Witch Who Courted Death...
Jul 07, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Chapter 1: Many of the highest-selling novels of all time are fantasy. So, why is fantasy so popular? Who is reading it? And who is writing it? Chapter 2: Astrid enters the 'Grishaverse' and explores the diversity in the ' Shadow and Bone' series from Leigh Bardugo. Chapter 3: Jamila admits to reading a fantasy book - ' The Once and Future Witches' by Alix E. Harrow - and liking it. Recommendations: Astrid returns to old favourites - Jessica Townsend's 'Nevermoor Chronicles' for middle grade rea...
Jul 04, 2021•26 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Michael Mohammed Ahmad is the founding director of Sweatshop Literacy Movement. His debut novel, ' The Tribe' , won the 2015 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelists of the Year Award. His second novel, ' The Lebs' , won the 2019 NSW Premier's Multicultural Literary Award and was shortlisted for the 2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 2021 he has release his third novel, ' The Other Half of You'. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follo...
Jun 30, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Chapter 1: What is heartbreak? When have you felt it and where do you turn when you are heartbroken? Chapter 2: Jamila recommends ' Heart Sick' , the new non-fiction work by Jessie Stephens. Chapter 3: Astrid also recommends a non-fiction work - 'The Mother Wound' by Amani Haydar. Recommendations: Jamila recommends ' Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation' by Rachael Cusk, and Astrid brings us back to the world of fiction recommending ' Love Objects' by Emily Maguire. CHAT WITH US Join our discus...
Jun 27, 2021•28 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Kavita Bedford is an Australian-Indian writer with a background in journalism and anthropology. Her first novel ' Friends and Dark Shapes' was released this year, and her short form writing has previously appeared in Guernica , the Guardian and Griffith Review . She works and teaches in Sydney in media and global studies. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follow Jamila (on Instagram and Twitter ) and Astrid (also on Instagram and Twitter ) ...
Jun 23, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Chapter 1: Literature used to equate adulthood with parenthood, as did society. But what counts as 'growing up' these days? Is literature changing? Chapter 2: Astrid introduces ' The Other Half of You', the new novel by Michael Mohammed Ahmed that reads as something of a love letter from a father to a son. Chapter 3: Jamila takes us through 'The Smash Up' by American author Ali Benjamin. Recommendations: Astrid recommends Lauren Hough’s 'Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing' (and yes, she talks about...
Jun 20, 2021•31 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Jessica Townsend is the ridiculously talented author behind the middle grade fantasy series ' The Chronicles of Morrigan Crow'. The series began in 2017 with ' Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow '. Jessica followed up that record-breaking first instalment with ' Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow ' and ' Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow '. Best of all, there are six more books on the way. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to fo...
Jun 16, 2021•22 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Chapter 1: Jamila and Astrid dive into the books that first made them feel ‘grown up’ and the ones that represented their shifts into adulthood. Regular listeners won’t be surprised that Astrid says her coming of age read was Stephen King’s 'It'. Jamila brings us back to the world of appropriate teenage reading by reminiscing about Melina Marchetta’s 'Looking for Alibrandi'. Chapter 2: Jamila brings Chang Rae Lee’s 'My Year Abroad' to the podcast, and she is more blunt than usual about a work of...
Jun 13, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Dr Anita Heiss is an award-winning author of non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction, children’s novels and blogs. Her latest work is ' B ila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray ', and it is the first commercial work published with only Aboriginal language on the cover in Australia. Anita is a proud member of the Wiradjuri Nation of central New South Wales and an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and do...
Jun 09, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Chapter 1: Jamila and Astrid consider why the past still matters, and why women and girls are all too often left out of the history books written by the victors. Chapter 2: Jamila brings her favourite musical - Hamilton - to life and discusses ' Hamilton: The Revolution' by Lin Manuel Miranda and Jeremy Carter. Astrid is completely out of her depth for this one. Chapter 3: Astrid reminisces about the post-World War II of her grandmother and great-grandmother and discusses ' The Husband Poisoner:...
Jun 06, 2021•30 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Kate Ellis represented Adelaide in the Australian House of Representatives for Labor from 2004 until 2019. In the timely 'Sex, Lies and Question Time' , she explores the good, the bad and the ugly of life as a woman in Australian politics. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follow Jamila (on Instagram and Twitter ) and Astrid (also on Instagram and Twitter ) to continue the conversation. This podcast is sponsored by Hachette Publishing and i...
Jun 02, 2021•20 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards are back for the fourth season of Anonymous Was a Woman . Chapter 1: Changing it up, Jamila and Astrid explore time, rather than emotions, in each episode. To begin, they consider the clear and present issues of our day through the books they are reading. Chapter 2: Jamila brings 'How Good Is Scott Morrison?' by Peter van Onselen and Wayne Errington to the table... and Astrid is not convinced. Chapter 3: Astrid introduces Jamie Marina Lau's spectacular second work...
May 30, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Anonymous Was A Woman with Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards is a conversation on books by, and about, women. Season 4 will start on Monday 31 May 2021. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod , and don't forget to follow Jamila (on Instagram and Twitter ) and Astrid (also on Instagram and Twitter ). This podcast is brought to you by Future Women and Hachette Australia . The podcast is produced by Bad Producer Productions . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...
May 27, 2021•1 min
Glyn Davis AC is CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, which works to end intergenerational poverty. He was previously Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and remains Distinguished Professor of political science at the Australian National University. With one in eight adults and one in six children living below the poverty line in Australia, in On Life's Lottery Glyn Davis asks the question: If life is a game of chance, what responsibility do those who are given a head start have to look...
Mar 24, 2021•26 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards are back for the third season of Anonymous of a Woman. Chapter 1: Jamila and Astrid consider what freedom means to them - and it is the freedom to read and the freedom to write. Chapter 2: Jamila brings Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad - a Pulitzer Prize winning novel - to the podcast. Chapter 3: Astrid considers Eating With My Mouth Open , the debut collection by Melbourne-based Sam van Zweden. Recommendations: Jamila and Astrid reflect on one of the b...
Mar 21, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Sarah Krasnostein is the best-selling author of The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay and Disaster, as well as her 2021 work The Believer: Encounters with Love, Death and Faith. The Trauma Cleaner was awarded the Victorian Prize for Literature, the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Non- Fiction, the Australian Book Industry Award for General Non-Fiction and the Dobbie Literary Award. It jointly won the Douglas Stewart Prize for non-fiction at the NSW Premier’s Literary A...
Mar 17, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards are back for the third season of Anonymous of a Woman. Chapter 1: After weeks considering the harder topics, Jamila and Astrid strike a more positive note and look to the possibilities that may be just around the corner. Chapter 2: Astrid introduces On Hope by Daisy Jeffrey. Chapter 3: Jamila discussed Yumiko Kadota’s Emotional Female. Recommendations: Astrid recommends I'm So Effing Tired by Dr Amy Shah. Jamila recommends All the Ways To Be Smart by Davina Bell a...
Mar 14, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Nadia Owusu is a Brooklyn-based writer and memoirist. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times , the Washington Post’s The Lily , Literary Review , Electric Literature , Epiphany and Catapult. Aftershocks is her first book. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follow Jamila (on Instagram and Twitter ) and Astrid (also on Instagram and Twitter ) to continue the conversation. This podcast is sponsored by Hachette Publishing and is brought ...
Mar 10, 2021•27 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Today Astrid Edwards is joined by Oli Lathouris to consider the barriers we find in our own lives through the lens of fiction and non-fiction. Chapter 1: Astrid and Oli consider the barriers we find in our own lives through the lens of fiction and non-fiction. Chapter 2: Oli brings The Hating Game, a thinking-woman's romance by Sally Thorne, to the discussion. Chapter 3: Astrid takes a more serious turn and discusses Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male Power. Recommendatio...
Mar 07, 2021•26 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Nardi Simpson is a Yuwaalaraay writer, musician, composer and educator from North West NSW freshwater plains. A founding member of Indigenous folk duo Stiff Gins, Nardi has been performing nationally and internationally for 20 years. Her debut novel, Song of the Crocodile was a 2018 winner of a black&write! writing fellowship. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follow Jamila (on Instagram and Twitter ) and Astrid (also on Instagram and T...
Mar 03, 2021•22 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards are back for the third season of Anonymous of a Woman . Chapter 1: After the recent events in Australia's Parliament house, Jamila and Astrid threw what they were going to talk about out the window and instead made space to recognise the pain of survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse. Chapter 2: Astrid takes us back to Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Chapter 3: Jamila grows emotional over The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. Recommendations: Jamila and Astrid recom...
Feb 28, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Louise Milligan is an investigative reporter for ABC TV's Four Corners and the author of Cardinal , which won the Walkley Book Award and broke massive international news preceding the court case involving one of the most senior members of the Catholic Church. Her second work is Witness: An investigation into the brutal cost of seeking justice . In this interview, Louise explains the state of our legal system and just how traumatising it can be for complainants and witnesses. Most importantly, sh...
Feb 24, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards are back for the third season of Anonymous of a Woman . Chapter 1: Is there a bigger question in our current age than who do we trust and why? Jamila and Astrid consider what authority means to them these days. Chapter 2: Jamila reflects on When We Say Black Lives Matter , the recent illustrated kids book from podcast favourite Maxine Beneba Clarke. Chapter 3: Astrid dives deep into Noreena Hertz's The Lonely Century: Coming together in a world that's pulling apar...
Feb 21, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Jiveny Blair-West , a dating coach, co-wrote How to Make the Biggest Decision of Your Life with her father, psychiatrist George Blair-West. In this interview, Jiveny talks Jamila and Astrid through how the younger generations can make one of the biggest decisions of their lives. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follow Jamila (on Instagram and Twitter ) and Astrid (also on Instagram and Twitter ) to continue the conversation. This podcast i...
Feb 17, 2021•19 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards are back for the third season of Anonymous of a Woman . Chapter 1: In this Valentine week of Hallmark cards and awkward dates, Jamila and Astrid talk about love - the real, lasting, messy and sometimes boring kind that’s only rarely found on the page. Chapter 2: Jamila introduces Brodie Lancaster's memoir No Way! Okay, Fine. Chapter 3: Astrid makes the case for the lasting relevance of Esther Perel's 2006 work Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence. Re...
Feb 14, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Kylie Maslen's debut, Show Me Where It Hurts: Living with invisible illness , is a revelation. Released in late 2020, in early 2021 the work has already been shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. In this interview, Kylie talks to Jamila and Astrid about navigating the confusing complexities of chronic illness - in relationships, in professional life, and in the health system itself. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follo...
Feb 10, 2021•21 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards are back for the third season of Anonymous of a Woman . Chapter 1: Jamila and Astrid consider confusion, and how books - especially self-help books - can sometimes be just what you need. Chapter 2: Astrid introduces Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. Chapter 3: Jamila explores Sanjay Gupta's Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age. Recommendations: Astrid gets rather excited about The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. Jamila recommends More t...
Feb 07, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Brit Bennett is an American writer with a brilliant track record. Her debut novel The Mothers (2016) was a New York Times best-seller, as was her second novel, The Vanishing Half (2020). In this interview, Brit talks to Jamila and Astrid about her brilliant novels, and also about some big topics - passing, colourism and the state of the publishing industry. CHAT WITH US Join our discussion using hashtag #AnonymousWasAWomanPod and don't forget to follow Jamila (on Instagram and Twitter ) and Astr...
Feb 03, 2021•26 min•Season 3Ep. 2
