S Shakthidharan’s debut play Counting and Cracking began with a shoebox of his great-grandfather’s letters. Working with his family and the wider Sri Lankan diaspora, he excavated his family’s history, weaving threads of culture and connection into a multi-award-winning theatrical epic following four generations over five decade. To celebrate the Melbourne debut of this global hit, Shakthidharan is joined in conversation by Masterchef sensation Minoli De Silva, who infuses her culinary artistry ...
Jun 07, 2024•57 min
Sam Elkin’s Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga , recounts his bumpy journey from lesbian to transgender lawyer in the aftermath of the 2017 marriage equality postal survey. Set against the backdrop of a growing moral panic about the ‘trans agenda’, Elkin’s debut book is part-love letter and part-cautionary tale. Honest and unflinching, it’s sure to spark many prickly and productive conversations. Join Elkin as he launches Detachable Penis with host Yves Rees at an intimate and relaxed evening ...
May 31, 2024•1 hr
Bestselling author Dervla McTiernan discusses her suspenseful new novel about two families at war with host J.P. Pomare at Geelong Library. Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home. Dervla McTiernan is the critically acclaimed author of five novels, including The Murder Rule, which was a New York Times thriller of the year. Dervla has won multiple prizes, including a Ned Kelly ...
May 24, 2024•56 min
Steve Albini was a legendary audio engineer and musician. The frontman of Big Black and Shellac, Albini saw the machinations of the industry up close and from multiple vantage points, working with huge international acts including PJ Harvey, Nirvana and Pixies. Despite recording with some of the biggest names in the business Albini continued, throughout his career, to collaborate with countless experimental bands. He passed away last week, aged 61. On the eve of Meredith Music Festival in Decemb...
May 17, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Paul Auster was a true giant of American literature. Acclaimed for his best-selling works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, including The New York Trilogy, Invisible, and The Brooklyn Follies, Auster wrote complex and daring tales of humans experiencing, anticipating or searching for something lost, something they are struggling to comprehend. In his 2021 book, Burning Boy, he turned his eye to the 19th-century bad boy of American literature, Stephen Crane. Crane is known for popularising Ameri...
May 10, 2024•55 min
Fern Brady, one of the UK’s most exciting stand-ups, visited The Wheeler Centre to discuss her bestselling book Strong Female Character as part of the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Hosted by Australian stand-up comedian and writer Laura Davis, Brady discussed her writing process, Catholic upbringing and late diagnosis of autism. This event was recorded on Wednesday 3 April 2024 at The Wheeler Centre. It was presented in partnership with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival...
May 03, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Chanel Contos has led a powerful movement to include consent education in the national curriculum, and was recently appointed by Julia Gillard to chair the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s Youth Advisory Committee. Her debut book, Consent Laid Bare: Sex, Entitlement & the Distortion of Desire , is a battle cry from a generation no longer prepared to stay silent. In it, Contos explores the political, legislative and cultural changes required to combat Australia’s culture of misogyny ...
Apr 26, 2024•57 min
Origin of You by Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 and Sui Zhen is a highly personal musical exploration of lived experiences of migration, motherhood, grief and reconnecting with identity. The album uses three central motifs: 空 (Kōng), or Emptiness; 疼 (Téng), or Pain; 气 (Chi), sometimes known as ‘Energy’ to explore these stories. Live at The Wheeler Centre, Wang and Zhen came together with host Eugenia Lim to talk about their craft, the origins of their collaboration and the importance of storytelling. This e...
Apr 19, 2024•49 min
Richard Flanagan’s masterful new novel Question 7 is his most personal book yet: a tribute to his parents and to his island home of Tasmania, and a hypnotic melding of dream, history, place and memory. Beginning with Flanagan’s father’s imprisonment near Hiroshima when the atom bomb was dropped, Question 7 traces a chain reaction of events, from the turbulent romance between literary giants H.G. Wells and Rebecca West, to the intricate world of 1930s and 40s nuclear physics, to a young Flanagan ...
Apr 12, 2024•44 min
Join co-hosts and co-creators Maria Birch-Morunga and Kate Robinson for a special live recording of their hit podcast Being Biracial, coinciding with International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Along with special guests, comedian Aurelia St Clair and AFLW champion Darcy Vescio, they discuss navigating the world as a mixed-race person and the dualities of living across multiple cultures. St Clair also shares a very special stand-up set. The event was presented in partnership w...
Apr 05, 2024•1 hr 15 min
Known for literary masterpieces like The Sisters Brothers and French Exit , Canadian writer Patrick deWitt has been delighting readers for more than a decade. In his latest work, The Librarianist , deWitt’s distinctive verve and humour come to the fore. His exploration of the life of retired Oregon-based librarian Bob Comet masterfully blends melancholy and comedy. With host Marieke Hardy, deWitt delves into his expansive career and the compassion for the outcast that animates his latest novel, ...
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Jane Harrison’s work has captivated audiences globally, earning her international acclaim for plays including Stolen and Rainbow’s End . With an impressive body of work and a deep commitment to promoting and developing First Nations perspectives – including as the Director of the Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival – Harrison has established herself as an essential voice in the Australian cultural landscape. In this episode, Harrison discusses the work of reimagining the past in he...
Mar 18, 2024•52 min
Richard Ford is a true literary luminary. The author of eight novels and four short story collections, Ford’s illustrious career spans nearly five decades and numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Independence Day. At this special Melbourne event hosted by journalist Jonathan Green, Ford discusses his exceptional career and examines his most famous protagonist: the enigmatic Frank Bascombe, who has been hailed as one of the most unforgettable characters in American lit...
Mar 08, 2024•1 hr
Author Jane Smiley has been hailed as one of the Great American Novelists of the 20th century. Her remarkable career spans more than 30 books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece A Thousand Acres and The Last Hundred Years trilogy. At this exclusive in-conversation event with host David Francis, Smiley looks back on her incredible life and career and gives audience members an exciting preview of her upcoming novel, Lucky : a novel about music, womanhood and finding yourself. This ev...
Mar 01, 2024•59 min
Taylor Swift’s concerts have shifted the economic climate of entire cities; she has prompted US Senate hearings about major ticketing reforms and industry-defining conversations about copyright and ownership; and her public and private life have driven tabloid fodder for decades (Kimye drama, anyone?). The pop icon’s genre-bending career and reputation have made waves across the globe, and her cultural influence will be felt for generations. Earlier this week at The Wheeler Centre, Rolling Stone...
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani was imprisoned on Manus Island for over six years, and during that time he became acutely aware that oppression takes root when people look away. He was determined to use his sharpest weapon – his words – to survive, and to expose Australia’s inhumane treatment of asylum seekers. Now, in 2023, not only is Boochani free, he’s also a multi-award-winning author, documentary maker, humanitarian and scholar. His words, and those of other writers and activis...
Feb 09, 2024•50 min
Before he found runaway success with his debut novel, Boy Swallows Universe, and follow-up All Our Shimmering Skies , Trent Dalton spent decades as a journalist investigating the real-life social inequities that underpin his third novel, Lola in the Mirror : poverty, violence, homelessness – and the power of hope. The result is a moving, darkly funny story about life and death that is by turns heart-breaking and eye-opening. In conversation with musician and writer Clare Bowditch at Melbourne To...
Jan 26, 2024•55 min
For the Wheeler Centre’s 2023 end-of-year showcase, a host of the brightest names in Australian stand-up comedy – including Janty Blair, Scout Boxall, Nat Harris, Zoë Coombs Marr, Vidya Rajan, Dane Simpson and Alex Ward – came together to gaze into the Wheeler Centre’s crystal ball and answer some burning questions about what lies ahead. What will 2024 bring for pop culture, fashion and politics? Our stellar line-up of comics shared playful, insightful and at times deranged predictions. Forget t...
Jan 19, 2024•11 min
When acclaimed songwriter and performer Jen Cloher (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāpuhi) started to learn about their Māori heritage their whole outlook on life changed. In the new podcast series, Everybody’s Trying To Find Their Way Home , Cloher speaks with icons like Dr. Lou Bennett about Sovereign Language Rematriation and Emma Donovan about the lasting legacy of Aunty Ruby Hunter. At the heart of the podcast is a gentle provocation to us all. What does it feel like when we make the journey towards our own ...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Acclaimed actor, activist and 2023 Sydney Peace Prize-winner Nazanin Boniadi shares her dream of a 'a free, prosperous and secular democratic Iran'. Iranian-born actress Nazanin Boniadi has had an impressive onscreen career, including leading roles in the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Homeland. But it’s her major role as a human rights advocate that has led to her most recent recognition. Over more than two decades, Boniadi has worked tirelessly to elevate the voices and struggles of...
Dec 08, 2023•56 min
Leigh Sales is one of Australia’s most beloved journalists. A veteran anchor of the ABC’s flagship current affairs program 7.30, the new presenter of Australian Story, co-host of hugely popular podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 with Annabel Crabb, and a bestselling author, Sales has been recognised with three Walkley Awards over the course of a career that has seen her interview countless political leaders, innovators and artists. In her new book, Storytellers: Questions, Answers and the Craft of Journali...
Dec 01, 2023•53 min
The author of The Great Believers and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Rebecca Makkai is back with an explosive new work. Described by the New York Times as ‘spellbinding’, I Have Some Questions for You is part campus novel, part true-crime podcast investigation, all told through the lens of the #MeToo era. Join Makkai and host Rachael Brown as they reckon with the past and interrogate just how deep our obsession with true crime runs. This event was presented in partnership with RMIT Culture. ...
Nov 24, 2023•48 min
In this episode, acclaimed science journalist Ed Yong takes us beyond the limits of human perception to uncover the world through the eyes of animals. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us explores the boundless sensory environments animals occupy, offering a reminder of the intricacies of nature and how little we truly know about the planet we inhabit. In this remarkable book, Yong brings to bear the same clear-eyed insight that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for h...
Nov 17, 2023•1 hr 4 min
In this episode, Caroline O’Donoghue, bestselling author and host of the award-winning podcast Sentimental Garbage discusses her new novel The Rachel Incident. Set in Ireland against the backdrop of the post-economic crash of 2009, The Rachel Incident delves into the realm of youthful yearnings, early adulthood, and the bittersweet transition from carefree student to responsible professional. O’Donoghue joined Abigail Ulman live at the Wheeler Centre for Spring Fling to discuss the danger and de...
Nov 10, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Pop culture aficionados Kate Jinx and Brodie Lancaster join us for a special live recording of their hit podcast See Also. Each week on their pod, Brodie and Kate skip across the pop culture spectrum and dissect the TV shows, films and books everyone is talking about, forgotten cult classics they’ve been revisiting, and everything in between. Bookending each episode with recommendations for restaurants, gigs, skincare, fashion and even life admin, they share everything you need to know to plug i...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 8 min
In her most ambitious work to date, acclaimed Goorie author and Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Melissa Lucashenko turns her hand to historical fiction. Edenglassie is a blazing epic set in colonial Queensland, spanning five generations to tell a story of legacy, love and resistance. At this exclusive Spring Fling event, Lucashenko discusses the hidden histories that shaped her extraordinary new work, which takes a torch to colonial myths and grapples with the ongoing realities of resistanc...
Oct 27, 2023•54 min
To celebrate the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling, we asked six beloved Victorian writers to reflect on the theme Above and Beyond: considering what it means to look further, delve deeper, and ask big questions of ourselves and the world around us. The following is an audio recording from award winning writer, speaker and appearance activist, Carly Findlay, reading her original essay for the project. This work was commissioned by the Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with the Wheeler Cen...
Oct 16, 2023•8 min
To celebrate the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling, we asked six beloved Victorian writers to reflect on the theme Above and Beyond: considering what it means to look further, delve deeper, and ask big questions of ourselves and the world around us. The following is an audio recording from award winning writer Alice Pung, reading her original essay for the project. This work was commissioned by the Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with the Wheeler Centre as part of Spring Fling, presente...
Oct 11, 2023•8 min
To open the Wheeler Centre’s 2023 Spring Fling series, six Australian cultural icons took to the stage at Melbourne Town Hall for an intimate evening of storytelling, reflecting on the moments that shaped them and called upon them to–go above and beyond in their careers, personal lives and creative endeavours. Hosted by Patricia Karvelas, the line-up of special guests included writer and disability activist Hannah Diviney, tennis champion Jelena Dokic, award-winning author Melissa Lucashenko, pr...
Oct 09, 2023•9 min
To celebrate the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling, we asked six beloved Victorian writers to reflect on the theme Above and Beyond: considering what it means to look further, delve deeper, and ask big questions of ourselves and the world around us. The following is an audio recording from proud Noongar woman and award-winning author Claire G. Coleman, reading her original essay for the project. This work was commissioned by the Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with the Wheeler Centre as...
Oct 05, 2023•7 min
