Australia’s first music thanatologist Peter Roberts plays the harp for the sick and dying. Farshid Akhlaghi has made a film about Peter and the special impact he’s had on the lives of many, especially in Geelong. Farshid and Peter joined Amy in the studio to discuss the Australian Premiere of 'From Music Into Silence' – screening at Cinema Nova in May. Peter also played his harp for us.
Local comedians and friends Annie Louey and Diana Nguyen join Amy to discuss their shows at the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Annie and Diana discuss forgetful Millenials, the online dating jungle, Asian-Australian family life, and women supporting women in comedy. Broadcast on 16 April 2019.
Macquarie University historian Associate Professor Michelle Arrow joined Amy to talk about her book, 'The Seventies: The Personal, the Political and the Making of Modern Australia.' She details the great social transformations that took place in Australia during the 1970s - particularly the women’s liberation movement, and the push for gay and lesbian rights.
Barry Award-winning comedian and theatre-maker Zoë Coombs Marr joined Amy in the studio to discuss the encore season of her acclaimed show, Bossy Bottom, showing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival – April 9-14. She also discusses what it was like to perform “Dave”: "a sexist beer-swilling caricature of the dregs of masculinity" in stand-up comedy. Zoë is also supporting Hannah Gadsby at the Arts Centre.
Dr Andrew McGregor and Amy Mullins explore the cinematic brilliance of French New Wave auteur Claude Chabrol, ahead of the Melbourne Cinémathèque's upcoming season, 'The Unblinking Gaze of Claude Chabrol.' They discuss his films, Les Biches (1968) and La Cérémonie (1996), as well as his influential place in the nouvelle vague. Chabrol has been largely overlooked for his better known colleagues, such as Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Also discussed is Godard's latest film, Le Livre d'Imag...
Social researcher Rebecca Huntley talks with Amy about reviving social democracy in Australia and takes the political temperature of the nation in her new Quarterly Essay, 'Australia Fair, Listening to the Nation.' Broadcast on 26 March 2019.
Historian Carolyn Rasmussen discusses Melbourne's progressive power-couple of the early 20th century, Doris and Maurice Blackburn. They were both socialists, feminists, parliamentarians, and passionate about peace. Carolyn's book is called, 'The Blackburns: Private Lives, Public Ambitions.' Broadcast on 19 March 2019.
Andrew Walter, Professor of International Relations at Melbourne University, explores the most recent and dramatic developments in Brexit and the UK parliament. As the clock ticks down to March 29, what could happen next? The only things parliament can agree on is that it doesn't want a cliff-edge "no deal Brexit" and that it needs more time. Broadcast on 19 March 2019.
Journalist and scholar Leta Hong Fincher discusses the rising gender inequality in China, the widespread concept of 'Leftover Women', and her new book, 'Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China.' Fluent in Mandarin, Leta is the first American to receive a Ph.D. from Tsinghua University's Department of Sociology in Beijing.
Historian David Walker discusses his essay in the AFA Journal, 'Great Australian Divide: The Western outpost faces the Asian Century.' David discusses the history of Australia's complex national identity and relationship to Asia. In Australia, Asian immigration was at once viewed with anxiety but also with positivity and optimism – it is here we discover the surprising origins of the multicultural spirit in 19th century Australia.
Feminist and political economist Professor Marilyn Waring became the youngest female MP in New Zealand’s history. She joined Amy to talk about the limits of GDP as an economic measure of national success and how it doesn’t count the contribution of women's unpaid work and the inherent value of our environment. She wrote a landmark book 31 years ago, 'Counting for Nothing: What Men Value and What Women are Worth.' We discuss her new book that follows on from it; 'Still Counting.' Broadcast on 19 ...
Tim Flannery, palaeontologist, scientist and author, joins Amy to discuss his book, 'Europe: A Natural History.' When researching this book, Tim Flannery asked himself, "When did the first distinctively European organisms evolve? ...on a tropical archipelago 100 million years ago, [when it looked] much more like the Solomon Islands today than contemporary Europe."
Professor Andrew Walter demystifies Brexit for us; he explains why the UK Parliament rejected the first deal, what the so-called 'Irish backstop' is and why understanding Ireland and Northern Ireland's complex history is so important to the issue. Plus, with a looming Brexit deadline approaching, what comes next? Professor Walter is based at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne.(Broadcast on February 5, 2019)
Acclaimed writer Fiona Wright discusses her new non-fiction book, 'The World Was Whole', which explores Fiona's lived experience of chronic illness. She explores our relationship to the spaces we inhabit – not only the physical world, but also our physical bodies. This book has been longlisted for The Stella Prize in 2019. (Broadcast on 29 January, 2019)
Peter Cochrane, historian and novelist, spoke about his new book on "the story behind the story" of Australia's involvement in World War I, 'Best We Forget: The War for White Australia: 1914-18'. He examines how the racial preoccupations and anxieties that shaped Australia’s preparation for and commitment to the war have been lost to popular memory. Broadcast on September 4, 2018.
Barry Jones, public intellectual and former Minister for Science in the Hawke government, spoke about what’s wrong with our political parties and system and he and Malcolm Fraser's big idea to solve it. Broadcast on 28 August 2018.
Mark McKenna, Professor of History at The University of Sydney joined Amy in the studio to discuss his Quarterly Essay 'Moment of Truth: History and Australia's Future'. In McKenna's own words: "Australia stands at a crossroads – we either make the commonwealth stronger and more complete through an honest reckoning with the past, or we unmake the nation by clinging to triumphant narratives in which the violence inherent in the nation’s foundation is trivialised." Broadcast on 27 March 2018.
Graeme Davison, urban and social historian and Emeritus Professor at Monash University, joined Amy in the studio to discuss the book he has edited, 'Hugh Stretton: Selected Writings.' Stretton was a prominent public intellectual in Australia and a social democrat, known for his deeply humane approach to social and urban policy issues. Fundamentally, Stretton wanted to make Australia fairer. We discuss how. Broadcast on 11 December, 2018.
Patrick Mullins, discusses his new political biography, 'Tiberius With A Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon.' McMahon is a man regarded by many as Australia’s worst performing Prime Minister, having served in the top job from 1971-72. He was widely derided by his cabinet colleagues too. We ask, has history remembered his long political career and life accurately? What were his achievements and failures as a cabinet minister and Prime Minister? Broadcast on December 4 2018.
Parisian author and journalist Agnès Poirier discussed her book, 'Left Bank: Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris, 1940-50,' which explores the intellectual, literary and cultural flourishing during Nazi-occupied Paris and after liberation. Amy and Agnès discuss this and the many connections and relationships that were essential to such an intense and productive period. Notable intellectuals and cultural thinkers include, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Robert Wright, Janet ...
Author Stuart Kells discusses his book, 'The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders,' which has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards in the Non-Fiction Category. Amy and Stuart discussed the wonder of books, libraries and the sometimes quirky and passionate behaviours of bibliophiles across history. Broadcast on 27 November, 2018.
Award-winning journalist and ABC legend Kerry O'Brien joined Amy in the studio to discuss his new memoir. They explore the stories behind his greatest political interviews, his views on the series of leadership spills in recent times, the changing media landscape, has a chuckle about how everyone asks if his hair is real, and much more. Broadcast on 20 November, 2018.
Ed Hill, Campaigner at the Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO) in East Gippsland, joined Amy in the studio to discuss the old growth native forest logging still occurring in Victoria, the threats to endangered species, and the policy positions of the major state parties on logging, the creation of new national parks, and conservation. Broadcast on 13 November 2018.
Feminist and writer Dr Anne Summers joined Amy Mullins to talk about her adventurous life and prolific career, detailed in her new memoir, 'Unfettered and Alive.' They spoke about the women's liberation movement, politics, and the unfinished business of feminism. Broadcast on 6 November, 2018.
Professor Emeritus Jürgen Tautz from the University of Würzberg, talked with Amy about his book co-authored with Diedrich Steen, 'The Honey Factory: Inside the Ingenious World of Bees.' Broadcast on October 30, 2018.
3RRR alumni, radio presenter and songwriter Greg Champion of the ABC’s Coodabeen Champions joined Amy in the studio to talk about the new published collection of his football songs, 'The Thing About Football – The Songs of Greg Champion', and sang quite a few of them. Broadcast on October 2, 2018.
Philosopher Anne Manne came in to talk about mothers and the quest for social justice. Anne argues for a 'universal caregiver' regime as opposed to the current 'universal breadwinner' regime that expects productive citizens to be in full-time paid work and devalues unpaid caring work. Anne's chapter is in the new multi-author book, 'Dangerous Ideas About Mothers'. Broadcast on 25 September 2018.
British author Johann Hari joined Amy in the studio to talk about his book, Chasing the Scream, The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. They discuss drug addiction, what it is, why it happens, and what the new solutions have been in other countries and what they might be in Australia. Broadcast on 25 September 2018.
Alex Edney-Browne, from the University of Melbourne, discussed with Amy the history of military drones, and their present day effects on the civilian populations they surveil and attack in war zones and beyond. They also discussed the experiences of drone operators. Alex went to Afghanistan and also to the US to speak with those affected and to share their stories more widely. Broadcast on 18 September, 2018.
American artist and co-founder of The Centre for Artistic Activism, Steve Lambert, talked about his thought-provoking and interactive public art installation touring Melbourne’s CBD, Capitalism Works for Me! True/False, which is showing through the Melbourne Fringe Fest.
