Winner of both the Miles Franklin Award and the Stella Prize, author Evie Wyld writes dark and often trauma-informed books, but she also has a remarkable capacity to capture the tenderness of memory. In this episode, from Schwartz Media’s podcast Read This , Michael is joined by Evie for a conversation about her latest book The Echoes , which explores how we tell stories around and into the absences that define us. Reading list: After the Fire, A Still Small Voice , Evie Wyld, 2009 All The Birds...
Jan 01, 2025•27 min•Ep 1438•Transcript available on Metacast Writer Leslie Jamison is celebrated for her ability to link the personal to the cultural to the critical in ways that resonate and move and connect with readers. In this episode, from Schwartz Media’s podcast Read This, Michael sits down with Leslie to discuss her latest book, Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, a memoir about rebuilding a life after the end of a marriage Reading list: The Gin Closet, Leslie Jamison, 2010 The Empathy Exams , Leslie Jamison, 2014 The Recovering , Leslie Jamiso...
Dec 31, 2024•29 min•Ep 1437•Transcript available on Metacast Rumaan Alam is a best-selling author who made a splash in 2020 with his critically acclaimed novel Leave the World Behind . In this episode, from Schwartz Media’s podcast Read This , Rumaan joins Michael for a conversation about his latest novel, Entitlement , and they discuss class, desire, and the influence of Sylvia Plath. Reading list: Rich and Pretty , Rumaan Alam, 2016 That Kind of Mother , Rumaan Alam, 2018 Leave the World Behind , Rumaan Alam, 2020 Entitlement , Rumaan Alam, 2024 You can...
Dec 30, 2024•28 min•Ep 1436•Transcript available on Metacast Musician and writer Nardi Simpson is a Yuwaalaraay woman from freshwater country in north-west New South Wales. Her debut novel was 2020’s critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning Song of the Crocodile . In this episode, from Schwartz Media’s podcast Read This, Michael sits down with Nardi for a wide ranging conversation about her new book, The Belburd . Reading list: Song of the Crocodile , Nardi Simpson, 2024 The Belburd, Nardi Simpson, 2024 You can find these books and all the others we m...
Dec 29, 2024•27 min•Ep 1435•Transcript available on Metacast Every day this week, critics from The Saturday Paper and beyond are bringing you their top picks of the year. From the partying Russian oligarchs to grave robbing in an Italian fishing village, writer/curator Kate Jinx’s best film picks of 2024 will take you on a cinematic journey. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Kate Jinx is a writer and film curator, director of Golden Age Cinema in Sydney and co-host of the Culture Podcast . See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...
Dec 26, 2024•16 min•Ep 1434•Transcript available on Metacast Every day this week, critics from The Saturday Paper and beyond are bringing you their top picks of the year. From the adventure of a lifetime to a family torn apart by murder, senior producer for 7am Cheyne Anderson brings you a collection of gripping podcasts perfect for your summer road trip. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Senior producer for 7am Cheyne Anderson See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 25, 2024•16 min•Ep 1433•Transcript available on Metacast Every day this week, critics from The Saturday Paper and beyond are bringing you their top picks of the year. 2024 was a blockbuster year in music: Beyonce went country, Taylor Swift went everywhere, and we all went Brat. Today, with The Saturday Paper ’s music critic Shaad D’Souza, we’re exploring the albums that defined the year. That includes Charli XCX of course, but also a surprising new album from Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and a tender exploration of modern masculinity by MJ Lenderman. Soci...
Dec 24, 2024•14 min•Ep 1432•Transcript available on Metacast Every day this week, critics from The Saturday Paper and beyond are bringing you their top picks of the year. From the saddest comedy on our screens to a queer reality show – The Saturday Pape r’s television critic Sarah Krasnostein looks back at the highlights of 2024. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: The Saturday Paper ’s television critic Sarah Krasnostein See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 23, 2024•18 min•Ep 1431•Transcript available on Metacast Every day this week, critics from The Saturday Paper and beyond are bringing you their top picks of the year. From a reimagining of a classic to the sidelines of footy practice, editor of The Monthly and host of Read This Michael Williams has your beach reads covered. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Editor of The Monthly and host of Read This Michael Williams See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 22, 2024•18 min•Ep 1430•Transcript available on Metacast For Read This ’s last episode of 2024, host Michael Williams heads to Fitzroy Pool to find out what people are reading as the weather warms up. Plus, a handful of previous Read This guests offer book recommendations for the summer holidays. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 21, 2024•20 min•Ep 1429•Transcript available on Metacast Anthony Albanese has finished the year with his lowest approval rating yet. The prime minister’s popularity has been crumbling ever since his party was elected to government in 2022, with some polling suggesting that he is now as unpopular as Scott Morrison was heading into that election. His image has been damaged by the purchase of a $4.3 million mansion during a housing crisis, as well as receiving flight upgrades courtesy of Qantas. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason K...
Dec 19, 2024•16 min•Ep 1428•Transcript available on Metacast Like coming up for air after 50 years. That’s how one man described the current moment in Syria. Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, thousands of Syrians have been celebrating in the streets and wandering through Assad’s abandoned palace. But many more are searching through the massive network of prisons that underpinned Assad’s repressive regime, hoping to find out the fate of lost loved ones. Meanwhile, Syria’s new rulers, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, are grappling with how to seize control ...
Dec 18, 2024•16 min•Ep 1427•Transcript available on Metacast Alice Springs is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Violent crimes committed by young people, including a recent attack on a woman and her two-month-old baby, have left the town shaken. The baby has suffered a brain bleed and a fractured skull, and there are now big questions about how to keep the community safe, what justice should look like and why crimes like this happen at all. Today, Arrernte woman Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC, the national body representing Aboriginal and Torre...
Dec 17, 2024•16 min•Ep 1426•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been nearly four months since all branches of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union were forced into administration and hundreds of union officers were kicked out. The government wanted a clean slate after allegations of bullying, intimidation and infiltration from outlaw bikie gangs. Now, those underworld figures are seeking payback. And the man tasked with cleaning up the union is facing death threats. Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper Martin McKenzie-Murray ...
Dec 16, 2024•15 min•Ep 1425•Transcript available on Metacast The Liberal Party says it wants the next election to be a referendum on energy. After months of waiting, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton finally released the costings for his $331 billion nuclear power plan. The modelling suggests the nuclear plan would be $264 billion cheaper than Labor’s renewables rollout, and deliver lower energy prices for consumers. But Dutton’s plan contradicts the CSIRO's new GenCost report, which found a nuclear power plant would likely cost twice as much as renewable en...
Dec 15, 2024•15 min•Ep 1424•Transcript available on Metacast John Safran has been a fixture in Australian media since his breakthrough in 1997 with ABC TV's Race Around the World . After several TV series of his own that explored ideas about faith, race and culture, John made the shift to book-length journalism. On this episode of Read This , Michael sits down for a conversation with John about his latest book, Squat , and John reveals the deeper story behind his week living in Kanye West’s Malibu mansion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...
Dec 14, 2024•25 min•Ep 1423•Transcript available on Metacast After a scathing ruling from a Nevada probate commissioner, Rupert Murdoch and his eldest son Lachlan’s attempt to amend a family trust may have backfired spectacularly, with the commissioner concluding the two acted in “bad faith”. Rupert was attempting to give permanent control of his conservative media empire, comprising Fox and News Corp, to his designated successor Lachlan after Rupert dies. The initial attempt to amend the trust was also kept secret from Lachlan’s three eldest siblings – P...
Dec 12, 2024•15 min•Ep 1422•Transcript available on Metacast This week, on the streets of Damascus, there were signs of an army in retreat – tanks abandoned and Syrian army uniforms scattered on the roads where soldiers had torn them off. It reflected the speed at which rebel forces had taken over Syria, with Bashar al-Assad’s brutal reign finally coming to an end after 13 years of civil war. As celebrations spread across the nation, the Syrian people face the task of rebuilding a country now in the hands of rebel groups. Today, Middle East correspondent ...
Dec 11, 2024•17 min•Ep 1421•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, News Corp tabloids ran front page stories in papers around the country, all saying a similar thing: Australia needs to “step on the gas” or face blackouts and soaring electricity prices. But you had to turn the page to find out the coverage – labelled an “exclusive” special report – was sponsored by major gas companies. Now, the Greens are planning to call Murdoch media executives before a Senate inquiry into greenwashing, saying the reporting was no more than propaganda masquerading ...
Dec 10, 2024•16 min•Ep 1420•Transcript available on Metacast In 2019, Scott Morrison’s government managed to narrowly win a third term, despite polling placing them behind Labor for almost three years. At the heart of the victory was a change in the way they campaigned, bringing in a pair of New Zealand election strategists armed with a new weapon: low-quality memes. Since then, the duo known as Topham Guerin have brought their political tricks to bigger battlegrounds and have been hired by Peter Dutton ahead of the next federal election. But their method...
Dec 09, 2024•17 min•Ep 1419•Transcript available on Metacast ABC chair Kim Williams has been slammed for recent comments made about broadcasters like Joe Rogan, as the national broadcaster undergoes a wave of structural changes. During his first Press Club address, Kim Williams took aim at the podcaster, saying commentators such as Rogan “prey on fear”. Mr Williams was there to deliver a speech calling for greater investment in the ABC, which he said had lost $150 million a year over the past decade, and to talk about the importance of public broadcasting...
Dec 08, 2024•16 min•Ep 1418•Transcript available on Metacast Professor Clare Wright is the author of five works of history, including the best-selling The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and You Daughters of Freedom , which comprise the first two instalments of her Democracy trilogy. On this episode of Read This , Clare sits down with Michael Williams to discuss the final instalment of the trilogy, Näku Dhäruk: The Bark Petitions , which was released in October. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 07, 2024•31 min•Ep 1417•Transcript available on Metacast Australian politics is changing in ways it seems the Labor party and the Coalition haven’t yet come to terms with. And as the electorate splinters, it’s becoming harder for governments to last more than three years. Just months from an election where the outcome of a minority government looks likely, scare campaigns about “unholy alliances” have begun. It’s a sign that the two major parties are rattled by the prospect of what’s to come. Today, author of Minority Report: The New Shape of Australi...
Dec 05, 2024•15 min•Ep 1416•Transcript available on Metacast In 2007, future United States president Donald Trump stepped into the wrestling ring for a showdown with Vince McMahon, then head of World Wrestling Entertainment and Trump’s close friend. Trump played the villain perfectly. For decades now, Trump has been shaped by a love affair with professional wrestling. It taught him how to control and manipulate a crowd, how to speak, and how to respond to criticism. It is also shaping his cabinet, with Trump appointing Linda McMahon, Vince’s recently sepa...
Dec 04, 2024•16 min•Ep 1415•Transcript available on Metacast What happens when you have a democratically elected leader who takes it upon themselves to prosecute their political opponents – as US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to do? The Philippines is a far more corrupt system, but its former president Rodrigo Duterte is someone who did exactly that. One such opponent was Leila de Lima – lawyer, politician and human rights activist who opposed Duterte’s death squads and corruption. As a result, she was falsely tarred as a drug lord and locked up ...
Dec 03, 2024•16 min•Ep 1414•Transcript available on Metacast Anthony Albanese was triumphant on Friday, as he talked up the government’s passing of dozens of bills through the parliament. But there was one key piece of environmental legislation that didn’t make it. Albanese personally stopped the bill, right at the last moment and without warning Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. The decision by the prime minister puts mining interests – and the hope of votes in Western Australia – ahead of a deal that sources say he’d already approved. Today, nationa...
Dec 02, 2024•14 min•Ep 1413•Transcript available on Metacast In Anthony Albanese’s political universe, personal relationships are everything. High on the list for Albanese is his bond with Peter V'landys, the chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission and chief executive of Racing NSW. That relationship has been central to the government’s decision to again delay reforms of gambling advertising, which V’Landys strongly opposes. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis with the inside story of why the government still hasn’...
Dec 01, 2024•16 min•Ep 1412•Transcript available on Metacast The Robodobt scheme is considered by many to be one of the Australian government’s worst scandals. Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper and Walkley Award-winning journalist Rick Morton followed the case closely and he documents the crisis and its devastating effects in his new book. On this episode of Read This , we bring you Michael and Rick’s conversation about Mean Streak from Canberra Writers’ Festival. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 30, 2024•30 min•Ep 1411•Transcript available on Metacast Two years ago, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled 6 News , a streaming news channel founded by then 14-year-old Leonardo Puglisi, a “fantastic initiative”. Now, under Labor’s very own legislation, currently working its way through parliament, every child under 16 – like Leo was then – will be banned from using almost every social media platform. The government is defending the proposed ban, arguing it will protect vulnerable children from social media giants that utilise “psychological man...
Nov 28, 2024•15 min•Ep 1410•Transcript available on Metacast On Nauru, there are close to 100 asylum seekers who have been released from detention but are currently living hand-to-mouth. They are forbidden to work on the island, and are surviving on a stipend of $230 a fortnight – which they say is not even enough for three meals a day. The Australian government has mostly succeeded in keeping offshore processing off the front pages, but as boat arrivals continue, Nauru remains central to the Australian government’s immigration response. Today, contributo...
Nov 27, 2024•15 min•Ep 1409•Transcript available on Metacast 
