On this episode, we speak to the world’s leading melanoma pathologist, professor Richard Scolyer, about the tumour found in his brain earlier this year, and how he decided to see himself as a guinea pig, adapting his pioneering approach to melanoma to solving the riddle of brain tumours like his own.He’s joined by his close friend and colleague from Melanoma Institute Australia, professor Georgina Long, with Good Weekend senior writer Tim Elliott hosting a discussion about cancer treatments, grief - and how you respond when death appears to be a certainty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode, former AFL player, coach and transgender advocate Danielle May Laidley opens up about her battle with gender dysphoria and how reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart, plus her friends from footy, helped her get through her lowest points. Plus, what the future holds and whether she will one day return to the AFL. Hosting the conversation is the co-author of Laidley’s memoir, Don’t Look Away, senior writer for Good Weekend, Konrad Marshall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this episode, we speak to former Newcastle Knights player Alex McKinnon, whose life was changed forever when a tackle left him a quadriplegic almost a decade ago. Today, he opens up about his injury, how it made him a better person, and how legendary coach Wayne Bennett helped him through that testing time.Hosting the conversation is chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald, Andrew Webster.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we speak with professor Martin Green from the University of New South Wales about the solar cell that's turbo-charging the take-up of solar energy around the globe.Hosting the discussion about how Green and his colleagues developed the cell over many decades, what it means for the world and why, despite international accolades, he's not yet a household name is the environment and climate editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Nick O'Malley.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode we speak with journalist Madonna King about the growing global problem of "sextortion", in which teens are groomed online then extorted for money and/or explicit pictures. Madonna, who looks at the issue in her new book Saving Our Kids, speaks with Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe about the people and forces behind sextortion, the damage they're inflicting on our kids - and what parents can do about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode, we speak with British historian Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads and The Earth Transformed: An Untold History. His discussion with Good Weekend deputy editor Greg Callaghan covers the way mankind has reacted to ecological shocks, our industrial enslavement of animals, the threat of new pandemics - and how, in the face of all this, he remains an optimist at heart.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this week’s episode of Good Weekend Talks we speak with journalist David Meagher, who has written a memoir, Secrets & Lies, about the sexual abuse and bullying he suffered at school, the drug use and suicidal ideation that followed, and what it felt like, four decades later, to help put his abuser in jail. He talks with Good Weekend editor Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode we speak with retired AFL star Joel Selwood, whose glittering resume includes premierships and all-Australian berths. He’s perhaps best known as the consummate captain, having lead the Geelong Cats for 10 years or 227 games - the most as a skipper in AFL history. Hosting a discussion about everything from head high tackles to concussion, fertility and disability to the balance between ruthlessness and kindness in sport, as well as Selwood's upcoming memoir, All In, is Good Weekend senior writer, Konrad Marshall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode, we speak with former broadcaster Tracy Spicer about artificial intelligence, misogyny in the media and what it’s like living with long COVID. Her latest book, Man-Made, examines the rapidly developing world of technology, which she says is fraught with danger, posing a real risk to the gains made by the civil rights movement. And hosting this conversation about bias in machine learning, living with a disability and indigenous women as the world’s first coders - is senior culture writer at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Kerrie O’Brien.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, we speak to writer Tim Winton about his campaign to save the remote, pristine ecosystems around Ningaloo, in north-west Western Australia. The award-winning author has produced a documentary about the battle to protect this beautiful reef and the land that surrounds it from numerous threats including salt mines, oil and gas pipelines and a deep water port proposed for the middle of a humpback whale refuge. Hosting the conversation is Good Weekend senior writer Tim Elliott.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode, we speak to actor Rachel Ward, the subject of our recent cover story Promised Land. The Thorn Birds star is married to Bryan Brown, lives on a property in the Nambucca Valley on the mid-north coast of NSW. And in the past three years, Ward has been on a transformative journey, away from traditional farming techniques, to a fully-fledged regenerative practice.And hosting this discussion, about regenerative farming's role in reducing climate change and Ward’s upcoming documentary about her life on the land, is freelance writer Candida Baker.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's episode, we speak to broadcaster Myf Warhurst about her eclectic career in radio and TV, including the music knowledge that made her both a Eurovision commentator and a Spicks and Specs favorite, as well as her current stage role playing the narrator in a new production of the Rocky Horror Show. Not to mention a recurring gig on the animated global hit Bluey. Hosting the conversation - from being a foster parent and her documentary about menopause - is Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode, we speak with Nick McKenzie, an investigative journalist with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald about his work with Chris Masters uncovering shocking alleged war crimes by former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith – and the defamation case that followed. McKenzie, the winner of 14 Walkley awards, joins us to talk about criminals, victims and public-interest journalism as well as his new book Crossing The Line: The Explosive Inside Story Behind The Headlines, out June 28. Hosting this conversation is The Age senior writer and former investigations editor Michael Bachelard.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode, we speak to Lucinda Williams, the multiple Grammy-award winner based in Nashville, about everything from the power of protest songs to America as a divided nation, her outrage at censorship and the need for truth in art, as well as song-writing and the joy of collaborating with Bruce Springsteen. And hosting this conversation with Lucinda, about life after her recent stroke and writing her new memoir Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You, is senior culture writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Kerrie O’Brien.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we talk to Australian journalist and podcaster, Mark Fennell, about his new SBS documentary, The Kingdom, which explores the rise of Hillsong church, a powerhouse in the Pentecostal movement, not just in Australia, but worldwide.The conversation examines everything from the show biz side of the congregation - music, lights, and razzle dazzle - to the business model that brings billions of dollars into the church coffers.Hosting this conversation, on everything from Fennell’s upbringing in the evangelical movement to the confrontation and catharsis of making a doco about it, is Good Weekend senior writer, Tim Elliott.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, we talk to senior curator of the First People’s collection at the Melbourne Museum, Kimberley Moulton, about the work done and never forgotten by a long line of local Indigenous leaders and activists, to the pressing need to locate ancestral belongings locked away in museums around the world. Hosting this conversation - about country, ancient systems of knowledge and exploring Indigenous stories through contemporary art, is senior culture writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Kerrie O’Brien.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, we talk to rebel Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who has crossed the floor 27 times since she joined federal parliament in 2019. Archer is calling for a revolution to take back the Liberal Party which she believes has strayed too far to the right and away from mainstream Australia. Hosting this conversation about everything from Archer’s near death experience to her early years as a survivor of childhood sexual trauma, is Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week we talk with veteran Aussie actor Guy Pearce, whose career now spans four decades, from his debut as a novice straight out of high school in Neighbours, via Hollywood movies like LA Confidential and international hits like The King's Speech, to high-end TV series such as Jack Irish and Mare of Easttown and his new show coming out shortly on Disney+ - The Clearing - an eight-part thriller set in Victoria. Hosting this conversation - about everything from how fatherhood has changed him, to his itinerant global life, to how he really feels about the Neighbours reboot, is senior culture writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Karl Quinn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week we talk with journalist Paddy Manning, author of the 2022 book The Successor: The High-Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdoch. Manning is no stranger to writing about powerful people, having previously penned biographies of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and former mining billionaire Nathan Tinkler. He's also working on a PhD, A Century of News Corporation, and is appearing soon at both the Sydney and Byron writers festivals. Hosting this conversation about everything from Rupert and Lachlan, Crikey and Dominion, Tucker and Trump and Succession for the Murdoch empire is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week we talk with actor, writer and director Matt Nable about his unlikely shift from professional rugby league and boxing into film and television, where he's played tough guys in shows such as Underbelly, Bikie Wars, The Dry and Mr Inbetween; penned his own screenplays and novels (from the comfort of his car) and recently, turned his hand to directing. Nable talks about all this plus the benefits of being a military kid, coming to terms with his beloved brother's motor neurone disease, and his own mental health issues, in a conversation hosted by The Sydney Morning Herald senior writer Garry Maddox.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.