Good Weekend Talks

Picture this: a crumbling Italian mansion in the Tuscan hills, an eccentric aristocrat, sun-soaked lunches, too much wine and a house humming with secrets. That’s the delightful world into which we’re heading today as we talk to writer Andrew Sean Greer, whose new novel, Villa Coco, is loosely inspired by his own time at an Italian estate around a famous Baroness. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less also joins us to discuss his life in Italy, the pleasures of the charm novel, and the one piece of travel advice he always comes back to. Today’s episode is hosted by books editor Melanie Kembrey.
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John Safran burst into the public consciousness in 1997 as a contestant in the ABC TV show Race Around the World, where young filmmakers travelled the world making four-minute films in just 10 days. Safran won the popular vote on the reality show after running through Jerusalem naked, and asking a voodoo priest to put a curse on an ex-girlfriend. Almost 30 years on, the show is back, with Safran as a judge. Today’s conversation is hosted by Good Weekend senior writer Gay Alcorn, who talks to Safran about that early experience, but also growing up Jewish, antisemitism and the contradictions and limits of free speech.
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There's a profound grief associated with not having kids if you really wanted them, one that's rarely acknowledged, even less understood. But there's also an unexpected joy when you come out the other side. In today's conversation, Good Weekend senior writer Katrina Strickland discusses the ups and downs of her own path into childlessness with Good Weekend editor Melissa Stevens. They traverse what medical developments have given young women today, the potential downsides - and what those worried about the decline in global fertility rates should be paying attention to. They discuss, too, what Strickland wants Millennials and Gen Zs to know: it will be ok, however it turns out for you.
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Shaun Micallef has graced our TV screens since 1989 – from crime caper Mr and Mrs Murder to long-running game show Talkin' About Your Generation and weekly satirical news comedy Mad as Hell.But he's not averse to tackling the big issues, either: his latest series, Going for Broke, examines our national gambling habit.In today's conversation, with senior culture writer Kerrie O'Brien, the lawyer turned funny-man joins us for a chat about two-up, his book about the origin story of Dracula, and what drives him to keep coming up with new ideas for documentaries.
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Social media was once harnessed by Barack Obama to spread hope. Now “angertainers” are exploiting our human instinct to seek threat to divide society and to build their own cultural, political and social capital, often based on misinformation and lies.They create content for platforms that reward stunts, insults and anger – in the process, distorting reality and hijacking any possibility of a considered debate.In this episode of Good Weekend Talks, Ed Coper, author of Angertainment: How Social Media Outrage Ruined Everything, explains how and why that happens, why you can't stop clicking on things that make you angry – and what we can all do about it. This conversation is hosted by Good Weekend senior writer Greg Callaghan.
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