Experience Anu

Desmond Manderson was in conversation with Malcolm McLeod, Anna Olsen and Carolyn Strange on his new book High Time: How Australia Changed Its Mind About Illegal Drugs, a unique look at Australia's treatment of illegal drugs from the 1980s to the present.

Listen to recording of Caillan Davenport in conversation with Edward Watts on her new book Behind Ceasar’s Back: Rumor, Gossip and the Making of Roman Emperors, a thrilling exploration of what Romans thought about their emperors, and how rumours and gossip ranging from new taxes to rulers’ sex lives shaped leadership.

Listen to recording of Susan Lever in conversation with Robert Hefner on her new book A.D. Hope. A Life, the first biography one of Australia's greatest poets. on Experience ANU SoundCloud channel.

Candice Fox in conversation with Chris Hammer on her new crime fiction novel Redbelly Crossing, in which two cop brothers hunt a killer while trying to outrun their shared past.

Listen to recording of Patricia O'Brien in conversation with Frank Bongiorno on her new book Errol FlynnThe true story of Australia's Hollywood icon on Experience ANU SoundCloud channel.

Stephanie Alexander was in conversation with Alex Sloan on the 30th Anniversary Edition of The Cook's Companion.

Michael Wesley was in conversation with Hugh White on his new Quarterly Essay Blind Spot. Southeast Asia and Australia's Future.

Listen to recording of Amy Remeikis, one of Australia's most astute political commentators, who was in conversation with Frank Bongiorno on her new book Where It All Went Wrong-The Case Against John Howard on Experience ANU SoundCloud channel.

Louise Milligan was in conversation with Virginia Haussegger on her second novel Shellybanks, a book with buried secrets, unimaginable trauma and how the love of family can pull you through to a brighter future.

Andrew Leigh was in conversation with Anna -Maria Arabia on his new book The Shortest History of Innovation.

Ashley Kalagian Blunt, ‘Australia’s queen of tech noir’, was in conversation with Chris Hammer on her new novel, Like, Follow, Die, a shattering and provocative psychological thriller which dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children.

John Hawkins, Michelle Grattan and John Halligan was in conversation with Frank Bongiorno on their new edited book The First Albanese Government. Governing in an age of disruption and division, 2022–2025.

Niki Savva was in conversation with Kerry -Anne Walsh on her new book Earthquake, the election that shook Australia, a collection of Niki Savva’s most groundbreaking columns from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, along with a riveting and deeply informed analysis of Australia’s epoch-making 2025 election.

Legendary Australian actor and author Bryan Brown was in conversation with Alex Sloan on his new novel The Hidden and his journey into writing, following the success of his debut novel The Drowning.

Sean Kelly was in conversation with Amy Remeikis on his new Quarterly Essay,The Good Fight. What Does Labor Stand For? In this subtle and brilliant essay, Kelly explores whether Labor is still up for the good fight

Robert Wellington was in conversation with Mathew Trinca on Roberts new book Versailles Mirrored. The Power of Luxury,Louis XIV to Donald Trump. Why has Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles, defining symbol of hedonistic opulence in 17th-century France and synonymous with the notion of the divine right of kings, continued to shape the aesthetics of cultural capital in the centuries since his death? In Versailles Mirrored, Robert Wellington tracks this enduring fascination with the Sun King's palace through eight case studies spanning the 17th to 21st centuries. The book demonstrates how the extravagant palace style began as a symbol of the state in the 17th century; how it was adopted by the nouveau riche to show off their financial success in the 19th century; and, remarkably, how that palace look returned to play a role in statecraft in the hands of US President Donald Trump. Wellington links the aristocratic architectural traditions of France, England, and Germany to North America through the lens of Versail

Julianne Schultz was in conversation with Allan Behm on the updated edition of her bookThe Idea of AustraliaA search for the soul of the nation. Its publication complements the October SBS four-part series, hostedby Rachel Griffiths,inspired by, and based on, Julianne Schultz’s book. What is the ‘idea of Australia’? What defines the soul of our nation? Are we an egalitarian, generous, outward-looking country? Or is Australia a place that has retreated into silence and denial about the past and become selfish, greedy and insular? These were some of the questions Julianne Schultz set out to answer when she wrote the book, in part using the pandemic as an X-ray, to trace strengths and weaknesses in the stories we tell ourselves. As the executive producer of the Blackfella Films/SBS series two years later, and after the defeat of the Voice referendum, the questions still loomed. A lifetime of watching Australia as a journalist, editor, academic and writer has given Julianne Schultz a unique platform from w

Miles Franklin award-winning author Sofie Laguna was in conversation with Karen Viggers on her new novel The Underworld. The Underworld is for every reader you know; thinkers, laughers, empaths, quirky folk, queer folk, nostalgists, the young and those getting on. Readers seeking a happy ending and anyone ready to feel. Anyone who has ever been fourteen. Martha Mullins is a misfit. Her mother is glamorous, aloof and judgemental. Her father, mostly absent. Academic and shy, Martha finds herself fascinated by the underworld, a place she learns about in Roman mythology classes at school. To Martha, the underworld and its divine inhabitants provide a place of refuge, escape, imagination and desire. But Martha also finds joy in friendship. Connection. Intimacy. It’s Martha’s band of friends who show her the value in spontaneity, fun, laughter. Until things go wrong. How will Martha find her way in the world where she cannot be herself? Will she ever find a home for the love she feels? The Underworld is a wondro

Hugh Mackay was in conversation with Alex Sloan on his new book Just Saying. Exploring twenty-five remarkable quotations to enlighten, challenge and inspire, in which Hugh reflects on profound sayings, ancient and modern. Warm, witty, wise – and occasionally challenging – Just Saying encapsulates Hugh Mackay's highly personal reflections on 25 quotations from some of the world's greatest thinkers and writers, from Confucius and Plato to Susan Sontag and Miles Franklin; from Samuel Johnson and Mary Wollstonecraft to Bertrand Russell and Gloria Steinem. Interpreting our world and inspiring us to do better, Hugh explores themes ranging from kindness and humility to power and prejudice; from gender equality to ethnic diversity; from coping with change to the damage inflicted on ourselves by revenge, and the great gulf between propriety and virtue. 'Writing these reflections has felt a bit like the beginning of a conversation . . . now it's over to you.' Hugh Mackay Hugh Mackay AO is a social psychologist and

Award-winning author Greg Haddrick was in conversation with Michael Brissenden on Greg's new book The Mushroom Murders. A family lunch. Three deaths. What really happened? The shocking story of a weekend lunch laced with a highly toxic mushroom, and a triple murder trial that gripped the world, shattered a family and gave a mother a life sentence. On 29 July 2023, Erin Patterson hosted a family lunch at her home in the small regional Victorian town of Leongatha. She had invited her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, and her husband Ian. Erin made beef Wellington for her guests, individual beef eye fillets covered in mushroom paste, wrapped in pastry. The following day, all four guests were taken to hospital, and Heather, Gail and Don died. Ian Wilkinson barely survived. A toxicologist found traces of the highly poisonous death cap mushroom in the remains of the meal. At first, it appeared to be a dreadful accident. As the police investigation continued, the eviden