Good Weekend Talks
Good Weekend Talks features in-depth conversations with the people fascinating Australians right now, from sport to politics to the arts, business and beyond, interviewed weekly by the country's top journalists. Consider it a magazine for your ears.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 36 minutes
- Episodes
- 111
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Stephanie Gilmore's year off competitive surfing
On this week's episode, the eight-time world champion talks about the amazing places she's toured in her year out from competitive surfing. Speaking with Good Weekend senior writer (and keen surfer) …
Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy on winning gold in Paris, and setting her sights on LA
In this week's episode we speak with Perth pole vaulter Nina Kennedy, who won the trifecta of the three big global events in her sport this year. Kennedy speaks with Good Weekend senior writer Amanda…
Chinese Australian dissident artist Badiucao on being followed, threatened - and impersonated
In this week's episode we speak with Shanghai-born, Melbourne-based artist Badiucao, who explains what it's like to remain under suspicion and surveillance for his political artwork. Badiucao, a Walk…
Hannah Diviney on acting, ableist language and not having to always strive for amazing
On this week's episode, actor, author and advocate Hannah Diviney speaks about what it was like to call out Lizzo and Beyonce for ableist language, how she doesn't always love her disability, and the…
Gina Chick on the beauty and power of strangeness
In this week's episode we speak with author Gina Chick, winner of the inaugural Alone Australia and author of the memoir We Are The Stars. Chick speaks with journalist David Leser about feeding birds…
Kate Winslet on photojournalism, sexism, and women in film
In this episode, we speak to Academy Award winner Kate Winslet about her new film "Lee" - a biopic about the life of pioneering World War II correspondent Lee Miller, and her sensitive and stunning f…
Author Joe Aston on what went wrong for the Qantas brand
In this week's episode we speak with former Australian Financial Review Rear Window columnist Joe Aston about the national airline and how its reputation has fallen among so many flyers.
Aston, who p…
British author Jon Ronson on why psychopaths rule the world - and how we should view Donald Trump
In this week's episode we speak with Jon Ronson, who contends the attributes of psychopaths really do help them get ahead. Ronson, who wrote the 2011 bestseller The Psychopath Test, also explores how…
Literary editor Jason Steger on 25 years of wrangling books, authors and publishers
Nobody's desk at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald has been as overflowing with books as that of Jason Steger, who recently left his job as books editor at the mastheads.
On today's episode he ta…
Mark Manson, author of 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k' on how the self-help industry gets it wrong
In today’s episode, American author, speaker and blogger Mark Manson discusses how the mantra of relentless positivity, which drives so much of the self-help industry, is full of pitfalls. He explain…
Norman Swan researched the best way to parent kids under ten. Here's what he reckons
In this episode we speak with health reporter Norman Swan, who has written a new book on the dos and don'ts of raising children up to the age of 10. Among other topics, Swan talks about how to set go…
Eric Beecher on media, moguls and what it's like to be sued by a Murdoch
The youngest ever editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, now owner of Private Media, publisher of Crikey, Eric Beecher has spent decades in and observing the media.
In today's episode he discusses his …
Tim Minchin on social media, doubt and the surprising advice he gives uni students
In today's episode, singer/songwriter Tim Minchin discusses the poison that is social media, how he emerged from his bruising time in LA and why he urges students to look after their bodies.
In conve…
Author Markus Zusak on the magic - and mayhem - of mongrels
In this episode we speak with Markus Zusak, the bestselling novelist behind The Book Thief and Bridge of Clay, who has penned his first non-fiction book, Three Wild Dogs and the Truth, about Reuben, …
Missy Higgins on turning adolescent angst and mid-life heartbreak into song
In this episode we speak with Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, who broke through two decades ago with her hit debut album The Sound of White, which dealt with teen and 20-something trouble…
From Sydney to Singapore, Melbourne to Manila: meet the man playing Alexander Hamilton in the hit musical
In this episode we speak with Jason Arrow, otherwise known as Australia's Alexander Hamilton. The South African-born, Perth-raised performer won the role for the musical's 2021 Sydney premiere, and h…
What impact has that 'controversial' $443m investment made to the Great Barrier Reef?
In this episode, we speak with Anna Marsden, managing director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Back in 2018, Marsden’s life changed overnight when she received news from then prime minister Mal…
Best-selling author Roxane Gay on body positivity, Trump and Channing Tatum
In this episode, we speak with best-selling author and social commentator, Roxane Gay. A decade after the publication of her much-talked-about book, Bad Feminist, Gay offers her unapologetic views on…
'Like a hurricane was inside the house': a survivor's tale of the Beirut port explosion
In this episode, we speak with author Theodore Ell. From 2018 to 2021, Ell accompanied his wife on her diplomatic posting to Lebanon, and unexpectedly found himself a witness to a country on the brin…
Grappling with twin tragedies and tax reform: Allegra Spender's life as a federal MP
In this episode we speak with the federal member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, who was swept into Canberra on a "teal wave" at the 2022 election. Spender talks candidly with The Sydney Morning Hera…