Over the long weekend, we're featuring episodes from the podcast Read This. Today, we have a treat for those who think about the Roman Empire more than once a week.

Even if you’re not an obsessive Ancient Rome aficionado, you may have heard of Mary Beard. With more than 20 books to her name, including the wildly successful SPQR, Mary might be most famous for her work as a BBC host for shows such as Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town and Julius Caesar Revealed. Her latest book is Emperor of Rome and this week on the show she sits down with Michael to discuss her life sentence — the half dozen words that set her on the path to becoming Britain’s best-known classicist — and why the Roman Empire is so misunderstood.

Reading list:

SPQR, Mary Beard, 2015

Twelve Caesars, Mary Beard, 2021

Emperor of Rome, Mary Beard, 2023

Meditations, Marcus Aurealius, 167 A.C.E..

Tidelines, Sarah Sasson, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

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Guest: Mary Beard

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Over the long weekend, we're featuring episodes from the podcast Read This.

In this episode, host Michael Williams chats with author Briohny Doyle, whose most recent novel Why We Are Here explores the complexities of grief, both individual and collective. They discuss the role of writing during the pandemic and how relationships with non-human others enable us to access repressed parts of ourselves.

Reading list:

The Island Will Sink, Briohny Doyle, 2013

Adult Fantasy, Briohny Doyle, 2017

Echolalia, Briohny Doyle, 2021

Why We Are Here, Briohny Doyle, 2023

The Great Undoing, Sharlene Allsopp, 2024

Tremor, Teju Cole, 2023

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

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Guest: Briohny Doyle

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Many Australians could have been infected with Covid-19 for the second, third or even fourth time in the last couple of months.

That’s because a new variant of the virus has caused the biggest wave in over a year.

But while for many the symptoms are milder, and the risks of serious illness are dropping – what do we need to know about the new variants still emerging? And what evidence do we have about multiple reinfections?

Today, applied mathematician, expert in respiratory diseases, and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Dr James Wood, on the latest Covid wave and what could be in store this year. 

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Guest: Applied mathematician, expert in respiratory diseases, and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Dr James Wood

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Yesterday, Labor’s emergency legislation on immigration detention was slammed by crossbenchers and the Greens as a “race to the bottom” on the way governments treat asylum seekers.

But in the lead up to that move, criticisms that Labor is trying to be tougher than the Coalition on immigration laws have been growing louder. 

So, why is Labor intent on being known for its hardline border policy?

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on whether Labor is attempting to one up Peter Dutton on immigration. 

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Guest: national correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe

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If a child experiences a complex mental health condition like psychosis, everyone would agree that someone at such a young age needs careful and considered care. If drugs are prescribed, the benefits must outweigh the risks. 

But there are fears that isn’t always happening, and that growing demand for mental healthcare means the people who need the most specific treatment aren’t always getting it.

Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper and author of The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About, Elfy Scott, on how mental health care for young people is becoming an issue of equality.

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Guest: Contributor to The Saturday Paper and author of ‘The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About’, Elfy Scott

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An Australian court once ruled that the federal government has a duty of care to young people, to protect them from harm the climate crisis will inflict during their lifetimes.

That decision was overturned on appeal, but today there’s an inquiry looking into how that responsibility could be enshrined in law via the parliament.

It’ss been a long journey for the young woman who first brought that case against the federal Environment minister – something she did while still in high school.

Today, climate activist and contributor to The Saturday Paper Anjali Sharma, on her campaign to legislate a duty of care and taking the fight to Parliament House.

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Guest: Climate activist and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Anjali Sharma

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On the Las Vegas strip, in a sea of casinos, sits an enormous dome that lights up the sky.

It’s called The Sphere and it’s a performance venue where punters are dazzled by 54 thousand metres of LED screens capable of showing 256 million colours, in a display so overwhelming that some concertgoers faint. 

Writer Elmo Keep travelled to Vegas to see her favourite band U2 play at The Sphere in their inaugurating residency. There she found in equal parts, a religious experience and a hyper capitalist nightmare.  

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Guest: Writer, Elmo Keep

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There are laws in Australia that desperately need to be overhauled and amended for the modern era..

But even with almost universal agreement that these laws need to be updated, the challenge is to get our politicians to agree on how to rewrite them.

This is exactly the situation we find ourselves in on reforms to religious discrimination – which still protects religious schools' right to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students and teachers.

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on how today’s parliament is failing to break a decade of political gridlock.

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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The Coalition is going all in on nuclear power. The opposition’s vision for Australia’s future puts the technology front and centre, despite experts’ concerns about its costs, risks and impracticalities.

So, is there more to it than first appears? Have the Coalition found the answers to making nuclear work in Australia?

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe, on the real reason why the Coalition is going after nuclear, and the factional warfare simmering underneath.

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Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe

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When starting out at university, it’s normal to want to meet new friends and establish a community. 

But for some young Australians, that formative time has led them down the path of a secretive and extreme religious sect that some former members describe as exerting “mind control” and taking over their lives. 

So, who’s behind this group? And how are Australians being impacted?

Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Aleisha Orr, on the story of Nathan and what he describes as a “doomsday cult” that changed his life. 

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Guest: Contributor to The Saturday Paper, Aleisha Orr

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