In a special Book Club episode, Julia Gillard sits down with Global Institute for Women’s Leadership Chair Professor Michelle Ryan to discuss The Book of Guilt by New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey.

The Book of Guilt is a deeply unsettling exploration of autonomy, identity, and morality.

It’s set in an alternate England in 1979 – where Hitler’s assassination in 1943 led to a negotiated peace and a chillingly different trajectory for post-war Britain.

The story follows three identical boys: Vincent, William, and Lawrence, who are the last remaining residents of a bleak, run-down state children’s institution. 

The boys are part of a mysterious government project, called The Sycamore Scheme, subjected to meticulous routines, daily medication, and round-the-clock surveillance.

In a conversation recorded at GIWL at ANU in Canberra, Julia and Michelle discuss the book’s twists and turns, and how it explores humankind’s treatment of those deemed “the other’.

Show notes:

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey is published by Penguin Books and is available at all good bookstores.

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When Katherine Bennell-Pegg was in high school, she was asked to write down three career options to pursue. She wrote down one - astronaut.

Last year, she not only fulfilled that ambition but she made history in doing so, becoming Australia’s first female astronaut and the first person to qualify as an astronaut under the Australian flag.

For this episode, Julia met Katherine at the Australian Space Agency in Adelaide, where the mother-of-two is the Director of Space Technology.

They discussed the intense training she’s undergone, her passion to progress action on global issues like climate change, the importance of diversity in space and why space travel is worth the risks.

Show notes:

Learn more about Katherine Bennell-Pegg and the work of the Australian Space Agency:

https://www.space.gov.au/Katherine-Bennell-Pegg

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In this month's Book Club episode, Julia Gillard and her co-host Kathy Lette discuss Tell Me Everything, the latest novel by Pulitzer Prize winning author Elizabeth Strout.

Tell Me Everything is Strout's 10th novel, and it returns readers to the fictional town of Crosby, Maine - where several of her novels have taken place. It also features many of the characters from her previous books, including Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge.

In this story, the town lawyer Bob Burgess takes on a case defending a man suspected of killing his own mother. But, as Julia and Kathy discuss, the case is only one part of a sprawling story that examines love, grief, family, the importance of friendship and everyone’s search to find meaning in their life.

Show notes:

Tell Me Everything is published by Penguin and is available in all good bookstores.

Learn more about Kathy Lette at https://www.kathylette.com/

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In this live event recording Julia sits down with the UK's Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson. 

In a wide-ranging conversation, they reflect on her journey from a working-class upbringing in Sunderland and running a domestic abuse refuge, to becoming a Cabinet Minister in the first Labour government for 14 years.

The pair discuss the state of gender equality today, tackling misogyny and violence against women and girls, and emerging divisions between young men and women on gender roles and women's rights.

They are later joined by Kelly Beaver, Chief Executive of Ipsos UK and Ireland, to discuss the latest findings from a global study of attitudes towards gender equality, carried out jointly by Ipsos and the Global Institute for Women's Leadership.

Show notes:

To learn more about the latest research by IPSOS and GIWL head to https://www.ipsos.com/en/international-womens-day-2025

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In this Book Club episode, Julia Gillard and her cohost Sarah Holland-Batt dive into Audition, the latest novel from Katie Kitamura.

Audition follows an unnamed actress as she rehearses a play that blurs the lines between performance and personal history. When a mysterious young man appears, claiming to be her son, she’s drawn into a spiral of uncertainty that challenges her sense of self and reality.

Together, Julia and Sarah unpack the novel’s themes of identity, motherhood, and the shifting boundaries between truth and fiction. They explore how the story's psychologically rich but uncanny style highlights the tension between who we are and who the world asks us to be.

Join us for a thoughtful discussion on power, performance, and the quiet ways women resist being written into roles they didn’t choose.

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Cheng Lei was riding high in a successful career as a news anchor in China when her life changed in an instant. 

Lei is a Chinese born Australian citizen and mother of two, who spent more than three years detained in a Beijing prison after being wrongly accused of illegally supplying state secrets. 

In this emotional and candid conversation, Julia and Lei delve into her early life in China and then Melbourne, her exciting journalism career around Asia and the ordeal that changed her and her family’s lives forever. 

Show notes

Cheng Lei’s book A Memoir of Freedom is published by Harper Collins and is available at all good bookstores.

Her documentary Cheng Lei: My Story is available via Sky News.

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In this month’s book club episode Julia Gillard and Kathy Lette discuss Fundamentally, by Nussaibah Younis. 

It’s the British author’s debut novel and it follows the story of Nadia Amin - an academic disowned by her mother and dumped by her long-term partner, who accepts a job with the United Nations in Iraq to rehabilitate ISIS women so their home countries will take them back.

While struggling to get the program off the ground amidst the opaque world of international aid, Nadia meets Sara, a fellow Londoner who was radicalised when she was just 15 years old.

Julia and Kathy delve into the book’s dark humour and complex characters, and its exploration of faith, identity and family.

Fundamentally is published by Orion, an imprint of Hachette Australia.

https://www.hachette.com.au/nussaibah-younis/fundamentally-shortlisted-for-the-2025-womens-prize-for-fiction

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In this episode of Julia's Book Club, Julia and co-host Sarah Holland-Batt delve into Theory & Practice by Australian author, Michelle de Kretser.

Short-listed for the Stella Prize, the seventh novel from the Miles Franklin winner tells the story of a first generation immigrant from Sri Lanka living in Melbourne in the 1980s.

The young academic is writing a thesis on Virginia Woolf, who this podcast is named in honour of, when she begins a love affair with a man who is in a "deconstructed relationship".

Part fiction, part essay, Julia and Sarah explore the themes of feminism, class, jealousy, maternal relationships and how to cope when the failings of those we most admire come to light.

Theory & Practice is published in Australia by Text Publishing.

https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/theory-practice

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In this special episode, we take you inside Julia's first ever Australian live recording of A Podcast of One's Own.

Recorded in front of an audience at the Australian National University in Canberra, home to the Global Institute for Women's Leadership, Julia is joined on stage by one of Australia's most respected journalists, Leigh Sales.

The pair discuss Leigh's incredible career achievements, preparing for Prime Ministerial interviews, telling stories of tragedy, the power of podcasts and her latest project.

Show notes:

Leigh has authored several books, including her latest book Storytellers. They are available in all good book stores.

This live event was held in support of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership (GIWL), which brings together rigorous research, practice and advocacy to advance gender equality and promote fair and equal access to leadership.

You can learn more about GIWL by visiting giwl.anu.edu.au or support their work at https://engage.anu.edu.au/giving/GIWL

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In our April Book Club episode, Julia and Kathy unpack Butter, the cult Japanese bestseller by Asako Yuzuki.

Inspired by the real-life case of the “Konkatsu Killer” and translated into English, the book follows journalist Rika Machida as she tries to get inside the mind of convicted serial murderer Manako Kajii.

Kajii, a gourmet cook, is serving time behind bars for the murders of lonely businessmen who she seduced with her delicious home cooking.

What follows is an intimate and unsettling relationship between Rika and Kajii, as Rika recreates Kajii’s recipes and finds her obsession with the inmate beginning to cloud her judgment on the case and impact her relationships with those around her.

Julia and Kathy explore the central themes of feminism, body image and obsession, and how food ties them all together.

Butter is published in Australia by HarperCollins and available at most book stores.

https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008511692/butter/

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