In this episode of Julia's Book Club, Julia and Sarah Holland-Batt sit down together in London to discuss The Sun Walks Down, by Australian author Fiona McFarlane.

The Sun Walks Down tells the story of a remote South Australian town in the 1880s where a young boy has gone missing during a dust storm.

As the community rallies to find 6 year old Denny Wallace, readers experience the search, the town dynamics and the complex landscape surrounding them from the perspective of various characters, including Denny’s family, Indigenous trackers, Afghan cameleers, policemen, mothers, children and farmers. 

Julia and Sarah delve into the book’s exploration of colonialism, race and gender, and how it challenges the stereotypical narrative of a child lost in the bush.

Show notes

• The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane is published by Allen & Unwin and is available at all good bookstores - https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Fiona-McFarlane-Sun-Walks-Down-9781761066207

• To learn more about co-host Sarah Holland-Batt visit https://www.sarahhollandbatt.com

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For many Australians, and tennis fans around the world, Jelena Dokic is a household name.

In this episode, she opens up to Julia about her childhood surviving poverty and fleeing war-torn Yugoslavia, to her meteoric rise to fame on the tennis court, all the while silently suffering at the hands of an abusive father.

Now, the self-described 'victim, survivor, thriver' speaks openly about how she’s overcoming her mental health struggles and vicious online trolls to lead a happy and fulfilling life as a best-selling author, tennis commentator, motivational speaker and advocate against family violence.

Show notes:

Please be aware that parts of this episode may be distressing for some listeners. Help is available by contacting the 24-hour national counselling service 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

If you need mental health support, visit Beyond Blue.

If you need crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Jelena's books are published by Penguin and available at all good book stores.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month’s Book Club episode Julia sits down with her good friend, best-selling author Kathy Lette, to discuss The Fraud, by British writer Zadie Smith.

The Fraud is a historical fiction novel set in the Victorian era, centred around a real life London court case - The Tichborne Trial.

England is captivated by the case, in which a man claims to be Sir Roger Tichborne - the heir to a large fortune and long believed dead. 

Julia and Kathy delve into the book’s exploration of race, gender, age and beauty, with many laughs along the way! 

Show notes:

• The Fraud by Zadie Smith is published by Penguin and available at all good bookstores.

• The Revenge Club by Kathy Lette is published by Bloomsbury and available at all good bookstores.

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Katy Gallagher is Australia’s Federal Minister for Women, Minister for Finance and Minister for the Public Service.

In this candid conversation Julia and Katy delve into Katy’s early life growing up in Canberra, the tragic loss that shaped her path forward, her career in ACT and federal politics and how she’s working to better the lives of all Australian women through the Federal Government’s new strategy for gender equality.

Show notes:

Learn more about the Federal Government’s strategy for gender equality here: https://genderequality.gov.au/

If you, or someone you know, has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault, help is available by contacting the 24-hour national counselling service 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first ever Book Club episode of A Podcast of One’s Own, Julia and co-host Sarah Holland-Batt delve into Australian author Anna Funder’s new work Wifedom.

Wifedom tells the untold story of Eileen O'Shaughnessy and her marriage to George Orwell, one of the most famed English writers of all time.

Funder recreates the Orwell’s’ marriage, taking readers through the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War in London.

Eileen’s story has been largely ignored by the history books, and as Funder shows, sometimes even rewritten by biographers of Orwell.

Julia and Sarah discuss Funder’s unique style of writing, how women get written out of history, how Eileen’s experience resonates with women today, and how fans of Orwell’s work can reconcile that with his personal behaviour.

Show notes:

• Wifedom by Anna Funder is published by Penguin and available at all good bookstores. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/wifedom-9780143787112

• Find out more about co-host Sarah Holland-Batt here: https://www.sarahhollandbatt.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Julia sits down with activist, sexual consent champion and a voice for her generation, Chanel Contos. Chanel was a catalyst for transforming how consent education works in Australia. In 2021, aged just 22, she sparked a national media storm when she exposed the alarming level of sexual assault in Sydney private schools. From here, the “Teach Us Consent” Campaign was born –  an online petition asking for sexual consent education in Australian schools, which quickly gained more than 44,000 signatures supported by over 6,500 testimonies of sexual assault. And less just a year later in 2022, this ground-breaking campaign resulted in fundamental changes to the Australian curriculum when holistic and age-appropriate consent education was introduced in every school, across every age group.

Chanel takes us through this whirlwind journey – from that first day back in 2021, up until today, and reflects on everything she’s been up to along the way. From publishing her first book, Consent Laid Bare, to her work with young changemakers as the Chair of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership's Youth Committee. She and Julia talk activist burnout, how to engage everyone (especially young men and boys) in the conversation around consent, their optimism for the future and why it’s so important to be ruthless with systems and kind with people if we want to achieve lasting cultural change.

CW: This episode covers themes of consent and sexual violence, and parts of this conversation may be distressing for some listeners. If this brings up anything for you, help is available by contacting the 24-hour national counselling service 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

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In the final episode of 2023, Julia takes a look back at the incredible conversations of Season 5.

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Sam Mostyn has had a formidable career in executive positions, working across business, sport, climate change, the arts, policy and not for profit.

She recently led the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, and was the first woman AFL Commissioner, where she spearheaded the creation of a women’s league. 

Now Sam is taking over from Julia as Chair of Beyond Blue, Australia’s leading mental health support service.

In this episode, Julia and Sam discuss mental health, gender equality and how women can succeed in what is often still very much a man’s world.

Show notes

• If you need mental health support visit Beyond Blue | 24/7 Support for Anxiety, Depression and Suicide Prevention
• If you need crisis support call Lifeline on 13 11 14

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elly Desmarchelier is a proud disabled woman who uses her voice to advocate for the 1 in 5 Australians living with disability. 

Elly was the public face of a national campaign to maintain and defend the integrity of Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme, taking the fight all the way to Parliament House in Canberra.

Elly and Julia discuss the barriers and discrimination Elly has faced and overcome throughout her life, and her determination to pave a smoother path for the next generation.

Show notes: You can find out more about Australia's Disability Royal Commission at: Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability

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In this episode, Julia is joined by music legend, humanitarian and activist, Annie Lennox. Hailed as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone, Annie has won more Brit Awards than any other female artist in history, sold over 80 million records worldwide as a solo artist and in Eurythmics with Dave Stewart and was named "the most successful female British artist in UK music history" by the Official Charts Company in June 2013.  

In 2011, Annie was awarded an OBE for her contribution towards combating HIV/AIDS as it affects women and children in Africa and in 2008, she founded the global women’s rights organisation, The Circle.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.