With Joe Aston.

Josh Bornstein and Joe Aston consider the subject of Bornstein’s book Working for the Brand – how major corporations have become the most powerful institutions in the world and the implications for democracy, freedom of speech and the future of politics.

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Wed 05 Mar, 1:15pm | East Stage

With Annabelle Quince.

Judging by the death and destruction we are witnessing in the 21st century, it seems humanity has learnt nothing from the past century, be it the horrors of the world wars or the seemingly endless conflagrations in the Middle East. Orlando Figes, Bettany Hughes, Matthew Longo and Dava Sobel talk to Annabelle Quince about whether they despair as they document the past, or see their task as exhorting our generation to make the world a more humane place.

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Wed 05 Mar, 12:00pm | East Stage

With Bob Carr.

Crikey owner and former News Corp and Fairfax editor Eric Beecher talks to fellow journalist and Bob Carr about the narcissistic and megalomaniacal media moguls who have undermined journalism, democracy and truth.

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Wed 05 Mar, 10:45am | East Stage

With Julia Baird.

In a two-part conversation, Hanif Kureishi first will join Julia Baird to discuss his memoir Shattered and the catastrophic accident that changed his life. Julia Baird and Dr Michelle Johnston, emergency physician and author, will then share their reflections on the task of writing about broken bodies, despair and hope.

Event details:

Wed 05 Mar, 9:30am | East Stage

With Sarah L’Estrange.

Marriages are fascinating to the nosy, according to the writer Charlotte Mendelson. Her latest novel, Wife, is a searing account of relationship breakdowns and family collapse, as she explains to Sarah L’Estrange.

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Tue 04 Mar, 5:00pm | East Stage

With Richard Buckham.

Brigitta Olubas and Susan Wyndham talk to Richard Buckham about the 40-year correspondence between Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower, two of Australia’s great novelists, and the treasure trove of letters they left the reading public.

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Tue 04 Mar, 3:45pm | East Stage

With Eliza Harvey.

Award-winning journalist Kara Swisher takes us inside Silicon Valley and the legacy of its tech bros who promised to “move fast and break things”. She speaks with Eliza Harvey, the Executive Producer of the ABC’s Q&A.

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Tue 04 Mar, 2:30pm | East Stage

With Larissa Behrendt.

Not so long ago, some imagined we had arrived at a post-racial world. It turned out to be fantasy as Australians voted against recognising First Nations people, Trump declared that Haitian immigrants were eating the pets of America and then Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant decided Gazans were ‘human animals’. Wesley Lowery and Kirstie Parker discuss with Larissa Behrendt how the fear of the ‘other’ is all too easily stoked.Event details:

Tue 04 Mar, 1:15pm | East Stage

With Richard Buckham.

Memoirs are an opportunity to rewrite history. Geraldine Brooks and Peter Godwin explore with Richard Buckham what can be forgotten in the act of writing a memoir.

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Tue 04 Mar, 12:00pm | East Stage

With Sarah Kanowski.

Bestselling writer Dava Sobel reflects on about the genius, politics and passions of the most famous woman in the history of science, as captured in her new book, The Elements of Marie Curie. Join her in conversation with Sarah Kanowski.

Event details: Tue 04 Mar, 10:45am | East Stage