In this episode, we speak with Sydney chef Neil Perry, and we're asking a specific question - can one restaurateur single-handedly lift a suburb from the doldrums? Perry now has three Double Bay eateries, Margaret, Next Door, and the Melbourne import Baker Bleu, with two more scheduled to open in August.
Hosting this episode about the Perry family business, his experience in the food scene over many decades and what it takes to renew an entire suburb is Sydney editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, Michael Koziol.

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In this episode we discuss the wave of anti-gay murders that struck Sydney from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s and beyond, and why so many have still not been solved. The police have long been accused of inaction over these murders but thanks to a special inquiry into anti-gay hate crimes held last year, it's become clear that much more the simple police indifference is responsible.

Criminal lawyer Nicholas Stewart joins Good Weekend deputy editor Greg Callaghan to discuss the murders, answer the question, "what makes it a gay hate crime?" and analyse more recent gay hate crimes across Australia.

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This week we speak with Tom Elliott, host of Melbourne's top rating Mornings program, about what makes morning radio tick - and what doesn't, growing up with his infamous father John, and how (and why) he swapped a career in finance for the power of the microphone.

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In this episode we speak to para surfing star Joel Taylor. At 21, Joel was a pro bodyboarder left paraplegic after a freak wave dumped him at the famous Pipeline break in Hawaii. Two decades on, he’s a world surfing champion.

Joel speaks with senior Good Weekend writer Tim Elliott about his early life as a Jehovah’s Witness, his love of the ocean, that life-threatening injury and his phenomenal comeback. Also joining the conversation is Joel's wife Lorin, who discusses how they got together, her husband's obsessive compulsive disorder and life with their young two sons.

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After releasing his first book of short stories, The Boat, Nam Le was branded a "criminally talented" young author of "a singular masterpiece". That was back in 2008, and he hasn't released another book ... until now.

Returning to the literary stage with a book of poetry - 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem - Le talks to Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall about what happened in the interim, and how he found his way back to writing his first literary love - writing in rhyme and verse.

He also chats candidly about his family's refugee origins, his upbringing in suburban Doncaster, his short-lived legal career and his love of poker.

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David McBride is awaiting sentencing for the leak of classified military documents from his time as an army lawyer in Afghanistan.

In a candid conversation with senior Good Weekend writer Jane Cadzow, he speaks about what led him to do it, the personal fallout and his complex relationship with his father William, who blew the whistle on problems with thalidomide in the 1960s before his own fall from grace.

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In this episode, we take an exclusive peek into a groundbreaking Melbourne trial into the use of psychedelics for the terminally ill, to help ease their end-of-life angst. Joining us to discuss the trial are psychiatrist Dr. Justin Dwyer, one half of the clinical research team coordinating the three and a half year effort, and journalist Kate Cole-Adams, who has been following the process and has written our cover story this week, ‘My brain was being reworked’. Hosting the conversation is Good Weekend deputy editor Greg Callaghan.

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As CEO and founder of national charity organisation The Man Cave, Hunter Johnson helps young men build self-esteem and emotional resilience, while arming them with the tools to navigate the sometimes toxic 'manosphere'.

In this episode of Good Weekend Talks, senior writer Melissa Fyfe talks to Johnson about his youth at an elite high school, his journaling practice, visiting Buckingham Palace - even working with Harry and Meghan - while creating a brand of toiletries for young men.

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He's toured the world as a rock star, but ended up in Hobart running an arts festival.

In this episode of Good Weekend Talks, Brian Ritchie, bass player for American folk punk band Violent Femmes speaks to The Age arts editor Elizabeth Flux about his career in music, how he became artistic director for Mona Foma, his friendship with the eccentric head of MONA, David Walsh, and how the Shakuhachi flute keeps him grounded. 

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In this episode, we speak with actor Eric Bana and director Robert Connolly about their new film, Force of Nature, a sequel to their 2020 smash it, The Dry.

Hosting this conversation about their shared work experience, leeches on location, and filming in frigid and wet Victorian forests, is senior culture writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Karl Quinn.

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