In this episode, we speak with Curtis Stone. The Melbourne-born, LA-based chef has run two celebrated restaurants in that city, earning several Michelin stars and praise from critics – yet in Australia he’s better known as the face of Coles, for whom he’s been an ambassador for 15 years. He’s back in town right now, about to cook for 1700 people at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s flagship event, the World’s Longest Lunch, in Kings Domain on March 21. Hosting this conversation, which covers everything from run-ins with restaurant critics to how Aussie meat pies are being received in LA, is Good Food’s eating out and restaurant editor in Melbourne, Emma Breheny.

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In this episode, we speak with Senator Katy Gallagher. The busy politician is close to both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and manages an almighty workload.

With four big portfolios in finance, women, the public service and government services, she’s also firmly in the crosshairs of the opposition, which has promised to slash jobs, and cut back on diversity hires and working from home.

Gallagher talks to us today about all of the above, but also her own life and times – including her unusual family upbringing, and the immense tragedy she suffered with the loss of her fiancé, Brett Seaman, when she was 26 and pregnant with their first child.

Gallagher is the subject of our cover story this week – “From that worst place, I found a way out” – and hosting this conversation is the writer of that in-depth profile, freelance correspondent Deborah Snow.

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In this episode we speak with Kara Swisher, the American journalist, author and podcaster who has been covering the tech sector for 30 years - and now finds herself at the epicentre of public debate over the convergence of tech and power in the new Trump administration.

Swisher hosts the podcasts On With Kara Swisher, and Pivot, both of which are part of the Vox Media/New York magazine stable. Her tech sector memoir, Burn Book, sub-titled "A Tech Love Story", was released last year. Hosting the conversation - about everything from the nexus between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, to where Swisher finds solace and hope right now - is Good Weekend editor Katrina Strickland.

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In this episode we speak with Callum Linnane, a principal dancer with The Australian Ballet. Linnane, 29, has been dancing since he enrolled in tap classes as a seven year old in regional Victoria.

Now he’s a star of the show - the kind of person who does magazine spreads and launches spring fashion campaigns. (His social media followers have described him as everything from Australia’s  answer to Rudolf Nureyev, to a young David Bowie.) 

Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall talks to this son of a bricklayer about growing up in Ballarat, surviving (and thriving) on the grandest stage, and his upcoming titular role in Nijinsky, the latest offering from The Australian Ballet.

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In this episode, we speak with journalist Peter Greste and actor Richard Roxburgh. Greste is a former foreign correspondent, arrested with two other Al Jazeera journalists in Cairo in 2013, ultimately serving 400 days in an Egyptian prison before his release. Roxburgh, meanwhile, is known for various acting roles in film (Moulin Rouge) and television (Rake). More recently, he has turned his dramatic talent to portraying Greste in a new film, The Correspondent. The pair speak with freelance writer David Leser.

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We speak with Millie Millgate, the director of Music Australia, established by the federal government two years ago to support our contemporary music scene. It’s a tough gig given the issues facing the local music industry. Festivals have been paused or cancelled. Live music venues are struggling. And local hits are few and far between.
Millgate knows the industry back to front, having started out booking acts for Sydney pubs, then working in artist management, before running the music export initiative “Sounds Australia”. She talks to Sydney Morning Herald senior writer Garry Maddox about everything from the “glocalisation” of music, to the power of algorithms, to how we’ll find the next G Flip or Kid Laroi.

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In this week's episode we speak with the author of a new book, Processed, about the downside of sandwich ham and salami, fried bacon, hot dogs, pepperoni pizzas and the like. Speaking with GW deputy editor Greg Callaghan, Morris-Marr explains how a raft of scientific papers link the nitrites used in many processed meats to improve flavour and eliminate bacteria, with cancer. She explores, too, why so many of us ignore such warnings.

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In this week's episode we speak with acclaimed author Helen Garner, who followed the travails of her grandson's footy team for her new book, The Season. She speaks with Konrad Marshall about what she now envies about male contact sports, the benefit of coming to footy with limited prior knowledge, and the debate over the book's cover image.

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In this episode, we speak with CEO of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, on the eve of the 2025 tournament for a chat about his own background as a promising player and highly successful coach, plus about the game today. He sits with Good Weekend’s Konrad Marshall for some tips on the best players to watch and who he thinks might take home the trophies later this month.

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In this episode we speak with Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, who broke through two decades ago with her hit debut album The Sound of White, which dealt with teen and 20-something troubles. Now 41, Higgins has just produced a new album, The Second Act, which traverses the aftermath of the breakdown of her marriage.

Higgins talks candidly with Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe about taking the audience with her on her life journey, the travails of songwriting and dating whilst being a single mum - and the joys of touring with a mostly female support crew.

We'll be back in January 2025 with plenty of exciting interviews booked in the calendar, but for now please enjoy one of our most popular episodes from the past year.

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