The author of The Great Believers and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Rebecca Makkai is back with an explosive new work. Described by the New York Times as ‘spellbinding’, 
I Have Some Questions for You is part campus novel, part true-crime podcast investigation, all told through the lens of the #MeToo era.

Join Makkai and host Rachael Brown as they reckon with the past and interrogate just how deep our obsession with true crime runs.
This event was presented in partnership with RMIT Culture.
It was recorded on Saturday 14 October 2023 at The Capitol as part of Spring Fling.
Spring Fling was proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund. Special thanks to official bookseller Readings and accommodation partner The Sofitel. Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rebecca Makkai Has Some Questions

Subscribe to the Wheeler Centre's podcast to hear full recordings of our talks, featuring the best in books, writing and ideas from Melbourne, Australia.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Technology

Tech News

Podcasting

Gadgets

Software How-To

Religion & Spirituality

Other

Spirituality

Christianity

Buddhism

Hinduism

Judaism

Islam

News

Government

Books

Bestselling author Dervla McTiernan discusses her suspenseful new novel about two families at war with host J.P. Pomare at Geelong Library.
Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.
Dervla McTiernan is the critically acclaimed author of five novels, including The Murder Rule, which was a New York Times thriller of the year. Dervla has won multiple prizes, including a Ned Kelly Award, Davitt Awards, a Barry Award, and an International Thriller Writers Award. She is also the author of four novellas, and her audio novella, The Sisters, was a four-week number one bestseller in the United States.
This event was presented in partnership with Geelong Regional Libraries. It was supported by Sorrento Writers Festival. The official bookseller was Torquay Books.

It was recorded on Wednesday 24 April 2024 at Geelong Library and Heritage Centre.

Featured music is ‘Different Days’ by Chill Cole. Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dervla McTiernan: What Happened to Nina? [Geelong]

Steve Albini was a legendary audio engineer and musician. The frontman of Big Black and Shellac, Albini saw the machinations of the industry up close and from multiple vantage points, working with huge international acts including PJ Harvey, Nirvana and Pixies. Despite recording with some of the biggest names in the business Albini continued, throughout his career, to collaborate with countless experimental bands. He passed away last week, aged 61.
On the eve of Meredith Music Festival in December 2015 – where he played with his band, Shellac – Albini joined host Woody McDonald at The Wheeler Centre to reflect on his storied career, his thoughts on the current state of music and predictions for the future.

This event was recorded on Thursday 15 December 2015 at The Wheeler Centre.
Featured music is 'Riding Bikes' by Shellac. Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve Albini

Paul Auster was a true giant of American literature. Acclaimed for his best-selling works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, including The New York Trilogy, Invisible, and The Brooklyn Follies, Auster wrote complex and daring tales of humans experiencing, anticipating or searching for something lost, something they are struggling to comprehend. 
In his 2021 book, Burning Boy, he turned his eye to the 19th-century bad boy of American literature, Stephen Crane. Crane is known for popularising American naturalism, a literary movement that has influenced generations of writers (including Auster himself). But he was as daring off the page as he was on it. 
Throughout his short life, Crane cavorted from one high-stakes situation to the next: from engaging in political journalism that disrupted the course of the 1892 presidential campaign, to entering a common-law marriage with the proprietress of Jacksonville’s most elegant bawdyhouse, to surviving a shipwreck that nearly drowned him, and eventually relocating to England, where Joseph Conrad became his closest friend and Henry James wept over his tragic, early death. 
In November 2021, Auster joined host Corrie Perkin for a conversation about Burning Boy and the nature of creative legacy. What are the questions one master chooses to ask of another? And what is there to learn from a life lived so bright it burned?
This conversation was originally released as a digital event as part of The Wheeler Centre’s 'Postcard’s From Abroad' series on Wednesday 3 November 2021.

The official bookseller was Hill of Content bookshop.

Featured music is 'Traveling again' by Sarah the illstrumentalist. Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Auster: Burning Boy

Fern Brady, one of the UK’s most exciting stand-ups, visited The Wheeler Centre to discuss her bestselling book Strong Female Character as part of the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Hosted by Australian stand-up comedian and writer Laura Davis, Brady discussed her writing process, Catholic upbringing and late diagnosis of autism.

This event was recorded on Wednesday 3 April 2024 at The Wheeler Centre.

It was presented in partnership with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 

The official bookseller was Mary Martin Bookshop.
Featured music is ‘Lucy’s Trail’ by Sarah the illstumentalist. Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Conversation with Fern Brady: Strong Female Character

Chanel Contos has led a powerful movement to include consent education in the national curriculum, and was recently appointed by Julia Gillard to chair the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s Youth Advisory Committee.
Her debut book, Consent Laid Bare: Sex, Entitlement & the Distortion of Desire, is a battle cry from a generation no longer prepared to stay silent. In it, Contos explores the political, legislative and cultural changes required to combat Australia’s culture of misogyny and normalisation of sexual violence, and outlines steps to achieve true gender equality. Consent Laid Bare advocates for intimacy, consent and enjoyment to be centred in all sexual relationships.
At this exclusive Melbourne event hosted by Madison Griffiths, Contos discussed the vital role of consent amidst a culture influenced by porn, the patriarchy and male entitlement.

The event recorded on Tuesday 5th March 2024 at The Wheeler Centre. It was presented in partnership with the Victorian Women's Trust. The official bookseller was Readings.

Featured music is 'Different Days' by Chill Cole.
Content note: 
This event includes references to sexual abuse and assault. If you need support relating to these topics, you can learn more and seek advice via the below resources.
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 46 36
Headspace: 1800 650 890
Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 1800 806 292 Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chanel Contos: Consent Laid Bare

The Wheeler Centre

Rebecca Makkai Has Some Questions

Download our free app to listen on your phone