What is driving American decline, and what does it mean for the world?

Long-time foreign correspondent Nick Bryant’s most recent posting took him to New York City to cover the Trump years. In his compelling analysis of American history and politics, Nick finds the roots of current polarisation and conflict in its history. If the American experiment is failing, what does this mean in for a world order with American power and influence at its heart? Pressing global issues such as current conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, the world’s ability to act on climate change, the dangers of AI or threats posed by China and Russia are all held hostage by the failure of the American experiment.

Learn from this renowned reporter as he discusses how the hate, divisiveness and paranoia of contemporary American politics are central to the nation’s story. In conversation with ABC RN’s Geraldine Doogue.

This episode was recorded live in May at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

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Banning books, waving flags and persecuting racial minorities. Sound familiar?

After New York Times–bestselling novel Little Fires Everywhere – which was adapted into a popular miniseries starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon – comes a similarly moving tale about the unbreakable bond between a mother and son.

Celeste Ng’s third novel, Our Missing Hearts, is set in a marginally more dystopian version of Trump’s America and follows Bird, a young boy searching for his politically dissident mother, and Margaret, a poet striving to change the world for her son.

Listen to Celeste and host Claire Nichols as they discuss hope in the face of isolation and cynicism, the redemptive power of storytelling, and the capacity for art to create meaningful change.

This episode was recorded live in May at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

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Find sanctuary in this uplifting celebration of creativity, chaired by Michaela Kalowski.

Award-winning journalist Julia Baird follows her international bestseller, Phosphorescence, with Bright Shining, a stunning and insightful call for grace in a world which has forgotten its importance.

Bestselling author Holly Ringland, whose debut novel, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, was published in 30 countries and adapted into an Amazon miniseries starring Sigourney Weaver, invites readers into her creative practice in The House That Joy Built.

Learn how to recognise, cultivate and express these nourishing qualities, even in the darkest of times.

This episode was recorded live in May at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. 

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Can a person truly be good? What is forgiveness? Is losing hope a moral failure? And is the business of grief ever really finished?

These questions pervade Charlotte Wood’s latest novel, Stone Yard Devotional, which is set on the Monaro plains where the much-loved author of The Natural Way of Things and The Weekend grew up.

It follows a woman who abandons city life to return to the place of her childhood, holing up in a cloistered religious community where she confronts her past.

Hear Charlotte and host Beejay Silcox discuss her most personal novel to date.

This episode was recorded live in May at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. 

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Love is indeed a many splendoured thing in the work of K Patrick and Christos Tsiolkas, who know firsthand the pleasures of writing queer love stories.

Hosted by Madeleine Gray, this beautiful conversation brings together two authors to discuss their sensual new novels. K’s Mrs S pulses with lust and longing at an elite boarding school, while Christos’ critically acclaimed The In-Between follows a fledgling relationship between two middle-aged men.

Swoon with K and Christos in this heartfelt discussion of romance, regret, desire and hope.

This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

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“We are invisible”, writes Balli Kaur Jaswal in Now You See Us. “We clean your houses, we look after your children, we know your secrets.”

The Singaporean-Australian writer is joined by Dominican-American novelist Elizabeth Acevedo (Family Lore) and Arab-Australian author Sara M Saleh (Songs for the Dead and the Living and The Flirtation of Girls) whose latest works portray the private lives and subterranean desires of women who are too often silenced.

In conversation with ABC RN’s Kate Evans, these cross-cultural novelists discuss the rich inner worlds of their characters, whose aspirations are often obscured by duty and expectation.

This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. 

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In his Booker Prize acceptance speech, Paul Lynch admitted his fifth novel, Prophet Song, had been difficult to write.

“The rational part of me believed I was dooming my career,” he said, “though I had to write the book anyway. We do not have a choice in such matters”.

Set in Ireland’s near future, Prophet Song depicts a collapsing society in the grip of an increasingly tyrannical government. The Booker Prize judges described it as a novel “to remind us of all that is worth saving”.

Sit down with Paul and host Michael Williams to discuss this timely and terrifying parable.

This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

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War correspondent Marie Colvin stated: “It has always seemed to me that what I write about is humanity in extremis, pushed to the unendurable, and that it is important to tell people what really happens in wars.”

With conflict continuing in Ukraine, and the death toll of journalists in the Gaza conflict reaching alarming proportions, we look at the role of journalists in war – on and off the frontlines – and how vital the protection of journalists is to news we can trust about the realities of war.

Join us to hear from those with firsthand experience from the most conflict-ridden parts of the world: Global Affairs Editor for the ABC, John Lyons, The Guardian World Affairs Editor, Julian Borger and journalists Alisa Sopova and Anastasia Taylor-Lind of the 5km From the Frontline project. In conversation with journalist and broadcaster Hamish Macdonald.

This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. 

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Matildas fever swept across Australia during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, taking hold of new soccer fans and diehards alike. But where do we go next to tap into the potential of women’s sport?

Hosted by The Ticket podcast’s Tracey Holmes, this elite panel features Olympic rugby gold medallist Chloe Dalton (Girls Don’t Play Sport), Australia’s most decorated cycling Olympian Anna Meares and world champion pro-athlete Jana Pittman (Enough).

Cheer on the sportswomen kicking goals for female athletes everywhere.

This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. 

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Physician and writer Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone, crafts a masterly narrative of three generations of a family in Kerala, through the eyes of a young girl, from her arranged marriage at the turn of the 20th century to her emergence as the matriarchal figure Big Ammachi.

Solving the mystery of a family affliction – in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning – the book brings to life a vanished past and the impact of change on lives and communities.

Examine the marriage of medicine and literature with Abraham, joined by host Roanna Gonsalves.

Abraham Verghese appeared at this event via video link. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. 

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