The Wheeler Centre

In conversation with Jamila Rizvi, investigative journalist Ginger Gorman discusses anonymity, misogyny and the psychology of cyber-sabotage.

Kate O'Halloran, Kirby Fenwick and Nicole Hayes discuss all the thrills and spills of the AFLW season that was, preview the 2019 finals series, and look at the changing tenor of the game.

US-based writer and activist Soraya Chemaly believes embracing and channelling women’s anger is key to gender equality and freedom. Her new book, Rage Becomes Her, examines the subtle and not-so-subtle social mechanisms by which female anger is stymied and redirected throughout the course of women's lives. At the Wheeler Centre, she joins Amy Gray in conversation.

Our panel of experts, including Ruth Barson, Nyadol Nyuon, Hugh de Kretser and Damian Griffis, discuss some of Australia’s human rights failings – the over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and offshore detention for asylum seekers, in particular – within the context of global progress towards improved human rights.

What was the last question you typed into Google, and what does it reveal about you? What does the data on all Google searches since the beginning of the internet tell us about our species? Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is a former data scientist at Google and the author of Everybody Lies, a revealing and sometimes horrifying exploration of our accumulated internet search data. He presents his findings, then takes audience questions in conversation with Jacinta Parsons.

For the second instalment of our Dead Calm series, Hilary Harper hosts an honest conversation about death and bereavement. Grief counsellor and author Eliza Henry-Jones, community health worker and ‘death talker’ Molly Carlile and medical anthropologist Gregory Phillips enquire after more supportive and compassionate ways for people, communities, workplaces and governments to deal with lives ending.

At the Wheeler Centre, US-based writer, researcher and educator – and the author of New York Times-bestseller 'White Fragility' – Robin DiAngelo explores why white people often become defensive or hostile during discussions of racism, and examines how this phenomenon derails progress in dealing with structural discrimination. She is then joined by a panel, including Jack Latimore, Odette Kelada and Tim Lo Surdo – for a discussion and Q&A.

For this jumbo instalment of our Next Big Thing series, hosted by Louise Swinn – and part of this year’s Small Press Network Conference – we point you to books that deserve another look … announce the winner of the 2018 Most Underrated Book Award.

June Thomas, senior managing producer of Slate podcasts, joins Sophie Black to discuss the value of niche culture, the maturation of podcasting, and what makes a conversation worth eavesdropping on. Through her two decades on staff, Thomas has featured in the outlet’s popular ‘Gabfests’ (Culture, Political) The Waves (née Double X Gabfest), and helmed projects like The Americans(analysing the TV series of the same name) and Afterword (a 30-episode exploration of the art of non-fiction writing). The pioneering New York-based digital magazine joined the podcast game early, and with vigour; today, it continues to produce hugely popular talk-based shows. Thomas has been there to observe it all.

For the tenth anniversary of Melbourne's designation as a UNESCO City of Literature, we held a gala night of readings and storytelling at Deakin Edge featuring ten brilliant writers – both established and emerging – who have made Melbourne home for either a short time or a lifetime. Where, for them, does Melbourne come alive on the page? Which classic stories and scenes of Melbourne are part of our literary DNA, and how are a new generation of writers remaking the city with words? In order of appearance – hear from Alice Pung, Tony Birch, Jane Rawson, Eloise Grills, Moreno Giovannoni, Jennifer Down, Alexis Wright, Patricia Cornelius, Andy Griffiths and Sumudu Samarawickrama.