The Wheeler Centre

Author Jane Harper (The Dry, Force of Nature) joins Wheeler Centre programme manager Helen Withycombe for a conversation about crime, conspiracy and runaway success.

At this discussion, our panelists explore the connection between over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and over-imprisonment of the Indigenous adult population. What are the benefits and pitfalls of various strategies to redress inequality, what are prevention and diversion strategies for young people – and what roles could NGOs, families and communities play? With Karly Warner, Shahleena Musk, Eddie Cubillo and Antoinette Braybrook.

How can our financial institutions and justice system do better to help those impacted by economic abuse? How do we raise the profile of this common but under-reported area of covert abuse? And what precautions should all of us take when entering into new life stages and new relationships? Join us for a frank and informative conversation with Larke Riemer – who has knowledge of the issue from both sides, through her work in the finance industry and as someone who has personally incurred ‘sexually transmitted debt’ – Donna Letchford from Women’s Legal Service Victoria, and economic abuse survivor Christine Craik. Hosted by Santilla Chingaipe.

How can we respect the diverse sexual orientations of older Australians? How can LGBTI+ elders know and assert their rights as they navigate the complex, confusing and sometimes intimidating aged care system? And how important is visibility of LGBTI+ older people – for individuals and for the broader Australian population? Find out in this discussion hosted by Tristan Meecham, and featuring artist and activist Lois Weaver, Val's LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care coordinator Pauline Crameri, Boston-based LGBT ageing researcher Bob Linscott and LGBTI elder Heather Morgan.

In our backyards, balconies and beer gardens – Australians get along famously with booze. Drinking is an entrenched part of our national identity: it’s a recurrent theme in our pop culture, a scene-setter for friendship, a supposedly inherent part of work and play. Hosted by Jacinta Parsons, writers Jenny Valentish and Jill Stark – both of whom have written memoirs about their experiences of Australia's booze culture – and Hello Sunday Morning founder Chris Raine join us for a fresh discussion about Australia’s changing relationship with alcohol, and how we can anticipate and deal with the side effects.

Join Tim Flannery acclaimed climate scientist and author as he opens our eyes to some heartening technological breakthroughs about climate change – like how ‘intense heat energy’ use and storage may overcome the thorny issue of producing electricity on overcast days, and how – with temperatures set to rise at alarming rates and carbon removal becoming as important as carbon reduction – a tasty, ribbon-like seaweed may just be the banner of our collective salvation. Hosted by Hilary Harper.

Is fast fashion going out of fashion? In this Question Time discussion, our panel – host Madeleine Morris, with Clare Press, Clara Vuletich, Rebecca Hard and Jessica Perrin – field questions on the issue from all angles. Does the fast fashion business model preclude ethical or sustainable practices? How might a backlash affect retail workers here in Australia as well as textile workers in developing countries? What are the alternatives to fast fashion – and who can afford them?

In his new book, Here It Is, Paul Roos reflects on more than 30 years in football, recounting tales from the coaching box and the club room. In conversation with Karen Lyon, he talks leadership, club culture and life after footy.

Highlighting generational differences is a great way for journalists to get clicks, but how accurately do these categories really describe us? And, for the so-called ‘millennials’, what are the real and perceived differences in choices, attitudes and behaviour from older generations? At Bendigo Writers Festival, Emily Sexton hosts Clementine Ford, Kayla Rae Whitaker, Will Kostakis and Tom Taylor for a conversation that looks past the stereotypes to examine the changing nature of adulthood in Australia today.

Whether it’s ‘tiny houses’, radically accessible public art spaces or ‘tactical urbanism’, there’s a growing movement devoted to exploring how low-cost, playful, and often impermanent forms of living can improve the lives of city-dwellers in meaningful ways. RRR broadcaster and former editor of small footprint living bible Assemble Papers Sara Savage is joined by a panel of guests, including Mimi Zeiger, Millie Cattlin and Jessica Christiansen-Franks, for a discussion of engaged, practical city-making with a sense of play.