Ben McKelvey is an author, journalist and editor. He’s been the editor of Mr Jones, Sports& Style and Juice magazines and worked at the Sydney Morning Herald as a Senior Feature Writer. As a freelance writer, Ben has been embedded with the ADF in East Timor and Iraq, and has worked independently in Iran, Syria and Afghanistan.

Having written extensively about other people’s story, Ben’s now turned his attention to his own, in 'A Scar is Also Skin', a memoir of stroke, heart attack and remaking.

On his unsteady path to recovery, Ben started to question everything about his life. He wondered what makes us who we are, and what role family, fate and physiology plays.

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Today’s guest is debut author Pip Finkenmeyer. She describes her first book, Sad Girl Novel as a “self-aware skewering” of early adulthood that taps into the trending “Sad Girl” genre to explore identity formation, friendship, neurosis and what we look to for validation and meaning.

For Pip, the book mirrored her own life in part as, like protagonist Kim, she considered the evolving markers of adulthood and escaped to Europe in search of creative community and inspiration. 

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FROM THE ARCHIVE: Martin Smith is a legend of the Christian music industry. For nearly 40 years he’s written songs that have been sung around the world, first as the lead-singer of Delirious? and now as a solo artist. For the release of his last album Dancing in the Fire, Martin joined Laura to talk about the changing seasons of life, what it takes to last in a fickle industry and how artists can serve this generation. 

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Our guest this week is author, educator and actress Zoe Coyle. Zoe has stepped into the shoes of many different characters, but it’s one in her new book 'The Dangers of Female Provocation' that frames our conversation today.

The book is for mature audiences: it deals with themes around marriage, trauma, betrayal and intimacy that won’t be for everyone, but at its heart is the story of a woman named Odessa who’s dealing with the realities of fear, anger and uncertainty that give us a way into conversations around the role of rage civilized society and how good people can find themselves doing bad things.

Zoe also speaks about the evolution of friendships, the benefit of regret and how to accept change.

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When you rely on a church community for support and direction in life, what happens when your church gets sick? When the community is unsettled?

On this episode Walkley award-winning journalist Marc Fennell (Mastermind, Stuff the British Stole) talks about his new documentary 'The Kingdom'. It looks at the impact of Australian mega-church Hillsong's changing status on the Pentecostal movement, who inherits the church members who’ve left and what should they do differently. Marc also opens up about his own history with Christianity, and how someone like him who's been in and outside of the church interprets the tipping point the "Hillsong scandals" have triggered. 

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Our guests today are Melissa Doyle and Naima Brown, the authors of 'How to Age Against the Machine', an empowering guide for women ageing on their own terms.

Melissa Doyle is one of the best-known and trusted voices in Australian media with more than 30 years of journalistic experience, including fourteen as the host of Channel 7’s 'Sunrise'.

Naima Brown is an experienced TV producer, journalist and writer who has worked for SBS and NBC News New York in addition to Channel 7.

The pair met while they were working together on Channel 7’s flagship programme 'Sunday Night' and wrote this book in answer to some of their own questions and concerns, and the ones facing women more broadly.

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This week Colony House front man Caleb Chapman makes his second visit to the show. The band have been writing music for over a decade together, starting with their debut album ‘When I Was Younger’ and now onto their fourth project ‘Cannonballers’.

Caleb delves into the impact of A.I. on artists, what fans are seeking from live shows and how recent shootings in America have shaped the band’s approach to their work. 

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Lorraine Murphy is an award-winning entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker and mum of two. She started her first business – The Remarkables Group - in 2012 before selling it in 2017 to focus on what she calls her “soul on fire work” of writing, speaking and mentoring.

Lorraine has a knack for helping people draw out their best qualities and understand the unique ways we can apply them to life. Originally from Ireland, then migrating to Australia and now living in Spain, Lorraine joined us to talk about how to adapt to life’s changing seasons, redefine your identity and restore resilience.

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Timothy Keller is a world-renowned pastor, theologian, and Christian apologist. Millions have listened to his sermons and read his books, but not many people know how he become the man he is today. Journalist Collin Hansen talked to family and friends and had the most extensive access to Keller’s personal notes and sermons to reveal these influences in 'Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation'. 

Collin joined Laura to talk about Timothy's life through the lens of lifelong learning, curiosity and becoming better thinkers. 

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International minister and author John Bevere joins Laura to help reorient our understanding of holy fear and see why the Bible invites us to "fear" God. In his new book, 'Awe of God' John explains the value of the virtue of fear and how it's come to be something we dismiss.

Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

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