First Person
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The lost art of sleep
At the end of the summer holidays, Michael spends one blissful night under the stars with his much-loved wife and children.
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The lost art of sleep
Michael, Jenny and the three children move from the small town of Gunning to Melbourne, where Michael starts work as a school teacher.
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The lost art of sleep
Michael ponders the similarities between sleep and death, and relates an incident when he was robbed while he was metres away in bed - dead to the world.
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The lost art of sleep
Before he became a father, Michael was for many years a Catholic priest.
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The lost art of sleep
The arrival of baby twins, less than two years after that of their older sibling, sends Michael McGirr in search of an ancient practice for which bed is the ideal setting. It's called sleep. In this book, both a personal journey and a profound exploration of one of life's true constants, Michael muses on the many benefits of sleep, mourns its demise, and explains aspects of its strange personality. And despite their reluctance to ever all be asleep at the same time, he celebrates the three...
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Piano lessons
Years have passed and Anna has moved to Melbourne, where she has a successful career, performing and also teaching piano. But the deep bond forged during the many years she spent learning from Mrs Sivan remains.
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Piano lessons
Anna experiences the joy of performing a concerto with a professional orchestra before a large audience.
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Piano lessons
Mrs Sivan insists that Anna must share her knowledge and love of music with the next generation of young pianists.
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Piano lessons
With her school years about to end, Anna must decide if she wants to pursue a career in music.
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Piano lessons
Inspired by the teaching of Mrs Sivan, Anna is now setting her sights on a life in music as a professional musician.
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Piano lessons
Anna's playing begins to be recognised more often in competition and eisteddfods.
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Piano lessons
Under Mrs Sivan's guidance, Anna's emerging talent is recognised by the Conservatorium. But does she have what it takes to be a concert pianist?
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Piano lessons
The young Anna is struggling to make sense of all that Mrs Sivan is trying to impart to her about music.
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Piano lessons
In this remarkable memoir, Anna Goldsworthy recalls her first steps towards a life in music, from childhood lessons with a local jazz muso to international success as a concert pianist. Guided by her teacher Mrs Sivan, who inspires and challenges in equal measure, she discovers passion and ambition, confronts doubt and disappointment, and learns much more than just tone and technique. Writing with wit and affection, Anna captures the hopes and uncertainties of youth, the fear and...
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
Rick talks about a book that is very close to his heart, and ponders what attracted the author to the disturbing subject matter it covers.
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
Long an admirer of Graham Greene's writing, Rick finds himself today involved in a case of espionage that seems stranger than anything the master could have written
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
Now, freed from the burden of reading the texts required to teach literature, Rick is taking great pleasure in exploring different, less academic and formal, forms of writing.
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
After a period spent teaching Rick decided he couldn't stick academia any more, and threw in his position at the University of Warwick to become the rare book dealer he still is now, thirty years later.
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
Rick is quite catholic in his tastes. Even though he has a doctorate in English from Oxford, he's open to good writing of all kinds, even that ostensibly written for children.
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
As a young graduate Rick was appointed to the teaching staff of the relatively new and fairly progressive Warwick University, where he found one of his fellow lecturers was quite unlike any of the dons Rick had met during his time at Oxford!
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
As a young student of philosophy, Rick dissects the works of David Hume through the lens of girl group The Shirelles.
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
Like many a teenager in his as well as the generations to follow, Rick was captivated by two of the seminal works of mid twentieth-century American literature - The Catcher in the Rye and Howl.
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
As a boy Rick fell for a rather charming elephant.
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Outside of a dog: a bibliomemoir
Despite buying a magnificent book case for his library Rick knows that books don't furnish a room, but a self.
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A better woman
Susan is a mother who sees motherhood as a defining charactertistic, as the act that has given her breadth, depth and richness in life: experiences that, as the title suggests, has made her, a better woman.
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A better woman
From one moment to the next, as people often do in life, Susan pulls herself towards 'the light', and within a situation of extreme grief finds the capacity to live and love again.
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A better woman
Frequently humiliated by her state, Susan struggles to deal with how her body has been ravaged and how she will approach the outside world upon leaving the hospital.
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A better woman
Susan suddenly becomes consumed by depression and slips into a state of being that lets the rest of the world pass her by.
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A better woman
Having already suffered greatly during and after the birth of her first son, Susan is understandably nervous and unsure of how the birth of her second son will go.
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2011-11-25 A better woman Ep: 5
With a second child on the way, and still renting property -susan and her husband begin the search for a proper home, but not one that will "fence them in".
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2011-11-24 A better woman Ep: 4
As Susan works on finishing her book, she becomes caught in a cross-fire between book, child and husband, being pulled every which way.
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2011-11-23 A better woman Ep: 3
Susan tells of the instinctual transformation she underwent from a childless woman to mother after the birth of her son.
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2011-11-22 A better woman Ep: 2
Despite being heavily pregnant, Susan still finds it difficult to imagine herself actually taking her child home after delivery.
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2011-11-21 A better woman Ep: 1
At thirty-eight Susan was living in London, with a new husband and pregnant with her first child; at the precipice of a completely new journey and experience Susan began to see that her life was being controlled by a power greater than herself.
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2011-11-11 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 10
Shirleys thirst for an intellectual life is quenched when she goes to university as a mature age student and moves on to have an illustrious career in the fledgling field of Australian literature.
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2011-11-10 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 9
Shirley moves back to her home of northern New South Wales, where she dramatically survives a flood.
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2011-11-09 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 8
Shirley settles into life as a cane farmers wife in the Burdekin valley in North Queensland, and is surprised by the wonder she feels at the birth of her first child.
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2011-11-08 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 7
Shirley and her husband move to North Queensland to take up a soldier settlement block and grow sugarcane. Surrounded by muddy mangroves and all sorts of liars, fantasisers and con-men she begins her married life.
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2011-11-07 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 6
Before she goes to university Shirley falls in love with a returned soldier in her home town of Grafton.
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2011-11-04 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 5
During the war Shirley leaves the claustrophobia of her home in Grafton to study at the Armidale Teachers College. Here she encounters the morality of 1940s Australia, where a young womans virtue has to be guarded at every moment of the day.
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2011-11-03 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 4
The Second World War continues to touch the people of Grafton ... trains full of Japanese prisoners of war head south and fighter planes fall out of the sky.
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2011-11-02 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 3
Well before Byron Bay was a trendy holiday destination it was a town with a meatworks, which is where Shirleys father found work there in the mid 1930s - and the family lived in a tent.
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2011-11-01 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 2
Shirley looks back at her mothers early life to try to explain the shadow of mental illness that haunted her.
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2011-10-31 Roundabout at Bangalow Ep: 1
Shirley is a young child in the lush landscape of the North Coast, caught up in the chaos of her parents complicated marriage.
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2011-10-28 A week at the airport Ep: 5
Having worked his way through Departures and airside, Alain is now in the Arrivals hall.
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2011-10-27 A week at the airport Ep: 4
Alain joins those whose job it is to keep the airport, the airlines and the aircraft running as they should.
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2011-10-26 A week at the airport Ep: 3
Alain meets, among others, the airport chaplain, a pilot, and the shoe-shine man.
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2011-10-25 A week at the airport Ep: 2
Alain is in Departures, where he realizes the trouble with travelling is that we always end up taking our true selves with us in the form of emotional baggage.
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2011-10-21 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 10
The balancing act between Dennis' work as a shearer and the responsibility for his young family is failing. His dream of living the iconic shearers life is on its last legs
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2011-10-20 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 9
Dennis, Sonia and their baby Lonnie head off to Bourke in central New South Wales. Theyve bought a caravan, hoping that this will allow the family to together, in spite of the itinerant nature of the work.
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2011-10-19 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 8
With a whirlwind marriage and a new baby Dennis has to return to work, conscious that hes suddenly responsible for much more than just his own well-being.
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2011-10-18 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 7
Dennis has achieved his goal - hes become a shearer. But he has a lot to learn, and has to attend shearers' school.
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2011-10-17 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 6
Dennis is about to find out what shearings really like. Its what hed been dreaming of ... but was it worth the pursuit?
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2011-10-14 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 5
Dennis arrive at Lal Lal station, where he meets some of the extraordinary characters that will become an integral part of his world over the next few years.
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2011-10-13 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 4
Dennis is starting at his first proper shed as a board boy. He'll soon discover that shed life is tough work.
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2011-10-12 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 3
Dennis is heading to Warrigal Creek Station where he is to start at the bottom: as a `board boy or rousabout.
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2011-10-11 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 2
Dennis, having been expelled from school, finds himself working on a local farm.
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2011-10-10 Beaten by a blow: a shearer's story Ep: 1
Dennis is in his early teens, living on the outer fringes of Melbourne and yearning to be free of the constraints of school and suburbia.
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2011-08-05 Child's play Ep: 1
Meera Atkinson reveals her childish passion for '70s pop group Sherbet.
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2011-08-04 Not for official use Ep: 1
Debra Adelaide loses her identity in the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages.
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2011-08-03 Words from memory Ep: 1
Her father's dictionary brings back memories for Kate Veitch.
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2011-08-02 After the words Ep: 1
Kate Holden reflects on her different selves, as described in her two books of memoir.
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2011-08-01 Waking up Ep: 1
Toni Jordan counts her blessings.
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2011-07-08 Self abuse Ep: 10
The death of his father provides Jonathan with an emotional release.
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2011-07-07 Self abuse Ep: 9
Jonathan has reached the lowest ebb, separated from his adored boys much of the time yet so stressed that his time with them is troubled too.
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2011-07-06 Self abuse Ep: 8
Despite his best intentions, Jonathan has fallen into a cycle of dysfunction that is affecting his relationship not just with his wife but also with his adored young sons.
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2011-07-05 Self abuse Ep: 7
After the collapse of his first marriage, Jonathan meets someone new and starts a family with her.
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2011-07-04 Self abuse Ep: 6
Jonathan is thrilled when learns he is to become a father.
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2011-07-01 Self abuse Ep: 5
Jonathans family life is emphatically at an end, with his father leaving for good and his mother selling the family home.
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2011-06-30 Self abuse Ep: 4
Jonathan considers the point at which childhood ends and adulthood begins.
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2011-06-29 Self abuse Ep: 3
Dischord between his parent is distressing to the young Jonathan.
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2011-06-28 Self abuse Ep: 2
Jonathan describes his early family life.
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2011-06-27 Self abuse Ep: 1
Jonathan resolved not to be like his father from a very early age.
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2011-06-17 10 Hail Marys Ep: 10
Kate spent the early years of her childs life isolated from the community, family and friends and found herself growing increasingly depressed about her situation despite the unconditional love she felt for her young son. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2011-06-16 10 Hail Marys Ep: 9
At sixteen, Kate found herself living a life from which she yearned to escape from, but could not do so without losing the child for whom she had fought so passionately to keep.
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2011-06-15 10 Hail Marys Ep: 8
Kate gives some insight into the inner workings of adoption processes in Australia in the 1960s, and the particularly challenging future that single mothers who chose to keep their child faced.
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2011-06-14 10 Hail Marys Ep: 7
With her continued refusal to give up her child, Kate is pushed to the curb by the sisters of St. Margarets home for single pregnant girls in a no limits attempt to secure the consent to have the child adopted.
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2011-06-13 10 Hail Marys Ep: 6
At fifteen years of age, Kate found herself pregnant and un-married - an extremely difficult situation for any woman in the still morally conservative world that was Australia in the early 1960s. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2011-06-10 10 Hail Marys Ep: 5
Despite her best attempts, hard work and great results at school, Kate was forced to leave high school without finishing her Intermediate Certificate. She worked long hours, and like most teenage girls experienced budding romances and the drama and confusion that can often come with these relationships.
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2011-06-09 10 Hail Marys Ep: 4
Kate shares a very personal recollection of aspects of her adolescence and the scars that have lasted beyond her teenage years. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2011-06-08 10 Hail Marys Ep: 3
Kate is happy living in the far west NSW township of Nudgawalla. But as with many things in Kates life, this was not to be a permanent change: without notice or consideration she was brutally and quickly sent back to Sydney .
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2011-06-07 10 Hail Marys Ep: 2
Death and ever changing family dynamics helped to create an unstable environment for Kate in her early years. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2011-06-06 10 Hail Marys Ep: 1
Kate introduces us to the myriad of family characters that dotted the landscape of her childhood.
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2011-06-02 Confessions of a weather nut Ep: 1
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2011-06-01 The word of the year Ep: 1
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2011-05-31 Teetering on the edge of the andes Ep: 1
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2011-05-30 Death and distraction Ep: 1
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2011-05-27 Assemble at home Ep: 1
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2011-05-13 Reading by moonlight Ep: 10
Brenda and a friend take to the road and travel to Lake Ballard to see Antony Gormleys Inside Australia sculptures. Its a collection of sculptures based on modified scans of community members. This resonates with Brendas experience of the many scans taken during her cancer treatment.
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2011-05-12 Reading by moonlight Ep: 9
Brenda writes that "Literature abounds with stories that defend against death" and along with the support of her medical team, family and friends, its literature that supports her.
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2011-05-11 Reading by moonlight Ep: 8
Brenda was diagnosed with breast cancer while completing her novel on the First World War, The Wing of Night. And during her "battle" with cancer Brenda gains insights into war and discovers that she is `not a brave soldier.
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2011-05-10 Reading by moonlight Ep: 7
Brenda has gone through the long process of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Now the process of rebuilding her body begins with breast reconstruction surgery. Its a difficult time but it confirms for her the importance of the support of family and friends.
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2011-05-09 Reading by moonlight Ep: 6
After surgery and chemotherapy Brenda is about to start radiotherapy. This precisely measured medical application of radiation causes her to recall an article she read about the 'indiscriminate effects' of radiation after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
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2011-05-06 Reading by moonlight Ep: 5
Brenda is in the middle of her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer and finds that the drugs are dulling her hearing and making her more conscious of the importance of sound in our lives. And her contemplation on the nature of sound gets her thinking about the use of sound in literature.
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2011-05-05 Reading by moonlight Ep: 4
Brenda has begun a series of treatments starting with chemotherapy. To get a measure of control over her situation she thinks about the ways that narrative helps us make sense of the unfamiliar: how storytelling gives structure and meaning to the challenges we face in life.
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2011-05-04 Reading by moonlight Ep: 3
As Brenda tries to put her illness in perspective, she recalls her childhood and draws on her love of books and their power to sustain her.
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2011-05-03 Reading by moonlight Ep: 2
Afraid for her life and the future of her teenage son, Brenda turned to books to help sustain her through the tumultuous time following a cancer diagnosis - especially Samuel Becketts Malone dies.
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2011-05-02 Reading by moonlight Ep: 1
Brenda, author and Professor of English and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia, was finishing her fourth novel when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
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2011-01-21 Stasiland Ep: 15
Anna is finally reunited with Miriam. She learns more about her relationship with her husband Charlie and about Miriams commitment to discovering the truth about Charlies death. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-20 Stasiland Ep: 14
Anna returns to Berlin in 2000 and goes in search of the `puzzle women who have been spending years since the collapse of the Stasi regime piecing together peoples' stories. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-19 Stasiland Ep: 13
Anna meets her last Stasi man, Herr Bohnsack, who was attached to a Division X, responsible for disinformation and psychological warfare against the west. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-18 Stasiland Ep: 12
Anna meets Klaus Renft, the bad boy of East German rocknroll. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-17 Stasiland Ep: 11
Anna learns more about Julia past and the nightmares she still carries with her. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-14 Stasiland Ep: 10
Anna meets Herr Von Schnitzler, who presented a program called `The Black Channel dedicated to propaganda against the west. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-13 Stasiland Ep: 9
Anna tells her colleague Uwe, from the television station, about her experiences in Stasiland. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-12 Stasiland Ep: 8
Anna's landlady Julia talks more about her experiences of the Stasi, including the time she was interrogated and threatened by Major. N in room 118 at the police station. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-11 Stasiland Ep: 7
Anna learns more about the past of her landlady Julia. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-10 Stasiland Ep: 6
Anna meets her first Stasi man, Herr Bock. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-07 Stasiland Ep: 5
Anna reflects on life in post-communist Berlin, and decides to place an ad in the personal columns of the Potsdam paper looking for people who will talk about their experiences before the wall came down. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-06 Stasiland Ep: 4
Miriam realises the depth to which the Stasi penetrate life in East Germany. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-05 Stasiland Ep: 3
Miriam tells Anna about her time in prison, and the effects of sleep deprivation over a period of time. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2011-01-04 Stasiland Ep: 2
Anna meets Miriam, who became an Enemy of the State at sixteen and risked her life trying to get over the wall into West Berlin.
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2011-01-03 Stasiland Ep: 1
Drawing upon her own experiences as a resident of Berlin, both before and after the Wall came down, Anna Funder reveals the untold stories of ordinary life from a country that no longer exists.
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2010-11-26 Once were immigrants Ep: 1
Adjusting to life in a new country and a new culture can tear at the very roots of who we are.
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2010-11-25 Crossings Ep: 1
Giving up US citizenship is easy, sometimes even necessary. Getting it back is a far more fraught process.
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2010-11-24 Bardon 1949 Ep: 1
The first day of school for a young boy whose family have recently migrated from Wales reinforces his feelings of being in alien territory.
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2010-11-23 Ngati Skippy Ep: 1
The wash of migration from New Zealand to Australia results in people feeling torn between two countries.
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2010-11-22 We are all learners now Ep: 1
A Melbourne academic, born in New York, finds that tutoring a young Sudanese mother becomes a two-way learning experience.
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2010-11-19 Black like me Ep: 10
Having conducted his experiment of living as a black man, John is now set to publish his shocking account of it.
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2010-11-18 Black like me Ep: 9
After several weeks living and travelling as a black man, John decides to travel back through places he has previously been but this time as a white man, to gauge the difference in attitude toward, and treatment of, the two races.
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2010-11-17 Black like me Ep: 8
Although the unfailing grace and generosity of the Negroes he meets is a comfort to John, the oppressive nature of black-white relations has taken its toll, and he decides to revert back to being a white man.
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2010-11-16 Black like me Ep: 7
Hitchhiking through Mississippi and Alabama, John is affronted by some of the offensive sexual stereotypes attributed to Negroes by white Americans.
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2010-11-15 Black like me Ep: 6
Only ten days into the experiment, the way he has been treated has made John depressed and anxious.
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2010-11-12 Black like me Ep: 5
Living as a Negro is having a profound effect on Johns identity and sense of self, as each day he experiences more and more of the persecution and prejudice that black Americans experience as a matter of course.
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2010-11-11 Black like me Ep: 4
An infamous court cases prompts John to travel to Mississippi, where the situation for black Americans seems even worse than in Louisiana.
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2010-11-10 Black like me Ep: 3
Its only Johns first day living as a black man, but already his skin colour has set him apart.
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2010-11-09 Black like me Ep: 2
John has completed the transformation and now he is about to begin his life anew, as a black man in New Orleans.
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2010-11-08 Black like me Ep: 1
John explains his motivation for undertaking this unprecedented study, and how he goes about the transformation from white man to black man.
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2010-11-05 Waiting for Dinny Ep: 1
At his desk in Melbourne, Jonathon becomes captivated by what he sees on a webcam in Paris.
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2010-11-03 My first love Ep: 1
Poet, novelist, essayist and librettist Peter Goldsworthy had a childhood passion for old, hand-cranked cars.
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2010-11-02 Who trespass against us Ep: 1
Michael talks about the meaning of home.
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2010-11-01 Musical notes Ep: 1
Jenny Sinclair talks about musical tribalism in the Melbourne of her twenties.
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2010-10-29 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 10
Having nearly completed the six-month screen-free experiment, Susan reviews the effects on her family, and anticipates the "return to normal service".
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2010-10-28 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 9
Susan gives us more very good reasons to examine how we should perhaps manage our use of technology.
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2010-10-27 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 8
Susan's family are up to Week Eight of "The Experiment".
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2010-10-26 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 7
Susan talks about reading in the digital age.
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2010-10-25 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 6
Susan looks at the way different generations handle multi- and mono-tasking, and comes to a conclusion which may surprise.
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2010-10-22 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 5
Susan explores her relationship with her own digital buddies, and how technology altered the rhythm of her daily life.
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2010-10-21 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 4
Susan must face up to the first day of "The Experiment" without screen-based assistance.
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2010-10-20 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 3
The family needs to get in shape for "The Experiment" of going screen-free for six months. So its off to Blackout Bootcamp.
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2010-10-19 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 2
Susan has made her plans for "The Experiment", but now she has to break the news to the kids!
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2010-10-18 The winter of our disconnect Ep: 1
Susan outlines the reasons why she decided to pull the plug on all electronic media at home and negotiate a digital desert - with her three reluctant teenagers in tow.
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2010-10-15 Invisible yet enduring lilacs Ep: 5
In this abridged version of his essay `Some books are to be dropped into wells, others into fish ponds, Gerald ponders the influence that the books he has read may - or may not - have had upon him, and the way images he carries from them combine in his imagination.
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2010-10-14 Invisible yet enduring lilacs Ep: 4
Gerald was the fiction consultant for Meanjin during the late 1980s, and todays essay was written to describe how he saw his role, and what he looks for as a reader in other peoples writing.
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2010-10-13 Invisible yet enduring lilacs Ep: 3
In `Secret Writing, Gerard talks about the experience of being published for the first time, with his book Tamarisk Row in 1974.
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2010-10-12 Invisible yet enduring lilacs Ep: 2
In the essays `The Cursing of Ivan Veliki and `Why I Write What I Write, Gerald describes some of his earliest attempts at writing, and how he came to be a purposeful writer of fiction.
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2010-10-11 Invisible yet enduring lilacs Ep: 1
In an abridged version of his essay `On the Road to Bendigo: Kerouacs Australian Life, Gerard describes the impact upon his youthful self of reading the beat writers books.
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2010-09-17 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 10
Hunters and Collectors operated as a collective, with all important decisions made according to a vote. Today, the proposal they're voting on is whether to disband or not.
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2010-09-16 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 9
Touring means long boring days of travel with all eight blokes crammed into a Tarago, gigs in the back of beyond, hangovers and greasy fried breakfasts. Today, though, something special happens.
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2010-09-15 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 8
The band's sound is getting even bigger . . . thirteen tonne. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2010-09-14 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 7
In 1989, after nine years of hard slog, the band `broke through, in music industry parlance, and were signed by Atlantic Records for world markets. Part of this deal included supporting Midnight Oil on a three month tour across western Europe, Britain and North America. Mark reveals the hard work involved in such touring, and the group hysteria that can set in. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2010-09-13 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 6
Mark talks about the processes that underlie successful song-writing. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2010-09-10 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 5
The band arrives in London, apprehensive about working with Virgin Records. Sure, they want the money thats on offer, but the band has strong philosophical and political views on their music and their internal processes, and they dont want to compromise them. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2010-09-09 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 4
Mark explains how Hunters and Collectors found another three new band members, who all played instruments not traditionally associated with rocknroll but came to give a distinctive style to the bands music. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2010-09-08 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 3
Perano becomes part of the band, and their sound starts to gell. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2010-09-07 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 2
The wang is born, and becomes an instrumental part of the early Hunters and Collectors sound. Please note that this episode contains strong language
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2010-09-06 Thirteen tonne theory Ep: 1
It was at the University of Melbourne in 1980 that Mark met the other musicians with whom he came to form a band. Over the course of the bands life they released nine studio albums, three live ones, and a number of EPs, and played to ever growing audiences both in Australia and overseas. The music continued to evolve throughout, eventually making the `crossover from edgy alternative to commercial radio hits. And all the while, the joys and difficulties of working in a democracy of blokes...
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2010-09-03 A week at the airport Ep: 5
Having worked his way through Departures and airside, Alain is now in the Arrivals hall.
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2010-09-02 A week at the airport Ep: 4
During the day, an average of one plane every forty seconds lands at Heathrow. Alain joins those whose job it is to keep the airport, the airlines and the aircraft running as they should.
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2010-09-01 A week at the airport Ep: 3
To write his impressionistic survey of Terminal Five Alain chats with, among others, the airport chaplain, a pilot, and the shoe-shine man.
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2010-08-31 A week at the airport Ep: 2
Alain is in Departures, where he realizes the trouble with travelling is that we always end up taking our true selves with us, in the form of emotional baggage.
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2010-08-30 A week at the airport Ep: 1
Alain checks in to the airport hotel to begin his week as Writer in Residence of Terminal Five.
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2010-08-27 So this is life: scenes from a country...
During Anne's childhood, ponies spelt freedom.
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2010-08-26 So this is life: scenes from a country...
A primary school teacher became the young Anne's nemesis.
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2010-08-25 So this is life: scenes from a country...
Anne describes a colourful character from her childhood, as well as a terrible accident. Both had a deep impact upon her.
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2010-08-24 So this is life: scenes from a country...
After the break-up of her marriage, Annes mother returned to the Victorian country town where she had grown up and made a new home for herself and her three daughters there. Anne and her sisters watch as their mother chafes against the fetters of conservative country life in the early 1960s.
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2010-08-23 So this is life: scenes from a country...
So This is Life is an unconventional memoir, told in a series of vignettes, based on Virginia Woolf's concept of 'moments of being': intensely felt epiphanies that stood out from the every day and revealed meaning. It is through these vivid emotional moments of recognition, which haunt her still, that Anne tells her story.
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2010-08-06 Confessions of an English opium eater Ep: 5
Haunted by the dreams that come to him under the influence of the drug, de Quincey decides can no longer continue to be an opium eater. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2010-08-05 Confessions of an English opium eater Ep: 4
The vivid and haunting dreams de Quincey is subject to when under the influence of opium begin to cast a pall over his waking hours. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2010-08-04 Confessions of an English opium eater Ep: 3
Thomas de Quincey explains how various events in his life led him to take opium more and more often. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2010-08-03 Confessions of an English opium eater Ep: 2
Thomas de Quincey is now nineteen, and about to be introduced to opium. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2010-08-02 Confessions of an English opium eater Ep: 1
Thomas de Quincey tells of his early years. For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast
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2010-07-30 Trouble Ep: 5
Travel writing may sound glamorous, but the reality is not always so.
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2010-07-29 Trouble Ep: 4
Kate talks about her years in the corporate world, as a speech writer for a major Wall Street bank.
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2010-07-28 Trouble Ep: 3
Kate talks about the debilitating migraines she suffers.
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2010-07-27 Trouble Ep: 2
As an adolescent, Kate was captivated by Dusty Springfield.
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2010-07-26 Trouble Ep: 1
Kate yearns to escape small-town Australia of the 1960s.
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2010-07-22 Personal history Ep: 1
An extract from Personal History, which is Roo Borson's series of eight essays in the belles-lettres tradition, reflecting on place, personal history and memory.
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2010-07-21 Shy young thing Ep: 1
It may seem strange that someone who has worked in various occupations that bring her into contact with a diverse range of people could suffer dreadfully from shyness, but that is the case. Sian explains the apparent contradictions, and how she tries to tackle the problem.
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2010-07-20 Shopping for values Ep: 1
Paul is pondering a question that torments many parents - how to instill what you consider to be worthwhile values into your children, to mitigate the effects of advertising and modern consumer culture upon them.
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2010-07-19 A little train of thoughts Ep: 1
Anne is an emerging writer whose work has appeared in various journals and anthologies. She was born and raised in Melbourne but a while back made a tree-change, and now lives in the beautiful old gold rush town of Kyneton, in central Victoria, commuting back into Melbourne for work. We join Anne and a dear friend of hers for the journey.
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2010-07-16 Hoi polloi Ep: 10
Craig learns the proper meaning of the expression hoi polloi, and realises the irony of his mothers desperate social climbing
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2010-07-15 Hoi polloi Ep: 9
The young Craig is now approaching manhood. Theres hair sprouting on his chin, and the pangs of an inchoate desire for a woman named Genevieve.
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2010-07-14 Hoi polloi Ep: 8
Craig is accepted into what his mother considers the `right kind of school. But the behaviour he observes from the boys there leaves a lot to be desired. Is this how the hoi polloi should act? Please note that this episode contains strong language.
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2010-07-13 Hoi polloi Ep: 7
Winks seems to spend most of his time at Randwick racecourse, so Craig ponders what his father actually does for a living?
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2010-07-12 Hoi polloi Ep: 6
Craig becomes disturbed by some of the things he sees at the race track, not least of which is the way Winks behaves with the girlies who fraternize in the Members Bar.
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2010-07-09 Hoi polloi Ep: 5
Heels has decided young Craig needs a religion if he is to get into a school with genuine class.
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2010-07-08 Hoi polloi Ep: 4
The Sherborne's make the big move from New Zealand to Sydney.
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2010-07-07 Hoi polloi Ep: 3
Craig's drinking problem is discovered by his parents.
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2010-07-06 Hoi polloi Ep: 2
Heels finds the clientale of the pub very distasteful. Please note that this episode contains strong language.
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2010-07-05 Hoi polloi Ep: 1
Craig introduces us to his mother and father, Heels and Winks. Please note that this episode contains strong language.
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2010-06-25 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
Geraldine returns to Cairo and takes on that most distinctive art form of the Middle East - the belly dance.
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2010-06-24 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
Geraldine attends a sporting event exclusively for Muslim women.
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2010-06-23 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
In Saudi Arabia Geraldine meets a fellow journalist who explains the difficulties facing women in the ultra-conservative Islamic society.
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2010-06-22 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
In Saudi Arabia Geraldine is disheartened by what she learns about the status of, and opportunities available to, its women.
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2010-06-21 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
Geraldine is granted a private audience with Queen Noor of Jordan.
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2010-06-18 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
Geraldine meets some women who are serving in the armed forces of the Arab Emirates.
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2010-06-17 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
Geraldine meets some Western women who have married Muslim men, adopted Islam, and moved to the Middle East.
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2010-06-16 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
In Iraq Geraldine observes a traditional wedding.
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2010-06-15 Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of...
Geraldine travels to Iran to meet the widow of the Ayatollah Khomeini.
Recommended Shows
PROGRAM INFORMATION
- Melbourne, Vic
- Nonfiction, Public Radio
- ABC (Australia)
- English
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First Person
GPO Box 9994
Melbourne VIC 3001(03) 9626 1656 -
Visit the station website
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