In this episode we speak with Markus Zusak, the bestselling novelist behind The Book Thief and Bridge of Clay, who has penned his first non-fiction book, Three Wild Dogs and the Truth, about Reuben, Archer and Frosty, the pound dogs he and wife Mika brought into their family. Zusak talks about the mad mayhem of sharing your life with a mongrel, and the importance of stripping away the veneer through which we so often view life, to expose its more messy reality. Hosting this conversation, in which Zusak discusses the conundrum of how much is too much to spend on a dog's dodgy knees, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, who broke through two decades ago with her hit debut album The Sound of White, which dealt with teen and 20-something troubles. Now 41, Higgins has just produced a new album, The Second Act, which traverses the aftermath of the breakdown of her marriage. Higgins talks candidly with Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe about taking the audience with her on her life journey, the travails of songwriting and dating whilst being a single mum - and the joys of touring with a mostly female support crew. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Jason Arrow, otherwise known as Australia's Alexander Hamilton. The South African-born, Perth-raised performer won the role for the musical's 2021 Sydney premiere, and has since played the titular character in Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland, Manila, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Hosting this conversation about everything from how he remembers all those words, to how he winds down post-show, to why he initially preferred the character of Aaron Burr in the story of America's forgotten founding father, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Anna Marsden, managing director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Back in 2018, Marsden’s life changed overnight when she received news from then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull that the federal government was granting the foundation a record-breaking $443 million to help fortify the reef against the ravages of climate change. It was a controversial decision – the foundation was then a relatively small Brisbane-based conservation organisation and Turnbull’s political opponents labelled it a “captain’s call” – but six years down the track, funding has been allocated for a host of coral-saving projects. Marsden chats with Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe about what's been achieved to date, and the overall state of the reef following another bleaching event last summer, the fifth since 2016. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with best-selling author and social commentator, Roxane Gay. A decade after the publication of her much-talked-about book, Bad Feminist, Gay offers her unapologetic views on everything from body image, to writer's block, to the likelihood of Kamala Harris becoming America's first female president, to her current writing projects, which include - surprisingly - a romance novel with actor Channing Tatum. Hosting this conversation is senior writer and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, Jacqueline Maley. Roxane Gay will appear at Carriageworks in Sydney, as part of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (24-25 August) and at Melbourne Town Hall (27 August), presented by the Wheeler Centre and Now or Never. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with author Theodore Ell. From 2018 to 2021, Ell accompanied his wife on her diplomatic posting to Lebanon, and unexpectedly found himself a witness to a country on the brink. His new book, Lebanon Days, takes in an economic meltdown, mass protests and finally, tragically, the Beirut port explosion of 2020. Hosting this episode is Good Weekend deputy editor, Greg Callaghan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with the federal member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, who was swept into Canberra on a "teal wave" at the 2022 election. Spender talks candidly with The Sydney Morning Herald associate editor Deborah Snow about the aftermath of the April stabbings at Bondi Junction, the impact of war in Gaza on her constituents, and her determination to push tax reform onto the national agenda. Spender speaks also about the work ethic she inherited from her mother, the late fashion designer Carla Zampatti, and how her father, former Liberal MP John Spender, urged her not to run. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Matthew Evans, the Australian chef and restaurant critic turned Tassie farmer and food writer. Evans, who has written a new book called Milk, talks about the science behind dairy products, the truth and lies around them - and answers the curly question of whether cheese dreams are real. Hosting the conversation, in which Evans also discusses the big issues facing food producers, is the national editor of Good Food, Ardyn Bernoth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with economics commentator Cameron Murray, author of the book, The Great Housing Hijack, which looks at the factors behind Australia's housing crisis. Murray was one of the few who predicted the boom in home prices after the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosting a conversation that covers Murray's analysis of the underlying causes of the problem, international templates for improvements and the role of social housing in the solution is Good Weekend deputy editor, Greg Callaghan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Nedd Brockmann. The 25 year old sparky captured the attention of the country in 2022 when he ran from Perth to Sydney, raising $2.5 million for homelessness in the process. With a second book and a Kayo documentary in the works, he’s now come up with a new way to challenge himself - and hopefully break a world record. Hosting the conversation with Brockmann is Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with former Good Weekend staff writer Stephanie Wood. Stephanie's 2017 story about her real-life relationship with a man who deceived her with a web of lies received an incredible response from readers, such that she left the magazine to write a book about the experience, Fake, which was published in 2019. That story has now been turned into an eight-part TV series starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham, premiering on Paramount Plus on July 4. On today's podcast, Wood discusses that long-ago relationship, why she thinks her experience resonated so much with readers, what it's like to see Asher Keddie playing her – and whether this lemons-to-lemonade tale means all the heartache was worth it in the end. With host, Good Weekend editor Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak to Tamsyn Manou (née Lewis). The former track star long ago traded her running shoes for the microphone, and is headed to France next month as a Nine Wide World of Sports expert athletics commentator. In this chat, she takes us into everything from the headspace occupied by aspiring Olympians right now, to the things she's most looking forward to seeing in Paris and the rise of middle-distance running in Australia. Hosting this conversation is chief reporter for The Age, Chip Le Grand. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak to Max Chandler-Mather, the 32 year old Greens MP who's shaking up Canberra with his uncompromising take on the housing crisis. Chandler-Mather talks with Good Weekend senior writer Jane Cadzow about his own experience as a renter and how it feeds into his policies and politics, his success with door-knocking at the 2022 federal election, and what he thinks of the hecklers in federal parliament. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with retired Australian netball champion and TV presenter Liz Ellis, who was recently appointed chair of Netball Australia, following a series of crises. Netball was riven with issues last year, including a team departing the national league, a pay dispute with players, and the loss of critical national funding. Hosting the conversation - about the many problems facing an otherwise popular sport that's played by millions of women and girls (and, increasingly, men and boys) around the country - is The Age sports reporter Carla Jaeger. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with the chief executive of the Australian Academy of Science, Anna-Maria Arabia, who leads a growing band of people expressing concern about the evidence used to convict Robert Farquharson of the murder of his three sons. The Victorian father drove his car, with the three boys inside, into a dam on Father’s Day, 2005, for which he is serving a 33 year sentence. Arabia unpicks the evidence used in his case and calls for better science to be presented in the legal system in general. Hosting the episode is a journalist who’s spent months combing through the Farquharson evidence, Michael Bachelard, a senior writer with The Age. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Trial by Water is a new investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005. Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit? Episode 1 will arrive on Saturday, June 1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with documentary maker Ian Darling, whose latest movie - The Pool - is premiering at the Sydney Film Festival in June before a national cinema release. The film is a paean to Bondi Icebergs, a picturesque pool on the edge of Australia’s most famous beach. Hosting this episode, which explores Darling's shift from stockbroking to filmmaking, the meditative nature of swimming, the eclectic 'Bergs community, and the trials and tribulations of a 12-month outdoor shoot, is Good Weekend editor, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we meet Rhanee Rego, the young Novocastrian who became interested in the case of Australia's "worst serial child killer", Kathleen Folbigg, when studying law. Six years later, Rego was instrumental in securing the release of Folbigg, who'd been jailed in 2003 for killing her four infant children. With Folbigg's convictions now quashed, Rego is working to secure what's expected to be one of the biggest compensation payouts in Australian legal history. Hosting the conversation is Good Weekend senior writer, Tim Elliott. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we meet Rachelle Unreich, Melbourne-based author of the book, A Brilliant Life: my mother's inspiring story of surviving the Holocaust. Recently shortlisted for The Age’s non-fiction book of the year, this mother-daughter memoir weaves the remarkable story of Rachelle's mother Mira, who survived four concentration camps from the age of 17, together with background about the Holocaust and Rachelle's own life. Hosting the episode, which explores both Rachelle and Mira's stories, the challenge of memory and the lessons learnt from the very worst - and best - of humanity, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we meet bestselling author Johann Hari, who has gone down an Ozempic rabbit hole to work out how and why this weight loss drug works. Hari writes about his findings in a new book, Magic Pill, including his own dramatic drop in clothes size. Whilst marvelling at how drugs like this are changing obesity management, he remains conflicted about their use and longer-term ramifications. Hosting the conversation is Good Weekend senior writer, Amanda Hooton. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.