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Stolen Focus - why you can't pay attention

Author Johann Hari argues our collective attention span is declining rapidly, and there are sinister reasons behind it.
a woman in a yellow cardigan is looking at her mobile phone with a worried expression
Duration: 36 minutes 58 seconds

Published: with Phillip Adams

Truganini: beyond the myth

For a long time she was misunderstood, erroneously known as the “last of her race”, and almost invariably depicted as tragic figure.  But there is so much more to indigenous Tasmanian woman, Truganini.
Truganini portrait image
Duration: 54 minutes 6 seconds

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Carly-Jay on dying, living, and learning to breathe

Carly-Jay Metcalfe lives with cystic fibrosis, and has faced a double lung transplant, a rare cancer and other huge medical challenges.
Duration: 52 minutes 24 seconds

Published: with Sarah Kanowski

Author Rick Morton on money

Rick Morton grew up with no money and no financial back up. His memoir 'One Hundred Years of Dirt' describes a childhood of desperate poverty in rural Queensland.
Author Rick Morton sits at a desk and stares thoughtfully into the distance
Duration: 15 minutes 4 seconds

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Helen Garner: This House of Grief

Nine years ago on Father’s Day near the town of Winchelsea in country Victoria an unthinkable tragedy happened.
Duration: 34 minutes 45 seconds

Published: with Natasha Mitchell

Jimmy Barnes: working class boy

From working class boy to working class man - the story of Jimmy Barnes' upbringing is one of abuse, violence, gangs and constant poverty - from freezing Glasgow to stinking hot Elizabeth in Adelaide.
Duration: 42 minutes 55 seconds

Published: with Ellen Fanning

John Lyons' Balcony Over Jerusalem

The ABC's Global Affairs Editor John Lyons has just returned from his third assignment in Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas. 
The aftermath of Gaza's hospital explosion
Duration: 9 minutes 50 seconds

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Embracing the courage to be disliked

Japanese philosopher holds the keys to a happy work life. Or does he?
Duration: 24 minutes 59 seconds

Published:

Elizabeth Kolbert - The Sixth Extinction

The fifth extinction wiped out the dinosaurs. The sixth extinction has begun.
Duration: 10 minutes 1 second

Published: with Robyn Williams

Girt Nation: a humorous history

David Hunt brings something quite different to the topic of Australian history and that's humour.
portrait of the author david hunt + Girt nation book cover
Duration: 23 minutes 38 seconds

Published: with Phillip Adams

Killing For Country: A Family Story

Journalist, David Marr has written a book detailing his ancestors' role on the colonial frontier as part of the Native Police. 
Duration: 40 minutes 30 seconds

Published: with Larissa Behrendt

Top 100 Books with Colum McCann, Kate Grenville and Kaliane Bradley

Discover the favourite books from the 21st century of Colum McCann, Kate Grenville and Kaliane Bradley who share their best reads for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books.  
Logo of Radio National's Top 100 Books countdown
Duration: 53 minutes 57 seconds

Published: with Claire Nichols

Sydney Writers' Festival: Top 100 Books launched with Alan Hollinghurst, Catherine Chidgey, Mariana Enriquez, Afra Atiq

What books have shaped the 21st century so far?
Group of speakers on a black stage with an audience, featuring an ABC Radio National banner and event signage above.
Duration: 55 minutes 6 seconds

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"Shimmering" and "strikingly new" — Siang Lu wins Miles Franklin Literary Award

“Shimmering” and “strikingly new”—Siang Lu takes out the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award with Ghost Cities, his razor-sharp satire of the film world.
Siang Lu
Duration: 24 minutes 4 seconds

Published: with Claire Nichols

'Sorrow, grief, horror': Kate Grenville confronts her settler ancestry

Two decades after The Secret River, Kate Grenville looks back into her family history—this time with fresh questions. What does it mean to live on land taken from others?
seated woman with grey hair, glasses and a blue scarf looking directly into the camera
Duration: 54 minutes 4 seconds

Published: with David Marr

Mates, Murders & Media: Paul Daley, Michael Brissenden and Chris Hammer on writing crime novels

From press gallery to plot twists—Chris Hammer, Michael Brissenden, and Paul Daley swap journalism for crime fiction. The trio talk politics, page-turners, and why Australia makes the perfect crime scene. 
A wire fence on a dusty outback track.
Duration: 23 minutes 49 seconds

Published:

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