Episodes

  • Denise Ho

    Denise Ho
    Nov 6 2020
    Denise Ho was always going to be an activist. The canto-pop superstar had built a massively successful music career and could’ve continued on her path of major-label success. But, in 2012, she became the first mainstream female singer in Hong Kong to come out as gay, and was promptly abandoned by much of the industry. She responded by setting up her own label and becoming a high-profile advocate for the LGBTQI community. In 2014, when huge pro-democracy protests broke out in Hong Kong, Denise’s activism went to a whole new level. She’s become one of the most prominent figures in the umbrella movement, spoken at the UN and all around the world, and continues to risk her own life and freedom on behalf of the cause. In this episode, she’s speaking with Benjamin Law at Antidote festival in 2019.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    36 mins
  • Zadie Smith

    Zadie Smith
    Oct 20 2020
    When 24 Year old Zadie Smith published her debut novel, White Teeth, in 2000, she became an instant literary superstar. Two decades and several more novels, short story and essay collections later, her voice remains every bit as relevant. Never one to follow a trend, her writing has earned a reputation for originality and intellectual independence. Head of Talks and Ideas Edwina Throsby spoke to Zadie Smith when she was visiting the Sydney Opera House in November 2019.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    48 mins
  • Soraya Chemaly

    Soraya Chemaly
    Mar 6 2020

    Feminists get a bad rap for being angry. But what would it be like if women were allowed to embrace their anger? American writer Soraya Chemaly has been calling for this shift for years. A prolific voice on the role of gender in culture and politics,  she has had a long career in media and technology. And, she has encountered a lot to be angry about. Her latest book, Rage Becomes Her is a celebration of female anger. It tackles the highly gendered way our culture regards anger, and questions why angry men are strong but angry women are crazy.

    This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    37 mins
  • Sohaila Abdulali

    Sohaila Abdulali
    Feb 25 2020

    Sohaila Abdulali did not want to write a book about her experience of being raped. It was a long time ago and she’d very much moved on with her life. But, after some articles she’d written about it went viral, she did write a book. 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape' is an incredible, genre-defying discussion of the troubling ways that rape and sexual violence are experienced and discussed. With no self-pity but much insight and a joyous character, she brings sensible, open thinking to an entirely taboo topic.

    Content Warning: this episode of It's A Long Story contains discussion of sexual violence. Support can be found at Lifeline: 13 11 14 and lifeline.org.au This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.

     

     


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    38 mins
  • Carolin Emcke

    Carolin Emcke
    Feb 18 2020
    How we define ourselves comes from a place of difference. At least that's what Carolin Emcke writes about in her book, How We Desire, which investigates gender and identity. But her own identity? Now that’s more complicated. Emcke has been reporting from war zones since the early 2000s, where she's witnessed and written about some of the most horrific acts humans are capable of. She is a fearless and completely original thinker on all things from the effect that atrocity has on those who are compelled to report upon it, to the ethics of journalism, to what it means to be queer today. This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    34 mins
  • Sarah Smarsh

    Sarah Smarsh
    Feb 11 2020

    Sarah Smarsh is the daughter of a teenaged mother, who was the daughter of a teenaged mother, who was the daughter of a teenaged mother. Born into a dirt-poor family in rural Kansas, Smarsh realised young that if she could get educated and not pregnant, she would be able to break the pattern of the women in her family. Her memoir, Heartland, is a wonderful tribute to those women, as well as a proud  insider’s look into a culture that is often mocked, reviled and misunderstood, and a searing critique of a political and economic system that entrenches inequality in America. 

    This episode is part of a six-part ‘It’s A Long Story’ series featuring alumni from our All About Women festival. All About Women returns to Sydney Opera House on 8 March 2020.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    40 mins