Sydney Writers' Festival

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-AU

About the show

Australia's largest celebration of literature, stories and ideas. Bringing together the world's best authors, leading public intellectuals, scientists, journalists and more. Subscribe to our channel for new releases.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 12, 202659 min

An Evening with Patrick Radden Keefe

His deeply researched and intricately crafted non-fiction has captivated the world. Award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker and bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe is known for his international bestsellers, including the Baillie Gifford Prize–winning Empire of Pain and National Book Critics Circle Award–winning Say Nothing. His newest work, London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, starts with the tragic death of a teenager, swiftly revealing modern London’s terrifying underworld. Listen to Patrick unpack his riveting catalogue of true stories of greed, power and violence, in conversation with Walkley Award-winning writer Sarah Krasnostein. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media: Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 5, 202654 min

Yann Martel: Son of Nobody

The story of the Trojan War, like so many wars real and imagined, is a story most often told by the victors, the princes and the powerful. In this new imagining of the ancient legend, Son of Nobody, Yann Martel tells the familiar tale from an unheard perspective: that of a commoner and goatherd who becomes a soldier, Psoas, the son of nobody. Acclaimed for his Booker Prize–winning Life of Pi, adapted into an Oscar-winning film, Yann’s first novel in a decade sings a universal song about the power of story. Unravel ancient traditions with Yann, in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Claire Nichols (The Book Show). This episode was recorded live in May at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media: Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 28, 202655 min

Amitav Ghosh in Conversation

An incomparable storyteller, lucid analyst and eloquent polemicist, acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh’s rich body of fiction and non-fiction work has shaped our contemporary understanding of history and the environment. Listen in as Amitav reflects on his career and range of bestselling books including the Ibis trilogy, ground-breaking non-fiction in The Great Derangement and The Nutmeg’s Curse and his newest novel Ghost-Eye, set in 1960s Calcutta. Explore the themes of history, post-colonialism and environmentalism behind his ongoing work, in conversation with Michael Williams. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media: Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 22, 202653 min

Florence Knapp: The Names

[Content warning: Family violence] Instant bestseller and “best debut novel in years” (The Sunday Times) starts in a literal and metaphorical storm. While registering her son’s birth, Cora faces a decision that could change his life: what will she name him? Her options – Bear, Julian or Gordon – each come with their own legacies, expectations and risks. In The Names, novelist Florence Knapp tells a powerful story of darkness and hope through three vastly different versions of a boy’s life. Explore the profound force of family with Florence, in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Claire Nichols (The Book Show). This episode was recorded live in May at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media: Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 16, 202655 min

David Szalay: Flesh

In a novel, the words on the page are our entrance into another’s mind. But sometimes it’s the space between the lines that define a character. In David Szalay’s 2025 Booker Prize–winning Flesh, István is caught between the boundaries of Hungary and England, his teenage years and adulthood, his body and sense of self and desire and indifference. With spare, propulsive prose, David paints an intimate portrait of a man slowly unravelling as he asks profound questions about the strangeness of being. Hear David trace the evolution of his singular novel and its protagonist, in conversation with Michelle de Kretser. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media: Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 8, 202658 min

Lyse Doucet: The Finest Hotel in Kabul

The history of the Kabul Inter-Continental Hotel is the history of a nation. Built in 1969, it has stood through Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a civil war, a US invasion and waves of Taliban control. Legendary international war correspondent Lyse Doucet arrived at the ‘Inter-Con’ for the first time in 1988. The Finest Hotel in Kabul chronicles 40 years of visits, during which Lyse reported on events that made world news and formed intimate connections with the people of Kabul. Listen as Lyse reflects on the story of modern Afghanistan as told by its people, in conversation with Debbie Whitmont. This episode was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival.  If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.   Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.   After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media: Instagram: @sydwritersfest Facebook: @SydWritersFest TikTok: @sydwritersfest See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 1, 202658 min

Mick Herron in Conversation

In the latest instalment of Mick Herron’s internationally bestselling series, palms are itching among Jackson Lamb’s cohort of misfit spies.A legendary former spy’s missing book, a state secret and some mischievous blackmail: which underhanded action will rock the carefully calibrated boat of Slough House? An instant Sunday Times bestseller and continuation of the adapted Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, Clown Town is a spy thriller with a witty twist and an unforgettable band of characters.    Listen as Mick reveals details about the evolution of the Slough House thrillers and what comes next, in conversation with Michael Williams. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media: Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

March 10, 202642 min

2026 Program Announcement: Yumi Stynes and Ann Mossop

Join Yumi Stynes and Artistic Director Ann Mossop as they discuss the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival program. The pair talk about the 2026 Festival theme, Show Me The Truth, and how fiction, poetry and creative writing and bring us closer to the truth. Unpack the program and get a glimpse behind the scenes of the Sydney Writers' Festival office. The 2026 Sydney Writers' Festival is out now. Head to our website to explore the program: https://www.swf.org.au/ Tickets on sale Saturday 14 March at 10am. Thank you to 2SER for facilitating the recording of this podcast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

February 24, 202652 min

A.C. Grayling on Cancel Culture

‘Cancel culture’ may seem like a 21st century invention sparked by contemporary politics and stoked by social media, sometimes with deadly consequences.However, as philosopher A.C. Grayling illustrates in Discriminations: Making Peace in the Culture Wars, disagreement and public shaming are ancient traditions. Learn how ‘cancel culture’ evolved and what effect it’s having on intellectual discourse. Festival favourite A.C. Grayling searches for a middle ground in an environment where everything is up for debate. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

February 11, 202650 min

Ian Rankin: Master of Crime

Detective Inspector John Rebus first hit bookshelves in 1987 as a witty Scottish crime fighter but now the legendary detective is behind bars himself, living a literal locked-room mystery. Midnight and Blue is Ian Rankin at his tense and thrilling best, mixing the police procedural genre with a literary character study of his best-known detective and his home city of Edinburgh. Explore the latest instalment of the Inspector Rebus series and reflect on Ian’s bestselling career in crime writing, with television adaptations and translation into more than 20 languages. In conversation with Michael Williams. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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