Recommendations
Do you enjoy listening to podcasts? I love to put them on to keep me company when I’m driving or folding washing, doing the dishes, that sort of thing. Sometimes I’ll opt for silence though, or music. Sometimes it’s good to simply think. For those moments when I need company, though, a podcast can be just the thing. Here are the top 3 that have cut through for me in recent weeks.
1. The Bravest Conversation We’ve Had: Andrea Gibson
We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle
This episode with Andrea Gibson is so worth a listen, even if you’re not a fan of Glennon Doyle. It talks about suicide and mortality, so this is a little warning in case you’re not comfortable with that. But I love where this podcast goes: straight to the heart of living. Andrea Gibson is an exciting poet. Google some of her poems – you’ll be blown away by their honesty. Andrea also has a terminal cancer diagnosis and hearing the raw power of her emotions, well, it’s a good way to put some pep in your step. This podcast is a courageous reminder of the short time we have available to us, and has some great advice on how to heighten our awareness of that reality.
2. Roanna McClelland on the gendered impacts of climate change
A Podcast of One's Own with Julia Gillard
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been hosting this podcast for a few years now and she has an amazing catalogue of guests. I’ll confess that I find her interviewing style a little wooden – can we have the real Julia, please? But her questions are astute and she’s so kind. I do wish she’d had a longer run at being our Prime Minister. This episode is a good one. It touches on some of my favourite topics: writing, climate, working parents and feminism. Roanna McClelland is an author, academic researcher, political adviser and Julia Gillard’s colleague. Roanna’s first book, The Comforting Weight of Water, is a dystopian tale set in a near future where it hardly ever stops raining.
3. The art of English, according to Benjamin Dreyer
Conversations, ABC
This one is for the writers and wannabes (like me!) who need a literary treat. Benjamin Dreyer is the copy chief at Random House and is also the author of Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. He has a biting wit and an intimidating command of the English language. But he’s also warm, and his humour and gentle self-deprecation make this talk – which took place recently at the Melbourne Writers Festival – a treat. He discusses the copyediting process, the trials and tribulations of making a book and, of course, language and style. It’s terrific that some of these talks are published for free online; it makes them so much more accessible to those of us who can’t get to every festival.
Happy listening! Catch you next week.