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1 week ago | 
abc.net.au | Claire Nichols |Sarah L'Estrange |David Le May |Rhiannon Brown
Irish writer Eimear McBride revisits favourite characters on a rainy night, actor-turned-writer Tasma Walton dredges up a family story of abduction and James Bradley's crime novel about climate catastrophe. Irish writer Eimear McBride is a past winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction whose writing is celebrated for its originality and inventive use of language.
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2 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Claire Nichols |Anita Barraud |David Le May |Rhiannon Brown
Palestinian American playwright Betty Shamieh turns to fiction in Too Soon, a nuanced and lusty story of three generations of Palestinian women and the times that shape them. Australian author and TV screen writer Debra Oswald follows the eventful life of a gritty, strong woman in One Years of Betty. And in her biting satire Mother Tongue, Naima Brown asks, if you could change your life, could you live with what you left behind?
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3 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Jonathan Green |Kim Jirik |Carey Dell |Rhiannon Brown
In times of war, food and nourishment can determine victory or defeat. Welcome to the world of military food. Armies once lived off the land, but now they can live off a sealed, freeze-dried pouch. Imagining, making and storing combat-ready food leads global food science, which means that each and every one of us eats a little like a soldier.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Claire Nichols |Anita Barraud |David Le May |Rhiannon Brown
American writer Gregory Maguire joins Claire Nichols in a rare and revealing conversation about the evolution of his Wicked series that inspired the popular musical and movies. Once again, with Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, Gregory draws on the iconic Wizard of Oz characters and settings, this time concentrating on the childhood years of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Also, meet Nuzo Onoh, who is described as the African Queen of Horror.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Claire Nichols |Anita Barraud |David Le May |Rhiannon Brown
A small family lives on a remote island, the father a caretaker for the world's seeds. Then in the rising seas, a woman is washed up to shore. Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore is a mystery, a story of love, and a warning. Melbourne-based writer Sean Wilson offers an empathetic glimpse into the fractured mind of an elderly woman with dementia in his novella, You Must Remember This.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Jonathan Green |Kim Jirik |Matthew Crawford |Rhiannon Brown
If you were to list the world's best bakers working today, Richard Hart's name would have to be right near the top. After honing his craft at big-name bakeries in California, he teamed up with the world-famous Noma to open Hart Bageri in Copenhagen. His skills with sourdough are so well-known, he was even namechecked on The Bear. Richard recently published his first book. It's called Richard Hart Bread.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Claire Nichols |Anita Barraud |David Le May |Rhiannon Brown
A mother escapes a controlling husband. But that is just the beginning. Nesting, the debut novel from award-winning Irish writer Roisin O'Donnell takes us to the next step, finding a safe home. Also, English Ghanaian author Maame Blue, who now lives in Melbourne, on the struggles of uncovering memories in her novel The Rest of You, and in Love Unedited Australian author Caro Llewellyn explores a passionate romance between an editor and a writer.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Claire Nichols |Anita Barraud |David Le May |Rhiannon Brown
Award-winning Moroccan American author Laila Lalami imagines a world where the most intimate aspects of life are mined for data in her speculative fiction novel, The Dream Hotel. Australian Chinese writer Steve MinOn goes on a generational discovery tour with a corpse in his debut novel First Name Second Name. And Madeleine Ryan's The Knowing reflects on the anxieties of modern life and ambition.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Claire Nichols |Anita Barraud |David Le May |Rhiannon Brown
A story of finding family, Bernhard Schlink's latest novel The Granddaughter, examines the lingering impact of a divided Germany and the rise of the far right. Italian author and translator Vincenzo Latronico chronicles an expat couple living in Berlin and their search for authenticity in an age of social media in his novella Perfection. Also, Diana Reid's Signs of Damage, is a gripping psychological study of memory, trauma, and blurred morals, set in idyllic locations in Europe.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Jonathan Green |Kim Jirik |Matthew Crawford |Rhiannon Brown
If you took the sodium chloride out of human history, you would have a very different and strangely flavourless tale to tell. Salt has historically been one of the world's most valuable commodities. Its discovery, extraction and commodification has shaped the story of humanity. So, let's take a trip from the test tube to the kitchen, to salt tolerant plants that could revolutionise agriculture. This is an episode of Blueprint for Living, originally broadcast on March 24, 2018.
