Hamish Blake on his surprising lack of skills – and being comfortable in chaos

Hamish Blake has made a career (and a pretty decent fortune) from being a bumbling, nice-guy Mr Everyman – on radio, on podcasts, on TV and, occasionally, in movies. But after more than two decades in the public eye, much of it with his professional brother-in-arms Andy Lee, Blake admits he hasn't developed much by way of skills other than talking for a living. And that's the premise of his new show, Unskilled Adult, in which he sets about learning some proper, grown-up abilities, simply by doing stuff – for real clients, for real money. In this episode, the Lego Masters host talks about the genuine sense of inadequacy that underpins his latest foray into good-natured self-mockery, what he actually learnt along the way, and whether his goofball efforts to master carpentry, welding, cooking and more in the blink of an eye run the risk of alienating his core audience. Today’s conversation is hosted by senior culture writer Karl Quinn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Seymour is an artist who has lived many musical lives. He was the founder and frontman of notable Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors, but he started out in his family choir. He’s sung solo acoustic gigs, and inadvertently created one of the great sporting anthems from a song inspired by a Jeanette Winterson novel.Soon Seymour will bring his old hits to life with a full symphony orchestra for a one-off concert in Melbourne.Seymour tells special correspondent Stephen Brook what keeps him writing, what his religious parents thought of his music and whether he is still in touch with his old bandmates.And after he is done talking, as a special treat for Good Weekend Talks listeners, Seymour serenades us with an acoustic version of one of the Hunters’ much loved ballads.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2000-year-old philosophy of stoicism is having a moment – and no one has popularised it for a modern audience more than American author Ryan Holiday. The college dropout turned marketer has written 13 books, including The Obstacle Is the Way and Discipline Is Destiny, and his Daily Stoic email and social media accounts reach millions of people. In this episode, we ask Holiday a few questions, including: What does Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius's book Meditations have to teach us about how to live in the 21st century? And what can we learn from the former slave Epictetus? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Hosting our conversation today is Good Weekend senior writer Gay Alcorn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the cusp of 65, Bonnie Garmus published her debut novel Lessons in Chemistry. It was a global sensation and the copywriter, who had a previous manuscript rejected by publishers 98 times, sold almost 10 million copies and enjoyed being co-executive producer when it was made into an eight-part streaming hit starring Brie Larson.  Today, Garmus talks about her new novel Peck & Peck, which explores – through a delightfully-named young man Batter Gray – the themes of art in a time of pragmatism, and empathy in a world driven by technology intended “to make money, not make what is worthwhile”.  The US-born, now UK-based Garmus also opens up about the importance of poetry, explaining why she reads a new poem every day and how that ritual has changed her. Plus: her 5am starts, the work of writing and rewriting – and beginning anew when everyone believes your time is done. Today’s conversation is hosted by National Books Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Melanie Kembrey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not too much of an overstatement to say that for over 30 years, Michael Pollan's books have helped reshape conversations about industrial food systems, animal consciousness and our obligations to other living things. His new book, A World Appears, is about plant sentience – an immersive exploration of how plants exhibit thinking and memory-like behaviours, respond to physical threats, favour their own species and supply nutrients to struggling neighbouring plants. In this episode, Pollan discusses compelling new research that argues humans are far from the only living entities exhibiting sentience and indeed, "exquisite" awareness of their environment. Today’s conversation is hosted by Good Weekend senior writer Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melbourne-born Suzie Miller's background as a lawyer has influenced the 40-odd plays she has written, many of which feature strong social-justice themes. Best known among those works are the award-winning Prima Facie, which has been staged in Sydney, Melbourne and London, and Inter Alia, which premiered in London last year and opens on Broadway in November.In Miller's new play, Strong is the New Pretty, she tells the story of the birth of the women's Australian Football League, the AFLW, as it moves from pipe dream to sensation.In this episode, Miller talks to deputy opinion editor Margot Saville about sport, feminism and the manosphere. Further reading: ‘Do we want a world that reflects a kind of tech-bro zone? I don’t think so’: Suzie Miller on raising sons See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australians know Judith Lucy as the comedian with a sardonic wit and no-fear attitude to mining her personal life, from her unconventional upbringing and numerous disastrous relationships, to drinking too much and the indignities of ageing. For over three decades, life was work for Lucy – until it wasn't. In 2023, she had a burnout, and she's turned her discoveries from that experience into a book about deep exhaustion. In today's episode, Judith Lucy opens up about what fulfilment means for her, and the special guilt associated with burning out when you are middle-class and middle-aged.  She talks to Good Weekend senior writer Gay Alcorn about everything from ayahuasca ceremonies and faecal transplants to finally asking herself, in her 50s, what she wants her life to look like. And just a heads-up, this episode contains some strong language.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At just 19, Alexa Leary was a champion triathlete when she suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in an horrific cycling accident. She wasn't expected to survive the crash, but she beat the odds, learning to walk, talk and live again – even jumping back in the pool with renewed purpose, winning two gold medals and one silver at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. In this episode of Good Weekend Talks, Leary talks to Konrad Marshall about living with traumatic brain injury and dealing with acute memory loss, and also reflects on her life before the accident. Now 25, Leary has released a song, Closer, and a biography – Sink or Swim: Defying the Odds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bram Connolly is the type of person you want as a neighbour if there's ever a crisis or an emergency on your street.Connolly spent 20 years in the Australian special forces navigating the world's most dangerous landscapes, from Afghanistan to Somalia, so he knows how to stay cool in the heat of battle – and in unplanned moments in daily civilian life.The founder of Hindsight Leadership and Resilience says preparedness begins with situational awareness and controlling emotions like stress and anxiety. In this episode, Connolly discusses his new book, 100 Ways I Almost Died, which features compelling stories of survival during his years as a special forces commander, while also providing life lessons for these increasingly unstable times. This episode is hosted by Good Weekend senior writer Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian journalist Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times, is perhaps best known for his hard-hitting interviews with US President Donald Trump. Most famous was his August 2020 exchange with Trump, in which Swan's real-time fact-checking (and incredulous facial expressions) while listening to the president's muddled assertions earned the then 35-year-old reporter an Emmy award. Now Swan has teamed up with fellow Times journalist and Trump expert Maggie Haberman to write "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump". It's a withering behind-the-scenes look at how Trump has consolidated executive power in his second term, stripping away institutional checks and balances while padding the bank accounts of his family.Swan, who is the son of ABC broadcaster Dr Norman Swan and a former reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald, speaks with Good Weekend senior writer Greg Callaghan about what like to be face-to-face with, as Swan describes, the most consequential US president of a lifetime. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.