'I've got to work out who the hell this guy is:' The true story behind 'Fake'

In this episode, we speak with former Good Weekend staff writer Stephanie Wood. Stephanie's 2017 story about her real-life relationship with a man who deceived her with a web of lies received an incredible response from readers, such that she left the magazine to write a book about the experience, Fake, which was published in 2019. That story has now been turned into an eight-part TV series starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham, premiering on Paramount Plus on July 4. On today's podcast, Wood discusses that long-ago relationship, why she thinks her experience resonated so much with readers, what it's like to see Asher Keddie playing her – and whether this lemons-to-lemonade tale means all the heartache was worth it in the end. With host, Good Weekend editor Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak to Tamsyn Manou (née Lewis). The former track star long ago traded her running shoes for the microphone, and is headed to France next month as a Nine Wide World of Sports expert athletics commentator. In this chat, she takes us into everything from the headspace occupied by aspiring Olympians right now, to the things she's most looking forward to seeing in Paris and the rise of middle-distance running in Australia. Hosting this conversation is chief reporter for The Age, Chip Le Grand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak to Max Chandler-Mather, the 32 year old Greens MP who's shaking up Canberra with his uncompromising take on the housing crisis. Chandler-Mather talks with Good Weekend senior writer Jane Cadzow about his own experience as a renter and how it feeds into his policies and politics, his success with door-knocking at the 2022 federal election, and what he thinks of the hecklers in federal parliament.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with retired Australian netball champion and TV presenter Liz Ellis, who was recently appointed chair of Netball Australia, following a series of crises. Netball was riven with issues last year, including a team departing the national league, a pay dispute with players, and the loss of critical national funding. Hosting the conversation - about the many problems facing an otherwise popular sport that's played by millions of women and girls (and, increasingly, men and boys) around the country - is The Age sports reporter Carla Jaeger.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with the chief executive of the Australian Academy of Science, Anna-Maria Arabia, who leads a growing band of people expressing concern about the evidence used to convict Robert Farquharson of the murder of his three sons. The Victorian father drove his car, with the three boys inside, into a dam on Father’s Day, 2005, for which he is serving a 33 year sentence. Arabia unpicks the evidence used in his case and calls for better science to be presented in the legal system in general. Hosting the episode is a journalist who’s spent months combing through the Farquharson evidence, Michael Bachelard, a senior writer with The Age.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Trial by Water is a new investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005. Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit? Episode 1 will arrive on Saturday, June 1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with documentary maker Ian Darling, whose latest movie - The Pool - is premiering at the Sydney Film Festival in June before a national cinema release. The film is a paean to Bondi Icebergs, a picturesque pool on the edge of Australia’s most famous beach. Hosting this episode, which explores Darling's shift from stockbroking to filmmaking, the meditative nature of swimming, the eclectic 'Bergs community, and the trials and tribulations of a 12-month outdoor shoot, is Good Weekend editor, Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we meet Rhanee Rego, the young Novocastrian who became interested in the case of Australia's "worst serial child killer", Kathleen Folbigg, when studying law. Six years later, Rego was instrumental in securing the release of Folbigg, who'd been jailed in 2003 for killing her four infant children. With Folbigg's convictions now quashed, Rego is working to secure what's expected to be one of the biggest compensation payouts in Australian legal history. Hosting the conversation is Good Weekend senior writer, Tim Elliott.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we meet Rachelle Unreich, Melbourne-based author of the book, A Brilliant Life: my mother's inspiring story of surviving the Holocaust. Recently shortlisted for The Age’s non-fiction book of the year, this mother-daughter memoir weaves the remarkable story of Rachelle's mother Mira, who survived four concentration camps from the age of 17, together with background about the Holocaust and Rachelle's own life. Hosting the episode, which explores both Rachelle and Mira's stories, the challenge of memory and the lessons learnt from the very worst - and best - of humanity, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we meet bestselling author Johann Hari, who has gone down an Ozempic rabbit hole to work out how and why this weight loss drug works. Hari writes about his findings in a new book, Magic Pill, including his own dramatic drop in clothes size. Whilst marvelling at how drugs like this are changing obesity management, he remains conflicted about their use and longer-term ramifications. Hosting the conversation is Good Weekend senior writer, Amanda Hooton. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.