The Weekend Read

Today on the show, author Sophie Cunningham on why we’re still logging native forests. She begins her story with the last sheafs of white office paper to ever be produced in Australia – the final sheet rolled off the mill in January of this year before it closed for good. What follows is her reporting on how and why native forests are still being cut down, despite our knowledge that this is not the best or most efficient way for us to source timber in this country. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Author Sophie Cunningham

Today, a tribute to publisher, poet and memoirist Robert Adamson. Robert died late last year and to mark that moment, The Monthly decided to posthumously republish two of his essays on a subject very dear to him: fishing. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Publisher, poet and memoirist, Robert Adamson.

As housing becomes less affordable and the search for adequate accommodation more desperate, Erin O’Dwyer investigates how we can escape from the urban sprawl. Erin looks at how the best intentions can go awry, as we try to build better homes. She makes the case that designing our homes doesn’t have to be a luxury and that as we build more and more of them to address the housing shortage, happiness for the people living in them shouldn’t be an afterthought. Listen to Erin read her piece, ‘Tree Change’, from The Saturday Paper. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Journalist and writer, Erin O’Dwyer

Clem Bastow reads her piece about borrowing teen magazines from the library. As a kid, Clem couldn’t afford the monthly price of Girlfriend Magazine, or Seventeen, or my personal favourite, Dolly. So the library became her gateway to fashion trends, makeup advice, and the hottest Home and Away stars.  As Clem got older and earned her own money, her relationship to libraries evolved. In her piece, Clem writes about class and shame, teen magazines and hope, and the always alluring sealed section. Clem’s article Library learning with ‘Dolly’ was written for The Saturday Paper. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Writer and critic, Clem Bastow Background reading: Library learning with ‘Dolly’

On this Weekend Read, chief political correspondent for the ABC’s 7.30 program Laura Tingle, with her piece from the summer issue of The Monthly. It’s called ‘A patch of land’, and in it she writes of the joys of tending and surrendering herself to a native garden, before bidding it a fond farewell after nearly 20 years. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Chief political correspondent for the ABC’s 7.30 program, Laura Tingle Background Reading: A Patch of Land

Today, on the Weekend Read, writer and artist Sarah Walker with her piece, “Little Breaks”, from The Monthly. It’s a story of joy and sadness in the ocean.  She writes of her time in the water as a beginner surfer, finding glee in shallow breaks.  But beyond the break, in the deeper water, there’s also loneliness, isolation and vulnerability. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Writer and artist, Sarah Walker Background Reading: Little Breaks

Today, author and farmer Sam Vincent, with his piece from the latest edition of The Monthly.  It explores how native Australian ingredients have gone from novelty to gourmet; now featured in some of the most acclaimed fine dining establishments in Australia. But what does the rise of culinary nationalism mean for the way we think about Australian food? Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Author and farmer, Sam Vincent Background Reading: Native foods in the Plate Southern Land

Today, author Cate Kennedy reads her piece from the latest edition of the Monthly.  Beginning in the first months of lockdown, it asks the question: why did so many people turn to collective song and music, while stuck in isolation? Choirs conducted over video chat and jam sessions in the digital world might not be a perfect replacement for the connection of performing together in a room – but it seemed like there was something essential in the act of coming together to create music. So what is it about song that can pull us out of isolation? Cate will read her story, ‘How lockdowns rekindled our need to sing together’ after a short conversation with the Editor of the 7am podcast, Scott Mitchell.  To hear more weekend reads, you can subscribe to 'The Weekend Read', in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Guest: Author, Cate Kennedy Background reading: How lockdowns rekindled our need to sing together

Today, journalist and author Jock Serong will be reading his piece from the latest issue. It's called 'Front-row seats to the end of the Reef' - in it he chronicles his residency at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and what coral tells us about the past and future of our oceans. Guest: Journalist and author, Jock Serong Background reading: Front-row seats to the end of the Reef

Today on the show, journalist and author Bronwyn Adcock will be reading her piece from the latest issue.  It follows the fate of Encep ‘Hambali’ Nurjaman - a man arrested as a central figure in the Bali Bombings nearly 20 years ago - and interrogates his fraught path to justice in the War on Terror, through CIA black spots and Guantanamo Bay, torture and rendition, and bureaucratic obfuscation.  Guest: Journalist and author, Bronwyn Adcock Background reading: The Trial in The Monthly.