Meet Hugh de Kretser - president of the Australian Human Rights Commission

In this episode, we talk to Hugh de Kretser. The president of the Australian Human Rights Commission has quite the job. Never has society been more polarised, with distressing displays of religious and ethnic hatred bursting onto our streets - while at the same time the relevance of the commission itself has been called into question. De Kretser, who gave up a promising corporate legal career to work in community law, is up for the challenge of defending the institution. But he’s also got to protect the rights of people caught up in the most contentious conflict of our time, the war in the Middle East and how it affects communities in Australia. He’s the topic of our cover story this week - Man in the Middle - and hosting our conversation is the writer of that profile, James Button.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Danielle de Niese. The internationally acclaimed soprano has dazzled audiences since childhood – from her breakthrough on the TV show Young Talent Time at just nine years old to starring on the world’s greatest opera stages. She joins us to chat about her life in music, and what keeps her voice – and spirit – so vibrant. Following a remarkable path which also includes an early Emmy win and teenage debut with the Los Angeles Opera, de Niese now has a passion for making opera feel fresh, cool and accessible to new audiences. Hosting this conversation – about everything from backstage rituals and vocal care to what it truly feels like to stand under stage lights and inhabit a role – is Spectrum editor Melanie Kembrey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Mark Dapin. Dapin is a veteran true crime writer, with a career including a stint as editor of the lad mag Ralph - but also as a columnist for Good Weekend. He has spent many, many hours with infamous hardened criminals, and now - for a story in the current issue of Good Weekend - has flipped sides to see through the eyes of aspiring police officers. Dapin - an irreverent but incisive and insightful writer - joins us today for a chat about that piece, but also the wild popularity of the true crime genre more generally, touching on his own encounters with the likes of hit man Chopper Read, and con man Jack Karlson (of “succulent Chinese meal” fame). And hosting this conversation - about kidnappers and murderers, and the darkness in us all - is Good Weekend acting editor Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Vincent Fantauzzo – the Melbourne portrait artist famous for hyperrealist renderings of a long list of prominent people. He’s painted movie stars (like Hugh Jackman), underworld figures (like Mick Gatto), politicians (like Julia Gillard), sporting heroes (like Oscar Piastri) and icons (like Michael Gudinski). Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall profiled Fantauzzo for a June cover story – "Keeping it real" – about not just his prize-winning works but his rough-and-tumble beginnings, which included more than mere brushes with violence and crime. As they discuss in this emotionally charged conversation, Fantauzzo endured a dysfunctional early life, not to mention an unhealthy dose of insecurity and shame over a learning disorder he kept hidden. He overcame all that to receive plaudits – and occasional brickbats – for his work so far, but his real mission is both simple and grand: “To Jamie Oliver the art world”.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Mark Brandi. The renowned crime novelist writes about outsiders: heroin addicts, former prisoners and child victims of poverty and violence – and joins us to chat about his new book, Eden, out on June 25. We take a look at Brandi's family background, including the racist, small-town harassment of his father – as well Brandi' earlier career in corrective services – both of which shed light on why he's drawn to people on the margins. Hosting this conversation about everything from growing up inside a country pub to working in the criminal justice system – and how good and bad luck changed Brandi’s life – is freelance writer Nicole Abadee.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to award-winning investigative journalist Patrick McGee, who for years led the Financial Times’ reporting on the meteoric rise of Apple Inc to become the world’s most valuable company after being on the brink of bankruptcy in 1996. As the iPod, iPhone and iPad revolutionised the way we live, Apple injected eye-watering amounts into China – more than $US50 billion a year by 2015 – training millions of engineers and assembly-line workers and endowing them with the skills to help propel China into the advanced manufacturing powerhouse it is today. While Apple cracked the code of making billions of dollars without actually owning the factories that produced its products, it became beholden to the Chinese once Xi Jinping came to power. With Xi weaponising the technology – and its supply chains – against the West, China now has, in McGee’s words, Apple “by the balls”. Hosting this conversation is Good Weekend acting editor Greg Callaghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Anthony Burke. You might know him as the ubiquitous host of multiple renovation TV shows on the national broadcaster, including Grand Designs Australia, Grand Designs Transformations and Restoration Australia. (He's even got a new one about Asian design, called Culture by Design.) Today, he shifts from sympathising with those in the midst of their own particular building dilemmas to offer more general advice to all of us who contemplate building or renovating what is usually our most valuable and emotional investment: the family home. Among other things, Burke gives us a checklist of dos and don'ts – and things to bear in mind when it comes to our own construction projects. Hosting this conversation is Good Weekend senior writer Amanda Hooton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we bring you the remarkable story of Miriam* (not her real name), a survivor of forced marriage. Often confused with arranged marriage, forced marriage means one person is not giving their full consent – sometimes due to coercion, deception, incapacitation or threats. Each year the Australian Federal Police deal with about 90 cases, although this is thought to represent a fraction of the problem, which was made a crime in Australia in 2013. Miriam escaped her fate by chipping away at the glue her parents had used to seal her window, and running away just one week before her planned wedding to a man she did not know. In today’s episode, we have changed her name, omitted some details, and also used AI technology to disguise her voice and protect her identity, for this difficult conversation about the feature story – "No Going Back" – which you can read in the pages of our magazine, by Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Hugh Allen. Allen, of course, was made executive chef of iconic three-hat Melbourne restaurant, Vue de Monde, at the tender age of 23. The son of a nurse and a paediatrician – both terrible cooks, it must be said – Allen was once marked at high school as a "struggling" student, but through food, he became a star. Allen just turned 30, yet has already enjoyed stints under chefs such as Neil Perry, Shannon Bennett and the esteemed René Redzepi from Copenhagen institution, Noma. He’s been a popular guest judge on MasterChef Australia, and last but not least, is opening his own Melbourne restaurant later this year, named Yiaga. To celebrate Good Weekend's annual Food & Wine issue, Allen joins senior writer Konrad Marshall for a chat about his life and career – and what’s new in the restaurant industry right now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

40/20 is a brand new NRL podcast from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. During this year's State of Origin and Finals series we'll be breaking down the biggest stories from across the game with the best journalists and NRL insiders from around the country. We'll be giving you press pass access as we breakdown the latest news, controversy and performances from the biggest matches in the Rugby League calendar. To listen to our episodes as soon as they drop follow 40/20 wherever you listen to podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.