Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half explores race and identity through a pair of twins whose lives diverge. She speaks to Kate Evans about the role of lynching in the narrative, about transformation, and about the importance of telling this a story such as this.

Jan Fran campaigns for the power of girls. Why is it that girls are still less likely to work and learn than boys? Why are girls still expected to adapt and keep the peace instead of speaking out? A major factor that empowers girls, is it to give them self-confidence at an early age and to tell them that the world is theirs to conquer.

Deborah Feldman, author of the memoir Unorthodox, speaks with Sarah Kanowski about growing up in an ultra-orthodox community, how she ultimately left it, and about self-determination and life now.

Kevin Kwan's hit satirical novel Crazy Rich Asians is loosely based on his own Singaporean family and the lavish lifestyle he experienced as a child. He speaks to Claire Nichols about cross-cultural identity and what happens when we demystify culture.

In her debut novel Let's Hope for the Best, Swedish writer Carolina Setterwall brilliantly interweaves the delights of falling in love and the searing grief of losing a partner.

Christos Tsiolkas is known for his fearless and uncompromising writing: from Loaded to The Slap and Damascus. In this conversation with Sarah L'Estrange, he reflects on his writing life and shares his insights on craft.

Malcolm Turnbull reflects on his time on politics, his achievements and the challenges he has faced during his time as 29th prime minister. In the past decade of climate and energy warfare in Australian federal politics, Malcolm Turnbull is the only leader to have lost his job over the issue twice. He talks with Annabelle Crabb about his new memoir A Bigger Picture.

In a moment where the world has had to pause, Julia Baird, author of Phosphorescence, and Trent Dalton, author of Boy Swallows Universe, speak to Meredith Lake about how we can learn to pay attention to the things that matter to us.

English writer Hilary Mantel, best known for her historical Wolf Hall series on the life of Thomas Cromwell, tells Kate Evans why she wrote the execution of her hero first.

Tony Birch and Tara June Winch tell Michael Cathcart about their latest novels: potent stories of survival and hope, which, along the way, reveal the transformative power of Indigenous languages.

Lawrence Wright on his novel The End of October about a pandemic that starts in Asia and sweeps the world in 2020.

Elizabeth Gilbert tells Geraldine Doogue about her depictions of women and women's agency, shame and scandal, and how City of Girls brings the history of New York to bristling, colourful life.

While the summer's bushfires raged, Dark Emu author Bruce Pascoe was caught in a continuing culture war over his Aboriginal identity. He tells Jonathan Green about the experience.

When adversity strikes, it is often a bolt out of the blue. So how do you bounce back from an unexpected trauma or tragedy?

Does evil exist in our world, or is it an excuse for the worst of human behaviour?

Crime is one of the most popular genres of popular fiction. So who is your favourite fictional detective?

Can LSD be used to help with post traumatic stress and depression?

The lines between the private and the workplace are getting blurred, especially in the areas of free speech and what we say on social media.

What are the ingredients of great teaching and great schools?

Sarah Perry is the renowned author of the Essex Serpent, and Melmoth is her new book. She is in conversation at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali.

Claire L Evans’s challenges the assumption that the history of computing is a story of men and their machines.

The Electric Hotel tells the story of a man's doomed obsession, as he crosses paths with many of the greats of early cinema in Hollywood.

Defamation is being by powerful people to control the media, and other individuals are pushing politcal agendas. So do the laws need to be changed, especially in the age of social media?

At the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali, historian Lucy Inglis talks about her book on all things opium - Milk of Paradise. Opium is commodity without rival. It's renewable, easy to extract and there's an insatiable global demand.

What to do with all our waste? From the personal, to the tonnes that we throw away every day?