Category: Podcasts

  • Ep 18: Learning how to learn with Nardi Simpson, author of Song of the Crocodile

    “What I would ultimately like, you know, my huge big goal [for the book, is that] people can look back on this and say, ‘You know, there are bits in that – as a non-Indigenous person – I didn’t understand, but that’s okay, and I don’t need to acquire and learn and make meaning for […]

  • 2020: The reading year in review

    In 2020, I read far more fiction (61%) than non-fiction (39%). This is unusual for me; I generally prefer non-fiction. But it continues a trend that started in 2019. I suspect we all need more escapism these days. I continued to support Australian authors, women authors and debut authors, and aimed to read more authors […]

  • Ep 16: Living in different universes with Ada Palmer, author and historian

    In episode 16, James and I interview author and historian Ada Palmer about living with chronic pain and studying the past to imagine the future. She offers excellent advice to those managing invisible illness, while also acknowledging how hard it can be. Ada is an author of science fiction and fantasy, a historian at the […]

  • Ep 14: Moulding stories like clay with Elizabeth Tan

    Australian author Elizabeth Tan’s second short story collection, Smart Ovens for Lonely People, is full of humorous and poignant stories laced with pop-culture references and techno-slang, and set in an uncertain dystopian future or surrealities. Elizabeth’s comedy leaps out from story titles such as ‘Shirt Dresses that Look a Little Too Much Like Shirts so […]

  • Ep 13: Navigating creative anxiety with Kate Mildenhall

    In episode 13 of James and Ashley Stay at Home, we interview the legend herself, Kate Mildenhall. Kate’s debut novel Skylarking was longlisted for the Voss Literary Prize 2017 and the Indie Book Awards 2017. Kate co-hosts The First Time podcast with author Katherine Collette. Her latest novel, The Mother Fault, is out now in […]

  • Ep 12: Magic cures & snake oil with Petronella McGovern

    In episode 12 of James and Ashley Stay at Home, we talk to bestselling author Petronella McGovern about her new novel The Good Teacher. Petronella is a domestic thriller author and editor who grew up on a family farm outside Bathurst, NSW. After living in Canberra for a number of years, she moved to Northern […]

  • Ep 11: Stuff it up, we want to hate this too!

    In episode 11 of James and Ashley Stay at Home, we talk to London-based comedian Anthony Jeannot about getting into stand-up comedy (and what everyone says when you tell them you do stand-up), along with tips for anxiety management. It was only after Anthony quit six jobs in four months that someone suggested he might […]

  • Ep 10: Progressive weakness and loss of sensation

    In episode 10 of James and Ashley Stay at Home, we get real serious – or as serious as it’s possible for James and me to get. We talk about our respective diagnoses and how these illnesses erupted in our lives. James has chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, a neurological disorder that’s quite rare. CIDP has […]

  • Ep 9: The healing power of creativity

    When we invited Karin Foxwell on James and Ashley Stay at Home, she said, ‘my work as an art therapist is the best job in the world.’ Art therapy is a creative form of counselling, as Karin describes. Her work focuses on military and emergency service personnel who live with PTSD as an after-effect of trauma […]