Larrikins occupy a revered space in Australian culture. Variously knockabout blokes, outlaws or rebels, larrikins can seemingly get away with anything and do it with a smile. A larrikin is the sort of bloke who'd steal the wool off your sheep and then ask you to knit him a jumper he'd quickly pull over your eyes. Lech Blaine is the author of the new Quarterly Essay 'Top Blokes - The Larrikin Myth, Class and Power'. In this special preview Lech joins Andrew to discuss the evolution of the larrikin and try to pinpoint the moment when larrikinism got co-opted by powerful forces.

In 2005 Oli Groves’ life is a hot mess. She’s comfortably bouncing between partying and life as a junior reporter. So it is one morning when she stumbles into possibly the biggest story of her life, the notorious Housemate Homicide. Ten years later, Oli looks like she’s got it all. On paper. That is until the Housemate Homicide case is reignited when one of the missing housemates turns up dead, dragging up ghosts from the past. And Oli is learning that paper may not have the future she thought it did. Join me as we discover Sarah Bailey ’s The Housemate...

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Since the death of her husband Ray, Michael has felt his mother Ruth is struggling to manage. He’s arranged a room for her at Banksia House and sold the family home. When Michael delivers Ruth to Banksia House; he doesn’t think she can look after herself and he doesn’t want to be bothered with it. But Ruth has a mission; she has to get to Brisbane to farewell her oldest friend. With no money and no car though it won’t be easy. So Ruth and her new friends Beryl and Jean hatch a plan Join me as we discover James Roxburgh ’s The Banksia House Breakout...

Today I’ve got an exciting True Crime fiction that hits all the highs, is clever and suspenseful and has a lot to say about our world whilst harkening us back to the 90’s. Ruth McIver's I Shot the Devil Ruth McIver is a Dublin born, Melbourne based writer. She won the 2018 Richell Prize for an emerging writer and the product of that win is her new novel I Shot the Devil. In I Shot the Devil, Reporter Erin Sloane returns to her home town of Southport. Her Dad’s dying and although though they haven’t always had the best relationship, he’s her only family. This is no nostalgia trip though. Erin’s editor has received a tip off about the notorious Southport Three, a group of teens implicated in a satanic murder in the 90s. Erin’s charged to write a story about the group and their legacy. It’s the sort of story that could make her career. But Erin is also a part of the story; she hasn’t told her editor that back in high school she was dating one of the killers.

One moment. That’s all it takes to topple Luca’s dream of joining the Australian Ballet School. One misstep and Luca is propelled from Arabesques to Netflix with no chill in a Moonboot on the couch. Luca thinks losing Ballet means losing himself. It was basically his whole identity. Now he’s at North; no friends, no dance and a lot of homophobia from the jocks. But then there’s the cute guy at Luca’s OT appointments. Maybe the cascade of events of that misstep will show Luca there was always so much more to life than he’d imagined... Join me as we discover Tobias Madden ’s Anything But Fine...

The Banksia House Breakout is the debut novel for James Roxburgh. James is an audiologist specialising in the care of the elderly and has used his caring eye to create some compelling characters that challenge our stereotypes of aging. The Banksia House Breakout opens with a quintessentially Sydney scene. An auctioneer slams the gavel on another million dollar sale. Today I have brought in what I think more than a few of us need… a north coast road trip for the mind featuring lovable heroes and easy to hate villains. I can’t promise life will always be this straightforward, but indulge with me in the world of The Banksia House Breakout and enjoy a few days in the sun.

Robyn lives a quiet life on her heritage protected island. It’s once a month she has to deal with the noise of teenagers arriving for a boot camp aimed to help them back on track. The veterans running the camp run a tight ship but something is different this time. There are strange, malicious pranks being pulled, and Robyn is sure she recognises one of the boys from a dark chapter of her past...

Catherine Jinks is a writer of immense range. Her work has won gongs as diverse as the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, Australian Book Council Award, the Aurealis and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction… In this special bonus Catherine discusses her career and some of the things she's learned writing.

In this bonus episode Ruth explores her rules around cats and dangerous plotlines. There's some interesting discussion around what readers expect from male and female characters in a thriller and also way more discussion of Axl Rose than I think anyone was expecting! * Warning! Heavy Spoilers!! If you haven't already read I Shot the Devil approach with caution Reporter Erin Sloane returns to her home town of Southport. Her Dad’s sick and though they haven’t always had the best relationship, he’s her only family. This is no nostalgia trip though. Erin’s editor wanmts her to report on the notorious Southport Three, a group of teens implicated in a satanic murder in the 90s. Erin’s going to write a story about the group and their legacy, but Erin is also a part of the story; she hasn’t told her editor she was dating one of the killers. Will the past stay buried once Erin starts digging?!

Reporter Erin Sloane returns to her home town of Southport. Her Dad’s sick and though they haven’t always had the best relationship, he’s her only family. This is no nostalgia trip though. Erin’s editor wanmts her to report on the notorious Southport Three, a group of teens implicated in a satanic murder in the 90s. Erin’s going to write a story about the group and their legacy, but Erin is also a part of the story; she hasn’t told her editor she was dating one of the killers. Will the past stay buried once Erin starts digging?!

In part two of the conversation with Max Easton we delve into Max's narrative style, discuss gentrification and tackle the big issue of Sydney's east/west divide... Walt, Helen and Duncan are growing up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Walt and Duncan are paired on the footy field. Duncan serves as Walt’s protector, while Walt explores his precocious footballing talent. Rugby League is tribal for the boys and their families and they know that they'd rather live in the legacy of the likes of Tommy Raudonikas than the silvertails in the east. Walt’s older sister Helen can’t play with the boys but she can run water and plays to the team. As the three grow up together they each start looking for more than their suburban existence offers. As their family life breaks down Walt and Helen gravitate towards Sydney's Inner West. There they find underground success in the punk and noise music scene, and Walt is able to explore his growing political consciousness. Duncan stays at home, diligently completing uni and finds himself in a more conventional job. As the three criss-cross each other's lives they find themselves with contradictory purposes and opaque goals. Always present though is where they came from and how being from the west defines them in other people’s eyes. Join us as we talk to Max Easton on this week's Final Draft

Walt, Helen and Duncan are growing up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Walt and Duncan are paired on the footy field. Duncan serves as Walt’s protector, while Walt explores his precocious footballing talent. Rugby League is tribal for the boys and their families and they know that they'd rather live in the legacy of the likes of Tommy Raudonikas than the silvertails in the east. Walt’s older sister Helen can’t play with the boys but she can run water and plays to the team. As the three grow up together they each start looking for more than their suburban existence offers. As their family life breaks down Walt and Helen gravitate towards Sydney's Inner West. There they find underground success in the punk and noise music scene, and Walt is able to explore his growing political consciousness. Duncan stays at home, diligently completing uni and finds himself in a more conventional job. As the three criss-cross each other's lives they find themselves with contradictory purposes and opaque goals. Always present though is where they came from and how being from the west defines them in other people’s eyes. Join us as we talk to Max Easton on this week's Final Draft

Walt, Helen and Duncan are growing up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Walt and Duncan are paired on the footy field. Duncan serves as Walt’s protector, while Walt explores his precocious footballing talent. Rugby League is tribal for the boys and their families and they know that they’s rather live in the legacy of the likes of Tommy Raudonikas than the silvertails in the east. Walt’s older sister Helen can’t play with the boys but she can run water and plays to the team. As the three grow up together they each start looking for more than their suburban existence offers. As their family life breaks down Walt and Helen gravitate towards Sydney's Inner West. There they find underground success in the punk and noise music scene, and Walt is able to explore his growing political consciousness. Duncan stays at home, diligently completing uni and finds himself in a more conventional job. As the three criss-cross each other's lives they find themselves with contradictory purposes and opaque goals. Always present though is where they came from and how bening from the west defines them in other people’s eyes.

As the novel begins Vega arrives at the dilapidated Seafarers Hotel. Isolated, surrounded by farms and ocean, the hotel promises to be the perfect location to restore the angel with broken wings, her most ambitious project yet. It is not long though before a naked man wearing a crown, dive bombing canaries and a local tango party threaten to ruin the solitude Vega is craving. Join me as we discover Mette Jakobsen’s The Wingmaker...

Tony Birch’s stories have a way of giving voice to things that we are too often not talking about. In the eponymous story that opens the collection, Dark As Last Night Birch details a dark tale of domestic abuse. A young girl flees her home as her father becomes violent and is taken in by the strange lady next door. There she learns that this woman is not so strange, so much as she is independent of those minds who would stay silent. A refugee from Europe she has learned that “People say nothing and others die. It is that simple.” Operating almost as a type of fairy tale we are opened up to a world where this girl has a choice in her own fate.

Today's episode features Tony Birch discussing his latest a collection of poetry entitled Whisper Songs, and a short story collection Dark as Last Night. The works in Whisper Songs & Dark as Last Night explore themes both personal and universal. Tony writes around the death of his brother, moving into memory to understand loss and carrying on. The poetry of Whisper Songs explore language; the ways we use it to express and to hide our inner world. Tony explores through archival excerpts and reworkings how language is harnessed as a weapon against indigenous people; to strip them of their humanity and place them within the society that has stolen so much from them. Join me as we discover Tony Birch’s Whisper Songs & Dark as Last Night...

There is a long tradition in times of adversity that we read mysteries to divert ourselves from the challenges of our daily lives. Back in the interwar period of the 1920’s & 30’s Agatha Christie became a legend. Taking readers into little towns and intercontinental trains to solve a variety of cunning murders. It’s a more complicated world, so maybe we need a darker, more nuanced voice. JP Pomare has a way of delivering, and right now when we can’t go anywhere, he’s crafted a thriller that will make you terrified of staying in any type of house share.

Today's episode is part two of a panel discussion on the new collection from Sweatshop Racism - Stories on Fear, Hate and Bigotry. In part two of our discussion Shirley, Tyree and Amani explore public and personal responses to racism. We looking at the process of unlearning and discuss how to approach instances of racism in everyday life. Sweatshop are a literacy movement out of Western Sydney. They work to empower culturally and linguistically diverse communities through writing.

Sweatshop are a literacy movement out of Western Sydney. They work to empower culturally and linguistically diverse communities through writing. Sweatshop have an impressive library of works and the latest is Racism - Stories on Fear, Hate and Bigotry. Asking the question ‘Is Australia a Racist Country?’ Racism - Stories on Fear, Hate and Bigotry explores well understood as well as more covert iterations of racist behaviour as well as the ways institutions prop up dominant culture ways of thinking and being. Racism - Stories on Fear, Hate and Bigotry is available through www.sweatshop.ws

The Other Half of You is situated firmly within Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s body of work. Beginning with The Tribe and following through The Lebs we discover unfolding the story of Bani Adam. Bani is a young Lebanese Australian man. He is an Alawite Muslim; a member of a family, a tribe, but also a young man trying to figure out where he belongs in a contradictory society that does not seem to make room for men like him The Other Half of You is a continuation of this quest for identity both as an individual and within his family and his religion. It’s also a beautiful love letter written by a man to his young son. Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser. https://2ser.com/final-draft

In Part Two of the conversation on his latest novel The Last Guests, Josh delves into the ways he uses psychology in his stories, as well as the ways our own psychology influences our behaviour. We also get a little tongue in cheek, exploring Josh's back catalogue and the possibility of a J.P. Pomare extended universe The Last Guests A nondescript man enters a holiday accommodation in Auckland with bags full of electrical equipment. Hours later he leaves with empty suitcases. Another Peephole stream has gone live. On the other side of Auckland Cain and Lina are doing it tough. Cain hasn’t had much work since he was injured in combat and he wants Lina to put her family home up on WeStay - an online accommodation app. Lina’s not too sure though. All her childhood memories are in that home and who knows what terrors a guest could inflict on that nostalgia?

A nondescript man enters a holiday accommodation in Auckland with bags full of electrical equipment. Hours later he leaves with empty suitcases. Another Peephole stream has gone live. On the other side of Auckland Cain and Lina are doing it tough. Cain hasn’t had much work since he was injured in combat and he wants Lina to put her family home up on WeStay - an online accommodation app. Lina’s not too sure though. All her childhood memories are in that home and who knows what terrors a guest could inflict on that nostalgia?

Nothing But My Body is a journey through eight days in the life of a young, queer sex worker. The narrator explores her world and confronts the versions of herself seen through the eyes of clients, friends and lovers, at all times challenging and railing against the strictures of labels and reductive stereotypes. Nothing But My Body confronts the lows we can feel navigating the world while celebrating the constancy of friendships and the steady community they offer against a tide of cruelty and Join me as we discover Tilly Lawless’s Nothing But My Body...

I want to leave the last word on this collection to its collectors. Winnie Dunn, Stephen Pham and Phoebe Granger are the editors of Racism and in their introduction they lay out that they “seek to provide a personal and intimate record from first nations people and people of colour across all ages, that demonstrates the pain, despair, confusion, complexity and rejection that comes from being the ‘other’.”