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’.”

Poetry Month is a showcase of the incredible wealth of poetic talent in this country and will be Featuring: 30 in 30 - delivering daily, original text/video poems from some of Australia’s best poets Poetry Workshops - with incredible poets Line Break - a weekly online poetry show Fair Trade - conversations with First Nations poets

This week though I wanted to bring you a little poetry. Specifically I wanted to let everyone out there know about Poetry Month an initiative from Red Room Poetry. This is the inaugural poetry month and it really is a festival of poetic art spanning styles from the traditional, through hip hop and an array of voices from throughout the community. Poetry Month is organised and run by Red Room Poetry and it’s designed to increase the profile of Australian Poets, Poetry and Publishers. For more details check out https://redroompoetry.org/ and discover all the poetry events across the month....

Missed Part One? Check it out in your podcast app Romy is a graduate lawyer. Her work sees her taking a deep dive into the relationships corporations have with their employees and she’s finding that often these look more like intimate, romantic partnerships than anything she’s got on her personal calendar. Romy’s parents worry she’s not dating. Her mates think she’s got a type and is being picky. Even Romy wonders if the guys she’s interested in set up the relationships to fail. When she’s introduced to optimal stopping point theory she wonders if maybe there’s another way to go about finding the one. Romy has to apply ruthless legal logic to relationships in her work, why not try a little algorithmic thinking to her non-existent dating life? Join me as we discover Elodie Cheesman’s Love, in Theory...

Romy is a graduate lawyer. Her work sees her taking a deep dive into the relationships corporations have with their employees and she’s finding that often these look more like intimate, romantic partnerships than anything she’s got on her personal calendar. Romy’s parents worry she’s not dating. Her mates think she’s got a type and is being picky. Even Romy wonders if the guys she’s interested in set up the relationships to fail. When she’s introduced to optimal stopping point theory she wonders if maybe there’s another way to go about finding the one. Romy has to apply ruthless legal logic to relationships in her work, why not try a little algorithmic thinking to her non-existent dating life? Join me as we discover Elodie Cheesman’s Love, in Theory...

Flock brings together twenty First Nations writers, poets and authors in a collection that features some of the best writing in this country. The collection is edited and features a story from Ellen Van Neerven. The stories promise to roam the landscape of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytelling, bringing together voices from across the generations. This episode of book club features words from Wiradjuri poet Jeanine Leane as she describes how "First Nations writing is always important because First Nations writing does the job that national history fails to do."

Flock introduces itself as First Nations Stories Then and Now. The stories promise to roam the landscape of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytelling, bringing together voices from across the generations. The collection is edited and features a story from Ellen Van Neerven. It features contributions from the likes of Tara June Winch, Tony Birch and Melissa Lucashenko as well as our guests today Mykaela Saunders, Jeanine Leane and Jane Harrison

Romy is a graduate lawyer. Her work sees her taking a deep dive into the relationships corporations have with their employees and she’s finding that many of these look more like romantic partnerships than anything she’s got on her personal calendar. Meanwhile her parents have challenged her with the theory of then optimal stopping point; a way of calculating the best time to make a decision when the choices seem to go on endlessly. Romy has to apply ruthless legal logic to the relationships in her work, why not try a little algorithmic thinking to her non-existent dating life.

Andrew Pople is the host of Final Draft on 2ser and the Great Conversations podcast. Here he is celebrating three years of the podcast on air on Sydney radio 2ser 107.3

Join us in celebrating three years of the Final Draft podcast! We've come a long way and today we're looking back to the beginning. Bram Presser is the author of the award winning The Book of Dirt. He is also the first guest to grace our little podcast way back when it began. Listen back to a remastered version of that first interview along with exclusive audio of Andrew and Bram discussing the incredible success of The Book of Dirt winning the NSW Premier's Literary Awards.

In January 1940 Lucie and her mother Yvonne must leave Australia for France, following the death of Lucie’s father. They are taken in by Gerard, Yvonne’s brother and their only surviving relative. Despite feeling she might never fit in as a Parisian, Lucie endeavours to settle in to the fabled city of lights, sketching postcards for sale at a nearby art supply store. But Lucie’s arrival coincides with the invasion of France by Germany. As the Germans exert more and more control, Lucie must decide whether to shelter in her relative safety or make a show of resistance. Join me as we discover Michelle Wright’s Small Acts of Defiance...

Today's episode is a shout out to To Be Read piles everywhere. As we face down the Sydney Lockdown it can be easy to pressure ourselves to try to do all the things. Instead we should be kind to our mind and approach our TBR with love and curiosity. Today's selection offers books to challenge, make you think and just relax into as your mind travels wide while your body stays put.

Nancy Business returns to Riverstone. Tippy’s been getting on with life after solving the murder of her teacher. Pike and Devon have bought the murder house and are trying to decorate it without murdering each other. So far so normal when the town is rocked by an explosion at the Town Hall. Three people are killed and it looks like the bomber might be a local. The bombing happens on the anniversary of Tippy’s father’s death and this brings back so much for her. Tippy is now constantly in fear of more violence and of losing more people close to her. The only thing to do is reform the Nancys and solve the mystery of the lone bomber.

In January 1940 Lucie and her mother Yvonne leave Australia for France, following the death of Lucie’s father. Taken in by Gerard, their only surviving relative, Lucie must settle into the fabled city of lights on the eve of invasion from Germany. Small Acts of Defiance chronicles Lucie’s coming of age in Paris and a world that is forever teetering on chaos as the Germans exert more and more control.

Heartsick weaves together three stories of love and loss. Claire has returned from London, only to realise something is wrong with her partner Maggie. Patrick is a lonely uni student, until he meets Caitlin - but does she feel as connected as he does? Ana is happily married with three children. Then, one night, she falls in love with someone else. Today’s conversation is presented by 2ser producer Briannah Devlin

Heartsick weaves together three stories of love and loss. Claire has returned from London, only to realise something is wrong with her partner Maggie. Patrick is a lonely uni student, until he meets Caitlin - but does she feel as connected as he does? Ana is happily married with three children. Then, one night, she falls in love with someone else. Today’s conversation is presented by 2ser producer Briannah Devlin

Tippy, Pike and Devon return in Nancy Business. The stakes are higher, the tone is darker, Tippy has a new haircut and don’t even think of going near Devon with green! Get ready for a cosy mystery, with a queer heart and some real questions about what it means to be a part of a community. In Nancy Business Riverstone is rocked by an explosion at the Town Hall. Three people are killed and it looks like a local is the bomber. Straight away things feel darker than the last novel. The bombing happens on the anniversary of Tippy’s father’s death and this has brought back so much for her. She is now constantly in fear of more violence and of losing more people close to her.

Bani Adam knows that his family expect him to do the Tribe proud. To marry the right kind of girl and grow their family. But Bani knows this is not the only way to be a good son, a good man. The Other Half of You is Bani telling the story of this life and this love to his son Khalil. To help Khalil understand the complexity of his identity as a Muslim, an Australian and a man Bani must tell both halves of his story. In Part two we explore the damage that media depictions of young lebanese men has done and the ways that Mohammed has worked in his writing to tell more nuanced stories. We also get into the heart of the novel and discover a humorous side to Mohammed. Join me as we discover Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s The Other Half of You...

Bani Adam knows that his family expect him to do the Tribe proud. To marry the right kind of girl and grow their family. But Bani knows this is not the only way to be a good son, a good man. The Other Half of You is Bani telling the story of this life and this love to his son Khalil. To help Khalil understand the complexity of his identity as a Muslim, an Australian and a man Bani must tell both halves of his story. In part one Mohammad explores Love and the necessity of telling stories that represent, engage and transform the communities they represent.