Join Radio National's Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell as she discusses revolution with two of our most gifted extraordinary women historians, Linda Jaivin and Sheila Fitzpatrick.

Bombard the Headquarters! by Linda Jaivin is a riveting account of a turbulent period in Chinese history. It focuses on the eventful start of the Cultural Revolution. She sheds light on the ideological quarrels that underpinned it and profiles the personalities involved.

Death of Stalin by Sheila Fitzpatrick offers a new look at a crucial moment in history. Everyone remembers the bumbling characters around Stalin's deathbed in Armando Iannucci's film Death of Stalin, but who knows what actually came next?

Free, but bookings are essential.

Toby Walsh will be in conversation with Andrew Leigh on his new book The Shortest History of AI, everything you need to know about the origins and future of artificial intelligence through the examination of six key ideas. 

Artificial intelligence’s collision with human creativity is one of the most important stories of our time. With the accelerating impact of AI, so much of what we understand about being human is being re-written.

Since Alan Turing first posed the question, ‘Can machines think?’, artificial intelligence has evolved from a speculative idea to a transformative force. The Shortest History of AI traces this evolution, from Ada Lovelace’s visionary work to IBM’s groundbreaking defeat of the chess world champion and the revolutionary emergence of ChatGPT. It also explores AI’s cultural journey, touching on classics such as Frankenstein, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Revealing how many ‘overnight’ successes were decades in the making, this accessible and illuminating book equips readers to understand where we’ve been – and where we’re headed with AI.

We are delighted to welcome Kate Grenville to The Phee Broadway Theatre for a conversation with Astrid Edwards about her new book, Unsettled: A journey through time and place.

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers and in this most recent book, she asks the question: ‘What does it mean to be on land that was taken from other people? Now that we know how the taking was done, what do we do with that knowledge?’

Kate Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River.

More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, she is still grappling with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, “on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation”.

​Kate Grenville goes on a kind of pilgrimage, back through the places her family stories happened, and put the stories and the First People back into the same frame, on the same country, to try to think about those questions.

This gripping book – which gives many of us pause for thought - is the result of that journey.

In 1966, with the words ‘Bombard the Headquarters!’ Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the time he died ten years later, millions had perished, China’s cultural heritage was in ruins, its economic state was perilous, its institutions of government were damaged and its society was bitterly divided.

In this fascinating account, Linda Jaivin focuses on the eventful start of the Cultural Revolution. She sheds light on the ideological quarrels that underpinned it and profiles the personalities involved.

Discussion of the Cultural Revolution is heavily censored in the People’s Republic, and many young Chinese people know almost nothing about it. Even so, it continues to cast a shadow over life in China. Current president Xi Jinping’s assumption of a third term in 2022, his elimination of rival factions from the leadership and attempts to build a personality cult around himself discomfit many within and outside of the Chinese Communist Party. Bombard the Headquarters! helps us to understand why.

China’s Cultural Revolution Revisited with Linda Jaivin, internationally published Australian author, cultural commentator, essayist and translator and author of, most recently, Bombard The Headquarters! The Cultural Revolution in China.

Hugh White will be in conversation with Allan Behm on his new Quarterly Essay Hard New World: Our Post-American Future. Are we ready for our post-American future? In an era of rising danger for all, and dramatic choices for Australia, Hugh White explores how the world is changing and Australia should respond.

Under Donald Trump, America’s retreat from global leadership has been swift and erratic. China, Russia and India are on the move. White explains the big strategic trends driving the war in Ukraine, and why America has “lost” Asia. He discusses Albanese Labor’s record and its future choices, and why complacency about the American alliance – including AUKUS – is no longer an option. This essential essay urges us to make our way in a hard new world with realism and confidence.  

On Tuesday 17th June at The Royal Oak, Balmain, join Saul Griffith in conversation with Fran Kelly for Griffith’s latest book, Plug In! The Electrification Handbook, published by Black Inc Books.

Copies of Plug In! The Electrification Handbook will be available for purchase at the venue through Roaring Stories, with Griffith signing copies after the discussion.

Join us for the launch of the new Quarterly Essay, Hugh White on War and Peace and the New Global Order.

In an era of rising danger for all, and dramatic choices for Australia, Hugh White explores how the world is changing and how Australia should respond.

We confront the world’s deepest and most dangerous international crisis in generations. The old global order faces direct challenge in three crucial regions, including our own. War has already engulfed Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and the risk in East Asia grows. Under Donald Trump, America’s retreat from global leadership will be both swifter and perhaps more dangerously erratic.

White explains the big strategic trends driving the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and where they will lead. He examines the dynamics of US–China rivalry in Asia, the risks that it will lead to war, and the new regional order which is already emerging. He explores Australia’s responses to these crises, as reflected in the policies of Albanese’s Labor and Dutton's Coalition – including AUKUS. He lays out in stark terms the hard choices ahead and explains how we can make our way in a very different world.

Hugh White is the author of The China Choice and How To Defend Australia, and the acclaimed Quarterly Essays Power Shift and Without America. He is emeritus professor of strategic studies at ANU and was the principal author of Australia’s Defence White Paper 2000.

Bombard the Headquarters! The Long Shadow of China’s Cultural Revolution

In 1966, with the words "Bombard the Headquarters!" Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the time he died ten years later, millions had perished, China's cultural heritage was in ruins, its economic state was perilous, its institutions of government were damaged and its society was bitterly divided.

The Shortest History of China author Linda Jaivin’s latest book, Bombard the Headquarters!, looks at how such a catastrophe unfolded, the stories of individuals caught up in its violent swirl, and the lessons that have - and have not - been learned from it. The Cultural Revolution’s shadow still lays over China today, even if the Party has endeavoured to erase or at least minimise its memory, and it also provides surprising insights into what is happening in the United States today in the first months of Donald Trump’s second presidency, as Jaivin will reveal.

Come join us at Mezzanine Room 1 (RHMZ1), Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus, Victoria University of Wellington, for an insightful event exploring the lasting impact of China’s Cultural Revolution.

Bombard the Headquarters! The Long Shadow of China’s Cultural Revolution

In 1966, with the words "Bombard the Headquarters!" Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the time he died ten years later, millions had perished, China's cultural heritage was in ruins, its economic state was perilous, its institutions of government were damaged and its society was bitterly divided.

Shortest History of China author Linda Jaivin’s latest book, Bombard the Headquarters!, looks at how such a catastrophe unfolded, the stories of individuals caught up in its violent swirl, and the lessons that have - and have not - been learned from it. The Cultural Revolution’s shadow still lays over China today, even if the Party has endeavoured to erase or at least minimise its memory, and it also provides surprising insights into what is happening in the United States today in the first months of Donald Trump’s second presidency, as Jaivin will reveal.

Come join us at Mezzanine Room 1 (RHMZ1), Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus, Victoria University of Wellington, for an insightful event exploring the lasting impact of China’s Cultural Revolution.

Hugh White is Australia’s pre-eminent commentator on defence matters. In his recent publications (Sleepwalk to War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance with America, and his book, How to Defend Australia) he has been highly critical of our country’s involvement in AUKUS. 

For Outspoken he will be discussing his June 2025 Quarterly Essay On War & Peace & the New Global Order, in which he analyses the present geo-political trends, offering ways in which Australia might respond.

He argues that, right now, we confront the world's most dangerous crisis in generations, with the old global order facing a direct challenge in three crucial regions: Eastern Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. Meanwhile, under Donald Trump, America's retreat from leadership has been both swift and erratic.

White examines the dynamics of the US–China rivalry, and the new regional order which is emerging, as well as exploring Australia's options. He also addresses the strategic issues driving the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and where they might lead. He lays out in stark terms the hard choices ahead and explains how we can make our way in the world as it is, not how we might wish it to be.

Hugh White is a former Deputy Secretary for Strategy in the Department of Defence, and was the founding Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He is now Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. 

Stereo Stories

Under the direction of Vin Maskell, the ever-versatile Stereo Stories band will bring you an enchanting evening of memoir and music. Telling us about the songs that shape their lives will be special guests Alice Pung, Nathan Curnow, Claudia Nankervis, Gemma Keating and Rijn Collins, alongside perennial drawcards Andy Griffiths and Darren Smokie Dawson.

Grab a coffee and sit back while three of Australia’s leading authors, journalists and commentators unpack, dissect and try to make sense of the news that matters here and around the globe.

Richard Glover
Holly Wainwright
Lech Blaine

Artificial Intelligence: Bogey Man or Saviour?

Technology makes life easier, right? But how easy is too easy? How do we manage the consequences - expected or otherwise - of AI on society, and with it the future of employment, health, education and democracy? Join Professor Toby Walsh, Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and CSIRO’s Data61 and author of five books on AI including The Shortest History of AI, in conversation with journalist Annie Markey as they unpick the ramifications of our brave new world.

Family dynamics are rich territories for fiction and non-fiction writers. Join this discussion between three great storytellers who explore the complexities and richness of family life, from the big burning issues to those smaller, sometimes mundane elements that define so much of who we are and how we are perceived.

Debra Oswald
Jessie Tu
Lech Blaine

Kate Grenville and Marcia Langton speak to Kemi Nekvapil about recentring First Nations narratives along the Hawkesbury river.

Pre-eminent Russia expert Sheila Fitzpatrick (The Death of Stalin) gives a 30-minute crash course on recent Russian history. 

Ready to electrify everything and cut your living costs?

Whether you're just curious or already committed, lock in Sunday 22 June for the Go Electric Open Day at Club Thirroul—a fun, informative, and inspiring event for households across the Illawarra.

With energy bills soaring and a growing appetite to shrink our carbon footprints, more people than ever are exploring solar, EVs, home batteries, and electric appliances. But let’s face it—there are still a lot of questions around cost, incentives, the latest tech, and when to take the plunge. That’s where this free community event comes in.

We’re bringing together experts, locals, and hands-on experiences to help make electrifying your home and lifestyle easier—and more exciting—than ever.

Lucy Sussex (Outrageous Fortunes) introduces us to Australia’s first female crime writer Mary Fortune and her career-criminal son in conversation with Troy Hunter.

In 1966, with the words Bombard the Headquarters! Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Many have gone to great lengths to bury this period of history, while some brave enough risk their freedom to uncover the truth. For they all know, to grasp the history of the Cultural Revolution is to understand much about China today.

Bombard the Headquarters! is not just Mao's story. It's the unforgettable stories of countless individuals, mass manias, sacred mangos and spectacular falls from grace.

About the author

Linda Jaivin has been studying Chinese politics, language and culture for more than forty years. She has been a foreign correspondent in China, and is co-editor of the China Story Yearbook, an associate of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University and the author of twelve books including The Shortest History of China.

Organised in partnership with Constant Reader Bookshop.

HUGH WHITE AO in-conversation with Misha Ketchell, Editor, The Conversation

Are we ready for our post-American future?

In an era of rising danger for all, and dramatic choices for Australia, Hugh White AO explores with Misha Ketchell, Editor of The Conversation, how the world is changing and how Australia should respond. 

Under Donald Trump, America’s retreat from global leadership has been swift and erratic. China, Russia and India are on the move. White explains the big strategic trends driving the war in Ukraine, and why America has “lost” Asia.

In his Quarterly Essay, Hugh discusses Albanese Labor’s record and its future choices, and why complacency about the American alliance – including AUKUS – is no longer an option. This essential essay urges us to make our way in a hard new world with realism and confidence.   

Hugh White is the author of The China Choice and How to Defend Australia, and three previous Quarterly Essays, Power Shift, Without America and Sleepwalk to War. He is Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University and was the principal author of Australia’s Defence White Paper 2000.

Join us for a special library event featuring The Immigrants, a powerful and poignant novel by Moreno Giovannoni.

This heartbreaking yet beautiful story of love, exile, and tragedy takes us to the Victorian town of Mitrefò, where a family seeks a better life in a foreign land. Amidst the joys, scandals, and shared experiences of a close-knit community, indelible moments of loss and hardship shape their journey.

In an era of rising danger for all, and dramatic choices for Australia, Hugh White explores how the world is changing and how Australia should respond in his latest Quarterly Essay, On War & Peace & the New Global Order.

On Thursday 26th June at the Red Mill Distillery, Balmain, join Hugh White in conversation with Sam Roggeveen, Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program.

Copies of Quarterly Essay will be available for purchase at the venue through Roaring Stories, with White signing copies after the discussion.

In his latest Quarterly Essay, Hugh White lays out the hard choices that lay ahead of Australia in the face of the changing global order.

The old global order faces direct challenge in three crucial regions, including our own. We confront the world's deepest and most dangerous international crisis in generations.

He explores Australia's responses to these crises, as reflected in the policies of Albanese's Labor and Dutton's Coalition – including AUKUS. He lays out in stark terms the hard choices ahead and explains how we can make our way in a very different world.

Hugh White is the author of The China Choice and Quarterly Essay 39, Power Shift. He is professor of strategic studies at ANU and was the principal author of Australia’s Defence White Paper 2000.

Organised in partnership with Constant Reader Bookshop.

Linda Jaivin: Shades of the Cultural Revolution: from Mao to Musk

It would have been the furthest thing from Elon Musk’s mind, but his call for Americans to denounce public servants they think should be fired on the social media platform X is a perfect example of what Mao Zedong, in his analogue world, called ‘mass dictatorship’. In China, mass dictatorship reached its apotheosis in the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976, which resulted in nearly two million deaths and incalculable damage to China’s culture and heritage as well as the collapse of political and economic institutions. To know the history of the Cultural Revolution is to better understand the world today, from Beijing to Washington.

Linda Jaivin is a prolific cultural commentator, essayist and the internationally published author of thirteen books, including The Shortest History of China, which has been published in 23 countries and counting, and her latest, Bombard the Headquarters: China’s Cultural Revolution. She studied Asian History at Brown University in the US and has studied and lived in and reported from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. She is also a translator of film subtitles for Chinese films and has been an editor of The China Story Yearbook (published by the Australian Centre in the World at the ANU). She lives in Sydney.

Linda Jaivin is joined by Echo Hui to discuss her new book Bombard the Headquarters!: The cultural revolution in China, a riveting account of a extraordinary and turbulent period in recent Chinese history.

In 1966, with the words ‘Bombard the Headquarters!’ Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

Bombard the Headquarters! is not just Mao’s story. It’s the unforgettable stories of countless individuals, mass manias, sacred mangos and spectacular falls from grace.

Black Inc. and CO.AS.IT. warmly invite you to celebrate the launch of The Immigrants: Fabula Mirabilis, or A Wonderful Story by Moreno Giovannoni.

Join us to hear Moreno Giovannoni in conversation with Antoni Jach.
Opening remarks by Chris Feik, Black Inc.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A riveting account of a turbulent period in Chinese history.
In 1966, with the words 'Bombard the Headquarters!' Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the time he died ten years later, millions had perished, China's cultural heritage was in ruins, its economic state was perilous, its institutions of government were damaged and its society was bitterly divided.

In this fascinating account, Linda Jaivin focuses on the eventful start of the Cultural Revolution. She sheds light on the ideological quarrels that underpinned it and profiles the personalities involved.

Discussion of the Cultural Revolution is heavily censored in the People's Republic, and many young Chinese people know almost nothing about it. Even so, it continues to cast a shadow over life in China. Current president Xi Jinping's assumption of a third term in 2022, his elimination of rival factions from the leadership and attempts to build a personality cult around himself discomfit many within and outside of the Chinese Communist Party. Bombard the Headquarters! helps us to understand why.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Linda Jaivin has been studying Chinese politics, language and culture for more than forty years. She has been a foreign correspondent in China, and is co-editor of the China Story Yearbook, an associate of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University and the author of twelve books.

Join leading AI expert Toby Walsh as he unpacks The Shortest History of AI.

Since Alan Turing first posed the question, ‘Can machines think?’, artificial intelligence has evolved from a speculative idea to a transformative force. The Shortest History of AI traces this evolution, from Ada Lovelace’s visionary work to IBM’s groundbreaking defeat of the chess world champion and the revolutionary emergence of ChatGPT. It also explores AI’s cultural journey, touching on classics such as Frankenstein, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Revealing how many ‘overnight’ successes were decades in the making, this accessible and illuminating book simplifies AI into six key ideas, equipping readers to understand where we’ve been – and where we’re headed.

Helen Trinca and David Meagher delve into Looking for Elizabeth, the first full biography of acclaimed author Elizabeth Harrower.

The full story of an Australian literary enigma.

Why did Elizabeth Harrower – one of Australia's most important postwar authors – stop writing at the height of her powers?

After publishing four books that earned the admiration of Patrick White, Shirley Hazzard and Christina Stead, Harrower published no more novels. She faded from the literary landscape, until being rediscovered decades later to international acclaim.

In Looking for Elizabeth, Helen Trinca unravels this mystery. Exploring the personal and artistic forces that shaped Harrower’s writing, she draws a sensitive portrait of a wounded ‘divorced child’ and the legacy of abandonment she carried throughout her life. She probes the contradictions of a woman who wielded extraordinary insight into others’ lives but guarded her own fiercely. And she vividly brings to life the literary circles of this fascinating era in Australian culture.

Based on interviews with Harrower and full access to her archive, Looking for Elizabeth is the first full biography of this significant figure in Australian letters.

Mia Pandey Gordon, Kavita Ivy Nandan, Tejas Bhat in conversation with Natasha Rai, reflect on how their heritage shapes their storytelling.

Through literature and film, Mia Pandey Gordon, Kavita Ivy Nandan, Tejas Bhat and Natasha Rai explore identity, belonging and the power of creative expression.

China expert Linda Jaivin presents Bombard the Headquarters!, a gripping account of the Cultural Revolution and its lasting impact.

A riveting account of a turbulent period in Chinese history.

Linda Jaivin and Michael Pembroke discuss how relations with the outside world have changed China, from ancient to modern times.

China, open and shut - from imperial times to the Cultural Revolution - Michael Pembroke and Linda Jaivin discuss how relations with the outside world have changed China, from ancient to modern times. They will show how the writing of history can help make sense of complex events in the past and offer insights into the present day.

Remembering Elizabeth Harrower

Speakers: Helen Trinca – Editor of The Deal & author of Looking for Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Harrower, Geoffrey Lehmann – Australian poet, writer and tax lawyer

Join Lucy Sussex co-author of Outrageous Fortunes: The Adventures of Mary Fortune, Crime Writer, and Her Criminal Son as she explains the research and fascinating history behind the woman who was writing crime while her son was committing it. Crime fiction meets true crime in this non-fiction book, when Melbourne's literary bohemia consort with the criminal underworld.

Join Lucy Sussex co-author of Outrageous Fortunes:The Adventures of Mary Fortune, Crime Writer, and Her Criminal Son as she explains the research and fascinating history behind the woman who was writing crime while her son was committing it. Crime fiction meets true crime in this non-fiction book, when Melbourne's literary bohemia consort with the criminal underworld.

Disappearances. Secrets. Escapes. Flights of fancy. Hidden histories and historical mysteries. 

Through fact and fiction, three authors bring us a spectacular cast of spirited women. In Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective, Kelly Gardiner (with co-author Sharmini Kumar) re-imagines Jane Austen’s heroine as a sharp-minded sleuth seeking out a missing maid. Lucy Sussex (with co-author Megan Brown) gives us the hitherto little-known story of Australia’s first female crime writer, Mary Fortune, and her career-criminal son in Outrageous Fortunes. Novelist Tara Calaby weaves a speculative romance amid the concealed cabinets and slippery sceances in 19th century Melbourne in The Spirit Circle.  With host, La Trobe University’s, Stephanie Downes.

Stella Award-winning journalist Jess Hill has exposed the devastating impact of domestic abuse through her books, television programs and podcasts.  Her latest Quarterly Essay, Losing it, investigates why violence against women is escalating. In her chilling memoir, Groomed, novelist Sonia Orchard confronts the personal, cultural and legal consequences of child sexual assault.  

These extraordinary writers and thinkers ask the questions: how have we allowed this crisis to happen? And what will it take to fix it?  With host, La Trobe criminologist, Kirsty Duncanson. 

In a seemingly fact-free world, what is the value of evidence?  Is there advantage in uncertainty?  How to weigh up the argument: on data or opinion? Intellect or intuition? And by what authority is vested the algorithm? 

In Prove It, biochemist Elizabeth Finkel describes how the time-tested scientific method plays out in contemporary controversies where politics and prejudice lead debate. In Blindspotting, leadership expert Kirstin Ferguson asks the question: what if the biggest obstacle to your success is something you can’t even see? And Artificial Intelligence researcher Toby Walsh, in his latest book The Shortest History of AI, traces the evolution of AI from “a speculative idea to a transformative force”.  With host, La Trobe University’s Andrea Carson.