Dr June Oscar AO is a is a proud Bunuba woman from the remote town of Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

Her remarkable decades-long career has taken her from a small office in a cattle station in a tiny Western Australian town, to serving a five-year term as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. June was the first woman to hold this role in its 20-year history and used her position to advocate for, and empower, indigenous women and girls across Australia. The story of how she got there and all the change she has achieved along the way is truly inspiring.

Today, June continues to champion the rights of First Nations women and girls through the new First Nations Gender Justice Institute, based at the Australian National University.

In this episode, June takes Julia through this remarkable journey. They discuss June's legacy as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and her ongoing work with the incredible Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) project at the First Nations Gender Justice Institute.

• Learn more about the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute for First Nations Gender Justice: https://wiyiyaniuthangani.humanrights.gov.au/first-nations-gender-justice-institute

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Angie Murimirwa personifies the transformative power of education.

Growing up in Zimbabwe, Angie was one of the first girls to receive support from the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) to go to secondary school.

Angie is now the organisation’s CEO.

In this episode Julia - who is Patron of CAMFED - and Angie discuss the huge barriers to education that many girls still face, and the impact finishing school has on not only an individual, but also their family and community.

They also talk about the alumni association Angie helped set up, that’s now several hundred-thousand women strong and has become a powerful network of women leaders across Africa.

Show notes:

You can learn more about CAMFED and how you can support its efforts here - https://camfed.org/aus/

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It’s been arguably the most eventful US Presidential campaign in history and the stakes couldn’t be higher, not just for the United States, but for the world.

There’s been two assassination attempts on Republican nominee Donald Trump, who became the first US President to be convicted of a felony over hush money payments to an adult film star.

We've seen President and Democratic nominee Joe Biden sensationally withdraw from the race after the most disastrous presidential debate performance in history and replaced by America’s first woman of colour to run for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris.

In this special US election episode, Julia sits down with American political analyst, Amy Walter from The Cook Political Report, for a deep dive on each swing state, the current state of play, how gender and reproductive rights are influencing the campaign and what we can expect when voters head to the polls on November 5.

Show notes:

To learn more about the electoral college ratings, go to: https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2024-president/

To learn more about the states where abortion is on the ballot, go to:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/abortion-ballot-measures/

Bruce Wolpe is an expert on US and Australian politics, having worked in the US Congress during President Barack Obama's first term and as a senior advisor to A Podcast of One’s Own host, Julia Gillard, when she was Prime Minister. His book, Trump’s Australia, is published by Allen & Unwin:

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Bruce-Wolpe-Trump's-Australia-9781761068096

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In this episode of Julia’s Book Club, Julia and co-host Sarah Holland-Batt delve into the latest novel by best-selling author, Elif Shafak. There are Rivers in the Sky charts the story of three characters from across history brought together by two great rivers, with one epic poem flowing through the story. Spanning centuries and continents, the novel follows a single drop of water from the Tigris to the Thames, from antiquity to the 19th century to the modern day.

While exploring the rich histories laid out in the novel, Julia and Sarah also consider its central question – how does history get told, and who gets to tell it? They also reflect on Shafak's exploration of global inequalities across the novel – from the poverty of a class-divided Victorian London, to the far more recent persecution of the Yazidi people (and especially the women) in war-ravaged Iraq, to the impacts of climate change on the fragile ecosystems of rivers like the Tigris and the Thames.

If the name Elif Shafak sounds familiar, that's because we were lucky enough to have her join us on the podcast back in August. If you've not heard it yet, you can catch up with that interview here, or find it wherever you're listening to this episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/elif-shafak-on-the-power-of-storytelling/id1466658814?i=1000666169272.

If you'd like to learn more about Gilgamesh, the epic poem that plays a central role in this novel, and the real-life figure of George Smith who inspired the character Arthur Smyth, you can read Gilgamesh: A New Translation of the Ancient Epic by Sophus Helle.

There are Rivers in the Sky is published by Penguin Australia and is available at all good bookstores.

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Alexis Wright is one of the most highly-regarded Australian authors in recent times, winning both the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize - twice.

Her work is challenging the traditional publishing world and asking some tough questions.

But her passions extend far beyond writing.

In this episode, Julia explores Alexis’ early beginnings as a young activist, her lifelong dedication to Indigenous land rights and her concerns around global warming, as well as her literary success.

Show notes:

Alexis’ latest novel Praiseworthy is published by Giramondo and is available at all good book stores.

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In this episode of Julia's Book Club, Julia and Kathy Lette sit down to discuss Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors.

Blue Sisters is the second novel from Mellors, following her bestselling debut Cleopatra and Frankenstein. It tells the story of three very different sisters – strait-laced lawyer Avery, party girl Lucky and stoic world champion boxer Bonnie – who are torn apart by grief and scattered to different corners of the globe after the sudden tragic death of their fourth sister, Nicky.

As the sisters try to come to terms with this devastating loss, the book explores the bonds of sisterhood, how grief changes us and the ways that addiction manifests between generations.

Julia and Kathy unpack these central themes of grief, sisterhood and addiction, and delve into the book's exploration of motherhood. Why do some women choose, or not choose to have children, what happens when that choice is taken away, and how much do our own mothers shape us?

Shownotes

• Blue Sisters is published by HarperCollins and is available at all good bookstores: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008623012/blue-sisters/
• CW: This episode covers themes of addiction, and reproductive health, and parts of this conversation may be distressing for some listeners. If this brings up anything for you, help is available by contacting the 24-hour national counselling service 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. You can also contact the Alcohol Drug Information Service (ADIS) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1800 250 015.

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Elif Shafak is a best selling author, a political scientist and an advocate for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of expression.

In this episode Julia and Elif journey on a candid and deep conversation about Elif’s childhood in Turkey, what drew her to writing, and the lengths she’s had to go to keep telling the stories of those who are often silenced.

They also delve into Elif’s spectacular new novel There are Rivers in the Sky, and discuss why tackling the world’s water crisis is critical for the safety of women and girls.

Show notes:

Elif’s new novel There are Rivers in the Sky is published by Penguin and is available at all good book stores.

To learn more about Elif and her work go to https://www.elifsafak.com.tr/home

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In this month’s Book Club episode, Julia and Kathy Lette explore Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by internationally-renowned author, Salman Rushdie.

In his memoir, the Booker Prize winner recounts the horrifying moment he was stabbed, almost to death, while on stage in upstate New York, preparing to deliver a lecture on keeping writers safe from harm.

Julia and Kathy examine his incredible literary career, his life under 24-hour surveillance and the fatwa which led to the frenzied attack, reigniting debate around freedom of speech.

Kathy - a close friend of Rushdie's - also shares her personal insights of helping to care for him while he was in hiding and details his remarkable road to recovery.

Show notes:

• Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie is published by Penguin and available at all good bookstores: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/knife-9781787334809

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In this episode Julia sits down with Domtila Chesang, an incredibly courageous woman who has dedicated her life to ending female genital mutilation in her home country, Kenya. 

In this powerful conversation Domtila explains how the devastatingly harmful practice impacts girls and women around the world, and how she’s working to educate and empower communities in order to stamp it out.

She details the pivotal moment in her life that started her journey as an activist. 

Julia and Domtila also discuss her selection as the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s first Changemaker - a program aimed at empowering activists dedicated to advancing gender equality.

CW: This episode discusses female genital mutilation and parts of this conversation may be distressing for some listeners. If this brings up anything for you, help is available by contacting the 24-hour national counselling service 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

To learn more about Domtila's work visit https://irepfoundation.org/

To learn more about the Changemakers program visit https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/changemakers

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In this month’s Book Club episode, Julia and Sarah Holland-Batt discuss The Wren, The Wren by Man Booker prize winner, Anne Enright.

Shortlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction, the novel is told in three voices and explores an Irish family’s love, betrayal and intergenerational trauma.

Julia and Sarah delve into Enright’s poetry and unique writing style.

Show notes:

• The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright is published by Penguin and available at all good bookstores: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-wren-the-wren-9781529922905

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Katrina Gorry is a trailblazer on and off the pitch. Last year she stole our hearts in her record-breaking performance in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, making the highest number of tackles and covering the most ground of any player in the tournament. Katrina helped the Matildas reach the semi-finals for the first time ever, catapulting her and the rest of the team to the status of national treasures and putting women’s football on the map in Australia for the first time.

Speaking to Julia just after the birth of her second child Koby earlier this month, Katrina tells the remarkable story of her journey to motherhood and how she has balanced her lifelong dream of having a family alongside an elite sporting career.

As she prepares for the upcoming Paris Olympics, she reflects on the legacy of last year’s World Cup, how much progress has been achieved for women’s sports and what still needs to change to truly level the playing field.

In this episode, Julia and Katrina discuss her moving Australian Story documentary. This is available to watch on the ABC Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GfhN0rdTS8

Katrina also references the Matildas’ Trailblazers documentary, which is essential viewing for anyone interested in learning more about the history of the Matildas, women’s football more broadly, and the ongoing battle for equal pay in the sport. The documentary is available to watch on Stan and you can find out more here: https://www.stan.com.au/watch/trailblazers-2024.

This conversation touches on themes of eating disorders. If this issue affects you or someone you know, Butterfly offers free confidential support. You can call their National Helpline on 1800 33 4673, chat online or email.

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