A Podcast of One's Own with Julia Gillard

Julia's Book Club - Yesteryear

In this month’s episode of Julia’s Book Club, Julia Gillard and Kathy Lette discuss Yesteryear, the hit debut novel from Caro Claire Burke.Yesteryear follows Natalie - a wife and mother living on a ranch in Idaho and promoting a traditional lifestyle to her many millions of followers on social media. One day Natalie wakes up in a strange version of reality, where her home and family look similar but different.What follows is a fascinating examination of tradition, fame, faith and the performative way so many of us live our lives. Julia and Kathy discuss how the book delves into some of the biggest issues facing our world today, the real life phenomenon of ‘tradwives’ on social media, and how well they each thought the twists and turns of the book played out. Show notes: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is published by Harper Collins and is available in all good bookstores.To learn more about the tradwives research at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership visit https://www.kcl.ac.uk/giwl/assets/giwl-tradwife-report.pdf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Gillard and Thangam Debbonaire live at Hay Festival

In this special episode recorded live at the 2026 Hay Festival in Wales, Julia Gillard sits down with Thangam Debbonaire to discuss their roles as judges for this year’s Women Prize.Julia is chairing the judging panel for the Women's Prize for Fiction, while Thangam is the chair of judges for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.In this entertaining conversation the pair take listeners behind the scenes of judging one of the world’s most prestigious literary prizes. The prizes are awarded annually to a female author of any nationality for the best novel and non-fiction book of the year written in English and published in the UK.Julia and Thangam talk about the rigours of reading dozens of books in a short time frame, heated debates amongst judges and the exceptional books on each shortlist. The winners will be announced in London on June 11.Show notes: To learn more about the Women’s Prize and the books on the long and shortlists visit https://womensprize.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia's Book Club - A Room of One's Own

In this very special episode of Julia’s Book Club, Julia Gillard and Sarah Holland-Batt discuss the work that inspired the name of this podcast.Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own was originally delivered as two lectures at Girton College, Cambridge almost a hundred years ago.Despite the passage of time many of the themes and ideas Woolf explores in this short but weighty book remain startlingly relevant today. Julia and Sarah discuss what has and hasn't changed for women since the 1920s, the evolution of women's writing and Virginia Woolf herself.Content warning: this book and episode includes themes of mental illness, sexual abuse and suicide. Please take care while listening and if you need help or information please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au/Show notes: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf is published by Penguin Australia and is available at all good bookstores. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Akec Makur Chuot on making history as the first African woman in the AFLW

Former AFLW player and gender equality advocate Akec Makur Chuot has lived an extraordinary life.Born in South Sudan, she spent her early years in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to Australia at age 11. She went on to become the first African woman drafted into the inaugural season of the AFLW, the national professional league for women’s Aussie rules football, helping to shape the game from the very beginning.In this episode, Julia Gillard and Akec discuss her journey to Australia, how football became a bridge to belonging, and the responsibility of being a trailblazer in women’s sport.They also explore her advocacy work beyond the field, including raising awareness of child marriage, supporting girls’ education, and using her platform to speak about the experiences of refugee communities.Show notesIn this episode, we discuss Akec’s work with the 1,000 Girls World Vision campaign and her role as a Gender Equality Ambassador for Plan International. You can find out more about this work using the links below:https://www.worldvision.com.au/sponsor-a-child/1000-girlshttps://www.plan.org.au/our-work/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia's Book Club - The Names

In the first Book Club episode of 2026 Julia Gillard and Kathy Lette delve into The Names, the hit debut novel by British author Florence Knapp.The story begins in 1987 when a woman named Cora arrives at the registry office for what at first glance seems like a simple task: naming her newborn son. But for Cora it is a deeply complicated decision. Her husband expects her to follow family tradition and name him Gordon; she likes the name Julian; and her young daughter thinks her baby brother should be called Bear.The story unfolds in three alternate narratives, each based on the name Cora chooses. Spanning 35 years, the book begs the age old question - what's in a name?Julia and Kathy discuss the book's unique structure, generational trauma and their own sliding door moments.Content warning: this book and discussion includes themes of physical and emotional abuse. Please be mindful of that and take care while listening today. If you need help or information please call 1800RESPECT or visit www.1800respect.org.auShow notes:See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill is published by Black Inc Books https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/see-what-you-made-me-do-0To learn more about the research discussed by Kathy and Julia please visit these sites:https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/july/radical-anti-feminism-the-most-prevalent-form-of-violent-extremism-in-australia,-report-findshttps://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/almost-a-third-of-gen-z-men-agree-a-wife-should-obey-her-husband Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.