Best Zoya Patel Podcasts (2025)

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Bo Seo on how to have a good argument 41:29

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2+ y ago41:29

41:29

At a time when our society is growing increasingly divided, world champion debater Bo Seo argues that we shouldn’t be aiming for fewer disagreements. Instead, he tells Lucy Clark that we’re better off using the principles of competitive debate to disagree well and, in doing so, to get along with our co-workers, friends and family despite our differ…

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Rachel Franks on colonial Australia’s noseless hangman 39:28

3y ago39:28

39:28

Robert ‘Nosey Bob’ Howard sparked both fear and fascination as the longest-serving executioner in New South Wales. Paul Daley speaks with Rachel Franks, the author of An Uncommon Hangman: The Life and Deaths of Robert ‘Nosey Bob’ Howard, about his 62 hangings and why Indigenous people and women were disproportionately sentenced to death…

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Jennifer Down on why we need to read about trauma 51:09

3y ago51:09

51:09

The winner of the 2022 Miles Franklin Award, Jennifer Down, had only one rule when she set out to write about a fictional survivor of child sexual abuse: do no harm. But she tells Jane Lee she still worries about the ethical questions involved in publishing and winning the prestigious award for her novel Bodies of Light…

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Jilda Andrews and John Carty on Aboriginal art and what it means to belong 56:35

3y ago56:35

56:35

People who devote their lives to preserving Aboriginal culture and heritage are often caught between local communities and the legacies of museums. Yuwaalaraay woman Jilda Andrews and John Carty, author of Balgo, chat to Paul Daley about the meaning of Country, anthropology and art in the Western Desert…

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Evelyn Araluen on the dark side of Blinky Bill 39:10

3y ago39:10

39:10

For many Australians, classic children’s book characters like Blinky Bill and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie represent innocent adventures in the bush. But Stella prize winning author Evelyn Araluen argues you can also find the story of Aboriginal peoples’ displacement at the heart of these beloved talesBy The Guardian

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Siang Lu on who gets to be a Hollywood hero 46:22

3y ago46:22

46:22

Movie buff Siang Lu watched hundreds of movies for his debut novel The Whitewash, including many where white actors played characters of colour. Researching the history of whitewashing and the evolution of the Asian action hero in Hollywood helped him learn what movies can teach us about how we see ourselves and each other in real life…

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SL Lim on rage, revenge and unfairness 38:52

3y ago38:52

38:52

SL Lim’s award-winning novel, Revenge, follows the life of Yannie, a protagonist who watches her brother live a life of prosperity while they go without. Set between Malaysia and Sydney, Lim exposes the vivid frustrations of inequality and disadvantage in one family and what happens when rage erupts into revenge…

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Brigid Delaney on how the Stoics taught her not to worry 41:03

3y ago41:03

41:03

In 2018, Brigid Delaney experimented with the idea of living like a Stoic. From relinquishing things out of her control to practising voluntary hardship, after adopting the ancient philosophy Brigid noticed a remarkable change in her life - and her emotional wellbeing. Drawing on the works of three Stoics, Brigid Delaney’s book Reasons Not to Worry…

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Margin Notes S2 Episode 7: On work and culture 55:38

3y ago55:38

55:38

We hear from guest writer, Phi Phi Nguyen, who shares her story of growing up as the child of migrants on the NSW South Coast. Watching her family work incredibly hard to make a life in their new home shaped Phi Phi's attitude towards work, which we explore alongside what it's like to grow up in a majority white town as a migrant, and more!…

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Margin Notes S2 Episode 6: On sexuality and coming of age 59:10

3y ago59:10

59:10

Ah, our twenties. We remember those years fondly - full of sexual awakening, poor decision making, and riotous fun. We get nostalgic, talk love and sex, and our halcyon days of youth.By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes S2 Episode 5: On animals 50:01

3y ago50:01

50:01

This episode, we talk animals and culture. How do we treat animals? And how does our culture inform this?By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes S2 Episode 4: On interracial relationships 40:05

3y ago40:05

40:05

What's it like being in an interracial relationship? How do we navigate the expectations of our families, and society at large? And when does cultural difference become a challenge?By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes S2 Episode 2: On micro aggressions 47:38

3y ago47:38

47:38

We talk about microaggressions - when racism, homophobia and other prejudice is experienced, even in 'small doses', it builds up and corrodes our sense of self and belonging.By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes S2 Episode 1: On bodies and body hair 42:37

3y ago42:37

42:37

In the first episode of Season 2, we chat all things body hair - when it is and isn't deemed socially acceptable on queer and culturally diverse bodies, and how it shapes our identities.By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes S2 Episode 3: On parenting, loss and grief 45:25

3y ago45:25

45:25

In this episode, we feature guest writer, Gemma Killen. Gem and Yen share their experience of losing their son to stillbirth. Trigger warning - we talk about grief, infant death, and loss.By Margin Notes

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Paul Cleary on land rights, native title and big mining 38:01

3+ y ago38:01

38:01

Paul Cleary documents the Yindjibarndi community’s resistance and fight against Fortescue Mining Group. It’s an ongoing David versus Goliath story that has taken decades, and even gone to the high courtBy The Guardian

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Omar Musa on using humour to talk about racism, colonialism and inequality 49:20

3+ y ago49:20

49:20

Drawing on a printmaking technique he learned from punk-rock climate activists in Borneo, Malaysian Australian author and poet Omar Musa wrestles with race, family and isolation in Killernova, his new book of poetry and art. He talks to Zoya Patel and also performs poems from his new bookBy The Guardian

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Hannah Kent on challenging shame through historical fiction 33:16

3+ y ago33:16

33:16

Hannah Kent’s novel, Devotion, is a queer love story that is set in a pious, nineteenth century religious community. In resisting the narrative of shame that has dominated the retelling of this time in history, Kent is challenging the way authors represent the pastBy The Guardian

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Craig Sherborne on love, death and complicated mothers 31:07

3+ y ago31:07

31:07

Craig Sherborne’s novel The Grass Hotel tells the story of caring for a mother who is declining with dementia. He talks to Paul Daley about his own complex upbringing – one that was affectionate, but also filled with stilted and misunderstood expressions of careBy The Guardian

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Yumna Kassab on how we imagine Australia in literature 22:13

3+ y ago22:13

22:13

Australiana is a novel set in a nameless town in rural Australia, where Yumna Kassab explores interconnected experiences of inequality. In doing so, she also makes us pause and reflect on how Australia is represented through literatureBy The Guardian

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Chelsea Watego on sovereignty, survival and self-determination in the colony | Book It In podcast 45:43

3+ y ago45:43

45:43

Paul Daley speaks to Chelsea Watego about why she says ‘fuck hope’ and why she wants to take her book, Another Day in the Colony, to Aboriginal readers in prisonsBy The Guardian

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Heidi Everett on foxes, care and language of the mental health system 46:25

3+ y ago46:25

46:25

Based on more than four decades of lived experience in the public mental health system, Heidi Everett uses the lyricism of music and the drawings of a four-legged friend to describe her various mental states. In doing so, she expresses the difference between treatment and cure, recovery and healing, and existing and living…

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Emily Bitto on gender and the hero’s quest 40:43

3+ y ago40:43

40:43

In a road trip prompted by an Australian man’s imagination of America, Emily Bitto explores the literary trope of the masculine hero’s quest – through her novel Wild AbandonBy The Guardian

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Marion Frith on hope in the aftermath of war 35:24

3+ y ago35:24

35:24

Paul Daley talks to Marion Frith about how she wrote a novel about life after loss and human resilience in the midst of trauma – by telling the story through an unlikely friendship between two fictional charactersBy The Guardian

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Debi Marshall on the popularity of true crime 41:30

3+ y ago41:30

41:30

Through personal tragedy and time spent telling the stories of victims, investigative crime journalist Debi Marshall says she’s found that closure doesn’t exist. So why do people read, and why do authors write, true crime?By The Guardian

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Rawah Arja on how to get inside the mind of a teenage boy 48:24

3+ y ago48:24

48:24

Rawah Arja was determined to write a YA novel for – and about – teenage boys in Western Sydney. She tells Zoya Patel about how she created a story about religion, rivalries, romance, racism and redemption in The F TeamBy The Guardian

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Tony Birch on writing true characters in fiction 56:25

3+ y ago56:25

56:25

Paul Daley talks to Tony Birch about finding affection on the so-called margins of the inner city, the injustice of climate change and Blak humour. Birch also describes why he doesn’t view his fiction as having a political messageBy The Guardian

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Kathryn Heyman on fury, trauma and personal transformation 39:56

4y ago39:56

39:56

Features editor Lucy Clark talks to Kathryn Heyman about the indignities that women endure throughout their lives and the craft of writing a memoirBy The Guardian

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Alice Pung on writing as work 51:37

4y ago51:37

51:37

In conversation with Zoya Patel, Alice Pung talks about the writing life and having a separate job – while also navigating the publishing industry as a woman and person of colourBy The Guardian

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Tara June Winch and Thomas Mayor on Indigenous masculinity 54:07

4y ago54:07

54:07

Dear Son is a searing anthology of letters by First Nations fathers and sons. Two of Australia’s best authors discuss the tenderness and strength of Indigenous masculinity, in conversation with author and journalist Paul DaleyBy The Guardian

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Introducing: Book It In 0:58

4y ago0:58

0:58

What do books tell us about the world we live in? Join Guardian Australia features editor Lucy Clark, author and journalist Paul Daley, and writer and editor Zoya Patel for a weekly conversation with a top author about the ideas that shape their workBy The Guardian

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Margin Notes Episode 6 : Living with chronic pain 34:02

5y ago34:02

34:02

In the final episode of Season 1 of Margin Notes, guest artists Naomi Barnbaum shares her memoir of living with chronic illness. How do our experiences of pain define who we are? And how do we come to terms with our bodies being forever changed by illness?By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes Episode 5 : Travelling and migrant guilt 41:26

5y ago41:26

41:26

In this episode, Yen and Zoya explore the unique experience of travelling as a migrant, and the phenomenon of migrant guilt. How do we reconcile our privilege as immigrants with the simultaneous experience of alienation?By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes Episode 4: When race and sexual identity collide 25:38

5y ago25:38

25:38

When you've grown up in worlds that are wildly apart, can migrant parents ever truly understand their children who are more a product of their adopted country than their parents' birthplace? And how does migrant identity intersect with sexuality? This episode of Margin Notes is about family, identity, and understanding each other despite the distan…

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Margin Notes Episode 3: Growing up with a migrant work ethic 38:57

5y ago38:57

38:57

Migrant workers are everywhere - your local 7-Eleven, pushing trolleys at Coles, in your Doctor's surgery and in front of the university lecture podium. So is it true what they say about the migrant work ethic? And what does that do to the generations that come after them? Yen and Zoya discuss the reality of living as the children of hardworking mi…

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Margin Notes Episode 2: Food and cultural identity 42:19

5+ y ago42:19

42:19

In this episode, Yen Eriksen shares an evocative piece of memoir about cultural legacy, family and making sticky rice. How does food create a connection to culture, and how do we maintain this link as migrants?By Margin Notes

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Margin Notes Episode 1 : Pop culture on the margins 33:44

5+ y ago33:44

33:44

In our pilot episode, author Zoya Patel shares her reflections on finding herself in pop culture through watching Bend It Like Beckham. Together with co-host Yen Eriksen, she explores what it means to be represented in media as a person of colour, and on the flipside, what the impact is of not being able to see yourself in the television, books or …