Good Weekend Talks

In today’s episode, American author, speaker and blogger Mark Manson discusses how the mantra of relentless positivity, which drives so much of the self-help industry, is full of pitfalls. He explains how negative emotions have a purpose - to drive us to do something - and why the willingness to look like an idiot occasionally guards against self-entitlement. He gives us tips on how to be realistic in our lives, how to maintain hope - and what not to do with cyber stalkers.  Hosting this talk is Good Weekend deputy editor, Greg Callaghan. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with health reporter Norman Swan, who has written a new book on the dos and don'ts of raising children up to the age of 10. Among other topics, Swan talks about how to set good eating habits, what to do about screen overload - and whether it's ever ok to let kids sip alcohol (answer: no). Hosting this conversation with the ABC broadcaster and author of So You Want to Know What’s Good for Your Kids? [https://www.hachette.com.au/dr-norman-swan/so-you-want-to-know-whats-good-for-your-kids-the-ultimate-parenting-guide-on-what-matters-from-birth-to-ten-by-one-of-australias-most-trusted-doctors] is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The youngest ever editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, now owner of Private Media, publisher of Crikey, Eric Beecher has spent decades in and observing the media. In today's episode he discusses his conclusions on when it works best, and when it fails democracy, with his longtime friend, journalist David Leser. Beecher also discusses what it was like to work for Rupert Murdoch during his two year stint as editor-in-chief of The Herald and Weekly Times Group, and whether he was scared when, decades later, Lachlan Murdoch sued him. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In today's episode, singer/songwriter Tim Minchin discusses the poison that is social media, how he emerged from his bruising time in LA and why he urges students to look after their bodies. In conversation with culture reporter Thomas Mitchell, he reflects also on his infamous George Pell song, and on the impending publication of his first non-fiction book, You Don't Have to Have a Dream (Advice for the Incrementally Ambitious). See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In this episode we speak with Markus Zusak, the bestselling novelist behind The Book Thief and Bridge of Clay, who has penned his first non-fiction book, Three Wild Dogs and the Truth, about Reuben, Archer and Frosty, the pound dogs he and wife Mika brought into their family. Zusak talks about the mad mayhem of sharing your life with a mongrel, and the importance of stripping away the veneer through which we so often view life, to expose its more messy reality. Hosting this conversation, in which Zusak discusses the conundrum of how much is too much to spend on a dog's dodgy knees, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.