In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Ray Boomhower chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting The Ultimate Protest: Malcolm W. Browne, Thích Quảng Đức, and the News Photograph That Stunned the World.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

• The powerful story behind Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức’s 1963 self-immolation protest in Saigon.
• How Malcolm Browne’s iconic photograph of this tragic act shocked the world, igniting global outrage that influenced the course of the Vietnam War.
• Why Boomhower chose The Ultimate Protest as the biography’s title.
• How Boomhower braided biography with war history.
• Boomhower’s meticulous behind-the-scenes research, from scouring archives and news reports to retracing Malcolm Browne’s footsteps in Vietnam.
• How Boomhower captured Malcolm Browne’s voice and perspective despite never interviewing him.
• How Boomhower depicted distressing and sacred moments with unflinching accuracy, empathy and cultural sensitivity.
• The ethical dilemmas Boomhower grappled with in sharing Browne’s story.

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Bron Bateman chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while editing Women of a Certain Courage.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

• The drive behind Women of a Certain Courage, including why Bron set out to challenge traditional male-centric hero narratives and celebrate everyday women’s bravery.
• How Bron handpicked 18 diverse women writers—Indigenous activists, queer and trans voices and women with disabilities—to share first-person stories of courage from across Australia.
• A peek into Bron’s editing process: how her poet’s eye for imagery and rhythm helped shape the anthology’s powerful emotional journey.
• The common threads of resilience, healing and transformation that connect these diverse stories and how each woman emerges stronger after adversity.
• Bron’s fresh take on what courage really means, highlighting that heroism isn’t always loud. It can be found in small acts of persistence and speaking your truth in everyday life.
• Why sharing these stories creates a ripple effect of bravery, inspiring others to find their own courage.
• Why Bron believes every act of courage, no matter how small, matters.

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Stephen J. Campbell chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting Leonardo da Vinci: An Untraceable Life.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

• Why Stephen Campbell resists the urge to create a seamless narrative and instead embraces the mystery, silence and gaps in Leonardo da Vinci’s story.
• How the book’s structure reflects the fragmented reality of Leonardo’s life.
• The origin of the book’s title and how it challenges traditional biographical expectations by leaning into ambiguity.
• How Campbell uses philosophical chapter titles and historical nuance to explore mythmaking and modern interpretations of Leonardo da Vinci.
• Why Campbell avoids speculation and instead invites readers to sit with what we don’t know, treating uncertainty as revealing rather than inconvenient.
• The biographer’s role as a curator of questions rather than authority, a model of life writing that prioritises transparency over certainty.
• The myths the book gently dismantles, from the lonely genius trope to misconceptions about Leonardo’s inventions and personality.
• How An Untraceable Life encourages us to rethink what biography can be and to rediscover awe in the unresolvable aspects of a life.