Peter Marralwanga (1916–1987) was a leading figure in one of the great art practices of the world. He grew up in western Arnhem Land surrounded by artists painting in rock shelters and he learned to paint this way himself. The subjects of his paintings were the Djang who made his country and placed the spirits of people within it. Marralwanga’s story highlights the way bark painting became important as a way of evading assimilation policies rife within Northern Territory towns. Marralwanga established an outstation at Marrkolidjban where he could teach his children how to properly care for Ancestral lands, with part of this care involving a knowledge of how to paint. As a senior person who had travelled widely in his youth, and gained extensive ceremonial knowledge, Marralwanga was highly influential among a broad group of painters. Ivan Namirrkki, a painter of note and Peter Marralwanga’s son, has provided here his own account of his father’s life.

This book tracks Marralwanga’s life of learning about country and conveys the religious meaning of numerous major works, offering outsiders a richer understanding and appreciation of Arnhem Land art. It also shows the crucial role of individuals working for the community arts cooperative Maningrida Arts and Culture in facilitating Marralwanga’s rise to recognition as a major Australian and world artist.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Luke Taylor about the tradition of Aboriginal bark painting that Peter Marralwanga drew from, the depth of knowledge of Aboriginal culture and ceremony that he brought to his paintings, and the political dimension to Marralwanga's work and its role in the developing land rights movement of the 1960s and 70s in Australia.

In Raven Mother, Jane Messer weaves together her Jewish family’s tragic story – stretching back and forth between Berlin, Israel, Palestine, Melbourne and Sydney. Messer retraces the steps of her Jewish grandmother Bella, as she tries to understand her life in pre-war Berlin and Mandate Palestine, to post-war Melbourne where she didn’t survive the surviving, and why her father was abandoned in England before the war. In this powerful, beautifully written and insightful book, Messer spends time in Berlin, Israel and Palestine and grapples with the effects of nationalism, both historical and contemporary. Along the way, she speaks with historians, activists, refugees and scholars, and constantly to her beloved father.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jane Messer about the origins of the old German term, 'Rabenmutter', the city of Berlin under the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, and what she discovered about her grandmother Bella along the way.

Theresa Miller has spent decades working as a journalist and now media trainer, coaching people across all industries – from CEOs and academics to climate campaigners, entrepreneurs and artists – to communicate confidently, clearly and concisely. In Speak Up, she shows you how to successfully share your expertise and experience with an audience – whether it’s creating an inspiring work presentation or media release, blitzing a job interview or nailing your message on a podcast, panel, TV or radio interview.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Theresa Miller about why the demand for public speaking is bigger than ever, why being an expert in your field is not enough to get your message across, and why preparation and presentation skills are fundamental to good communication.