Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith

Author: Sydney Opera House October 21, 2020 Duration: 47:43
When 24 Year old Zadie Smith published her debut novel, White Teeth, in 2000, she became an instant literary superstar. Two decades and several more novels, short story and essay collections later, her voice remains every bit as relevant. Never one to follow a trend, her writing has earned a reputation for originality and intellectual independence. Head of Talks and Ideas Edwina Throsby spoke to Zadie Smith when she was visiting the Sydney Opera House in November 2019.

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Behind every significant idea, there is a rich and often winding narrative waiting to be told. It's a Long Story is where those narratives unfold, brought to life by the Sydney Opera House as a key part of its Talks and Ideas program. Host Edwina Throsby guides these explorations, sitting down for deep conversations with a fascinating array of global thinkers, artists, and culture creators. Each episode delves beyond the headlines and finished works, uncovering the personal journeys, creative struggles, and pivotal moments that shape groundbreaking contributions to the arts, commentary, and current affairs. This podcast offers a rare, intimate space to hear the nuanced stories behind the public personas, providing listeners with a deeper understanding of the forces that drive innovation and cultural dialogue. Tune in for thoughtful, extended dialogues that remind us that the most compelling concepts are rarely born in an instant, but are instead the product of a long, considered, and human process.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 62

It's a Long Story
Podcast Episodes
Julie Snyder (Serial) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:59
20 years ago Julie Snyder applied for a job at a little known radio show called, 'This American Life'. They'd only been on the air for a year and she said of her application, "I was incredibly unqualified." It was there…
Jad Abumrad [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:07
Through a unique combination of audio storytelling, music and soundscapes Jad Abumrad has been credited with creating a new aesthetic for broadcast journalism. Colleague, Ira Glass speaks of his podcast 'Radiolab' confes…
Lionel Shriver [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:20
Lionel Shriver is the author of 12 books. Perhaps most famously "We Need To Talk About Kevin", for which he won the Orange Prize. Born Margaret Ann in May 1957, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, as a teenager, she…
Lev Grossman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:11
Lev Grossman is the author of five books, perhaps most notably his series beginning with "The Magicians." Described by almost every critic out there perhaps unfairly as "Harry Potter for adults." Born in June of 1969 he…
Priyamvada Gopal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:41
Once described as an obscure Cambridge lecturer after a high-level academic spat on live British radio in truth Priyamvada Gopal is anything but. There are few public intellectuals who think and write on the subjects of…
Alok Jha [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:07
Alok Jha is a self-described water obsessive, a scientist and communicator; he's made an art form of unpacking some of the most complex questions of our age. A fascination with water has taken him literally to the ends o…
Sheila Watt-Cloutier [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:15
Sheila Watt-Cloutier is an independent advocate on Inuit human rights. When she was growing up, she wanted to be a nurse and then a doctor, but that didn't pan out very well because she wasn't very good at chemistry, phy…
Jesse Bering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:35
From a very early age, Jesse Bering has been asking questions of himself. Growing up amid AIDS hysteria in Reagan's America, Bering knew that he was attracted to other boys but was terrified into a guilty silence. In hig…
Deng Thiak Adut [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:31
There are people with interesting life stories, and then there are people whose lives read like a screenplay. From being conscripted as a child solider in Sudan to finding a new home in suburban Australia as a refugee wh…
Alicia Garza [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:16
Shaken by a court's decision to acquit George Zimmerman over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Alicia Garza wrote, "Black people, I love you. I love us. Our lives matter." From there, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter wa…