Nicole Abadee talks to Professor Gerry Simpson about his book "The Sentimental Life of International Law: Literature, Language and Longing in world politics.

In this episode of the Books, Books, Books Law School Series, Associate Professor Krayem talks with Nicole about her latest book "Understanding Sharia Processes: Women's Experiences of Family Disputes."    SHOW NOTES:  Nicole Abadee Website: https://www.nicoleabadee.com.au Facebook: @booksbooksbookspodcast OR @nicole.abadee Twitter: @NicoleAbadee Instagram: @booksbooksbookspodcast OR @nicoleabadee University of Sydney Law School Website: https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/ Facebook: @sydneylawschool Twitter: @SydneyLawSchool Instagram: @sydneylawschool YouTube: @SydneyLawSchool Soundcloud: @sydneylawschool LinkedIn: The University of Sydney Law School

This episode is a special presentation of the In Conversation Nicole Abadee did with award winning playwright and human rights lawyer, Suzie Miller, for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, about the importance and role of storytelling in social justice.

In this episode of the Books, Books, Books Law School Series, Professor Svetiev provides an up-to-date account of the evolution of competition law enforcement in the European Union, arguing that recent developments may be explained by a model of experimentalist governance based on learning from difference and learning from experience. He considers the extent to which an experimentalist governance model is either feasible or desirable, with detailed reference to recent cases and developments.

Nicole talks to the new editor of Griffith Review, Dr Carody Culver about Griffith Review 78, A Matter of Taste, which provides a feast of essays, memoir, reportage and fiction about what we eat and why. They discuss brilliant pieces by food writer Kate Gibbs (grand-daughter of Margaret Fulton) on the joys and future of cookbooks, historian Yves Rees on the milk wars and their origin, writer Laura Elvery on what happens when a food name is no longer appropriate and the backlash a name change can provoke (think Coon cheese) and the passion of Nornie Bero, First Nations owner of renowned Melbourne Mabu Mabu restaurant , for native produce and how it can connect us to our land.

In this achingly tender, funny, clever debut novel set in the 1950s, talented  Elizabeth Zott confronts misogyny and worse as she battles to create a place for herself in the male-dominated world of research chemistry. Things get worse when she falls in love with brilliant fellow scientist Calvin. Here Garmus dsicusses how Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique” inspired her and the joys of creating such an unconventional, empowered protagonist.

In this edition of Griffith Review, which is produced in partnership with the Australian Antarctic Division, Ashley and Nicole discuss all things Antarctic –Australia’s role there, the fascinating million-year ice core project, the terrifying impact of climate change on the fragile Antarctic eco-systems and the melting of the ice sheets.

Feminist, activist and writer Wendy McCarthy reveals in her new memoir, “Don’t Be Too Polite, Girls” how to be a strong feminist, a good mother and a good wife  - all at the same time. Here she discusses how choosing the right life partner, her beloved Gordon McCarthy, enabled her to live a stimulating, purposeful life, with a brilliant career spanning the public, private, corporate and not-for-profit sectors. Her advice to women offered key roles? “Say yes and work it out later,” – just as a man would do. Gold.

“I am first and foremost a First Nations woman. I am that before I am a lawyer”. In this wide-ranging conversation with Teela Reid, Sydney Law School’s first First Nations Lawyer in Residence, she discusses her remarkable career as lawyer, activist and storyteller – the life-changing decision to move from teaching to law,  her determination to make life better for the next generation of First Nations kids, her involvement in the Regional  Dialogues which led to the Uluru Statement From the Heart and her tireless advocacy for the First Nations Voice to Parliament, which she sees as the beginning of a crucial reckoning between Black and white Australia. She also talks about the need for non-Indigenous Australians to show up and to do the work. A fascinating insight into one of the thought leaders of her generation, who is determined to use her role at the Law School to “make sure we continue to create space for other First Nations students and lawyers”.

When popular broadcaster Indira Naidoo lost her youngest sister to suicide she was plunged into a darkness like no other. Heartbroken and wracked with grief and guilt, her immediate response upon hearing the news was to flee to Sydney’s Botanic Gardens and seek solace between a towering Moreton Bay tree that she came to think of as her own. “The Space Between the Stars” is her achingly beautiful account of how that tree and a rediscovery of many other aspects  of nature – from birds to weeds to stars to  puddles - enabled her draw on her reserves of resilience, to heal and to find joy once again.

In her sixteenth novel, Violeta,  Isabel Allende has created an unforgettable heroine much like herself – fiercely independent, funny, passionate, devoted to her children and a powerful advocate for women’s rights and feminism. Like her other books, Violeta is a brilliant blend of the personal with the political – Violeta’s almost-one hundred years of life are book-ended by two pandemics – the Spanish Flu and Covid – and her life is shaped by the tumultuous events of the twentieth century – especially World War Two and the huge political upheaval in Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s. In this rich conversation Isabel discusses love, passion, growing old and politics – in particular, how feminists in America can retain hope and keep up the fight in the face of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

In her latest book, “Self, Others and the State – Relations of Criminal Responsibility”, Professor Loughnan reassesses the rise to prominence of criminal responsibility within the Australian criminal law in the twentieth century and reconsiders its significance within the criminal law. In this episode Nicole and Professor Loughnan discuss the central thesis of her book – that criminal responsibility is significant because of the unique role it plays in organising key sets of relations – between individuals, other and the state – as relations of responsibility. To illustrate her argument, they talk about “the gendered self”,  focusing on women’s responsibility for crime, the offence of consorting and government responses to allegations of institutional child abuse.

What might a reckoning between Black and white Australia look like? Many of the brilliant contributors to Griffith Review 76, “Acts of Reckoning”, such as Professor Megan Davis, leading scholar Teela Reid and Senator Patrick Dodson, argue that it starts with all of us embracing the generous invitation from Indigenous people in the Uluru Statement From the Heart to walk together towards a better future, one that begins with a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament, then moves towards Treaty and Truth-telling. Others write powerfully about the need for fundamental changes to the criminal justice system which incarcerates so many young Indigenous people, and the importance of owning our violent past. In this conversation  Ashley Hay speaks with power and conviction of what we can all do to make change happen.

Nicole Abadee talks to Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Jennifer Egan, about her exciting new book "The Candy House."

Emily and Nicole discuss how non-binding instruments or ‘soft law’ have been received in international humanitarian law by looking at specific examples, such as the ICRC Study into Customary International Humanitarian Law. Have they been adopted in state practice? Are they referred to by international and national courts and tribunals? They consider potential benefits, such as their potential to contribute in a positive way to the development and clarification of the law, but also the possible pitfalls – lack of accountability and transparency and bias.  And what legal status, if any, do they have?

Nicole speaks to Kate Grenville about forming the "Writers for Climate Action" group, where she brings writers passionate about acting against climate change, together in a single space to fight the biggest challenge of our time and threat to our future.  "we've joined forces to act as a group because we believe that climate change is a threat to the future of our world. Individually we write about that world in our books. Now we want to use our collective voice to push back against the threat to it."  If you are a writer who would like to join Writers for Climate Action go to https://www.writersforclimateaction.com.

Books, Books, Books is proud to present "Comrade in Words" a session from Adelaide Writer's Week where Nicole facilitated a conversation between Charlotte Wood and Christos Tsiolkas about their latest works, friendship, how they function as artists, and the challenges of living a creative life.

“When women speak of war they say nothing or almost nothing of what we are used to reading and hearing about”. These words, by Nobel-Prize-winning writer Svetlana Alexievich inspired acclaimed writer and cultural historian Maria Tumarkin to create an extraordinary multi-disciplinary event called “When Women Speak of War: Artists reckon With Wars Declared and Hidden”, which will have its world premiere on Thursday 28 April at the National Theatre in Melbourne. The performance will feature Ukrainian-born writers, musicians and performers alongside a diverse line-up of brilliant artists. The aim, Maria says, is “To stir up, honour, cliché-bust and transport.” Conceived before the war in Ukraine as part of the Festival of Jewish Art and Music (FOJAM) to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, the performance takes on particular resonance in light of the war in Maria’s beloved homeland. Part of the proceeds of ticket sales will go to the Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Fund.

Nicole talks to Griffith Review Editor, Ashley Hay, about the incredible writers and works in Griffith Review issue #75 - Learning Curves, all about education.  "From preschool to postgrad, from private to public, and from sandstone to the school of life, what do the parameters of our educational experiences add up to? What does a good education look like in a country with an increasingly segregated school system, public funding for private institutions, and a tertiary sector that’s facing an uncertain financial and philosophical future?" Featuring new work by Raewyn Connell, Bri Lee, Andrew Leigh, Melanie Myers, Pasi Sahlberg, Gabbie Stroudand Miriam Sved, among many others.