From The Lighthouse

Clueless brings Jane Austen's Emma into the world of a privileged LA teen, and it works perfectly. This week, Stephanie, Kirstin and Jimmy discuss Austen, Heckerling, and routine liposuction.

She's The Man transforms Shakespeare's Twelfth Night into a teen drama about soccer and debutante balls. This week, Stephanie, Jimmy and Kirstin discuss the film, gender, and why they don't necessarily think it all works...

We love old books when they're teen movies. This week, Stephanie, Jimmy and Kirstin kick off a new mini-series of podcasts on teen movie adaptations of classic texts with Ten Things I Hate About You.

Shakespeare's Macbeth is so good that we can't stop thinking about it, or talking about it. This week, Stephanie, Jimmy and Kirstin discuss the appeal of the Scottish play, as well as the best and worst adaptations.

The world is in a very strange place right now, and we're in need of serious distraction. Jimmy, Kirstin and Stephanie take you through their favourite comfort books, television shows, movies and podcasts.

Double Indemnity is THE film noir: the film noir that most people think about when they picture the genre. This week, Stephanie and Jimmy discuss twisted relationships, murder, and Barbara Stanwyck's fringe.

Stephanie is still too busy and doesn't have time to act as referee as Michelle and Jimmy lock horns over Kafka's The Metamorphosis (or, as Steph calls it, "the bug episode"). Join Michelle and Jimmy as they politely discuss the enduring appeal, complexities and ambiguities of Kafka's seminal text, before descending into an inexplicably long debate about the source of artistry in music. 

Stephanie is too busy and does not want to discuss Jimmy's idea for this week's podcast (aka the puppet episode), so in the spirit of resistance, Jimmy has taken control of the mic and invited the Queen of Fantasy (aka Dr Kirstin Mills) to discuss the new Netflix series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Join them as they discuss duality, puppetry, world-building, and Podling rights. 

In a proud From the Lighthouse tradition, Stephanie and Michelle give their verdict on the best books of 2019.

The new Netflix adaptation has divided audiences: some love it, some hate it. This week, Stephanie and Kirstin give their verdict (spoiler: they neither loved nor hated it!)

The first in a new series on film noir, Stephanie and Jimmy discuss Otto Preminger's 1944 film Laura. Laura is both an excellent novel by Vera Caspary and a true classic of film noir. We discuss Gene Tierney's gorgeousness, boring detectives, and whether you should receive guests sitting in the bath. 

Stephanie and Jimmy continue their long-standing and creepy obsession with true crime by chatting about the podcasts Detective Trapp, Hunting Warhead, Noble Blood and Hitman.

Travel writing—being paid to travel to and write about destinations all over the world sounds like a dream to many.  In this episode of From the Lighthouse, Michelle Hamadache interviews Diana Plater, travel writer and journalist with more than twenty years experience, to hear how to get started in the industry, tips on travel writing, and how the industry has changed with globalisation and the digital era.

This week, From the Lighthouse is hosted by the English Department's International Masters students— Oluwanifemi Temitayo Maxwell, Cornelia Li and Jonathan Chang. Travelling to Macquarie from all over the globe, the Masters students discuss everything from what it's like to live and study far from home to the challenges and rewards of negotiating flatmates who think you eat banana skins.

The students have taken over! Welcome to a special episode featuring issue #15 of The Quarry ‘Zoographia.’ Join the editorial team, Aylish, Jodie, Claire and Emily and their guests, Thomas and Matt, as they chat all things writing, reading and whether Nineteen Eighty-Four is a hazard to your health.   Read all their stories on The Quarry website – out November 8th!

Diana Plater, professional travel writer, journalist, and now novelist, discusses her first novel, Whale Rock, a sensuous exploration of mothering and loss and what it means to be a middle-aged woman in multi-cultural Sydney.   Credit for the pic of Diana: Sylvia Karschies. Whale Rock by Diana Plater is available at: https://themoshshop.com.au/collections/new-releases/products/whale-rock-by-diana-plater;  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/924932 https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07NYHWNTR https://books.apple.com/us/book/whale-rock/id1454032970

It's time to get spoooooky. This month, Stephanie and Kirstin discuss the Gothic charms, sassy witches and excellent cats of the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Join Jimmy Van and Michelle Hamadache as they discuss all things Titus Andronicus. Listen in to hear what they thought of the Bell Theatre Company's Sydney production of the play (not much!), and you'll also get to hear some insights into Shakespeare's original vision for what is a very bloody play. Warning: Both original play and the Bell production are rife with graphic scenes of sexual violence and mutilation. These topics are discussed during the podcast, so please be aware and listen accordingly.

We love Fleabag. No, we really love Fleabag. This week, Stephanie and Jimmy discuss their love of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's brilliant, smart, surprising, dirty comedy. 

2019 marks 300 years since the publication of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. This week, Stephanie is joined by Geoff to discuss the strange life, and perhaps even stranger works, of Daniel Defoe.