Self Improvement Wednesday: How to Appre...

This week on Self Improvement Wednesday, Dr Lauren Rosewarne, from Melbourne University's School of Social and Political Sciences, teaches us about her very festive special subject: Christmas films.  

Sydney's first government telephone exchange was established in 1882. By 1891 there was a petition that unleashed hell. 

Latin Lecturer Dr Anne Rogerson shows you how to party like it's 99BC with the history of Roman birthdays, holidays, and military parties.  

Today’s poem is The Gardener 85 by Rabindranath Tagore. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Poetry has a way of collapsing time, and by working the senses, having us experience an era. In the blues rhythms of Langston Hughes’ poetry, I hear e ... Show More

Do you agree that poetry is therapeutic? I do, so on this episode I will read to you some lovely poems on love & life. 

Roses are red, violets are blue, has poetry ever been intimidating for you? For many people, this art form can feel unapproachable, but poet and educator Sarah Kay, suggests that people who don’t like poetry just maybe haven’t found a poem that really speaks to them. Sarah propos ... Show More

In honor of National Poetry Month, Chris is speaking with Naisha Randhar. Naisha is the Youth Poet Laureate of Dallas, the author of Roses of Arma, and the youngest guest Chris has ever interviewed — she’s a high school sophomore. Chris and Naisha talk about the inspiring work of ... Show More

Today’s poem is Dry Spell by Lisa Sewell. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Like so much of what our teachers share as advice about our writing, today’s poem can also be applied to our life off the page.” Celebrate the power of poems with a ... Show More

Today’s poem is from “Requiem 1935-1940” by Anna Akhmatova, translated by Stanley Kunitz and Max Hayward. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “What is the role of poetry during war? Does it have a function? Then and now, poets and readers of p ... Show More

Today’s poem is Echo by Christina Rossetti. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem calls back to a deceased beloved, to return to this side of existence, to traverse the layers of time — an incantation that wishes to reunite us with ... Show More

What sacrifices were made by your parents when you were a child? How did you think about them as they were happening? And how do you think about them now? In his poem “Those Winter Sundays,” Robert Hayden holds space for a weighted childhood memory and the regret, love, and pain ... Show More

Today’s poem is Gacela of the Dark Death by Federico García Lorca, translated by Merryn Williams. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… "Today’s poem has me recall a pilgrimage to the home of a cherished poet, whose mystery is the very fire that ... Show More