About History Talks
The History Talks podcasts offer a valuable opportunity to delve into Australian history through the insights of prominent historians or those who make a significant contribution to historical knowledge.
These recordings capture speaker events, providing listeners with a platform to engage with the rich historical narratives and perspectives shared by experts in the field. Whether exploring significant events, individuals, or societal transformations, these podcasts serve as an accessible and informative resource for those interested in delving deeper into Australia’s past.
Digital platforms
The HCNSW has two digital platforms on which it publishes its, and its members, Podcasts and Videos. You can find our video recordings on our YouTube Channel.
History Talks Podcasts
Tune into History Council of NSW lectures anytime, anywhere.
The HCNSW aims to provide audio recordings of its seminars and events, where possible. You can subscribe to our History Talks podcasts via Spotify or Apple (click through the buttons), or your favorite streaming services, or listen to them via the links below.
Newcastle Writers’ Festival 2025
Close to Home: Colonial Violence and Family Histories
Now, more than ever before, we seem more willing to acknowledge difficult histories in our family trees. At the same time, historians are increasingly writing about colonial violence and challenging long-held myths.
What impact is this having on how we see Australia’s past, as well as our own?
John Maynard, Mark Dunn, Stephen Gapps, and Kate Grenville speak with Julie McIntyre about their experiences of encountering dark moments in their research and how they’ve dealt with them in their work.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
2024 Annual History Lecture
Making Their Political Mark: How have Australians remembered politics?
Professor Frank Bongiorno, recorded 10th September 2024, at Chau Chak Wing Museum.
The 2024 History Council of New South Wales Annual History Lecture was given by Professor Frank Bongiorno, professor of history at Australian National University. First held in 1996, the Annual History Lecture was inaugurated by the HCNSW to underline the importance of history to current issues and concerns. The lectures are original works that constitute a significant contribution to historical knowledge.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Week Event:
5 Years on from COVID-19: lessons from past health crises and the future of global health
Recorded at Sydney Mechanics’ School of Art (SMSA)
Join an engaging discussion with our distinguished panel of public health and virology experts, who explore enduring infectious diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and mpox, five years after the discovery of COVID-19. This episode highlights how pandemics have historically reshaped our world and demonstrates the transformative impact of cross-disciplinary collaboration in addressing global health challenges. The panelists confront the stigma and misinformation surrounding mpox, HIV and Covid-19, advocating for empathy and transparent communication to build trust. They dissect the role of public values in shaping policy decisions and reveal how political rhetoric affects scientific communities during health crises. Tackling the persistent threat of diseases like tuberculosis and the growing danger of antimicrobial resistance, the discussion underscores the global inequities laid bare by COVID-19 and outlines a vision for improving responses to future health emergencies.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 8: The Ethics of Crime Histories
Featuring Nerida Campbell, Meg Foster, and Rachel Franks
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice.
In 2024, the series, curated and directed by Dr Jesse Adams Stein, is a partnership event between the History Council of NSW, the Australian Centre for Public History (UTS) and the State Library of NSW.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW at the State Library of NSW on 6 November 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 7: More-Than-Human Histories
Featuring Warwick Anderson, Emily O’Gorman, and Taylor Coyne
Emily O’Gorman and Taylor Coyne reflect on how history can be understood and written from more-than-human perspectives.
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice.
In 2024, the series, curated and directed by Dr Jesse Adams Stein, is a partnership event between the History Council of NSW, the Australian Centre for Public History (UTS) and the State Library of NSW.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW at the State Library of NSW on 16 October 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 6: Transnational Design Histories
Featuring Dr Jesse Adams Stein (Chair), Dr Livia Lazzaro Rezende and Dr Isabel Rousset
Livia Rezende and Isabel Rousset explore the ways international exchange and transcultural connections inform design and visual histories.
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice.
In 2024, the series, curated and directed by Dr Jesse Adams Stein, is a partnership event between the History Council of NSW, the Australian Centre for Public History (UTS) and the State Library of NSW.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW at the State Library of NSW on 7 August 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 5: Truth-Telling & Histories of Genocide
Lorena Allam, Dirk Moses and Ümit Kurt, Chair: Nancy Cushing
A History Now online-only special event, in partnership with the Centre for the Study of Violence, University of Newcastle.
Lorena Allam, Dirk Moses and Ümit Kurt reflect on what can be learned from histories of genocide, and locate their discussion between journalism, history and processes of truth-telling.
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice.
In 2024, the series, curated and directed by Dr Jesse Adams Stein, is a partnership event between the History Council of NSW, the Australian Centre for Public History (UTS) and the State Library of NSW.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW via Zoom on 31 July 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
Photo: Professor Patrick Nunn (supplied)
History & Memory: Oral Histories and the Science of the Dreaming.
Prof. Patrick Nunn, for HCNSW First Nations Stories Series, 2024
This lecture is the first online offering of the 2024 First Nations Stories Series, facilitated by the History Council of New South Wales’ Project Officer for First Nations’ Histories. For more information about the HCNSW First Nations programs, please see that webpage.
Session description
The power of recall in oral societies is phenomenal … but many scientists have only just started to understand this and think about its implications. In Australia, some of the stories that have been told longest are about ocean rise after the last ice age and the effects of volcanic eruptions, both topics which are covered in this talk.
Geologist and climate scientist, Patrick Nunn, Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast, has written extensively about how many ‘myths and legends’ are not fictions but culturally-filtered memories.
Session presented by Prof Patrick Nunn for the History Council of NSW and recorded via Zoom, 23 July 2024.
(Please note that this episode has also been published on our YouTube channel, where all of the graphics presented by Professor Nunn can be viewed.)
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
Winning Histories Panel at the 2024 Sydney Writers Festival
Featuring A/Prof Jan Láníček (Chair), Dr Margaret Cook, Dr Shannyn Palmer and Nicole Cama.
In this panel, staged by the History Council of NSW at the 2024 Sydney Writers Festival, three award-winning Australian historians discuss the dual art of crafting histories and captivating narratives for diverse audiences.
Our authors, Dr Margaret Cook, Dr Shannyn Palmer and Nicole Cama, explore the dynamics of writing and presenting histories that respond to questions and ideas with relevance to national or local interest, as well as seeking to tell stories that resonate with larger audiences. Chaired by A/Prof Jan Láníček, the authors delve into the nuanced artistry required to bridge the gap between academic excellence and accessibility.
Recorded for the History Council of NSW by the State Library of NSW on 21 May 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 4: Histories of Mental Health
Featuring Dr Effie Karageorgos (Chair), Professor Catharine Coleborne and Dr James Dunk.
Catharine Coleborne and James Dunk discuss the depth of historical writing about mental illness in Australia and reflect on its resonance in the present moment; how can we write the history of mental health now?
This event was held in partnership with the University of Newcastle’s Future of Madness Network
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice.
In 2024, the series, curated and directed by Dr Jesse Adams Stein, is a partnership event between the History Council of NSW, the Australian Centre for Public History (UTS) and the State Library of NSW.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW at the State Library of NSW on 5 June 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 3: Aboriginal Political Histories
Featuring Dr Cara Cross (Chair), Emeritus Professor John Maynard, Professor Heidi Norman and Lynda-June Coe.
Heidi Norman, John Maynard and Lynda-June Coe reflect on the historical significance of Aboriginal political activism, representation and advocacy.
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice.
In 2024, the series, curated and directed by Dr Jesse Adams Stein, is a partnership event between the History Council of NSW, the Australian Centre for Public History (UTS) and the State Library of NSW.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW at the State Library of NSW on 1 May 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 2: Histories of Capitalism
Featuring Dr Hannah Forsyth & Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson.
Chair: Dr Mike Beggs. Series curated by Dr Jesse Adams Stein.
A/Prof Hannah Forsyth and Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson discuss the ways in which historicising capitalism is changing our approach to history in Australia.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW at the State Library of NSW on 3 April 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
History Now, Ep 1: New Earth Histories
Featuring Dr Frances Flanagan (Chair), Professor Alison Bashford and Dr Jarrod Hore.
Alison Bashford and Jarrod Hore reflect on New Earth Histories and how the history of geosciences and different world cosmologies can be brought together.
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice.
In 2024, the series, curated and directed by Dr Jesse Adams Stein, is a partnership event between the History Council of NSW, the Australian Centre for Public History (UTS) and the State Library of NSW.
Recorded by the History Council of NSW at the State Library of NSW on 6 March 2024.
(Tip: hover over the podcast icon below to access the chapters in this recording)
Careers in History: Writing Histories
Featuring Dr Leah Lui Chivizhe (Chair), Professor Kate Fullagar and Dr Kiera Lindsey in conversation.
History is about more than studying the past, but telling its stories.
How do historians make sure their stories reach a wide audience? How do we pen our words for different readers?
The HCNSW invited three historians to discuss the ways that they have written about and communicated their research to diverse audiences through writing. The panel discussed traditional and new methods and avenues for sharing history writing, and answered questions about how they work and what they advise for other writers of history.
Recorded via Zoom on 9 November 2023 (also available via the HCNSW Youtube site).
Annual History Lecture 2023
‘Understanding the Voice’, presented by Thomas Mayo
The Annual History Lecture is an event produced & presented by the History Council of New South Wales every year, which aims to engage and educate the community about the vitality, diversity and meaning of history and its practice through the eyes of historians and others prominent in public history.
In 2023, the Annual History Lecture was presented by Thomas Mayo, Uluru Statement from the Heart signatory and Voice to Parliament campaigner.
At the current moment in history, a Voice for First Nations peoples is front and centre for all Australians in a referendum that will be held later in the year.
Our theme for History Week 2023, ‘Voices from the Past’, invited History Council members to explore how we listen for voices in the historical record and amplify the voices of storytellers.
In the Annual History Lecture, following this theme, Thomas discussed the history and significance of the Voice to Parliament. Thomas spoke about the long journey to this constitutional moment today, when all Australians will face a unique opportunity to answer the invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Recorded at the North Parramatta Heritage Precinct, Western Sydney Startup Hub, 5 September 2023.
HCNSW Panel at Sydney Writers Festival 2023
Connections, Culture and Community: In Conversation with the Winners of the NSW Premier’s History Awards 2022
Winners of the 2022 NSW Premier’s History Awards gather to reveal how they make history, their inspirations, and the impact they hope their work will have. Despite distinct subjects, mediums and methods, these winners are united in their histories telling Australian communities and cultures have been shaped by colonisation. Chaired by Emeritus Professor Grace Karskens, UNSW.
Recorded on 23 May 2023 at the State Library of NSW.
Annual History Lecture 2022, presented by Professor Bruce Pascoe
In this fascinating talk, Professor Bruce Pascoe interrogates the idea of Australian history pre-contact. Mary McLean from the Orange Aboriginal Land Council gives the Welcome to Country while Dr Stephen Gapps provides introductions. This event was recorded in Orange, Wiradjuri Country on the 28th October for the History Council of NSW’s Annual History Lecture series.
Recorded on 28 October 2022 in Orange, on Waradjuri Country.
HCNSW Panel at Sydney Writers Festival – 18 May 2022
In Conversation with the Winners of the 2021 NSW Premiers’ History Awards
Winners of the 2021 NSW Premier’s History Awards Laurence Billiet, Matthew Colloff and Luke Keogh gather in person to reveal how they make history, their inspirations and the impact they hope their work will have. Despite distinct subjects, mediums and methods, this year’s winners are united in their forceful concern for the way Australia has been shaped by its ongoing history of colonisation.
Hosted by HSCNW Councillor Dr Matthew Allen.
Annual History Lecture 2019
Counter Currents – Aboriginal Men and Women at the Heart of Empire, presented by Professor John Maynard
In this Annual History Lecture, Professor John Maynard explores the significant and largely missed movement of Aboriginal people to Britain from the late eighteenth century through to the twenty first century. Through his lecture he analyses memory and location in an Aboriginal context, far removed from the Australian experience, providing an Indigenous perspective and insight about these journeys, asking the key questions – Why were they there? What were the differences in experiences of these Aboriginal travelers? Did they come home, and if so, what experiences, memories, observations and understandings did they bring back with them of the lands outside Australia?
The Annual History Lecture was recorded by the ABC Radio and broadcast nationally on Speaking Out on 3 November 2019, and can be listened to via the below podcast.
Recorded on 3 September 2019 at the Mint, Museums of History NSW, Sydney.
HCNSW Panel at Sydney Writers Festival – 30 April 2019
Conflict, Collective Memory and the Creation of History
Three prize-winning historians and authors discuss their award-winning books. Winners of the 2018 New South Wales Premier’s History Awards – Christina Twomey, Paul Irish and Sean Scalmer reveal to Caroline Butler-Bowdon (Former Director, Strategy and Engagement at Sydney Living Museums) how they fell upon their subjects, how they write engaging historical narratives, and the consequences of their work.