Dipping into our archive, here's a selection of our past & present programs broadcast on BBC and ABC Radio.

Christopher Orchard creator of the Bald Man:: Drawing and the human form are artist Christopher Orchard's twin passions. Fiona Croall went to visit Chris Orchard at his studio, just east of Adelaide's CBD at Central studios. (more info)

Boo! Aboriginal Scary Matter:: Inspired by the art exhibition Boo! Aboriginal Ghost Stories and Other Scary Matter, that took place at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide earlier this year, producer Fiona Croall explores the many different spirits located within Aboriginal culture. Soundscape composed and performed by Nathan May(more info)

Rebus Walking Tour Of Edinburgh:: Inspired by Ian Rankin's most recent book 'Even Dogs In The Wild', producer Fiona Croall joins the Rebus walking tour to explore the history and mystery of the real locations. (more info)

Parallax: The Poetry Of Sinead Morrissey:: Morrissey’s poetry is characterized by the tenderness of her approach to wide-ranging subjects, which is brought out by her soft, yet intense, reading style. As well as her more intimate poems touching on family and motherhood, she frequently draws on historical material, effortlessly adopting different voices to dramatic effect. (more info)

Voices And Visions (Part 1):: Voices and Visions is a two-part series about hearing voices and seeing visions. This first feature investigates the uniquely human quality of receiving visions and hearing voices in relation to religious belief systems throughout history and questions whether hearing voices is still influencing or creating new religions today. (more info)

Voices And Visions (Part 2):: This second feature in the Voices and Visions series explores the topic of hearing voices and questions whether hearing voices means you’re mentally ill. (more info)

Fiona Hall on representing Australia at the Venice Biennale :: At this 56th Biennale, Australia will be represented by the Adelaide based artist Fiona Hall. In her work, Fiona transforms everyday materials and items with beautiful ingenuity into fantastic new objects which speak to issues of ecology, history, economic power and the effects of globalisation. Her installation Wrong Way Time will be the first exhibition at Australia's new pavilion at Venice, designed by architecture firm Denton Corker Marshall. We speak to Fiona Hall in Adelaide, just days after the hundreds of artworks that make up the installation left for Venice in a shipping container. (more info)

Are You Receiving? :: New York multi-media artist, Tony Oursler’s art installations delve deep into the history of the media. includes extracts from monologues written by Tony Oursler and referencing key names from media history, such as Kate Fox, purveyor of the spiritual telegraph, the television pioneer John Logie Baird and Etienne Gaspard Robertson, who used automatons and magic lanterns to create pre-cinematic performances in a Paris crypt in 1763. (more info)

The World of Mortimer Menpes at the Art Gallery of South Australia :: Australian artist Mortimer Menpes was one of the most successful artists in London at the end of the 1800s. The World of Mortimer Menpes at The Art Gallery of South Australia is the first retrospective exhibition of this once famous artist's works. Fiona Croall talks with Julie Robinson, Senior curator of prints, drawings and photographs at The Art Gallery of South Australia. (more info)

The Glaswegian Voice In Literature And Song :: Glasgow has given birth to some great pop groups in the last few decades, such as Belle and Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub, Travis and Deacon Blue to name just a few. The Scottish city has also generated a new brand of crime writers including William McIllvaney and Denise Mina. What is it that defines the Glaswegian voice of today? (more info)

Maya Angelou In Her Own Words :: In one of her last interviews, recorded just a fortnight before her death, Maya Angelou said her hope for the world was that people will one day ‘look into each others’ faces and say "good morning" and mean it’. (more info)

Fifth In A Party Of Four :: John Burnside's work is often inspired by his engagement with nature, environment and ecology. His 2012 poetry collection Black Cat Bone won both the TS Eliot and Forward Prizes, and his latest collection Something Like Happy takes us into the lives of men and women trapped in marriages and diminished by disappointment. This program features a conversation and readings recorded when John Burnside visited Australia for the 2013 Melbourne Writers' Festival. (more info)

Scottish Political Song :: There’s always been a strong cross over between politics and song in Scotland and a very long tradition of songs penned to influence politics or promote causes, especially social justice issues. There are songs ranging from big anthems right through to local campaign songs such as the Anti Poll or Bedroom Tax song. On the eve of the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, producer Fiona Croall speaks with singer/songwriters, archivists and writers about this ongoing engagement in song. (more info)

Roger McGough :: Popular English poet Roger McGough talks to producer Fiona Croall about growing up in Liverpool, his days in the comic band The Scaffold, and his long career as a poet. He also reads a selection of some of his most famous poems as well as newer work. (more info)

Spike Milligan :: Ten years after Spike Milligan's death, Spike's daughter Laura and Professor Tom Burton discuss how Milligan’s silly and serious poetry reflected his life and personality. Fiona Croall chats with Laura at her house in Sydney, and from the archives we also hear Spike himself. (more info)

Tales Of Kabbarli :: Tales of Kabbarli is about the legendary South Australian explorer and cultural commentator Daisy Bates, the wife of Breaker Morant. She reflects on her stories of the tribes, on her political vision for an Aboriginal homeland, and on her love of the land. (audio)

Jeffrey Harris - At My Father's Table :: My Father's Table is Jeffrey's first exhibition since 2006 and it features more than 50 colourful, large scale, oil on canvas works, both figurative and abstract. The exhibition references the vocabulary of his father's trade of tailoring, and the cutting table around which so much of the trade revolved. (audio)

Adelaide Writers' Week :: Highlighting the freshest new faces and celebrating the internationally acclaimed in literature, Adelaide Writers' Week is the oldest literary festival in Australia, inspiring readers and creating a place where writers can connect with the community, for more than 50 years. (audio)

In A Northern Landscape - The Poetry Of Tom Paulin :: Tom Paulin is a witty, sharp and controversial poet, essayist, editor and lecturer. Much of his early poetry reflects the political situation in Northern Ireland and the sectarian violence which beset the province since the late 1960s. (audio)

Who Do You Think You Are :: In this program, recorded at BBC Scotland for Poetica, Kathleen Jaimie reads a selection of her poems and talks with producer Fiona Croall (audio)

Searching For CS Lewis :: CS Lewis was born in Belfast in 1898 and if you're a fan of the great writer you can take a tour of his birth town with Irish tour guide Sandy Smith. For The Book Show, Fiona Croall went along to follow in the footsteps of CS Lewis's early years. (audio)

In Search Of Charles Rennie Mackintosh :: Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) Scottish architect, designer and artist, is celebrated as one of the most significant talents of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His birthplace, Glasgow, is central to an understanding of his achievements and it's there that the most important of his surviving work is to be found, the Glasgow School of Art. (audio)

Artworks Feature - Manifesto :: In the later part of 20th century, and into the cyber-age, women were producing some of the most radical new art manifestos. They're all investigated in this feature presented by Fiona Croall. (audio)

Songs and books :: literature has been the inspiration for many modern lyrics including 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush and less obviously 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' by The Police. Popular songs have also been inspired by WB Yeats, Emily Bronte, Vladamir Nabokov and George Orwell. (audio)

Guillevic :: A feature about the life and work of one of France's most distinguished 20th century poets, Eugene Guillevic. The program includes readings of Guellivc's poetry and a soundscape that was recorded for us on location in Guillevic's home town of Carnac. (audio)

A Beautiful Line :: In fifteenth century Europe the new industrial middle class was on the rise and the demand for paintings, illustrated books and prints was growing apace. Join Fiona Croall as she discovers the gallery has over 2,000 Italian prints in its archive dating from the 15th to the 18th century. (audio)

Legendary Literary Feuds :: Few people are better at sharpening a stinging remark and wielding a poison pen than writers at loggerheads, but what are writers arguing about and why are their arguments so poisonous?
(listen)

The Cut Up :: 'Writers don't own their words. Since when do words belong to anybody?'
Fiona Croall investigates the art of poetry collage, pastiche and cut up. (more info)

Scottish Humour :: What does nationality have to do with humour? It's said that throughout the United Kingdom, making people laugh is a kind of social oil, more so than in many other countries and cultures. But what about differences say between southern English humour and west coast Scottish humour? Fiona Croall speaks with author and comic Jenny Colgan about the national characteristics of her favourite form of humour (listen)

The Cut-up Technique :: Package for The Book Show on ABC Radio National. From at least the early 1970s, David Bowie used cut-ups to create some of his lyrics. To investigate the roots of the cut-up genre, Fiona Croall speaks to poet Jill Jones (listen)

Open World :: Documentary for Poetica on ABC Radio National. A meeting with the expatriate Scottish poet, philosopher and founder of Geopoetics, Kenneth White (more info)

The Last Tutor :: Documentary for Hindsight on ABC Radio National. The remarkable life story of Reginald Fleming Johnston, one of the few foreigners to make his way into the inner court of the Qing Dynasty (listen)

Charlie Chaplin's Paris Archive :: Documentary for Artworks on ABC Radio National. Chaplin, celebrity and modernism. Producer Fiona Croall had privileged access to Charlie Chaplin's Parisian private archive and investigates Chaplin's global celebrity status and remarkable influence on world culture -- from the modernists and Dadaists to the Russian avant-garde (listen)

Writers' Rooms :: Series 2 for The Book Show on ABC Radio National
Ian Rankin (download audio)
AL Kennedy (download audio)
Meaghan Delahunt (download audio)
Richard Holloway (download audio)

Searching For Sappho :: Exploring the legacy of the famous ancient Greek poet Sappho whose influence still resonates today, 2000 years after her death (listen)

Writers' Rooms :: Series 1 for The Book Show on ABC Radio National
Peter Goldsworthy (download audio)
Kirsty Brooks (download audio)
Mem Fox (download audio)
Philip Jones (download audio)

The Role Of Music In Novels :: The Book Show on ABC Radio National (listen)