This week on The ABR Podcast, Sara Webb investigates the heated debates and mind bending science of quantum physics. As Webb writes, the ‘universe exists on an unimaginable scale’, its physics strange but wondrous.

Sara Webb is the inaugural ABR Science Fellow and an astrophysicist at Swinburne University of Technology. She is the author of The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes (2024), was made a Superstar of STEM in 2022, and was chosen as a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 in Science & Healthcare in 2025. She specialises in AI-driven transient astronomy, applying machine learning to large-scale survey data to uncover fast cosmic events. Here is Sara Webb with ‘A truly probabilistic universe: One hundred years of heated debate and mind-bending physics’, published in the December 2025 issue of ABR.

This week on The ABR Podcast, Sara Webb investigates the heated debates and mind bending science of quantum physics. As Webb writes, the &lsquo;universe exists on an unimaginable scale&rsquo;, its physics strange but wondrous.
Sara Webb is the inaugural ABR Science Fellow and an astrophysicist at Swinburne University of Technology. She is the author of The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes (2024), was made a Superstar of STEM in 2022, and was chosen as a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 in Science &amp; Healthcare in 2025. She specialises in AI-driven transient astronomy, applying machine learning to large-scale survey data to uncover fast cosmic events. Here is Sara Webb with &lsquo;A truly probabilistic universe: One hundred years of heated debate and mind-bending physics&rsquo;, published in the December 2025 issue of&nbsp;ABR.

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

For more information about ABR, visit our website, www.australianbookreview.com.au

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.
For more information about&nbsp;ABR, visit our website, <a href="http://www.australianbookreview.com.au">www.australianbookreview.com.au</a>

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

The ABR Podcast

ABR is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast, The ABR Podcast.

Released fortnightly every Wednesday, The ABR Podcast will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

ABR&nbsp;is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast.
Released fortnightly every Wednesday,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast&nbsp;will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

‘A truly probabilistic universe: One hundred years of heated debate and mind-bending physics’ by Sara Webb

This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature a special essay by Stuart Kells, titled ‘Less an author than a milieu: Reading Shakespeare in the New World’. Kells discusses the thorny question of the authorship of the First Folio. While some devoted Shakespeareans insist that the First Folio was authored by Shakespeare, Kells points to compelling evidence that Shakespeare was instead a ‘middle stage in a multi-step dramaturgical production process’. ‘Shakespeare is not a hoax,’ Kells observes, ‘but he is hoaxy.’

Stuart Kells is Enterprise Fellow at the Melbourne Institute, University of Melbourne, and an Adjunct Professor at La Trobe University’s College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce. He is the author of many books, including Shakespeare’s Library: Unlocking the greatest mystery in literature. Here is Stuart Kells with ‘Less an author than a milieu: Reading Shakespeare in the New World’, published in the December issue of ABR.

This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature a special essay by Stuart Kells, titled &lsquo;Less an author than a milieu: Reading Shakespeare in the New World&rsquo;. Kells discusses the thorny question of the authorship of the First Folio. While some devoted Shakespeareans insist that the First Folio was authored by Shakespeare, Kells points to compelling evidence that Shakespeare was instead a &lsquo;middle stage in a multi-step dramaturgical production process&rsquo;. &lsquo;Shakespeare is not a hoax,&rsquo; Kells observes, &lsquo;but he is hoaxy.&rsquo;
Stuart Kells is Enterprise Fellow at the Melbourne Institute, University of Melbourne, and an Adjunct Professor at La Trobe University&rsquo;s College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce. He is the author of many books, including Shakespeare&rsquo;s Library: Unlocking the greatest mystery in literature. Here is Stuart Kells with &lsquo;Less an author than a milieu: Reading Shakespeare in the New World&rsquo;, published in the December issue of ABR.

This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature a special essay by Stuart Kells, titled ‘Less an author than a milieu: Reading Shakespeare in the New World’. Kells discusses the thorny question of the authorship of the First Folio. While some devoted Shakespeareans insist that the First Folio was authored by Shakespeare, Kells points to compelling evidence that Shakespeare was instead a ‘middle stage in a multi-step dramaturgical production process’. ‘Shakespeare is not a hoax,’ Kells observes, ‘but he is hoaxy.’  Stuart Kells is Enterprise Fellow at the Melbourne Institute, University of Melbourne, and an Adjunct Professor at La Trobe University’s College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce. He is the author of many books, including Shakespeare’s Library: Unlocking the greatest mystery in literature. Here is Stuart Kells with ‘Less an author than a milieu: Reading Shakespeare in the New World’, published in the December issue of ABR.

‘Less an author than a milieu: Reading Shakespeare in the New World’ by Stuart Kells

In this week’s ABR Podcast we feature the shortlist for the 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize. Now in its twenty-second year, the Porter Prize is one of the world’s leading competitions for a new poem in English. This year, our judges are Judith Bishop, ABR Poetry Editor Felicity Plunkett, and Anders Villani. The shortlisted poets are J Andros, Kirsten Krauth, Cheryl Leavy, Claire Potter, and Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet. The five shortlisted poems appear in the January/February 2026 issue of Australian Book Review, which is on sale now.

In this week&rsquo;s ABR Podcast we feature the shortlist for the 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize. Now in its twenty-second year, the Porter Prize is one of the world&rsquo;s leading competitions for a new poem in English. This year, our judges are Judith Bishop, ABR Poetry Editor Felicity Plunkett, and Anders Villani. The shortlisted poets are J Andros, Kirsten Krauth, Cheryl Leavy, Claire Potter, and Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet. The five shortlisted poems appear in the January/February 2026 issue of Australian Book Review, which is on sale now.

Peter Porter Poetry Prize 2026 Shortlist 

This week, on The ABR Podcast, Stephen Long reviews Woodside vs the Planet: How a company captured a country by Marian Wilkinson and Extractive Capitalism: How commodities and cronyism drive the global economy by Laleh Khalili. Long describes the notion that Australia can maintain its current gas exports and save the planet as a delusion, one that is increasingly adopted by our political leaders. In fact, Woodside and the LNG industry at large have a business model, Long explains, that is ‘based on climate catastrophe’.

Stephen Long is a journalist who specialises in investigative reporting, analysis, and commentary. He is a winner of the Walkley Award, the Citigroup Award for Economic and Financial Journalism, and the Commonwealth Media Award. Here is Stephen Long with ‘Carbon bomb: Business models based on climate catastrophe’, published in the December issue of ABR.

This week, on The ABR Podcast, Stephen Long reviews Woodside vs the Planet: How a company captured a country by Marian Wilkinson and Extractive Capitalism: How commodities and cronyism drive the global economy by Laleh Khalili. Long describes the notion that Australia can maintain its current gas exports and save the planet as a delusion, one that is increasingly adopted by our political leaders. In fact, Woodside and the LNG industry at large have a business model, Long explains, that is &lsquo;based on climate catastrophe&rsquo;.
Stephen Long is a journalist who specialises in investigative reporting, analysis, and commentary. He is a winner of the Walkley Award, the Citigroup Award for Economic and Financial Journalism, and the Commonwealth Media Award. Here is Stephen Long with &lsquo;Carbon bomb: Business models based on climate catastrophe&rsquo;, published in the December issue of ABR.

‘A truly probabilistic universe: One hundred years of heated debate and mind-bending physics’ by Sara Webb

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