Teachers Talk Texts
Each episode, host Clare Mackie discusses a different text from the VCE English text list with a passionate and knowledgeable teacher. The conversation is more than just a plot summary and character profile, rather, teachers discuss textual interpretation, authorial intent, views and values - the complex and deeply interesting aspects of studying literature.
Episodes
34 episodes
Teachers Talk Born a Crime
In this episode, Clare speaks with Sonia Murr about Trevor Noah's memoir, 'Born A Crime'. The text is a wild ride, careering from absolutely hilarious to gut-wrenchingly heart-breaking in the turn of a page, and it provides a unique vantage poi...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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49:32
Teachers Talk Things Fall Apart
In this episode, Clare speaks with Philip Thiel about Chinua Achebe's critically acclaimed novel, 'Things Fall Apart'. Together, they discuss the importance of understanding a post-colonial lens as a means of exploring this text, and how ...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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52:28
Teachers Talk Much Ado About Nothing #2
Kat from BEAR Learn returns in this episode, flipping the script and putting Clare in the hot seat to answer questions about Much Ado About Nothing. Having recently authored analysis of 50 key quotations fro...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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51:08
Teachers Talk Nine Days #2
Clare is joined by Melinda Keyte in this conversation, to discuss Toni Jordan's novel, 'Nine Days'. The discussion is rich and broad, as Melinda speaks knowledgeably and passionately about the text, including ideas of women's emancipation, the ...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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59:05
Teachers Talk Sunset Boulevard
Teachers Talk Texts is BACK! After a brief hiatus, Clare is back in the recording chair, accompanied by new baby Scarlett, ready to talk texts. In this episode, she is joined by Ashleigh Cavalin to discuss one of the new films to the Year 12 te...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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46:48
Teachers Talk Pride and Prejudice 3
...and Teachers Talk Texts is back for Season 3! Have you missed me? In this episode, Clare speaks with Punita Mistry about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. If you are looking for a critically feminist reading of the...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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55:43
Teachers Talk Ransom and The Queen 2
In this final episode of the 2021 season, Clare is joined by Lisa Wilks-Beasy to discuss David Malouf's mythological reimagining, 'Ransom', and Stephen Frears' film, 'The Queen'. The conversation explores a range of points of connection and dis...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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55:43
Teachers Talk The Crucible and The Dressmaker
Clare is joined for the second time by the knowledgeable and insightful Sophia Marsden-Smith for a conversation that explores the big ideas of Arthur Miller's pivotal play, 'The Crucible', and Rosalie Ham's dark novel, 'The Dressmaker'. Togethe...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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41:41
Teachers Talk After Darkness
In this episode, Clare speaks with Tahnee Dwyer about Christine Piper's 'After Darkness'. The conversation spans the entire text, as Tahnee expertly weaves through the three interwoven plotlines, culminating in a rather contentious epilogue. Pi...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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1:03:45
Teachers Talk Tracks and Charlie's Country
In this episode, Clare is joined by Tania Castauro to discuss the comparative text pairing of Robyn Davidson's 'Tracks' and Rolf de Heer's film, 'Charlie's Country'. Tania has a strong understanding of the two texts, and confidently shares her ...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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1:02:29
Teachers Talk Reckoning and The Namesake
This week, Clare speaks with the amazing Kat from @bearlearn, who knows these two texts deeply and is therefore able to identify and analyse the fundamental points of comparison between them. T...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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1:11:20
Teachers Talk Stasiland and Never Let Me Go
Clare is joined by Leon Furze for the first conversation about a text pairing this season - 'Stasiland' by Anna Funder and 'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro. The conversation examines the undercurrent of threat evident in both texts, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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57:01
Teachers Talk Station Eleven 2
Clare is joined by Sue Hatton in this conversation today, focusing on Emily St John Mandel's Station Eleven. Sue's perspective on the novel is unique, and she provides some interesting observations and reflections about dystopia as a genr...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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53:09
Teachers Talk Women of Troy 3
Clare returns to a favourite text in this episode - Euripides 'The Women of Troy' with Danni (@teachingthevce). While this may be the third episode discussing the text, the direction of the conversation is completely different, beginning with t...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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56:15
Teachers Talk Pride and Prejudice 2
In this episode, Clare speaks with Kirrily MacRaild about Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. Both Kirrily and Clare have a long history with this text, first studying it as teenage students, and continuing to engage with it throughout their l...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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52:32
Teachers Talk Nine Days
In this week's episode, Clare speaks with Suzanne Toniolo about Toni Jordan's Nine Days. The conversation considers Jordan's decisions regarding narrative structure and perspective, and how students can build interpretations of the tex...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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50:04
Teachers Talk Women of Troy 2
This week, Clare is revisiting Euripides' play 'The Women of Troy' with @educatinglaura, who is also a podcaster, hosting
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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57:34
Teachers Talk Much Ado About Nothing
Clare speaks with the very knowledgeable Sophia Marsden-Smith in this episode, about William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Much of the conversation focuses on Shakespeare's exploration of the function of marriage in his society...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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52:33
Teachers Talk Argument Analysis
Clare is joined by Emma Ford in this episode, to discuss all things Argument Analysis. The conversation focuses particularly on two past VCE English Exams, from 2016 and 2017, so it is recommended that listeners are familiar with these two text...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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54:45
Teachers Talk Rear Window 2
Emma Enticott joins Clare to discuss Rear Window in this episode, focusing specifically on Hitchcock's use of cinematography and mise-en-scene within the film. Emma's interpretation of the film is refreshing, and moves away from the standard ex...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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55:11
Teachers Talk Like a House on Fire
Clare speaks to Rebecca Fernandes in this episode, examining the short stories that make up Cate Kennedy's collection 'Like a House on Fire'. The conversation demonstrates how to dip in and out of the range of stories to find connections - them...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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1:01:16
Teachers Talk William Wordsworth's Poetry
Clare is joined by Nerrida Prosser in this episode to discuss Seamus Heaney's compilation of poetry by William Wordsworth. Nerrida's evident passion for poetry, and belief that it is accessible for students is evident in the clear manner she di...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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59:01
Teachers Talk Station Eleven 1
For the first episode of the 2021 Season, Clare is joined by Ben Taylor, founder of The English Lab (https://www.englishlab.com.au/) to discuss Emily St John Mandel's eerily prophetic novel 'Station Eleven'. The novel explores humanity's innate...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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54:46
Bonus Episode: End of Season Message
A final message from Clare to all the students who have listened in this season, and a huge good luck for the exam!Many thanks to the teachers who have shared their ideas this season: Philip Thiel, Lauren Wade, Prue Bon, Carla Ziino, Ha...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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3:19
Teachers Talk The Longest Memory & The 7 Stages of Grieving
In this final episode of the 2020 season, Clare speaks with Prue Richards about the comparative pairing of Deborah Mailman and Wesley Enoch's play, 'The 7 Stages of Grieving', and Fred D'Aguiar's novel, 'The Longest Memory'. These two t...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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37:22