2026 Festival

Speaker Profile

Sally Warhaft

Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year, a Wheeler Centre podcast about Australians' lives in the fog of the Covid-19 pandemic. She is a former editor of The Monthly and the author of the bestselling book Well May We Say: The Speeches that Made Australia

Sally is a regular host and commentator on ABC radio and has a PhD in anthropology. She did her fieldwork in Mumbai, India, living by the seashore with the local fishing community. 

Australian History’s Great Divide: How writers view our past

Thursday April 23
Sorrento Community Centre
9.00am / 60 mins

Tony Abbott and Mark McKenna with Sally Warhaft

Books about Australia’s past continue to engage readers and dominate non-fiction bestseller lists. Tony Abbott, Rhodes Scholar, history buff, former parliamentarian and Australia’s 28th Prime Minister, and Emeritus Professor Mark McKenna, of the University of Sydney, will discuss their new books with anthropologist and broadcaster Sally Warhaft.

The Power Of Choice: A year of photographing Australians who chose assisted dying

Friday April 24
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
10.30am / 60 mins

Andrew Denton and Julian Kingma with Sally Warhaft

Award-wining photographer Julian Kingma and Go Gentle founder Andrew Denton pay tribute to those Australians who chose assisted dying, and who asked Julian to document their final days.


Between Us: AC Grayling and Sarah Wilson

Sunday April 26
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
10.30am / 60 mins

A.C. Grayling and Sarah Wilson with Sally Warhaft