Author and journalist Sandra Lawrence has been intrigued by beautiful secret spaces since she read 'The Secret Garden as a child'. Now her love affair with this imaginary world has taken her on a real life quest to uncover other lost spaces. Her new book is 'The Lost Gardens of the World'.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We explore the wonder that is railway station architecture and hear from two guests who have explored lost recipes from Australia's past and lost gardens around the world.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Author and journalist Christopher Beanland takes us on a world tour of some of the great 20th and 21st Century railway stations in his new book 'Station' and explores why their architecture holds such appeal.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Ross Dobson is a former recipe tester and food writer who has delved into the archives to uncover some of the forgotten recipes of the past in his book 'The Lost Recipes'.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Sarah Ichioka is a strategist, urbanist and the founding director of Desire Lines, a Singapore based consultancy. She recently she gave the key note address at Melbourne University at the Climate Action in Cities symposium where she explored the challenges facing urban designers in the face of climate change.…

We explore the challenges facing our urban centres in a changing climate, learn about the art of fashion illustrating, and hear from Annie Smithers as she leafs through the meat chapter in Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Fashion illustrator Angie Réhe gives us a crash course in fashion illustration and explains why it will never go out of style.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In the final in our series, Annie Smithers explores the meat chapter in the Elizabeth David classic French Provincial Cooking.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In the final of his home comfort series, Colin Bisset explores the evolution of the outdoor space.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Lucy Van is an Australian poet and an honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne who has studied the history of real estate language in Australia. How has it evolved and what does it say about us?Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We explore the language of real estate, taste Ben Shewry's perfect pasta Bolognese, hear about the value of communal kitchens, and head outdoors for the final in Colin Bisset's home comforts.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Ben Shewry shares his secrets for a perfect pasta Bolognese, a dish he would choose as his last on earth.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Anna Puigjaner, co-founder of Barcelona based architecture studio MAIO, argues it is time western cultures re-examine kitchen design, and look to other cultures for lessons in the beauty and benefits of communal ways of cooking.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

David Mabberley renowned botanist, educator and author of Citrus a world history reveals insights about our cultural evolution through the orange or lemon and other members of the citrus family.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We travel the cultural history of the not so humble citrus, find an exquisite watercolour of seaweed at the National Herbarium of Victoria and celebrate iconic Italian design from the 1930s to the '80s.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

From Vespas, to Olivetti typewriters, coffee machines to beautiful but curious or impractical furniture of the Radical movement, we take an eclectic wander through the Heide Museum of Modern Art with Kendrah Morgan, co-curator of Molto Bello: Icons of Modern Italian Design.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We wander through the National Herbarium of Victoria with Alison Vaughan, Manager of the Collections. Treasures include an exquisite watercolour that shows details of a closely related seaweed by Dr Tilesius von Tilenau, a 19th century German naturalist.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We hear how pollen is being used to solve crime, explore the complexity of defining Australian food, and hear from Colin Bisset about how comfort in the bedroom has evolved.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The halal snack pack, the capricciosa pizza, the milk bar and the meat pie are all icons of the Australian food landscape and yet none are embraced in the way Americans celebrate the bodega or the cheese slice. Besha Rodell, chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Weekend, reflects on the complexity of Australian cuisine and why it resists eas…

Liam Shaw, Wellcome-funded research fellow at the MacLean Lab in Oxford, delves into the incredible science of forensic palynology where the analysis of pollen is used as evidence. This interview was first broadcast in November 2023.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Colin Bisset explores how comfort has been defined and enjoyed in the bedroom over time.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We discuss the ethics and social implications of air conditioning, explore Elizabeth David's relationship with fish with Annie Smithers, and hear about the importance of Konbini, local convenience stores, in Japanese culture.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

What role has the advent of air conditioning had in socially and racially dividing our world? Hsuan Hsu is a professor of English at the University of California. His book 'Air Conditioning' explores the ethics and implications of this cooling technology.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

For Brendan Liew and Caryn Ng one of the joys of travelling in Japan is visiting local Konbini, convenience stores which delight with the quality of food on offer. The have explored this passion in a new book 'Konbini-cult recipes, stories and adventures from Japan's iconic convenience stores'.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Annie Smithers leafs through the pages of Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking. This time it is the chapter on fish, and how to cook it in the best French style, that is explored.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We discuss what role architecture should play into the future, learn how to barbecue American-style, visit a swordsmith in his workshop, and hear about the evolution of comfort in the sitting room.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Colin Bisset delves into the design of the sitting room in the latest instalment of his series on the evolution of comfort in the home.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Jess Pryles was born and bred in Australia but now calls Austin, Texas home where she revels in her love of meat and barbecuing the American way.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

What does it take to make an authentic sword in the 21st Century? Tim Harris shows us the art of swordsmithing and explains why a good sword never goes out of fashion.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

What should the role of the architect be in an ever changing world? David Gianotten is an architect and managing partner of OMA, Office for Metropolitan Architecture. He was a recent speaker at Sydney Design Week discussing the changing responsibilities of the profession.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

What impact did European émigrés have on the architectural landscape of Australia mid last century? Natica Schmeder is an architectural historian and principal at Landmark Heritage and Warren Andersen is a Perth based former planner and architectural enthusiast who is the author of 'The Architecture of Iwan Iwanoff'. They presented at the Robin Boy…

We dip back into the vault of the National Herbarium of Victoria in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens with manager of collections Alison Vaughan. This time we go on a journey to the Northwest Passage of Arctic Canada via a small specimen of chickweed from the 1850s.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In his series on the evolution of comfort in the home, Colin Bisset explores the way comfort has transformed that most private of spaces, the bathroom.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Manoella Buffara Ramos is a leading chef in South America. She shares her last meal of a favourite family recipe for sticky rice with coconut and spices, eaten with BBQ squid.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We learn about the influence of European émigrés on Australian Modernism, visit the National Herbarium of Victoria, hear about the last supper of Manoella Buffara Ramos, and celebrate the comforts of the bathroom.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

How can governments address the housing crisis and what role can good planning play? Patrick Fensham, principal and partner at SGS Economics and Planning, weighs into the debate.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

When Estonian-born American architect Louis Kahn died in 1974, he left behind a collection of notebooks that revealed the sketches and musings of a creative mind. His daughter Sue Ann Kahn shares what the recently published 'Louis I. Kahn: The Last Notebook' tells us about her father.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We debate the issues surrounding housing supply, take a Springtime stroll with Tim Entwisle, hear about the last notebook of American architect Louis Kahn, and join Colin Bisset in his exploration of the comfort of windows.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Colin Bisset takes us into the world of window design in his series on the evolution of comfort in our homes.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Former director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Tim Entwisle takes us on a Springtime stroll and shares some of the stories behind his favourite spaces in Melbourne's Kings Domain including the Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We meet a space architect, hear about 3D printed homes here on Earth, and go on a culinary journey through kitchens past with Annie Smithers.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Annie Smithers takes us on a cook's tour of the kitchens that formed her journey from apprentice chef to regional restaurateur in her new memoir 'Kitchen Sentimental'.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Melodie Yashar is a space architect, technologist and researcher with ICON, a company that has been contracted by NASA as it works towards missions to the Moon and Mars. She was a guest at Sydney Design Week where she explored what terrestrial lessons can be learned from designing for space.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Brad Draper is the CEO and managing director of Aboriginal Sustainable Homes, a company that specialises in designing and constructing culturally appropriate homes for First Nations people. He is a partner in a project commissioned by the NSW Government to use 3D printing for social housing in the hope the technology can be rolled out elsewhere.…

Lindy de Wijn first became entranced with making lace as a child. She gives us a demonstration of how her 'dancing' bobbins can create a thing of great intricacy and beauty.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We ask what can be done to combat sexual harassment and assault in the hospitality industry, meet a maker of lace, explore the cultural meaning of food labels, and delve into the meaning of comfort in the kitchen.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Jamie Bucirde is a sexologist and advocate who started a grassroots movement in Adelaide collating the experiences of sexual harassment and assault in the hospitality industry. She has co-authored a report alongside Anna Edwards from Melbourne University's Centre for Cities titled 'Not So Hospitable'. They discuss what needs to change in the hospit…

In this series on the evolution of comfort in the home, Colin Bisset explores the way comfort has been expressed in the kitchen over time.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Dr Alison Barnes is a senior lecturer in Visual Communication at the University of Western Sydney and a scholar in residence at the Powerhouse Museum. As part of her residency she is exploring what the food labels of firm W C Douglass tell us about the history of food production and graphic design.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Colin Bisset introduces us to his new series exploring the evolution of comfort in our homes.Par Australian Broadcasting Corporation