Life After Ali by Rashida Tayabali

Credit: Life After Ali

Meet Rashida Tayabali, Author of Life After Ali

Rashida Tayabali is a features writer and copywriter based in Sydney, Australia. As a young girl she loved writing and reading. She always harboured a secret dream of becoming an author one day and seeing her books in libraries and bookshops. Life after Ali is her debut novel. Credit: Rashida Tayabali

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

 

Credit: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Overview

An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere. As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city’s poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power. Credits: Read more here. 

About the Author: Gregory David Roberts, the author of Shantaram and its sequel, The Mountain Shadow, was born in Melbourne, Australia. Sentenced to nineteen years in prison for a series of armed robberies, he escaped and spent ten of his fugitive years in Bombay―where he established a free medical clinic for slum-dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter, smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for a branch of the Bombay mafia. Recaptured, he served out his sentence, and established a successful multimedia company upon his release. Roberts is a now full-time writer and lives in Bombay. Credit: Gregory David Roberts. 

Nural Seker Shares What Can't Be Taught

Nural Seker lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, two children and their beloved Miniature Schnauzer, Albert. Nural and her family love soccer and actively support Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Nural graduated from RMIT University in 2001 completing a Bachelor of Applied Science (Applied Physics). In 2005 Nural received her Master of Applied Science, also from RMIT University, before going on to complete her Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) in 2005 from Monash University. Nural went straight into teaching and hasn’t left since. In 2022, she received completion certificates for coaching and practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Time Line Therapy™, in addition to in practitioner Hypnotist certification.​ During her teacher career, Nural has taught Mathematics, Science, and Physics from years 7 – 12. She loves teaching and working with students and families. She has also spent several years as a middle years and senior years coordinator and has spent time, leading the middle and senior school coordination teams. In these roles, she Nural has gained valuable experience and insights into students, families, and teachers. Nural has begun her business Learn What Can’t Be Taught to do just this. Her website and course are currently under development at www.lwcbt.com.au.

Credit: Writers Series | Nural Seker

Writing to Create Lessons and Youtube Videos

Credit: Writers Series, Presented by Sasha Talks

Today's guest is Jennifer Lebedev. She hosts over twenty-five years of experience as an English language teacher. Her early career included classroom instruction in Moscow and Boston as well as teacher training, program administration, and in-house publications. She has been online since 2007, offering live instruction and creating a range of digital content. Her YouTube channel, English with Jennifer, has over 1 million subscribers and 90 million views to date. She is a frequent conference presenter and was on Pearson's writing teams for Vocabulary Power and Next Generation Grammar, for which she also served as the Grammar Coach. Her Pearson-sponsored blog launched in 2008 and was recognized with an EDDIE Award in 2010. In November 2022, Jennifer published a collection of personal reflections entitled Being a YouTuber: One Creator’s Bumpy Road to 1M Subscribers. Credit: EnglishwithJennifer.com.

The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker

Credit: The Dorito Effect

We are in the grip of a food crisis. Obesity has become a leading cause of preventable death, after only smoking. For nearly half a century we’ve been trying to pin the blame somewhere—fat, carbs, sugar, wheat, high-fructose corn syrup. But that search has been in vain, because the food problem that’s killing us is not a nutrient problem. It’s a behavioral problem, and it’s caused by the changing flavor of the food we eat. Ever since the 1940s, with the rise of industrialized food production, we have been gradually leeching the taste out of what we grow. Simultaneously, we have taken great leaps forward in technology, creating a flavor industry, worth billions annually, in an attempt to put back the tastes we’ve engineered out of our food. The result is a national cuisine that increasingly resembles the paragon of flavor manipulation: Doritos. As food—all food—becomes increasingly bland, we dress it up with calories and flavor chemicals to make it delicious again. We have rewired our palates and our brains, and the results are making us sick and killing us. With in-depth historical and scientific research, The Dorito Effect casts the food crisis in a fascinating new light, weaving an enthralling tale of how we got to this point and where we are headed. We’ve been telling ourselves that our addiction to flavor is the problem, but it is actually the solution. We are on the cusp of a new revolution in agriculture that will allow us to eat healthier and live longer by enjoying flavor the way nature intended. Credit: The Dorito Effect; Mark Schatzker.

When Your Partner Says #MeToo

 

Credit: When Your Partner Says #MeToo

Meet Shaun Hamilton, the author of 'When Your Partner Says #MeToo: Your Role And Responsibilities In Their Recovery Process'. He's passionate about helping partners of survivors navigate the complex journey of supporting their loved one's healing process. Drawing on his extensive research and experience, he's developed practical insights and actionable advice that can help anyone in this situation feel more informed, empowered, and equipped to support their partner. Shaun brings his unique perspective and expertise to share with audiences that can help make a positive impact in people's lives. Credit: Shaun Hamilton; When Your Partner Says #MeToo.

Shaun makes an appearance on Sasha Talks on Saturday March 11th @ 8 pm Central, US. Global listeners can check their local listings for show times.

Credit: Sasha Talks | Guest Shaun Hamilton

Can ChatGPT Threaten a Writer's Job Security?

Credit: Writers Series | Guest Emily Goodwin

Meet Emily Goodwin (she/her), she is a passionate researcher and writer with a background in journalism before making the leap to Digital Marketing Coordinator at Neon Supply, which suits her just fine since she also has a knack for project management and organizational systems implementation. Writing is a core part of her daily duties as a marketer and is interested in how technological advances will shape the future of writing. 

Eckhart Tolle on Presence and Stillness