In this episode, Gabriella continues her conversation with Kenneth Miller about his group biography Mapping the Darkness, The Visionary Scientists who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep.

As we learned in the previous episode, a century ago, sleep was widely considered a state of nothingness and a wasteful habit we could learn to overcome. Thanks to the four scientists Kenneth introduced us to in episode one, we now know the truth: that sleep is an incredibly complex phenomenon, central to our physical, emotional, and cognitive health.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

• How Kenneth captured each character’s passion for research and their sense of scientific wonder.
• How Kenneth portrayed each scientist’s quest to uncover the mysteries of sleep.
• How Kenneth structured the narrative to create a gripping adventure of the human spirit.
• Details of the famous cave experiment in 1938 when two sleep researchers retreated into the cavernous Mammoth Cave in Kentucky for 32 days to find out when they could switch to a 28-hour sleep cycle after being deprived of environmental cues.
• Kenneth’s meticulous research strategy and how he grasped complicated sleep science.
• How Kenneth transformed thousands of pages of complex scientific information into a propulsive and compelling biography of the quartet of individuals who revolutionised our understanding of why we sleep and how we can get sleep better.

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In this first of two episodes with Kenneth Miller, Gabriella asks about the choices he made while writing Mapping the Darkness, The Visionary Scientists who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep, the compelling biography of the quartet of researchers who revolutionised our understanding of why we sleep and how we can sleep better.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

• Why Kenneth suddenly became interested in the field of sleep science.
• Why Kenneth opened Mapping the Darkness with the story of a man whose life unraveled because of a sleep disorder.
• The cast of characters who created the field of sleep science at a time when no-one was interested in the topic and funding for sleep research was non-existent.
• The historical, social and political context in which the sleep scientists conducted their research.
• The unexpected opportunities that enabled the scientists to gain research funding and recognition for their discoveries.
• Kenneth’s approach to balancing the scientists’ professional and private lives to create a kaleidoscopic rather than one-dimensional portrait dominated by their obsession with unravelling the puzzle of sleep.
• The four scientists’ breathtaking discoveries that ultimately shaped the way we understand sleep and its role in our lives.

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In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Matthew Lamb chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while writing Strange Paths, the biography of Frank Moorhouse, a celebrated Australian novelist, screenwriter and journalist.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

• Why Matthew chose to write Frank Moorhouse’s biography in two volumes.
• Why Matthew refers to Strange Paths as a cultural biography.
• The meaning of the book’s title, Strange Paths.
• How Matthew distinguished between the legends, myths and facts of Moorhouse’s life.
• How Matthew navigated the complexities of writing about someone he knew and who was alive during most of the project.
• Matthew’s research strategy and how he narrowed the biographical scope given the tidal wave of primary research material he accessed.
• How Matthew portrayed the historical, political and social context of the times and how he believes they influenced Moorhouse and his writing.
• The ethical choices Matthew faced about revealing secrets.
• How Matthew navigated the complexities of portraying sensitive information.

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