In this episode, we talk to Vincent Fantauzzo – the Melbourne portrait artist famous for hyperrealist renderings of a long list of prominent people. He’s painted movie stars (like Hugh Jackman), underworld figures (like Mick Gatto), politicians (like Julia Gillard), sporting heroes (like Oscar Piastri) and icons (like Michael Gudinski). Good Weekend senior writer Konrad Marshall profiled Fantauzzo for a June cover story – "Keeping it real" – about not just his prize-winning works but his rough-and-tumble beginnings, which included more than mere brushes with violence and crime. As they discuss in this emotionally charged conversation, Fantauzzo endured a dysfunctional early life, not to mention an unhealthy dose of insecurity and shame over a learning disorder he kept hidden. He overcame all that to receive plaudits – and occasional brickbats – for his work so far, but his real mission is both simple and grand: “To Jamie Oliver the art world”.

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In this episode, we talk to Mark Brandi. The renowned crime novelist writes about outsiders: heroin addicts, former prisoners and child victims of poverty and violence – and joins us to chat about his new book, Eden, out on June 25. We take a look at Brandi's family background, including the racist, small-town harassment of his father – as well Brandi' earlier career in corrective services – both of which shed light on why he's drawn to people on the margins. Hosting this conversation about everything from growing up inside a country pub to working in the criminal justice system – and how good and bad luck changed Brandi’s life – is freelance writer Nicole Abadee.

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In this episode, we talk to award-winning investigative journalist Patrick McGee, who for years led the Financial Times’ reporting on the meteoric rise of Apple Inc to become the world’s most valuable company after being on the brink of bankruptcy in 1996. As the iPod, iPhone and iPad revolutionised the way we live, Apple injected eye-watering amounts into China – more than $US50 billion a year by 2015 – training millions of engineers and assembly-line workers and endowing them with the skills to help propel China into the advanced manufacturing powerhouse it is today. While Apple cracked the code of making billions of dollars without actually owning the factories that produced its products, it became beholden to the Chinese once Xi Jinping came to power. With Xi weaponising the technology – and its supply chains – against the West, China now has, in McGee’s words, Apple “by the balls”. Hosting this conversation is Good Weekend acting editor Greg Callaghan.

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