Michaela Kalowski has a cool job, where all her diverse interests are totally catered for. She has interesting, deep and meaningful conversations at all hours of the day, with everyone and anyone — lucky she’s always up for a chat!

She has conducted radio interviews for the ABC on The Music Show, Big Ideas, on Classic FM & Local Radio. She also facilitates panels at Sydney Writers’ Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Sydney Jewish Writers’ Festival (SJWF), UNSW and All About Women at Sydney Opera House. Some of her highlight interviews have included Amos Oz, Gideon Raff, Turia Pitt, Charlotte Wood & Laura Marling. Along with all that, Michaela is on the SJWF programming committee.

Like I said, COOL!

Where are you working from today?

Home, this is my kitchen table. I’m usually clearing off some space or corner in my home when I need to get work done. Shoving aside the pile of “Thomas the Tank Engine” books and the vast array of baby chew toys…

What are you working on?

This week I’m preparing to moderate a panel on the changing face of news; the 24 hour news cycle, how news is covered in a ‘post-truth’ era, the impact of digital technology on how we absorb information, confirmation bias and so on.

How’s it going?

There are three speakers on the panel so I’ve been pre-interviewing them. I’m working out how they can discuss the big topics in new ways. Moderating is always a balance between preparation, having a solid plan and being able to abandon it, when and if speakers go off on interesting digressions.

When you get stuck, what do you do?

Go back to the framework for the event and topic and consider it again. And always think about the audience and what they’d want to know and hear.

Who sees your earliest draft & at what stage?

No one sees my early drafts. There are quite a few iterations. If I ask anyone to look over it it’s when I think it’s in an order that works. Then I usually ask my in-house producer (literally, my husband), to look over it with me. He’s an awesome producer and always sharpens my approach and helps me see the interview or discussion with fresh eyes.