Ideas at the House

When Fiction Sounds the Alarm | All About Women 2026

Ideas at the House

Show Notes

Laila Lalami’s eerily prophetic new book imagines a world where AI can punish us for “potential crimes”.

Known for her razor-sharp explorations of the immigrant experience, Lalami once again proves the power of fiction to illuminate and anticipate the world around us. From her celebrated essay collection Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America to her acclaimed novels, she has long interrogated power and national belonging.

Enjoy this rare chance to hear Lalami unpack identity, belonging, justice and the power of storytelling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Ideas at the House

Jul 19, 2026

The term “heterofatalism” has gone mainstream, capturing a growing pessimism around straight romance, and it’s influencing everything from dating app use to the quiet rise of celibacy.

Jul 12, 2026

Deborah Cheetham Fraillon is an Australian arts trailblazer, but a career in music was not something her family had imagined for her. Growing up in Sydney, Deborah always loved music, but when she experienced Opera for the first time — everything changed.

Jul 5, 2026

New Motherhood is a time of overwhelming joy and love — but alongside those experiences, many new mothers also face exhaustion, emotional extremes, anxiety and profound changes in their mental health.

Jun 28, 2026

Don’t Ask the Trees for Their Names, a recently published collection of stories, brings together nine Arab-Australian women who have had to start over in a new country, carrying the weight of home and the promise of possibility.

Jun 21, 2026

Jane Birkin was synonymous with chic. An unlikely icon of French cinema, her effortless style and artistic legacy have been immortalised through her music and film career. And, of course, this British babe was the inspiration behind one of the world’s most coveted handbags — the Hermès Birkin. But who was the real woman behind the muse?

See all episodes →