The Witch Trials
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From bans, boycotts and burning books, the divisive podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling covered one of the most polarising culture wars of our time – the debate about gender diversity and feminism. One year on from the podcast’s release, podcast host Megan Phelps-Roper and producer Andy Mills will be joined by chair, ‘Australia’s Louis Theroux’, journalist Patrick Abboud to reflect on journalism and what it means to mediate conversations with polarising views.
Are certain topics and personalities untouchable? What are our responsibilities when it comes to unpacking dangerous ideas – and is society willing to engage with difficult discourse in the public arena?
Andy Mills and Megan Phelps-Roper appear exclusively in Sydney at FODI.
Andy Mills [USA]
Andy Mills is an American reporter and podcast producer who co-created The Daily at The New York Times, Reflector and several documentary series including Rabbit Hole and The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.
Megan Phelps-Roper [USA]
Born and raised in the Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper left a life of religious extremism in 2012. She has spent the past decade using her experiences to work with schools on anti-bullying campaigns, with law enforcement organizations investigating deradicalization, and with tech companies on the intersection of safety, free speech, and the value of dialogue across ideological divides. Her journey has been chronicled in The New Yorker, a trio of BBC documentaries, a TED talk, and her memoir Unfollow. She hosted and produced The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, an audio documentary that examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most successful author.
Pat Abboud
Patrick (Pat) Abboud is a Walkley Award–winning journalist, filmmaker and presenter, founder of Only Human Productions and partner at Dreamchaser Studio. Co-creator and host of global hit Audible podcast The Greatest Menace: Inside the Gay Prison Experiment, his documentaries have earned more than 40 international awards including New York Festivals, SXSW and Rose d’Or. Named Walkley Freelance Journalist of the Year (2023) and LGBTQ+ Media Disruptor of the Year (2024), his acclaimed films include Surviving Gaza, Seeking Truth (2026), Unsettled (2025) and Gayrabia (2024). He will write and direct his debut feature RISE in 2027. Raised by Palestinian and Lebanese parents, Pat lives in Sydney and is a proud gay dad of two.
We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation - the custodians of the country on which we meet - and acknowledge their Elders, past and present.
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