Blueprint For Living - Full program – Details, episodes & analysis

We hear about the layers of meaning in graffiti, delve into the secrets of the National Herbarium of Victoria, and dine with Stephanie Alexander for a taste of her last meal.

We explore how refrigeration has changed what we eat, ask how we can better design for city waterways, and meet a man who repairs time for a living.

Feeds: Will Aussie cafes and restaurants survive?

Australian restaurants and cafes are grappling with the impacts of the cost of living, COVID, immigration reform, and wages, jeopardising their survival. Wes Lambert is the head of a new peak body, alongside Neil Perry and Chris Lucas, tackling these pressing challenges to sustain the $64 billion sector.

Weeds: Rethinking our war on weeds

See a weed, pluck it out, right? Maybe it’s not so simple. Tim Entwisle speaks with John Dwyer whose new anthology, "Weeding Between the Lines," offers a provocative rethink of what weeds are and how we approach them - in our backyards and in the bush. 

Seeds: How do we regenerate land when we lack 90% of seeds?

The total area of degraded land in Australia is eight times the size of Tasmania. The need to replant diverse native species is more urgent than ever. But with a critical shortfall in the availability of native seeds, how can we replant degraded ecosystems and meet Australia’s ambitious international targets? Associate Professor Rachael Gallagher from Western Sydney University explains.

In this edition of Blueprint For Living, meet Hetty Lui McKinnon — a cult Australian cook whose latest book, Tenderheart, nods to family and identity. 

Then sample the kitsch design paraphernalia generated during Queen Elizabeth II's reign — the teatowels, teaspoons, and other everyday design objects that carried her image. Anni Turnbull, a curator at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum, shares their stories.

Afterward, award-winning Australian landscape designer Paul Bangay gives us a primer on the veggie patch, and Blueprint's resident design expert Colin Bisset gives us the history of the object that stuck… teflon. 

Design critic Alexandra Lange on why the mall is on its deathbed… in America at least, and Tim Entwisle reveals how a study of algae turned into a life botanic.

Plus, Annie Smithers gives us the simple truth about sauces, and Colin Bisset on Siegfried Bing — the man whose gallery gave its name to Art Nouveau. 

It's time to meet Bruce Mau. The Canadian graphic-designer turned designer of nations whose mission is to give us the tools to design for life. 

Then the New York Times's chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman invites you to decode the language of power in royal fashion.

Afterward, hop on a culinary tour of Turkey and Greece with Australian chef Ela Mittas. 

Then finish in Rome. Colin Bisset takes us through the history of Bramante's chapel in Rome — a building that changed the course of architectural history.

With the second Elizabethan era coming to a close, Blueprint For Living takes a look at the ways that Queen Elizabeth II's reign defined design, food, and landscape architecture.

George Monbiot wants to turn the global food industry on its head – from radical changes in farming practices to 3D-printed steaks. The prolific writer, environmental activist, and rewilder, explores this and more in his latest book, Regenesis.

Then it's time to meet an eccentric, little-known modernist architect who fought conventions and eschewed publicity: Bill Lucas. His friends and colleagues Peter Longeran and Julie Cracknell join Blueprint to find his traces in Australian architectural history. 

Afterward, resident chef Annie Smithers joins us for another edition of Kitchen Rudimental. This time, she schools us in the five 'mother sauces': béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato.

And then it's time for a little bit of magic. Colin Bisset gives us the design history of the magician's wand.

In this edition of Blueprint For Living, Curt Beech, production designer on the hit show Only Murders in the Building, shares the secrets to creating the perfect Upper West Side fictional apartment.

It's these ideas that lead to the design decisions that so boldly colour the homes of the murder mystery's main characters Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez).

Then, Besha Rodell, chief restaurant critic at The Age, looks at how the hospitality industry is pivoting from its reliance on alcohol mark-ups, with thoughtful combinations of non-alcoholic menus.   

Plus, Gaye Naismith gives Jonathan a lesson in the running stitch, and Colin Bisset explores the monkey bike’s place in history as a design pioneer.  

In this edition of Blueprint For Living, RMIT's Robyn Healy reflects on the life and many legacies of the Japanese designer, Issey Miyake.

Then hear how and why the figure of the little boy peeing (aka the Puer Mingins motif) continues to reappear in fountains. Architectural historian Amy Boyington has the story.

Plus, Annie Smithers give us the complete lamington collection, and Colin Bisset introduces you to the man who is credited with the home design catalogue.

Find more Blueprint For Living via the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.