All in the Mind has oscillated the ABC Radio National airwaves for a remarkable twenty-one years. Founded by Natasha Mitchell (2002–12), carried forward by Lynne Malcolm (2012–20), and now hosted by Sana Qadar, the show has created a roomy and inviting space for listeners intrigued by the mind, brain, and mental illness. That space is much more crowded now than it was when the program launched, thanks to the proliferation of podcasts and the growth of science journalism, but All in the Mind remains the forum of choice for psychology and neuroscience enthusiasts.

Although the show has continued to evolve, its main ingredients have remained consistent. It highlights knowledgeable, affable, and authentically curious hosts, professional production, attention to timely topics, and a balance of attention to experts and laypeople. Centring the voices of the now ubiquitous ‘lived experience’ has been one of the program’s enduring features, long before ‘nothing about us without us’ became a catchcry, and it has also made a point of promoting the work of unsung local researchers, shoulder to shoulder with international stars.

Malcolm has now gathered up the work she presented during her nine years at the helm of this institution within an institution. All in the Mind lays out a harvest of ideas drawn from conversations with 135 of her guests. Roughly one third of Malcolm’s interlocutors are people with notable mental gifts, idiosyncrasies, and afflictions, and their loved ones. The remainder are experts of some stripe, commonly researchers but often also therapists, consultants, or leaders of organisations and initiatives, many promoting a new book. A slender majority of these experts are Australian.