What kind of person would deliberately set a firestorm? What kind of mind? On the scorching February day in 2009 that became known as Black Saturday, Brendan Sokaluk lit two fires in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, then sat on the roof of his house to watch the inferno. The day after Sokaluk’s arrest, Chloe Hooper drove to the fire ravaged Valley to ask who becomes an arsonist and why?

Join Chloe Hooper (Tall Man, The Arsonist) in conversation with Paul Barclay (Big Ideas ABC RN) as she shares the compelling journey she took inside the mind of Brendan Sokaluk, of the firestorm he set, and the investigation and court case that followed.

Hooper also tells a story of fire in this country, and to the heart of small town Australia, the psychology of fire-setting and a new age of environmental terror. As more Australians choose to live amidst bushland on the urban fringe, this is a thriller we are living right now.

This session will be recorded for later broadcast on Big Ideas, ABC Radio National.

Books will be available for sale from the Library Shop at the event and Chloe will be signing after Talking Ideas.