Leslie Cannold
Encyclopedia
Leslie Cannold, PhD, is an author, academic ethicist
, columnist, activist, and high-profile Australian public intellectual.
Born and raised in Armonk and Scarsdale
, New York, Leslie migrated to Melbourne, Australia in her early twenties. She began writing for The Age
as an opinion and education section columnist while raising young children and completing her graduate degrees. She is considered a protege of one of the most influential modern philosophers, Peter Singer
, though she does not share his utilitarian views. A twice-published non-fiction author and novelist, Cannold is a familiar voice and face on radio and TV in Australia, discussing ethics, politics, and reproductive rights. In 2005 she was named one of Australia's top twenty public intellectuals by The Age newspaper. In 2011 Cannold was awarded Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies.
where she studied psychology and theatre, Leslie completed a Masters degree in Bioethics at Monash University
and worked at the Centre for Human Bioethics during Peter Singer's tenure there. She earned her PhD in Education at the University of Melbourne
before commencing employment at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics when C.A.J. Coady
was director. she maintains adjunct positions at both universities though she left academic employment in 2006 to pursue writing full-time.
since 2007. Prior to that she was an occasional columnist for The Age
. Her opinions have also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, Crikey!, The Herald Sun, ABC
The Drum Unleashed, The Courier Mail, and the national broadsheet The Australian
. In 2011 she was recognized with an EVA for a Sunday Age opinion piece on sexual assault.
Her books include the award-winning The Abortion Myth: Feminism morality and the hard choices women make and What, No Baby?: Why women are losing the freedom to mother and how they can get it back, which made the Australian Financial Review's top 101 books list. Her first work of fiction, The Book of Rachael, a historical novel, was published 2011. She publishes on diverse subject areas including grief, circumcision, HIV/AIDS, genetic manipulation, ex utero gestation and regulating Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs). She published chapters in Sperm Wars (2005) and The Australian Book of Atheism (2010).
, triple j
, Today Tonight
, The 7:30 Report, A Current Affair, The Catch-Up
, The Einstein Factor
, SBS Insight
, 9am with David & Kim, The Circle
, Today
, and Lateline
. For many years she talked life, work and ethics with well-known radio and TV broadcater Virginia Trioli
on 774 ABC Melbourne
and now appears regularly on Radio 4BC and Deborah Cameron's
morning show on 702 ABC Sydney
. She is a regular panelist on ABC TV's political talk show Q & A
and is the resident ethicist for Network Ten's The 7pm Project
.
Ethicist
An ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgement...
, columnist, activist, and high-profile Australian public intellectual.
Born and raised in Armonk and Scarsdale
Scarsdale
Scarsdale could be*Scarsdale, New York, a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States, for which The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet is named...
, New York, Leslie migrated to Melbourne, Australia in her early twenties. She began writing for The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
as an opinion and education section columnist while raising young children and completing her graduate degrees. She is considered a protege of one of the most influential modern philosophers, Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
, though she does not share his utilitarian views. A twice-published non-fiction author and novelist, Cannold is a familiar voice and face on radio and TV in Australia, discussing ethics, politics, and reproductive rights. In 2005 she was named one of Australia's top twenty public intellectuals by The Age newspaper. In 2011 Cannold was awarded Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies.
Education and career
Educated at Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
where she studied psychology and theatre, Leslie completed a Masters degree in Bioethics at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
and worked at the Centre for Human Bioethics during Peter Singer's tenure there. She earned her PhD in Education at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
before commencing employment at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics when C.A.J. Coady
C.A.J. (Tony) Coady
C. A. J. Coady is an Australian philosopher with an international reputation for his research in both epistemology and political and applied philosophy. Coady's best-known work relates to the epistemological problems posed by testimony...
was director. she maintains adjunct positions at both universities though she left academic employment in 2006 to pursue writing full-time.
Books and columns
Leslie's fortnightly Moral Dilemma column has appeared in Sydney's Sunday Sun-HeraldSun-Herald
Sun-Herald could refer to:* The Sun-Herald, the Sunday edition of The Sydney Morning Herald, a newspaper based in Sydney, Australia* The Sun Herald, a newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi...
since 2007. Prior to that she was an occasional columnist for The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
. Her opinions have also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, Crikey!, The Herald Sun, ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
The Drum Unleashed, The Courier Mail, and the national broadsheet The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
. In 2011 she was recognized with an EVA for a Sunday Age opinion piece on sexual assault.
Her books include the award-winning The Abortion Myth: Feminism morality and the hard choices women make and What, No Baby?: Why women are losing the freedom to mother and how they can get it back, which made the Australian Financial Review's top 101 books list. Her first work of fiction, The Book of Rachael, a historical novel, was published 2011. She publishes on diverse subject areas including grief, circumcision, HIV/AIDS, genetic manipulation, ex utero gestation and regulating Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs). She published chapters in Sperm Wars (2005) and The Australian Book of Atheism (2010).
Radio and television work
Leslie's radio and TV appearances include ABC Radio NationalRadio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
, triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
, The 7:30 Report, A Current Affair, The Catch-Up
The Catch-Up
The Catch-Up was an Australian daytime live television talk show on the Nine Network created by Mia Freedman.The show featured a panel of women as co-hosts, with Libbi Gorr, Zoe Sheridan, Mary Moody and Lisa Oldfield. The show premiered on 26 February 2007. It was produced at Channel Nine's studio...
, The Einstein Factor
The Einstein Factor
The Einstein Factor is an Australian television quiz show that was broadcast on ABC1. The show's host is comedian and broadcaster Peter Berner. It was first broadcast in 2004 and in 2009 the show commenced its sixth and final season, with the ABC announcing the program would not be renewed in 2010....
, SBS Insight
Insight (Australian TV program)
Insight is an current affairs television program, broadcast on the SBS network.-History:Insight started out as a national domestic current affairs program dealing primarily with Australian issues, while Dateline covered international ones....
, 9am with David & Kim, The Circle
The Circle (TV program)
-Music from The Circle:Music from The Circle is a compilation album featuring 38 songs chosen by the hosts of The Circle. The album includes a special song recorded by hosts Denise Drysdale, Chrissie Swan, Yumi Stynes and Gorgi Coghlan titled "Circle Song"...
, Today
Today (Australian TV program)
Today and Weekend Today are Australian breakfast television programmes, the show is often referred to as The Today Show. The show has been broadcast live by the Nine Network each morning since 1982...
, and Lateline
Lateline
Lateline is an Australian television news and current affairs program produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, airing weeknights at on ABC1. The program has developed a reputation for head-to-head debates on current issues and political interviews. Lateline is followed by its sister...
. For many years she talked life, work and ethics with well-known radio and TV broadcater Virginia Trioli
Virginia Trioli
Virginia Frances Trioli is an award-winning Australian journalist and author.-Biography:Born in Bendigo, she attended Donvale High School and graduated from La Trobe University in the 1980s, with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a fine arts major in cinema...
on 774 ABC Melbourne
774 ABC Melbourne
774 ABC Melbourne is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. Originally known by its callsign 3LO, it began transmission on 13 October 1924 – Melbourne's second radio station after 3AR.-History:...
and now appears regularly on Radio 4BC and Deborah Cameron's
Deborah Cameron (radio presenter)
Deborah Cameron is an Australian journalist and radio presenter based in Sydney. In January, 2008, she took over from Virginia Trioli as host of the morning program on radio 702 ABC Sydney....
morning show on 702 ABC Sydney
702 ABC Sydney
702 ABC Sydney is an ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 kHz on the AM dial....
. She is a regular panelist on ABC TV's political talk show Q & A
Q&A (TV program)
Q&A is an Australian television program, broadcast on ABC1 hosted by award-winning news journalist Tony Jones. It is similar to shows like Question Time on the BBC and Questions and Answers on RTÉ....
and is the resident ethicist for Network Ten's The 7pm Project
The 7PM Project
The Project is an Australian talk show television program airing weeknights across Australia on Network Ten. The formerly half hour long show premiered on 20 July 2009, and is hosted by Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, with a rotating daily guest panelist...
.