I am a senior writer and podcast producer at Quillette, an independent Australian magazine founded and owned by editor-in-chief Claire Lehmann. We analyse and comment on international politics, science and technology, art and culture, history, education, and other topics in thoughtful, long-form articles. My primary duties there include writing a weekly op-ed column and producing articles, book reviews, and newsletters as well as conducting interviews with writers, academics, researchers, and public figures for our podcast fortnightly.

From May 2020–October 2023, I was also the editor-in-chief of the independent liberal publication, Areo Magazine, and the host of its podcast, Two for Tea.

I have a PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University and a background in academe and in professional freelance writing, copyediting and translation. I have written two books: Anxious Employment (Routledge 2005), a study of eighteenth-century periodical editors, and Our Tango World (Milonga Press, 2018), a philosophical and sociological study of the tango milieu.

My political essays have also appeared The Times, The Indian Quarterly and The Washington Examiner, among other outlets. I also write personal essays, many of which have been published in my Substack newsletter, The Second Swim.

I’m based in Sydney, Australia. The best way to contact me is by email: iona.italia@gmail.com