Born in London to migrant parents, Baum attended secondary school at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, and studied philosophy and politics at the University of York.
[2] In 1995, Baum took leave from the ABC, working as a researcher / producer on The World on a Plate, a history of food around the world and in 2006, produced and co-wrote her first TV documentary,[citation needed] about Australian writer Arthur Upfield, shown on SBS TV.
Baum was editorial director of Booktopia, Australia's largest online bookseller.
She curates and hosts talks, blogging for arts organisations, and providing media consultancy.
Also what it means to be the daughter of two people damaged by trauma and tragedy, particularly a domineering and explosive father.