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Like I'm A Six-Year-Old

Comedian Tom Ballard sits down with politicians, activists, thinkers and comedians to try to talk, laugh, cry and argue about politics. You will learn things and get fired up and hear some swearing. Enjoy.
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Like I'm A Six-Year-Old
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Now displaying: Page 4
Jun 9, 2020

Gavin Stanbrook is a revolutionary socialist who hails from Gumbanyggir country on the NSW mid-north coast. He's a member of Socialist Alternative who's been campaigning for justice for Aboriginal families for years and who helped organise last week's #BlackLivesMatter protest in Sydney. 

In this conversation Gavin tells me how about tearing down statues, the revolutionary potential of this moment, police violence, the tragic cases of Aboriginal deaths in custody, his personal involvement in the #JusticeForBowraville campaign and why he thinks the police should be abolished. 

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

I was on the latest episode of The Bugle podcast with Andy Zaltzman and Hari Kondabolu

@StanbrookG 

Gavin's speech at the 2018 Invasion Day Rally in Redfern

ARTICLE: We can transform society in our interests if we unite to smash the system by Gavin Stanbrook

ARTICLE: There cannot be 432 victims and no perpetrators by Amy McQuire

ARTICLE: Aboriginal deaths in custody: Black Lives Matter protests referred to our count of 432 deaths. It's now 437 by Lorena Allam, Calla Wahlquist & Nick Evershed

ARTICLE: Justice for Bowraville! by Gavin Stanbrook

ARTICLE: Tear down Australia's racist statues by Rebecca Barrigos

ARTICLE: Our cops are killers too by Jasmine Duff

ARTICLE: Democrats are already trying to coopt the movement. Drive them out by Daniel Taylor

Cause of the Week: The Justice for David Dungay Jnr. GoFundMe

Jun 4, 2020

Oliver Twist is a very funny and intelligent up-and-coming Australian comedian. He was born in Rwanda, grew up in a refugee camp in Malawi and has lived in Australia since 2014.

I was planning on taking a week off the podcast this week, but in the midst of everything that's happening right now, Oliver reached out and we decided to record this honest conversation about his relationship to the police, race, class, Black Lives Matter and what meaningful action looks like.

There are even a few laffs in there too. 

CAUSE OF THE WEEK: blacklivesmatter.caard.co

Here are practical ways you can support Aboriginal Lives Matter

@oliveretwist

Oliver's instagram

ARTICLE: Australia must stop turning a blind eye to our own black deaths

ARTICLE: Victoria Police denounces 'inappropriate' memes posted to social account by officer accused of making white power gesture

ARTICLE: How did #BlackOut Tuesday Go So Wrong So Fast? 

ARTICLE: Why the media are to blame for racialising Melbourne's African gang problem

VIDEO: Trevor Noah's reflections on the riots in the US and the breakdown of the social contract

May 28, 2020

Mark Seymour is one of the best singer-songwriters Australia has ever produced. He's the former frontman of Hunters & Collectors and now writes and performs with Mark Seymour & The Undertow. The new Undertow record is called Slow Dawn and comes out today. 

Mark has regularly been outspoken about his politics through his music and public appearances, particularly when it comes to Australia's refugee policies. Here he tells me about how he approaches tackling social issues in his music (without being sanctimonious), why he's left-wing, wearing an "Asylum Seeker" t-shirt at the AFL Grand Final, his experiences in South Africa and how the tides of history weigh on us all today. 

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – all episodes are streaming now

@_MarkSeymour

markseymour.com.au

Mark on Facebook

Slow Dawn on Apple Music

Hunters & Collectors at the 2013 AFL Grand Final

Cause of the Week: The Frankston Life Church (frankston.life)

 

May 26, 2020

Tim Wilson is the Liberal MP for the Victorian seat of Goldstein and the Chair of the House Economics Committee. He last joined me on the podcast back in July 2015

I wanted to talk to Tim about how he's found dealing with the COVID-19 crisis as a local member and his thoughts on the Morrison's government's economic response thus far as a well as a bit old-fashioned ideological argy bargy. We discuss the JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments, neoliberalism, government debt and why being a democratic socialist makes me an evil idiot. 

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – all episodes are streaming now

@TimWilsonMP

timwilsonmp.com.au

ARTICLE: Scott Morrison takes aim at Australia's industrial relations system, reaches out to business and unions

ARTICLE: Tim Wilson: Freedom fighter by Tim Elliott

Cause of the Week: Bayside Community Information & Support Service Inc (bayciss.org.au

May 25, 2020

Rick Morton is an award-winning journalist and writer. He reported on Social Affairs for The Australian for years and is now the Senior Reporter for The Saturday Paper. His memoir 100 Years Of Dirt - about surviving his poverty- and trauma-ridden childhood - has been a critical and commercial success.

Here I ask Rick about issues he's been writing about of late - the conspiracy theories that have thrived amid COVID-19 and the new aged-care "Uber app" that's been given a multi-million dollar government contract - as well as his broader approach to journalism, the realities of poverty, how class works in Australia and the privatisation of the welfare state.

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – all episodes are streaming now

@SquigglyRick

rickmorton.com.au

Rick’s writing for The Saturday Paper

ARTICLE: How COVID-19 energised conspiracy theorists

ARTICLE: A fraction too much friction (on Scott Morrison's approach to the truth) 

ARTICLE: Exclusive: Gov’s $5.8m aged-care app offers ‘no duty of care’

Rick's articles for The Australian

Rick's speech The Power of Money

ARTICLE: Rick Morton found writing his memoir painful enough. Then he had to read it aloud

Cause of the Week: Brotherhood of St. Laurence (bsl.org.au)

May 19, 2020

Rachel Siewert has been a Greens Senator for WA since 2005. She's the whip for the Greens in the Senate and her portfolios include First Nations Affairs, Family, Ageing and Community Services, Gambling and Mental Health. She recently chaired a Senate Committee into the adequacy of the Newstart/JobSeeker payment and has been fighting hard for the government to #RetainTheRate after the COVID crisis has passed. 

In this conversation, Rachel explains how her politics are founded on concern for both people and the planet, the realities of our punitive welfare system, just how shitty JobSeeker is and why the Greens' "Invest To Recover" policy proposal - including a jobs, income and education guarantee - is the kind of bold response Australia needs right now.  

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – episode one is streaming right now!

@SenatorSiewert

rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au

RN INTERVIEW: Are welfare payments entrenching Australians in poverty and unemployment? 

SENATE COMMITTEE REPORT: Adequacy of Newstart and related payments and alternative mechanisms to determine the level of income support payments in Australia

The Greens' "Invest To Recover" Plan

ARTICLE: Greens demand job guarantees and free education for young people in coronavirus recovery plan

The Australian Unemployed Workers Union

ARTICLE: Adam Bandt, the personable hardliner by Margaret Simons

Cause of the Week: The Australian Greens (greens.org.au)

 

May 15, 2020

Dave Anthony is a stand up comedian, writer, activist and co-host of the history comedy podcast The Dollop. In May 2016 he correctly predicted that Hillary Clinton was going to lose to Trump in the presidential election. So yeah - he knows stuff. 

Dave joined me from LA in the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD to talk about the death of American empire, what he's learned from history, his journey to socialism, the right-wing Democratic Party and why Joe Biden is really really bad. We laugh and also talk about the end of hope.

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – episode one is streaming right now!

I'll be performing comedy to an empty room this Saturday night for Delivered Live and you can stream it if you like

@daveanthony

daveanthonycomedy.com

dolloppodcast.com

The Dollop episode on the Clarence Thomas hearings

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

ARTICLE: Biden And Sanders Announce Task Forces To Find Party Unity Over Policy

Cause of the Week: Extinction Rebellion (rebellion.earth)

May 12, 2020

Jon Kudelka is a Walkley Award-winning political cartoonist who's been drawing for over 20 years. He drew thousands of cartoons for The Australian until 2019 and his work now regularly appears in The Hobart Mercury and The Saturday Paper

Jon kindly joined me from Tasmania via Zoom to reflect on his journey to cartooning, the (minimal) influence that satire has on things, what he learnt from John Clarke, the deterioration and stasis of Australian politics, punching down, how compromised the ALP has become and how COVID-19 might wake people up to shitty free-market ideology. 

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival - episode one is streaming right now!

THIS THURSDAY NIGHT I'm hosting this bingo night via Zoom to raise money for the Inner City Legal Centre which do great work for LGBTQIA+ folks

@jonkudelka

kudelka.com.au

Jon's instagram

Jon's cartoons for The Saturday Paper

Jon's cartoons for The Australian

ARTICLE: Data company that "helped locate Osama Bin Laden" recruits former Labor MP Mike Kelly 

Cause of the Week: StreetSmart Australia (streetsmartaustralia.org

Apr 29, 2020

Adam Creighton is the Economics Editor for The Australian and has written for The Economist and The Wall Street Journal. For the past couple of months he's been highly critical of the Australian government's economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has called for the immediate easing of restrictions.

I asked Adam to sketch out his critique of the response and his concerns about its economic impact, as well as discussing the Swedish, economic "trade-offs", the "statistical value of life" (it's $4.4m, apparently), the joys of tax and what kind of changes he does (and doesn't) want to see once the pandemic passes. 

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

I'm hosting QUEER LOVE IN for Equality Australia this Saturday at 3pm, featuring an amazing line up of LGBTIQA+ artists. It will be great fun, please join us 

Please support Alex Makes Meals if you can: he’s providing free meals for healthcare workers! What a cool guy! 

@Adam_Creighton

Adam's writing for The Australian

ARTICLE: Under 60, in good health? Crossing the road is more risky

ARTICLE: Let's hope the economic train crash is worth it

ARTICLE: We may be over-reacting to an unremarkable coronavirus

ARTICLE: Coronavirus: Total shutdown may be too high a price

ARTICLE: New Zealand claims it has eliminated coronavirus

Cause of the Week: Alcoholics Anonymous (aa.org.au)

Apr 21, 2020

Mark Humphries is a comedian who regularly makes satirical sketches for the ABC's 7:30 along with Evan Williams. He always makes me laugh and I've been lucky enough to become friends with him over the past few years. 

Mark joined me via Zoom from deep in the heart of the ABC to discuss his politics, his (haphazard) journey into comedy (featuring some stories involving ME!!!), Mark Latham and the state of Australian right-wing media craziness and the limits of satirising it. We had a good ol' giggle and we barely talked about coronavirus at all.  

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

Please support Alex Makes Meals if you can: he's providing free meals for healthcare workers! What a cool guy! 

My discussion with Refugee Legal Executive Director David Manne about the challenges people seeking asylum face in COVID-19 - please support them at refugeelegal.org.au

@markhumphries

Mark's twitter account about musical theatre is @MarksMusicals

Mark's satire for 7:30

His sketch on The Greta Thunberg Helpline

Mark on The Roast

VIDEO: Bogan Train Trip Girl Australia

Cause of the Week: Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia (msra.org.au)

Apr 16, 2020

Nick McKim is a Tasmanian senator and the co-deputy leader of The Australian Greens

He joined me via Zoom (sorry) from Tasmania to discuss the Morrison government's (sometimes okay but generally shitty) response to the COVID crisis, the neoliberal Labor Party, how this pandemic affects folks in immigration detention and the current Greens' plebiscite on the election of the federal leader. 

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’re a Greens member who supports the One Member One Vote model for leadership election, please consider adding your name to this open letter

@NickMcKim

Nick's page on the Greens' website

Join The Greens (if you like)

Information about the Greens' leadership plebiscite

ARTICLE: The Greens are founded on the principle of grassroots democracy - the leadership vote should be no exception by Michael Berkman, Mehreen Faruqi, Tammy Franks, Tim Hollo & Scott Ludlam

ARTICLE: As former Greens leaders, we ask members not to shut the party room out of leadership votes by Bob Brown, Christine Milne & Richard Di Natale

ARTICLE: It's out decision: electing the parliamentary leader by Dylan Griffiths

ARTICLE: So how much power does the leader of the Australian Greens actually have? by Jonathan Sri 

If you’re a Greens member who supports the One Member One Vote model for leadership election, please consider adding your name to this open letter

VIDEO: Why the Green New Deal matters

Causes of the Week: The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (asrc.org.au), The Unemployed Workers' Union (unemployedworkersunion.com) 

Apr 14, 2020

Tash Heenan and Anna Sturman are ecosocialist academics who are writing about and organising around the possibilities of a Green New Deal for Australia. 

They both joined me via Zoom (I AM VERY SICK OF ZOOM) to lay out what their vision for a GND entails, its "four Ds" (decarbonisation, decolonisation, decommodification, democratisation), how much currency it had as a political idea prior to the current COVID crisis, the possibilities these new conditions could bring and the dangers of eco-fascism. 

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

I went on the Twink Revolution podcast with the darlings Gian & Sam

I also went and talked a bit of bullshit on Nazeem Hussain's Survivor's Guide to Coronavirus podcast

If you're a Greens member who supports the One Member One Vote model for leadership election, please consider adding your name to this open letter

@tashellenheenan

@anna_sturman

Climate Justice Collective - @greennewdealau

climatejusticeaustralia.org

ARTICLE: Five Orientations To The Green New Deal by Tash & Anna

ARTICLE: Australia Needs A Green New Deal, Not More Centrism by Tash Heenan, Jon Piccini & Jeremy Poxon  

ARTICLE: The Greens' New Deal by Paddy Manning

ARTICLE: Capitalism is a virus by Jeff Sparrow

VIDEO: Why the Green New Deal matters

Cause of the Week: Sisters Inside (sistersinside.com.au)

Apr 7, 2020

Caleb Bond is a 21-year-old political commentator who describes himself as "conservative with a splash of libertarianism". He writes a regular opinion column for the Adelaide Advertiser and regularly appears on Sky News. 

Caleb kindly gave me his time a few weeks ago when I was in town for the Adelaide Fringe (before the PLAGUE HIT US ALL AND LOCKED US IN OUR HOUSES). We had a wide-ranging discussion about his experience of being a young conservative giving his opinions in public, the politicisation of youth, the Opinion Industrial Complex, Newscorp, the idea that people naturally become more conservative as they get older, socialism, free markets, FREEDOM and his stance on drugs. 

My show GRANDILOQUENT has been cancelled at the Brisbane and Melbourne Comedy Festivals: all tickets will be refunded in full 

The show’s season at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney in June and at the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe Festival are also not going ahead

The live instalment of LIASYO with Andrew Denton at MICF has also been cancelled  

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

I was on the latest episode of The Little Dum Dum Club

@TheCalebBond

cbond.com.au

ARTICLE: The Strange World of an Australian Conservative Political Commentator by Toby McCasker

Cause of the Week: Youth Insearch (youthinsearch.org.au)

Apr 2, 2020

Gian and Sam host a great podcast called Twink Revolution, which they describe as "cultural and political commentary on current events from a homo-leftist viewpoint". 

They joined me from their isolated apartment in San Francisco to explain how they came to Marxism and queerness (via anarchism and libertarianism), the failures of identity politics, what happened to the Sanders campaign (and how sad we should feel about it) and what the COVID-19 pandemic could mean for the Left. It was all very interesting, very funny and very gay. 

My show GRANDILOQUENT has been cancelled at the Brisbane and Melbourne Comedy Festivals: all tickets will be refunded in full 

The show’s season at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney in June and at the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe Festival are also not going ahead

The live instalment of LIASYO with Andrew Denton at MICF has also been cancelled  

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

I was on the latest episode of The Little Dum Dum Club

@twinkrev

Sam's twitter is @RevTwinkComrade

twinkrev.com

Twink Revolution's YouTube page

Sam's queer history of socialist nations (starting with the USSR), Gaylag Archipelago

The What's Left? episode on Coronavirus and the Sanders campaign

The People's Republic of Walmart by Leigh Phillips & Michal Rozworski

Cause of the Week: The SF Queer Nightlife Fund (sfqueernightlifefund.org)

Mar 30, 2020

Hello! This week's ep is a bit early: my plan is to (try) to start posting multiple episodes a week if possible. Let's see how we go. 

Sean Kelly is a writer who writes for a range of Australian publications. He's a former adviser to Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. 

I've always been a fan of Sean's analysis and writing and was keen to get his thoughts on how COVID-19 is unfolding in Australia, particularly in terms of the Morrison government's response. We take a look back at how the Coalition has tackled the crisis since January (sometimes okay but generally pretty bad!), why Sean thinks it's vital we see the modelling the government is relying on, the possibilities of nationalisation, the threat of "disaster capitalism" and how the ALP has responded to this situation. 

Please note that just after minutes we finished recording, the government announced the $130 billion JobKeeper economic package.

My show GRANDILOQUENT has been cancelled at the Brisbane and Melbourne Comedy Festivals: all tickets will be refunded in full 

The show’s season at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney in June and at the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe Festival are, at this stage, still going ahead 

The live instalment of LIASYO with Andrew Denton at MICF has also been cancelled  

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

@mrseankelly 

Sean's writing for the Nine Fairfax papers

Sean's writing for The Monthly

Sean's writing for The Saturday Paper

ARTICLE: Morrison must give us more detail if we are to trust his judgment by Sean Kelly

ARTICLE: Scott Morrison's efforts at hazard reduction by Sean Kelly

ARTICLE: After the Coronavirus, Australia and the world can never be the same again by Katharine Murphy

ARTICLE: Scott Morrison's COVID-19 two-person rule explained from ABC News

ARTICLE: How each state will be enforcing the coronavirus two-person rule on gatherings from midnight from ABC News

Cause of the Week: The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au)

 

Mar 24, 2020

Emerald Moon is a Brisbane-based Leftist activist and former candidate for the Australian Greens who's passionate about climate action and renters' rights. Emerald ran for the Greens in the safe Liberal seat of Bowman in 2019 and is currently working on the up-coming Brisbane local and Queensland state election. 

Amid the insanity of COVID-19 (I hope you're all okay!), I ask Emerald about how she arrived at her socialist politics, how the Queensland Greens are making real progress with socialist ideas and policies, the truly cooked housing situation in Australia and how we can have a revolution while also practising social distancing. 

My show GRANDILOQUENT has been cancelled at the Brisbane and Melbourne Comedy Festivals: all tickets will be refunded in full 

The show’s season at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney in June and at the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe Festival are, at this stage, still going ahead 

The live instalment of LIASYO with Andrew Denton at MICF has also been cancelled  

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

I'm on the latest episode of The Bugle with Andy Zaltzman and Nish Kumar, many LAFFS about the virus 

I was on the latest episode of The Little Dum Dum Club live in Adelaide in front of what is now an illegal-sized crowd  

@emeraldxmoon

The Queensland Greens

classwarxxx.bandcamp.com

ARTICLE: The Politics of the Virus by Mick Armstrong

ARTICLE: Here's a mad thought: let's save the real things like, er, the people by Guy Rundle

ARTICLE: What I like about the Coronavirus by Slavoj Zizek

Cause of the Week: Australian Unemployed Workers Union (unemployedworkersunion.com)

Mar 17, 2020

Welp. Gosh. Here we are, then. I hope you're doing okay. 

Amidst the chaos of the global Coronavirus pandemic, previous LIASYO guest Osman Faruqi joins me (via Skype) to reflect on what the hell is happening. Osman is a journalist is the editor of The 7am Podcast for Schwartz Media and has been tweeting and writing a lot about the unfolding situation. 

Here we discuss the most egregious examples of capital exploiting this crisis and the insane contradictions about this economic system it exposes, the Australian government's shitty response and how much needs to change in our society to make sure this kind of thing can never happen again. 

It was a slightly depressing but very cathartic conversation and I hope it gives you some comfort and ferments your (justifiable) rage towards those in power in these wild times. 

My show GRANDILOQUENT has been cancelled at the Brisbane and Melbourne Comedy Festivals: all tickets will be refunded in full 

The show's season at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney in June and at the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe Festival are, at this stage, still going ahead 

The live instalment of LIASYO with Andrew Denton at MICF has also been cancelled :( 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

@oz_f

7ampodcast.com.au

ilostmygig.net.au

ARTICLE: Should I keep my children home from school due to Coronavirus? (ABC) 

ARTICLE: Super-rich jet off to disaster bunkers amid Coronavirus outbreak by Rupert Neate

UNICEF's Coronavirus Appeal

Cause of the Week: Support Act (supportact.org.au)

Mar 10, 2020

Michael West is a Walkley Award-winning independent journalist covering the rising power of corporations over Australian democracy. After years working for both NewsCorp and Fairfax, Michael eventually went out on his own to cover the crimes of the corporate world and how big business get away with dodgy shit and poison our politics.

Here Michael lays out his experiences in and philosophy on journalism (plus some insights into Murdoch empire), the conflicts of interest in the big business of media corporations, the state of tax avoidance and political donations in Australia and how it's very clear that the economic creed of neoliberalism and privatisation has failed.  

I’m doing LIASYO live at the 2020 Melbourne Comedy Festival with special guest ANDREW FREAKING DENTON. Tickets are on sale now!

My show ENOUGH is on now the 2020 Adelaide Fringe, tickets available here

My new show GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the 2020 Brisbane Comedy Festival and the 2020 Melbourne International Comedy Festival

GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, it’s on sale now 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

@michaelwestbiz

Michael's YouTube channel

Michael's writing at The Independent

Dirty Power: Big Coal's Network of Influence over the Coalition government by Michael West and Greenpeace 

ARTICLE: Ranking Australia's billionaires as taxpayers by Michael West 

ARTICLE: Australia's Top 40 Tax Dodgers 2019 

ARTICLE: Liberal party received $4.1m in donations from property tycoon's company by Paul Karp, Christopher Knaus & Nick Evershed

Cause of the Week: Support Michael's site and his journalism (michaelwest.com.au

Mar 4, 2020

Alex Bhatal is a social worker and activist. From 2001 to 2018 she was a six-time Greens candidate for the inner-city seat of Cooper (formerly Batman) but in 2019, Alex quit the party having been subjected to a campaign of abuse and “relentless organisational bullying” for years.

Here Alex lays out for her me her journey into politics, her passion for refugee rights and social work, why the Tampa incident inspired her to join the Greens and her experience of running in the same seat for 17 years. 

I also ask Alex to explain exactly what happened between her and the Darebin branch of the Greens, how bad it got for her and what it tells us about the state of the party today. Alex is extremely frank and honest talking to me about what was clearly a painful time in her life and for that I’m very grateful. 

I’m doing LIASYO live at the 2020 Melbourne Comedy Festival with special guest ANDREW FREAKING DENTON. Tickets are on sale now!

My show ENOUGH is on now the 2020 Adelaide Fringe, tickets available here

My new show GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the 2020 Brisbane Comedy Festival and the 2020 Melbourne International Comedy Festival

GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, it’s on sale now 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

@alexbhathal

alexbhathal.com

ARTICLE: Alex Bhathal and discord in the Greens by Martin McKenzie-Murray

ARTICLE: Batman: How it went wrong for the Greens by Martin McKenzie-Murray

Alex's statement on why she resigned from the Greens

From solidarity.net.au: Alex Bhathal resigns - the latest victim of Greens' drift right

Cause of the Week: Refugee Legal (refugeelegal.org.au)

 

Feb 25, 2020

Oliver Yates is the former CEO of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Last year he quit the Liberal Party and ran as an independent candidate for the seat of Kooyong in the 2019 federal election.

Oliver invited me into his house to chat about how his Tory/Liberal MP dad influenced his politics, his experience working at the CEFC, why he left the Liberals, his thoughts on capitalism's role in the climate crisis and why his passion for integrity in politics has fuelled his court challenge over Liberal Party elections signs used at polling booths last year. He also kindly answered my basic questions about the state of renewable technology in Australia today and just how quickly we could move our country to a renewable economy. 

I’m doing LIASYO live at the 2020 Melbourne Comedy Festival with special guest ANDREW FREAKING DENTON. Tickets are on sale now!

I’m bringing my show ENOUGH to the 2020 Adelaide Fringe NEXT WEEK, tickets on sale now

My new show GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the 2020 Brisbane Comedy Festival and the 2020 Melbourne International Comedy Festival

GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, it’s on sale now 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

@_Oliver_Yates

oliveryates.com

Oliver's podcast Tip of the Iceberg

ARTICLE: Coal Coal Coal and soaring emissions - as a Liberal, I have had enough by Oliver Yates

ARTICLE: Josh Frydenberg, Gladys Liu keep seats after court challenge over election signs

ARTICLE: Former Liberal party state director won't be referred to high court over Chinese election signs 

ARTICLE: The problem with taking politics out of climate change by Jeff Sparrow

Cause of the Week: Fauna & Flora International (fauna-flora.org)

Feb 4, 2020

Jon Piccini is an historian at Australian Catholic University and co-host of the anti-capitalist podcast Living the Dream. He's written books about human rights and the Australian far left in the 60s and 70s and is partial to putting out some spicy tweets on @JonPiccini

Here Jon and I discuss his critique of human rights discourse and how it's seen Australia forget about economic rights, just how "radical" we can say Australia is politically and how our history might suggest that the Green New Deal isn't impossible at all. 

I’m doing LIASYO live at the 2020 Melbourne Comedy Festival with special guest ANDREW FREAKING DENTON. Tickets are on sale now!

I’m performing at Laugh Out Proud at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Thursday February 27th

I’m bringing my show ENOUGH to the 2020 Adelaide Fringe in March, tickets on sale now

My new show GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the 2020 Brisbane Comedy Festival and the 2020 Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

Jessie Whyte's The Morals of the Market on Verso Books

The Far Left in Australia since 1945, edited by Jon Piccini, Evan Smith & Matthew Worley

How Labour Built Neoliberalism: Australia's Accord, the Labour Movement and the Neoliberal Project by Elizabeth Humphreys

ARTICLE: Old left, new left and Australia in the 'long 1968' by Jon Piccini & Evan Smith

ARTICLE: A White Working Man's Country by Jon Piccini

ARTICLE: We need a political vision by Alison Pennington

ARTICLE: Australia Needs a Green New Deal, Not More Centrism by Jon Piccini, Jeremy Poxon & Tash Neenan

ARTICLE: Australia Needs a Green New Deal by Adam Bandt

Cause of the Week: Save Deebing Creek Association (on Facebook here)

Jan 28, 2020

Lidia Thorpe is a Gunai-Gunditjmara woman, First Nations activist, a former Greens MP in the Victorian parliament and the current National Aboriginal lead for Amnesty International. 

In the wake of the Invasion Day rallies that Lidia helped organise over the long weekend, we discuss the emotional toll of January 26th, First Nations sovereignty, the failings of the Uluru Statement and the Victorian Treaty process and what it really means for non-Indigenous Australians to pay the rent. 

I'm doing LIASYO live at the 2020 Melbourne Comedy Festival with special guest ANDREW FREAKING DENTON. Tickets are on sale now!

This Saturday I'm performing at the Midsumma Extravaganza at the Hamer Hall

I'm performing at Laugh Out Proud at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Thursday February 27th

I’m bringing my show ENOUGH to the 2020 Adelaide Fringe in March, tickets on sale now

My new show GRANDILOQUENT is coming to the 2020 Brisbane Comedy Festival and the 2020 Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron

@lidia__thorpe

ARTICLE: Without A Treaty, Australia Day Will Always Be Invasion Day by Lidia Thorpe

ARTICLE: Victoria has chosen spin over substance in its Indigenous treaty whitewash by Lidia Thorpe

ARTICLE: Black power in White Australia: An Interview with Gary Foley by Sian Vate

An ABC explainer on the Victorian treaty process

An explainer on the Uluru Statement from the Heart

The Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation's statement on the treaty process, "Trick or Treaty?" 

Pay the Rent: a Buzzfeed video 

Cause of the Week: Pay The Rent (paytherent.net.au

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