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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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Now displaying: Page 5
Jan 21, 2020

Dr. Craig Emerson is a former Labor MP. In the Rudd and Gillard governments he served as Minister for Trade and Competitiveness, Minister for Tertiary Education and Science and Minister for Small Business. Since leaving parliament, Emerson has run his own economic consultancy firm and in 2019, he co-authored the review into Labor's election loss along with Jay Weatherill

In this conversation I ask Craig about the reasons why he studied economics and joined the Labor party, his thoughts on "economic rationalism" (or what we now call neoliberalism), compromise and centrism versus radical policies in the age of the climate crisis, fear campaigns, "international green socialism" and the future prospects of the ALP. 

Join the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance's Invasion Day Rallies this Sunday

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

@DrCraigEmerson

craigemersoneconomics.com

ARTICLE: Tribalism is blighting Australia by Craig Emerson

ARTICLE: The Australian Labor Party's Official Election Review Learns All The Wrong Lessons by James Clark

Craig singing "Whyalla Wipeout". Just for old times' sake. 

Cause of the Week: WIRES (wires.org.au

Jan 14, 2020

Daniel Lopez is the commissioning editor for Jacobin magazine, socialist activist, author and tweeter. 

A month on from Corbyn and British Labour's brutal loss and as Australia burns, Daniel and I discuss the state of the Left right now, Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party and the possibilities of a new socialist political party. 

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

@NoLuckLopez

Daniel's writing for Jacobin magazine

Daniel's book Lukács: Praxis and the Absolute

ARTICLE: AOC's Green New Deal is the socialist solution the world needs by Daniel Lopez

victoriansocialists.org.au

Cause of the Week: The Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy (mscp.org.au)

Dec 17, 2019

Charlie Pickering is a comedian and host of the satirical comedy show The Weekly on the ABC. I used to have one of those, but let's not go into it and start comparing who was "more successful" or "not cancelled". 

Here we chat about the ethics of including political figures in whacky comedy sketches, Charlie's centrist approach to politics, voting for John Howard, his interest in American political history and why he's more excited about Elizabeth Warren's candidacy than Bernie Sanders'.  

I'll be off for the Christmas break but shall return in 2020. Thanks for everything! I love you! Onward, comrades! 

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 BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

@charliepick

charliepickering.com

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

@theweeklytv

The Yearly is on TONIGHT 8:30pm on ABC 

The Dollop's podcast on Ronald Reagan (Pt 1)

What's Left? episode on The Case Against Warren

Cause of the Week: Reading Out Of Poverty (roop.org.au)

 

Dec 10, 2019

After joining me at the end of the shitshow that was 2016 for the first live edition of the podcast, Greens MP Adam Bandt returned to reflect on how far we have (or haven't) come and what to make of the political year that was 2019.

Recorded in Collingwood at the Easey Street Concert Hall in front of a bloody lovely crowd, this is a funny and important conversation about Scott Morrison, socialism, the climate crisis, the 2019 election, the ALP's pathetic position on coal and the possibilities of a Green New Deal for Australia.

All funds raised went to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (you can support them here toooooo). I'm very thankful to Adam for agreeing to do this again and to everyone who came out to the show. MERRY CHRISTMAS xoxoxo

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 BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

@AdamBandt

adambandt.com

ARTICLE: Setting Kevin Rudd's Environment Record Straight by Adam Bandt

ARTICLE: This is what it looks like when your government sells out the climate for votes by Katharine Murphy

ARTICLE: The crisis in liberalism: why centrist politics can no longer explain the world by Katrina Forrester

Dec 3, 2019

Patricia Cornelius is a celebrated Australian playwright who writes about class, love, capitalism and the cruel things we do to each other. Her plays include LOVESavagesSHITDo Not Go Gentle and Who's Afraid of the Working Class?

In this conversation, Patricia tells me about her working class upbringing, her journey through feminism to Marxism, her time in the radical Melbourne Workers Theatre and reflects on whether today's middle-class and staid theatre can still be a voice for class-conscious politics.

Also we revel in the joy of some filthy swearing. 

Come see me record a LIVE SHOW as Greens MP Adam Bandt returns on Tuesday December 10th, 7pm – all funds raised go to the ASRC

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

My new show GRANDILOQUENT is on at the 2020 Brisbane Comedy Festival in March, tickets on sale now

JOIN THE BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

I want to do an AMA episode of the show: please get in touch with your questions, email tom@tomballard.com.au

@pmcorn

ARTICLE: Patricia Cornelius: Not going gently by Harry Windsor

Patricia's piece on swearing for The Wheeler Centre

Anthem is playing at the 2020 Sydney Festival 

Do Not Go Gentle is on at Malthouse Theatre in 2020

SHIT on AustralianPlays.org

Cause of the Week: Ilbijjeri Theatre Company (ilbijerri.com.au)

Nov 26, 2019

Lizzie O'Shea is a lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, writer, broadcaster and socialist activist. She's the author of Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us About Digital Technology - an examination of radical social movements and theories from history and how they can be applied to technology capitalism. 

Lizzie and I discussed the class action she's working on against Uber's business model, the "datafication of ourselves", how much Facebook and Amazon suck, Australia's awful data encryption laws, what it might mean to break up or nationalise the tech companies and the possibilities of a better world with a better internet. 

Come see me record a LIVE SHOW as Greens MP Adam Bandt returns on Tuesday December 10th, 7pm – all funds raised go to the ASRC

JOIN THE BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

I want to do an AMA episode of the show: please get in touch with your questions, email tom@tomballard.com.au

@Lizzie_OShea

lizzieoshea.com

Lizzie's writing for The Guardian

A review of Future Histories on Engineering & Technology 

ARTICLE: Invisible Handcuffs - it's time for workers to throw off the shackles of big tech by Lizzie O'Shea

ARTICLE: The Future Has Arrived by Robert Maharajh

Cause of the Week: The National Justice Project (justice.org.au

Nov 19, 2019

Jon Faine is a veteran broadcaster who was just stepped down as the host of the Mornings show on ABC Local Radio after 23 years in the chair (and a total of 30 years at the national broadcaster). 

Jon kindly let me (back) into his house to have a wide-ranging chat about the state of the media, bias at the ABC, Elizabeth Warren, capitalism, the tech giants, civility, Kevin Bailey and his bladder.  

Come see me record a LIVE SHOW as Greens MP Adam Bandt returns on Tuesday December 10th, 7pm – all funds raised go to the ASRC

JOIN THE BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

I want to do an AMA episode of the show: please get in touch with your questions, email tom@tomballard.com.au

Listen to Novara Media AND (please) vote for Jeremy Corbyn

Jon's Farewell to the ABC

ARTICLE: Malcolm Turnbull suggests 'shell out' to help their children buy property

The ABC's #AustraliaTalks

The "infamous" Kevin Bailey sketch from Tonightly

ARTICLE: Don't Trust Elizabeth Warren's Big-Donor Ban by Megan Day

Cause of the Week: The Koorie Heritage Trust (koorieheritagetrust.com.au)

 

Nov 12, 2019

Roz Ward is a queer Marxist academic and activist who was a co-founder of the Safe Schools Coalition. She was publicly attacked for her politics and her role in fighting for Safe Schools by the conservative media, religious lobbyists and members of the Coalition government. 

Here Roz reflects on her experience with the culture war bullshit around that programme and tells me what it taught her, why she's a revolutionary socialist, what she thinks can be achieved through electoral politics, her involvement in the IMARC protests, why All Cops Are Bastards and lawnmowers. 

Come see me record a LIVE SHOW as Greens MP Adam Bandt returns on Tuesday December 10th, 7pm - all funds raised go to the ASRC 

JOIN THE BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

I want to do an AMA episode of the show: please get in touch with your questions, email tom@tomballard.com.au

I was on the latest episode of The Bugle 

@roztward

ARTICLE: Roz Ward on clergy hypocrisy and the valorisation of child molesters 

Benjamin Law's Quarterly Essay on the Safe Schools controversy, Moral Panic 101

System Change Not Climate Change: An Anti-Capitalist Conference is on this Saturday at Trades Hall, Melbourne 

victoriansocialists.org.au

Red Flag Radio on podbean

Cause of the Week: Support activists arrested at mining conference on GoFundMe

Nov 5, 2019

This is part two of my conversation with former AFL player and controversial media figure Sam Newman. Part one of the chat is here.

Here we discuss Sam's thoughts on Muslim Australians' failure to "assimilate" into society, what does and doesn't constitute racism, Pauline Hanson and how he hoped to tackle homelessness if he were to become Melbourne Lord Mayor. 

JOIN THE BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

Check out my podcast with Audible discussing audiobooks, What’s the Story?

I want to do an AMA episode of the show: please get in touch with your questions, email tom@tomballard.com.au

I appeared on the Radio National show The People Vs to discuss the state of comedy with Josh Szepps, Sami Shah, Andrew Doyle & Steph Tisdell 

I'm on the latest edition of The Little Dum Dum Club alongside Wil Anderson

Part One of my chat with Sam

@Origsmartassam

Sam’s Facebook page

Sam’s podcast Sam, Mike & Thommo 

Cause of the Week: The Les Twentyman Foundation (ltfoundation.com.au)

Oct 29, 2019

Sam Newman is a former AFL player for the Geelong Football Club and has been a controversial figure in the Australian media for decades. He's best known for his work on The Footy Show, which he appeared on from 1994 until 2018. 

I find Sam's political positions to be ill-informed and incorrect (I'm pretty sure he feels the same about mine), but I know there are plenty of people out there who agree with him and think he talks a lot of sense when it to comes to political correctness, immigration, Donald Trump and climate change. He also considered running for Lord Mayor of Melbourne last year and received some support in some corners.

In this very wide-ranging, frustrating but civil conversation, I try to get a sense of his thinking and push back where I could. I hope you get something out of it.

Part two will be out next week. 

JOIN THE BRAND NEW LIKE I’M A SIX-YEAR-OLD GROUP ON FACEBOOK! WOW! 

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

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What’s the Story?

I’m coming to Ballarat this Friday November 1st for BallaRatCat Comedy

I’ll be performing at Just For Laughs Sydney at the Opera House this Saturday November 2nd

@Origsmartassam

Sam's Facebook page

Sam's podcast Sam, Mike & Thommo 

ARTICLE: Footy Show host Sam Newman criticised for reckless transphobia 

NASA's article on the Icelandic glacier Myrdalsjokull 

ARTICLE: Trump cats did little to boost economic growth in 2018, study says

ARTICLE: Enough with the fairy tales about the Paris agreement. It's time for facts by Erwin Jackson 

ARTICLE: Why is China placing a global bet on coal?  

Cause of the Week: The Les Twentyman Foundation (ltfoundation.com.au)

  

Sep 25, 2019

Latika Bourke is an award-winning journalist and since 2016 has been the London correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times.

Here Latika reflects on covering British politics as the country has tried to deal with the fallout of the Brexit referendum and its ensuing chaos. She tells me about covering the Labour Conference in Brighton over the weekend and the state of the party, Brexit fatigue, the rise of the Liberal Democrats, what might happen next and what covering UK politics has taught her about the Australian political class.

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

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What’s the Story?

And email me! I’m on tom@tomballard.com.au

@latikambourke

Latika on instagram

Latika's articles for the SMH

Latika's book From India With Love

unherd.com

Cause of the Week: Pet Rescue (www.petrescue.com.au)

Sep 17, 2019

CONTENT WARNING: This episode involves discussion of sexual assault

Aditi Mittal is a stand up comedian with a massive following in her native India. She's outspoken and hilarious about her politics and the plight of women under patriarchy.

In this conversation Aditi tells me why for her "breathing is a political act", the repression in Indian society, how the caste system works, the country's recent rightward shift under the leadership of Narendra Modi and what it's like to live in a country of MORE THAN ONE BILLION PEOPLE. 

MAKE SURE YOU STRIKE FOR THE CLIMATE ON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH >> globalclimatestrike.net

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

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What’s the Story?

And email me! I'm on tom@tomballard.com.au

@awryaditi

aditimittal.com

ARTICLE: Five years after the gang-rape and murder of Jyoti Singh, what has changed for women in India? 

ARTICLE: Hindutva on the March

Cause of the Week: Good Samaritans Mumbai (samaritansmumbai.com)

 

Sep 10, 2019

Michael Walker is the host of TyskySour on Novara Media, an independent media organisation dedicated to covering British politics from the Left. 

After a big fat crazy week in British politics - Boris Johnson proroguing parliament, MPs defecting to other parties all over the place, general elections being proposed and voted down - Michael joined me in my London flat's kitchen to chat about what this moment means. He explains why he moved away from anarchism and why he now identifies as a "class war social democrat", how the Brexit and the Corbyn moments have affected each other and how he thinks Labour can win the next general election (if it's actually called this year). We also cover the Podemos example, the anti-Semitism row that Labour has faced and the challenges a Corbyn government might face from those within its own ranks.   

MAKE SURE YOU STRIKE FOR THE CLIMATE ON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH >> globalclimatestrike.net

You can be a hero in this world and support this show by becoming a Patron now if you like

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What’s the Story?

ARTICLE: Hazara asylum seeker in detention uses art to 'build bridges' and 'unite humanity'  

I'm on the latest episode of The Bugle

@michaeljswalker

@novaramedia

Michael's show TyskySour on YouTube

TyskySour the podcast

Cause of the Week: Novara Media (novaramedia.com)

 

Sep 4, 2019

Dr. Matt Winning (yes! Actual name!) is a climate policy researcher, environmental economist and stand up comedian.

I got to see Matt's show at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, It's The End of the World As We Know It, and it make me laugh and also made me sad. Here we discuss the depressing reality we're faced with when it comes to the climate crisis, what is to be done about it (as individuals and collectively), approaching tipping points, apocalyptic predictions, what that IPCC report really means and where to find some hope. 

MAKE SURE YOU STRIKE FOR THE CLIMATE ON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH >> globalclimatestrike.net

You can be a hero in this world and support this show by becoming a Patron now if you like

ENOUGH is on now at the Soho Theatre until Saturday 7th September

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What’s the Story?

Please help Refugee Legal support people seeking asylum as they navigate Australia's rubbish immigration legal system

@mattywin85

mattwinning.com

Watch Matt's 2018 show Climate Strange - Part One & Part Two 

Matt's podcast Operation Earth

ARTICLE: New Report Suggests 'High Likelihood of Human Civilisation Coming To An End' Starting in 2050

What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming: Toward A New Psychology of Climate Action by Per Espen Stoknes 

Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired To Ignore Climate Change by George Marshall 

My episode with climate strikers Emma & Anthony 

ARTICLE: Yes, Socialism is Infinity Pools for Everyone by Aaron Bastani

Cause of the Week: 10:10 Climate Action (1010uk.org)

Aug 22, 2019

Andrew Doyle is a stand up comedian and satirist who's written for Jonathan Pie, created the parody twitter character Titania McGrath, writes for Spiked Online and runs a "free-thinking" comedy night in London called Comedy Unleashed. But, unlike others who criticise social justice and the "woke movement", Andrew comes at these issues from a Leftist perspective.  

Here we chat about why Andrew is so concerned about "wokeness" and how he sees it affecting society, comedy and free speech. We cover the state of Brexit (and why he thinks voting to Remain isn't a left-wing position), fascism and his attitude towards how his work is interpreted. 

You can be a hero in this world and support this show by becoming a Patron now if you like

ENOUGH is on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival NOW! 9pm at the Monkey Barrelpay to reserve a ticket or Pay What You Feel on exit

Then ENOUGH is at the Soho Theatre from Monday September 2nd

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What’s the Story?

@andrewdoyle_com

@TitaniaMcGrath

andrewdoyle.co.uk

Andrew's writing at Spiked Online

Andrew's show Exodus at the Edinburgh Fringe 

Titania McGrath's Mxnifesto at the Edinburgh Fringe

Woke: A Guide To Social Justice by Titania Mcgrath

Alistair Williams' twitter account @awilliamscomedy

Oscar Wilde's The Soul of Man Under Socialism 

The Once and Future Liberal by Mark Lilla on Amazon

Inside London's "free speech" comedy night by Yohann Koshy for Vice

Cause of the Week: Action With Effect (actionwitheffect.org

Aug 14, 2019

Grace Petrie is a socialist, feminist, lesbian singer-songwriter whose political songs place a fire in my heart and whose love songs break my heart. She's brilliant and I feel very lucky to have her on this show. 

In this chat I ask Grace about being labelled a "protest singer", her agenda when it comes to her music, the importance of representation, Hannah Gadsby, trans rights, battling with TERFs and Jeremy Corbyn. 

Plus at the end she bloody sings a song for us! It is great! 

You can be a hero in this world and support this show by becoming a Patron now if you like

ENOUGH is on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival NOW! 9pm at the Monkey Barrelpay to reserve a ticket or Pay What You Feel on exit

Then ENOUGH is at the Soho Theatre from Monday September 2nd

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What’s the Story?

@gracepetrie

gracepetrie.com

Grace's tour dates

ARTICLE: Protest music: steel in the hour of chaos

Grace's Facebook post after TERFs disrupted her show 

Cause of the Week: UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group (uklgig.org.uk)

Aug 6, 2019

CONTENT WARNING: This episode involves discussion of sexual assault

Daniel Sloss is a Scottish comedian who has sold out shows around the world, appeared on Conan shitloads of times and has two specials on Netflix. I'm also lucky enough to consider him a friend.

Daniel's latest show X deals with toxic masculinity and his personal response to an incident involving the sexual assault of a friend. It's a funny and thoughtful response to gender politics, call-out culture, sexual violence and #MeToo. In this conversation (recorded back in March), Daniel and I have a frank and at times tricky conversation about how to navigate this kind of terrain, the ethics of writing offensive and dark comedy and how we can all try to make the most of this cultural reckoning with the widespread scourge of sexual misconduct.

We also have a few laughs. 

I'm keen to hear any and all feedback on this episode: my email is tom@tomballard.com.au 

You can be a hero in this world and support this show by becoming a Patron now if you like

ENOUGH is on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival NOW! 9pm at the Monkey Barrel, pay to reserve a ticket or Pay What You Feel on exit

Then ENOUGH is at the Soho Theatre from Monday September 2nd

Check out my new podcast with Audible, What's the Story?

@daniel_sloss

Daniel's show is at the Fringe for three nights only  

danielsloss.com

Cause of the Week: Rape & Domestic Violence Australia (rape-dvservices.org.au), Rape Crisis Scotland (rapecrisisscotland.org.uk

Jul 30, 2019

James Ball is a journalist and the current Global Editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. He worked with WikiLeaks on the Iraq War documents leak in 2010 and was part of The Guardian team that helped published the Edward Snowden sneaks about the NSA. 

Last week I sat down with James in a London heatwave to reflect on Boris Johnson becoming PM, stockpiling for a no-deal Brexit, the way bullshit works in today's politics, the anti-Semitism scandal in the British Labour Party and the plight of Julian Assange. 

You can be a hero in this world and support this show by becoming a Patron now if you like

ENOUGH starts at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival tomorrow night! 9pm at the Monkey Barrel for the rest of the month

Then ENOUGH is at the Soho Theatre from Monday September 2nd

I'm on the latest episode of The Bugle with Andy Zaltzman & Nato Green

@jamesrbuk

jamesrball.com

James' writing at The New Statesman

James' writing at Buzzfeed

James' writing at The Guardian

James' speech Bathing in Bullshit, 2017

ARTICLE: Inside the Strange, Paranoid World of Julian Assange by James Ball

ARTICLE: Chelsea Manning is in jail. Our silence is shameful by James Ball

ARTICLE: Labour says it will would end the welfare freeze (BBC NEWS)

ARTICLE: The Strange Case of Julian Assange by Bernard Keane

Cause of the Week: Overgate Hospice (overgatehospice.co.uk)

Jul 24, 2019

Corey White is a comedian and writer with a pretty remarkable personal story. His memoir The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory is a funny, dark and brutally honest account of being raised in a violent working class home, being put through the harsh foster care system, struggling with issues of sexual identity and drug addiction and eventually becoming the comedian and man he is today.

Here, Corey and I compare notes on our very different childhoods and discuss issues of class, being a member of the lumpenproletariat, the welfare state, outrage, the case for a UBI and "fusionism". We laugh a lot throughout. 

Woahhh how cool you can support this show by becoming a Patron please radical, man! 

Then ENOUGH is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August (next week) and the Soho Theatre in September

@MrCoreyWhite

The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory through Penguin 

An extract from the book 

Corey's event at the Moonee Ponds Library on Monday July 29th

ARTICLE: Corey White on childhood trauma, foster care and comedy: 'It's a factory for the insane' 

Corey on Q&A discussing incentivised contraception

Cause of the Week: The Pyjama Foundation (thepyjamafoundation.com)

Jul 16, 2019

Former Greens senator and lifelong campaigner Lee Rhiannon has been fighting on the Left since she was fifteen years old. 

Almost a year on from stepping down as a Senator for NSW after losing preselection to Mehreen Faruqi, Lee talks to me about being spied on by ASIO from the age of seven, being raised by socialist parents, the state of the union movement, just how badly neoliberalism has knocked around the Left, the tensions that continue to frustrate the Australian Greens and how the party can find a better way to reach out to working people.

Woahhh how cool you can support this show by becoming a Patron please radical, man! 

I’m doing a preview of ENOUGH at The Bill Murray in London on Tuesday July 23rd

Then ENOUGH is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August and the Soho Theatre in September

@LeeRhiannon

leerhiannon.org.au

ARTICLE: Outgoing Lee Rhiannon urges Greens to resist 'careerism and bullying'

ARTICLE: Enemies within as Greens are caught in civil war

Cause of the Week: Frontline Action on Coal (frontlineaction.org)

Jul 9, 2019

Playwright, commentator and activist Van Badham is back on the podcast after she joined me in July of 2015

Since then Van has been a passionate advocate for the re-election of a Labor government and a scathing critic of The Australian Greens. I was keen to dig further into her thinking on that and ask her what she thought went wrong in the 2019 federal election (the answer might surprise you). Van mounts a vigorous defence of Labor's policies here and explains why she sees it as the major hope for the socialist Left in Australia. 

Plus also you will hear her dog barking in the background. 

Woahhh how cool you can support this show by becoming a Patron please radical, man! 

I'm doing two previews of ENOUGH at The Bill Murray in London on July 16th & 23rd

Then ENOUGH is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August and the Soho Theatre in September

@vanbadham

Van's Facebook page

Van's play Banging Denmark at the Sydney Opera House

Van's opinion pieces:

Labor's support for tax cuts is an unfathomable betrayal of principle

Australian Labor led centre-left parties into neoliberalism. Can they lead it out?

Labour has a chance if it replaces Corbyn. Look at Australia in 1983 

Time to hail Hilary Clinton - and face down the testosterone left

How I fell out of love with the Greens: a personal story about the Labor Party

The ALP National Platform 2018

ARTICLE: Van Badham's defence of Hillary Clinton is insufferable right wing crap by Sarah Garnham

ARTICLE: Van Badham's defence of Clinton is preposterous by Michael Brull

ARTICLE: It wasn't Bob Brown who lost the election, it was the Labor Party by James Norman

ARTICLE: How Australia's Labor Party Lost an Un-Loseable Election by Daniel Lopez

Cause of the Week: The Australian Labor Party (alp.org.au

Jul 2, 2019

Josh Bornstein is an employment and IR lawyer at Maurice & Blackburn and the director at the Australia Institute.

He's been increasingly concerned about the level of control that Australian employers have gained over their employees' freedom of speech and expression. So when it comes to the case of Israel Falou, he's been (controversially) outspoken about the legal ramifications for workers if we accept that your boss can fire you for saying the wrong thing. 

Here Josh and I take the time to flesh out his argument on this, how one can unequivocally condemn what Falou said but still object to him losing his job and what the implications for this saga might be for anti-discrimination protections moving forward.  

Be the change you want to be in the world and support this show by becoming a Patron please

ENOUGH is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August and the Soho Theatre in September

@JoshBBornstein 

joshbornstein.com.au

ARTICLE: Cricket Australia's Angela Williamson won't be the last fired for having an opinion by Josh Bornstein

ARTICLE: Sacked for speaking your mind? Don't expect the free speech brigade to help by Jason Wilson  

ARTICLE: Integrity - it's all Greek to the hypocrites of the Right by Josh Bornstein

ARTICLE: With Israel Folau the church demands a kind of free speech that keeps gays in the firing line by David Marr

ARTICLE: Everyone Is Wrong About Israel Falou by Lane Sainty

Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas

Cause of the Week: The Centre for Future Work (futurework.org.au)

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