Journalist and comedy writer Richard Cooke has worked with the likes of The Chaser, The Checkout, The Saturday Paper, The Guardian and The Monthly.
He gave me some of his time to sound off on Aussie hip hop, Australian political satire, the theory of "mutual obligation" and tax evasion and the role of polling in today's politics.
Article: Why I Have Resigned From The Telegraph
Article: The People Versus The Political Class
Cause of the Week: Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org)
Ben Riley describes himself as a classical liberal, a Queenslander and a larrikin. He's a former president of the Young Liberals and the current Vice President of the International Young Democractic Union.
We came together to find out exactly where we do and don't agree on things like the privatisation of public assets, the State's role in our lives, puppy farms, same-sex marriage, diversity in politics, the environment and our Prime Minister's character.
Plus we laughed about that time he got drunk and was a bit silly.
Cause of the Week: The Young Liberal Movement of Australia (youngliberal.org.au), Oxfam Australia (oxfam.org.au)
Adelaide's Welcome Centre is an initiative of Welcome To Australia, an organisation dedicated to changing the conversation around Australia's immigration policies and to providing support to asylum seekers, refugees and new arrivals.
My guests were Kate Leaney, the Centre's manager, and Ali, an Iranian refugee who was kind enough to share his story of fleeing his homeland and coming to Australia by boat. We discussed the notion of being welcoming, faith, children in detention, fear and hope.
My Brisbane Festival blog for The Daily Review
#youarewelcomehere
The Welcome Centre on Facebook
Article: Turning Back The Boats Is A Moral And Legal Failure Say Academics
Article: Goodwill Letters To Asylum Seekers On Nauru Returned Unopened
Cause of the Week: Welcome To Australia (welcometoaustralia.org.au), @welcome2aussie
The one-and-only Arj Barker is hilarious on stage, but serious when it comes to reports and lore surrounding Unidentified Flying Objects. He told me about the cases and evidence that have influenced his thinking, the philosophy surrounding the idea of extra-terrestrials and the nature of belief.
We also covered his interest in meditation and his former life as a bit of a stoner.
Arj investigates UFOs for The 7PM Project
Jacques Vallée’s Passport To Magonia
President Jimmy Carter on his UFO experience
Cause of the Week: The RSPCA on the greyhound racing industry (rspcavic.org/)
Jimblah (aka James Alberts) is a producer, MC and vocalist based in Adelaide, SA. He hails from the Larrakia Nation and on his two albums to date, Face The Fire and Phoenix, he’s produced smart, self-aware, passionate and original music.
Our conversation covered his recent philosophical evolution and the focus for his new album, pervasive racist systems, Australia/Invasion/Survival Day, love, power and eating meat.
Jimblah performs "March" live on triple j
Article: Hip Hop A Poor Cop In A White Man’s World
Cause of the Week: The Hilltop Hoods Initiative (hilltophoods.com), AIME (aimementoring.com)