Comedian Josie Long makes me feel better about the world. She is a ball of delightful, charming and passionate energy whose comedy is hilarious and socially conscious and life-affirming.
In this chat, recorded backstage at the lovely Soho Theatre, Josie and I chat about how she became more politically active, the trickiness of “helping” in the right way, the UK Labour leadership, austerity, art, privilege and voting for what you believe in.
Plus a few Kurt Vonnegut quotes for good measure.
Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017
The Little Dum Dum Club LIVE in Adelaide
Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit
Cause of the Week: Arts Emergency (arts-emergency.org)
Backstage at the Soho Theatre I got to sit down with journalist Johann Hari to discuss how the media corrupts our public debate, Australian television and his powerful book, Chasing the Scream: The First & Last Days of the Drug War.
What is addiction? Why is the drug war still continuing? What is it costing us? Is there a better way?
Article: Half of all Australians want to ban Muslim immigration, says poll
Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017
Andrew Denton's podcast series for the Wheeler Centre, Better Off Dead
Johann's TED Talk: Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong
A Small Book About Drugs by Lisa Pryor
Cause of the Week: Unharm (unharm.org)
Finally! An actual new ep!
And what an ep it is. Comedian, writer and broadcaster Nish Kumar hosts topical comedy show Newsjack on the BBC and has been twice nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. He writes very smart, politically charged comedy and his laugh is glorious to behold.
Here Nish and I discuss the current "spicy meatball" of a political period the UK is experiencing. From the concept of "right-wing comedy" to post-Brexit xenophobia to Jeremy Corbyn to Jo Cox to Trump to Hanson, this has got everything you've been craving.
The World Keeps Happening at the Soho Theatre
Campaign for Australian Aid’s Comedy Gala Who The Bloody Hell Are We?
Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017
Article: Brexit: a disaster decades in the making by Gary Younge
Fences: A Brexit Diary by Zadie Smith
Article: No one told me to go home for 16 years then we voted for Brexit by Nish Kumar
Video: What can a satirist do with our post-truth politics? by Nish Kumar
Cause of the Week: We Love Immigration: A Comedy Night for Migrant Rights Network, Help Refugees UK (helprefugees.org.uk)
Just a small message to say that this podcast is still happening and everything, I just got distracted and tired and drunk at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Sorry lol.
New episodes coming soon!
The World Keeps Happening is at London's Soho Theatre from September 12th
Campaign for Australian Aid's Comedy Gala Who The Bloody Hell Are We?
Thank youse.