This week I'm bringing you the audio of a panel I appeared on, discussing the reason behind and ideas around the recent boycott of the 2022 Sydney Festival.
I joined dozens of other artists in withdrawing from the Festival to protest its acceptance of $20k in sponsorship money from the Israeli embassy; a sponsorship which guaranteed Israel the honour of being a "star partner" of the festival.
Here I'm in conversation with academic Dr. Jumana Bayeh, the Executive Director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy Salem Barahmeh and my fellow boycotters Dr. Mohammed Ahmad (founding director of Western Sydney literacy outfit Sweatshop) and Maissa Alameddine (the Artist Director of the Ensemble Dandana, which is part of the Arab Theatre Studio).
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"Artists Against Apartheid Sydney Festival" petition
ARTICLE: Sydney Festival acts boycott over Israel by Farid Farid
ARTICLE: Why I'm helping to organise a boycott of this year's Sydney Festival by Jennine Khalik
ARTICLE:Boycotts are an essential and necessary part of public life by Osman Faruqi
Cause of the Week: Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Australia bdsaustralia.net.au
Writer and journalist Johann Hari has returned to the show to discuss why our brains have melted.
His new book is called Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention and it is a fascinating, depressing and insightful look at the "attention crisis" we're facing as a society. Johann tells me about just how bad this situation is, how much social media and technology is responsible for it, its social and political implications and what the fuck we can do about it - as individuals, and as a collective.
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If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron
Johann's first appearance on the show was back at Ep #73
You can order Johann's latest book Stolen Focus here: stolenfocusbook.com