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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: 2022
Dec 11, 2022

Craig "Fozzy" Foster is a former Socceroo who has become not only one of Australia’s most respected sports commentators and broadcasters, but also one of our most respected social justice advocates and human rights campaigners. 

This episode is Craig's keynote speech at the 2022 Refugee Legal Annual Dinner, which I happened to MC online. It's followed by a brief Q&A between Craig, myself, and Refugee Legal's Executive Director (and former LIASYO guest) David Manne.

Fozzy is extremely dedicated and clear-sighted when it comes to the fight for human rights - for refugees, for women, for workers, for sportspeople, for everyone - and this speech was a great reflection on the various campaigns he's been involved with, and the state of human rights on Australia and across the world right now. It was especially enlightening to hear Craig discuss the human rights issues surrounding the World Cup in Qatar, and how massive sporting events can sometimes provide massive opportunities to advocate for greater human rights protections. 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out now!!!

I'm touring my new stand-up show IT IS I all over the country in 2023

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

@Craig_Foster

ARTICLE: Craig Foster lashes out at FIFA over 'gutless' move at World Cup

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

Nov 16, 2022

Ben Schneiders is an award-winning investigate journalist at The Age and author of the new book, Hard Labour: Wage Theft in the Age of Inequality. 

Over the past eight years, Ben's reporting has exposed the scourge of wage theft and worker exploitation in Australian hospitality, fast food, retail and agriculture. In Hard Labour, Ben summarises just how widespread and serious this problem is in Australian capitalism today, and lays out exactly what's been happening over the past 50 years that's seen workers' power dwindle so much.

This was a great conversation, in which Ben and I discussed the enraging specifics of the wage theft cases, why the SDA sucks, how much we should blame the ALP for all this and where we might find some hope in the future for Australian workers.

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out November 30th – pre-order it now

I'm launching the book with events in Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane

Come see the 2022 Yearly Wrap show I'm hosting at Comedy Republic in Melbourne in December

I'm doing a Work in Progress show at the very cool Brunswick Picture House in January

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

@BenSchneiders

Hard Labour: Wage Theft in the Age of Inequality is published through Scribe

ARTICLE: Shopped Out: SDA & Fair Work Commissions by Ben & Royce Millar

Cause of the Week: Join your union (australianunions.org.au)

IF YOU WORK IN RETAIL PLEASE JOIN RAFFWU NOT THE SDA (raffwu.org.au)

Nov 8, 2022

I'm back! Again! Sorry about the big gap between episodes. I am bad. 

Leo Puglisi is a digital journalist who just so happens to be 14 years old. He founded what would eventually become the online news service 6 News Australia when he was just 11, and he's since grown it into a respectable independent media outlet that does pretty great journalism, and regularly puts mainstream "adult" media outlets to shame. During the 2022 election, Leo even managed to secure and conduct insightful interviews with Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese. 

Here Leo talks to me about starting a media outlet so young, what he sees as the mission behind 6 News, the kind of criticism and trolling he's had to face online, his dedicated to fact checking and what he thinks makes for a great political interview. 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out November 30th - pre-order it now

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

@Leo_Puglisi6

@6NewsAU

6newsau.com

patreon.com/6newsau

Cause of the Week: Sponsor me in the ASRC's KMs of Compassion here

Mar 29, 2022
Jim Casey is a firefighting unionist, socialist and co-founder of the Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance. He is an anti-capitalist GREENS EXTREMIST who has twice run as a candidate against Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler. 

As he gears up to run for Greens preselection to be an upper-house candidate in the 2023 NSW state election, Jim took some time to talk to me about his time leading the Fire Brigade Employees Union,  the state of the Australian labour movement, his theories on why real political power lies outside of parliament and the controversies he ran into when taking on "Albo". 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

My special "ENOUGH" is out on Paramount+ this Friday

@JimCaseyGreens

jimcasey.online

ARTICLE: We've Never Seen Conditions As Bad As This by Jim Casey 

 ARTICLE: Anthony Albanese: Labor heavyweight's Greens rival Jim Casey defends "Trotskyist" speech

Cause of the Week: Rachael Jacobs, Greens Candidate for Grayndler (support her here)

Feb 22, 2022
Georgia Steele is a former corporate litigator and now independent candidate running in the NSW seat of Hughes at the upcoming federal election. (The seat's currently held by former Liberal MP, now United Australia Party TRUTH-TELLER Craig Kelly.) 

In this conversation I discuss with Georgia Kelly's bizarro mind and political career, why she thinks the people of Hughes deserves better, the issues that she's campaigning on, her rejection of political ideology and her thoughts on why the two-party system is failing. 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

I’m coming to The Clubhouse in Hobart March 17th

I'm making a cool TV show in lutruwita with Kates McLennan & McCartney

@Steele4Hughes

georgiasteele.com.au

ARTICLE: Ex-lawyer Georgia Steele to run as independent in Craig Kelly's seat during federal election

LISTEN: Our Serious Danger episode on the "teal wave" of independents running in the upcoming election

Cause of the Week: The Family Co (thefamilyco.org.au

 

Feb 8, 2022
David Shoebridge MLC has served in the NSW upper house since 2010, and has been the Greens spokesperson for workers' rights, energy and Aboriginal justice. 

In 2022 he's running to pick up another NSW Senate seat for the Greens (and it's actually possible!). 

In this conversation I ask David about NSW politics' love of corruption, how he developed his radical politics, what the Greens could achieve in balance of power and whether Greens MPs should have anything to do with investment properties.  

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

I'm coming to The Clubhouse in Hobart March 17th

@ShoebridgeMLC

David's Facebook page

David's instagram

The Greens' Balance of Power pitch 

Cause of the Week: David Shoebridge's Senate campaign (nsw.greens.org.au

Jan 30, 2022

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).  

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

@PalestineRising

"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

ARTICLE: From Safsaf to Sydney: Palestinian resistance and the festival boycott by Jeanine Hourani, Rihab Charida & Matt Chun

Cause of the Week: Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Australia bdsaustralia.net.au 

Jan 20, 2022

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. 

Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you

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

Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

@johannhari101

johannhari.com

Johann's first appearance on the show was back at Ep #73

You can order Johann's latest book Stolen Focus here: stolenfocusbook.com

Read an extract of the book here

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