Nic Holas is a moustached writer and advocate living with HIV. He's written for Junkee, Hello Mr., Star Observer, Cosmopolitan and others, he's appeared on the ABC's Q&A and he's co-founded a social media umbrella for positive people.
He's fearless, frank and funny and I love him for it. In this chat Nic shared his story about becoming positive and we discussed the ins and outs of what HIV is, the spectre of the 80s epidemic, shame, sex education, the problem with condoms, same-sex marriage and wolf-daddies.
My upcoming dates on the MICF Roadshow
Photo Opp with Julia Gillard at Giant Dwarf Theatre
Holding The Man by Tim Conigrave
Article: How Do We Solve A Problem Like Condoms
Cause of the Week: The Institute of Many (theinstituteofmany.org.au)
Jarrod McKenna is one of those "cool Christians" you've heard about, except he actually is genuinely cool.
Jarrod is many things: a pastor, a protestor, the National Advisor for Youth, Faith and Activism for World Vision Australia, founder of the Love Makes A Way campaign and the First Home Project, theologian, husband, dad and drealocked d00d. He subscribes to the whacky idea that Christianity should look like Jesus and that compels him to do good, important things.
In this conversation (recorded in the communal kitchen of the First Home Project) we covered a lot: the problematic nature of ANZAC Day, his journey to faith, living Jesus’ love, being the Christian kid at school, non-violent protest and how he turned a further meth lab in the Perth suburb of Midland into a home for people who are trying to build a new life for themselves.
My upcoming dates on the MICF Roadshow
The First Home Project campaign video
The First Home Project on Facebook
Causes of the Week: The Coalition for Asylym Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (carad.org.au), the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (asrc.org.au), SOS Blak Australia (sosblakaustralia.com)
Super-dooper brainy (and very funny) comedian Sara Pascoe was in Australia for a bunch of festivals and kindly gave me some of her time to talk about sperm and hymen in a hotel lobby. Her work is whip-smart and politically active and has recently focussed on the fascinating world of sexual biology and its implications.
Here we cover her early political awakening, the difficulty of being a good person, kamikaze sperm, pornography, incest, hymens, paedophilia - you know, all the good stuff.
Prepare to do a lot of LEARNING.
Article: Scott McIntyre sues SBS for discrimination over "political" sacking for ANZAC Day tweets
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Article: Should I tell my fiancee that I'm bisexual and I used to have sex with her dad?
The Great Porn Experiment: A TED Talk by Gary Wilson
Cause of the Week: Eaves For Women (eavesforwomen.org.uk)
After my little rant about this nonsense, sit back and enjoy my wide-ranging discussion with Melbourne's one-and-only "larrikin priest", dear Father Bob Maguire.
A humanitarian, broadcaster, philosopher and community leader who makes me laugh and think, Bob was an absolute joy a to talk to. We discussed his history with the Vietnam War, ideology, the problems in the Middle East, the idea of heaven, "doctrinal constipation", his "wife" and much more besides.
At one point he exclaimed "Bugger Rome!" and that made me laugh quite a bit.
Article: What ISIS Really Wants
In Bob We Trust - a documentary
My show Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred at the Perth Comedy Festival
My show Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred at the Edinburgh Fringe
Cause of the Week: The Father Bob Maguire Foundation (fatherbobsfoundation.com.au)
Here's a special little treat because I love youse so much: my piece for Fan Fiction Comedy at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Based on this actual news story about the federal government spending $4 million on a telemovie designed to deter asylum seekers to come to Australia by boat, Deathboat - Bloody Borders is a gritty, action-packed drama that is sure to be a ratings winner.
Episode 9 - The Welcome Centre
My show Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred at the Perth International Comedy Festival
My chat with Helen Razer continues and by now she’s really in her groove.
Here we cover our obsession with gestures as opposed to real action, why we should tear down the catwalk, the evils of iPhones, the overuse of personal anecdotes, how “the world is just fucked” and much more.
A Short History of Stupid by Helen Razer & Bernard Keane
Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard
My show Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred at the Perth Comedy Festival
Tommy Dassalo’s Cutie Pie at the Sydney Comedy Festival
Cause of the Week: The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au), the Indigenous Marathon Project (imp.org.au)
Helen Razer is a writer, a broadcaster and a gardener who doesn’t fuck around. Presenting alongside Mikey Robbins on breakfast and Judith Lucy on drive, she was a defining voice on triple j throughout the 1990s thanks to her wit, her vocabulary and her distaste for bullshit.
Since her time on the radio, Helen has forged a reputation as a ruthless and incisive opinion writer, appearing in The Big Issue, The Saturday Paper, Crikey, The Guardian and elsewhere. She very kindly had me over to her place for lunch and to talk about her latest book on the quality of public debate and the spectre of “Stupid”.
In this first part of our chat, we discuss comedy, the value and purpose of university learning, feminism, killing liberalism, capitalism, marriage equality and the “banality of good”.
A Short History of Stupid by Helen Razer & Bernard Keane
Details for my show Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred at the Sydney & Perth Comedy Festivals
Cause of the Week: The ABC’s Appeal for the Nepalese Earthquake (abc.net.au/appeals)
I was happier than a pig in shit to have a chat with comedian Robin Ince last week. I've been a fan of Robin's comedy ever since I saw him supporting Ricky Gervais on his tour DVDs years ago and his recent work has really excited me as an atheist and as a novice student of science.
Robin is in Australia touring his Happiness Through Science show in association with the Atheist Foundation of Australia, critiquing silly religious ideas and celebrating the natural world through jokes. We talked and laughed about Australia's religiosity, Robin's journey to and conception of atheism, the "great big tumour of existence", the danger of dogma, morality, Islam, the quantum qualities of plants, having children and whether or not he actually has sat on ham.
Robin's Happiness Through Science tour in Australia
Robin's TEDx Talk: The Mind Is A Choas Of Delight
Cause of the Week: Water Aid (wateraid.org/au)
Freelance journalist Andrew McMillen writes about all sorts of fascinating stuff. While I was in Brisbane I sat down with him to briefly discuss dead bodies and Wikipedia, but we spent most of our time focussed on getting high.
Andrew's book Talking Smack: Honest Conversations About Drugs saw him interview big names in Australian music about their relationship with and opinions on illegal drug use. I asked him what he learnt from putting the book together and we talked about the history of drug criminalisation, the relationship between drugs and creativity, the problems with the public debate about the issue, why people take drugs, how to buy them and where he sees the conversation going next.
Article: How I Snuck Through Wikipedia's Notability Test
Article: Meet The Ultimate Wikignome
Lisa Pryor's A Small Book About Drugs
FriendlyJordies on sniffer dogs
Cause of the Week: Headspace (headspace.org.au)
Clementine Ford is a self-described "feminist killjoy to the stars". As a Daily Life columnist, speaker and activist, Clem is a proudly outspoken advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and a staunch critic of rape culture and all that entails.
Our conversation covered the perceptions of and challenges faced by modern-day feminism, society's attitude towards the perpetrators and victims of rape and sexual assault, men's role in feminism, checking one’s privilege, "rape jokes" and more.
Please note this discussion comes with a strong trigger warning; details of sexual assaults and victim blaming are mentioned.
Clementine’s TED Talk: Your Vagina Is Not A Car
Opinion piece: It Was Easy For Bayley To Stalk, Rape And Murder
Article: Comedian Ray Badran Tells Audience Member To Die For Objecting To Rape Joke
My blog on rape jokes after the Daniel Tosh controversy
Opinion piece: There’s Nothing Funny About Misogyny
Opinion piece: How the Offence Debate Misses The Point Of Comedy by Helen Razer
triple j’s Hack program: Are rape jokes ever OK?
Cause of the Week: Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre (safesteps.org.au)
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)
Quentin Kenihan is a movie star, a TV presenter and producer, friend to celebrities, disability advocate and enthusiastic Jewel fan.
Brought into the national spotlight as a 7-year-old boy with osteogenesis imperfecta (or "brittle bone syndrome"), the Q has experienced the dizzying heights (and lows) of fame, sex and drug use. As he brings his autobiographical show I'm 40...Now What? to the Adelaide Fringe, we chatted about everything from sex workers to inspiration to the late Stella Young to the death penalty to his own funeral.
I even met his dog.
Frances Ryan on actors "cripping up"
Stella Young's memorial service
Quentin on the Osher Gunsberg podcast
Medium article on young paedophiles
Cause of the Week: The Attitude Foundation (attitude.org.au)
Comedian, writer, TV & radio host and outspoken activist Nazeem Hussain escaped the watchful gaze of ASIO to join me in my house for a chat.
The creator and star of Legally Brown discussed comedy, the white media landscape and his intense martial arts training, as well as reflecting on his approach to Islam and his single mother's role in fostering his commitment to helping other people.
The Lupe Fiasco Alien Abduction Interview
Aamer Rahman on reverse racism
John Safran's article on Musa Cerantonio
My opinion piece on children in detention
Cause of the Week: RISE (riserefugee.org)
For an in-depth breakdown of what exactly is going on with Australia's immigration policy and exactly how many laws we're breaking, I talked to academic and advocate Senthorun Raj.
Currently completing his PhD in law at Sydney University, Senthorun has worked extensively with the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, Amnesty International, ACON Health and many other organisations. Hear us discuss how his Tamil family background (and a TV show) influenced his passion for human rights, our society's tendency to ignore certain kinds of violence and how Australia is complicit in state-sanctioned torture.
Senthorun's writings for The Guardian
Cause of the Week: Amnesty International (amnesty.org.au), The Pinnacle Foundation (thepinnaclefoundation.org)
You probably know Dicko best as that arsehole judge from Australian Idol, but there's a lot more to the old codger than that. He's been a window washer, a music journalist, a radio host and more, all the while retaining his trademark unflinching honesty.
Here we discuss his father's remarkable story, the political colouring of his youth, stories from his time working with everyone from Pearl Jam to Rage Against the Machine, political correctness and why he's found himself in hot water with Quentin and Paulini.
Dicko's story about Quentin is on ABC iView
Cause of the Week: The Australian Children's Music Fund (acmf.com.au)
Kate Doak is a freelance investigative journalist who runs her own current affairs website (thedeadlynewt.com) and writes and reports for numerous publications.
She is a proud transwoman who's passionate about confronting transphobia and other forms of discrimination facing the LGBTIQ community. Listen to hear about her coming out story (both of them), the physical threats trans people still face and the importance of language and visibility.
Cause of the Week: The Safe Schools Coalition (safeschoolscoalition.org.au)
For more info check out The Gender Centre & short film In My Shoes
Samah Hadid is a human rights and social justice campaigner who's worked with the Global Poverty Project, the UN and grass-roots organisations all over the world.
She very kindly sat down with me in a Bankstown cafe to talk about being called a terrorist, wearing (and not wearing) a veil, Charlie Hebdo, foreign aid and being addicted to warzones.
Cause of the Week: The Global Poverty Project (globalpovertyproject.com)