Like I'm A Six-Year-Old

Fin Taylor is a British comedian who's making some fascinating politically-charged work at the moment. I saw his show Whitey McWhite Face at the Edinburgh Fringe last year and it lit a fire under my butt. He made me laugh and think and feel uncomfortable, and that's all good stuff.  Here we discuss his disillusionment with the Left, his journey to progressive centrism, class, Corbyn, Blair, Clegg, Islamism, white white white privilege/invisibility and political correctness.  Problematic is coming to Hobart for ONE NIGHT ONLY on Wednesday March 15th It's also heading to Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Brisbane (2 shows only) and Melbourne (1 show only) Stand Up For Mehdi at MICF 2017 Monday night's episode of Q&A @fintaylorcomedy fintaylor.com Article: The Left Are The Right's Best Friends by Nick Cohen  The Sydney Morning Herald's profile on The Iraq Dossier Cause of the Week: The Euston Manifesto (eustonmanifesto.org)  

Kate Ellis has been the Federal member for the seat of Adelaide since 2004. She was the youngest person ever appointed as a minister in the Australian government, holding a number of portfolios. She's currently the Shadow Minister for both Early Childhood Education and Development and for TAFE and Vocational Education. This is a frank, funny and insightful discussion about Kate's career, the state of politics in this country right now and the changes she's seen over her 13 years in the job. We talk about everything from Islamophobia and dealing with Neo-Nazis to how Tony Abbott changed the dynamics of politics to the disappointments of the Labor leadership turmoil years. Kate reflects on the purpose of factions, the fracturing of the right side of politics and tells an extraordinary story about the bizarre issue that prompted the most vehement feedback she's ever received as a sitting member.  PLUS Kate helpfully sets out how she thinks we should talk about debt, early childcare and Labor's approach to offshore detention of people seeking asylum. Problematic is coming to Hobart for ONE NIGHT ONLY on Wednesday March 15th It's also heading to Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Brisbane (2 shows only) and Melbourne (1 show only) Stand Up For Mehdi at MICF 2017 Huffington Post long read on "Gay Loneliness" @KateEllisMP kateellis.com.au A 2008 profile on Kate - Her father's daughter Article: Tony Abbott takes aim at Turnbull and lays out conservative manifesto Cause of the Week: The Zahra Foundation (zahrafoundation.org.au)  

Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore was elected as part of the Nick Xenophon Team in the 2016 election. Now that she's 7 months in, she reflects on the job in all its glory and its frustrations. Skye talks about what it means to be in the "sensible centre", why she moved from political staffer to candidate, working with the likes of Cory Bernardi and Pauline Hanson, gambling reform, her views on offshore detention and the government's proposed visa lifetime ban for people seeking asylum and she even gives some tips about the best way to get your Senator's attention.  Problematic is coming to Hobart for ONE NIGHT ONLY on Wednesday March 15th It's also heading to Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Brisbane (2 shows only) and Melbourne (1 show only) Please support Refugee Legal's campaign against the new arbitrary deadline for asylum claim applications by donating here Guardian long piece on Rachel Dolezal @SenatorSkye nxt.org.au news.com.au article on Skye Skye's First Speech to Parliament Cause of the Week: The Carly Ryan Foundation (carlyryanfoundation.com)  

Comedian and Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng is back in Australia at the moment and gave me some of his time to talk about a whole many things. We covered offence, racism, interviewing white supremacists, freedom of speech, outrage, satire in the age of Trump and his conservative upbringing and disposition. Oh, and my Nazi haircut. Apparently. Apologies for the slightly not great audio quality on this one. Persevere, please: it's worth it. It's Ronny Chieng, for God's sake. Stand Up For Mehdi at MICF 2017 Problematic is coming to Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Adelaide, Brisbane & Melbourne @ronnychieng The Daily Show on Comedy Central Ronny dismantles Fox News' stupidly racist "Chinatown" report Make America Hate Again - Ronny's undecided voters piece Cause of the Week: The CNN Freedom Project (cnn.com/freedom)   

Let's talk about a little thing called democracy. MiVote is a new political movement that launches next week and it's all about direct democracy. It's an online platform and political party that enables its members to directly influence their elected representatives: representatives that will be committed to enacting the people's (informed) will. Founder Adam Jacoby kindly gave me a lot of time to talk through the idea and answer my annoying questions. He sets out just how fucked the system currently is and why he believes this might just work. Problematic is coming to Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Adelaide, Brisbane & Melbourne Stan Australia announces One Night Stan Article: More Than Cory Bernardi: Why Right Wing Politics Is Fracturing In Australia by Matthew Knott @adamajacoby Article: Our democratic operating systems aren't working: here's how to upgrade them by Jon Barnes Article: Mob rule: Iceland crowdsources its next constitution  Fast Company story: Can direct democracy be revived through new voting apps?  DemocracySquared.io Cause of the Week: MiVote.org.au  

Charlie Wood is the Campaigns Director at 350.org, an international climate action organisation that are fighting for a future that’s free from fossil fuels. Here she describes where climate politics is at in these troubling times, how divestment is changing the game, climate scepticism, just how much the fossil fuel industry influences our politics, fear-mongering, how she manages to maintain hope. Charlie explains why Trump might actually be a good thing for the movement and whether or not, actually, for real, we (the human race) are fucked. Problematic is coming to Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Adelaide, Brisbane & Melbourne RISE Refugee's #BlockTheBill campaign #BlockTheBill Snap Rally this Saturday in Melbourne @350Australia 350 Australia on Facebook gofossilfree.org.au Cause of the Week: 350.org  

Playwright, Black Comedy writer, tweeter and Aboriginal not-activist Nakkiah Lui joins me for a chat ahead of that ugly date, January 26th. Nakkiah reveals how she and her family mark Invasion Day and we discuss the merits of even having a national day at all. We also touch on ideological diversity within Indigenous Australia, the "personal responsibility" narrative, deconstructing whiteness, the myth of multiculturalism, Bill Leak and the new TV series we're now going to pitch all over town, Blackfulla Mirror. Reconciliation Comedy Gala at at the Malthouse Theatre on Invasion Day Invasion Day Melbourne Event on Facebook My Work in Progress show starts at Perth Fringeworld next week Article: Why are we fighting Islamaphobia at the expense of Indigenous Australians? by Sara Saleh   @nakkiahlui Nakkiah on The Osher Günsberg Podcast Article: It's not racism that Australia needs to get rid of - it's the privilege of whiteness Article: As an Aboriginal teen I thought about killing myself every day Article: Australia Day is a time for mourning not celebration  Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  Black Is The New White coming to Sydney Theatre Company An Octoroon coming to Queensland Theatre Company Cause of the Week: Butucarbin Aboriginal Corporation (butucarbin.org.au)  

Lara Jeffery is the director of MyChoice Australia and describes herself as a right-wing libertarian. She's all about pushing back against the "nanny state", reducing the size of government and letting the free market do what it does.  Here we discuss how she came to this worldview and how that plays out in relation to education, healthcare, social justice, housing, smoking, the environment and more. We also cover the legacy of Ayn Rand, claiming the moral ground and Uber. Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Perth Fringeworld for 2 shows only! I'm bringing a Work In Progress to Fringeworld from Tuesday January 31st I'm also touring to Adelaide Fringe, Brisbane Comedy Festival & the Melbourne Comedy Festival @larajeffery mychoice.org.au taxpayers.org.au Australian Taxpayers' Alliance forum: Women In Politics Cause of the Week: Students For Liberty Australia & New Zealand (studentsforliberty.org/anz)  

Happy 2017 everyone!  Sally Goldner is the Executive Director of Transgender Victoria, the treasurer of the Bisexual Alliance Victoria and the first ever trans woman to be included on the Victorian Women's Honour Roll.  Here she kindly shares her personal journey from the "soulless life" she lived for 30 years to the defiant person she is today. She lays out the challenges facing gender diverse folk, including the discrimination that often comes from within the queer community itself, outlines her thoughts on everything from identity politics to Cate McGregor and argues for the queer rights movement to take a more assertive and uncompromising approach to those who oppose us.     Boundless Plains To Share is at the Belvoir Theatre THIS WEEKEND, 4 shows only   ...and is coming to Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane & Melbourne, on sale now   My new stand up show Problematic is coming to Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane & Melbourne, on sale now   My piece for Fairfax: A brand new Dutton-worthy citizenship test, with extra values   @salgoldsaidso   Article: Sally Goldner lands top award for her dedication to transgender advocacy   Article: A ten point guide to not offending transgender people   Cause of the Week: Transgender Victoria (transgendervictoria.com), 3CR (3cr.org.au), Bisexual Alliance Victoria (bi-alliance.org)  

The Greens MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt joined me for the first ever live instalment of LIASYO. Recorded in Collingwood on Sunday afternoon at the Easy Street Concert Hall in Collingwood, Melbourne, this discussion examines how Adam, the only Greens MP ever elected to the House of Representatives, is feeling at the end of what has been, largely, a shitty year for progressive causes.  An eternal optimist, Adam picks apart Turnbull's legacy, parliament's effectiveness, Trumpism, neoliberalism, the future of the Greens and how progressives can get better at winning. He even manages to find some good news in all of this.  AND he tells a great story about getting a voicemail from Tony Abbott. AND he tells us what he admires about Christopher Pyne. This will be the final ep for the year, I'm going to have a break and cry more and drink beer and get sunburnt and think more about the revolution. Never fear: the show shall return in 2017. Thanks for everything, y'all.   My 2017 stand up show Problematic is coming to Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney Boundless Plains To Share is coming to Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane & Melbourne Article: Why First Contact was a ratings opportunity for SBS and a bonanza for bigots by Celeste Liddle Article: When Indigenous Australia becomes entertainment, everybody loses by Jack Latimore @adambandt adambandt.com Article: People Ask Us Why We Protested In Parliament For Refugees. We Ask, Why Didn't You? by Mara Bonacci, Sam Castro, Kat Moore & Kerry Woodward Article: Greens in radical new drug legalisation push by Adam Gartrell Article: Without some serious soul-searching, the Greens will never move beyond the 10% plateau by Osman Faruqi Cause of the Week: Sea Shepherd Australia (seashepherd.org.au)