Like I'm A Six-Year-Old

Waleed Aly (aka Nazeem Hussain) is a politics lecturer, columnist, author, radio broadcaster and co-host on Channel Ten's The Project. Waleed has an extraordinary reputation for making considered and insightful contributions to public debate. We discussed how he's finding the world of commercial television, how the act of writing informs his ideas, the political philosophy of conservatism (what it is and what it isn't), marriage equality, Middle Eastern politics and why ISIS' appeal to young Muslim people in the West might be working.  At one point I hit the mic with my hand and at another point a chair collapses.  Barack Obama on WTF Q&A: Between A Frock And A Hard Place Waleed Aly's writing for Fairfax Daily Mail Article on Waleed's on-air joke Waleed's editorial: How Chan and Sukumaran of the Bali 9 Were Let Down Waleed's editorial: Australia's Renewable Energy Target Failure Bill Maher's monologue on political correctness What's Right? The Future of Conservatism in Australia by Waleed Aly Q&A episode featuring Zaky Mallah Cause of the Week: Possible Dreams International (possibledreams.org)   

This week - something a bit different.  I am a very big fan of former Bluejuice frontman, comedian and broadcaster Jake Stone and feel very lucky indeed to count him as a friend. I think he's extremely funny and creative but also has a darkness and a brutal honesty to him that I find fascinating.  This chat - recorded back in January of this year - covers Jake's career with Bluejuice, the band's philosophy, the state of today's music industry, the major break-up in his life that inspired him so much and stilll haunts him, mental health issues and the experiecne of writing a good pop song.  Jake even kindly gave me a special little musical treat, just for this podcast: his cover of How Will I Know?. Enjoy!  My upcoming dates on the MICF Roadshow ABC's Q&A Special: Between A Frock And A Hard Place (hosted by me)  @thisisbluejuice bluejuice.info Embankments on soundcloud Cause of the Week: Music NSW (musicnsw.com)  

Newsreader, journalist, writer and philanthropist Tracey Spicer doesn't tolerate make-up, God, prudishness or sexism in the workplace. She rips through bullshit with a smile and had stories to burn from her time studying, working in the trenches at Channel Ten and Sky News and her colourful personal life. Tracey told me about how liberating it is to shake off the image of the "perfect" newsreader, how Joh Bjelke-Petersen inspired her to become a journalist, the issue of bias in journalism, her work as an ambassador for World Vision and the time she almost killed her mum. My upcoming dates on the MICF Roadshow Q&A's forthcoming special panel on Between A Frock And A Hard Place  @traceyspicer spicercommunications.biz Tracey on the ABC's Confession Booth podcast   Daily Mail Article: Tracey Spicer's VERY spicy confessions Article: What If We Admitted To Children That Sex Is Primarily About Pleasure? by Alice Dreger  Article: I'm Sorry I Didn't Kill You, Mum The Lady Stripped Bare: A TED Talk by Tracey Spicer  Cause of the Week: Dying With Dignity (dwdv.org.au)   

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  Windsor's Way by Tony Windsor  Photo Opp with Julia Gillard at Giant Dwarf Theatre @nicheholas Hello Mr magazine Holding The Man by Tim Conigrave  Article: How Do We Solve A Problem Like Condoms LetThemKnow.org.au 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 @jarrodmckenna Jarrod on Facebook Love Makes A Way on Facebook 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 @sarapascoe sarapascoe.com Sara on Live At The Apollo 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? Tampa by Alissa Nutting Article: The hymen remains an evolutionary mystery - and the focus of the oppression of women's sexuality What's Left? by Nick Cohen Nancy Friday on wikipedia The Great Porn Experiment: A TED Talk by Gary Wilson The No More Page 3 Campaign 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.  @fatherbob Sunday Night Safran Peter Greste on ABC's Q&A 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 4 - Senthorun Raj 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. Listen to Part One here @helenrazer badhostess.com 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”. @HelenRazer badhostess.com A Short History of Stupid by Helen Razer & Bernard Keane Helen’s writing for Crikey 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)