Like I'm A Six-Year-Old

CW: This conversation involves discussion of sexual assault  This is the second part of my conversation with human rights lawyer and self-described "social justice witch" Sunili Govinnage.  Here we continue our conversation on what cancel culture is and what it isn't, privilege, oppression, intersectionality and class; topics that have certainly SPICED UP over the past week.  If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you Join me online in conversation with Melissa Davey discussing her book The Case of George Pell on Tuesday August 18th @sunili sunili.net Sunili’s writing at The Guardian Ezra Klein's podcast with sujatha baliga on restorative justice Exiting the Vampire Castle by Mark Fisher  Chapo Trap House's latest (patreon) ep on "cancel culture" with Matt Taibi is worth a listen  The Harper's Letter, On Justice and Open Debate ARTICLE: Arguing over the arts is sort of the point by Sami Shah ARTICLE: Overdosing on Symbolism by Ben Burgis ARTICLE: Beshear promises health insurance for all Black Kentuckians Cause of the Week: NATSIL's Stop Black Deaths In Custody GoFundMe Campaign

Sunili Govinnage is an Australian human rights lawyer and self-described "social justice witch" who has recently come to some realisations about themselves and their politics.  In the first part of this frank conversation we discuss her "decolonising journey", her focus on dismantling the "colonialist-capitalist-heteropatriarchy", anti-racism and cancel culture. We identify areas that we agree on and some points where we have different perspectives - differences that will be further fleshed out in part two.  If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you @sunili sunili.net Sunili's writing at The Guardian ARTICLE: Western Australia's King Leopold Ranges renamed Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges My episode with Dr. Chelsea Bond Cause of the Week: Stop Black Deaths In Custody GoFundMe Campaign

Sophie Payten records and performs as Gordi. She makes powerful, sweeping, personal indie-pop and last week released her sophomore album, Our Two Skins. I am a fan and it is good.  I wanted to talk to Sophie about her other job (she's a qualified doctor and has been on standby during the pandemic) and explore the political ideas surrounding her recent discovery of her queer identity and the loss of her beloved grandma. We reflect on the 2017 marriage equality plebiscite, the political stasis that Millennials are trapped and having difficult conversations with people who have different politics.  If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you I'll be on Josh Earl's Don't You Know Who I Am? podcast this Saturday: you can buy tickets and stream it here  Please check out the new comedy venue from my mates Alex Dyson, Kyran Wheatley and Alex Dyson, Comedy Republic @GordiMusic gordimusic.com You can buy Our Two Skins here Watch Unready here Gordi's supporting Bon Iver on their 2021 tour ARTICLE: Singer-songwriter Gordi by Nick Buckley (Saturday Paper) ARTICLE: Australian singer Gordi releases song to raise funds for the RFS  Cause of the Week: North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (naaja.org.au)

Dr. Chelsea Bond is a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman and a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland. She's worked and researched extensively in the area of Aboriginal health and regularly writes and speaks about race and racism in Australia today. In this conversation, Chelsea reflects on how the recent Black Lives Matter uprising has played out in Australia, her personal experiences with the police, the fierceness of Black women in this struggle and the intersection of racial power structures and class. If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you I’m performing at Easey Comedy this Thursday night, you can stream it via Zoom @drcbond Chelsea's radio show Wild Black Women on Brisbane's 989FM  ARTICLE: In Australia, black lives do matter by Aaron Patrick [$] ARTICLE: Dr. Chelsea Bond delivers a masterclass in Indigenous excellence by Nat Cromb & Luke Pearson ARTICLE: How to learn from Indigenous people about the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia by Tahnee Jash ARTICLE: 'Anger has the hour': How long must Indigenous Australia wait for change by Stan Grant ARTICLE: White skin, black squares by Sam Kriss  ARTICLE: Class is the new black: The dangers of an obsession with the 'Aboriginal middle class' by Dr. Chelsea Bond ARTICLE: If Black men could talk: why we need an accurate portrayal of urban Indigenous masculinity by Dr. Chelsea Bond Cause of the Week: Inala Wangarra (inalawangarra.com.au)

Andy Zaltzman is a British comedian and co-host of the satirical podcast The Bugle. In this lively discussion, he delves into the complexities of political satire, revealing how humor can provoke social change. The conversation shifts to sports, particularly cricket, highlighting its role as a comfort in tough times. Zaltzman also tackles historical debates around statues, urging for a nuanced understanding of colonial legacies. Finally, he shares insights on class privilege and the urgent need for democratic reforms in the UK.

Gavin Stanbrook is a revolutionary socialist who hails from Gumbanyggir country on the NSW mid-north coast. He's a member of Socialist Alternative who's been campaigning for justice for Aboriginal families for years and who helped organise last week's #BlackLivesMatter protest in Sydney.  In this conversation Gavin tells me how about tearing down statues, the revolutionary potential of this moment, police violence, the tragic cases of Aboriginal deaths in custody, his personal involvement in the #JusticeForBowraville campaign and why he thinks the police should be abolished.  If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you I was on the latest episode of The Bugle podcast with Andy Zaltzman and Hari Kondabolu @StanbrookG  Gavin's speech at the 2018 Invasion Day Rally in Redfern ARTICLE: We can transform society in our interests if we unite to smash the system by Gavin Stanbrook ARTICLE: There cannot be 432 victims and no perpetrators by Amy McQuire ARTICLE: Aboriginal deaths in custody: Black Lives Matter protests referred to our count of 432 deaths. It's now 437 by Lorena Allam, Calla Wahlquist & Nick Evershed ARTICLE: Justice for Bowraville! by Gavin Stanbrook ARTICLE: Tear down Australia's racist statues by Rebecca Barrigos ARTICLE: Our cops are killers too by Jasmine Duff ARTICLE: Democrats are already trying to coopt the movement. Drive them out by Daniel Taylor Cause of the Week: The Justice for David Dungay Jnr. GoFundMe

Oliver Twist is a very funny and intelligent up-and-coming Australian comedian. He was born in Rwanda, grew up in a refugee camp in Malawi and has lived in Australia since 2014. I was planning on taking a week off the podcast this week, but in the midst of everything that's happening right now, Oliver reached out and we decided to record this honest conversation about his relationship to the police, race, class, Black Lives Matter and what meaningful action looks like. There are even a few laffs in there too.  CAUSE OF THE WEEK: blacklivesmatter.caard.co Here are practical ways you can support Aboriginal Lives Matter @oliveretwist Oliver's instagram ARTICLE: Australia must stop turning a blind eye to our own black deaths ARTICLE: Victoria Police denounces 'inappropriate' memes posted to social account by officer accused of making white power gesture ARTICLE: How did #BlackOut Tuesday Go So Wrong So Fast?  ARTICLE: Why the media are to blame for racialising Melbourne's African gang problem VIDEO: Trevor Noah's reflections on the riots in the US and the breakdown of the social contract

Mark Seymour is one of the best singer-songwriters Australia has ever produced. He's the former frontman of Hunters & Collectors and now writes and performs with Mark Seymour & The Undertow. The new Undertow record is called Slow Dawn and comes out today.  Mark has regularly been outspoken about his politics through his music and public appearances, particularly when it comes to Australia's refugee policies. Here he tells me about how he approaches tackling social issues in his music (without being sanctimonious), why he's left-wing, wearing an "Asylum Seeker" t-shirt at the AFL Grand Final, his experiences in South Africa and how the tides of history weigh on us all today.  If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – all episodes are streaming now @_MarkSeymour markseymour.com.au Mark on Facebook Slow Dawn on Apple Music Hunters & Collectors at the 2013 AFL Grand Final Cause of the Week: The Frankston Life Church (frankston.life)  

Tim Wilson is the Liberal MP for the Victorian seat of Goldstein and the Chair of the House Economics Committee. He last joined me on the podcast back in July 2015.  I wanted to talk to Tim about how he's found dealing with the COVID-19 crisis as a local member and his thoughts on the Morrison's government's economic response thus far as a well as a bit old-fashioned ideological argy bargy. We discuss the JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments, neoliberalism, government debt and why being a democratic socialist makes me an evil idiot.  If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – all episodes are streaming now @TimWilsonMP timwilsonmp.com.au ARTICLE: Scott Morrison takes aim at Australia's industrial relations system, reaches out to business and unions ARTICLE: Tim Wilson: Freedom fighter by Tim Elliott Cause of the Week: Bayside Community Information & Support Service Inc (bayciss.org.au) 

Rick Morton is an award-winning journalist and writer. He reported on Social Affairs for The Australian for years and is now the Senior Reporter for The Saturday Paper. His memoir 100 Years Of Dirt - about surviving his poverty- and trauma-ridden childhood - has been a critical and commercial success. Here I ask Rick about issues he's been writing about of late - the conspiracy theories that have thrived amid COVID-19 and the new aged-care "Uber app" that's been given a multi-million dollar government contract - as well as his broader approach to journalism, the realities of poverty, how class works in Australia and the privatisation of the welfare state. If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you You can see me on Stan Australia’s Australia Lockdown Comedy Festival – all episodes are streaming now @SquigglyRick rickmorton.com.au Rick’s writing for The Saturday Paper ARTICLE: How COVID-19 energised conspiracy theorists ARTICLE: A fraction too much friction (on Scott Morrison's approach to the truth)  ARTICLE: Exclusive: Gov’s $5.8m aged-care app offers ‘no duty of care’ Rick's articles for The Australian Rick's speech The Power of Money ARTICLE: Rick Morton found writing his memoir painful enough. Then he had to read it aloud Cause of the Week: Brotherhood of St. Laurence (bsl.org.au)