Was great fun to chat about the state of the Australian Left with the very smart Alison Pennington, Guy Rundle and Jeff Sparrow on Stephen Jolly‘s podcast.
You can see other eps here: melbournecalling.com.au
Author Archives: Tom
This is me apparently lol
The Bugle Ep. 4189
226 – Samantha Maiden
Samantha Maiden is an award-winning journalist who’s currently the political editor at news.com.au. In February, she broke the story of Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape in Parliament House in 2019, which has since sent shockwaves through Canberra and the Australian political class.
I wanted to ask Sam about what’s really been going on over the past couple of months: what we’re witness, what it means and why it’s different to the #MeToo moment from a couple of years ago. She reflects on Higgins’ bravery, people wanking on desks and the Morrison government’s attempt to respond to the ongoing crisis.
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My 2021 show WE ARE ALL IN THIS is on at the Melbourne Comedy Festival NOW!
WE ARE ALL IN THIS is coming to Sydney for two nights only in May
Samantha’s writing at news.com.au
ARTICLE: Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins says she was raped at Parliament House
ARTICLE: A new power has risen in Australian politics – and it’s not coming quietly by Annabel Crabb
ARTICLE: PM caught in crusade of women journos by Aaron Patrick
Cause of the Week: Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia (rape-dvservices.org.au)
Direct download | iTunes | Spotify | libsyn
Organising To Win
Looking forward to hosting this Q&A with Max Chandler-Mather and Amy MacMahon for the Greens.
Join us! Register for the event there.
225 – David Milner
David Milner is an award-winning journalist who now regularly writes for The Shot – a “profound and profane” news site from The Chaser that is consistently pumping out sharp, angry rants about the state of Australian politics and the sinister influence of the Murdoch media.
This was a great conversation about how The Shot was born in the fires of Melbourne’s 2020 lockdown, what David learned from his time as a video journalist, just how toxic Newscorp is, how we could reject it, the ALP’s lack of a fight and why right now is “a depressing time for people who give a shit about things”.
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ARTICLE: How to eat the rich while social distancing
Cause of the Week: March 4 Justice (march4justice.com.au)
Direct download | iTunes | Spotify | libsyn
224 – Ricardo Menéndez March
Ricardo Menéndez March was elected to the Parliament of Aotearoa in 2020. He was born in Mexico, immigrated to New Zealand and eventually became a socialist, queer activist and anti-poverty campaigner.
Ricardo tells me about the motto he lives by (“Be gay. Do crime”), the neoliberal legacy of the NZ Labour Party, the gap between the Ardern government’s rhetoric of kindness and the reality on the ground, and the Green movement’s challenge to remain authentic and grassroots-driven, while still being productive and professional to make things better for ordinary people.
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Ricardo’s profile on the Greens Party website
Documentary: Someone Else’s Country
Cause of the Week: Auckland Action Against Poverty (aaap.org.nz)
Direct download | iTunes | Spotify | libsyn
223 – Senator Jordon Steele-John
Jordon Steele-John is a disability and youth activist and has been a Greens senator for Western Australia since 2017, when he replaced Scott Ludlam in the Senate at just 23 years old.
Here I ask Jordon about how parliament actually works and how it feels to be inside it as a Millennial Green. He explains why he’s in parliament, his disappointment in the ALP, what being a socialist means to him, empowering young people, the fight for “ecological democracy” and the good and bad of the NDIS and the ongoing Royal Commission into the abuse and neglect of people with disabilities.
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jordon-steele-john.greensmps.org.au
ARTICLE: ‘Aussie Squad’ may be Labor’s worst nightmare by Janet Albrechtsen
ARTICLE: Tim Hollo on “ecological democracy” for The Green Institute
ARTICLE: “We are sexual beings”: why disability advocates want the NDIS to cover sexual services
Cause of the Week: People With Disabilities Australia (pwd.org.au)
Direct download | iTunes | Spotify | libsyn
222 – Amy Remeikis
Amy Remeikis is Guardian Australia’s political reporter who writes the Australian politics live blog, covering the thrills and spills of Australian politics as they happen.
Amy joined me after another crazy week in Canberra, to reflect on the “Remeikis experience”, why the political class sucks so much, what to make of the media bargaining code and Labor’s strategy to win back Queensland at the next election.
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Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you
My 2021 show is called WE ARE ALL IN THIS – it’s on sale now at the Adelaide Fringe
ARTICLE: Facebook vs the media code: whoever wins, we lose by Lizzie O’Shea
ARTICLE: Labor’s wicked problem: how to win back Queensland by Christopher Wallace
Cause of the Week: Support your local florist!
Direct download | iTunes | Spotify | libsyn
221 – Dr. Evan Smith
Dr. Evan Smith is a historian and academic who’s extensively researched the history of the Far Left in Australia and the UK. Last year he released his book No Platforming: A History of Anti-Fascism, Universities and the Limits of Free Speech.
I reached out to Evan last month after the whackiness of the storming of the US Capitol and Trump’s removal from Twitter. We only managed to find some time recently for a chat, but this is clearly still a relevant conversation (as Trump is formally acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial). Evan lays out the history of “no platform” as a political tactic, the moral and political arguments surrounding it, the grey areas and its potential limits as a strategy for the Left.
If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron
Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you
My 2021 show is called WE ARE ALL IN THIS – it’s on sale now at the Adelaide Fringe
Evan’s blog, New Historical Express
You can support Evan’s work on Patreon
My interview with Douglas Murray on Tonightly
ARTICLE: Evan reviews Jeff Sparrow’s Fascists Among Us
Cause of the Week: The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union (unemployedworkersunion.com)
Direct download | iTunes | Spotify | libsyn