Activist, writer, engineer, motoring enthusiast and outspoken young Muslim woman of colour Yassmin Abdel-Magied is kicking arse on multiple levels right now and I felt very lucky indeed to have this opportunity to chat with her.

Earlier this year, Yassmin sparked a large controversy in the literary world when she walked out on author Lionel Shriver’s speech on cultural appropriation at the Brisbane Writers Festival. Here she reflects on that experience and further explores her thoughts on why an awareness of what cultural appropriation is and how it works is important.

Last week’s guest Gay Alcorn had a different take on this subject; you can listen back to that episode here.

The World Keeps Happening is being filmed for Stan at the Comedy Theatre on Saturday December 3rd

Boundless Plains To Share at Belvoir Theatre in January 2017

The Greens’ petition against the lifetime visa ban for people seeking asylum

Welcome to Eltham’s video

@yassmin_a

Why does my headscarf mean to you? Yassmin’s TED talk

Lionel Shriver’s speech in full: I hope the concept of cultural appropriation is a passing fad

I walked out of the Brisbane Writers Festival keynote address this is why by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

We need to talk about cultural appropriation: why Lionel Shriver’s speech touched a nerve by Stephanie Convery

What happened in Brisbane by Suki Kim

Identity politics doesn’t deserve Lionel Shriver’s contempt, but it can be limiting by Nesrine Malik

Will the Left survive the Millenials? by Lionel Shriver

A call for difficult conversations not censorship by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Why the shaming of Lionel Shriver leads to a literary ghetto by Anson Cameron

Confronting Lionel Shriver by Maxine Beneba Clarke

White Fragility: why it’s so hard to talk to white people about racism by Dr. Robin DiAngelo

White Nonsense Round Up on Facebook

Cause of the Week: Mumtaza (mumtaza.agency) 

Gay Alcorn has been a journalist for over 25 years. She’s been a Fairfax Washington correspondent, edited The Sunday Age, won three Walkley Awards and is now the Melbourne editor for Guardian Australia.

I wanted to talk with Gay about a whole many things (we began by talking about this week’s 4Corners report on the refugee children of Nauru and the roles and biases of journalism), but the bulk of our chat became focussed on the notion of “political correctness”: the nature of our public discourse, section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, identity politics and cultural appropriation.

Gay describes herself as a progressive person but is a staunch advocate of the freedom of speech and has concerns about the way we go about talking with each other. Is it now longer possible for us to “reasonably disagree”?

This piece by Gay on PC is the basic starting point for our chat, I’d recommend reading that first before listening here. We also got on to Lionel Shriver’s speech at the Brisbane Writer’s Festival and the ensuing furore; this will also be the focus of next week’s episode with Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

Boundless Plains To Share at Belvoir Theatre in January 2017

The World Keeps Happening is being filmed for Stan at the Comedy Theatre on Saturday December 3rd; details on comedy.com.au

@gay_alcorn

Gay’s writing at Guardian Australia

The Media’s Moment of Truth by Frank Bruni

Hunt For The Radical Centre: Confronting Welfare Dependency by Noel Pearson 

The Pacific Solution’s brutal fact: we need it by Jonathan Holmes

Those fighting offshore detention don’t need all the answers by me

Section 18C Explainer: What is it, and why do some politicians want it changed? by Luke McNamara

We need to talk about cultural appropriation: why Lionel Shriver’s speech touched a nerve by Stephanie Convery

Cause of the Week: Guardian Australia (theguardian.com/au), Oxfam Australia (oxfam.org.au)

Direct download       iTunes      libsyn

TIME TO MEET ANOTHER HERO, EVERYONE! Shen Narayanasamy is the Human Rights Campaign Director at GetUp!. She’s an outspoken activist for refugee and migrant rights who is seriously shaking shit up at the moment and she was nice enough to explain to me why (and how) she’s doing it.

From her Di Gribble address on “The Great Immigration Con” to taking on the private companies that are complicit in human rights abuses through the operation of offshore detention centres to the task of defeating the philosophy behind the “detention regime” in its totality, I reckon this is a really illuminating and (mildly) hopeful discussion.

Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017

Walk Together 2016 is happening THIS SATURDAY October 22nd

Trailer for Netflix’s 13th

@GetUp

ABC’s Q&A: Australia’s Sovereign Borders

Article: Burning The Stakeholders by Chloe Hooper

Article: Lunch with lawyer and asylum seeker advocate Shen Narayanasamy

Article: A solution to our refugee criss by Robert Manne, Tim Costello, Frank Brennan & John Menadue

GetUp!’s #BringThemHere campaign

Pathways to Protection: A human rights-based approach to the flight of asylum seekers by sea by the Australian Human Rights Commission

Cause of the Week: No Business In Abuse (nobusinessinabuse.org)

Direct download         iTunes       libsyn

He used to co-host Australian Idol but this year James Mathison ran against former prime minister Tony Abbott for the federal seat of Waringah as an independent.

In this chat James explains why he decided to run, his frustrations with the current political deadlock in Australia, the limitations of election campaigns and his predictions of a new progressive movement on the horizon.

Plus he shamelessly advertises Coke.

Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017

Comedy 4 Karma in Daylesford, Saturday October 15th

I’ll be appearing in season 2 of SBS’s First Contact in November

Walk Together 2016 is happening on Saturday October 22nd

#OurBrothersOurSisters on raisely.com

Me on Guardian’s Token podcast

Me on Brendon Burns’ Dumb White Guy podcast, Part 1 // Part 2

@jamesmathison

jamesmathison.com.au

This week’s episode of Q&A

Article: CEOs bank on bonuses as average Australian worker left to flounder

Article: We’re two-faced about ‘wasting’ money on welfare

Article: James Mathison wants to create a new progressive political movement to target the far right 

Article: Thoughts on Junket 2016

Article: Leaked UNHCR report – Manus Island’s world’s worst

Cause of the Week: Barnados (barnados.org.au)

Direct download         iTunes        libsyn

22-year-old student Brendan Busch is angry and frustrated about Australian racism and denial, particularly in relation to First Nations peoples.

He’s spoken out against Andrew Bolt receiving a platform at the 2016 Festival of Dangerous Ideas and garnered some media attention last month when he offered to give away his Falls Festival ticket to anyone who could prove they had convinced radio station triple j to change the date of their massive annual song countdown, the Hottest 100, from “Australia Day” on January 26th.

Here Brendan (eloquently) explains his thinking and the ideas behind the #changethedate movement, reacts to the subsequent response from triple j and the public and discusses the murky distinctions between the expression of “challenging views” and hate speech, holding our public institutions to account and how we balance the importance of calling out racism with the goal of actually changing people’s minds.

Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017

Comedy 4 Karma in Daylesford, Saturday October 15th

Brendan’s letter in Independent Australia: An Open Letter to Creators of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas

Footage of Andrew Bolt’s session at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas

Article: triple j Hottest 100 Man Starts Competition to Change The Date

Article: Briggs Reckons triple j Should Change The Hottest 100 Date 

triple j statement: triple j’s Hottest 100 is staying on January 26…for now. And here’s why. 

January 26th by A.B. Original on YouTube

Hack Live: Aussie Patriots

change.org petition: triple j, change the date of the Hottest 100 

Article: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard To Talk To White People About Racism 

@JusticeForDhu

Cause of the Week: Clinton’s Walk For Justice (clintonswalkforjustice.org), on StartSomeGood, on FB