Author Archives: Tom
83 – Timothy Rosenberger
On the dancefloor at Mardi Gras this year, I met Tim Rosenberger. He is a gay, conservative, Republican law grad from Ohio. And he has supported Donald Trump’s candidacy for President of the United States. That candidacy was successful. And now we’re here.
Here I have a lengthy chat with Tim via Skype about why he thinks Trump and Pence will be good for LGBTIQ+ Americans, racial politics, “pussy-gate”, the electoral college, Clinton, climate change PC, identity politics and much more. I listened. It was hard and frustrating. But useful. I hope. #MAGA
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
Boundless Plains to Share at Adelaide Fringe in February 2017
Article: Aftermath – 16 writers on Trump’s America in The New Yorker
Article: Trump warms to Electoral College, 4 Years After Calling it a “Disaster For Democracy”
Article: Trump’s Muslim register database – an explainer on Vox
Article: The Democrats are screwing up the resistance to Donald Trump by Jamelle Bouie
Article: Bursting the Facebook bubble – we asked voters on the left and right to swap feeds
Article: Virginia’s governor restores voting rights for 13,000 felons
Article: Trump in the White House – an interview with Noam Chomsky
Cause of the Week: Safe Schools Coalition (safeschoolscoalition.org.au), Log Cabin Republicans (logcabin.org)
HOPE!
Like I’m A Six-Year-Old LIVE with Adam Bandt
It’s our first ever LIVE episode of LIASYO!
To wrap up the shitshow that was 2016 and to see if there’s any hope out there at all for progressive people, I’ll be sitting down to chat and cry with the Greens MP for Melbourne, Adam Bandt.
It’s happening on Sunday December 4th at 4pm. Doors open 3:45pm.
Come along to listen, commiserate, laugh and ask questions and we’ll all try to figure this out together.
Entry is free but bookings essential – get your tickets here.
82 – Neil & Judy Ballard
In these times of uncertainty and fear, I speak to my mum and dad.
Neil and Judy tell me about their political beliefs, the changes they’ve seen in their lifetime, what they make of the election of Donald Trump and how they think progressive change can happen.
I learnt and laughed a lot. I hope you enjoy it.
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
Boundless Plains to Share at Adelaide Fringe in February 2017
Article: Where the Devil is in the Detail by Julian Burnside
Like I’m A Six-Year-Old LIVE! with Adam Bandt, Sunday December 4th
Article: Stop asking me to empathize with the white working class by Kali Holloway
Article: Neoliberalism: the deep story that lies beneath Donald Trump’s triumph by George Monbiot
Article: We need to understand why Trump won to stop it happening again by Osman Faruqi
Cause of the Week: Amnesty International (amnesty.org.au)
Direct download iTunes libsyn
81 – A Special Post-Trump Episode
It happened. Donald J. Trump is going to be the next President of the United States.
I am very sad.
I don’t know about you, but I want to help. I want to make things better.
Support queer rights by donating to allout.org
Support refugees by donating to UNHCR Australia
Support the fight against climate change by donating to 350.org
Support gender equality by donating to Emily’s List Australia
The Republic Repeals Itself by Andrew Sullivan
It was the rise of the Davos class that sealed America’s fate by Naomi Klein
The Terrorists Have Won – Keith Olbermann
The US has elected its most dangerous leader. We all have plenty to fear by Jonathan Freedland
Stephen Colbert tries to make sense of all this
80 – Nur Warsame
Nur Warsame is Australia’s first openly gay imam.
Yep.
He’s an incredible man with a fascinating story that I think is really important to hear. If you’re like me and want to call out and stand up against any religious bigotry towards queer people BUT you also don’t want to pile on to the current shitstorm of Islamophobia that’s swirling around this country at the moment, there’s a lot to be learnt here from Nur. Here we discuss his journey to coming out publicly, what it’s cost him, how he reconciles his faith with his sexuality and how we can have better conversations about this stuff.
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
Boundless Plains to Share at Adelaide Fringe in February 2017
Meet Australia’s First Openly Gay Imam on SBS’s The Feed
Article: Nur Warsame: Australia’s First Openly Gay Imam
Article: The secret mosques opening their doors to LGBTI Muslims
Nur on SBS’s Insight: How Do People Make High Stakes Decisions?
Fields of Blood: Religion & The History of Violence by Karen Armstrong
Article: Half of all British Muslims think homosexuality should be illegal, poll finds
Cause of the Week: Marhaba (@marhaba_Melb)
The World Keeps Happening Taping
BIG OL’ NEWS: I’m going to be taping The World Keeps Happening for streaming service Stan.
This will be the final performance of the show ever and is going to be shot in Melbourne’s beautiful Comedy Theatre. Here are the details:
THE WORLD KEEPS HAPPENING
SATURDAY DECEMBER 3RD, 7:15PM
THE COMEDY THEATRE, 240 Exhibition St Melbourne
Tickets are on sale now here. More info over on comedy.com.au here.
Boundless Plains To Share 2017
I’m touring my comedy lecture about Australia’s treatment of refugees around the country in 2017.
The show was created with the help of the Brian McCarthy Memorial Moosehead Grant and was nominated for the Barry Award at the 2016 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Guardian Australia liked it very much indeed. I hope you will too.
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SYDNEY: JAN 13th – 15th (4 SHOWS ONLY) @ BELVOIR THEATRE
Tickets from $25 – $49, available here.
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PERTH: FEB 4th & 5th (2 SHOWS ONLY) @ HEATH LEDGER THEATRE
5:30pm. Tickets from $31, available here.
AUSLAN interpreted on Sunday Feb 5th.
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ADELAIDE: FEB 18th & 19th, 25th & 26th (4 SHOWS ONLY) @ TANDANYA THEATRE
4:30pm. Full $32, Concession $25. Tickets available here.
AUSLAN interpreted on Sunday Feb 26th.
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BRISBANE: SAT MARCH 25th & SUN 26th (2 SHOWS ONLY) @ ITHACA AUDITORIUM, BRISBANE CITY HALL
4:15pm. Full price $32, Concession $25. Tickets available here.
AUSLAN interpreted on Sunday March 26th.
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MELBOURNE: SAT APRIL 22nd (1 SHOW ONLY) @ THE COMEDY THEATRE
5:00pm. Tickets $24 – $32. Tickets available here.
AUSLAN interpreted.
79 – Yassmin Abdel-Magied
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
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
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)