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Author Archives: Tom
76 – James Mathison
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
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)
First Contact Season 2
So I’ll be joining Ray Martin, David Oldfield, Natalie Imbruglia, Nicki Wendt, Dicko and Renae Ayris in season 2 of Blackfella Films’ First Contact. The three-part series will screen on SBS in late November.
This show was one of the most rewarding and challenging things I’ve ever been a part of. I laughed and cried and at one point I threw up.
I really hope you can tune in and check it out.
Watch Me Interview A Freaky Clown (If You DARE)
“It’s not a game anymore, people actually want to kill you.” Snuggles speaks about US clown sightings. #TheProjectTV https://t.co/s2ojHGJBMx
— #TheProjectTV (@theprojecttv) October 6, 2016
75 – Brendan Busch
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
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
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
Cause of the Week: Clinton’s Walk For Justice (clintonswalkforjustice.org), on StartSomeGood, on FB
Comedy 4 Karma
If you’re in Daylesford and like laughing a lot whilst simultaneously raising money for Australia’s only primary school centred around Buddhist principles (the good ones, not the dodgy ones), come along to this!
Walk Together 2016
This massive celebration of welcoming goodness is on again in 2016!
I’ll be MCing the Melbourne event and will be bursting with pride to do so, particularly in this time when it seems many Australians want to further harden their hearts and foster hatred and fear rather than love and inclusiveness.
You know – all that good hippy shit.
The walk is happening on Saturday October 22nd all around on the country. Find out where it’s happening near you.
Guardian Australia Recommends “Boundless Plains”
Sydney-based Belvoir has a strong season, but this critic’s pick is Boundless Plains to Share, in which comedian Tom Ballard presents something like stand-up comedy crossed with a slide night as he desperately tries to understand, explain and activate an audience against Australia’s punitive refugee policy.
Politicised on the issue since the age of 14, Ballard’s involvement with the Welcome to Australia movement brought him into contact with refugees in and out of detention. He encountered stories he found both uplifting and heartbreaking, and these stories permeate a show that is laugh-out-loud funny and enraging at the same time.
Ballard developed Boundless Plains to Share under the guidance and direction of Scott Edgar – more commonly known as Scod from Tripod – who had been helping the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre for many years. It’s a good theatrical match, avoiding both mawkishness and over-earnestness in its presentation of the kinds of stories often emotively retold by the well meaning – and sometimes compromised as a result.
Ballard’s show was made possible by a Moosehead award – it allowed him to pursue something close to his heart without anxiety about commercial returns. Belvoir’s selection of Boundless Plains to Share vindicates the professional support Ballard received to make it.
You can read the whole article here and you can book tickets to the Belvoir run here.
74 – Josie Long
Comedian Josie Long makes me feel better about the world. She is a ball of delightful, charming and passionate energy whose comedy is hilarious and socially conscious and life-affirming.
In this chat, recorded backstage at the lovely Soho Theatre, Josie and I chat about how she became more politically active, the trickiness of “helping” in the right way, the UK Labour leadership, austerity, art, privilege and voting for what you believe in.
Plus a few Kurt Vonnegut quotes for good measure.
Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017
The Little Dum Dum Club LIVE in Adelaide
Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit
Cause of the Week: Arts Emergency (arts-emergency.org)
73 – Johann Hari
Backstage at the Soho Theatre I got to sit down with journalist Johann Hari to discuss how the media corrupts our public debate, Australian television and his powerful book, Chasing the Scream: The First & Last Days of the Drug War.
What is addiction? Why is the drug war still continuing? What is it costing us? Is there a better way?
Article: Half of all Australians want to ban Muslim immigration, says poll
Boundless Plains To Share at the Belvoir Theatre, January 2017
Andrew Denton’s podcast series for the Wheeler Centre, Better Off Dead
Johann’s TED Talk: Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong
A Small Book About Drugs by Lisa Pryor
Cause of the Week: Unharm (unharm.org)