Radical Australia

This week's guest is Jacob Andrewartha, passionate activist and a Socialist Alliance national co-convenor. Jacob was turned on to activism through the Kevin Rudd 'PNG Solution' and hasn't looked back. His centre-left political orientation formed in a gaming world through contact with other gamers before he started joining others on campaigns. Jacob co-hosts Green Left Weekly on 3CR and when he isn't doing that and studying for his degree in English and History he is an early childhood educator. Jacob is the oldest of 11 children and was home schooled. These days he lives life according to his own values as an independent person. We thank Jacob very much for being our guest this week.Green Left Weekly I Fridays 7:00am - 8:30am I 3CR 855AM I 3CR DIGITAL I 3cr.org.augreenleft.org.ausocialist-alliance.org

David McLean was the Head of English somewhere in time and has been a teacher all his working life. David did a great job of explaining how right-wing governments have, over time,  instilled a program of How To Screw-up Education 101 in Australia's education system, with the introduction of business speak and running teachers down to the ground. David is a writer and enthusiastic amateur actor, starring in Neighbours and writing a book titled Finding Coby about his neice's battle with teen depression. He really is a nice guy. David is currently introducing writing as relective practise to Epworth medical students which has illuminated the doubt felt, but formerly hidden, among medical students. Great work. David also co-hosts 3CR's book show, Published or Not, on Thursdays 11:30am. Thanks so much for being our guest this week, David, and keep up the great work.Published or Not: Thursdays 11:30am - 12pm | 3cr.org.au/publishedornotIn-verse reflection: structured creative writing exercises to promote reflective

We are delighted to welcome this week's guest to Radical Australia, Sally Gibson. Sally is a powerhouse writer and all-round accomplished person currently running for political office in the seat of Brighton, an area close to her heart and in which she was raised. What hasn't Sally done? We were delighted to learn she wrote the synopsis for the television series The Dismissal (1983) and The Cowra Breakout (1984) and has held many different public service positions in her life, giving her a great wealth of knowledge and experience. Sally wrote her politics honours thesis on community radio and 3CR and it was wonderful to welcome her back after many years. Sally is keen to tackle corruption in the political system and to hear from ordinary people about their concerns. We wish Sally well in her campaign and thank her very much for being our guest this week.sallygibson.com.au I 0409 197 717 I team@sallygibson.com.au 

Liza Dezfouli is one of those interesting people who have done a bit of everything in their life and who we love to speak to on Radical Australia. Liza is a Kiwi girl who made Melbourne her home at some stage of her life and has raised two boys in the security of a housing co-operative, originally through the Council of Single Mothers and their Children. Liza is an accomplished arts writer, poet and actress and treated us to one of her delightfully subversive poems, Dear Tom. Liza urges people to explore their creativity and find their joy. We thank Liza very much for joining us this week.Liza in UNHOWSED 2019, a play about older women and homelessness 

This week's guest, Timothy Neville, is on indefinite bail here in Naarm and once broke into the world's largest coal port as part of Blockade Australia. Timothy has seemingly been a life-long activist, beginning with a plan to ban plastic at his primary school at age 8. Timothy has always been aware of the world's geo-political, economic and environmental problems and has always tried to make the world a better place, joining with others in activist activities around climate change, whistle-blowing, indigenous sovereignty to Julian Assange. In this conversation with Timothy we learn some things about the draconian activist laws which have come into effect in some states of Australia and Timothy's personal jouney to find justice in the world. Thanks so much for being our guest this week, Timothy.

From Manly to Wagga-Wagga to around the world and back, this week's guest, Michael Bible, has always gotten stick for his surname. Maybe that's payback for the times he used to ride around Wagga on his ponies and torment the priests and nuns. Michael is a former sports kid and, later, anthropogist who quit on grounds of 'cultural theft' and these days provides his policy nous to the West Papua Office in Docklands. He joined us this week to talk about the West Papua Office Open Day this Sunday, September 11th, from 1pm, where you will find Sophie Chao premiering her book In the shadow of the palms to the Melbourne audience. This book documents communities' survival among the palm oil industry. Should be a good afternoon. Michael is a '67 kid and has had a full life which you can hear all about in this episode. Thank-you for joining us this week, Michael. It was a pleasure to have you on.   

We are really honoured to speak with anthropologist and author Sophie Chao on this week's Radical Australia. Sophie has recently had her award-winning book published, In the shadow of the palms. It takes readers on a jouney into the heart of the palm oil industry in West Papua, Australia's closest neighbour. Sophie will be joining us here in Naarm very soon at the West Papua Office in Docklands to launch her book to the Melbourne audience. An event not to be missed! As for Sophie's personal journey, she grew up in Hong Kong to a French mother and Chinese father before heading off to Oxford and getting into anthropology and the cause of Tibet. Then came interest in the indigenous rights movement which gradually led her to West Papua. We were really pleased to speak with Sophie and we thank her so much for sharing some of her life and passion with us this week. Thank-you, Sophie.West Papua Open Day Book Launch - Sunday 11th September 2pm - trybooking.com/events/landing/913101An arresting trailer for In the shad

This week's guest, Louise Cooper, is a prolific artist, involved in diverse and countless community arts projects across Victoria, from initiating the Dunolly Women's Historical Art Trail, to creating an Autistic Fashion Game to be screened at Melbourne Fringe Festival and authoring children's books such as Banjo Bilby's Small Schools Big Adventures. Louise is a sole parent to two boys, both with autism, and resonates herself with the Maori term Takiwatanga: in her own space and time. Louise is interested in social histories and exploring how where we live shapes who we are. She is a powerhouse. Thank-you for being our guest this week, Louise, and keep up the great work.socialhistory.com.au   

This week's guest on Radical Australia is none other than Ajak Kwai, a well-known singer in Melbourne and host of 3CR's Ubuntu Voices, a program whose name means 'i am here because you are here'. It airs on Wednesdays at 8:30pm. Ajak grew up in South Sudan, running naked and barefoot among the trees and the cattle. Beautiful memories for her. Speaking with Ajak we learn about the war that came when she was 20 years old and its impact. Tasmania was the first place Ajak landed when she relocated to Australia and when she first stepped out onto the street she wondered where all the people were after living in busy Cairo for eight years. Ajak moved to Melbourne for the music and treated us to an ode to Tamworth. It's rather beautiful. We are sure you will enjoy learning about Ajak's life and hearing her reflections on being a black woman in this country, among other things. We thank her very much for being our guest this week. Ubuntu Voices - Wednesdays 8:30pm - 3CR 855AM 

This week on Radical Australia we resume our conversation with Margaret Ryan, our second guest this year with an OAM. Margaret was there at the beginning of palliative care in Australia in the 1980s, a healthcare approach which puts the person first, disease second. She has worked with a lot of different communities throughout her long working life and knows something, too, about family tragedy. Margaret has a benevolence about life and says that if you want to do something in your life, you just have to get on with it and do it. She is such an inspiration. We hope you enjoy the second part to our conversation with her. Thanks once again, Margaret.

On this episode of Radical Australia we speak with the passionate, hardworking Taylor Wheeler from the Pink Paw Program, an organisation that is there for our beloved pooches and their human companions in times of need. You know what we mean - when people are at a loss as to how to care for their dog. That's when Taylor and friends at Pink Paw step in, providing that knowledge and support gained from years of study and practise dedicated to animal welfare. Taylor has always been around animals and really loves them, back to the times her Dad caught snakes and she was a nipper in the waters around Newcastle and loved Elvis. Taylor chats with us about what people should think about when bringing a dog into their life, the top reasons dogs are surrendered and dogs to consider based on your lifestyle. She really is a dog whisperer. We thank Taylor for being our guest this week and make sure you check out the Pink Paw Progam online. Thanks, Taylor.pinkpawprogram.org@pinkpawprogram

This week's guest, Jwala, is another political refugee from Queensland '78. Jwala is a co-producer on 3CR's Global Intifada, an anarchist music and news show when she is not busy organising with Vixen Collective, a peer sex worker organisation and being a strong voice in the community for drug user rights. Jwala has had a full life of travel and activism and was a great outspoken and entertaining guest. We are sure you will enjoy this conversation.Global Intifada, Thursdays 5pm - 6pm, 3CR 855AM@swersvictoria (Vixen Collective) (facebook)hrvic.org.au (Harm Reduction Victoria)hrvic.org.au/whack (WHACK! drug user magazine)

Maurya Borandanis was our guest this week on Radical Australia. Maurya hails from the USA but has lived in Australia longer. She is a performer who has spent the last few years enjoying finding her voice with numerous artistic enterprises in Port Phillip. Maurya experienced homelessness in her 50s after a long life in hospitality, from St Kilda's Whiskey a go go to Parliament House silver service and everything in between. She was recently in the film Some Happy Day about homelessness in St Kilda and is passionate about commuity and social networking. Maurya has a great spirit and we are sure you will enjoy her stories. Thanks for being our guest this week, Maurya.@voicesofthesouthside (Facebook)somehappydayfilm.com@CityOfVoices1992 (Facebook) 

Kim Nicholas Pendergrast, or just Nick P, our guest this week on Radical Australia, hails from Perth and has been a vegan and animal rights advocate for many years. He currently co-hosts Freedom of Species on 3CR when he is not busy producing a podcast called Progressive Podcasts Australia with his partner Katie or lecturing in Sociology at le university. Nick is a great, smart guy and would like to see animal advocacy and change become more systemic, rather than relying on individual consumer choice. He's played ice hockey for many years and loves all the vegan eats in Melbourne, not to mention the great comedy. Thanks so much for being our guest this week, Nick. Keep up the great work!3cr.org.au/freedomofspeciesprogressivepodcastsaustralia

This week's guest, Adrian Farrugia, has packed a lot into his relatively young life so far, kicking trailblazing goals with his team researching the very interesting area of young people's drug use, drug education, stigma and related health issues. This research led to the development of the website overdoselifesavers.org, a resource capturing people's experience of drug overdose and the use of medication to revive them. He has also conducted research into Hepatitis C and the uptake of the revolutionary medication which now cures it. On this week's show you'll find us enjoying an interesting conversation with Adrian about all these things and we certainly learnt a thing or two. We hope you enjoy the show and we thank Adrian very much for being our guest this week.overdoselifesavers.org

This week's guest, Chris Quinlan, has had a full life. Growing up 'in the pub', first at The Prince of Wales in St Kilda and then Dan O'Connell's in Carlton in the 60's and 70's, Chris has been playing music since a teen and has been a teacher for a long time. His instrument of choice is the drums and he's had a long-running, weekly TV show on Ch 31 called 'Melbourne Musos'. These days, Chris is also a proud member of Musicians Australia, a union agitating for mandatory payment for gigging musicians and other fantastic things. It was great having Chris in the studio this week and we thank him very much for sharing some of his life's stories with us.@melbournemusostvmusiciansaustralia.org

This week's guest is Giles Fielke, a recent garden plot tenant at the Collingwood Children's Farm, one of 70-80 gardeners who have had the gate locked on them after many years of small plot gardening on Crown Land down by the Yarra. Giles poses the question 'what does Crown Land mean in the 21st-century?', like many interesting questions he poses as a smart, learned type. Giles had an eventful childhood living in Melbourne, Ballarat and New Zealand, among other destinations. These days he enjoys immersing himself in the local arts community and encourages anyone to become involved in things in their immediate environment. He reckons activism is more meaningful at the local level. Thanks so much for being our lovely guest this week, Giles.collingwoodcommunitygardens.org

As a member of Blockade Australia, this week's guest, Max Curmi, recently spent 4 months in jail for scaling a crane in Port Botany. He says that you shouldn't be afraid of people in jail. Max grew up in a housing commune in the Yarra Valley with parents who have always respected the land and from a relatively young age Max was looking for the best place to resist. He got turned on to direct action in Scotland and has never looked back, working on the Adani campaign and with Extinction Rebellion, learning how to use his body and collective power to disrupt. Blockade Australia are calling all those serious about survival to a series of events happening in Sydney late June. See the link for details. We thank Max for being our guest this week. Keep up the great work.blockadeaustralia.com 

We're extremely honoured to welcome Margaret Ryan into the 3CR studios this week. Margaret is one of those wonderful people who has committed her life to helping others. She has always wanted to be a nurse ever since she bandaged her dollies as a wee one, progressing to community health in Broadmeadows and finally to Papua New Guinea after independence, the best years of her life, where she worked on the frontline training women, children, men and communities facing serious health and mortality issues to become self-sufficient in their healthcare needs. Margaret has a deep well of wisdom and knowledge about healthcare in PNG and a deep love for the place. Her life has been fascinating and full of spirit. We thank Margaret for being our wonderful guest this week. 'Changing Social Relations in remote Papua New Guinea'A talk and open discussion featuring Associate Professor Monica Minnegal.The first part of a series exploring the future shape of Australia/Papua New Guinea relationship as nearest neighbours.Frida

This week's guest, Peter 'Redgum' Roberts, is an environmentalist and self-taught propagator, a white bloke ruffling the feathers of the squatocracy with his adoption of the ancient practise of lighting fires. Robert has Authority Defiant Syndrome, like most of our guests, and was no teacher's pet, carving out his own unique life with his family, learning about and caring for our amazing natural world. He's come far since beginning his entry to the world at Queen Victoria Hospital in Melbourne. Thanks for the great, relaxed yarn, Peter. Keep up the good work.