Radical Australia

On this week's show we welcome Margaret Bannan, a radical Catholic woman who has pretty much dedicated her life to advocating for the marvellous natural world we all share in. Margaret was born in Bendigo in 1948 and came home from the hospital in horse and carriage. When not looking after her eight siblings, Margaret always enjoyed sport and she went on to become a religious education teacher whe...

3CR Thursday Breakfast and Women on the Line producer, Priya Kunjan, was our guest this week. Priya is one of those really smart people who excels in academia, currently researching their PhD on January 26th and media representation, but they already have a whole life of learning in anatomy and neuroscience behind them. Priya is enjoying their time at 3CR, having learnt the ropes pretty much throu...

On this week's show we are extremely honoured to welcome the indefatigable Laurie Levy, a man who was there during the beginnings of whale rescue in Australia in the late 1970s and who has dedicated half his life to banning duck and waterbird shooting in Australia. Before his activism, Laurie was a cameraman at GTV9 when television began and worked alongside greats such as Don Lane and Bert Newton...

The Popcorn Princess. That's what we can also call this week's guest, Bree Taylor, the founder of Melbourne Duck Save. Bree was born in '77 Melbourne and she's really good at 'The Claw', winning many stuffed toys and such courtesy of the teachings of her grandfather. Bree has been a union organiser and has worked on campaigns for the Greens. Before that she was on a healing journey for a while aft...

This week's guest is Tjiwarl mother, grandmother and activist, Vicky Abdullah. Vicky joins us on the blower from the side of the road on country as she looks over a mining dump. Vicky has always been caring for country and learnt this from her mother. Her father was a cammalier from Queensland and Vicky grew up going from station to station. In her early adulthood, Vicky set out on her own, travel...

This week we get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the private life and upbringing of Pas Forgione, one of the hardworking activists fighting for the rights of low income people everywhere, but in Adelaide, as part of the fantastic anti-poverty network. When Pas isn't doing awesome work elevating the voices of people on Centrelink, he loves getting away to New Zealand and hiking its southern island...

Our special guest this week, Alison Broinowski, has initials after her name. Is that a first for the little radio show?.. Alison, who turned 80 years young recently, has lived a rather marvellous life travelling the world with her husband as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs, at a time when women were few and far between, and has lived and learned in countries as diverse as Myanmar, Iran,...

A Summer Special, 'Limerick Fightback', with Canberra Corresponent, Kerry Crossley. Listen as Kerry covers everything from politics to space by way of a limerick. She's a marvel!

This week's guest, and returning guest at that, is Adele O'Connor. Adele has written a PhD on the complex, nerver-ending history that is Indonesian populism and oligarchy. In this conversation she speaks about the history of Indonesia, including the involvement of the Dutch East India Company when the islands where known as the Spice Islands. Adele's reserach involved her travelling to Indonesia a...

Barrie Sutherland started taking pictures of the surf at Bells, year after year, in the 70s, with his family living just up the road in Torquay since the 40s. If anybody has seen Torquay change over time, it's Barrie, and he has strong views about it. On this week's show, Barrie speaks fondly of his parents and recalls the time his father came home from war as he watched him walk up to the house t...

On this week's show we welcome Prue Licht, a Grandmothers for Refugees activist who spent 25 years and many long hours working in the welfare system, predominantly with women and families. Prue originally hails from England but has lived here in the Dandenongs ever since she arrived on these shores in the 1970s. Prue was involved in the amazing No Macca's in Tecoma campaign a few years back and is...

'Question everything'. That's the motto this week's special guest, Maria Millers, has lived by ever since she was turned onto philosophy many moons ago. Maria was born in Harbin in 1937, a Russian city in the far north-east of China, to a family of Russian intellectuals in a time of Japanese occupation and has lived in Australia since she was a babe. Maria is an extraordinary person who has lived...

On this week's show we have a soulful conversation with journalist, radio broadcaster and sound engineer, Kirstyn Lindsay, currently working with First Nations Media. KIrstyn hails from Logan City, Brisbane, and got her early learnings in listening at Musgrave Park among its Murray elders. Spending time in Sydney's anarchist, punk and feminist circles before living and learning in Melbourne for 20...

John Lawrance was our special guest this week on Radical Australia. John has been a musician and theatre actor for many years in and around St Kilda and he shared with us the story of how he became an orphan at the tender age of six for the next ten years of his life. John told us how it was a crystal set radio that eventually saved his life after many years of not wanting to live and how he has m...

On this week's show we welcome the charming Sasja Sydek, co-host of 3CR's Behind Closed Doors, a show which explores the world of sex work. Sasja is a trans woman of colour hailing from Singapore who has been jailed many times for simply being who she is. She is the co-founder of Trans Sisters United and Trans Pride March Melbourne as well as turning her hand to short film production of late. Sasj...

This week we learn more about (and unmask!) the mysterious Innez Tulloch, who is currently filling the shoes of the Volunteer and Training Coordinator here at 3CR. Her snake-filled upbringing in Rockhampton comprised a bookish childhood and some rebellious teenage years, always driven by her natural propensity for music, where playing at their various live venues earned comments such as "chicks wi...

Early busker, wannabe photographer, musician and faithful Melbournite - what doesn't this week's guest, Dean Lombard, not do? Born into a family of Queensland Italian cane cutters, Dean was a sensitive young person who liked writing and became a busker in 1980s Melbourne, entertaining the punters after hours. Learning a lot about people and the world during this time lead Dean to eventually get so...

What an amazing gal our guest this week, Fiona McWhirter, is. Fiona was diagnosed with a rare blood disease last year and is extraordinarily busy living her life to the full for herself, her family and community up in Rocky. What doesn't she do?!  An activist in the political, health and environmental spheres, Fiona is a champion person and was recently awarded the Courage Award from the MDS Found...

On this week's show we were treated to a few poems from poet and writer, Rob Wallis, a lifelong teacher who grew up in 50s Australia, a time when being queer was taboo and hardly any positive representations abounded. Rob was a bonded teacher before breaking out into adult teaching for many years, teaching many different subjects to all kinds of people. He is a bona fide teacher's teacher. These d...

This week's guest, Clovis Mwamba, was a human rights activist kidnapped and tortured under the dictatorship of Mobutu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after it gained freedom from Belgian colonisation in 1960. Clovis grew up in what he describes as an apartheid system in the mineral-rich, eastern Katanga province in a free-thinking household from where he went on to study psychology and oth...

On this week's show we were thoroughly entertained by the co-producer of 3CRs slick current affairs program Uprise Radio, Jackson McInerney. Jackson was born in the old Jessie McPherson hospital where the skate park used to be in the city. Then the family moved to Yuendumu before returning to Melbourne. Jackson has been telling porkies from an early age and has loved the arts for about as long. Th...

On this week's show we revisit a conversation from late in 2019 with legendary Australian filmmaker, David Bradbury. David is a self-taught documentary filmmaker with a swag of films and awards under his belt in a career spanning 40+ years. Check out David's film archive at frontlinefilms.com.au We are certain Radical Australia and 3CR listeners alike will find something they like. On this week's...

On this week's Radical Australia we spoke with Ajan, a 3CR brekkie stalwart, trainer and producer of Diaspora Blues, a 2020 show that focuses on black and CALD people and stories. Ayan understands a thing or two about borders and boundaries and knows what it's like to feel alone, having grown up as an African Muslim in Australia. She speaks eloquently about trying to find her place in the world an...

This week's guest is Dr. Greg Poulgrain, a well-known lecturer on Southeast Asian history and friend to the West Papua Office in Docklands, Melbourne. On this show we find Greg in conversation about his new book, 'JFK vs Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia'. Thank you for joining us, Greg.

We are delighted to welcome 4ZZZ community radio stalwart Blair Martin onto the show this week. Blair is a Shakespearean thespian from Rockhampton who has loved the theatre since he was a teenager and he has a beautiful voice. Blair wears many hats at 4ZZZ from coordinator of its niche digital program grid to trainer and producer/host of 'Queer Radio', the world's longest running radio program of...