Not Stupid

With a phone in your pocket and the news cycle rolling at a frantic speed, it can be so hard to slow down. Jules and Jez have been thinking about how to look at things more slowly and if it is even possible. Plus a couple of weeks ago we asked a really weird question: "have you seen a colour that you've just never seen anywhere else?" We got so many emails about colour, from Monet's dining room to...

So much has happened over the past week. Despite US President Donald Trump’s attack and intervention, will the ceasefire between Israel and Iran hold? How do the Iranian people feel about the regime? Jules has been watching The Pitt and thinking about “moral injury” the idea of having to betray your own moral beliefs because of lack of staff or lack of supplies. Join the conversation and email the...

The situation in the Middle East got a lot more precarious this week, with Israel attacking Iran. It says it is trying to halt Iran's nuclear plans, but what does it mean for the region and what will Donald Trump do next?  And you had such great thoughts about the best thing you've seen in a museum. We go down a rabbit hole about cane toad dioramas, family blankets and everything in between.   SHO...

We've seen cars on fire and riot squads on the streets, so what is going on in California? We take a closer look at the fight between Donald Trump and the Governor of California. And if you could order an object from a museum, what would you want to see or touch? The V&A in London has just opened a new museum where you can do just that. PICKS Jeremy's Pick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APyn...

Greens Senator Dorinda Cox has switched from the Greens to the Labor Party, so is it okay for a politician to change their mind?  Is switching parties ok? Or what about changing you mind on issues? And Jules has been fascinated with the case of Lucy Letby, the British nurse convicted of killing babies while working in a neonatal ward.  It is also our birthday, so we celebrate Not Stupid turning on...

News out of Gaza has gone from bad to worse with acute food shortages and growing concern of a famine. So are attitudes from Israel's Western allies starting to change? And will a change in attitude lead to concrete action? And last week we were talking about poison pen letters and we've heard lots of great stories. We go through our favourites. Plus a little treat from our Sydney live show. SHOW...

Joe Biden is back in the news with a cancer diagnosis, but there’s also a new book out looking at his alleged cognitive decline. So what do you need to disclose and why, if you are in public office? And in Australia the Coalition is consciously uncoupling, so Jules and Jez take a look at the messy split. Buy tickets to our Sydney live show here: https://www.swf.org.au/program/season-2025/not-stupi...

Jules and Jez are talking reinvention this week because there are new leaders everywhere. There's a new Pope in the Vatican and he is American, so what does he make of Donald Trump? And the Australian Liberal Party has its first female leader in Sussan Ley. Also the recipes you share, the ones you keep to yourselves and the ones you can't quite decipher. PICKS https://www.aco.com.au/whats-on/2025/...

There's a copyright stoush over caramel slice and Jeremy and Julia have thoughts. Can you own a recipe? And is "Julia Baird's caramel slice" also just "Nagi's Caramel slice"? And you might have noticed an election on the weekend, it was hard to miss. Labor won in a landslide, so how does the Coalition rebuild and how many women will be involved?  JEREMY'S PICK https://interestingengineering.com/cu...

"Welcome to Country" ceremonies are the latest culture war as we reach the pointy end of the Federal Election campaign, so Jules and Jez look at why it has become such a hot button issue this week. And we had so much feedback about using Chat GPT for relationship advice, so Jules and Jez have been asking it their deepest, darkest secrets with mixed results. JEZ'S PICK https://www.theguardian.com/m...

Pope Francis was the most humble Pope in living memory, so has he shaped the future of Catholicism? For some, he was too much and for others, not enough. Jez and Jules chat about his legacy and the future of the Catholic Church. And we asked you about incorrect lyrics or "mondegreens" and you have so many great examples.  SHOW NOTES Peter Kay's misheard lyrics: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7my5baoCVv8&...

Katy Perry went to space with a group of famous women, so was it one giant leap for womankind or just a really weird marketing blunder? We have a lot of thoughts. And what do we want from our leaders? We are half way through the election campaign and it has got us thinking about what makes a good leader. JULES' PICK: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1s-pale-blue-dot/

The HBO TV drama "White Lotus" focuses on a number of very rich and in many ways deeply unpleasant people. So why are we so fascinated by the lives of the super rich? And the US has dominated the global news this week with Donald Trump’s new tariffs, but Jules and Jez are keen to talk about deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE. Since Donald Trump returned to the P...

The election campaign is in full swing, but when it comes to the news you consume, who do you trust? The ALP offered to pay travel expenses so some influencers could go to the Federal Budget lock-up. So did it get the Government favourable coverage? Or find audiences who just aren't listening to the mainstream media? And we've heard from so many teachers about the Netflix show, Adolescence. Lots o...

The Netflix drama, Adolescence, has been watched millions of times in the last week and it is raising a lot of questions about masculinity and how we treat boys. So why this series has hit such a nerve? And Jez was in Canberra for the Federal Budget, so what is the government offering and have we lost the capacity for long term planning? Buy tickets to our Sydney show here: https://www.swf.org.au/...

US President, Donald Trump, is slashing diversity programs in the US, so is DEI over here too? Jules and Jez chat about what might happen in Australia. Also, Elon Musk says he has a prescription for ketamine and it comes at a time when the use of the drug in Australia is at an all time high. And Jules is obsessed with the story of the two astronauts who have spent nine months in space. Come to our...

After being slammed by the tabloids for the best part of decade, Meghan Markle (or is it Sussex?) has emerged with jam and cake and maybe a bit too much perfection. Jules has thoughts. And in the wake of ex-Cyclone Alfred, politicians have been pitching in and helping out. So what do we want from our leaders in a time of crisis? SHOW NOTES What we want in a leader https://www.sciencedirect.com/sci...

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez have been in Adelaide for their first live show as part of Adelaide Writers' Week. It was a chat about the news, hope, awe and sparkly suits. If you missed it in Adelaide, here is a taste!

The news can be a lot. And sometimes it feels hard to keep up and difficult to keep paying attention. So how do we cope when the world is full of triggering news? 

It's been three years since Russia invaded Ukraine and the US President Donald Trump says its time to make a deal. But he is also rewriting history with the American president saying Ukraine has been the aggressor all this time. Jules and Jez have been doing some fact checking. And how do you itemise the amount of work you do in a week? Elon Musk wants people to write lists of their weekly achieve...

There's plenty of hype around Netflix's new series about serial liar Belle Gibson, but what does the story mean to cancer survivors? Plus, we've got an interest rate cut, but when everything is costing more, so will voters blame the Government at the election? And Jez has been thinking about birthday cakes and making quite a few of them.  SHOW NOTES Financial Review "Cost of Living" article: https...

Jules has been looking at some Australian and US studies about church attendance and they show an increase in young men identifying as Christian. At the same time, the number of women in the Anglican priesthood in Australia is dwindling, so is the Anglican Church becoming more masculine? SHOW NOTES The Anglican Church's disappearing women https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-09/the-church-s-disappe...

Sam Kerr has been found not guilty of racially harassing a police officer and Jules and Jez are wondering how we decide if "white" is a racial slur. And Donald Trump has pulled funding from USAID, so what does that mean for global aid and for the US' position in the world. SHOW NOTES I was a London judge. Sam Kerr’s case should never have gone to trial https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/i-was-a-l...

A UK poll has found that more than 50% of Gen Z think a dictator is a good idea. Jules and Jez are flabbergasted but when you think about all the  things younger generations are up against, maybe it is not a surprise. They discuss the findings, the Grammys and seven hundred Marilyn Monroes. Show Notes: Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust: https://www.channel4.com/corporate/about-4/gen-z-trends-truth-an...

Jez attended an Australia Day event recently where last year's Australian of the Year recipients, Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long, were speaking about their work. They shared their concerns that young people aren't paying attention to sun-safe messages. They say we've seen worrying trends on social media in the last few years which glamorise tanning and sunburn. So why are #sunburn and #tanlines...