Progressive Podcast Australia

On episode 310 we discuss Katie's obsession with the ice-hockey romance TV shows Off Campus (Prime Video) and Heated Rivalry (HBO Max). Some issues we cover are homophobia in ice-hockey, male characters written by women and getting distracted during a threesome.   We also give a shout out to the spoof comedy show A Touch Of Cloth (Prime Video) and byesexuality.   If you'd like to support our show,...

On episode 309 Nick is joined by Hayden, Ruby and Claire to discuss Reddit stories through a social justice lens.   The stories cover: appropriate attire for meeting your partner's parents, surprise birthdays, TikTok trends, sparkling water, leave for work to care for companion animals, movie theatre etiquette when you're allergic to dogs, sharing food on dates and calling out line cutters.   This...

Episode 308 features comedian Myq Kaplan on his Special 'Rini', the Riyadh Comedy Festival and the politics of comedy generally, plus plenty of Nick not knowing stuff.   This episode is also available in video form on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/SOXul8783MQ   'Rini' is out on Youtube the evening of November 19 US Eastern time and noon on November 20 Australian Eastern time. You can go to the li...

Episode 307 features a Reddit story about chronic fatigue as a starting point for a broader discussion about privilege, oppression and the Left.   Links:   Naomi Klein's book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World: https://naomiklein.org/doppelganger/   Confessions podcast with Sammy Peterson:  https://open.spotify.com/show/1Njlpt8rFB9HBy40s2QGGW   Rehash podcast on The Dirtbag Left: https://o...

On episode 306, Katie, Nick and Lottie discuss the Australian federal election and how they'll be voting. We cover: our love of politics being put to the test, Glutton versus Albo, the Greens under Bandt compared to Di Natale and some of the micro-parties.     How Lottie is voting:   House of reps - Wills   1. Sue Bolton - Socialist Alliance   2. Samantha Ratnam - Greens   3. Owen Miller - Fusion...

On episode 305 we discuss "illness influencer" Belle Gibson and the TV series Apple Cider Vinegar (Netflix). We also cover broader themes of "conspirituality" (drawing on Naomi Klein's book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World), evidence-based versus non-evidence-based medicine, influencers and grifters.   Additional links/sources covered:   The Search for Instagram's Worst Con Artist (docum...

On episode 304 Nick is joined by Hayden to discuss Reddit stories covering a wide range of topics, including: chosen names, religion, work, class, dogs, sexuality, gender and cheating. Happy Holidays!   This show is a 3CR Summer Special – we encourage everyone to listen to and support 3CR Community Radio! https://www.3cr.org.au/   A note to listeners that this show does not contain the music menti...

On episode 303 Nick is joined by politics professor Jason Brownlee who informs Nick of everything he has missed by just learning about US politics through Late Night with Seth Myers, which Katie watches constantly!   More specifically, the discussion covers:   Reflection on Biden's presidency including the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.   Will Harris/Walz change the direction of the Dem...

On episode 302 we discuss the time we watched a lot of Fox News – particularly the show Gutfeld! This is a Right-wing alternative to more liberal late-night talk shows like Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. We use this example to talk about broader issues of caricatures of the Left, political comedy and satire, free speech and cancel culture.   Here is the image w...

On episode 301 Lottie and Nick do a deep dive into a prank gone wrong from The Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers in collaboration with Clementine Ford, Antoinette Lattouf and Yumi Stynes. We discuss the politics of pranking and comedy, focusing on intention versus impact and call in versus call out culture. We also reflect on some of the prank-like things we've done on this podcast and simi...

  We're back to keep the Progressive Podcast Australia brand alive with our 300th episode special! The show covers a wide range of topics with a bunch of pop culture stuff, a little bit of politics and some meta podcasting about podcasting.   We discuss the books Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World Book by Naomi Klein and How We Love by Clementine Ford; the TV shows The Curse and The Traito...

On episode 299 Nick is joined by Meg and Lottie to discuss anti-capitalist alternatives, focusing on socialism and anarchism.  This show is a Summer Special from 3CR Community Radio – you can hear this discussion with the music included on the Freedom of Species page on the 3CR website:  https://www.3cr.org.au/freedomofspecies/episode/capitalism-pyramid-scheme-exploring-anti-capitalist-alternative...

On episode 298 Nick is joined by Claire to discuss the politics of ice hockey, including theme nights; Pride tape; race and class in the NHL; vegan ice hockey equipment and much more! We also touch on other sports, such as cricketer Usman Khawaja's stand for Palestine and the AFL and the Voice to Parliament.   This discussion is also available in video form on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/l7VJp1...

On episode 297 Nick and Lottie critique the idea of wanting to stay neutral on the "moving train" of Palestine and Israel - to quote Howard Zinn! Lottie also recommends a bunch of actions that you can take for Palestine. You can see all of the actions she mentions on this episode and more in this Google doc:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/13jT9PvJCnph_rGV5XCIUUFVe0KQVZsinsRo3LjYyOuo/edit   A...

On episode 296 we play speeches from the Palestine Rally: Keep standing with Gaza, stop the genocide of Palestinians by Free Palestine Melbourne. We also discuss the recent developments and history of the issue, focusing on the Australian media coverage and  the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.   Additional links:   You can listen to our recording of...

  On episode 295 we discuss how we're voting in the Voice to Parliament referendum, focusing on the Yes campaign versus the Progressive No. These final thoughts on the Voice build on a previous episode we did on the topic, 'Voicing Concerns on the Voice to Parliament', which featured speeches from the 2023 Invasion Day rally: https://progressivepodcastaustralia.com/2023/02/15/288/   Additional lin...

On episode 294 we discuss portrayals of the monarchy and the military in the TV shows Bridgerton, Riverdale and Good Trouble.   We also discuss Dylan Alcott and representation of people with disabilities, plus the documentary Disclosure (Netflix) on trans representation in pop culture. For more on trans issues and feminism, see this article:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/18/t...

On episode 293 Nick, Lottie and Hayden discuss their favourite sketches from I Think You Should Leave, series 3 (Netflix). The sketches that we cover are: purple feather, doggie door and banana breath.   We also discuss the politics of series 3, our ITYSL emoji game and Nick's reviews for the swayzine store on Etsy. For more ITYSL series 3 interviews and commentary, make sure you check out our fri...

On episode 292 we discuss the Coronation and the monarchy, as well as debating Harry and Meghan's politics.   We look into Harry's book Spare and the documentary Harry and Meghan (Netflix).   For more on some of the critiques Nick raised on this episode, check out the Revolutionary Left Radio episode Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else): https://revolut...

On episode 291 comedian Myq Kaplan joins us between albums to discuss his new album Live in Between Albums! We also cover: fitting in versus belonging, normalos and weirdos, and punk rock.   This discussion is also available in video form on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbPQGxVIMRQ   You can listen to Live in Between Albums here: https://www.blondemedicine.com/bm004   Follow Myq on soc...

On episode 290 we discuss no longer being car-free but still believing cars are the number one enemy, individual and structural actions for sustainable transport and food systems, and visible versus invisible disabilities.   In discussing how effective different actions are in tackling climate change, we refer to the article The climate mitigation gap: education and government recommendations miss...

On episode 289 Nick and Dilan discuss the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. We cover: what drew us to Getting Things Done (GTD), how it has benefitted us, some tips from the book and finally critiques of GTD. For more on the GTD book and methodology generally, see: https://gettingthingsdone.com/   This discussion is also available in video form on Youtub...

On episode 288 Nick and Lottie play speeches from the Melbourne Invasion Day rally, discuss factions within social movements and the radical flank effect, and finish by clearing up some misinformation spreading around social media regarding why January 26 is celebrated in Australia.   The audio of the speeches from the rally is from 3CR Community Radio, we encourage everyone to listen to the full...

On episode 287 Katie celebrates her 15 year veganniversary and we discuss how we transitioned to veganism, veganism becoming more popular in recent years – overtaking vegetarianism in many ways, Happy Cow's top 10 vegan-friendly cities in the world and finally, challenging ableism within activist movements.  This show is replayed from Freedom of Species on 3CR Community Radio: https://www.3cr.org....

On episode 286 Nick and Lottie discuss what journalist Naomi Klein refers to as trickle down identity politics. This form of identity politics, typified by people such as Hillary Clinton, prioritises achieving a more diverse range of people in positions of power, with the argument that if more people from marginalised groups get into positions of power, these benefits will eventually trickle down...