The Actual

Arno Michaelis once lived a life consumed by hate. Today, he devotes himself to preventing others from following this path, and recognises the urgent need to confront antisemitism and misinformation. In this deeply moving and fascinating episode of The Actual, Arno shares his journey from violent extremism to healing. His story is one of painful reckoning and hope. Arno now works with Parents 4 Pe...

Returning as a guest on The Actual, Michael Scott CSC, founder of The 2023 Foundation and author of his recently released book A Light Still Burns: Israel and the Values Worth Defending reflects on the rise of disinformation and anti-Semitism in the wake of October 7 2023. Drawing from more than 30 years of military service and his time living in Israel, he shares how these experiences shaped his...

Colonel (Ret.) Michael Scott CSC, Founder and CEO of The 2023 Foundation, joins The Actual to speak about combating antisemitism, terrorism, and disinformation. Drawing on more than 30 years in the Australian Army and his 27 months serving in Israel with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), Michael reveals why he refuses to be a bystander, the ripple effect of his personal ac...

Mark Leach is the co-founder of Never Again Is Now and a longtime church leader. In this incredible episode of The Actual, he reveals how his earlier years of personal trauma, faith, and later leadership have directly shaped his current responses to the major challenges we face today. We discussed his courageous words and actions and why he keeps standing up to Jew hatred and how this impacts Aust...

What started as one woman’s way of coping with fear and grief, through sharp humour and biting honesty, has since become one of Australia’s fiercest watchdogs for online hate. In this episode, Zara Cooper or more known as @clammy_fraud, shares how her personal response to the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, grew into a community-powered digital defence movement. From satirical posts to serio...

Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio OAM joins Relationships Under the Microscope to discuss her extraordinary journey from lawyer to rabbi. She shares her experiences as a female leader in the Jewish community, and her reflections on and post the terror attacks on Israel of October 7, 2023. Rabbi Jacki is a humanitarian at heart, and in this episode imparts her insights on faith, community, and leadership duri...

More than 600 days since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, taking hostages. In this episode I’m joined by Shoshana Eisner, the powerhouse behind Operation Golda - a grassroots mission launched from her kitchen just days after October 7. What began with a WhatsApp callout for empty suitcases turned into a full-scale relief effort that has since delivered over 26,000 kilos of trauma supplies...

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses the Middle East conflict, including war, violence, and humanitarian issues, which may be distressing to some listeners. In this episode, my guests, Tzachi and Alexis, speak from the heart of a humanitarian crisis that began on October 7, 2023, which continues to reverberate across borders in the Middle East. Reading the names of the remaining hostages and ti...

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses the Middle East conflict, including war, violence, and humanitarian issues, which may be distressing to some listeners. In this episode, my guest, Lynda Ben-Menashe, shares her journey of building bridges across communities, faiths, and histories. As President of the National Council of Jewish Women Australia, and with decades of work as an educator, writer,...

Australia stands at a turning point in this coming federal election, and in this episode, Sophie Calland of Better Australia joins us to talk about what’s at stake. An engineer by profession and a community advocate by choice, Sophie stepped forward out of concern for the growing influence of political extremism and elite activism. Through Better Australia, she champions accountable leadership, st...