The Grapevine

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Inala Cooper, director of Murrup Barak, The Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development at Melbourne Uni, to talk about her essay for the National Interest Marrul: Aboriginal Identity and The Fight For Rights. And executive director at Refugee Legal, David Manne, steps into the studio to talk about the new Federal Government...

On this episode of the Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies, Hugh White, to talk about Australia's America-centric approach to strategic policy in the Indo-pacific. Prof White explores the high stakes geo-politics of the Pacific in the latest edition of  The Quarterly Essay , Sleepwalk to War: Australia's Unthinking Alliance with America. And Guar...

Petra Stock provides a progress update on her Freedom of Information research and reporting. Petra digs into the details of remote learning and teaching environments during the pandemic. VCOSS CEO Emma King breaks down the 5.2 minimum wage rise in the context of Australia's housing and cost of living crisis.  Renew Economy’s Giles Peterson explains the unprecedented decision by the Australian Ener...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Dylan gets on the line with the CEO of the Grattan Institute, Danielle Wood, to discuss the gender balance in parliament as the newly elected Labor Government installs record numbers of women to the Cabinet.  Then, as Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong jet all over the Pacific in the first days of governance, Director of the ANU Pacific Institute Dr George Carter hel...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with First People’s Assembly of Victoria co-chair, Marcus Stewart for an update on all things Vic Treaty. A Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation, Stewart gives his thoughts on the election of a federal government ostensibly committed to holding a referendum towards achieving the Treaty from the Heart this term. Plus Grapev...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with journalist and author George Megalogenis to break down the outcome of this historic election which saw independents topple traditionally safe Liberal seats. Then, Researcher and Policy Analyst with Migration Council Australia and an expert on Turkish democracy, Dr Tezcan Gümüş, gets on the mic to talk about Turkish President Re...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Council to Homeless Persons chief executive, Jenny Smith, to discuss the funding cuts to the From Homelessness to a Home initiative in the Victorian state budget and what that means for homelessness state wide. Then, writer and academic, Dr Adrian De Leon, calls in to talk about the outcome of the Philippines' presidential elec...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert to discuss her resilience and courage in the face of her wrongful 804 days of incarceration in Iran's most notorious prison after being accused of espionage. Then, Cam Walker from Friends of The Earth calls in to discuss federal election commitments from candidates. Walker predicts that the 2022 federal e...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Walkley award winning journalist and author Jeff Sparrow to break down the geopolitical maneuvering between China and Australia in the Pacific region ahead of the federal election. Then, CEO of Inclusive Australia Andrea Pearmen calls in to talk about their latest report that asks the question, "how inclusive is Australia?". An...

On this episode of the Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with urban planning guru Dave Nichols to discuss the Montague St Bridge and it's calamitous history.  Then, author and journalism academic Andrea Carson breaks through the political spin, campaign lies and misinfomation of the federal election, and discusses the efficacy of political journalism in the current climate. Prof Carson is...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with journalist and author,  George Megalogenis to shed some light on the federal budget in the context of the current state of the economy and Australia's reliance on WA's mineral trade with China.  And then author and journalist Margaret Simons calls in to discuss the role that Independent candidates may play in the imminent feder...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja gets on the line with executive director of Refugee Legal, David Manne, to talk about the Federal Government finally accepting New Zealand's offer for resettling refugees and asylum seekers after nine years of offshore detention. Manne explains where things are currently at with the deal and what a new government should focus on if elected. And Transport and...

Presenter Dylan Bird is joined by Walkley Award winning journalist Jeff Sparrow to discuss whether battling back-to-back natural disasters is distracting Australians from fighting the climate crisis which he explores in his column in The Guardian. Then, PhD candidate at Melbourne Graduate School of Education Alicia Flynn and climate youth activist Varsha Yajman explain the Australian Journal of En...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan are joined on the line by CEO of VCOSS, Emma King, to discuss how the State government has backflipped on a proposed levy on property development that would be used to fund social housing. They also talk with former secondary school principal Chris Bonnor about the book he co-authored with Tom Greenwell, Waiting for Gonski: How Australia failed its...

Kulja and Dylan are joined by urban planning expert Dave Nichols, who delves into the significance of the names of places, the convoluted origin of the name of Melbourne, and the truth behind the English lord that is the city’s namesake. AFLW player Libby Birch discusses the opportunity for the inequality in AFLW player wages to be addressed when the current AFLW collective bargaining agreement ex...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Cam Walker to discuss Origin’s early closure of Australia’s largest coal fired power plant, Eraring in NSW which will now close in 2025. Then, journalist and co-founder of Declassified Australia, Anthony Lowenstein, calls in to break down Australian corporate exploitation in Afghanistan, ‘ Mystery surrounds how an Australian mi...

On this episode of The Grapevine Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Walkley award winning journalist and author Jeff Sparrow to break down Defence Minister Peter Dutton’s anti-China rhetoric in the context of Russia’s threats to invade Ukraine and how this aggressively hawkish national security stance may impact the Coalition at the election.   Then, Hannah McLeay from Greenpeace Australia dials...

The Grapevine is back for 2022!  For their first show of the year, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with author and journalist Elle Hardy to discuss her new book  Beyond Belief - How Pentacostal Christianity is taking over the World which is out now via Newsouth Books. Hardy exposes the Pentecostal agenda: not just saving souls but transforming societies and controlling politics. Then, research fel...

On the final episode of The Grapevine for 2021, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Melbourne author and broadcaster Tony Wilson for the fifth, and very prestigious, Speakolies awards! They analyse and break down the good, the bad, and the ugly of the most iconic speeches of the year that Tony has curated on his website speakola , and discuss the art of oration.  Thank you to the listeners and th...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja gets on the line with Cam Walker from Friends of the Earth to talk about some of the biggest moments in climate politics in 2021. Walker discusses Labour’s new climate policies, including their announcement that they would increase emissions reduction targets if elected. Plus, Dr Catherine Williams, research director at the Centre for Public Integrity calls...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with constitutional law expert, Associate Professor Luke Beck from the faculty of law at Monash University, to discuss the Federal Government’s third draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill. Prof Beck breaks down what’s in the bill, how it impacts state and federal powers, and what it could mean for the LGBTQI+ community. And a n...

On this episode of The Grapevine, as the COP26 climate summit wraps up, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Walkley Award winning journalist, author and regular voice on The Grapevine, Jeff Sparrow, to break down the influence of corporations at the negotiations, along with accusations of greenwashing. Sparrow has a new book out;  Crimes Against Nature: Capitalism and Global Heating,  exploring t...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with the Australian Workers’ Union National Secretary, Daniel Walton, to discuss the historic win for fruit workers – who have been historically exploited by the agricultural industry – securing a minimum casual rate of pay. Then, journalist Sean Kelly calls in to talk about his new book, The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison . Kel...

Content Warning: This episode touches on some sensitive topics including sexual violence (segment discussing sexual assault at the 36:38 mark and ending at 59:30 if you’d prefer to skip this). If anything you hear is distressing please reach out to someone who can help keep you safe. Or remember you can call 1800respect on 1800 737 732. On this episode of The Grapevine , Dylan gets on the line wit...

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja gets on the line with ecologist and historian Benjamin Gray to talk all about his new book Extinct: Artistic Impressions of our Lost Wildlife . Grey captures 39 unique Australian species that have been lost forever or are close to extinction. Then, Dylan speaks with singer and songwriter of Parquet Courts, Austin Brown, about the band’s new album Sympathy Fo...