Uncommon Sense

Emma Cutting, founder of The Heart Gardening Project discusses all things street gardening and how you can get involved. She also chats about their big community-led project, the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor – an 8km wildlife corridor linking the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne to Westgate Park. The gardens have been designed for native pollinating insects and the plans being the result of inp...

Best-selling British author Johann Hari chats in-depth with Amy live on Uncommon Sense for part two of their conversation on his book, Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention . Johann discusses the crisis of attention in both children and adults, how 'big tech' saps our ability to focus, as well as the insidious environmental factors that affect our attention, like pollution and chemicals. Most...

Highly regarded geopolitical thinker and former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani speaks in-depth about his essay, 'Australia's Choice: Can It Be A Bridge To Asia?', published in Australian Foreign Affairs Magazine (July 2022). Kishore explains how Australia needs to face up to the geopolitical reality of the 21st century – that China will become the number one global power. In order to find...

Professor Chris Wallace discusses the latest in federal politics, including the recent revelations that former Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally appointed himself to five Ministerial roles in secret. Chris delves into the detail of what happened and the historical and contemporary significance of this unprecedented action by an Australian Prime Minister. She also shares what this means for de...

Professor Chris Wallace discusses the latest in federal politics, including the recent revelations that former Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally appointed himself to five Ministerial roles in secret. Chris delves into the detail of what happened and the historical and contemporary significance of this unprecedented action by an Australian Prime Minister. She also shares what this means for de...

Fiona Patten MP, Reason Party Leader and representative for the Northern Metropolitan Region in the upper house of Victoria's state parliament, joins Amy to discuss state politics and policy, as well as the upcoming state election. Fiona explains her bill which seeks to ensure that all publicly funded hospitals provide abortion services, contraception, and voluntary-assisted dying. She also discus...

Acclaimed historian Henry Reynolds discusses his award-winning book, Forgotten War – on the frontier wars between First Nations people and white colonists. Frontier violence was commonplace in Australia during the nineteenth century, but can it be characterised as a war? Henry Reynolds explains. Originally published in 2014, it has been re-released by NewSouth Publishing.

Rachel Withers, Contributing Editor to the Monthly and The Politics columnist joins Amy to reflect on the first week of the 47th Parliament of Australia, including the draft referendum question on a Voice to Parliament, Anthony Albanese's Garma speech, the politics of pandemic management, rising inflation and more. Nic Maclellan, Pacific affairs correspondent for Inside Story, speaks about his tri...

Professor Andrew Walter talks about the latest in UK politics, including the demise of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the final round of the Tory leadership contest between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. Andrew also discusses some of the other leadership contenders who have since left the field but are making their mark on the Tory party, including Kemi Badenoch. Andrew Walter is a Professor of I...

Epidemiologist Adrian Esterman joins Amy to discuss the winter COVID-19 wave of cases we are currently experiencing. With Australia's COVID cases and death rates the third highest in the world per capita in the past week, there are demands for basic public health measures to be reintroduced. Adrian is Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of SA. Andrew Walter, Professor of...

Dr Kylie Soanes, conservation biologist at the University of Melbourne delves into the State of the Environment Report, finally released by the federal government. With the report declaring that urban environments are in the best condition – rated as "good and neutral" – Kylie discusses whether this assessment reflects the reality of nature in our cities and urban ecologies. In fact, Australia’s c...

Gareth Evans AC QC, former Cabinet Minister in the Hawke–Keating governments joins Amy to talk about his new book, Good International Citizenship: The Case for Decency. Why should Australia care about poverty, human rights atrocities, environmental catastrophes, weapons proliferation or any other problems afflicting faraway countries, when they don’t have any direct or immediate impact on us? Gare...

British biologist and bumblebee expert Professor Dave Goulson joins Amy to talk about his latest book, Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse. Dave talks about how insects have been misunderstood, the vital contributions they make to our ecosystems and lives. He also explains the concerning research detailing insect decline and the reasons behind it. We can and must prevent an insect apocaly...

Amy is joined by American biologist Professor David George Haskell who talks about his new book on the evolution of sound and the beauty of listening in nature. David also shares how humans are now silencing and smothering many of the natural sounds of the living Earth. It's a crisis that is easily solvable with political will. David G. Haskell is a professor of biology and environmental studies a...

American biologist Professor David George Haskell talks about his new book on the evolution of sound and the beauty of listening in nature. David also shares how humans are now silencing and smothering many of the natural sounds of the living Earth. It's a crisis that is easily solvable with political will. David is a professor of biology and environmental studies at Sewanee: the University of the...

Epidemiologist Professor Nancy Baxter discusses the state of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other viruses of concern this winter, including the flu. Nancy talks about the experiences of people who choose to wear a mask, those with Long COVID, and those seeking timely anti-viral treatments. Nancy also explains the critical and simple things we can do to protect ourselves, each other, and the heal...

Victorian cultural leader, philanthropist, and author Carrillo Gantner AC joins Amy for an in-depth conversation about his new book, Dismal Diplomacy, Disposable Sovereignty: Our Problem With China and America (out via Monash University Publishing). Carrillo examines the recent history of Australia's poor diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and explains what the new Labor fede...

Jo Dyer reflects on her experiences campaigning as an independent in the marginal seat of Boothby and the rise of the independents in politics. Jo discusses the transformation of Australian politics with a greatly expanded crossbench, a more diverse parliament, and a likely shift in the political culture in Canberra. Jo is the author of the very prescient book, Burning Down The House: Reconstructi...

Guardian Australia environment reporter Graham Readfearn talks about the sixth mass coral bleaching event at the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, which occurred earlier this year. He describes his visit to the John Brewer Reef near Townsville and what he has learned about the causes of the Great Barrier Reef's decline. We learn about its current condition and the reef's future in the face of clim...

Dr Chris Wallace joins Amy to examine the 2022 federal election results in-depth, including the massive wins for the Greens, independents, and Labor. They also assess the extent of the media's influence, reflect on campaign strategies, and the next steps for an incoming Albanese Labor government. Chris is Professor at the 50/50 By 2030 Foundation at the University of Canberra, a former member of t...

Dr Richard Denniss, chief economist at The Australia Institute joins Amy for the final instalment of Uncommon Sense's federal election policy series – this time, on the economy. Richard debunks all the election econobabble on wages growth, productivity, inflation, and much more. He explains and evaluates the economic policies of the major and minor parties at this federal election, including on ho...

Richie Merzian, Director of the Climate and Energy Program at The Australia Institute joins Amy for part 3 of the Uncommon Sense election policy series – climate change. Richie looks at Australia's current climate targets and tells us what targets and policies are needed to keep global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees celsius or at the very worst, 2 degrees celsius. He also examines and evalua...

Former judge Stephen Charles AO QC and Dr Catherine Williams discuss what a robust and effective federal integrity commission looks like, as well as other accountability bodies and measures needed to protect our democracy from corruption. These include reforms to our political donations system, among many others. Their new book is called, Keeping Them Honest: The Case for a Genuine National Integr...

Luke Hilakari, Secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council tells us the full story behind the fight to save the John Curtin Hotel. A green ban has just been announced in the effort to protect the socially and culturally significant John Curtin Hotel in Carlton. Union workers will now refuse to work on any redevelopment or demolition of the Curtin Hotel, after it was sold to an international buy...

Journalist and author Louisa Lim discusses her new book, Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong . Among many things, Louisa explores the 2019 protest movement in Hong Kong and the rising number of speech crime convictions under the harsh national security law. She also unearths the stories behind key historical moments and seeks to insert Hong Kongers back into their social and po...