264 - Ben Abbatangelo

Oh hello. As the title suggests, this is my little way of letting you know that I'm wrapping up Like I'm A Six-Year-Old once and for all. I've loved doing it - and thanks so much for listening to it and supporting it over the years! Bloody hell! - but I feel like after eight years, hundreds of conversations, a bunch of live shows, a pandemic and a book,  it's time for me to move on and focus my energies on other things.  If you haven't already, please do check out my other weekly pod about the Greens and green politics with my friend Emerald Moon, Serious Danger - that's here to stay, and I'm excited to grow that show as much as possible in the coming years.  The LIASYO back catalogue will remain up and available for the foreseeable future, but I'll stop cheekily taking people's money via Patreon effective immediately.  You can always come see me live if you like; I'm in Sydney with show "IT IS I" RIGHT NOW - then I head to Cairns, Toowoomba and Brisbane.  Thanks again, team. I love you all! Endlessly! xx 

Ben Abbatangelo is a proud Gunaikurnai and Wotjobaluk man and a social commentator. He’s the former deputy CEO of global non-profit AIME, has appeared regularly on The Project and the ABC and has written for The Guardian and The Saturday Paper. Based on some of his recent work, I’ve sensed that Ben’s been going through something of a political shift of late, towards somewhere a bit more radical, and I was keen to talk him about it. In this conversation we discuss what that shift has involved, the naivety he’s left behind and what it means for his politics now. Ben also tells me about the legacy of the Northern Territory Intervention, explains the situation in Alice Springs and lays out the questions he’s asking about the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum and his sympathy for a progressive No vote. Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron I’m currently touring my new stand up show IT IS I all over the country: SYDNEY (this week!) | CAIRNS | TOOWOOMBA | BRISBANE To get discounted tickets to Sydney, use the promo code PODCAST For discounted tickets to my shows in Brisbane, click here Later in the year I’ll be coming back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!  Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out now @BenAbbatangelo Ben's piece on The Project about First Nations people's response to the Queen's death BEN'S ARTICLES: Reconciliation action plans let settlers take up more space, not relinquish it Inside the Northern Territory Intervention How to solve the real problems in Alice Springs Cause of the Week: The Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council (martuwarra.org)

Larissa Baldwin-Roberts is a proud Widjabul Wia-bal woman from the Bundjalung Nations and has been a progressive activist since forever. She's a co-founder of the First Nations climate pressure group SEED Mob and is the current CEO of GetUp!. In this conversation I ask Larissa about where her politics come from and how she thinks about political ideology. She outlines how she views GetUp!'s role under a Labor government, her unique perspective on climate politics and how she thinks (/hopes) the Voice referendum debate is going to play out. Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron I’m currently touring my new stand up show IT IS I all over the country: SYDNEY | CAIRNS | TOOWOOMBA | BRISBANE To get discounted tickets to Sydney, use the promo code PODCAST For discounted tickets to my shows in Brisbane, click here Later in the year I'll be coming back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!  Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out now @Riss_Bundjalung getup.org.au WATCH: Larissa Baldwin-Roberts delivers the 2022 Dr. Charlie Perkins Oration    

John Quiggin is a widely-respected economist and professor at the University of Queensland. He's a former member of the Australian Government's Climate Change Authority, and he's written widely about the scourge of neoliberalism and privatisation. I wanted to get John on the show to discuss the essay written by Treasurer Jim Chalmers for The Monthly back in February, "Capitalism After The Crises", in which he laid out his vision for "values-based capitalism". In this conversation we discuss what the hell that actually means, whether or not it's a hollow idea, and just how much this Labor government is prepared to deliver anything like it.  Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron I’m currently touring my new stand up show IT IS I all over the country: MELBOURNE (now!) | SYDNEY | CAIRNS | TOOWOOMBA | BRISBANE To get discounted tickets to Adelaide, Melbourne & Sydney, use the promo code PODCAST For discounted tickets to my shows in Brisbane, click here I’m performing my comedy lecture YES/NO at the Melbourne Comedy Festival – BOOK HERE  Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger @JohnQuiggin johnquiggin.com Check out John's Substack John's response to Chalmer's essay in The Conversation Joseph Stiglitz's response  Steve Hamilton's response

She's back! Economist, comrade and now author Alison Pennington returns to the show to discuss her debut book Gen F'ed? How Young Australians Can Reclaim Their Uncertain Futures. We discuss how all the good jobs disappeared, our massively cooked housing market, replacing intergenerational warfare with class warfare and how young people can build political power under this "progressive (?)" Labor government.  Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out now My show IT IS I is on at the Adelaide Fringe right now!  Then IT IS I heads to: | GOLD COAST | CANBERRA | MELBOURNE | SYDNEY | CAIRNS | TOOWOOMBA | BRISBANE To get discounted tickets to Adelaide, Melbourne & Sydney, use the promo code PODCAST For discounted tickets to my shows in Brisbane, click here I’m doing just 2 shows of my comedy lecture YES/NO at the Melbourne Comedy Festival – BOOK HERE  Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger @ak_pennington Alison's last appearance on the show in 2020

This week's episode brings you the conversation I had with some other generational voices at a live event at the public library in my home town, Warrnambool.  Alongside Zoomer and journalist Sharna Rogers, Xer and psychologist Dr. Jodie Fleming and Baby Boomer and celebrated aid worker Bob Handby AO, I discussed three big topics I explore in my book I, Millennial: housing, work and the climate crisis, and how these issues play out for Australians of different ages. The conversation was moderated by the brilliant Ailiche Goddard-Clegg, and it was a bloody great chat, with plenty of insights and laughs.  Thanks to Collins Booksellers and the Warrnambool Library for making it happen, and to everyone who came along, including my mum and dad. Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron I’m currently touring my new stand up show IT IS I all over the country: ADELAIDE | GOLD COAST | CANBERRA | MELBOURNE | SYDNEY | CAIRNS | TOOWOOMBA | BRISBANE To get discounted tickets to Adelaide, Melbourne & Sydney, use the promo code PODCAST For discounted tickets to my shows in Brisbane, click here I’m doing just 2 shows of my comedy lecture YES/NO at the Melbourne Comedy Festival – BOOK HERE  Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger ARTICLE: Read my interview with Jacobin about Millennial socialiast RAGE 

Polly Hemming is a Senior Researcher at The Australia Institute's Climate & Energy Program. Just this week she was giving evidence to a Parliamentary committee on the Labor Party's signature climate policy, the "Safeguard Mechanism" - which, I'm sorry to say, stinks. It stinks real bad.  Here Polly lays out exactly just how much of a mess this policy is: how it's not designed to reduce emissions that are cooking the planet, but rather protect the profits and interests of the fossil fuel lobby. We also discuss the DEEPLY dodgy world of carbon offsets and the marketisation of the natural world, and wonder how this whole thing is going to play out politically.  Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out now I’m currently touring my new stand up show IT IS I all over the country: ADELAIDE | GOLD COAST | CANBERRA | MELBOURNE | SYDNEY | CAIRNS | TOOWOOMBA | BRISBANE To get discounted tickets to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne & Sydney, use the promo code PODCAST For discounted tickets to my shows in Brisbane, click here I’m doing just 2 shows of my comedy lecture YES/NO at the Melbourne Comedy Festival – BOOK HERE  Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger @PollyJHemming @TheAusInstitute AustraliaInstitute.org Polly's speech, "What is Climate Integrity?"  Labor’s Safeguard policy is a mirror image of fossil industry greenwashing by Ketan Joshi for RenewEconomy.com.au The Great Stock'n'Coal Swindle by Nick Feik 

Oh hello. I am back again. Look at us.  This week I’m bringing you another taste of my debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else, which is now out and about in the world. This is an extract from the chapter on privatisation - "From Our Warm, Public Hands" - which lays out just how much of our public shit has been flogged off, goddammit. You can find out more about the book - and order it as an audiobook, ebook or hardcopy - here.  I'm doing some book-based events across the country; all the details are here. ALSO: I'm currently touring my new stand up show IT IS I all over the country: PERTH | HOBART | LAUNCESTON | ADELAIDE | GOLD COAST | CANBERRA | MELBOURNE | SYDNEY | CAIRNS | TOOWOOMBA | BRISBANE To get discounted tickets to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne & Sydney, use the promo code PODCAST For discounted tickets to my shows in Brisbane, click here I'm doing just 2 shows of my comedy lecture YES/NO at the Melbourne Comedy Festival - BOOK HERE  Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger

Craig "Fozzy" Foster is a former Socceroo who has become not only one of Australia’s most respected sports commentators and broadcasters, but also one of our most respected social justice advocates and human rights campaigners.  This episode is Craig's keynote speech at the 2022 Refugee Legal Annual Dinner, which I happened to MC online. It's followed by a brief Q&A between Craig, myself, and Refugee Legal's Executive Director (and former LIASYO guest) David Manne. Fozzy is extremely dedicated and clear-sighted when it comes to the fight for human rights - for refugees, for women, for workers, for sportspeople, for everyone - and this speech was a great reflection on the various campaigns he's been involved with, and the state of human rights on Australia and across the world right now. It was especially enlightening to hear Craig discuss the human rights issues surrounding the World Cup in Qatar, and how massive sporting events can sometimes provide massive opportunities to advocate for greater human rights protections.  Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron My debut book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out now!!! I'm touring my new stand-up show IT IS I all over the country in 2023 Check out with my other podcast about the Greens and green politics with Emerald Moon, Serious Danger @Craig_Foster ARTICLE: Craig Foster lashes out at FIFA over 'gutless' move at World Cup Cause of the Week: Refugee Legal (refugeelegal.org.au)

My book I, Millennial: One Snowflake’s Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires & Everything Else is out in the world! Gosh.  We launched it in Melbourne with a lovely event at the Easey Street Concert Hall in Collingwood, featuring me in conversation with my mate Osman Faruqi. Oz and I discussed the guts of the book and why I wrote it, and I read some bits out and took questions and we all had a great time. I hope you enjoy listening back to our conversation.  If you're in Sydney, you can come along to the launch at Better Read Than Dead tonight where I'll be chatting to Jan Fran; or if you're in Brisbane, come along to Avid Reader on Tuesday night to hear me chatting with my Serious Danger comrade, Emerald Moon.  Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron I'm doing some big fun shows at Just For Laughs Sydney this weekend, too