Sat, 21st March, 2026: John Cook, Snr Research Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, MelbUni; Do Middle‑earth and Westeros Make Sense?

Kenny and Tom talk to Tim Wilson, member for Goldstein, is an Australian Liberal Party politician currently serving as the Shadow Treasurer and the Federal Member for Goldstein in Victoria.  Re-elected to the seat of Goldstein in the May 2025 federal election, defeating independent Zoe Daniel by a narrow margin of 175 votes after a recount. Shadow Treasurer  Re-elected to the seat of Goldstein in the May 2025 federal election, defeating independent Zoe Daniel by a narrow margin of 175 votes after a recount. Appointed to this senior opposition role in early 2026. He previously served as the Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Employment, and Small Business from May 2025. His current focus includes economic reform, pushing for fuel tax cuts to address cost-of-living pressures, and advocating for home ownership through the use of superannuation.   The post Sat, 28th March, 2026: Tim Wilson, Liberal MP for Goldstein & Shadow Treasurer, Federal Politics Update appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Broden Kelly joins Kenny and Tom as they discuss his new show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Most Upsetting Guessing Game LIVE! returns to Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2026! Join members of comedy group Aunty Donna (Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun – Netflix, Aunty Donna’s Coffee Café – ABC) and their favourite comedians from this year’s Festival for an hour of chaotically cooked improv. It’s had over two million views on YouTube, but exactly what is the Most Upsetting Guessing Game in the World? Think a Whose Line is it Anyway? and Thank God You’re Here hybrid – with the power to end friendships and get a TV network cancelled. Aunty Donna is an Australian surrealist comedy group formed in Melbourne in 2011. The group currently consists of performers and writers Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane, alongside writer and director Sam Lingham, director Max Miller and composer Thomas Zahariou (né Armstrong). Their work spans numerous live shows, a YouTube channel, podcasts, a studio album, the Netflix produced Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun, the ABC produced series Aunty Donna’s Coffee Cafe and a picture book. The group also founded Haven’t You Done Well Productions together in 2018, through which they produce their own work as well as others. They have frequently collaborated with other comedians, including Michelle Brasier, Mish Wittrup, and Demi Lardner. Grouse House is a YouTube channel operated by Haven’t You Done Well Productions, intended to support up-and-coming comedians by hosting their absurdist, experimental comedy on the platform. Grouse House has produced several comedy webseries which are hosted on the YouTube channel Grouse House, including Hug The Sun (2021) directed by Aaron McCann and featuring Ben Russell and Xavier Michelides,[50] Hot Department: Dark Web (2022) featuring comedy duo Hot Department,[48] and Finding Yeezus (2022), a six-part documentary web series that revealed the identity of the creator of the 2013 video game Kanye Quest 3030 starring Cameron James and Alexei Toliopoulos and directed by Max Miller.[51][52][53] The five-part comedy Descent (2024), set on a submarine and featuring comedians Millie Holten, Madi Savage, and Ella Lawry, was also released on the channel,[54] as well as nostalgic TV parody series Gocsy’s Classics featuring Aaron Gocs. The Most Upsetting Guessing Game in the World (MUGG) is another of its outputs, featuring guests such as Daniel Sloss and Nick Cody. In 2025, Grouse House released So You Wanna Win a P*nis Pump? (SYWWAPP), a four-episode quiz show described as a mix between Taskmaster and Game Changer, hosted by Demi Lardner and featuring guests such as Paul F. Tompkins, Tom Cardy and Becky Lucas. Grouse House has released six different pilot episodes by comedian Greg Larsen. In August 2025, it was announced that a subscription service based on and named after Grouse House was to be trialled over the subsequent months and fully launched in early 2026. It would be similar in form to that of Dropout, a US streaming service derived from comedy company CollegeHumor. While the content already on the Grouse House channel is to remain available for free on YouTube, new content will only be available through this service.[49] Presently, Naimo has stated Grouse House’s focus on small-budget shiny-floor productions such as gameshows, improv and interview shows. Much of Aunty Donna’s proceeds from its Drem world tour are expected to go toward Grouse House.   The post Sat. 28th, March, 2026: Broden Kelly, Aunty Donna and Grouse House: Most Upsetting Guessing Game LIVE! returns to Melbourne International Comedy Festival appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Kenny and Tom talk to Chad Hughes, new CEO of Thorne Harbour Health. On January 2026, Thorne Harbour Health  announced the appointment of Chad Hughes as its next Chief Executive Officer. With more than 25 years’ experience in global and community health, Chad Hughes has worked internationally to deliver public health programs focused on HIV, drug and alcohol harm reduction, and LGBTIQA+ health. He has served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including Thorne Harbour Health’s Board of Directors from 2014 to 2020. “Thorne Harbour Health has an incredible history of leading the community response to HIV and expanding that legacy to meet the broader and evolving health needs of our communities. It is truly an honour to step into the role of CEO. I look forward to working alongside our communities, partners, and staff to advance the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ people and people living with HIV”. Chad Hughes https://thorneharbour.org/sexual-health/ The post Sat, 28th March, 2026: Chad Hughes, New CEO, Thorne Harbour Health. CEO Updates appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Kenny and Tom talk to Tarsh Jago about Cherub, her show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Cherub is the debut solo stand-up show from Palawa comedian Tarsh Jago. Inspired by a tweet that read, “You don’t look Aboriginal, you look like the cherub from the Pears soap”, this hour blends razor-sharp comedy with heartfelt storytelling about race, queerness and identity. Tarsh takes audiences on a hilarious and confronting journey through the contradictions of being Blak and queer, with punchlines that sparkle and stories that linger. Bold, cheeky and deeply personal   https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/cherub/ The post Sat, 28th March, 2026: Tarsh Jago Cherub, Melb. International Comedy Festival. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Tom and Kenny talk to Melbourne Comedian Alex Ward. Alex Ward is a comedian, writer, and presenter, best known for her whip-smart punchlines and regular appearances on Network Ten’s Have You Been Paying Attention? As a QLD’er living in Melbourne, Alex is always cold, which makes the warmth she brings to the stage all the more impressive. Alex is known for her personal, engaging and punch-line heavy comedy. Alex has appeared on Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Project, Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala, Upfront, ABC Comedy’s Up-late, Audible’s 2019 live stand-up series, Tonightly with Tom Ballard, Triple J’s Good Az Friday, and performed at Splendour In The Grass. Alex has written for various TV shows including The Project, Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, Monday’s Experts and more.   https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/literally-anyone/?return=%2Fbrowse-shows%2F%3Fpage%3D2 The post Sat, 28th March, 2026: Alex Ward, Comedian, Literally Anyone; Melbourne International Comedy Festival. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Kenny and Tom are joined live on air by Nicholas Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Latest from Melbourne Town Hall First elected as a Councillor in 2016, re-elected as Deputy Lord Mayor in 2020 and then elected Lord Mayor in 2024. As of March 2026, Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece is championing the retail resurgence in Melbourne’s CBD, reporting a 40% increase in Bourke Street Mall foot traffic in 2025. Key initiatives include strengthening city safety, supporting the new “Make Room” homelessness project, and driving renewable energy for data centres.  Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece is the portfolio head for Infrastructure and portfolio deputy for Finance, Governance and Risk and Aboriginal Melbourne. He is Council’s representative on the following committees and external bodies: Delivery Unit Advisory Committee Chief Executive Officer Employment Matters Advisory Committee Melbourne Art Trust First Nations Committee Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation Council of Capital City Lord Mayors Shrine of Remembrance C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Melbourne 9 (M9) Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) Royal Humane Society of Victoria Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices The post Sat, 28th March, 2026: Nicholas Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Latest from Melbourne Town Hall appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Kenny and Tom are joined live in the studio by Aiv Puglieli, MP Greens Nth Eastern Metro. The Victorian Greens are calling on the Allan Government to make public transport in Melbourne free for the next month to provide immediate relief from cost of living pressures as petrol prices soar. The Greens say this petrol price spike is exactly why the government should be helping people shift away from expensive petrol cars by making public transport cheaper and more accessible, investing in bike lane infrastructure, updating bus networks, running more frequent public transport services and helping people switch to electric vehicles. The Greens say that making public transport free for the next month is something the government could do right now to provide immediate cost-of-living relief, while working on longer term measures. According to a PBO costing, making public transport free for a month would cost the government approximately $79.4 million but could save a commuter household up to $500 from their family budget for the month. Public transport has continued to get more expensive in Victoria.  In other places like New Zealand and Western Australia, public transport fares have been slashed significantly and Queensland offers 50c fares. https://greens.org.au/vic/news/media-release/greens-call-government-make-public-transport-free-next-month-fuel-prices The post Sat, 28th March, 2026: Aiv Puglielli – MP Greens, Nth Eastern Metro Greens Call for Government to Make Public Transport Free appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Kenny is hosting this week with Australian and International, Melbourne based comedian, Tom Ballard as they discuss the news, views and reviews of the week that was. Tom Ballard is returning to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) in 2026 with a new stand-up show, “Be Funny Challenge (Impossible)”, running from March 26 to April 19, 2026, at Trades Hall.  After a year away, Ballard’s new 2026 show is described as a “relentless whirl of opinion, silliness, and increasingly bad-taste jokes,” focusing on politics, social issues, and current events.  Nominee 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award for Most Outstanding Show Nominee Best Comedy 2023 Melbourne Fringe As seen on Fisk, Deadloch, Tonightly, Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee and Deal Or No Deal (for some reason). As heard on podcast Serious Danger. After a year away from touring, doing nothing but being very nice and uncontroversial, Australia’s Special Envoy For Comedy Tom Ballard returns in 2026 with a new show packed with heaps of jokes about all the stuff. https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/be-funny-challenge-impossible/ The post Sat, 28th, March, 2026: Weekend Wrap Up with Kenny Hill and Tom Ballard appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Our last guest today,  John Cook, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne Do Middle‑earth and Westeros make sense? Climate scientists modelled them to find out…. https://theconversation.com/do-middle-earth-and-westeros-make-sense-climate-scientists-modelled-them-to-find-out-277232 “For a world to be truly immersive and believable, readers apply what is known as the “principle of minimal departure”. This assumes anything not explicitly magical, such as a planet’s weather or gravity, must adhere to the laws of the real world. In this spirit of rigorous worldbuilding, we just published a new study where we merged the disparate disciplines of literary worldbuilding and climate modelling. We used complex computer programs – the same ones used to forecast Earth’s future warming scenarios – to simulate the climates of famous fantasy settings such as Tolkien’s Middle-earth, the continents of Westeros in the Game of Thrones, and the far-future Earth in The Wheel of Time series. We also built a model for a fictional world developed by one of us.” John Cook is a research assistant professor at the Centre for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. He has a PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of Western Australia. He founded Skeptical Science, a website which won the 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for the Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge and 2016 Friend of the Planet Award from the National Centre for Science Education. J ohn co-authored the college textbooks Climate Change: Examining the Facts with Weber State University professor Daniel Bedford. He was also a co-author of the textbook Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis and the book Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand. In 2013, he published a paper analysing the scientific consensus on climate change that has been highlighted by President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. In 2015, he developed a Massive Open Online Course at the University of Queensland on climate science denial, that has received over 25,000 enrolments. He currently co-hosts a podcast Evidence Squared on the science of science communication The post Sat, 21st March, 2026: John Cook, Snr Research Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, MelbUni; Do Middle‑earth and Westeros Make Sense? appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and John talk to Brendan Donohoe, a distinguished journalist and former 7NEWS Melbourne State Political Editor for 30 years, is a recurring moderator at the Sorrento Writers Festival.  Donohoe,  veteran Australian journalist who served as the State Political Editor for 7NEWS Melbourne for 30 years, from April 1990 to April 2020. Over his 42-year career in journalism, he became one of Victoria’s most respected political reporters, covering 11 Victorian Premiers from John Cain to Daniel Andrews. Donohoe is a the moderator for this seminar at the Sorrento Writer’s Festival. From Menzies To Pauline, Turnbull To Taylor: What is an Australian conservative? Sean Kelly, Amy Remeikis, Don Watson with Brendan Donohoe   At a time when political pundits are questioning the Liberal -National Party alliance and its capacity to win government, our panel dissects the past, present and future of conservative politics in Australia. http://From Menzies To Pauline, Turnbull To Taylor: What is an Australian conservative? The post Sat, 21st March, 2026: Brendan Donohoe, Fmr State Political Editor, 7 News Melbourne; From Menzies To Pauline, Turnbull To Taylor: What is an Australian Conservative? appeared first on Saturday Magazine.