March 15, 2022

Examining the NSW floods crisis; Johann Hari on ‘Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention’; Reflecting on the life and work of Australian historian Stuart Macintyre

2 hours 1 minute

Amy speaks in-depth with best-selling author Johann Hari about his new book, Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention. Johann explores the attention crisis and why we have lost our ability to focus. He tells Amy how we can take back our attention at both an individual and systemic level, but we have to fight for it. Susanna Freymark, editor of northern NSW community newspaper indyNR.com, talks about the floods crisis in the Northern Rivers. She tells us stories of helicopter and boat rescues by residents, the inadequate government response at the height of the disaster, and what life is like now for flood-affected communities. Historians Professor Joy Damousi (ACU) and Professor Frank Bongiorno (ANU) join Amy to talk about the great late Australian historian Stuart Macintyre and his masterful second volume of the history of the Communist Party of Australia, The Party. They will be launching the book at Trades Hall.

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