Long Distance Call

How will the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg influence the upcoming US election?

Geraldine admired "RBG" - the incredibly intelligent jurist who went on to become a cult figure of the Left. Geraldine notes that Bader Ginsburg was lobbied to resign when Barak Obama was in power to make way for another progressive colleague. But RBG declined and the rest is history.

Also this week, Eliza is captivated by Elizabeth Strout's novel "Olive, Again".

And finding the appropriate footwear for summer.

Thanks for listening! Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email [email protected]

Tightrope Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

Olive, Again

Cook Political Report

"Herd Mentality" Pod Save America

Agent Sonya Ben McIntyre

Eliza is setting up her new house in Sydney. She was in a hurry to get it done as quickly as possible, until a friend of hers introduced her to the phrase “buy once, buy well.” Eliza’s been trying to follow that mantra and take a bit more time to consider the various items she really needs in her home.

Geraldine's been thinking about trading in her car for a new-ish second hand model. That was until she went to the car yards to find that there’s very little stock available. Eliza thinks her mum deserves to buy a new car!

Also this week, the politics of Covid-19.

And the various podcasts and articles Eliza's been reading about the US election.

Thanks for listening! Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email [email protected]

Links

The Circus – US political TV series

Who Gets To Vote In Florida? Dexter Filkins The New Yorker

Dexter Filkins on the New Yorker podcast

Can Biden’s Centre Hold? Evan Osnos The New Yorker

Evan Osnos The New Yorker podcast

Dexter Filkins on Qassem Soleimani

Eliza lived a relatively nomadic lifestyle in Australia before moving overseas. She moved from Sydney to Hobart as a cadet journalist and then onto Karratha – Perth – and then back to Sydney again.

She travelled with the basics and never invested in much furniture because it was expensive to move.

This week, she decided it was time to grow up and buy new couches, on top of whitegoods and other items that make up a family home. It prompted a case of the repatriation blues.

Geraldine has gone back to the movies this week seeing the new Australian film ‘Babyteeth’.

Also on the podcast: the Salisbury Poisoning and Alexei Navalny.

And Geraldine vents about her grammar frustration.

Thanks very much for listening to the podcast!

Join the conversation at the Facebook page “Long Distance Callers” or email [email protected]

*Salisbury Poisonings

*Babyteeth - movie

*Golden Age cinema Sydney

*Alexei Navalny – The Economist

*Alexei Navalny – BBC News

Tune in for part two of the LDC special from Victoria.

Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email [email protected]

Tune in for the first of two special episodes featuring LDC listeners in Victoria.

In this podcast I speak to Franca Mosca and Carm Gleeson.

Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email [email protected]

This week, Obama as we've never seen him before at the Democratic National Convention.

Geraldine and Eliza discuss new ways to communicate after COVID-19.

Books, podcasts and War of the Worlds - a bleak TV show that Eliza is about to give up on.

Thanks for listening! Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email [email protected]

The Noise of Time - Julian Barnes

The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion

When America Stopped Being Great - Nick Bryant

I Catch Killers - Gary Jubelin

The Lebanese Government has resigned in the wake of last week's deadly port explosion.

Ministers will limp on in caretaker mode but it will likely take months to form a new Government.

Geraldine and Eliza discuss what comes next for Lebanon? Geraldine wonders if the French can install an administrator to funnel aid money to rebuild Beirut. Eliza thinks that's unlikely. She says any political change must come from the ground up.

Also this week, Geraldine discusses the latest essay on the decline of America. Eliza finishes "Rodham". Geraldine is almost there with "Middlemarch".

Finally, why has World War 1 captured our imagination more than World War 2?

Thanks for listening! Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email us at [email protected]

The Unravelling of America

War of the Worlds – SBS on Demand

Middlemarch – audiobook

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld review – Hill minus Bill

Wind of Change podcast

Eliza records a special podcast in the wake of the massive explosion that's ripped through Beirut.

She speaks to her friends Farah Kanj and Rima Husseini for the latest on the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

If you want to help, the best starting point is the Lebanese Red Cross.

Geraldine and Eliza are feeling Victoria's distress keenly this week.

The situation is so serious that it's become hard to concentrate on anything else.

Geraldine has been reflecting on the manic pace of life before Covid-19. She wonders if people will revert back to old habits once a vaccine is (hopefully) found.

Eliza has been thinking about technology and how to live a sane online life.

Thanks for listening!

Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email [email protected]

Princess Anne on a life in the limelight

Madeleine Albright’s memoir

Pale Rider – Laura Spinney

The Big Tech Hearing - The Daily NYT

On Female Rage - The Daily NYT

Bounce Back podcast - Michael Coutts-Trotter

Hope in Hell: "I am not a spy"

Eliza is ripping through "Rodham" which is the fictionalised version of Hillary Clinton's life if she didn't marry Bill.

Eliza was initially put off my the premise of the book. Why dwell on alternative histories? It seemed like a waste of time. But she pushed on regardless and is now totally captivated.

Meanwhile Geraldine is planning to watch the musical "Hamilton" on Disney, much to Eliza's bemusement. She doesn't do musicals, leaving her mother almost speechless.

Eliza finally downloads a Taylor Swift album.

How often should you replace your (expensive) devices?

And coronavirus along the Amazon River.

Thanks for listening! Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Long Distance Callers" or email us at [email protected]

Rodham - Curtis Sittenfeld

Geraldine interviews Hannah Blair about the Clinton Affair

Hamilton musical on Disney

Taylor Swift's new album "Folklore"

Coronavirus unleashed on the river - NYT photographer Tyler Hicks takes us down the river.