The election campaign is in full swing, but when it comes to the news you consume, who do you trust? The ALP paid for a group of influencers to go to the Federal Budget lock-up. So does it get them favourable coverage? Or find audiences who just aren't listening to the mainstream media? And we've heard from so many teachers about the Netflix show, Adolescence. Lots of them have ideas about how we talk to boys. And because we like to tackle the big topics, Jez has been pondering the meaning of life.

SHOW NOTES

Rebecca Sparrow on Adolescence: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccasparrow72/p/DH3KKfNBnxa/?img_index=2

Tom Holland "Umbrella" Lip Sync Battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPCJIB1f7jk

JEZ PICK: The Meaning of Life: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/22/what-is-the-meaning-of-life-15-possible-answers-from-a-palliative-care-doctor-a-holocaust-survivor-a-jail-inmate-and-more

JULES PICK: Paddington Bear statue: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/judge-reprimands-thieves-in-bear-statue-heist-your-actions-were-the-antithesis-of-everything-paddington-stands-for-180986337/

The Netflix drama, Adolescence, has been watched millions of times in the last week and it is raising a lot of questions about masculinity and how we treat boys. So why this series has hit such a nerve?

And Jez was in Canberra for the Federal Budget, so what is the government offering and have we lost the capacity for long term planning?

Buy tickets to our Sydney show here: https://www.swf.org.au/program/season-2025/not-stupid-live-with-julia-baird-and-jeremy-fernandez

SHOW NOTES

Donald Trump portrait removed: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-26/donald-trump-portrait-removed-from-colorado-state-capitol/105096442

George W Bush's portraits https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26890910

Blobfish is the fish of the year https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l125d0597o

US President, Donald Trump, is slashing diversity programs in the US, so is DEI over here too? Jules and Jez chat about what might happen in Australia. Also, Elon Musk says he has a prescription for ketamine and it comes at a time when the use of the drug in Australia is at an all time high. And Jules is obsessed with the story of the two astronauts who have spent nine months in space.

Come to our Sydney show! https://www.swf.org.au/program/season-2025/not-stupid-live-with-julia-baird-and-jeremy-fernandez

SHOW NOTES

Astronauts arrive back https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-18/iss-arrival-back-in-us-after-months-stuck-in-space/105064762

Club apologises after sports star found alive https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/clydxyv94k8o

After being slammed by the tabloids for the best part of decade, Meghan Markle (or is it Sussex?) has emerged with jam and cake and maybe a bit too much perfection. Jules has thoughts. And in the wake of ex-Cyclone Alfred, politicians have been pitching in and helping out. So what do we want from our leaders in a time of crisis?

SHOW NOTES

What we want in a leader https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656620300787

With Love, Meghan https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-05/with-love-meghan-markle-duchess-sussex-review-netflix/105009410

Grandmother gets X-rated AI message https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l1kpz3w32o

Scottish Elevator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMS2VnDveP8

Brighton Man breaks record on crutches https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2gkvn0k9vo

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez have been in Adelaide for their first live show as part of Adelaide Writers' Week. It was a chat about the news, hope, awe and sparkly suits. If you missed it in Adelaide, here is a taste!

The news can be a lot. And sometimes it feels hard to keep up and difficult to keep paying attention. So how do we cope when the world is full of triggering news? 

It's been three years since Russia invaded Ukraine and the US President Donald Trump says its time to make a deal. But he is also rewriting history with the American president saying Ukraine has been the aggressor all this time. Jules and Jez have been doing some fact checking. And how do you itemise the amount of work you do in a week? Elon Musk wants people to write lists of their weekly achievements, so will it work?

SHOW NOTES

Anne Applebaum on Ukraine: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/putins-three-years-of-humiliation/681810/

Jules' Pick: https://apnews.com/article/valentines-day-animal-shelters-fundraisers-rats-elephants-40537881d8f5ad65dd971fef11a856f5

Jeremy's Pick: https://x.com/SusanDavid_PhD/status/1894066591551086683

There's plenty of hype around Netflix's new series about serial liar Belle Gibson, but what does the story mean to cancer survivors? Plus, we've got an interest rate cut, but when everything is costing more, so will voters blame the Government at the election? And Jez has been thinking about birthday cakes and making quite a few of them. 

SHOW NOTES

Financial Review "Cost of Living" article: https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/how-australia-became-the-world-s-biggest-cost-of-living-loser-20241118-p5krgk

Julia's Pick: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-12/belle-gibson-apple-cider-vinegar-where-is-she-now/104918624

Jeremy's Pick: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/02/14/birthday-jail-visit-centenarian/

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-09/childrens-birthday-cake-book-changed-shape-kids-birthdays/10208246

Jules has been looking at some Australian and US studies about church attendance and they show an increase in young men identifying as Christian. At the same time, the number of women in the Anglican priesthood in Australia is dwindling, so is the Anglican Church becoming more masculine?

SHOW NOTES

The Anglican Church's disappearing women

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-09/the-church-s-disappearing-women/104910172

In a first among Christians, young men now more religious than young women

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/us/young-men-religion-gen-z.html

Sam Kerr has been found not guilty of racially harassing a police officer and Jules and Jez are wondering how we decide if "white" is a racial slur. And Donald Trump has pulled funding from USAID, so what does that mean for global aid and for the US' position in the world.

SHOW NOTES

I was a London judge. Sam Kerr’s case should never have gone to trial

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/i-was-a-london-judge-sam-kerr-s-case-should-never-have-gone-to-trial-20250210-p5lb1e.html

US Soft Power took decades to build. Trump is dismantling it in weeks

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/03/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-soft-power/

Jez Pick

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-11/hiv-campaigner-david-polson-qtopia-dies/104922742

Jules Pick

https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/g63725350/best-dressed-men-celebrities-super-bowl-2025/