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/

A UK poll has found that more than 50% of Gen Z think a dictator is a good idea. Jules and Jez are flabbergasted but when you think about all the  things younger generations are up against, maybe it is not a surprise. They discuss the findings, the Grammys and seven hundred Marilyn Monroes.

Show Notes:

Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust: https://www.channel4.com/corporate/about-4/gen-z-trends-truth-and-trust#:~:text=Meet%20Gen%20Z%3A%20a%20diverse,why%20urgent%20action%20is%20needed.

Jez' pick: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-02/2025-brighton-jetty-marilyn-swim-fundraiser-cancer-council-sa/104886846

Jez attended an Australia Day event recently where last year's Australian of the Year recipients, Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long, were speaking about their work. They shared their concerns that young people aren't paying attention to sun-safe messages. They say we've seen worrying trends on social media in the last few years which glamorise tanning and sunburn. So why are #sunburn and #tanlines trending?

SHOW NOTES

A TikTok tanning trend is making the rounds on social media. Here's why it's dangerous: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-04/dangerous-tiktok-tanning-uv-levels-trend/104776700

At the Australian Open, a protester yelled out in the quiet stadium at the end of the men's tennis final. Jules and Jez unpack what it was all about and how sports deal with allegations against players.

And after hosting a few days of Australia Day events, Jez has been thinking about how we mark important dates.

BUY ADELAIDE SHOW TICKETS HERE

https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/2025-writers-week/not-stupid/

JULES PICK

The Remarkable Normalcy of Being Disabled and in Love: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/well/family/interabled-relationships-burcaw.html

JEZ PICK

Ariana Grande reveals the truth about "Holding Space"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOo-e-tR3PI

Have you come back to work after a summer holiday? Are you thinking that this year, you'll get your work/life balance sorted? Are you wondering if it really is possible? 

Jules and Jez chat about whether we should have a "right to disconnect" from the office and it turns out they are just very different humans. 

The Right to Disconnect https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-01/we-now-have-the-right-to-disconnect-but-has-it-changed-anything/104711380