Not Stupid

With a phone in your pocket and the news cycle rolling at a frantic speed, it can be so hard to slow down. Jules and Jez have been thinking about how to look at things more slowly and if it is even possible.

Plus a couple of weeks ago we asked a really weird question: "have you seen a colour that you've just never seen anywhere else?" We got so many emails about colour, from Monet's dining room to Samoan delicacies and puce lollipops. 

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez have  chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

SHOW NOTES

Jeremy's pick : https://mashable.com/article/reddit-cofounder-ai-video-deceased-mom-divides-internet

Julia's pick: https://www.instagram.com/justbeingmelani/?hl=en

So much has happened over the past week. Despite US President Donald Trump’s attack and intervention, will the ceasefire between Israel and Iran hold? How do the Iranian people feel about the regime?

Jules has been watching The Pitt and thinking about “moral injury” the idea of having to betray your own moral beliefs because of lack of staff or lack of supplies.

Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

SHOW NOTES:

Jule’s pick: www.orrca.org.au/census

Jez: https://medium.com/@truthiness/the-quiet-optimism-of-letting-go-d8472aa681ee

The situation in the Middle East got a lot more precarious this week, with Israel attacking Iran. It says it is trying to halt Iran's nuclear plans, but what does it mean for the region and what will Donald Trump do next? 

And you had such great thoughts about the best thing you've seen in a museum. We go down a rabbit hole about cane toad dioramas, family blankets and everything in between.  

SHOW NOTES

Jules' pick: https://harvardartmuseums.org/article/pigment-collection-colors-all-aspects-of-the-museums

Jez's pick: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/classic-100-concert-2025

We've seen cars on fire and riot squads on the streets, so what is going on in California? We take a closer look at the fight between Donald Trump and the Governor of California. And if you could order an object from a museum, what would you want to see or touch? The V&A in London has just opened a new museum where you can do just that.

PICKS

Jeremy's Pick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APyn8Otui_w

Jules' Pick: https://www.vam.ac.uk/east/storehouse/visit?srsltid=AfmBOorh7m_NcTjeHFxFhgxISlhgXAxkwDUpr0cimL6lykqAIsXDFMYa

Greens Senator Dorinda Cox has switched from the Greens to the Labor Party, so is it okay for a politician to change their mind? 

Is switching parties ok? Or what about changing you mind on issues? And Jules has been fascinated with the case of Lucy Letby, the British nurse convicted of killing babies while working in a neonatal ward. 

It is also our birthday, so we celebrate Not Stupid turning one...with cake.

News out of Gaza has gone from bad to worse with acute food shortages and growing concern of a famine. So are attitudes from Israel's Western allies starting to change? And will a change in attitude lead to concrete action? And last week we were talking about poison pen letters and we've heard lots of great stories. We go through our favourites. Plus a little treat from our Sydney live show.

SHOW NOTES

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova profile https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/interactive/2023/chris-evert-martina-navratilova-cancer/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_11

Joe Biden is back in the news with a cancer diagnosis, but there’s also a new book out looking at his alleged cognitive decline. So what do you need to disclose and why, if you are in public office? And in Australia the Coalition is consciously uncoupling, so Jules and Jez take a look at the messy split.

Buy tickets to our Sydney live show here:

PICKS

Jez's pick: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-16/magna-carta-copy-confirmed-to-be-original/105301724

Jules' pick: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/quiet-village-street-hit-mysterious-31585577

Jules and Jez are talking reinvention this week because there are new leaders everywhere. There's a new Pope in the Vatican and he is American, so what does he make of Donald Trump? And the Australian Liberal Party has its first female leader in Sussan Ley. Also the recipes you share, the ones you keep to yourselves and the ones you can't quite decipher.

PICKS

There's a copyright stoush over caramel slice and Jeremy and Julia have thoughts. Can you own a recipe? And is "Julia Baird's caramel slice" also just "Nagi's Caramel slice"?

And you might have noticed an election on the weekend, it was hard to miss. Labor won in a landslide, so how does the Coalition rebuild and how many women will be involved? 

JEREMY'S PICK

JULIA'S PICK

"Welcome to Country" ceremonies are the latest culture war as we reach the pointy end of the Federal Election campaign, so Jules and Jez look at why it has become such a hot button issue this week. And we had so much feedback about using Chat GPT for relationship advice, so Jules and Jez have been asking it their deepest, darkest secrets with mixed results.

JEZ'S PICK

JULES' PICK