Saturday Magazine

Macca and Paul are joined live on air by Mitch Brown, Former West Coast Eagles Defender, “Calling People In, Not Out”; the first openly LGBTIQA+ past or present AFL Men’s Player in history.

Two weeks ago, former West Coast Eagles defender Mitch Brown and his partner, Lou Keck, posted a statement on social media responding to an onslaught of hate they had been on the receiving end of, including death threats.

Just over a month prior, Brown was thrust into the spotlight when he came out as the first openly bisexual man in AFL history. It was a moment that transcended the Australian sporting community, particularly amongst young people.

In the five weeks that followed, the 36-year-old became somewhat of an unofficial spokesperson for queer issues within the AFL community.

While Brown said the experience has been overwhelmingly positive for the most part, there have been times it has been exhausting and lonely.

He made national headlines in late September after he posted to his Instagram stories that “any form of homophobia” was “loser behaviour” while referencing Geelong player Bailey Smith’s social media captions during the club’s Mad Monday celebrations. This sparked a mountain of pushback.

With his close to 10 years of experience within the AFL, including being at costume parties where gay jokes were casually thrown around, he wanted to continue the conversation about the wider impact of those quips and gags.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-09/mitch-brown-hate-after-speaking-out-on-queer-issues/105862948

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Paul and Macca talk to Gabriel Shipton, an Australian film producer, human rights advocate, and founder of The Information Rights Project. As the brother of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange, Gabriel played a pivotal role in the global campaign for his brother’s release, building bipartisan coalitions across Australia and the United States, mobilising grassroots support, and leading innovative fundraising efforts, including in the cryptocurrency space. He produced the 2021 documentary Ithaka, which chronicles the Assange family’s fight for justice.

The post Sat, 11th, Oct, 2025: Gabriel Shipton, Founder & Chair, The Information Rights Project; Freedom of the Press appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Macca and Paul talk to Dr Tim Read; – Greens MP, Brunswick, Chair of the Integrity Oversight Committee; from IBAC and public integrity to the voting system, is Victoria lagging behind?

Before entering Parliament, Tim was a doctor treating and researching sexually transmitted infections like HIV. Before that, he was a GP.

Concerned by recent fires and heatwaves, Tim wanted to push the government to take climate change seriously by urgently replacing coal and gas as Victoria’s main energy sources. This is what prompted him to run for Parliament.

The priorities Tim has for his community are safer roads for walking and cycling, more green space, and trees to keep us cool in summer. He says that we also need to repair some of our crumbling public schools and build or buy more housing for our homeless.

Tim’s vision for Victoria’s future is that it runs by clean energy by the end of the decade, and cuts carbon emissions from farming, transport and other sectors.

The areas of public policy that he is most passionate about are reducing the size of the public housing waiting list and our prison population. He also wants to change the way we let advertisers promote unhealthy products such as junk food, alcohol and gambling.

The post Sat, 11th, Oct, 2025: Dr Tim Read; Greens MP, Brunswick, Chair of the Integrity Oversight Committee appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Macca and Paul are in the hotseats this week….with Stephen behind the panel.

This weekly wrap up Macca, Paul and Stephen discuss the news, views, reviews of the week; Donald Trump and his obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize.

The post Saturday, 11th, October, 2025: Weekly Wrap Up with Paul, Macca and Stephen appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Our last guest for this week is Simon Abrahams, Creative Director & CEO, Melbourne Fringe Festival, as the guide to the Melbourne Fringe has now officially been released

Simon Abrahams leads Melbourne Fringe, one of Australia’s largest open-access arts festivals. With experience producing large-scale arts programs, Simon focuses on risk-taking, audience development and supporting independent artists. Under his leadership, the festival has grown participation and championed diverse voices across theatre, music, visual art and performance.

Previously, Simon sat on the and the City of Melbourne’s Night Time Economy Activation Taskforce, the Victorian Government’s Ministerial Council for Volunteering (2017-19), the Helpmann Awards’ Theatre and Children’s Panels and the Green Room Awards’ Contemporary and Experimental Arts Panel.

In 2013-14, Simon held the position of Head of Programming at the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, where he conceived, curated and programmed over 250 events annually.  He directed The Show Of The Year (with Casey Bennetto), created 20 Questions (with Ian Pidd and Martyn Coutts) and was a regular on-stage host, facilitator, and panellist. He completed a research project with the Australia Council for the Arts investigating theatre for young people in Belgium, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands in 2014.​

Simon was awarded a Margaret Lawrence Bequest Scholarship to attend the Senior Managers’ Program at the Melbourne Business School in 2009, and is an alumnus of both the Australia Council for the Arts’ Emerging Leaders’ Development Program (2012) and Arts Leaders Program (2016-18), as well as the European Festivals Association’s Atelier for Festival Managers (2016). He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Diploma of Arts (Cultural Studies) from Melbourne University, and a Diploma of Creative Arts (Theatre Studies) from the Victorian College of the Arts.

Simon’s work has been awarded with a special 2020 Green Room Award for “Making the Impossible Possible” (Melbourne Fringe), a 2015 Melbourne Award (Melbourne Fringe), the 2011 Governor of Victoria Export Award for arts and entertainment (Polyglot)

The post Saturday, 4th, October, 2025: Simon Abrahams, Creative Director & CEO, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Guide to the Melbourne Fringe Festival, 2025. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Sally and Macca are joined live on air, by Dr Clifford Lewis,  Assoc Professor in Marketing at Charles Sturt University and runs the Regional Rainbow Survey into lives or rural and regional LGBTQIA+ people.

Signs promoting a pride event in northern New South Wales have been vandalised, sparking concern from the community.

Organisers and local drag queens say regional communities are becoming more inclusive

https://news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/lgbtq-people-call-for-more-support-and-services-in-rural-and-regional-australia

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-28/calls-for-queer-visibility-after-vandalism-at-pride-festival/105811572

The post Saturday, 4th, October, 2025: Dr Clifford Lewis,  Assoc Professor in Marketing at Charles Sturt Uni. Regional Rainbow Survey; Vandalism of Kempsey Pride Event Posters appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Macca and Sally are joined live on air by Justine Felix , GM of Animal Welfare at Melbourne Zoo, The Life of Jane Goddall.

Jane Goodall, the famed primatologist, anthropologist and conservationist, has died, according to the institute she founded. She was 91 years old.

Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a speaking tour of the United States, the institute said in a statement on social media on Wednesday.

“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” according to the institute.

The British primatologist was scheduled to speak Wednesday at an event in Pasadena, California, to students from the surrounding area. A video message Goodall recorded ahead of the event was played instead, in which she shared her thoughts on the environment and youth empowerment.

“I’ve been working on trying to make this a better world for animals, people, and the environment, flat out, since 1986, and one of my greatest reasons for hope in this battered world is the youth,” she said.

She also offered advice for others about being mindful in their everyday lives.

“Think about our ecological footprint,” she said. “I think the … key thing is to realize that every day on this planet, you make a difference, and if you start thinking about the consequences of the small choices you make — What you buy? Where did it come from? How was it made? Was there child slave labor [involved]? Did it help the environment? Would you eat it if it didn’t involve cruelty to animals? — you start thinking like that, and millions of people around the world thinking like that, then we start to get the kind of world that we cannot be too embarrassed to leave to our children.”

Goodall was only 26 years old when she first traveled to Tanzania and began her important research on chimpanzees in the wild. Throughout her study of the species, Goodall proved that primates display an array of similar behaviors to humans, such as the ability to develop individual personalities, and could make and use their own tools.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/jane-goodall-famed-primatologist-anthropologist-conservationist-dead-91/story?id=109868347

The post Saturday, 4th, October, 2025: World Animal Day , Justine Felix , GM of Animal Welfare at Melbourne Zoo, The Life of Jane Goddall. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Sally and Macca are joined live in the studio by Elvis Martin, Melbourne City Mission, Reducing Youth Homelessness

Elvis Martin is a dedicated community leader and advocate with over a decade of experience in governance and social initiatives. Currently serving as a Board Member for Melbourne City Mission Housing, Elvis brings strategic oversight to combat youth homelessness, supporting innovative housing solutions and ensuring sustainable, effective services for young people. His work in the sector has been characterized by a strong commitment to collaboration, inclusivity, and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.

Elvis’s extensive background includes roles with the National Youth Commission, where he served as a Principal Ambassador, engaging diverse stakeholders and fostering partnerships across the nation. As a former Homelessness Advisor for the City of Melbourne, he played a pivotal role in shaping policy to address homelessness, always advocating for solutions that empower and uplift those in need. With experience on various advisory councils and committees, Elvis combines strategic governance with a passion for social justice, working tirelessly to build a community where everyone has a place to call home.

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Sally and Macca are joined live in the studio by Josh Burns, Federal Member for McNamara; as they discuss  FOI, Closure of St. KIlda, PYCY, Gaza plan, Trump and so much more.

The post Saturday, 4th, October, 2025: Josh Burns, Federal Member for McNamara, FOI, Closure of St. KIlda, PYCY. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Sally and Macca are joined live on air by Bruce Wolpe, a Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the United States Studies Centre.

Bruce is a contributor on US politics to Sky News Australia, appearing regularly across its programs and for breaking news. In recent years, Bruce has worked with the Democrats in Congress during President Barack Obama’s first term, and on the staff of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He has also served as the former PM’s chief of staff.

He is author of a new book, The Committee, a study of President Obama’s legislative agenda in Congress (University of Michigan Press, 2018). From 1998-2009, Bruce was a senior executive at Fairfax Media in Sydney. He is also the author of Lobbying Congress: How The System Works (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1990, 1996).

His new book is TRUMP’S AUSTRALIA: How Trumpism Changed Australia and the Shocking Consequences For Us Of A Second Term. (Allen & Unwin 2023).

In his most recent article discusses Kamala Harri’s new memoir and who her ideal Vice-President would have been.

https://theconversation.com/kamala-harris-candid-memoir-reveals-her-ideal-vice-president-and-why-she-thinks-she-lost-266047

“Book review: 107 Days” – Kamala Harris (Simon & Schuster)

The first chapter, Sunday July 21, covers the day Joe Biden – who disintegrated before our eyes in his catastrophic debate with Trump – withdrew from the race, with no road to victory.

He did want to endorse Harris, but “not for a day, maybe two”. She told him that would be “ruinous”. She argued that she was not just “the candidate in the strongest position to win”, but “the only person” who would preserve Biden’s legacy. “At this point, anyone else was bound to throw him – and all the good he had achieved – under the bus.”

It takes courage to write about such an agonising, devastating defeat – after an historic, exhilarating campaign – so quickly and so personally. Memoirs are rarely written this quickly. (We are still waiting, five years later, for the second volume of Barack Obama’s memoirs.)

In writing this book, she got by with a little help from a “special friend”: Pulitzer prize winning Australian author Geraldine Brooks. Harris’ acknowledgements note her deep appreciation of working with Brooks, whose “ferocious and brilliant artistic insights were indispensable.”

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