Speakola

Kyaw Moe Tun is Myanmar's permanent representative to the UN who spoke out against the military takeover in his country in February 2021. It was a moving speech, he was choking back tears by the end and finished with the three fingered Mockingjay salute of the Burmese democracy movement.

In this episode, Tony talks to a Burmese woman in exile from her country, someone who was there for the terrible events of February 1st, but who has since left Myanmar. 'Andrea' talks about the UN speech, what it meant in terms of hope and inspiration, as well as discussing the coup in a broader context.

To read and listen to the speech, visit its page on Speakola.

Speakola now has a Patreon page which you can join If you want to offer regular support for as little as $3 per month. If it's easier, we also welcome donations in any format and any size, recurring or one off.

You can support the civil disobedience movement in Myanmar here.

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/.

Tony's books are available at https://www.tonywilsonauthor.com/

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola, and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Hill is the voice of Australian football. Manchester born, he called Premier League football and FA Cup finals for BBC in the UK, before emigrating to Australia to work for SBS and Foxsports. His calls of the Socceroos matches in their history making World Cup finals run in 2005-6 are iconic and still send shivers down the spine. In this episode he talks about how he became a commentator, why he journeyed Down Under, the mayhem of those historic nights, and what makes great commentary, with examples of great moments included. Aguerrrrrrro!

Speakola now has a Patreon page which you can join IF you want to offer regular support for as little as $3 per month. If it's easier, we also welcome donations in any format and any size, recurring or one off.

The 'Ferenc Puskas and the South Melbourne Hellas' documentary mentioned in the podcast is crowd funding here.

If you'd like to purchase a signed copy of Australia United, or any of Tony's books visit https://www.tonywilsonauthor.com/

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/.

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola, and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neil Kinnock was leader of the UK Labour Party from 1983-1992, and a member of parliament from 1970-95. With his Welsh accent, and his brilliant cadence and rhythm, he was renowned for his oratory and remains one of the most natural off-the-cuff speakers in the history of British politics. He lost the 1987 election to Margaret Thatcher, and the 1992 election to John Major.A fascinating chat with Tony about growing up working class, music, sport, his early political life, meeting Nye Bevan, the 'I Warn You' speech before the 1983 election, gaining the Labour leadership, the miners' strike, and the 1985 Labour Party Conference. He also talks about losing two elections, the rise of Tony Blair, the socialism of the COVID era, and Brexit.

The feature speech for the episode is Kinnock's speech in Bournemouth at the 1985 Labour Party Conference, where he tore strips off people in the far left faction of the party known as Militant.

If you'd like to donate support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help. Love it if you'd rate and review the podcast!

Tony's books are available at https://www.tonywilsonauthor.com/

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/.

Also looking for another sponsor for 202. Contact if keen [email protected]

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola, and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob Carlton is a well known actor in Australia most famous for his portrayal of Kerry Packer in 'Paper Giants'. He's a great speaker and this episode examines salon style storytelling at events like 'The Moth'. Rob talks about a speech he delivered at the Wheeler Centre in 2016 about an object dear to him for ''Show and Tell for Grown Ups'

You can book Rob as a speaker or MC.

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Tony's books are available online and at his website. Send an email to swap details for signed copies. Love it if you'd rate and review the podcast!

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/.

Also looking for another sponsor for 2021. Contact if keen [email protected]

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Regarded by many as the greatest speech of all time, preeminent King historian Dr Clayborne Carson attended the March on Washington as a 19 year old. He tells about the experience of seeing 'I Have a Dream' in person, and then provides insight into how the speech happened, the drafting process with co-writer Clarence Jones, and the brave and history making decision to jump off-script. Dr Carson also talks about King's life in a broader sense, including other speeches, and the powerhouse contribution of Coretta Scott King.

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Tony's books are available online and at his website. Send an email to swap details for signed copies.

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/

I'm also looking for another sponsor for 2021. Contact me if keen [email protected]

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stella Young was just 32 when she died suddenly in December 2014. She was just winning fame as a comedian (Best newcomer, Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2014) and her TED talk from June of that year was a smash. That talk about the objectification of people with disabilities as 'inspiration porn' has now been viewed over 4 million times. Her memorial at Melbourne Town Hall was an amazing event, attended by many in the intersecting worlds of comedy, media and disability. Stella's great friend Nelly Thomas delivered one of the eulogies, and it was funny and uplifting, and reminded everyone of the scale of the loss. 'That girl was on a rocket ship to the moon' is one of Nelly's beautiful closing lines. 

Nelly Thomas is a writer and comedian, and you can book her as MC or purchase one of her excellent 'Some' books here. 

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Tony's books are available online and at his website. Send an email to swap details for signed copies.

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/

I'm also looking for another sponsor for 2021. Contact me if keen [email protected]

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A different sort of episode to finish the year, as regular host Tony Wilson turns interviewee to pay tribute to his best man and best friend, Chris Daffey, who took his own life on 21 December 2013 as a result of depression. Tony talked about Chris, and the eulogy, as part of an interview on ABC Conversations with Richard Fidler on 4 May 2020. The ABC And Conversations kindly allowed us to republish the part of the chat that related to this eulogy, which was a key inspiration for the creation of Speakola.

'The Speech Collector' episode of Conversations is here.

The text and audio of Tony's eulogy is here.

Many thanks to John and Maureen Daffey for providing access to audio from the funeral service.

Chris Daffey's novel about primary school is 'A Girl, A Smock and a Simple Plan' (Penguin 2003)

Chris Daffey's speech about being an articled clerk is here, with video & transcript.

Tony's books are available online and at his website. Send an email to swap details for signed copies.

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

If you are thinking about suicide or experiencing emotional distress, help is available. There is hope. Please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia. There are equivalent services around the world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fredrik Logevall is a Pultizer Prize winning historian and the author of the wonderful JFK: Coming of Age in an American Century 1917-1956. The second volume will concern itself with the JFK presidency, but Fredrik joined Tony to jump ahead and talk about one of the great speeches of the 20th century, with its famous line, 'ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country'. This is a fascinating chat that ranges across the life of the 35th President of the United States with a particular focus on his oratory, and the writing and performance of his most famous speech.

The inaugural speech is on Speakola with transcript, as are other Kennedy speeches mentioned in this episdoe including the American University speech and the Amherst speech.

Thanks to JFK Presidental Library which allows downloads of speech audio on website as part of public domain.

Tony's books are available online and at his website. Send an email to swap details for signed copies.

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bonus from the Don Watson interview that was the feature of last week's Redfern episode. To commemorate Remembrance Day (Armistice Day), speechwriter Don Watson talks about Paul Keating's beautiful 'Eulogy for the Unknown Soldier' that was delivered at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on 11 November, 1993. The occasion was the interment of the remains of one Australian solider, dug up from a battlefield on the Western Front.

It is a revered speech in this country, the words are now chiselled into the Australian War Memorial itself and the phrase 'He is all of them, and he is one of us'; was even at the centre of a political stoush in 2013 over whether it should replace Kipling's 'Known Unto God' on the graves of Unknown Soldiers. (Kipling won the day).

This is a shorter episode than the usual Speakola length. If you are interested in Don Watson and his speechwriitng career, the previous episode is much more detailed, and discusses Watson's somewhat broken relationship with the former Prime Minister.

Watson's most recent books are 'There it is Again' (Collected Writings) and The Bush.

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Tony's books are available online and at his website. Send an email to swap details for signed copies. He mentions The Minister for Traffic Lights in this episode, a picture book about a traffic light loving politician who invents a mauve traffic light as a cure for road rage.

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Keating's speech delivered to a mainly indigenous audience at Redfern Park on 10 December 1992 is regarded as one of the great Australian speeches. In an ABC radio listener poll in 2007, it was voted the third greatest speech ofr all time, behind 'I Have a Dream' and 'The Sermon on the Mount'. Here is the video and transcript.

In this episode,Keating's speechwriter Don Watson discusses the speech, its construction, its impact. He also talks about language, Keating's gifts for language, as well as the souring of his relationship with Australia's 24th Prime Minister, after the publication of his best selling and award winning memoir, 'Recollections of a Bleeding Heart'. in 2001.

Watson's most recent books are 'There it is Again' (Collected Writings) and The Bush.

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Tony's books are available online and at his website. Send an email to swap details for signed copies. He mentions Harry Highpants in this episode, a picture book about protest and pants freedom!

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.