Sunday Dispatch

Originally broadcast 13/2/22

Upon the Taliban's recapture of Afghanistan in 2021, foreign aid collapsed and the United States government froze the entire financial reserves of the state of Afghanistan. Facing potential humanitarian catastrophe, the state and people of Afghanistan now have little funds to purchase vital food and medical resources.

Journalist and historian Vijay Prashad recounts how the previous U.S. war and occupation led to the dire state of the country today, and unpacks the cruelty of sanctions and financial warfare upon regular civilians.

For further reading on this topic:

Humanitarian crisis worsens in Afghanistan after five months of economic sanctions

Biden Moves to Use Frozen Afghan Funds to pay victims of 9/11 attacks

The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power - by Noam Chomsky and Vijay Prashad

Sunday Dispatch is recorded the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay respects to their elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded, this always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

Graphic Design: Karina Aslikyan

Intro Theme: Sophie Gordon

Intro Music: Talk Talk – Ascension Day

Outro Music: The Pop Group - Feed the Hungry

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Originally broadcast 27/2/22

Lindsay is joined by journalist Alex Sammon, to discuss his story about the rampant logging of Romania's old growth forests.

Despite claiming a high sustainability record, Ikea sources large amounts of wood from Romania, much of which is suspected to be logged illegally. Alex talks about the dense network of political factors underpinning the logging- the role of violent "wood mafias" attacking activists, the impact of Romania's exit from the Soviet Union into global capital markets, and the role of dodgy sustainability accreditations in greenwashing firms like Ikea.

A gripping story in it's own right, Alex's piece also sketches how our global economy and environment has changed in the last 30 years.

For further reading on this topic:

Alex's Story -  Ikea’s Race for the Last of Europe’s Old-Growth Forest

Sunday Dispatch is recorded the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay respects to their elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded, this always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

Graphic Design: Karina Aslikyan

Intro Theme: Sophie Gordon

Intro Music: Talk Talk – Ascension Day

Outro Music: Pulp - The Trees

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Originally broadcast 6/2/22

Yemen has been embroiled in a brutal civil war since 2014. Indiscriminate attacks on civilian life and infrastructure by a coalition spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and the UAE has led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. 

Dr Shireen Al-Adeimi joins us to talk about the origins of the war, and the culpability of the United States and other Western nations like Australia in assisting the Gulf States' continuance in the war.

For further reading on this topic:

Yemen Could Have Peace- If the Saudis Stop Demanding Victory 

Australia will not ban arms sales to countries involved in Yemeni civil war (from 2021)

Sunday Dispatch is recorded the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay respects to their elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded, this always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

Graphic Design: Karina Aslikyan

Intro Theme: Sophie Gordon

Intro Music: Talk Talk – Ascension Day

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Originally broadcast 16/1/22

Lindsay chats to Peter Maybarduk, director of advocacy organisation Public Citizen, about the vaccine crisis facing the majority of the poorer regions of the world, where many are yet to access a first vaccine dose.

Peter unpacks how pharmaceutical companies and Western nations are using property rights to block access to vaccine information and technology, and critiques the current vaccine sharing deals that are not meeting the current need for much of the Global South.

For further reading on this topic:

• How to Make Enough Vaccine for the World in One Year

• How Oxford were going to give away their vaccine for free, before signing an exclusive deal with Astrazeneca

• Did Vaccine Apartheid Cause Omicron?

Sunday Dispatch is recorded the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay respects to their elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded, this always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

Graphic Design: Karina Aslikyan

Intro Theme: Sophie Gordon

Intro Music: Talk Talk – Ascension Day

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.