The Grand Scheme of Things

Behyad Jafari, CEO of Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council and star communicator, joins the podcast for a milestone episode. We cast a collective eye to an exciting automotive future, while keeping the other firmly trained on some of the political hindrances of the present (bit of a ‘lazy eye’ situation). 

There’s a mixture of FAQs and NSFAQs. Anyone who’s intrigued by EVs will get something out of it. Don’t lie, that includes you. Many thanks to Behyad, and to our listeners, and to our parents.

Talk to your doctor...about climate change. 

And never let accuracy get in the way of a good intro line. Dr Simon Judkins is an emergency physician, rather than a GP. He’s seen various pictures of environmental change in the course of a distinguished career (he’s a past president of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, for instance) and we were lucky enough to hear his thoughts on such topics as climate-related health impacts, emissions in the health sector, and the rise of ‘solastalgia’. It’s fresh territory! Thanks for listening!

Links:
‘Real-time Air Quality Index Data’ - https://waqi.info/

In this case, TGSOT travels (in a way) to the Latrobe Valley to hear from local advocate Wendy Farmer. Most of all, the chat circles around the concept of ‘just transitions’ for mining communities and a possible pivot to renewable energy. Wendy’s  got a great story and has been a significant voice on issues in ‘the Valley’ since the time of the Hazelwood mine fire.  We hope the episode proves interesting for those with/without connections to the area. Get listening to both this conversation...

...and a new playlist of song recommendations from the project so far.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/28yFqlTdIabHrXZirTA2Zb?si=Mm6Zc1axRtqz_WvLnrZfdg&dl_branch=1

As an eager-to-please uncle might say to arrivals at a family barbecue, "Here's trouble!"

This time around, we're chatting with presenter, popular comedian and Triple J icon Tom Ballard (despite our timid criticisms of the JJJs in the past). As many will know, Tom's got a penchant for political comedy, often incorporating climate messages into his work, and so we figured his perspective would represent a valuable piece of the puzzle. There's good stuff on public outrage, left-wing comedy, social movements, youth in politics, and the big 'ism' that seems to be a bugbear of several recent guests. Think it's fair to say that Tom wouldn't be one of those comedians who fills the 5th chair on ‘Q&A’ without having much to talk about. 

Hope you like it, TYVM. 

Deepening suspicions that Ben and Joe are merely agents of the Australian Greens, this edition of TGSOT features former rockstar federal senator Scott Ludlam. Having left parliament in frustrating circumstances, Scott remains committed to the environmental cause and we’d been especially keen to speak with him after reading his recent book, 'Full Circle'.  

A few technical difficulties here as a result of a flaky Zoom connection, but you’ll be unfazed if you just imagine we're speaking to a war correspondent shouting back at us from the climate frontline! Let's go!

How’s this for a logical argument?

P1: Simon Longstaff, executive director of The Ethics Centre in Sydney, is wise and articulate.

P2: Wise and articulate guests lead to worthwhile content. 

P3: Episode 25 of ‘The Grand Scheme of Things’ features Simon Longstaff.

C: Episode 25 of ‘TGSOT’ is well worth your while! Get listening!

(Conversation takes-in such topics as environmental stewardship, religion, the role of philosophy, and the health of Aus democracy)

Charlie Tauro is addicted to books. If she doesn’t get a certain number of pages read per day, she’s anxious and fidgety. It’s a condition that’s all the fault of prolific, greedy authors like Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. In this episode of TGSOT, Charlie comes face to face with a titan of the book industry, arming herself with a range of questions that she carefully aims at her adversary’s suspected weak spots. Unfortunately, in this case, the Death Star holds up. 

In all seriousness, it was our great privilege this week to feature Dr Karl. For decades, he's delighted curious Australians with honest, no-nonsense explanations to some of the universe's great questions. He’s a beloved media personality and science communicator, and he’s rightly received many awards for his efforts. 

If you enjoy this episode, please forward to one friend and/or Grant Denyer. 

…and just for the record: https://www.kqed.org/quest/1219/a-long-and-winding-dna

This time around, we enter the bewildering  jungle of economics. Topics such as carbon taxes, jobs transitions, GDP and UBI may have got the better of us, were it not for the expertise of our tour guide - decorated economist and renowned communicator Nicki Hutley!

It’s the turn of Ellen Sandell (State Member for Melbourne and deputy leader of the Victorian Greens) to contribute some of her grand ideas about climate action and politics. Ellen’s got a wealth of experience, having been involved in student activism and the public service before her rise to one of Melbourne’s highest offices. Listen up!

Do stick around for the reflection, as well, where Ben discusses his daring smack-down of the 44km Great Ocean Rd ultra-marathon*.

*https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarathon

Generation Alpha finally get their turn on TGSOT through spokesgirl Charlie Tauro!

Charlie may only be 8 years old, but she’s got a social conscience and a pretty good idea of the Earth she’d like to inherit. As her recall of the digits of pi makes obvious, these Alphas are already a force to be reckoned with!  

Charlie's Song Recommendation: Space Oddity - David Bowie