The Informer

Recent legislation in the United States has had a huge impact for sex workers here in Australia. Toby Halligan speaks with two sex workers about the way the law change has changed their lives here – and has put some others at much greater risk.

Informer Executive Producer Arion Potts asks Toby Halligan: was this the weirdest week ever in Australian politics? Toby’s got some answers.

Get your vote on! Quit Victoria’s Quitflicks are open for voting. These four short (1 minute) films try to help LGBTIQA+ people say no to ciggies. Check them out – and vote here through 2 February.

Queer rights in Russia have changed dramatically over the decades. This December 31 marked the 20th anniversary of Vladimir Putin taking over the presidency of Russia. While most of the world was thinking of the Y2K bug, Russia was entering a new era under Vladimir Putin. In the time since, there have been massive changes in how LGBT people have been treated in Russia. Informer Executive Producer Arion Potts spoke with:

* Svetlana Zakharova from the Russian LGBT Network

* Alexander Kondakov PhD and

* Dr Cai Wilkinson from Deakin University.

Toby Halligan took some time out of his busy Boxing Day to talk about Australian politics in 2019. The Prime Minister says that now is not the time for political point scoring, but when is? Will there be a Royal Commission over the NSW fires? And is that the answer?

Best-selling author Jasper Fforde sat down with Arion Potts earlier this spring. We spoke about many things, including his speculative fiction, geek culture, current state of the UK, Brexit, the Royals and his career working in film as a focus puller.

For more information on Jasper, check out his website. And there’s even a section on the Fforde Ffiesta.

Reproductive loss occurs more frequently than many people think. Some say that 1 in 4 pregnancies will end in miscarriage, and others will experience other forms, like adoption loss or infertility.

Dr. Christa Craven has written a new book, Reproductive Losses: Challenges to LGBTQ Family-Making. It’s the result of years of work following her own experience. One of the things she found was that many LGBTQ people felt like they were the only ones who faced reproductive loss. The book and companion website offer a number of resources.

Arion Potts spoke with Dr. Craven at the College of Wooster in Ohio in the USA.

Correction: Elizabeth Peel is a psychologist, not a quantitative socialist. Our apologies for the confusion.

Other related studies that Dr. Craven mentioned in our conversation include:

British psychologist Elizabeth Peel’s (2010) Pregnancy Loss In Lesbian And Bisexual Women: An Online Survey Of Experiences. Human Reproduction 25(3): 721-727.

Australian psychologist Damien Riggs’ ongoing study “Pregnancy loss: trans and non-binary experiences”

American Anthropologist Linda Layne’s (2003) Motherhood Lost: A Feminist Account of Pregnancy Loss in America

Paint is an environmental hazard that can do serious damage if it ends up in waterways or landfill. 

Thankfully, there’s a way you can recycle your paint: Paintback, a not-for-profit organisation established in Australia in 2016, will take your unused paint and paint cans off your hands and recycle them in an environmentally friendly way. 

To find out more, Arion Potts spoke with the Chief Executive of Paintback, Karen Gomez. 

A bill before the Victorian state parliament could see vilification laws in the state extended to cover the LGBTIQA+ communities.

Public submissions on the Racial and Religious Tolerance Amendment Bill close next week, and a local LGBTIQA+ legal service is hoping to hear from the community. We talk to local lawyer Sam Elkin about the bill and how to make a submission.

The City of Darebin in Melbourne’s north has affirmed the Darlington Statement.

By affirming the statement, the Council has made a commitment to human rights for Intersex people. Informer Executive Producer Arion Potts spoke with Darebin mayor Susan Rennie and Councillor Steph Amir about the council’s decision.