The reMAKERs

Ah, fiction. Just when you think you’ve had enough of the real world, here comes our refuge. Our imagination and joy. Our space to play and safely try on bold ideas, delve into our pain, recover our humanity; laugh, cry and walk in each other’s shoes.

Recently inspired by some great guest interviews, Millie and Lily are back to talk about the arts, the stories that have shaped them, and whether art and government/power should mix at all, or keep firmly to their separate corners.

Millie tells us all about the “Practical Utopias” fellowship she’s doing with Margaret Atwood at the moment, while Lily admits to some embarrassing film and tv loves. (Post-script: she can’t believe she forgot to mention The West Wing!)

It’s a chat about reMAKING, for storytellers and lovers of story everywhere.

What are the stories that have shaped you, and what are the stories you think humanity needs to be telling next? Why do stories about how the world can be better often read like government reports (‘boring and bossy’), or are we getting better? Leave your comments on social media or get in touch via email/voicemail — details below.

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention

Failed Utopias and why Margaret Atwood started the Practical Utopias fellowship

Cargo ships of the future, powered by wind turbines

Nashulai: The First Maasai Conservancy

Taboo — the company on a mission to end period poverty

Mushroom burial suit, water burial

The Australian government’s creation of SBS, the most diverse broadcaster in the world

The founder of the public relations (incorrectly referred as Freud’s cousin — it was his nephew, Edward Bernays)

Dr Wes Watkins, creator of the Jazz and Democracy project (coming up on our next episode, stay tuned)

Recommendations

Ted Lasso

Heartbreak High

Dateline (SBS on Demand): The World’s Happiest Country

Things you can do

Enjoy some art.

Make some art.

Share this podcast, write a review, tell a friend.

Join the conversation. Find us on social media (@Australia reMADE), leave a message for the show by calling (02) 7257 2619, or email us at [email protected].

A story, well told, has unmatched power. So how do we tell stories that take us through pain, overcome division and make room for all of us to be our full selves and still belong? What is it about story that makes it one of humanity’s oldest and best technologies? And how can those of who want to change the world especially tell better stories — stories that have a moral, without being moralising?

Renowned playwright S. Shakthidharan joins us on the pod to explore the power and presence of story: how it connect us — literally in our breath when a live audience is engrossed in a show. How it can divide, or heal. How it teaches us to be publicly vulnerable, that most exquisite and excruciating of emotional experiences. He speaks deeply from his own story and experience of the stage as a sacred space, in a conversation we didn’t want to end.

Shakthi is a Western Sydney storyteller and producer who works in theatre, film, music and television. He has Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry. His debut play, Counting and Cracking, was a box office and critical tour de force that swept the Helpmann awards (equivalent of the Tony’s in Australia), and has just returned from the Edinburgh Festival as well as Birmingham. Counting and Cracking is the story of the descent into civil war in Sri Lanka and the people who tried to stop it — as well as a cautionary tale about the politics of division.

His new play, The Jungle and Sea, is written in honour of those who survived the war, and the ways they found to uphold their dignity even when everything else was falling down around them. It will debut in Sydney at the Belvoir Theatre later this year.

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention

Community art — or art as a social practice.

Things you can do

Get tickets to The Jungle and the Sea (in Sydney from 12 Nov-18 Dec).

Check out Shakthi’s new film in production, The Laugh of Lakshmi.

Learn more about the Sri Lankan civil war and recent developments.

Check out Shakthi’s production company Kurinji for more amazing projects coming our way across music, theatre, television and film.

Share this episode on social media or with friends, write a review on ITunes or Spotify.

Leave a message for the show by calling (02) 7257 2619, or email us at [email protected]

Where were you in the 2020s?

Our next guest wants you to be able to say, ‘I was part of it, leading the change’.

Dr Joëlle Gergis is one of the world’s leading climate scientists and, we reckon after this conversation especially, a national treasure. She’s devoted her career to the cutting edge of climate science: researching, teaching, writing and contributing to the UN’s IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. That’s the global, state-of-the-art review of climate change science, led by an international community of experts who volunteer their time.

So are we too late? How bad is it, really? What would the natural world look like if we did everything right from here? And how do scientists like Joëlle cope with all this? She peels back the curtain in this revealing, human and compassionate chat about our Earth, our humanity and her philosophy for living a meaningful life.

Dr Gergis is an award-winning climate scientist, senior lecturer at the Australian National University and writer of Sunburnt Country: The history and future of climate change in Australia. Her latest book is out now — Humanity’s Moment: a Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope. It’s a great read for science lovers, people lovers, and anyone wanting to be expertly guided through the story of our Earth’s past, present and possible futures. Her message: it’s up to us.

“Ultimately we’re not talking about a scientific issue here,” says the scientist. “This is a moment where we need to think about, ‘what does it mean to be human right now?’ It’s actually a moment of healing.” Join us, for a conversation you won’t forget.

SHOW NOTES

Recommendations & things mentioned

An excerpt from ‘Humanity’s Moment’

Joanna Macy and ‘active hope’

Rebecca Solnit, ‘Hope in the Dark’

Lisa Wells, ‘Believers: Making a Life at the End of the World’

Article on taking the blame for ruining the planet

reMAKER Claire O’Rourke (season 2, ep 7) and book ‘Together We Can’

Things you can do next

Buy your copy of Humanity’s Moment: A climate scientist’s case for hope.

Get politically active: find a group, back a candidate, join a march, donate, write letters to the editor, engage with your MP.

Get active within your networks and spheres of influence at home, at work, socially, in your community.

Look at the way you power your home, the food you eat, the next car you purchase, etc…

Can’t go solar? Ask your power company if they can offset your energy use at no extra cost to you (see example here).

Search your super fund plus “sustainable” and see what options there are, or switch. (Market Forces offers free, independent guides to banking, super, insurance and other products that ‘use your money as a force for good’.)

Share this episode on social media or with friends. Write a review on Apple or Spotify, spread the word.

Thoughts? Leave a message for the show by calling (02) 7257 2619, or email us at [email protected].

This conversation is for anyone who’s ever been ambivalent about their phone (or secretly longed to smash it), as well as those of us trying to thoughtfully navigate our way through a beautiful, troubled, at times exhausting world with love, hope and joy.

On today’s episode of the reMAKERS, Millie and Lily sit down with Toni Hassan. Toni is a Walkley Award-winning journalist, writer, visual artist, parent and the author of Families in the Digital Age — a book about parenting in these complicated tech-heavy times. She’s also an Associate with the Centre for Responsible Technology with The Australia Institute, and an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University.

Toni was born in Durban, South Africa, and grew up on Gadigal land in Sydney.  She started her career in journalism working for the ABC, but as the tech revolution took hold found herself longing to be able to switch off more, model something different to her kids and create in new ways. This led her to complete her Honours in visual arts in 2021, and today she’s recognised as an emerging artist, with work held in the public collection of the ACT Legislative Assembly.

This is a deeply reflective, wise and wide-ranging exchange spanning big themes — from apartheid and internalised racism to the ‘tyranny of the urgent’ in the age of the smart phone; as well as the role of the arts in helping us to lose ourselves and find ourselves. We invite you to let Toni’s words wash over you and maybe even settle into your bones. Then go get muddy and let us know if you smash your phone.

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention

Apartheid

Jim Crow

Ubuntu: ‘I am because you are,’ and the teachings of Desmond Tutu.

Bunnings (and others) using facial recognition software.

The ACT government introducing Google Chrome books from year 7.

Things you can do

Buy a copy of Families in the Digital Age: Every parent’s guide.

Read more of Toni’s written work. (“Time to reclaim the lifeblood of human society,” and “Facebook is ripping society apart, and other reasons to abandon social media,” are two that touch on today’s themes.)

Think about when you’re playing to your ‘small self’ vs your ‘big self’. Permission to opt out of the crap!

Check out the Centre for Responsible Technology, increase your digital literacy and join with others interested in remaking tech for the public good.

Start a conversation with your MP, school or workplace about the role of technology in our lives and how it can serve us better.

Make art, garden, spend time in wild spaces, find ways to quiet your mind, create intentional rituals, get muddy.

Share this episode with friends (yes, we recognise the irony of asking you to post on social media). Write a review, spread the word.

Leave a message for the show by calling (02) 7257 2619, or email us at [email protected].

If you’re someone who has ever felt freaked out about the climate crisis, this is the episode for you.

In this episode of the reMAKERS, Millie gets chatting with Claire O’Rourke — campaigner, behaviour-change expert and author of Together We Can: Everyday Australians doing amazing things to give our planet a future. 

Claire and Millie explore climate grief (and why the thought of facing it makes them both want away shrieking, even though they both believe it’s a good thing to be open about), some of Claire’s favourite stories of Australians meeting the climate crisis with mind-boggling ambition, and the game-changing reality of positive tipping points.

Claire describes herself as “totally climate freaked-out,” which is why she helps people and organisations take action on climate change, currently as Energy Transformation Program Co-Director at The Sunrise Project.  Previously Claire was National Director of Solar Citizens, a community-led renewable energy advocacy organisation.  A former journalist, she has extensive experience campaigning for social impact — including driving communications for the Every Australian Counts campaign for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and as a senior leader at Amnesty International Australia. 

This is a conversation that will do more than just fill you with hope. It’s balm for the soul, and inspiration to make your own climate action awesomely enjoyable, ambitious and effective. Together We Can. 

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention

The Good Grief Network
The Art of Hosting
Reconnected, book by Andrew Leigh and Nick Terrell
Climate Compass research - webinar recording with Claire O’Rourke and Rebecca Huntley; article by Rebecca Huntley
Climate Salad
Bardee
Uluu
Lighter Footprints
All We Can Save Project

Things you can do 

Buy a copy of Together We Can (half the royalties from book sales go to Groundswell Giving).
Check out ClimateActionStartsHere.com - Claire’s comprehensive, up-to-date list of resources, tools and ways to act.
Share this episode on social media or with friends. Write a review, spread the word.
Leave a message for the show by calling (02) 7257 2619, or email us at [email protected].

So we’ve had this energy crisis. We’ve got this climate crisis. Now what?

Look, we know what we want and it’s not that complicated: power that works for all of us — clean, safe, affordable and equitable. So how did we get into this mess, and what can we do about it besides nervously wait for our next energy bill to strike?

On today’s episode, Lily and Millie defy the techno jargon and dive into solutions that are more exciting than just remembering to turn the lights off. We’ve got a generational opportunity here to reshape what our energy looks like, in order to deliver multiple benefits at multiple levels.

We also hear a great listener question from Tracy in Sydney, whom rightly points out that, “‘If investment in a sustainable future for our earth isn’t a public good, I don’t know what is!’” Be like Tracy and leave a message for the show (number’s below).

It’s a surprisingly good chat about a topic that frankly didn’t excite either of our co-hosts, but ends with a rousing cheer for Captain Planet. The power is YOURS!

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention:

Solar farms on sheep farms improving wool quality! (What in the wool??)

“The clean energy revolution isn’t just a techno-fix – it’s about capturing hearts and minds,” co-written by energy reseacher Dr Hedda Ransan-Cooper

How the city of London got so many EV charging points

Different models of renewable power ownership and storage:

First Nations Clean Energy — community-owned renewable power projects on Country, keeping jobs local and delivering shared benefits

Grong Grong solar farm — Australian-first crowdsourced solar farm (invest from $250)

Community/neighbourhood batteries — and the Yarra Energy Foundation

Cooperative Power — cooperatively-owned energy retailer focused on affordable power and investment in clean energy to address climate change and inequality

Solar Share — local community-owned solar farm

Good advocacy (just a few cited examples, not exhaustive list)

Renewable Albury Wodonga Helen Haines MP and Indi show how reinvigorating democracy has so many flow on effects!

Campaign to get solar panels on every school (incorrectly attributed to The Parenthood, it’s actually run by Australian Parents for Climate Action)

Voices for Power campaign winning financial support and greater solar fairness in Western Sydney

Things you can do

Consider solar panels for your home if that’s an option for you.

Change energy providers, maybe cooperatively-owned, green power? (Government comparison site here.)

Get vocal — talk to your MP, to others in your community, write to your local paper.

Invest! Check out organisations you can support financially.

Engage with good advocacy in this space.

Mind the basics to reduce energy waste.

Remember the awesomeness of Captain Planet.

Things we’d also love you to do:

Still with us? Amazing.

Share this episode. Write a review on Apple podcasts, help more people find solutions and a politics that works for us.

Leave a message for the show: call (02) 7257 2619, or email us your thoughts at [email protected].

Join the community of reMAKERS on our website, follow us on social.

“There’s nothing that I like better than talking to kick-arse sassy women about politics!” -Ruth McGowan, the reMAKERS podcast

We couldn’t agree more, which is why we’re so excited about this conversation with Ruth McGowan. 

Ruth McGowan is an author, mentor, trainer and champion of community, democracy and women in politics. She’s been a Mayor and served on her local council, and in 2013 she helped her sister, Cathy McGowan run as an Independent in the seat of Indi — winning, to everyone’s shock — what had been a safe Liberal seat. Of course, that powerful ‘lighthouse example’ helped kick off the entire Voices4 Community Independents’ movement, which set off a political earthquake at the last election.

On today’s episode, Lily and Millie talk with Ruth about what it takes to run, the scripts we have to flip, and why success is choosing to put your hand up in the first place. It’s a ripper of a chat, and a true joy to share on the back of an election where more women ran for office and more women were elected to federal Parliament than ever before! Here’s to a future where women in public office is entirely normal and unremarkable.

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention:

“Get Elected: A step-by-step campaign guide to winning public office” book by Ruth McGowan 

Equip workshops on the skills to run for public office, with Ruth McGowan and Women for Election Australia

Women Leading Locally fellowship program in the state of Victoria

New research into the gender composition across federal, state and local politics in Australia

Politics in Colour supporting Australians from diverse backgrounds to run for office

Rainbow Local Government supporting and promoting local governments to foster a culture that is inclusive, responsive and accessible to LGBTIQA+ Victorians

A New Dawn for Women, pillar seven from the Vision for an Australia reMADE

Ruth’s Call to Action

Run for office! Think about it now (and whether locally, state or federally, there’s always an election somewhere).

Think about who you can support to run (hint: support can take MANY forms).

Join a local group that’s focused on something you care about.

Keep your voice going.

Hold your local MP accountable to the things you believe need to happen.  

“We can all be sh*t-stirrers in our own way.” Write the letter to the editor, call talkback radio. It’s one small step, but hundreds of thousands of people will hear your voice. 

Other things you can do:

Share this episode with your daughters, friends, the kick-arse sassy women in your life! Write a review, spread the word.

Leave a message for the show: call (02) 7257 2619, or email us your thoughts at [email protected].

Welcome to the Post-Election Therapeutic Celebratory Download Chat!

How are you feeling post-election? Joyful? Weary? Cynical? Numb?

Millie and Lily dig into it all. It’s a chat about what this election means for democracy, about ‘strategic joy’ and hope, and how to make the most of this page-turn in our country’s story.

We also reflect on the mass shootings in America from Lily’s perspective as a dual US-Australian citizen, and how Australians can help. Let’s embrace our power to drive not only better ideas, but a better kind of politics.

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention:

Sacramento California Police Department “Gas for Guns” buybacks runs out of fuel vouchers in an hour

Leading from the Front, Lily’s article on how to make the most of this transformational moment in Australian politics

Things you can do!

Leave a message for the show. Buzzing with ideas, thoughts after this episode? Let us know! Call (02) 7257 2619, or email your thoughts to [email protected].

What did this election mean for you? How are you feeling? What do you want to see happen from here?

Reach out to the people who represent you — never underestimate the power of a personal, positive message to build a relationship.

Use your voice on social media — spread the word about this podcast, share a message or idea that’s inspired you, model the kind of politics you want to see.

Distressed about gun violence in America? You can donate from afar, and use your voice to help change the story that nothing can be done. Groups to support include:

Together Rising

EveryTown for Gun Safety

March for Our Lives

So, we’ve got this election. What would you do if you became PM for a day?

Join Lily and Millie for this and many other questions, as we talk about what reMAKERS really want for our country, and how we can start to reclaim our “why”. A great follow-up to our last episode, or enjoy as stand-alone chat.

Again, this is a fairly nerdy episode, but nerds are our people and we’re good with that. It covers politics, business, childcare, renewable energy, muffins, staffing ratios and more... Fundamentally, it’s a conversation about purpose.

Show Notes

Things we mention:

First Nations Clean Energy Network — working to ensure First Nations share in the benefits of a clean energy boom.

Cooperative Power — a new way for people to buy clean, sustainable & affordable energy.

“What Regions Need on the Path to Net Zero” landmark report from The Next Economy, led by Dr Amanda Cahill (see episode 5 from Season 1).

“Buurtzorg: revolutionising home care in the Netherlands” case study (also written up in the book, New Power).

Things you can do!

Leave a message for the show. Buzzing with ideas, thoughts after this episode? Let us know! Call (02) 7257 2619, or email your thoughts to [email protected].

Become an expert voice for public good. Read our summary report and full research here. The full report has a messaging guide to help you talk about these things — whether to your neighbour or to your local MP.

Reach out to the people who represent you — never underestimate the power of a personal, positive message.

Write a letter to the editor of your local or national newspaper.

Use your voice on social media — spread the word about this podcast, talk about our purpose as a country. Celebrate connection, care and contribution as the building blocks of public good and a ‘why’ that can unite and excite people from all walks of life.

Not gonna lie, this is one for the nerds among us.

Covid was a giant portal. There’s no going back to the old world. Add to that the climate disasters we’ve endured in Australia (hello fires, floods) and more and more Australians are questioning the role of government, what we really want as a country, and how we can best look after each other and thrive through scary and tumultuous times.

Dr Millie Rooney decided to dig into all these questions, and she’s here today to tell us what she found. This is a great one for our listeners who are journalists, advocates, policy-makers and government workers to tune into especially; but we hope it’s a useful conversation for all of us who are striving for a world where people and planet can thrive. Throw in a national election, and we’ve got an interesting opportunity here to reset our sense of purpose. How do we make the most of this moment? This is part one of a two-part conversation, and we’d love to get your input for the next episode (see show notes)!

SHOW NOTES

Things we mention:

Leave a message for the show: call (02) 7257 2619, or email your thoughts to [email protected].

Our question du jour: ‘What does putting the public good in practice look like to you? Where is working well, and what’s one thing you’d change to get it working better in Australia (or wherever you live)?’

Learn more about our public good research and check out the report here. (Send a copy to your MP and candidates!)

Citizens’ juries in South Australia

Voices 4 Indi, showing what radical trust in contribution to democracy can look like