Thorn in Your Side

After a period of self-care, m* is back into the TIYS project with this lone wolf episode. m* discusses and reflects on his time off, and podcasting prospects moving forward.

A fun nerdy fact is that m* has discovered how to do multilayering when editing episode recordings, so enjoy the music track backing the commentary!

Also a trigger warning here: Themes raised in this episode regarding mental health and more specifically the topic of PTSD. 

An end of year review featuring m* and usual suspect John as both look back on key TIYS episodes such as Slapgate and Dackgate, topical events of the year, and what may arise in the year ahead. Or, if we are indeed still to remain stuck in 2020.

m* also kicks off this episode by disclosing some lived experience regarding neurodiversity and complex mental illness, so a trigger warning as some of this discussion involves covering trauma themes.

Article of relevance to this episode:

LIV Golf: Why Greg Norman divides opinion (smh.com.au) - wherein a journo plucks up enough courage to square up and refer to Greg Norman as a confirmed dickhead.   

m* chats with his US guy, Jason, regarding recent political events in the US, and including some views on sports relations between Oz and the US. m* has been tardy getting this episode up within the window of topicality (probs wasn't a good idea to talk about World Cup matches at time of recording lol), but hopefully issues retain resonance. At least there's still pop culture references to get things over the line!

Links of note:

Recent article Jason has written on the US midterms and how Trump is still lurking about - Why the Trump Era Isn't Over - by Jason Tebbe (substack.com)

Article on the Nobel Peace Prize winner through contributions to evolution and anthropology - Discoveries about Ancient Human Evolution Win 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Scientific American

The soon-to-be Major League Cricket US T20 competition - Major League Cricket

m* catches up with two ardent lefty westie activists familiar to TIYS audiences (Fred and Carlo) to discuss all current contentious matters relating to Football. As the group finds, 'The World Game' is also an inherently political and class-conflicted game. m*, Fred and Carlo are all Western Sydney Wanderers fans, so no prizes for guessing which topic takes up most of the time this episode!

Links of note:

Clip that gives a good account of the Wanderers 'golden years' - Is This The Greatest Underdog Story In Football? This is Western Sydney Wanderers - YouTube.

While this story has moved on a little bit since this episode was recorded, here is a full account of the aftermath of the fascist activity witnessed during the Australia Cup final held last month - Sydney United 58 Fans Convicted For Nazi Salute at Australian Cup Final - YouTube

Aussie footballing pundit and activist Craig Foster talks about the upcoming World Cup in Qatar and the associated problems with taking part in the event - Craig Foster explains why he's still taking part in the Qatar World Cup | SBS News - YouTube.

While not immediately related to this podcast episode, while there is reference to Megan Rapinoe's stance on equal pay for womens' football within FIFA, thought to also add another clip here where Rapinoe also makes a stand for women footballers experiencing sexual assault when playing the game - Megan Rapinoe says she is 'exhausted' after horrifying NWSL abuse report - YouTube.

m* introduces Tim, a comrade keen on being a regular TIYS guest. Both talk about general lefty things, and with the occasional sports reference. Namely, the contradictory qualities of The Left as it engages and grapples with the contradictions of capitalism. Do both contradictions exist to cancel each other out? Listen and find out!

Links of note:

The Ecology of Freedom | The Anarchist Library - The seminal text written by Murray Bookchin

How Rafael Nadal has OCD and is also one of Tennis' GOATs - Rafael Nadal Top 10 Superstitions/Tics That He ALWAYS Does (HD) - YouTube and Rosol knocks over Rafa Nadal's bottle - Wimbledon 2014 - YouTube.

A lone-wolf episode where m* recovers enough from covid to reflect, analyse and complain about current affairs. So did covid make m* cranky, or did covid just help express the innate crankiness of m*? Let the audience be the judge!

Article referenced greatly in this episode - Quiet Quitting Is Trending On TikTok To Reject Hustle Culture (junkee.com)

In this first group-based TIYS episode, m* speaks with TIYS regular John and westie activist Fred Fuentes on reflections of last year's Greater Sydney lockdown and implications for lefty politics into the future.

Episode link:

Platform workers get industrial rights - Uber strikes landmark deal on worker rights and pay with Transport union (smh.com.au)

Both m* and John go into serious reflection mode - both seeing where things have gone regarding the Oscar Slap earlier this year, the aftermath of the Oz Federal Election (it seems ScoMo may as well have had an accident in Engadine as his defeat became inevitable either way), and discussing the rise of the curious pop culture phenomenon known as the 'legacy sequel'.

All the above, and when you also find some time in the episode to actively compare Tom Cruise to the Ultimate Warrior you know this is an episode covering some ground!

Associated episode reading:

Legacy Sequels explained: Examining Hollywood's Growing Obsession With Legacy Sequels | Den of Geek.

How an orgy of misogyny overtook the Oscar Slap story: The Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial was an orgy of misogyny | Moira Donegan | The Guardian

The post-election Saturday Paper article where a Lib politician refers to ScoMo as a fuckwit: Coalition loss: ‘The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster’ | The Saturday Paper.   

A lone wolf episode where m* explains a turbulent personal couple of months, but it also being a time of great self-discovery and sifting of some home truths. All encapsulated through coming across a journal article discussing a psychological phenomenon coined as 'The Batman Effect'. Is m* Batman? Listen and find out!

Episode link:

(PDF) The "Batman Effect": Improving Perseverance in Young Children | Stephanie M Carlson - Academia.edu - The journal article underpinning this episode.

In the most best-timed TIYS episode yet, both m* and TIYS regular John explore the Engadine Maccas legend ie Dackgate. Did the legend truly happen, and whether or whether not it did, how much does this even influence the upcoming Australian election? As m* and John go down this absurd rabbit-hole, they both find it actually matters a great heap.

Episode links:

What happens if I catch COVID in election week? How is phone voting going to work? - ABC News

A Brief History Of Scott Morrison Flip-Flopping On His Favourite Sports Teams (junkee.com)

The Game, A Portrait of Scott Morrison by Sean Kelly | 9781760643119 | Booktopia - the book informing many of the claims in this episode.