Uncommon Sense

Amy speaks in-depth with best-selling author Johann Hari about his new book, 'Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention.' Johann explores the attention crisis and why we have lost our ability to focus. He tells Amy how we can take back our attention at both an individual and systemic level – but we have to fight for it.

Amy speaks in-depth with best-selling author Johann Hari about his new book, Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention. Johann explores the attention crisis and why we have lost our ability to focus. He tells Amy how we can take back our attention at both an individual and systemic level, but we have to fight for it. Susanna Freymark, editor of northern NSW community newspaper indyNR.com, talks about the floods crisis in the Northern Rivers. She tells us stories of helicopter and boat rescues by residents, the inadequate government response at the height of the disaster, and what life is like now for flood-affected communities. Historians Professor Joy Damousi (ACU) and Professor Frank Bongiorno (ANU) join Amy to talk about the great late Australian historian Stuart Macintyre and his masterful second volume of the history of the Communist Party of Australia, The Party. They will be launching the book at Trades Hall.

Historian Anna Clark speaks with Amy about her new book, 'Making Australian History.' In a wide-ranging conversation, Anna looks at the history of Australian history, our changing and contested national story, and the many different people who make history.

Associate Professor Andrew Godwin, Principal Fellow at the Melbourne Law School, explores the fascinating life and work of William Ah Ket (1876-1936), Australia’s first barrister of Chinese heritage. He was widely admired and a fierce advocate for Chinese-Australians, defending them against racial discrimination. Andrew will deliver the 2022 Rare Book Lecture on Ah Ket. Eliza Hull joins Amy to talk about what life is like as a disabled parent in Australia – the joys and complexities. Eliza has edited the first major anthology by parents with disabilities, We've Got This: Stories By Disabled Parents. Emeritus Professor Marko Pavlyshyn, expert in Ukrainian Studies at Monash University discusses Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its historical and political context, and the escalating conflict across the country.

Historian and author Dr David Brophy explores his very relevant book, ‘China Panic: Australia’s Alternative to Paranoia and Pandering.’ David discusses this in the context of the federal government and media's escalating rhetoric around the China "threat."

Jo Dyer, independent candidate for Boothby (federal, SA) and cultural curator talks about where Australian politics went awry and how independents can reconstruct it – in her book, Burning Down The House: Reconstructing Modern Politics. Amidst rising alarmist rhetoric on China, Amy talks to author and historian Dr David Brophy about his book, China Panic: Australia’s Alternative to Paranoia and Pandering. Felicity Watson, Advocacy Manager at the National Trust of Australia (Vic) talks about why we must save the John Curtin Hotel in Carlton, and other culturally and socially valuable heritage pubs and buildings in Melbourne. Felicity takes us through the broader conservation and heritage situation in Victoria.

Independent political candidate and cultural sector leader Jo Dyer joins Amy to discuss what has gone wrong with federal politics and how we can change it for the better. Jo argues that there is a movement of independents running at the upcoming federal election who, if successful in large enough numbers, could change the way politics is done and what policy outcomes can be achieved almost immediately.

Jo speaks about her essay-length book, 'Burning Down the House: Reconstructing Modern Politics' and says, "if you want things to be different, you actually have to do something different." She is running for the marginal South Australian seat of Boothby.

Does Australia need a "big" government? Dr Richard Denniss, chief economist at The Australia Institute examines the false narrative that Australians have been told for decades – that the less government spends, the better their lives will be. Richard talks about taxes, the weaponisation of shame in our welfare system, and what we can really afford as a country, if we choose it. His book is called, 'Big: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy.' Poet and advocate Dr Sarah Holland-Batt discusses the crisis in aged care in-depth and talks of the many older Australians suffering and dying of COVID-19 due to unprecedented COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care homes. Plus, Dr Ben Wellings, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University, talks about the latest in UK politics, the ongoing Boris Johnson "party-gate" controversy, and declining public trust in politics and politicians.

Poet and advocate Dr Sarah Holland-Batt discusses the crisis in aged care in-depth, and talks of the many older Australians suffering and dying of COVID-19 due to unprecedented COVID-19 outbreaks in aged-care homes.

Historian Emma Shortis and Guardian journalist Luke Henriques-Gomes review the year in Australian and U.S. politics. Epidemiologist and WHO Adviser Professor Mary-Louise McLaws takes us through everything we need to know about the Omicron variant, the current COVID-19 outbreaks in Victoria and NSW, plus how to best stay safe over the summer holiday period.