Radical Australia

Linda Marks is an environmental activist and previous presenter with 3CR's popular longstanding program on nuclear, peace and energy issues - The Radioactive Show.  She's a retired secondary teacher and and life long unionist, now retired member of the Australian Education Union.

Lifelong trade unionist born in Melbourne in 1952. Australian Telecommunication Employees Association now called the Communications Workers Union. Ian, an extra-parliamentary activist for many years is making the most of his retirement.

3CR's royal family member, our very own Queen of Training, Leanne McLean, joins us on the show this week. We got Leanne on to talk to us about her health journey the last few years since she returned from the traditional cheese makers in Georgia, just before the pandemic. Leanne's life changed significantly at that point and she educates us on what her cancer journey has been like the last few years. Queen Leanne McLean. We love you and thank-you for gracing us in the studio this week.3CR friends in the courtyard this week (l-r): Joe Malignaggi, Kelly Whitworth, Leanne McLean and Joe Toscano

'Life and Politics is bumpy', so says Janet McCalman AC, a super smart lady born in 1948 who has been a lifelong Labor Party supporter and fabulous historian-writer here in Melbourne. Janet's books include 'Struggle Town' (1984), 'Journeyings', (1993) a story about class and education along the 67 tram, to 'Sex and Suffering'. Her family has French roots in North Africa and WWI created a big trauma line through it. Her parents met through the Communist Party. Janet came on, in part, to let us know about the Labor Academy, an independent group supporting traditional labor values. She says Labor people are terrific human beings. The Academy's latest little red book is '12 things you need to know about Labor'. It was published in January this year. It's highly accessible and includes chapters like 'Doing stuff together: collectivism and the social contract'. We look forward to taking a look at that and we thank Janet very much for joining us this week.laboracademyvic.au 

She's finding ways to keep culture and dreaming alive in an urban environment. She's nothing short of blak royalty. Joining us in the house this week is the one and only, Shiralee Hood: young sports star turned actress and storyteller. Wowee. Tune in for this first installment of the life of the young girl born in the year the Yarra exploded under Melbourne, who went on to be a little gun basketballer, to an amazing actress, course designer and all-round deadly legend. We can't wait to hear the rest of Shiralee's story when she returns real soon, just in time for her show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Check out the link for those details. Thank-you, Shiralee, for this first chat with us on Radical Australia!yirramboi.com.au/program/blakyard-one-night-stand-with-shiralee-hood-and-friends

Aprilia Seseray is a super smart auditor who volunteers at the West Papua office in Docklands. She was born among mountains, lakes and forest fruits and then at some stage she moved to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for studies. It was a totally different culture, different language and different food from her homeland. Aprilia was bullied every single day throughout high school, but she succeeded despite the odds, and now has a Masters of Auditing from Monash. It was fascinating to hear her story. Thank-you for joining us this week, Aprilia.

Greer McGearey is the president of Seahorse Victoria, a safe social support group for trans people, and when she is not doing that she is the host of Conversations on Bent TV, Channel 31. Greer was born in Deniliquin. Her father was a dental technician. She was one of 5 boys and was an athlete, running all the distances. Greer was a public servant for over 17 years in the Department of Civil Aviation and raised 4 children. She started transitioning at 50 with the help of both Seahorse and the Monash Gender Clinic. We loved having Greer on the show this week. We hope you enjoy our conversation with her. Thank-you, Greer.https://ctvplus.org.au/series/bent-tv/https://seahorsevic.com.au/

Sirani McNeill is passionate about disability governance and is a current board member with Disability Justice Australia. She has formerly worked with Women With Disabilities Victoria and the Disabilities Resources Centre. Sirani says that disability organisations need to do a better job of hiring disability peers to properly shape their governance and policies. Going back in time, Sirani started out her life adopted from Thailand at a very young age by her parents who were French and Kiwi. She has lived in Paris and New Zealand. In her life post-high school, Sirani has encountered many instances of bro culture in the tech industry and corporate environment as she has moved from internship to internship and a lot of job hopping, a common experience as a person with a disability. Sirani is deaf and on the autism spectrum. She loves her Cat, Bella, and is really into cyber security. In 2024 she contributed to 3CR's International Day of People With Disability (Employment Difficulties for Disabled People). We wis

Madison Moffat is our latest guest in the squeaky chair and we are very pleased to have her. Madison is a trans activist with Trans Justice Alliance Victoria and has a open letter with three very important demands for Victoria Police. They converge around common police policies and practises. Madison was born in Sydney to a teen Mum and lived in a public housing tower before the family moved to Narrabri. She had a hard time at school, being neuro a-typical, but not really knowing anything about that back then. All she knew was that she was frustrated with the school system as it was. Madison embarked on her own independent life at the age of 16, having a commercial cookery apprecticeship, before moving into the corporate world for many years where she thrived as 'the guru'. There is much to her story there. Madison eventually had a serious breakdown, a crisis of self, if you will. She has eventually found a happier place inside and in the world these days, transitioning during COVID-19, and now flourishing as

Keiran Stewart-Assheton is our guest this week and he is the founder of the Black People's Union, a union that set out to represent First Nations tour guides, dancers and ceremonial performers, among others, filling the gaps of existing trade unions. It has grown into something even greater. Keiran's family are Yuin nation, around Nowra (NSW), but he has lived all over, starting out in Adelaide and then quite a bit of time in the ACT. Keiran was born in 1992, played 'all the sports' growing up, and was very successful academically. It was poignant to hear his reflections on the Left here in Naarm and you can catch more of Keiran on his show Yillam, Wednesdays 12pm to 1pm, here on 3CR. If you are in town this Sunday, Keiran encourages you to get down to Camp Sovereignty at 5am for a dawn service to honour those buried there. 3CR will have live coverage of the day, so tune in. We thank Keiran for joining us this week and we wish him well in all the areas of his life. Thank-you, Keiran.blackpeoplesunion.orgYilla

John Tait has just come back from a voyage to New Zealand's sub-Antartic Islands and his knees are paying for it! When not adventuring, John works with James and Em on The Sporting Record, addressing issues of equality and justice through the prism of sport. The issues that arise are seemingly endless. John and friends continue a long tradition of sport shows here on 3CR and you can catch them for the full hour on Thursdays at 3:30pm. Going back a bit, John started life in Balwyn where his parents were neighbours, but progressed to Essendon and played on the highway when it was being built. He went on a long spiritual journey for many years, delving into the Franciscans and Liberation Theology, among other creeds. He gained a theology degree. He held many positions of work within the broad Catholic Church. At some stage, he left that life behind and now dwells in the Church of Kindness. When not busy with radio, John is a second-hand CD seller with a shop in Essendon. You wouldn't be surprised to learn that E

Jenny Hickinbotham comes from a NAME in the wine industry in Australia, with her father bringing Wolf Blass into the country and seeing the move from sherry drinking to other refreshments like Pineapple Pearl. Her father was what they call a 'plonker'. Jenny grew up in the Barossa Valley and was an outgoing, bossy kid, from all accounts, but she doesn't have that many memories from that time. Jenny started hearing voices in her head from the age of about 27, and years later, with the right support, she was able to trace this back to the trauma she experienced as a young girl on her way home from school. Jenny has done many things in her life, from Teacher's College here and in Europe (hello Earl's Court!), viticulture, creative writing and librarian certification. At some stage, she was also introduced to the world of peer advocacy and met many people like herself. She learnt how to tell her story and listen to others. Jenny has a little red book of stories, song and imagery from her trip by car with her two

In the last of our Summer Specials, we bring you born revolutionary, Nick Southall. He never did stand a chance, born as he was to revolutionary, communist parents in Sheffield, England, where he spent his childhood going to meetings and marches and letterboxing the atrocities of the Vietnam War. Nick says they were 'strange but exciting times'. It was 'politics all the time'. After moving to Wollongong when he was 11, in high school he wanted to bring the school system down and he rebelled, he was a trouble maker. Later on he was a communist party organiser and was with the Out of Workers Union Wollongong as a Full Time Unemployed Activist. Right On, Nick! He also had a life-changing trip to the USSR just before its collapse which makes for an interesting listen and leads us to share news of Nick's first publication by name of 'Disaster Communism and Anarchy in the streets'. It's the little blue book that any good radical activist should have. Thanks very much for joining us on the blower from Wollongong, Ni

We are delighted to be joined by Erwin Bleskadit this week, a veteran of the Free West Papua movement and OG supporter of the West Papua office here in Docklands ever since it opened its doors in 2014. Erwin was born in Sorong, West Papua, and grew up fishing and using his machete in the jungle. All the kids had machetes. His parents grew corn and cassava. After high school, Erwin moved to the capital and joined the independence struggle, attending protests and walks denouncing trans-migration in his homeland. He and his comrades built a big group. In 2003 he came here as a legal student and stayed with the Sisters of Mercy in Ballarat. He studied English and eventually came to Melbourne. He would really like to become a teacher's aide. Erwin has been singing and dancing for years to promote his culture. He is a current member of the newly-formed West Papuan Community Choir. They are something else. The choir is collecting songs from all the land's tribes and are busy performing at events and fundraisers. You

Ann Stanley currently has two 3CR programs on the go and they both touch on important areas of her life story. Ann spent the first 12 years of her life in Glasgow. She was the eldest child and learnt to be a peacemaker early on due to her father's alcoholism. The family then moved all the way down under to Parramatta, perhaps in search of the geographical cure. Soon after, it was off to Franga and she continued to develop her love of English, eventually enrolling at Monash University to study Arts (politics). She has always been interested in what's going on in the world and has always enjoyed radio, being a subscriber to 3CR in the 80's. Ann's early family situation now sees her as a sympathetic and informed broadcaster on Living Free where she can speak to other family members affected by alcoholism. Her other love is permaculture and food localisation. She gets into this on her Sunday show, Local Food Connections. It was lovely meeting Ann and learning about some of her life story. Make sure to catch her s

This week's guest, Rob Wellington, was a total ring-in, but he ended up being a bit of Australian music royalty, so that was nice. Rob directed videos of some of Australian music's biggest hits of the 80s, from bands like The Models, to Pseudo Echo and John Farnham. He also had his own bands on the go in the punk style, from The Fiction to the International Exiles. A busy, productive person. Rob grew up building sailboats and trampoulines with his engineer father and put on a play called 'The Dean Martian Show' in primary school when he was 10 years old. An early sign of things to come. These days Rob loves K-Mart and plays in The Peptides and 90 BPM. He's a St Kilda fella through and through, leading punters on the 'St Kilda Underground Music Walking Tour' with Fed Negroe, who we hope will be joining us in the new year if he doesn't stand us up again. Thanks for joining us for this week's chat, Rob! It was great learning about your contribution to the Australian music scene. Keep up the great work.Check out

We heard about Sean Bedlam through his clever and humorous Instagram account, but we didn't realise he is a fully-fledged comedian, so that explains a lot. He grew up in war veteran Chelsea from '68 owards and reckons he is one of life's great big losers. That puts him in great company! Sean reckons he has been masking his autism his whole life, but he only got diagnosed a couple of years ago. It's helped explain himself to himself a lot. Sean has done everything from photo lab work, to darkrooms, metal work to cancer. He also documents the occasional lefty protest. His latest comedic adventure is titled 'I'm autistic, plus I also had cancer'. Something like that. Check out Sean's Insta for better details at @seanbedlam. He's been documenting the Free Palestine Sunday rallies every single week for over a year, just like our beloved 3CR. He's one of the good ones. Thanks so much for joining us, Sean! Keep up the interesting and irreverent stories from the dark side of the city.Sean goofing it with a Mafalda (3

Alexander Brown joins us on the blower from Wollongong this week. He got his radical history education and began his political activities in the 90's, around the time of Howard's election. Who hasn't heard that before! Alexander has had a strong connection with Japan and its radical activists in his life, ever since he went to high school there for a year. He taught English in Tokyo a little while ago and got to understand the country's radical groups and movement a bit better. His PhD was about radical politics in Tokyo. This was around the time of the Fukushima tragedy. Alexander loves the 'Gong through and through, but he started out life in Albury as a bookworm, a love that has been a great joy in his life. He has a little publishing company called Kembla Books and it was a pleasure speaking with him this week. Keep up your great community spirit, Alexander!alexanderbrown.online I kemblabooks.comAnti-nuclear demonstration in Tokyo, April Fools Day, 2012Alexander with anti-nuclear activists in Tokyo prepar

Tahlia and Felix join us this week from CUDL: the Community Union Defence League. Since 2019 they have been handing out home-cooked meals to anyone who needs one on the steps of the State Library, every single Sunday from 3pm to 6pm. Call them on 0480 039 002 if you would like to help out or find out more. CUDL began life in Adelaide as support to a CFMEU worker, with the community raising thousands of dollars to pay most of their fine. They now have branches in a few states and areas around Australia and support workers' strikes and pickets. CUDL provides programs of solidarity and support within the capitalist system. They would also like to help other groups set themselves up for progressive activities. Tahlia and Felix were great guests and we had fun chatting with them. As young activists, they also shared with us what they have learned about homelessness in Melbourne on Sunday afternoons during their meal times. Keep up the great work, Tahlia and Felix, and look after yourselves and each other.Follow CU

Em Collard is a super talented person who has already won two scholarships in their life to prestigious learning institutions. They have excelled in both sports and music, landing presently at Fitzroy Legal Service doing the important Night Service coordination while studying for their Juris Doctor. That's a law degree when you already have a degree - Em already has a Bachelor of Music degree from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music which they started attending when they were just 17 years old. Em played trumpet there and reckons there was a bit of sexism around, just like they encountered when they were a youth cricket gun. Em hails from Newcastle and was born in 1996. They co-produce The Sporting Record on 3CR, covering sports issues the hosts would generally like to see in the world. Well, they are doing it themselves and winning sports and non-sports fans alike with the issues they discuss, including justice issues in the game. The show is weekly and broadcasts on Thursdays at 3:30pm for the full hour.