This week phone lines crackle across Oz as we speak with former Greenpeace cadre and Guardian journo, current author and activist, Monica Tan. And I say crackle because yes, there’s the occasional spot of poor connection quality, but more to the point, the topics we talk on are live: from a treaty with First Nations people to the mostly male nomads of the Outback. Plus, you’ll learn your ABCs beyond the alphabet and why the Northern Territory is THE PLACE TO BE for missionaries, mercenaries and misfits (that’s all our listeners, then).

Enjoy!

Also, enjoy Monica’s excellent Australian travelogue, Stranger Country, available online and in bookshops everywhere.

*****

Get To Know Top End Australia: A Further Reading List by Monica Tan 

> Indigenous Australia for Dummies by Larissa Behrendt

> Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

> Capricornia by Xavier Herbet

> We of the Never Never by Jeannie Gunn

> The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin

> Phil O’Brien’s website - thecampfiresinger.com

If you don’t bring guns or bombs or bullshit, you are actually most welcome in Pakistan. So park the drones and put this country at the top of your post-COVID travel plans. Pakistani-Australian journo Ayesha Hasan gets into this, Urdu literature and a woman’s life in the ’Land of the Pure’ in Episode 9 of the Commonwealth of Dunces podcast.

Ayesha's written a whole heap of interesting pieces, a great place to start is with Love In The Time Of Drones. You can also listen to her on SBS Radio or, for the academically-minded, her latest research paper The cost of doing their job online - Harassment of women journalists.

French Canadians: strong on ice, weak on South American coups. Charles Antoine-Genest joins us to talk the best of Quebec.

Jump Daddy and Valancy set the sound to swoon with a side of sadness. Question: Why does such a strong Sri Lankan theme run through Australia’s TV manscape? Answer: Perhaps it’s spurred by the many who escaped the place once called Ceylon on account of a 26-year civil war. We delve into the reality of the matter and the matter of marriage with our guest and proud Sri Lankan-Tamil-Australian, Ramesh.

June, 2020: Across Uganda, schools are closed, boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis) are quiet and children are staying sane with TikTok. This episode is a time capsule in the making as we learn what months of lockdown life has been like for Katreena and Nigel, two Ugandan kids growing up under corona. Also, is Valancy guilty of breaching social distancing directives? 

Produced by Saint Quentin's Audio Miracles, featuring music by @kiiryabeats.

Valancy and Jump Daddy ponder the soul of Sydney: Australia's colonial ground zero. For more insight, artist J.D. Reforma (https://instagram.com/jdreforma) joins the pod to talk growing up Philippino-Australian in what they once called Sin City, now Clean Streets x The Star™ Casino Pty. Ltd. MAGANDA?

J.D. from Australia talks with V.J. from Sri Lanka about an incubus from the underworld. Gharasarapa! The movie, the myth, the mother of all prisms to learn about what they once called Ceylon. Meanwhile, Valancy trawls Disney+ for "unusual content".

This week we talk unrest in Hong Kong with actor Joy Chen. Expect protest memes, Canto-pop bangers and some dirty bouffon. With apologies to Tim & Eric, it's not Jackie Chan.

With ANZAC Day just gone and Julian Assange back in the news, it’s time to reflect on Australians at war: how they're remembered and how that memory is defined. To get into the weeds (and the Ecuadorian Embassy), we welcome back friend of the pod, Dr. Tom Geue!

Oh, yeah - and Valancy can recommend this ANZAC bikkie recipe. Quick, simple, good. DO IT: https://bit.ly/3aINxZR

Dr. Tom Geue from the University of Saint Andrews joins the pod to talk elite UK institutions, colonialism in Scotland and the class consciousness behind Tesco.