Agenda

For our final episode of Agenda we looked back on the past two years of the show and our previous segments, guests and highlights. We were joined by FBi Radio's Music Director Amelia Jenner to chat about what goes into bringing so much diversity into the FBi Radio sound, her thoughts on festival lineups and her work with NECTAR, a booking, touring and events agency she founded along with Andy Garvey, Tia Newling and Jemma Cole. We also heard Larissa Shearman’s Behind The Lens series, which tells the stories of female filmmakers. For episode 2 we met Pauline, a Yaegl woman and a filmmaker with many years in the industry. In this episode, Pauline discussed how her Aboriginality intersects with her filmmaking.

For our second last episode of Agenda, we went a bit rogue with our music selection and played some of our favourite pop songs, from All Saints, Carly Rae Jepsen and M.I.A. We also heard from writer Quinn Eades about Queerstories: Chosen Family Xmas and the release of the book Going Postal: More Than ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ - a collection of queer marginalised voices on the experience of life during Australia’s 2017 voluntary marriage survey, and in the year since. The book is being launched in Sydney at The Imperial Hotel on December 9. Plus, we heard from Alex DeGaris one of the co-directors of Sister Gallery, an Artist Run Initiative in Adelaide that recently moved all of their programming online. Sister’s current online exhibition is Xenoblood and we spoke to Virginia Barratt from the collective In Their Interior about the new work.

  This week we filled in for Backchat on FBi this morning with an Agenda Extender episode, starting half an hour earlier than usual.⏰ We spoke Celine Dion and gender-neutral babies, 808s and Heartbreak with Sidehustle DJs Nerida Ross and Maddy Costello and the role that media plays in issues of domestic violence with Renata Field (Domestic Violence NSW). Plus we heard all about Indigenous filmmaking with Medika Thorpe and Pauline Clague, directors of the WINDA Film Festival happening at Event Cinemas George St on November 22-25, 2018. We also heard from Behind The Lens, a series about female filmmakers from Larissa Shearman. Part one of the series featured a conversation with Megan Riakos, director and the President of Women in Film and Television NSW. We're looking forward Singles Club, an upcoming evening of performances on November 22nd curated by former Agenda guest Bree van Reyk. It's part of the Backstage Music series at Woodburn Creatives and is a collection of solo and duo exchanges between herself, Marcus Whale, Rhiannon Newton (choreographer), Lauren Brincat (artist) and Cor Fuhler (composer/improviser). We also announced that Agenda will be coming to an end. After two years of bringing you the latest on arts, politics and news from a feminist perspective, we're sad to announce that we're going to be wrapping things up on December 1st.

We're back after a little break! Today on Agenda: - the eroticism of pop music.- Ariana Grande's new breakup anthem and her very important performance on Ellen.- Nao's new album Saturn.- Rough Idea with Auckland-based Agenda family member Natasha Matila-Smith in conversation with Lana Lopesi, who is the author, critic and Editor in Chief of The Pantograph Punch. Lana recently released her book False Divides which looks at the divisions and unifications created by colonialism, technologies and the adaptability of Moana peoples across the Pacific.

On this week's episode of Agenda, we spoke to: Sound artist and composer Bree Van Reyk about Invisible, As Music, her piece featuring in Day For Night at Liveworks Festival on Saturday 27 October. Joanna Lester, director of the new Australian documentary Power Meri, which looks at women's rugby league in Papua New Guinea. Queerstories' Maeve Marsden who'll be hosting Homage: a queer musical tribute at the Factory Theatre on Wednesday 24 October, featuring performances from LGBTQI+ musicians like Brendan Maclean, Jordon Raskopoulos, Marcus Whale and Sports Bra.

This week we revisited the idea of self-care and what it REALLY means, with the help of Liminal Magazine editor Leah Jing McIntosh. We also took a look back at a past episode of Agenda to hear from Call Your Girlfriend's Amintou Sow for her thoughts on the topic. We also heard from our Auckland-based Agenda family member Natasha Matila-Smith with her segment Rough Idea, which explores arts practices and practitioners in New Zealand. Natasha spoke to Cora-Allan Wickliffe, a multidisciplinary artist of Māori and Niue descent. Cora-Allan is also a curator and a founding member of BC COLLECTIVE, which stands for Before Cook and Before Columbus. She spoke to Natasha this week about her journey of becoming a maker of Hiapo, a form of decorative Barkcloth from the South Pacific Island of Niue.

This week we spoke to Amrita Hepi about her upcoming work at Art Gallery of New South Wales for The National, and her involvment with Fempre$$: WISHWITCH at Liveworks on October 20. We were also joined by Mellum PR's Uda Widanapathirana, to hear about about Women in Music Empowerment Day 2018 and their work as an artist manager for HABITS and Miss Blanks.Plus, for Rough Idea we heard more of Natasha Matila-Smith's chat with curator Ioana Gordon-Smith, about what it means to be an Indigenous artist in New Zealand.

This week we spoke to Tia Newling and Andy Garvey from Nectar about their new workshop seriesand what's coming up for the Sydney-based booking, touring & events agency. We were also joined by the crew from Camp Out, a 5 day camp in October for young folk who identify as LGBTQIA+ and beyond, about their current crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the camp. Plus, we debuted a new segment called Rough Idea with writer and artist Natasha Matila-Smith featuring NZ-based creative practitioners. This week Natasha spoke with Ioana Gordon-Smith, a curator at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery in Auckland, about the new exhibition From The Shore.

This week on Agenda as part of FBi Radio's Sweet 15 supporter drive, we heard from some FBi legends both past and present about what the station means to them:   Deepa Alam (Wednesday Lunch) Lucy Smith (former presenter of Up For It) Lee Tran Lam (Local Fidelity) A.H. Cayley (founder of Backchat) Grace Farrell (Friday Arvos) Ayebatonye Abrakasa (Don't @ Me) Maria Dimitriakis (Weekend Overhang) Nikki Brogan (FBi's Managing Director) Isabelle Hore-Thorburn (Agenda co-founder) Caroline Gates (former Program Director of FBi Radio)

This week we heard from Archie Barry, a multidisciplinary artist working across video and performance. They spoke about Archie’s upcoming performance artwork Hypnic as part of The Public Body .03, an exhibition taking place at Artspace in Woolloomooloo on Wednesday 26 September. We also spoke to Melbourne based musician, producer, artist and architecture academic Simona Castricum about her upcoming performance at Soft Centre, a one-day festival of radical performance art, sound and visual design happening on Saturday September 22nd at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. Plus, we were joined Lisa Rose, the director of Queer Screen Film Fest, and Jain Moralee who is the producer of Nothing to Lose, a documentary by queer artist and fat activist Kelli Jean Drinkwater screening as part of the festival on Friday September 21st.

Who do you look up to or learn from? For Thoughts That Count we talked pros and cons of Father's Day and all kinds of families/relationships, featuring an analysis of some problematic Kanye West lyrics about being a father and what that means to him.  We were also joined by filmmaker, producer and actor Vonne Patiag, who works across stage, screen and performance to focus on issues exploring queer and ethnic intersection in Australia. Vonne has co-written a queer sitcom called Obviously! That opens as part of Sydney Fringe Festival next Thursday night, he’s also recently created a short documentary calledShading, examining current practices of ‘white-washing’ ethnic skin tones of performers in the film and theatre industries. Plus, we spoke to Sarinah Masukor and Jaya Keaney about The Watermelon Woman, a film that stars Cheryl Dunye as a movie-obsessed young queer woman working in a Philadelphia video store. She’s drawn to films from the 1930s which feature anonymous black women and decides to make a documentary about actress Fae Richards, known as ‘the Watermelon Woman’. Sarinah from Runway Australian Experimental Art has been working with Jaya Keaney to feature Jaya’s written response to the film, and Runway are hosting a screening happening at Golden Age Cinema and Bar on Wednesday September 12. 

Who's the coolest teenager you know? FBi Radio turned 15 this week and for Thoughts That Count we talked about teenagers doing amazing things, from Marley Dias to Amandla Stenberg. We were also joined by Emma Rose Smith and Vanessa Lee who are programmers for Unspoken Words, a festival by and for storytellers, with performances, workshops, discussions and special events happening on 7-17 September at various locations around the inner west. Plus, we spoke to Meriki Hill and Briony Beckett, members of a rollerderby team called Team Indigenous Dreaming who are currently raising funds to go to the Australian National Roller Derby Championships.

This week we were joined by Gayatri and B.T.W.'s Gianna Hayes to chat about Irregular Fit, a night of creating and reclaiming space within the electronic music scene, presented by House of Ayebatonye and MusicNSW on Saturday 25 August at Tokyo Sing Song. If you're Indigenous, POC, female identifying, non binary, LGBTQIA++ or have a disability and ever felt like you've ever wanted to learn how to DJ from some of Sydney's best and play a set at Irregular Fit, send Ayebatonye an email - houseofayebatonye@gmail.com! We also spoke to Lane Pitcher and Anna Hush about the fEMPOWER Workshops and their upcoming volunteer training sessions on September 2 at Sydney Uni. Plus, for Thoughts That Count this week we looked at the power of Facebook groups and heard from Flossy's Melissa Roberts. 

Today at 11am on FBi Radio we've got not one, not two but THREE interviews lined up with some incredible guests:  Change.org's Sally Rug, for the How To Be An Activist workshop happening at the Sydney Opera House on September 1st Curator Kate Britton and artist Angela Tiatia for The Waves, a new exhibition opening on August 18th at Sullivan + Strump Artist Jesse Mullins to chat about Series Concert's first event Tock with Ptwiggs & Andy Garvey on August 25th.

  This week we were joined by Karen Therese, Tasha O'Brien and May Tran from PYT Fairfield to talk about their new work Playlist, described as "Beyoncé meets the women’s marches meets Australian Idol" happening from August 2-11. For Thoughts That Count Tanya and Mari spoke about Lee Lin Chin and what she meant for the Asian-Australian community. We also heard thoughts from Hyun Lee, Reg Harris and Allison Chan on female, trans or non-binary Asian-Australians who have influenced them. We also spoke to Leah Jing McIntosh who is the editor of Liminal Mag, an online space for the exploration, interrogation and celebration of the Asian-Australian experience.

This week we heard Tanya's conversation with Camp Cope's Kelly-Dawn Helmrich before their performance at the Sydney Opera House on July 25. We were also joined by Henrietta Jackson, Claudia Platzer and Violette Kirton from YMO Collective ahead of their birthday celebrations at YMO FEST in Marrickville on July 28.

This week on Agenda we heard all about TAFFEE at the Imperial Hotel thanks to Dr Vivienne Linsley, one of the Co-Artistic Directors of TAFFEE, and Dr Grace Sharkey, a Postgraduate Teaching Fellow in the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney. Thoughts That Count: Are you opting out of My Health Record? We spoke about what the new scheme means for sex workers and the trans community.  Plus we spoke to James Christie-Murray, director of Queer Space Wollongong, to chat about queer communities and the Heaps Gay Queer AF Party happening on July 21st at The Imperial Hotel.

  This week we spoke to Georgia Mokak about her work in arts education and outreach, and about Klub Koori happening at Carriageworks. Agenda content Ohni Blu caught up with Gala Vanting this week to have a chat about the recent FOSTA-SESTA laws that have had a big impact on Australian sex workers. For Thoughts That Count, Kat Clarke, Miah Wright and Cathy Craigie talk NAIDOC week and the importance of this year's theme: Because of Her, We Can. Kat Clarke is a proud Wotjobaluk artist, writer and consultant who will be publishing her first poetry book in the coming year. Miah is the Curator for Burramatta NAIDOC day for the City of Parramatta on Sunday 15 July, and Cathy, a Gamilaroi and Anaiwon writer and Aboriginal Affairs expert, will be speaking at the Dyin Nura, Women’s Place at Burramatta.

This week we were joined by Melbourne beat-garage trio Empat Lima to chat about the launch of their debut album Cling Clang Clutter at the Golden Age Cinema on July 7. We also took a look at Her Sound Her Story, a new documentary about women in the Australian music industry (screening at Event Cinemas George Street on July 11), and recent controversies surrounding Scarlett Johannson and David Leyonhjelm. For Thoughts That Count, Agenda content contributor Levent Dilsiz explored the idea of post-genderism and what it would mean to live in a sexless and genderless world.

This week we were joined by Melbourne duo HABITS to chat about the launch of their second EP SALTY at Freda's on June 30. Plus, we debated the latest internet obsession Big Dick Energy and why we're pushing for Big Heart Energy as the less gender-essentialist alternative.

This week we got excited over the newly announced Daria reboot and the suprise joint album from Jay-Z and Beyonce, Everything Is Love. For Thoughts That Count we looked at the importance of community radio and spoke to broadcaster and educator Namila Benson ahead of her appearance at Amazing Babes for Emerging Writer's Festival in Melbourne. We were also joined by Emily Dash and Sarah-Vyne Vassallo to chat about access in the arts and their recent panel Inclusive Cultures.

We were also joined by Adolfo Aranjuez, editor-in-chief of Archer Magazine to chat about the latest issue exploring history and identity. For more from Adolfo Aranjuez read his essay The Abstraction of Priviledge on RightNow.org.au!

This week we were joined by Amy Middleton, founder of Archer Magazine to chat about independent print and her approach to publishing inclusive stories about sexuality, gender and identity. We also spoke to Justin Wolfers co-editor of The Lifted Brow and writer Lauren Carroll Harris, who's essay, "A Basically Marxist Analysis on the Rise of Activewear", features in the magazine's 38th issue. And for Thoughts That Count we looked back at the magazines that shaped our teen years, and the importance of Dolly Doctor.

This week we were joined by Amy Middleton, founder of Archer Magazine to chat about independent print and her approach to publishing inclusive stories about sexuality, gender and identity. We also spoke to Justin Wolfers co-editor of The Lifted Brow and writer Lauren Carroll Harris, who's essay, "A Basically Marxist Analysis on the Rise of Activewear", features in the magazine's 38th issue. And for Thoughts That Count we looked back at the magazines that shaped our teen years, and the importance of Dolly Doctor.

This week we were joined by Zaachariaha Fielding & Micheal Ross from Electric Fields ahead of their Sydney Opera House performance with Kuren on May 27 as part of Vivid Sydney. Plus, Agenda family member Ohni Blu spoke to Filipinx artist Eme (http://emeeme.work/), whose work engages with ideas of personal, social and cultural matters through a participatory practice, ahead of their upcoming event Usapan Sa La Mesa on June 1 at the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre.

This week we heard all about all about mentorships with Jessica Bineth from Audiocraft ahead of the Audiocraft Podcast Festival 2018, and Penelope Benton and Coby Edgar ahead of 'The Art of Mentoring' - a conversation happening as part of Movers and Makers 2018. We were also joined by Nikki Liakos for her astrology segment which looked at Taurus season and how birth charts are helping investments in cryptocurrencies.

This week we dissect all news (GRUSK) from the 2018 Met Gala, and the best looks disrupting the whiteness of Catholic art history. We also chat to Lupa J about MusicNSW's Women In Electronic Music Masterclasses happening on May 12 & 19 at 107 Projects. Plus, we hear from Astrida Neimanis, Jennifer Mae Hamilton and Betty Grumble about what feminism has to do with the environment ahead of their 'Hacking The Anthropocene! III' talks on May 18 at the University of Sydney.

This episode we were joined by Aminatou Sow, who co-hosts weekly podcast Call Your Girlfriend and co-founded a women in tech group called Tech LadyMafia, ahead of her panels for the Sydney Writer's Festival: 'My Feminism Will Be Intersectional or it will be Bullshit' and 'Women in Tech: Okay Ladies, Now Let’s Get Information'. FBi Radio's resident astrology enthusiast Nikki Liakos joined us for her new astro segment, with all the latest updates on planetary movements, Mercury in Retrograde and why Kanye is a typical Gemini.

Today was Agenda co-host Isabelle Hore-Thorburn's last show in the FBi Radio studio before moving overseas. We heard tips on maintaining long-distance friendships from friends of Agenda Ali Murphy-Oates and Jessica Bradford, plus some friendship love song dedications from Nadia Hernandez and our listeners. We were also joined by Maryam Azam, a member of Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement. We spoke to Maryam about her debut poetry collection, The Hijab Files, and the upcoming Women, Colour and Western Sydney panel for Sydney Writers' Festival.

This week: Beyonce's historic Coachella performance, Miss Blanks' experiences as a trans woman of colour in the music industry, and a breakdown of Nicki Minaj's new track Chun-Li. We were also joined by Angela Sullen and Emily Havea from artist collective Black Birds to chat about their play Brown Skin Girl, and author Nadia Bailey on ballet, BFFs and Barb from Stranger Things.

PYNK: a reclamation of the white, cis-centric pussy power aesthetic? We chat about the latest music video from Janelle Monae starring Tessa Thompson and labia pants. For Thoughts That Count we heard all about zines and self-publishing with Nadia Hernandez, Raenee Sydney, Gabriella Lo Presti and Carla Uriarte. Plus, we spoke to Carolina De La Piedra and Aimee Flores Ramirez about Latinx representation and the Sangre Migrante project, and Aimee's new intersectional feminist zine 2 the Front.

This week we spoke with Iranian-born artist Nasim Nasr about Women In Shadow, a runway show happening on April 9 the Powerhouse Museum, incorporating video, sound and contemporary dance. For Thoughts That Count we were joined by Nadia Hernandez to chat about the origins and myths surrounding virginity. We also heard from you about the most ridiculous things you've heard about viriginity, as well as thoughts from artists Emma McManus, Creatrix Tiara and Georgia Cranko. For Thoughts That Count we heard all about zines and self-publishing with Nadia Hernandez, Raenee Sydney, Gabriella Lo Presti and Carla Uriarte. Plus, we spoke to Carolina De La Piedra and Aimee Flores Ramirez about Latinx representation and the Sangre Migrante project, and Aimee's new intersectional feminist zine 2 the Front.

This week we spoke with writer, photographer, musician, pun aficionado, podcaster and occasional filmmaker Liz Duck-Chong on disarming sexism in the arts, the contraceptive pill and more. Plus, funding has been pulled from Soda_Jerk's film Terror Nullius, critiquing "radical critique of Australian masculinity, refugee policy and our treatment of the Indigenous Australians". The Ian Potter Cultural Trust pulled their funding of the film on the eve of its premiere at ACMI. And, in what is hoping to look like the beginning of the end for new HIV transmissions in Australia, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from April 1st this year. Thoughts That Count: Following Cynthia Nixon's announcement that she will challenge Governer Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary election, as Oprah's potential presidential campaign, we asked you: celebrities as politicians - Y/N? Is it a win for feminism?

Are school uniforms sexist? Following the recent decision from Santa Sabina College in Sydney to offer pants and shorts to all female students as an optional addition to the uniform, Katie discussed whether uniforms should we genderless, allowing all students to have the same uniform options. Thea Anamara Perkins talked about her solo exhibition, History House, and curator Ali Groves and Tomorrow Girls Troop member Ineko Sata talked about a fourth wave feminist art collective in Japan and Korea - using public protest, kawaii and pop culture references, advertising and memes to topple the dictionary definitions and legislation which invisibly oppress Japanese society.

Energy Australia literally closed their gender pay gap overnight, Spotify and Smirnoff brought out the Equalizer to anaylze spotify users’ gendered listening habits, and a newly published book (Deadly Woman Blues by Clinton Walker) claiming to detail "a graphic history of black women in Australian music" has been pulled from the shelves after it was slammed for inaccuracies and for being culturally insensitive by the women profiled. We also spoke to Catriona Moore and Jacqueline Millner about a book that they co-edited, called Feminist Perspectives on Art - an anthology of essays that are indebted to feminist theory, practice, activism and methodology.

Part three of a special edition of Thursday Arvos hosted by Katie Winten and Isabelle Hore-Thorburn (Agenda on FBi Radio, Women In The Arts). Katie and Isabelle talk to special guests to discuss International Women's Day - what does it mean, where did it start, and who is it for?

Part two of a special edition of Thursday Arvos hosted by Katie Winten and Isabelle Hore-Thorburn (Agenda on FBi Radio, Women In The Arts). Katie and Isabelle talk to special guests to discuss International Women's Day - what does it mean, where did it start, and who is it for?

Part one of a special edition of Thursday Arvos hosted by Katie Winten and Isabelle Hore-Thorburn (Agenda on FBi Radio, Women In The Arts). Katie and Isabelle talk to special guests to discuss International Women's Day - what does it mean, where did it start, and who is it for? Hear from Editorial Officer at Sydney University Press, Denise O'Dea, about the Women in Wikipedia edit-a-thon, artist Deborah Kelly for 52 Artists 52 Actions on the most pressing feminist issues today, Wollongong band SOOK about GIRLS IN GONG and their single 'I'm Not Your Woman', and Dr. Astrida Neimanis on feminist theory and environmental humanities. We also asked for your love song dedications to the women, gender diverse people, and femmes in your life.

In the spirit of Mardi Gras, we investigated the queer history of Ancient Egypt. Kim and Kanye are to appear on Celebrity Family Feud. Barbra Streisand cloned her dog. Amandla Stenberg revealed that she was pretty close to having a role in the Blockbuster Marvel hit Black Panther, but backed out of the opportunity because she didn’t feel right about being part of it. On Thoughts That Count, we asked you how you deal with emotional labour in the workplace? We were also joined by British classical and alternative singer/songwriter CN Lester, who is also a writer and LGBTQI and transgender activist, ahead of the Trans Like Me panel for All About Women at Sydney Opera House.

Today on Agenda we were joined by Jonny Hawkins, co-writer and actor of short film Joy Boy, which premiered as part of SBS' Queer Shorts. For Thoughts That Count we heard from you about marriage and feminism - from the patriarchal history and traditions of marriage to friendship commitment ceremonies. We also spoke about the latest news in fashion including Gucci's severed heads on the runway, plus a special Pyeongchan feminist winter olympics exclusive.

On Agenda, we often talk to artists about the political significance of the club space in terms of resistance for marginalised communities. Sydney specifically has a long history of the club as a site of resistance, a space not only for dancing and music, but also for experimentation in performance art. This week Katie was joined by artist Rainbow Chan and Director of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art Mikala Tai, who spoke about Club 4A, a performance art night happening at Dynasty Karaoke featuring Amrita Hepi, DEADKEBAB, Rainbow Chan and more.

This week we were joined by Audiocraft co-founder Kate Montague who spoke about Ladies Who Listen, a mentorship program for women in audio, as well as Audiocraft's podcast workshop on March 4 for All About Women. We also spoke about Lady Doritos - Finally, women too can eat cornchips; Fuck Your Period -Pornhub offers free premium memberships for period-havers; and Waitangi Day - NZ PM Jacinda Ardern was given special permission to speak at the marae (meeting house) on the Waitangi grounds on the eve of the national holiday. And for Thoughts That Count, we discussed Valentine's Day - is it feminist?

Today on Agenda, we had a chat with Black Divaz producer Michaela Perske and photographer Joseph Mayers for the Black Divas exhibition at the Bearded Tit happening from 25 January - 4 March. We also heard from Cable Ties Jenny McKechnie on the growing callout culture surrounding gender representation in Australian music festival lineups.

Welcome back to Agenda on FBi Radio! We had our first show of 2018, highlighting some of the news and what we've been enjoying from over the break: Patagonian feminist folk rap three-piece Femina, SZA and Kelela were amazing live; We've been listening to Sovereign Trax's Invasion Day mix featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and global First Nations artists; We read A World Without Whom, Bad Feminist, The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity and Love We loved Call Me By Your Name and its incredible soundtrack; We also played some tracks from our Feel Your Feelings playlist, which we released at the end of 2017 with tips for creative burnout and songs recommended by some of the incredible guests and contributors to the show from the past year. We had a chat with Matt Cornell from The Blokes Project, a new dance work exploring Australian masculinity and what it means to be a bloke today.

Today on Agenda: - How to deal with creative burnout; symptoms and strategies / - Theatre Network NSW Code of Behaviour to Prevent Sexual Harrassment and Abuses of Power / - All good news only in Thoughts That Count / - Claire Pullen chatted to us about Family Planning NSW / - James Packer paid Mariah Carey millions as a result of their breakup "inconveniencing" her / BYE 2017 WE'RE TIRED

This week we were joined by the Managing Director of MusicNSW Emily Collins, and Aboriginal theatre producer Ali Murphy-Oates, to talk about a new collective called Why Are You Winking At Me? offering strategies for disarming sexism for people working in the arts and cultural sector. Thoughts That Count: Coming up to the holiday, we asked for your advice on how to navigate the holiday season, Christmas parties and family dinners in these complex political and social times. And as always we gave you all the news and trash from the past week from a feminist perspective for our segment “go home everything is terrible”, including Nigeria’s first female bobsled team, writer Zinzi Clemmons’ decision to stop working with Lena Dunham, the incredible trailer for A Wrinkle in Time, plus more.

We were joined by photographer Liz Ham ahead of the launch of Punk Girls, a book documenting the Australian punk movement in its many guises, and most importantly the female identifying people that inhabit that world. We also spoke about democratic victories for minority and LGBT candidates in the US, NAIDOC Week 2018, Louis CK and the latest in beauty pageant news. Thoughts That Count: How do we split the bill in 2017? We heard from you about money in relationships and dating, and how intersections of privilege, gender and power affect how we split the bill.

This week were joined by Subeta Vimalarajah, one of the directors and co-founders of fEMPOWER Sydney, a program of feminist high school workshops, run by university students and young feminists. fEMPOWER Sydney aims to educate young people on feminist issues, ranging from representation in the media to sexual harassment and domestic violence, and hope to inspire students to form their own collectives and take action on these issues. fEMPOWER workshops are completely volunteer-run and by donation for public schools in New South Wales. We also had a chat to Maddie from Girls Rock Sydney, which is part of a national network of Australian rock camps, and a wider global Girls Rock! community. Girls Rock! originated in Portland, Oregon in 2001, and has since spread across the world to the UK, Japan, Finland and more. Girls Rock Sydney is holding a fundraiser on November 4 at the Factory in Marrickville, with Mere Women, Party Dozen and more, ahead of their first camp in January 2018. We heard from Niveen Abdelatty (HipHopHoe), a Sydney-based musician and DJ and a first generation Egyptian-Australian, about cultural appropriation on our segment Thoughts That Count. We’ll also spoke about the American classes designed for men to unlearn toxic masculinity and consent classes in Kenyan schools.

This week we were joined by artists Okapi Neon and Jesse Rye ahead of Fully Sick, and exhibition opening on November 1 at First Draft Gallery. Curated by Okapi Neon & Willurai Kirkbright, Fully Sick is group exhibition showcasing the work of artists living with chronic illness, pain and disability. For Thoughts That Count we heard from Pink Noise's Marisa Marsionis, Laneway Festival's Dom O'Connor and more on the topic of all-female festivals in Australia following the crowd-funded Statement festival in Sweden.

This week were joined by writer Julie Koh ahead of Boundless: A festival of diverse writers happening on October 28 at Bankstown Arts Centre. We also took a look at #MeToo - does it ask too much of survivors? Plus, we spoke about the French equivalent Rat Out Your Pig and activist Tarana Burke who began the Me Too crusade 10 years ago specifically for women of colour. Thoughts That Count: Who's responsibility for closing the gender wage gap in Australian sport? We heard from Ladies Who League founder Mary Konstantopoulos, sports journalist Kieran Wagstaff and our listeners on the topic.

"Ironic" Toxic Masculinity & Rhetorical Chorus This week we were joined by Agatha Gothe-Snape and Megan Alice Clune for Agatha's new performance work 'Rhetorical Chorus' as part of Liveworks 2017. The work is on until October 22 at Performance Space, Carriageworks. We were also joined by Athena Thebus for her new work ''Dreaming about you woke me up". It's on until October 22 at 55 Sydenham Rd Marrickville. For Thoughts That Count we focused on an article by Junkee writer Jared Richards called Alex Cameron, Kirin J Callinan and The Problem with "Ironic" Toxic Masculinity, and heard from our listeners as well as All Our Exes Live In Texas' Hannah Crofts, LISTEN's Jonine Nokes and Sydney rapper Kimchi Princi.