Sonic Gathering Place Melbourne Jail: Creating peaceful spaces in the midst of city chaosOn this Radiothon show we explore the beginnings of the show Communication Mixdown with John Langer, and the ambience of cities with Jordan Lacey. And we encourage listeners to donate to keep community strong and keep 3CR on air for another year. Communication …

Murdoch and mushroomsThis week Communication Mixdown looks at two very different forms of communication. We begin with Dr Victoria Fielding on the Murdoch media's campaign to support Net Zero emissions by 2050 and to educate the Australian public about climate change. Victoria's anaylsis of Newscorp's coverage of the floods in Queensland in 2022 te…

‘Social media is full of dead people. Untold millions of dead users haunt the online world where we increasingly live our lives. What do we do with all these digital souls? Can we simply delete them or do they have the right to persist?’ These questions are posed in the blurb on the back of a new book called Digital Souls: A Philosophy of Online De…

Seeking Asylum: Our StoriesOn November 30th the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre here and Black Inc. Books here launched Seeking Asylum: Our Stories, a book that features the voices of people who have lived the experience of seeking asylum in Australia. Twenty-three people tell us why they had to leave their country of origin, how they came to Austral…

"This is a major economic risk for us": Jake Whitehead on the inadequacies of the Morrison government's new electric vehicle strategy On November 9th the Morrison government announced it's new electric vehicle strategy here, to coincide wiith the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, but it's not the strategy Australia needs to meet its COP26 emission ta…

You look up at the stages and you see very few women: Women and girls at COP 26During the second week of the climate summit COP 26, a day was allocated to gender equality and the empwerment of women and girls in climate policy and action. Betty Barkha, a PhD candidate at Monash University's Centre for Gender, Peace and Security here, and Katrina Le…

(Image: Angie/Flickr)Books that offer readers the chance to try to change their lives or selves for the better seem to be proliferating. Given their prevalence, it’s likely you or someone you know has bought or borrowed from a library some kind of self-help book. And maybe it’s even helped solve whatever problem you or they were struggling with. Bu…

Peace Building in Africa and Beyond: Creating partnerships in Australia and the Democratic Republic of CongoThe Raising Peace Festival was held from September 16th to September 26th, 2021. The Festival celebrated International Peace Day, September 21st, and was organised by International Volunteers for Peace (IVP), the Women's International League …

Urban foraging: Edible plants, caring for the environment and creating community Urban foraging is an idea that has been taken up by many celebrity chefs but for Alexandra Crosby and IIaria Vanni, from the University of Technology Sydney it's much more. Together they've established Mapping Edges, a transdisciplinary research studio that explores th…

Political philosopher Charles Mills died on September 20. Mills was a major figure in philosophy for bringing white supremacy to the fore in his work, changing the way we speak about race. Reema Rattan talks to race scholar Debbie Bargallie, who used Mills' work extensively in her book Unmasking the Racial Contract: Indigenous voices on racism in t…

The Women of Little Lon: Sex workers in 19th Century MelbourneBarbara Minchinton's book The Women of Little Lon: Sex workers in 19th Century Melbourne published by Black Inc is a meticulously researched account of sex work and sex workers in Melbourne from the mid to late 1800s. Barbara chats with Judith about urban archaeology, the situation of se…

The Australian story of Mikis Theodorakis' legendary song ZorbaMikis Theodorakis, considered by many of his country people to be the greatest Greek composer in history, died on September 2nd at his home in Athens at the age of 96. As the country mourned his passing he was remembered as a patriot and a person whose music touched generations of peopl…

Technological disruption of all kinds of industries is the norm rather than the exception now and the film industry is no different. As cameras on smartphones improve, more and more people are embracing the tool as an opportunity to tell their stories, and even traditional filmmakers are joining in. Max Schleser, senior lecturer in film and televis…

Origins and principles of Shariah law: Which version the Taliban is likely to implement?As the Taliban consolidates its rule in Afghanistan it is endeavouring to present a more moderate face to the world. However the statement from the Taliban that it would not discriminate against women and would give them their rights “within the bounds of sharia…

Making the Law work for WomenRamona Vijeyarasa is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the editor of International Women's Rights Law and Gender Equality: Making the law work for women which was launched on July 29th this year. The book is the result of a seminar, Making the Law Work for Women, hel…

The townspeople of Buenos Aries (Ecuador) met with excessive violence when protesting against mining and the incursion of the police on their land Between 2016 and 2018 a cash-strapped Ecuador sold around a third of the country's land mass to multinational mining corporationswithout consultation with traditional owners, as required by Ecuador's con…

In the middle of April, Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison attended a national Australian Christian Churches Conference in the Gold Coast. A video of his speech was broadcast by Vineyard Church and distributed by the Rationalist Society soon afterwards, leading to public discussions about the separation of church and state in Australia.In hi…

In the middle of April, Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison attended a national Australian Christian Churches Conference in the Gold Coast. A video of his speech was broadcast by Vineyard Church and distributed by the Rationalist Society soon afterwards, leading to public discussions about the separation of church and state in Australia. In h…

Mining or farming: What do the Nationals really stand for?Barnaby Joyce's return to the leadership and his hard pro-mining stance raise questions about the future of an increasingly divided National Party. Honorary Professor Geoff Cockfield from the Institute for Resilient Regions and the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems at the Universit…

Jesus and John Wayne: A reckoning Kristin Du Mez is a professor of history at Calvin University in Grand Rapids Michigan in the United States. Her research focuses on the intersections of gender, religion, and politics in recent American history. Last year she published Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a …

Saving Westernport: How a determined community stopped AGL's plan for a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit in Westernport BayOn October 17th, 2017, Candy Van Rood woke to the news that energy giant AGL was planning to install a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) at Cribb point in Westernport Bay on the Mornington Peninsula, and i…

Since 1976, 3CR has staked out a vital place on the airwaves, broadcasting news, analysis, music and the voices of hundreds of community groups 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Keep us on air by donating either online by going to www.3cr.org.au/donate, or call 03 9419 8377 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday to pay by credit card.…

The issue of sexual assault brought women into the streets across Australia to demand change and over forty thousand people have signed a petition calling for consent education to be included in sex education programs in Australian schools earlier. The teaching resources have been devloped, so why is it so difficult?In February this year Chanel Con…

Communication Mixdown looks into how local news in rural and regional areas is faring. Local newspapers are a dying breed and the coronavirus pandemic has not helped their fortunes. But does that matter and why? Reema Rattan talks to Lisa Millar, professor of digital communication at RMIT who specialises in journalism.…

Award-winning philosopher and author Damon Young discusses his latest book, On Getting Off: Sex and Philosophy, with Reema Rattan.By Presenter - Reema Rattan; Guest - Damon Young

British film director Ken Loach often features stories about people from the working class in his films.The author of "Class on Screen: The Global Working Class in Contemporary Cinema" Dr Sarah Attfield talks to Reema Rattan about her new book which evaluates depictions of the working class in films from around the world.…

When the pandemic subsides, we're facing another global crisis - climate change. Warming Up is a recently launched project that aims to link the unique position of Australia's community radio sector with communication about climate change. Kerrie Foxwell Norton and Bridget Backhaus, two of the project's key organizers, both from Griffith University…

Image: Esther Vargas/Flickr Among the many underlying problematic social issues the Covid-19 pandemic has magnified is how journalism is done in Australia. Journalists’ conduct during the press conferences held daily by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews during Victoria’s second lockdown, in particular, attracted much criticism on social media channe…

This week, psychologist Wayne Gillespie, specialist in counselling for musicians and entertainers, explains how covid 19 restrictions and the personality traits of rock musicians make for a particulalry stressful mix. Then Clive Miller from Support Act talks about some of the ways his organization has helped working muscians negotiate their way thr…

Tanya Notley from the School of Humanities and Communication Arts and the Institute of Culture and Society at Western Sydney University talks about Media Literacy Week 2020, the newly formed Australian Media Literacy Alliance (AMLA), young people deciphering fake news and why media literacy is an evolving and life-long skill needed to engage critic…

This year marks 50 years since Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire’s most influential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed was published in English. A foundational work of critical pedagogy, Freire’s book argues against the traditional model of education which treats students as if they are empty vessels and call for teachers and learners to…

Since the arrival of the global pandemic, the flow of conspiracy theories online and in social media has turned into a deluge. Kaz Ross from the School of Humanities (Asian Studies) at the University of Tasmania explains how, in particular, QAnon has become globally popular, and increasingly attactive to people in Australia.Recommended listening: Q…

The global pandemic has raised pressing questions about trustworthy health information, and journalism is postioned to play a significant role. Citing the results of research done in Australia and the Unitied States, Andrea Carson from the Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy at La Trobe University explains how the covid crisis provides a c…

Dr Debbie Bargallie discusses her new book Unmasking the Racial Contract: Indigenous Voices on Racism in the Australian Public Service. Based on the PhD Bargallie completed at Queensland University of Technology after taking a voluntary redundancy from the APS in 2013, the book uses interviews with 21 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wh…

Early in the year the World Health Organization warned that we were battling not just a pandemic but an "infodemic". Robin Canniford from the Department of Management and Marketing at Melbourne University talks with Zac Shapiro about how this infodemic has manifested itself in the proliferation of digitally driven conspiracy theories.…

Mask wearing has become a normalized part of the covid crisis. Fashion historian Lydia Edwards from Edith Cowan University talks about various manifestations of facial covering and mask wearing in western culture, and how these have plugged into circuits of fashion and communication.By Presenter - John Langer /// Guest - Lydia Edwards

One of Australia’s national myths is that we are an egalitarian country where class is of marginal, if any, importance. Yet during election campaigns, policies that attempt to redistribute wealth are shot down as being part of a class war. And more significantly, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted that maybe we aren’t as equal a society …

"I'll just Google it". How many times a day has this refrain been uttered by someone struggling to find the answer to a question? Timothy Eric Strom, researcher and writer on global political economy, looks at the power of Google to enter our everyday lives and translate that power into profit-making and personal surveillance.…

What do we mean when we say race? Why is it that it seems like calling someone racist is worse than the racism they display? Who gets to decide what's racism anyway?Alana Lentin, Associate Professor in Cultural and Social Analysis at Western Sydney University, talks to Reema Rattan about her new book 'Why Race Still Matters', which argues that we n…

Image: Tim Waters/FlickrColonial monuments have been in the spotlight since the Rhodes Must Fall movement started in South Africa in March 2015, and have faced renewed focus in 2020 because of the Black Lives Matter protests. Starting with the removal of slaver Edward Colston's statue in Bristol, a number of statues have been pulled down around the…

Facial recogniton technology is being rolled out across Australia with what some, including the Human Rights Commission, consider to be unseemly haste. Is mass societal face surveillance the next step, and will the current Covid crisis be an additional push factor? Rick Sarre, adjunct professor of law and criminal justice at the University of South…

Discrimination, hidden and not so hidden, appears to be pervasive in communication and culture insdurties across Australia. The ABC, SBS, Network Seven and the National Institute of Dramatic Art have all been in the spotlight in recent years. Black Lives Matter organizer, screen writer, Sydney Theatre Company emerging playwright and graduate of NID…

Deliberative democracy - utopian pipe dream or attainable vision for the future, and how does it intersect with specific modes of communication and counter the global rise of populist rhetoric? Nicole Curato from the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Governance at the University of Canberra surveys some of the issues.…

Image: Natalie Macguire/FlickrEvery year during NAIDOC Week, 3CR broadcasts the voices of Indigenous men and women from the inside Victorian prisons. In 2020, Beyond the Bars by disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions, making live broadcasts impossible at a time when prison abolition was in the news agenda for a change and the weeklong broadcast was pre…

First, the disasterous bushfire summer, then the covid19 pandemic. Add in the years of punishing drought, and there it is - Australia's crisis trifecta. Through these challenging weeks, months and years, despite the hardship and struggle, community radio has been there, offering support and a broad range of locally based services. Holly Friedlander…

Image Binuri Ranasinghe/FlickrReema Rattan talks to senior editor at NITV Jack Latimore and Heidi Norman, Professor of Australian Aboriginal Political History at UTS and one of the editors of 'Does the Media Fail Aboriginal Political Aspirations? 45 years of news media reporting of key political moments' (2019) about how the Australian media ignore…

What's the connection between a video chat and the celebrity autobiography? This week, we find out when lecturer and researcher in communication and media studies at the University of Western Australia, Katja Lee talks about persona studies, the memoir boom and her own pivotal encounter with video conferencing during the pandemic lockdown.…

The start of the pandemic was marked by a disturbing rise of online videos of people fighting over toilet paper and racist attacks. But rarely, if ever, did they feature an intervention by a bystander. Reema Rattan asks Associate Professor of Philosophy at Deakin University Patrick Stokes whether it's enough to record such events rather than interv…

This week, a discussion of the shift to digital campaigning within the student movement during the coronavirus pandemic with long term activists and SCR Education Officers Jack Mansell from University of Sydney and Shovan Bhattarai at the University of NSW.By Presenter - Liam Armstrong // Guests - Jack Mansell, Shovan Bhattarai

We may have been in lockdown due to the coronavirus for the past two months, but social media has been in overdrive. It’s no exaggeration to say that there’s never been a time when so many people around the world are actively posting to various digital platforms. This week Professor Axel Bruns from the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland Un…