Agenda (FBi Radio)

This week on Agenda, we talked to Melbourne artist Zoe Scoglio and Liveworks director Jeff Khan.

Agenda is your Saturday morning fix of art, politics, news and trash from a feminist perspective.

Agenda is your Saturday morning fix of art, politics, news and trash from a feminist perspective.

Today on Agenda we talked about the recent Swedish mansplaining hotline. We also chatted to Laura McLean from Runway Australian Experimental Art about the launch at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre of Runway issue #32 [RE/PRODUCTION], guest edited by punk cyberfeminists VNS Matrix.

Today on Agenda we chatted to sex therapist Aleks Trkulja about OMGYes.

Welcome to 2017! For our first episode of the year, we talked about the anomoly of the "strong" woman in popular culture. We also chatted to Emily McDaniel, curator of Walan Yinaagirbang | Strong Women opening at Firstdraft Gallery on Wednesday January 11th, 2017.

Today we talked all things ~ internet ~ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ with arts partnership Zin, whose show The Internet is Where Innocence Goes to Die and You Can Come Too closes at PACT tonight. Grab tickets (& pizza) here We also talked to Ayebatonye Abrakasa and Kate Taylor about the Women's March on Sydney, kicking off at Hyde park next Saturday Jan 21st.

Today we talked about the Women's March on Washington, the Disability March and one of the sister marches happening in Sydney. We also spoke to My Body My Right about current NSW abortion laws and played a bunch of new anti-Trump tracks from CocoRosie ft. ANOHNI, Fiona Apple and Gorillaz, as well as a track from Catalogue Magazine's new playlist chocked full of feminist anthems!

Today we talked about emotion and cognition and the importance of storytelling and listening, especially in light of the current global political climate. We chatted to storyteller and performer Ivan Coyote about their show Tomboy Survival Guide.

Today we talked language, poetry and politics with Samia Sayed. We also mentioned the brilliant local future focused Frontyard Projects in Marrickville, the WordInHand relaunch party at The Friend in Hand in Glebe next week, and poetry in the time of protest.

This morning we nerded out about queer visibility in television, and got to chat to the director of the Queer Screen - Mardi Gras Film Festival, Paul Struthers.

Today we talked Beyonce and the asexual and hypersexual modalities of pregnancy and race at the grammys and in popular culture. We also talked to the inimitable performance art vehicle Embittered Swish about their current exhibition and performance work, ‘Our Lady of the Flowers: Refracted', at Firstdraft.

Today we talked to Courtney Sanders from Well Made Clothes and Catalouge Magazine about the problematic relationship between fashion and feminism.

Today we talked with writer and critic Lauren Carroll Harris about Moonlight, Casey Affleck and gender disparity in the film industry.

Today we talked to Carriageworks Performance Curator Rosie Fisher about MDLSX - a poweful hymn to androgyny. We also talked about strike critiques in light of the Day Without Women on International Women's Day last week.

Today we talked to Allison Gallagher about her article, No, transgender women like me did not grow up with 'male privilege'. We also chatted to Nadia Hernández about her upcoming exhibition, Cosas Antes y Después / Things Before and After, and her Two Up talk tomorrow.

This week in Feminism:
- Women in Australia are earning 16 cents less to the dollar than their male counterparts. But you can get a proportionate discount on your travel insurance!
- Trans visibility day was yesterday
- The first International Women's Day was on Monday
- Feminism of Farc

We also chatted to Zoe Wong about lesbian death tropes on screen and her work in Standing, on at Gaffa Gallery until April 10.

Today we talked about the politics and origins of 'self care'. Take the self-care test here.

We also talked to Ineke Dane and Shireen Taweel about Know Your Neighbour, on at The Lock-Up until April 23rd.

Shireen's solo exhibition, 'Translated Roots', is currently on at Verge Gallery.

Never to shy away from the big questions, we asked "is Kendrick's new song feminist?" Decide for yourself and check out the film clip here.

Is "diversity" a white word? Read Tania Cañas' article here.

Alice Joel from Down / Under Space and Manuela Leigh from For Film's Sake came in to chat about the Play Your Gender screening, Women in Electronic Music showcase and the opening of CACHE coming up on Thursday night at Freda's. Details here!

We also played great new tracks from Squidgenini and Heart People ❤️

 

Connie from The Connie Experience chatted to us on Agenda about infantalisation and plastic bags. She also debuted her new track, Adult Sexual Baby.

Before that, we talked about how Trumpcare is terrifyingly mirroring The Handmaid's Tale.

This week in -#~\F*e*M*i*N*i*S*m/~#-

• Abortion is still illegal in NSW (Jesus says "kewl")
• The controversial Men's Rights Activist documentary 'The Red Pill' was screneed at the University of Sydney on Thursday night, despite protests.
• The Dark Mofo film program is "yeah the boiz"

We also spoke to Melbourne-based documentary photographer Alana Holmberg about her current exhibition 'Resist Laughter', on now at Special Group Studios until May 17th.

AND we announced our BIG NEWS - our experimental, interactive panel event as part of Vivid Ideas - 'Contemporary Art, Feminism and the Internet'. Get tickets here!

 

Meng-Yu Yan came in to chat about their first solo exhibition OCCULERE, on until June 17 at Dominik Mersch Gallery.

We talked about the implications of the Manchester attack.

We also talked about Nasty Women, Roxane Gay and misogyny in the music industry.

This episode, we broke the taboo around periods, exploring how the silence around menstruation affects people around the world, from education and sanitation to emojis.

We were also joined by Elvis Richardson, founder of CoUNTess - the organisation researching gender representation in Australian contemporary art. Elvis spoke about the challenges around collecting data, and how research methodologies have evolved as conversations around gender and intersectionality have become more diverse. You can donate to the cause here.

This episode we practised what we preached with a bit of self-care, taking a break from the usual feminist news reporting and focusing on our two incredible guests, Emma Size and Hannah Bronte.

We were joined by emerging writer and performance artist Emma Size who spoke with us about drag kings, erotic fanfictionand her upcoming work at Masculinity_Megamix at 3Merge.

Brisbane based artist Hannah Bronte, whose work centers on resilience, Indigenous politics, matriarchal futures and challenging current societal structures. Hannah recently curated After party for Vivid Sydney and is DJing at the upcoming Heaps Gay Festival for Vivid Sydney: The Kaleidoscope.

This episode we spoke about the recent Roxanne Gay and Mia Freedman controversy and cultural appriopriation blunders in celebrity culture.

Check out this great talk by Princess Nokia for more on cultural appropriation.

We also explore our first online experiences from overly-polite questions on Ask Jeeves to cyberbullying on Neopets with Sydney artist Sabella D'Souza, who shared her early experiences with feminism and her current research on online autonomous spaces.

Sabella will be speaking on Women In The Arts' event, Contemporary Art, Feminism and the Internet at the MCA from 3pm on June 17.

-This week we explored the week in feminism with the best and worst of current affairs and news from a feminist angle.

-We also took a deeper look at the recent Sam Newman controversy on the Footy Show, and Giegling Festival co-founder Konstantin's comments on female DJs.

-We were joined by the incredible Brisbane rapper Miss Blanks who just wrapped up her Clap Clap single tour with a bunch of Sydney shows at the Women In Electronic Music Showcase, Heaps Gay and Club 77. She spoke about visibility, allyship and the importance of being uncomfortable. Listen to Ayabatonye Abrakasa's excellent talk on Decolonising Club Culture for more.

This week we spoke about diversity in Australian TV. The recent census results showed us that Australia continues to be a diverse country, but do our TV shows reflect this? We chatted about our fav shows telling new and diverse stories, from ABC's You Can't Ask That to the Netflix series GLOW.

We had a look a the week in news from a feminist perspective with our new segment Go Home, Everything Is Terrible*.

We were also joined by Sydney filmmaker Diana Popovska, who directed, co-wrote and stars in her upcoming webseries PLANS, and Angelika Alana who also stars in the show. Dealing with issues of sex, violence, addiction, mental health issues, love and heartbreak, the series tells the stories of culturally diverse and queer young people in Sydney.

*Segment title subject to change.

This week we heard from Grey Jones, the teenage co-founder of Arts Not Parts, an initative using art to protest against bigotry. Co-founded along with Irregular Labs, artists such as Sia and Peaches have designed posters in support of transgender and non-binary youth using their bathroom of choice in schools. Find out more info about the project and download your own poster: www.artsnotparts.com

Grey spoke to us in depth about how the initiative started, the current "bathroom bills" in the US, and how she navigates gender identity in an online space. We were also lucky enough to hear from Grey's unreleased EP "Clown In Residence" with her track "Boy Online".

We took a look at news from a feminist perspective in Go Home, Everything Is Terrible.

In good news...

• LCD Sound System’s Gavin Russom has come out as a trans woman in a recent interview with Pitchfork. After touring and recording with LCD Soundsystem last year, she took time off to focus on her own self-care, ultimately finding support in New York City’s large and diverse community of trans women.
• Polish first Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda swerved Trump’s handshake in Warsaw.
• Kesha released Praying, her first single in four years. In an essay published on Lenny Letter, Kesha speaks about surviving "feelings of severe hopelessness and depression" following her publically documented personal and legal battle with her ex-producer Dr Luke. The song was recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney. Sound engineer Antonia Gauci helped track the song and Sydney all-female folk band All Our Exes Live In Texas feature on the song's backing vocals.
• Sydney-based Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander media professional Emily Nicol has curated Spotify’s Black Australia Playlist in celebration of Naidoc Week.

And in bad news...

• Rob Kardashian shared images of his former partner Blac Chyna without her consent, which has some serious legal implications in regards to revenge porn laws in California, not to mention the effects of image-based abuse on victims.

• Sweden's biggest music festival Bravalla was cancelled for 2018 earlier this month after 27 sexual assaults were reported this year. Swedish comedian Emma Knyckare is organising a "man-free" music festival in response to the cancellation.

This week we were joined by guests Lille and Madeleine Madden, who are Gadigal, Arrernte, Kalkadoon, Bundjalung sisters living in Sydney’s Inner West.

They were recently involved in the multimedia work Barangaroo Ngangamay (Barangaroo Dreaming), which explored indigenous languages through The Sydney Language project. Lille also spoke about her work as zookeeper at Taronga Zoo, working with the Australian Fauna. Maddy, who just finished shooting the adaption of Picnic at Hanging Rock, spoke about her experience being visible a black woman in mainstream media.

Yesterday was International Non-Binary People’s Day. Contrary to what Vogue published in their recent nonbinary issue, being nonbinary is a bit more complex than borrowing your boyfriend's clothes. Non-binary or Genderqueer refers to gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine‍—‌identities which are outside of the gender binary and cisnormativity.

We celebrated the 20 year anniversary of Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott's debut album Supa Dupa Fly, which still holds up as one of the greatest musical debuts of all time. Over her impressive career, Elliott’s message has had a clear feminist message that "women, whether conforming to heteronormative gender binaries or not, are equal to men, as important as men, and as powerful."

Go Home, Everything Is Terrible: The Week In News From A Feminist Perspective

• Beyonce blessed us with a very strong photo of Rumi and Sir. It’s a good omen.

• Twitter blew up this week when a Michigan CEO’s reply to his employee’s sick day email went viral. 

• Feminist activist Sheila Michaels, who played a key role in bringing the title "Ms." from obscurity into mainstream use, has died at 78.

• Black Mirror’s ‘San Junipero’ has been nominated for two Emmys in a win for the visibility of queer women on television.

• Selma director Ava DuVernay has a new film in the works featuring Mindy Kalling, Reese Witherspoon and none other than Oprah. A Wrinkle In Time is the upcoming adaption of the 1963 science/fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle.

• Tyler, the Creator may have come out as gay or bisexual in a newly leaked track from album Flower Boy. Fans have noticed a line in track I Ain't Got Time! where Tyler raps: "Next line will have them like woah / I been kissing white boys since 2004."

• Trump has come under fire (again) for his comments about the first lady of France Brigitte Macron, telling her that she was “in good shape” and “beautiful”. 

• What hasn’t received the same kind of attention is the French President Emmanuel Macron giving his wife a “butt tap”during a Paris tour with Donald and Melania Trump. Playful PDA or a display of ownership?

• In an update on the Rob Kardashian revenge porn incident, Chyna appeared outside of a courthouse Monday, where a judge had issued an order that prohibits Kardashian from “coming near her and restraining him from cyber bullying,” including posting anything about her online of “a personal nature,” according to her attorney Lisa Bloom.

• The Daily Telegraph has outdone itself, with an article published earlier this week depicting being LGBT as a “health concern”. In the infographic, the stats pulled from a recent survey detail behaviour by young Aussies that apparently "contribute" to their unhealthiness, under the headline of "Fat Chance Of Being Healthy". Included in this are alcohol/cannabis/drug consumption, overweight/obesity levels, "psychological distress", and the percentage of young people that are either same-sex or multiple-sex attracted.

The Doctor is a lady, R Kelly is allegedly holding women and girls hostage in an sex cult, and China is selling anti pervert flame throwers to women. But what does it all mean? Will the music industry stop protecting predators? Will the patriarchy let an immortal, shapeshifting alien be a woman this one time? Can Chinese women walk home in peace?

 

...probably not, but Teen Vogue did the gender non-binary issue right, and we have to give it to Mama Vogue, who released six videos of Celine Dion living her best life.
In more great first lady news -  the Japanese first lady Akie Abe is all of us for pretending she couldn’t speak english for 2 hours to avoid talking to Trump this week.

This week we were joined by Sydney musician OKENYO, who spoke to us about her new single Woman's World. She spoke about equality in the corporate world, making political statements through art.

We spoke about the toxic culture of sexual violence in the music industry, from Rick Ross recently stating that he wouldn’t sign a lady to Maybach Music because he wouldnt be able to not have sex with them, to R Kelly and Dr Luke. To counter that we wanted to share NPR's list of the 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women. 

In current politics, Trump has announced on Twitter that transgender people will be banned from serving in the US millitary, despite the military spending five times as much on Viagra as it would on transgender troops' medical care.

We rounded off the show with the new Charli XCX track Boys. The self-directed, boy-packed video, which turns the tables on gender roles and the male gaze in pop videos, has Diplo and Khalid cuddling with puppies, Joe Jonas tucking into a tall stack, Riz Ahmed getting cozy with a teddy bear, Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie in a pile of rose petals, and so on.

Women In The Arts will be hosting a panel discussion on July 29 in Erskineville as part of Island Salon's launch. Island Salon unites a band of female artists across a broad spectrum of media in an immersive, island-inspired cinema experience. We'll be hosting a panel talk with Island Salon participants Philippa Barr, Kate Brown, Jannah Quill and Eugene Choi, so come along for some live music, poetry, performance and conversation. More details here.

This week's episode was the first in a two-part look at the state of gender equality in the Australian music industry following a bunch of research that has come out over the last few weeks, including the recently published “Skipping a Beat” Report led by Associate Professor Rae Cooper from the University of Sydney Business School.

We heard from Dr. Catherine Strong, a senior lecturer from RMIT University who recently conducted research commissioned by APRA AMCOS exploring how gender affects and is perceived by Australian screen composers. Dr. Catherine Strong spoke about the findings, and her thoughts on other similar research such as the Skipping A Beat report.

Following the research, APRA AMCOS - the music body that collects royalties for musicians in Australia - has committed to doubling the intake of new female members in three years; introduced strict 40 per cent female participation measures in its programs, judging panels and performers at its events; announced a mentorship program for emerging artists, and has called on the rest of the industry to follow their lead and commit to gender parity.

We were also joined now by Del Lumanta to talk about All Girl Electronic, a program run by Information Cultural Exchange featuring free workshops and special events for young women starting out in electronic music production.

• Jordan’s Parliament has just repealed a law that allowed rapists to escape punishment if they married their victim. Article 308 pardoned rapists if they agreed to marry their victim and stay with them for 3 years. King Abdullah the 11 set up a committee in 2016 that recommended abolishing the code.

• New Zealand’s opposition leader n a morning television interview, stating,  “for other women, it is totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace.”

• Officials in Georgia’s most populous county want Live Nation to cancel R Kelly’s upcoming Atlanta performance in the wake of accusations of sexual abuse by the musicians. 

• Iconic Feminist artist Cindy Sherman is back making art. Originally noticed by Artnet, photographer Cindy Sherman suddenly has a public Instagram account with hundreds of posts in a surprise show of new material for fans of the photographer.  

• Boob towels.  

• Twitter users of color are now sharing stories about the first time they saw themselves represented in the media with the hashtag #FirstTimeISawMe.

Today on Agenda:

• A 20-year-old British model was kidnapped in Milan, Italy, to be auctioned off on a pornographic website on the dark web.
• Google fired the author of a 10-page anti-woman, anti-diversity memo, which was basically a manifesto that he gave to fellow Google employees explaining why diversity efforts are discriminatory to men and why women are biologically unsuited to tech careers and leadership roles
• You now have 12 days to enrol to vote for the postal plebiscite, to take part in the survey on same-sex marriage.
• Mia Freedman penned an article on Tuesday calling on ‘straight and married’ couples to stand in support of same-sex marriage. Her idea was that married women should photograph themselves pointing to their wedding rings and post them with the hashtag #married4marriageequality.
• Dr. Rae Cooper and Sally Hanna-Osborne talked about their recent Skipping a Beat report, which assesses the state of gender equality in the Australian music industry.
• In our fave news story from this week that we ran out of time to talk about - Rihanna told Diplo his music was like "airport reggae".

This week we were joined by Lucky Price (casting director), Kurt Pimblett (actor) and Anthea Williams (director) from the Australian premiere of the smash hit play 'Hir', which is on until September 10 at the Belvoir St Theatre. Written by New York playwright Taylor Mac, 'Hir' is a kitchen sink drama exploring gender roles and domestic politics. Further details here.

We also spoke about recent events surrounding Pauline Hanson's burka stunt, the 'Unite the Right' protests in Charlottesville and and David Jones' "apology" to a customer over their use of Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech on a catalogue cover. Check out the Syllabus for White People to Educate Themselves for some great resources about race, such as Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes Will Increase. Here Is How Not To Be A Bystander and How To Protest Islamophobia.

In good news this week, vending machines stocked with free pads and tampons have now arrived for the first time in South Australian high schools and American musician St. Vincent aka Annie Clark will be making her feature-length directorial debut with a female-led adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray. 

If you’re in Sydney this weekend, the Equality Weekender is happening at a bunch of venues and events including Cake Wines, The Lansdowne and Volumes Festival today. Organised by Heaps Gay, it’s a great opportunity to show your support for marriage equality and register to vote if you haven’t already. More info here.

This week on Agenda:

• David Jones' "apology" to a customer over their use of Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech on a catalogue cover.
• A petition has been started to replace a Confederate monument in Portsmouth Virginia with a statue of Missy Elliott.
• Vending machines stocked with free pads and tampons have now arrived for the first time in South Australian high schools 
• Johnson and Johnson have oversold surgical mesh products to surgeons with a jet-setting lifestyle, leaving at least 3,000 Australian women with serious side effects including chronic pain, infections and inability to have sex.
• Safe sex on TV: do shows like HBO's Insecure have a responsibility to depict the use of contraceptives in sex scenes?

Plus, a special announcement from Women in the Arts!

This week we were joined by US activists Tamika Mallory and Breanne Butler from the Women's March on Washington. Tamika is in town for her talk at Antidote on September 3.

Go Home, Everything Is Terrible:

• Schoolgirls staged a walkout on Clementine Ford after she refused to take questions from male students at exclusive Aquinas College in Melbourne.
• Scott McGehee and David Siegel will write and direct an all-female adaption of "Lord Of The Flies," based on the iconic 1954 William Golding novel about a group of boys stranded on a deserted island.

This week we were joined by Trans Sydney Pride's AJ Brown and his partner Lisa Freshwater who spoke with us about the YES Rally for Marriage Equality happening at Town Hall on September 10. They spoke about what marriage equality would mean for their family, transphobic rhetoric in the no campaign, and how to get involved in Sunday's rally.

It was Beyonce’s birthday this week, and her family and best friends dressed up as her, in aid of Beyonce’s Houston relief efforts. Amongst others, Serena Williams, Kelly Rowland, Jay Z’s mum and Michelle Obama paid tribute to Beyonce by recreating a look from the Formation video, the one where she has that huge hat covering her eyes, she’s looking down, her hair’s in braids. You can donate to the Beyonce's Houston relief campaign here.

We also spoke about Munroe Bergdorf, the first transgender woman to feature in a L’Oréal Paris UK campaign. Bergdorf was fired after a Facebook post in response to Charlottesville, in which she wrote that all "white people benefit from racism, have learned and internalised racist practices and opinions and must be engaged in dismantling their unconscious racism, which at present helps to maintain a system of white supremacy."

Rihanna also launched her new makeup range, Fenty Beauty which has a selection of over 40 different makeup shades that are genuinely inclusive of women of colour. "I wanted things that girls of all skin tones could fall in love with," Rihanna says. "That was really important for me. In every product I was like: ‘There needs to be something for a dark-skinned girl; there needs to be something for a really pale girl; there needs to be something in-between.’"

This week we heard from Sydney-based DJ and event producer Ayebatonye Abrakasa about safer spaces, intersectionality in Sydney’s nightlife, and some events coming up that embody safety and inclusivity, including Club Ate on September 16, a talk for Underbelly Arts Festival on making the arts world more accessible on September 27, the Mirror Mirror Ball on October 18 and the Embracing the Fringe Panel Discussion in November. We also heard from Melbourne organisation Musicians 4 Hearing about accessibility in music events.

This week we were joined by composer Lisa Illean, who will be premiering a work with Ensemble Offspring for Who Dreamed It?, their latest program of new and experimental works by female composers, all featuring Australian soprano and vocal actress Jessica Aszodi.

In our first hour-long episode, we were joined by Sydney artist Leila El Rayes ahead of ahead of her upcoming solo exhibition "Did I dream you dreamed about me" opening on October 4 at Artereal Gallery. We discussed the implication of Hugh Hefner's death, and took a look at the week in news from a Feminist perspective in our regular segment, Go Home, Everything Is Terrible, from Cardi B topping the charts with her debut single Bodak Yellow, to Saudi Arabia lifting its ban on women driving. We also debuted our new segment Thoughts That Count, where we want to hear your thoughts on Feminist issues. This week we want to know if men should call themselves Feminist. What do you think? Get in touch via our Facebook page and let us know your thoughts.

This week we were joined by Roma D'Arrietta and Caeley Wesson, director and associate producer respectively of a new short film called Beverly. To support the crowdfunding campaign for the film there'll be launch drinks on October 7 at the Golden Age Cinema & Bar from 7pm. We also took a look at controversial speaker Milo Yiannopoulos ahead of his Australian tour, and "Germany's Hugh Hefner" Beate Uhse.

"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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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, 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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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: 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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.

 

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 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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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.

 

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.

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.