Bloom

Gray Connolly on COVID-19, Geopolitics and Australia, and Reflections on Faith, Love, and Grief

Originally published with transcript at https://www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/grayconnolly

In this interview, Nick and Gray discuss:

• Gray’s life and career in the law, including his military service in the Royal Australian Navy

• The geopolitical lessons of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic

• The Dragon-Bear strategic alliance between China and Russia

• The 2020 US presidential election, and reflections on Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump

• How the pandemic has brought out the Australian ethos of looking after our most vulnerable, including a reflection on Simpson and his donkey

• How the pandemic has upended the Australian political landscape and forced the conservative Liberal-National Coalition - and governments around the world - to abandon ideology in the face of crisis

• Longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Australian society, including changes to Federation and federal-state relations

• Observations on modern Australian politics and the quality of our politicians and polity

• Reflections on love, faith, grief, and the meaning of Australia

Gray Connolly is a Sydney-based Barrister and Writer, and he is a reservist serving as a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Australian Navy. He writes about geopolitics, faith, history and war on his Strategy Counsel website. Gray’s writing has also appeared in an interesting range of Australian periodicals, including Meanjin and The Daily Telegraph. He regularly features on the ABC and Sky News as a commentator. He is a lifelong South Sydney and Richmond supporter. Twitter @GrayConnolly

  

Dr. Hugo Slim on Life, Conflict, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, and Humanitarianism

In this conversation, Nick and Hugo discuss:

• Hugo’s early life and career as a frontline humanitarian worker in Africa and the Middle East

• The bureaucratisation of humanitarian organisations over recent decades

• The magic of young people in humanitarian (and other) organisations

• The experience of civilians in war and conflict, the ‘seven spheres of suffering’, and memorialisation of the dead

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Hugo’s term as Head of Policy and Humanitarian Diplomacy

• Recent developments in International Humanitarian Law and warfare

• The impact of COVID-19 on relief work in conflict zones

• The changed ethical landscape that many in western nations now find themselves in as a result of the pandemic.

Dr Hugo Slim recently concluded 5 years as Head of Policy and Humanitarian Diplomacy at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva. Before joining ICRC in 2015, he was Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) at the University of Oxford where he led research on humanitarian ethics and the protection of civilians. Hugo has combined a career between academia and practice. He was Chief Scholar at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue from 2003–2007 and Reader in International Humanitarianism at Oxford Brookes University from 1994–2003. Between 1983 and 1994, Hugo worked for Save the Children and the United Nations in Morocco, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Bangladesh. He received his PhD in humanitarian ethics from Oxford Brookes University in 2002. His most recent books are Humanitarian Ethics: A Guide to the Morality of Aid in War and Disaster (2015 Hurst/OUP) and Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War (2007 Hurst/OUP).

Professor Peter Doherty on COVID-19, Life, Science, and The Road Less Travelled

Originally published with transcript at: https://www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/peterdoherty

In this interview, Nick and Professor Doherty discuss:

• Peter's life and career in science and advice for young research scientists today
• The work of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in tackling the global burden of COVID-19
• The different public health responses to COVID-19 around the world
• Globalisation, pandemics and the 21st century
• President Donald Trump and the American response to COVID-19
• The state of scientific literacy and education in Australia and the world
• The proliferation of conspiracies about COVID-19, including 5G and Bill Gates
• How our societies could change as we recover from the pandemic

Professor Peter Doherty shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 with Swiss colleague Rolf Zinkernagel, for their discovery of how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells. He was Australian of the Year in 1997, and has since been commuting between St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne. The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity is named in his honour, and the institute is leading a lot of the research into COVID-19 in Australia.

Dr. Paul Monk on Coronavirus, China, and Conspiracies

In this interview, Nick and Dr. Paul Monk discuss:

• Background on epidemiology, virology and global transmission as they relate to COVID-19

• Major plagues throughout history, and literary representations of pestilence and plague

• The context of wet markets, corruption, totalitarianism and secrecy in China

• The divergence in global reactions to the outbreak of COVID-19

• The emergence of conspiracy theories about the virus

• Silver linings from the current crisis, such as the need for global coordination and cooperation to respond to similarly global problems
  
  

Dr Paul Monk is a poet, polymath and highly regarded Australian public intellectual. He has written an extraordinary range of books, from Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty (which resides in former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s library), to reflective essays on the riches of Western civilization in The West in a Nutshell, to a prescient 2005 treatise on the rise of China in Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China. 

Dr. Paul Monk on Religion and Society in the 21st Century

In this podcast, Nick and Dr. Paul Monk discuss:

• The Rationalist Society of Australia and Paul’s occasional paper, Religion and Society: Dilemmas of Our Time

• The deep history of the relationship between religion and society

• The relationship between liberal and social democracies and religion since the Reformation

• The rich traditions of mysticism, prayer and contemplation

• The case of Israel Folau and the Religious Freedom Bills before the Australian Parliament

• How we might structure curricula in schools to promote greater literacy and understanding of religious and civic issues

• A vision for religious toleration in the 21st century
  
  

Dr Paul Monk is a poet, polymath and highly regarded Australian public intellectual. He has written an extraordinary range of books, from Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty (which resides in former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s library), to reflective essays on the riches of Western civilization in The West in a Nutshell, to a prescient 2005 treatise on the rise of China in Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China.

Dr. Zac Seidler on Mental Health, Masculinity, and Social Connection in the Time of COVID-19

Dr. Zac Seidler is a clinical psychologist, researcher and leading men’s mental health expert who works as Director of Health Professional Training at Movember and as a post-doctoral research fellow with Orygen at the University of Melbourne.

In this conversation, we speak about mental health and the Australian health care system, notions of masculinity, and the importance of social connection to foster wellbeing and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the content we cover touches on subjects that may be confronting to some listeners, such as suicide, depression and anxiety. If this raises any issues for you, please seek help via Beyond Blue, Orygen, Headspace or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Angelina Stanton on Poetry, (Type)Writing, and Life on the Streets of Melbourne

Originally published with transcript at https://www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/angelinastanton

 

In this podcast, Nick and Angie discuss:

• Angie’s life story and career as a poet

• Typewriters and poetry

• Influences on Angie’s writing, such as New Zealand writer Janet Frame

• Imagination and writing poetry for children

• The City of Melbourne and recent changes to busking permits

• The busking and street performer communities in Melbourne

• Social scourges such as homelessness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and inadequate access to healthcare

• Some of Angie’s poems about new beginnings, Merri Creek, addiction and substance abuse

Angelina Stanton is a poet, who has worked in Australia and New Zealand. Follow Angie on Facebook

Dr. Paul Monk on Donald Trump, Impeachment, and the U.S. Constitution

Transcript available at www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/paulmonkontrump

In this podcast, Dr Paul Monk and Nick Fabbri discuss the impeachment and acquittal of President Donald Trump, the role of impeachment in the US Constitution and examples of it occurring throughout history, and the differences between the liberal democracies and authoritarian regimes.

Dr Paul Monk is a poet, polymath and highly regarded Australian public intellectual. He has written an extraordinary range of books, from Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty (which resides in former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s library), to reflective essays on the riches of Western civilization in The West in a Nutshell, to a prescient 2005 treatise on the rise of China in Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China. 

Professor Gillian Triggs on Speaking Up, Australia and Human Rights, the Global Refugee Crisis, and the United Nations

Originally published with transcript at https://www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/gilliantriggs

In this podcast, Gillian and I discuss her recent book Speaking Up (MUP, 2018), influences on her early life and career, her role as President of the Australian Human Rights Commission from 2012-2017, the scale of the Global Refugee Crisis, and her upcoming role as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at the United Nations.

Professor Gillian Triggs is a lawyer and academic, who became best known to the Australian public through her Presidency of the Australian Human Rights Commission between 2012 and 2017, which saw her involved in and influencing some of the major social, political and human rights issues and controversies of the day. Professor Triggs was recently appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

Raimond Gaita on 'Romulus, My Father', Suffering, Morality, and Humanity