Radio National
The goal of MDA is to create positive solutions. It’s about understanding the reasons why diverse Australians aren’t finding their way onto our screens.
Read MoreEvery year, Madeleine Genner (my excellent wife) and I gather up the sounds of the year and I break out the old ProTools to mix a mashup of the year in news, politics, sport, power chords and dead famous people.
And hoooo boy, was 2016 a doozy.
This is the 6th year we've made the montage for ABC Radio. It always provokes much argument in our house but we still do it.
Leave a comment if this makes you cry at any point. It'll validate this whole exercise.
This week on my radio show/podcast Download This Show we did something a bit different. Online Porn producer & director Michelle Flynn and Adult Performer Lucie Bee talk about the push to make ethical adult entertainment and how technology has been changed by erotic content and how porn is changing with new digital innovations like VR and more.
Every year Madeleine Genner (my wife) and I make a montage for ABC Radio National (and indeed all of the ABC) of the year in news. It always provokes much argument in our house but we still do it.
00:00 Charlie Hebdo and #JeSuisCharlie
00:43 “I’m a fixer” — Christopher Pyne
00:45 “Because it’s 2015″ — Justin Trudeau
00:48 #LibSpill 1
01:20 Bronwyn Bishop expenses scandal
01:30 Tony Abbott’s knighthood
01:36 Tony Abbott’s onion
01:43 Mt Everest earthquake disaster
01:55 Mina stampede
02:04 The Greek economic crisis
02:11 GermanWings Crash
02:18 Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao
02:24 The Trans-Pacific Partnership
02:27 FIFA corruption scandal
02:33 Donald Trump announces run for President
02:38 US mass shootings
02:44 Syrian civil war
02:56 Aylan Kurdi and the European refugee crisis
03:11 The war on ISIS
03:26 Parramatta shooting
03:37 Reclaim Australia
03:42 Waleed Aly’s ISIL monologue
03:46 #LibSpill & Malcolm Turnbull
04:30 Michelle Payne wins the Melbourne Cup
04:38 Mick Fanning vs. Shark
04:44 Australia accepts Syrian refugees
04:57 Water on Mars
05:05 New Horizons and Pluto
05:07 Aung San Suu Kyi wins Myanmar’s elections
05:12 Ireland votes ‘Yes’ on marriage equality
05:18 Paris climate talks
05:24 Stan Grant on the booing of Adam Goodes
05:38 Passing of Malcolm Fraser
05:55 The execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran
06:24 Paris terror attacks & Antoine Leiris
TRACK LISTING
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Mary's Song
Beck - Dreams
Junkie XL - Brothers In Arms
WDL - Bob's Beat (feat. Mawe)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Downtown
M83 - Outro
If you'd like to hear the Montages from 2014 through to 2011 they're all below.
Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube, PayPal, E-Commerce, Wikileaks, Anonymous even LolCats would not exist without this man. In 1989 Tim Berners-Lee created the web and irrevocably changed the course of humanity. He's been speaking in Australia and gave his one and only broadcast interview to Download This Show.
And if you'd like to know more on the topic of Net Neutrality, here's a piece I made for Hungry Beast in 2011
2013 was a year of stars and nerds.
I flew 10 hours to have a 5 minute conversation with Will Smith and waited 2 hours in the corner of the Sydney Town Hall to put a microphone in the face of the man who created the World Wide Web. From the underpaid, overworked special effects designers who make the movies we love to the likes of Ang Lee, JJ Abrams and Russell Crowe.
Usually when it comes to big stars you basically walk into a room with 2 cameras, 15 lights, an expectant movie star and a ticking clock. Every once in a while though you get a fun, unexpected moment. From Julian Assange critiquing Benedict Cumberbatch to the man who translated all of Star Wars into Shakesperean Verse. These, however, are my favourites...
Deep inside Pixar Studios this man has a secret bar that Steve Jobs and Tom Cruise used to hang out in. Deep inside this man is a childlike love of animation that will make you warm and fuzzy.
Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube, Wikileaks, Anonymous even LolCats would not exist without this man. In 1989 Tim Berners-Lee created the web. This was his only broadcast interview in Australia and they wouldn't let me film it. Once I got in the room I understood why. I later found out that Sir Tim was recovering from a major illness which left him shuddering throughout the interview. His mind however is still as vibrant as ever. Stay for the end bit with him talking about appearing in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. It gives me goosebumps every time.
Sir James Dyson has built a $2 billion fortune from applying new technologies to seemingly mundane appliances like the vacuum cleaner and the hand dryer. But for him... it's all about failing gracefully. If you've every made something, you'll find this guy inspiring.
Ever wanted to see Zach Braff belt out the Jurassic Park theme song? The actor & filmmaker talks about his love of the dino epic, getting killed off by an internet rumour, why he loves the internet community of Reddit. He later DM'ed me on Twitter to say how much he enjoyed the chat but he wouldn't tweet it because I bagged Oz: The Great and Powerful. I'm claiming this as both a #humbelbrag and my weekly dose of editorial independence brownie points.
Julian Assange was easily the most internationally recognised person running in the 2013 Australian Federal election. But ever since he set up the Wikileaks Party, it was been plagued by resignations and a preferences scandal. More importantly, this is how he rated Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as him.
World's. Easiest. Guy. To. Talk. To. He talked about why sometimes you need to shave your head for a role, What hoops he had to jump through in order to get ahold of a script for Iron Man 3 and why the hell did he chose to be in Prometheus anyway?
Meet the man responsible for murdering all your favourite characters! What's lovely about George R. R. Martin is how he is happy to go anywhere in an interview. There's not many authors you can talk to about their Porn fan fiction and they'll come along for the ride.
Way to cause controversy, guy. Armie Hammer (The Social Network, Mirror Mirror) was in Australia to promote The Lone Ranger and we got onto the topic of George Miller's scrapped Justice League Mortal. Hammer was on board to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the buzzed about film, and even went through costume tests before the project collapsed... and Kevin Rudd is to blame.
Danny Boyle is a champion. He is one of the easiest people in the world to talk to about movies and what makes them so, frankly, sexy. His latest film is called Trance and he opens up about messing with the audience' head, the hypnotism of movies and what it's like directing the actual damn Queen.
I love how outspoken Baz is. He has a go at critics, politicians and anything else that moves.
US based author Ian Doescher talks to RN Drive about why he rewrote George Lucas' epic Star Wars in Shakespearean english.
Every year Madeleine Genner and I make one of these for ABC Radio National Breakfast but this year you'll be hearing it all around ABC Radio. Enjoy/Cry.
Oh and in case you're curious, you can hear 2011 here.
In November 2012 I hosted Radio National Friday Drive and this is my unusual interview with PT Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) that was supposed to be about his new film The Master and ended up being about penises and Carly Rae Jepsen.
And here is my full triple j review for the film. Feel free to leave comments below.
