Poppy Gee is a brilliant writer, editor, journalist. She is a published author and her books Bay of Fires from 2013 and Vanishing Falls released in 2020 are two novels that I couldn't put down once I started reading. Her brilliant friend Allie said that she could never be a parking warden because she is so nice she wouldn't fine anyone.

She can be found on her website: www.poppygee.com or on social media: @poppygeenovelist

On this episode, I’m going to go through films, plays, books, and initiatives that have inspired me in 2024:

• BBC Podcast - This Cultural Life - hosted by John Houston: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010fl4/episodes/downloads

  Mehdi Harsan- the journalist joined the Guardian as a columnist and started a new media outlet called Zeteo. https://zeteo.com/

  Vincent Namatjira - Australian Artist, Archibald Prize Winner in 2020: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/2020/30235/

• https://shop.australian.museum/products/albert-namatjiraBOOK

  Eduardo Ortiz - Chilen street photographer. He has several videos online, several of his photos can be seen on Instagram or on his website. He inspires me because of his absolute surrender to what is happening and because of the way he gives himself to photography. https://www.eortizdelacruz.com/

• August - Osage County Belvoir St Theatre.

• Belvoir Street Theatre is one of Australia's most prestigious theatre companies, and I was lucky enough to see of their productions in 2024: August: Osage County. It was written by Tracy Letts and directed by Eamon Flack. The cast includes Tamsin Carroll, Pamela Rabe, Bee Cruse, John Howard, Amy Mathews, and Bert Labonte, Johnny Nasser, Rohan Nichol, Will O'Mahony, Anna Samson, Greg Stone, Helen Thomson and Esther Williams.

  https://belvoir.com.au/productions/august-osage-county/

• Kate Box is also one of my inspirations for 2024. I’ve seen her perform in multiple tv series, and the way she changes from character to character with the same integrity, the same sobriety, the same understanding of her vulnerability, is absolutely inspiring. She is in Deadloch, Four Years Later, Fucking Adelaide, etc https://www.instagram.com/boxkatebox/

• Otto By Otto - by director Gracie Otto. It is one of those films that are miracles, actually, because it had to be done by Gracie Otto. There was no way for it to be done by someone outside the family, and we’re just so lucky to be able to watch it, because it is the history of Australian cinema and theatre, as Barry Otto is part of that history and it is also the history of a family, of the influence of an artist in his own family, it is a must watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80UlSaC6l2M

• Don’t expect too much from the end of the world, by Radu Jude, with Ilinca Manolache and her character Bobitza, the script shows an overworked production assistant that has to select the cast for a safety video for a company, in midst of a cast of people that suffered work accidents. It was one of my favourite films this year, because the story is there and here I take a pause to share what I like about films and theatre and stories in general, which is not the spectacular side of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0uh5i-SEW8

• Es Devlin - I've been a fan of Es Devlin since I saw her on the episode of Abstract, a series of documentaries about different artists. Her work is out of bounds, she doesn't respect frontiers between different forms of art, she is happy to mix it all up and that is why she inspires me. She has recently launched her book and you can buy it online. It is a book but it is a sculpture at the same time. https://esdevlin.com/

• Watermelon Pictures -a production company founded to tell stories of Palestinian identity, which is an initiative that has a very deep and profound history and is focused on offering a voice to Palestinian stories. One of my goals for 2025 is to have more and more diversity on the podcast and I feel like Watermelon Pictures is an initiative that does exactly that: fosters diverse stories https://www.watermelonpictures.com/

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Lucas Nadin is a musician, actor, and producer. He is one of the body percussionists in Junkyard Beats, he has also worked in theatre and TV series in Brazil and Australia.

You can find Lucas on Social Media, on instagram.com/lucas_nadin

Charlie Trindall is a Gamilaroi Man, he is also a country singer, and songwriter, who has written hits such as Fringe-Dwelling Man, and has released albums Ancient Echoes and The Journey. He is also the creator of Indigenous Facilitation, a consulting agency focused on bringing social change through workshops and indigenous perspectives.

https://indigenousfacilitation.com.au/

Phyllis Foundis is a writer, a TEDx speaker, a producer, a performer and multi award winning TV and Radio Host. She wrote the books The joy of Sags and The Virgin Club, which was also a comedic theatre show performed in Australia and overseas at the Edinburgh Festival and the Royal Theatre in London. She is the host of Love Soul, a radio show that airs on Sundays at 2 PM on Eastside radio, and she has recently performed in "A little bit of lip", an incredible one woman show, directed by Sarah Jane Starr.

Paula Sabbaga is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles, US. She has worked in multiple TV Series as a writer, executive story editor, and story editor. Recent credits include tv series "Walker" and The Dynasty. She has a Master's degree in screenwriting and received a CBS Fellowship.

Ru is a comedian and improviser, she is one of the creators of Scary Strangers, a comedy duo based in Sydney, responsible for Big Cat Club Improv Comedy Extravaganza, and Are You Havin’ A Laugh?! She is also the host of Ru's Chit-Chat Cadillac, an improvised podcast.

You can find her on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runiversal.studios/

And on the Scary Strangers website: www.scarystrangers.com

Pamela Pilawa is a Swiss performer that has travelled the world studying and performing, she specializes in comedy and clown and she is performing in October 2024 at the Sydney Fringe Festival with a show called Restricted Access. You can find the tickets for her show on the link below.

https://pamelapilawa.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pamelapilawa/

https://sydneyfringe.com/events/restricted-access/