Everyone’s coming out for Feast Festival!

As the weather starts to fine up and the sun comes out, the collective mood of our city has been lifted.

If only there was more to do outside leading up to Christmas…

Wait a second, it looks like there is – Adelaide’s own queer cultural festival, Feast, is coming out more than ever!

The Light Square Festival Hub is to be the very visible and central convergence place, with much more focus on outdoor entertainment this year, after reports last year that the new spot went down a treat.

To talk more about the festival, we were joined by Creative Producer Kerry Ireland.

Download Interview

Feast Festival kicks off on November 12 and runs until November 27. For more information, head to www.feast.org.au 

Produced by Jennie Lenman.

Should we say ‘yes’ to a carbon price?

There’s no doubt the coal industry have vocal about their disapproval of a carbon price, so it’s been quite hard to hear what the other side have to say- that is, those who feel strongly about the need for a price on carbon, in order to curb the detrimental effects of climate change.

Agricultural scientist Phillipa Rowland is one of 30 volunteers that will be going to Canberra on Monday to try to convince Members of Parliament to vote on carbon price legislation, ahead of the Senate vote on carbon price legislation.

She joined us in the studio, along with Director of the Rainforest Information Centre, John Seed, to talk more about this.

Download Interview

Produced by Jennie Lenman.

Climate Change Despair & Empowerment

During a time when our culture is dominated by environmentally destructive forces, often driven by profit-driven economies, we may start to feel disconnected from our natural surroundings; and may even feel pain for the Earth.

Deep Ecologist, John Seed, is hosting Environmental Inspiration workshops on the weekend, including one called “Climate Change, Despair and Empowerment”, which addresses such issues and gives you the opportunity to ‘honour the pain’ that you may feel for the Earth.

We were joined in the studio by John Seed, as well as agricultural scientist, Phillipa Rowland who is contributing to the workshop.

Download Interview

For more information about the upcoming workshops, head to http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/fliers/adelaide.pdf

Produced by Jennie Lenman.

Adelaide University Researchers Target Melanoma

Today marks the first day of the University of Adelaide’s inaugural Research Week, a celebration of the positive impact that the university’s research has had on the everyday lives of people around the world.

As part of Research Week, a lecture called ‘Targeting Melanoma’ is being held next Monday in which the latest breakthroughs in the development of several drugs to control the spread of melanoma will be discussed.

With Australia being the melanoma capital of the world, it’s important to have ongoing skin cancer research so we can learn more about the disease and how it can be treated.

Professor Michael Brown is leading the lecture and is at the forefront of clinical trials of two new drugs that prolong survival and control the disease from spreading throughout the body. He spoke with Jennie Lenman about his latest research.

Download Interview

To register for the event, head to http://www.adelaide.edu.au/research-week/events/melanoma/ or call Cancer Council SA on 13 11 20.

Produced by Steph Overton.

Republician, Monarchist…Doesn’t matter?

The Queen’s recent visit to Australia has re-sparked the debate about whether we need to be a part of a monarchy.

When our culture has changed so much in recent years, is it really necessary for Australia to be a part of the monarchy?

And what difference would it make if we did become a republic?

Well, republicans themselves have taken quite a beating during the Queen’s visit, so to gain their perspective on the issue, Jennie Lenman spoke to Deputy Chair of the Australian Republican Movement, Professor John Warhurst.

Download Interview

Produced by Steph Overton.

Backwater Blues and Roots Festival

Are you a lover of blues and roots music? Well if so, you have ten whole days to revel in the cool sounds of dozens of talented local, national and international acts.

Backwater Blues and Roots Festival starts tonight and will be spread out amongst venues from Adelaide to Whyalla, McLaren Vale, Auburn and Willunga.

Amongst the gigs, there’ll be a King Billy Blues Guitar Battle, The Juke Joint, a big-billing blues event, and a slide-guitar workshop and performance by Brendan Gallaggher and prominent SA guitarists Chris Finnen, Jesse Deane-Freeman and Cal Williams Junior.

Cal Williams Junior is no stranger to the music scene. He’s three time winner of ‘The South Australian Songwriter of the Year’ award and Bank’s Music ‘Best New Music U.K.’ award winner and he’s played at a huge array of local and international festivals.

We were lucky enough to have him on the program – and he was even so kind as to play us a track from his new album ‘King Billy’.

Download Interview

Produced by Jennie Lenman.

Can you afford to live in Adelaide?

Adelaide is now the 46^th most expensive city to live, according to a brand new report, titled State of Australian Cities 2011. That’s right – We’ve jumped a whopping 44 places on the global cost of living index.

So how did this happen?

We asked Head of Commerce at Adelaide Uni, Associate Professor Barry Burgan.

Download Interview

Produced  by Jennie Lenman.

Is the food industry to blame for the obesity epidemic?

Did you know that ONE in FOUR Australian children is overweight or obese? And these rates are predicted to rise in the future.

Increased excess body weight is also linked to cancers of the bowel, kidney and pancreas, just to name a few.

To combat this increase in obesity, SA’s Health Minister John Hill suggests the food industry must embrace voluntary health reforms. In fact, he is hosting a food industry reform summit early next year.

Cancer Council SA also supports this reform, suggesting the fast food industry is a significant contributor to the obesity epidemic.

To talk more about the issue, we were joined by Professor Brenda Wilson, Chief Executive of Cancer Council SA.

Download Interview

If you’d like any further information about obesity, head to http://www.cancercouncilsa.org.au/aspx/home.aspx or call the Cancer Council Helpline on 13 11 20.

Produced by Steph Overton.

Fighting ‘bio-phobia’ in childcare

Here’s a question for any parents of young children: Are you worried about your child getting dirty, tripping on pebbles or falling out of trees?

Well, experts suggest parents have become so concerned about their children’s safety that they have developed “bio-phobia”- a fear of nature’s risks.

And now, even the government is getting involved. Their new national quality framework requires that childcare centres must offer a connection with the natural environment.

 As a result, Mission Australia is redeveloping seven run down childcare centres in low-incomes areas of Australia to abide by this obligation.

To talk more about this, Jennie Lenman spoke with Marie Howard, National Director of Early Learning Services at Mission Australia.

Download Interview

Produced by Steph Overton.

Embedding Culture in the Built Environment

More and more property developers are considering the environment as they plan, and focus on building communities rather than stand-alone buildings.

As they, along with their teams, get more creative, who knows what they’ll come up with!

Well blending ecology with art in building community developments, is an approach, which the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT) is exploring.

They’ve been busy for the past three years on a project focused on real-time data-generated artworks, called “Echology: making sense of data”.

Discussing this, in a talk called ‘Embedding Culture in the Built Environment’, this weekend for the Festival of Unpopular Culture, is Gavin Artz, CEO of ANAT. He joined us in the studio to discuss.

Download Interview

Produced by Jennie Lenman.