Tomorrow Could Be Good

In this conversation, I’m joined by Agatha Gothe-Snape. She is a leading Sydney-based artist, and someone who centres the practice of collaboration, through performance and dance, and who also makes use of technology – like PowerPoint – that is the wallpaper to our lives. I’m interested in talking to Agatha about how artists, authors and the rest of us might work – even collaborate with – technology. Agatha is working in ways that allow us to think about where we might be headed. At the Powerhouse Museum, it’s part of Agatha’s brief to think about technology, particularly the technologies of industry. Agatha’s own work varies from performance pieces in the tradition of conceptual art to PowerPoint Decks, VR, and installations, like a new one at the Perth Institutes of Contemporary Art this month. Agatha was the first Australian to have a solo show at the prestigious Mori Museum in Tokyo, which is a museum I love. The books discussed in this episode are: Tomorrow Could Be Good is powered by General Experiments. This episode is produced by Jo Smythe, and the audio editor is Alison Zhuang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this conversation, I’m joined by Lexi Freiman. She is the author of a satirical new novel about "cringe icon" Ayn Rand, which has been hailed by the LA Times as the funniest and unruliest novels in ages. "It shakes you by the shoulders until you laugh, vomit or both.." It's called The Book of Ayn. I was interested in talking to Lexi, not least because when I heard about the topic of her novel, I thought, no, really? Wow. And then reading it I discovered how smart and funny and probing it is. Lexi's first novel Inappropriation, is a satire on private girls school culture, was longlisted for the centre for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. She's a graduate of Columbia's MFA in fiction. She writes for New York Magazine and for TV. The books discussed in this episode are: Tomorrow Could Be Good is powered by General Experiments. This episode is produced by Jo Smythe, and the audio editor is Alison Zhuang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode, I talk to Ange Lavoipierre. She is a journalist and comedian, and I want to talk to her about AI, dystopias, and comedy. Ange has been a journalist since age 19, when she joined the ABC newsroom, and started covering night shifts and breaking stories. Fast forward 15 years to this summer, Ange became national technology reporter, and she is deep in the rabbit hole of AI news. She is also a stand-up comedy performer, as a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe. The books discussed in this episode are: Tomorrow Could Be Good is powered by General Experiments. This episode is produced by Jo Smythe, and the audio editor is Alison Zhuang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nadine J. Cohen, also known as Nadine von Cohen, is a writer and refugee advocate from Sydney. She has written extensively across the Australian media landscape, with bylines in The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, Harper’s Bazaar and more, and her debut novel, Everyone and Everything, was published in September to critical acclaim. Nadine advocates for refugees affected by offshore detention and was a co-founder and director of Hope for Nauru, a volunteer-run charity that served refugees and asylum seekers detained on Nauru by the Australian Government. The books discussed in this episode are: Tomorrow Could Be Good is powered by General Experiments. This episode is produced by Jo Smythe, and the audio editor is Alison Zhuang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this conversation, I’m joined by James Bradley. He is the author of a new, absolutely astonishing book about the state of our oceans, which I recently inhaled over two days. It's called DEEP WATER: THE WORLD IN THE OCEAN and it is released with Penguin Random House. I’m interested in talking to James because this is a subject I am intensely interested in, and when I heard about this book I had the sense that it was exactly the book I have been waiting for on the topic. I also knew that in James hands it would be as readable, as compelling and evocative, as it should be. James comes to this topic as an already highly acclaimed environmental writer. He’s a 7 time novelist. He writes for the Guardian. He’s won multiple science writing awards and the Pascall Prize for Critic of the Year. The books discussed in this episode are: Tomorrow Could Be Good is powered by General Experiments. This episode is produced by Jo Smythe, and the audio editor is Alison Zhuang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode, I talk to Geraldine Hakewill. She is a stage and screen actor and most recently, a film producer, and I want to talk to her about the experience of trying something wildly new. Specifically, in Geraldine’s case, making a film in the woods in a pandemic. A film that stars no less an actor than Hugo Weaving, no pressure. For Geraldine, it also meant working with her partner, writer/director Mark Leonard Winter, putting a bunch of people up at their house, and un-bogging portaloos. The film is The Rooster, which lands in iTunes, Google Play and other platforms on 8 May. Geraldine is best known for her acting credits, which are many, varied, and much acclaimed: on stage, playing Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar and Lady Macbeth in mainstage productions, and on the telly, the suspense drama Wanted and the hugely fun Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. This year, Geraldine voiced grown-up Bluey, and she is currently touring the play Gaslight. Geraldine is a bookish sort from way back, and in fact used to work in a bookshop, so listen in to the high-grade book chat. The books discussed in this episode are: Tomorrow Could Be Good is powered by General Experiments. This episode is produced by Jo Smythe, and the audio editor is Alison Zhuang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future is something we’re all creating... This is season 2 of Tomorrow Could Be Good – a podcast where books ignite ideas and conversations spark new possibilities. Join host Jo Smythe in conversation with captivating change-makers: authors and artists, activists and more. They're asked to bring in the three books that make them tick, reveal their secret survival habits, and finally, name their fantasy art date. And that’s not all – for season 2, we have brought the podcast to a live audience, amidst the cozy shelves of Sydney's beloved Sappho Books. Tomorrow Could Be Good will be releasing 6 episodes weekly, starting from 4th May. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Jo Smythe and Alison Zhuang. A podcast by General Experiments. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode, I talk to Yasmine Shamma. She is a writer who is interested in the art of waiting. Yes, waiting, with all its many frustrations. She has written about waiting out the pandemic. And she has written about the waiting that refugees experience. Yasmine’s regular job is teaching literature at Reading University. In 2016 she started talking to refugees in the camps of Jordan. A few years on, she started running poetry workshops for refugees in the UK. With a Leverhulme Fellowship, she interviewed refugees in Jordan, Cyprus, and the UK for a book about displacement. Yasmine's book picks: Strangers I Know How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention EconomyLove Signs: Unlock Your True Love Match Yasmine Shamma is Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature at Reading University. In her own time, she runs poetry workshops for refugees. For her work on migration and literature, she has won a Leverhulme Research Fellowship and a British Academy Grant. Raised in Florida and with a DPhil from Oxford, Yasmine is the author of two books on the New York School poets. She has written for The Times Literary Supplement, Poetry Magazine, the American Book Review, and other publications. Please visit us on one (or all) of these: Instagram: @tomorrowcouldbegood Tiktok: @tomorrowcouldbegood Website: www.tomorrowcouldbegood.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode, I talk to Aidyn Fitzpatrick. Pre-pandemic, working at the Time Asia bureau, they occupied a corner office as managing editor. Confined to their flat in the pandemic, they came out as non-binary. As it happens, the meaning of spaces is a big theme for Aidyn. Their essays and poems portray an unseen Hong Kong, Eurasian identity, art, drugs and sobriety. Aidyn’s Instagram is basically a fan account for Hong Kong’s pastel-hued buildings. It's all part of a larger reckoning with who they are. Aidyn speaks to me from their home in Hong Kong. Aidyn's book picks: Nonbinary: A Memoir by Genesis P-Orridge, published by Abrams Press, 2021 Hong Kong Modern: Architecture of the 1950s-1970s by Walter Koditek, published by Dom Books, 2022 The Complete Poems and Plays by T.S. Eliot, published by Ecco Press, 1952 Also discussed: The Horizon Suite, a poem by Aidyn Fitzpatrick, published in 聲韻詩刊 Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine, Issue 65, "Cruel Spring", June 2022 A news editor and poet based in Hong Kong, Aidyn Fitzpatrick is Managing Editor at Macao News, a news website. Aidyn was previously Asia Managing Editor at TIME in Asia, capping two decades of reporting at the Hong Kong bureau. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Aidyn studied Modern History at Christchurch College, Oxford. Their essays and poems appear in literary journals and anthologies. They were formerly a nightclub promoter and, in the 80s, a member of China's first punk band, the Stress. Find our show in these places: Instagram: @tomorrowcouldbegood Tiktok: @tomorrowcouldbegood Website: www.tomorrowcouldbegood.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode, I talk to Tessa Khan. She’s a lawyer based in London, recently billed by Bloomberg as “The Lawyer Fighting To Boot Big Oil from the Shetland Islands” Actually you could broaden that out to The Lawyer Fighting to Boot Big Oil and Gas From The Whole of the North Sea. Because that is her goal. With others, she’s had a win in introducing a windfall tax on oil and gas companies extracting in Britain. That’s the Energy Profits Levy, introduced last May. And she played a role in successful efforts to stop the Cambo oilfield. Tessa runs an organisation called Uplift. She speaks to me from her home in London. Tessa's book picks: Pachinko Story of Your LifeStories of Your Life and Others,Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Tessa is the Executive Director and founder of Uplift, a research and campaigning organisation that supports a just transition away from oil and gas in the U.K. Uplift has coordinated high-profile and successful campaigns including for a windfall tax on the oil and gas industry in partnership with organisations fighting fuel poverty, and against the Cambo and Rosebank oil fields. Rosebank and Shetland are two of the UK's largest undeveloped oil fields and would be located in a fragile marine environment west of the Shetland islands. Prior to founding Uplift, Tessa was co-founder and co-director of the Climate Litigation Network, which supports groundbreaking strategic climate litigation around the world. She has spent almost two decades supporting grassroots, regional and international movements for justice and has served as an expert advisor to United Nations Human Rights bodies and national governments across the globe. In 2019, Tessa was named by Time magazine as one of 15 women leading the fight against climate change. She is also a recipient of the Climate Breakthrough Award, the world's largest individual grant for climate action. Don't forget to check out our 'Tomorrow Could Be Good' website and socials: Instagram: @tomorrowcouldbegood Tiktok: @tomorrowcouldbegood Website: www.tomorrowcouldbegood.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode I talk to William Lee Adams. He is an award-winning journalist and TV presenter. Now at the BBC, he is actually best known as the world’s foremost expert on Eurovision. William lives in South London. But he grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, caring for his severely disabled brother. He knew nothing about Eurovision until he was forced to watch it one night with friends. Now he is trying to change the way we see the song contest. He argues for the embrace of the quote unquote marginal, as a form of affirmation. And he has written a book, called Wild Dances: My Queer and Curious Journey to Eurovision published by Astra House. Asked to choose three books resonate in his life right now, William picked: William speaks to me from a little booth in London. William Lee Adams is a Vietnamese-American broadcaster in London. He works as a senior journalist at the BBC. William is also the founder and face of Wiwibloggs, the world’s most-followed independent Eurovision blog and YouTube channel. His memoir Wild Dances: My Queer and Curious Journey to Eurovision was recently published by Astra House. William has appeared on BBC programmes including BBC Minute, The Arts Hour, BBC Breakfast, Front Row, Newsday, The Travel Show and BBC OS, as well as the BBC News Channel and World TV. He was previously a London-based correspondent for Time, the American news magazine. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Harvard and an M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies and Vietnamese from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He appeared as himself in the Will Ferrell Netflix comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Find him on Instagram: @williamleeadams For more, see his lovely website www.williamleeadams.com For OUR lovely website: www.tomorrowcouldbegood.com and our socials: Instagram: @tomorrowcouldbegood Tiktok: @tomorrowcouldbegood And if you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating on your pod app or tell a friend who might like the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode, I talk to Yatu Widders Hunt, a communications consultant and First Nations woman in Sydney. A few years ago, Yatu founded something called Indigenous Australian Fashion. Initially an Instagram account, it became an enthusiastic online community. It's put Indigenous labels on the map and on red carpets. Day-to-day, Yatu runs the consultancy Cox Inall Ridgeway. I wanted to talk to her about her ideas on First Nations design thinking, something she uses all the time, plus her love of politics. Asked to choose three books resonate in her life right now, Yatu picked: Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World Another Day in the ColonyHow to Lose Friends and Influence White People In the interview Yatu also mentions Aunty Pat’s online yarning circles to help inform people about the Voice referendum – that link is www.ulurustatement.org/education/start-a-yarn/ Yatu speaks to me from Sydney. Yatu Widders Hunt is a communications and media consultant with extensive experience working in the government and NGO sectors in Australia. She is General Manager at Cox Inall Ridgeway, a majority Aboriginal-owned social change agency (the remaining stake in the agency is held by Dentsu Creative, the international creative and ad agency network). Yatu is also the founder of online community Australian Indigenous Fashion @ausindigenousfashion, which uses social media to showcase First Nations fashion. She sits on the board of the Australian Fashion Council. Yatu is a Dunghutti and Anaiwan woman, with family from the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. She lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Find her on Instagram: @yatuwiddershunt Don't forget to check out our 'Tomorrow Could Be Good' website and socials: Instagram: @tomorrowcouldbegood Tiktok: @tomorrowcouldbegood Website: www.tomorrowcouldbegood.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode, I talk to Leo Schick. She’s an investigative journalist and producer in South London. She hopes to start a family, and here's the thing. She wants to do this not just with her partner, but also with another like-minded couple. So - she organized a platonic co-parenting speed meeting event. With birth rates falling and costs of living rising, the idea of platonic co-parenting is drawing interest. And it strikes me that Leo and her partner are doing a couple of things here. One is very, very personal in that they're looking for co-parents, and the other thing they're doing is creating a space for others to think about this idea. Leo joins me from her home in Camberwell. LEO SCHICK - Leo Schick is a freelance journalist and multimedia producer based in London. Her work appears in international outlets including Audible, BBC, iHeart, The Guardian, DW, The Financial Times and Vice. Focusing on long-form investigative and narrative projects, Leo was a finalist in the Whickers RAFA 2022 awards. She aims to develop her Whickers project, Seven Stolen Paintings, as an audio documentary. Leo holds an MA in investigative journalism from City University and has training in tracking illicit financial flows. Her recent credits include a Storyglass investigative series on addiction and homelessness, a BBC World Service series about money, and Tan France's Queer Icons. Find her on Twitter: @leo_sheek Be sure to follow "Tomorrow Could be Good" on socials: Instagram: @tomorrowcouldbegood Tiktok: @tomorrowcouldbegood and please visit our website www.tomorrowcouldbegood.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future is something we’re all involved in creating.... Tomorrow Could Be Good, a new podcast hosted by Jo Smythe and powered by General Experiments, is for people who love considered takes and unexpected points of view. It offers book chat and much more. Jo delves into the big issues with her guests, who are change-makers in different spheres: activists and lawyers, artists and parents. They're asked to bring in the three books that make them tick. They also reveal their secret survival habits, and, last but not least, name their fantasy dinner date. Hear from remarkable guests on everything from platonic co-parenting to cat-ear headbands, and from First Nations design thinking to the politics of Eurovision. Episodes launching soon. Please follow the show on your pod app to get every episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.