Not Stupid is the podcast that helps you understand the news of the week and the stories in your social media feed. Julia Baird and Jeremy Fenandez chat about t...
Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez have been in Adelaide for their first live show as part of Adelaide Writers' Week. It was a chat about the news, hope, awe and sparkly suits. If you missed it in Adelaide, here is a taste!
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21:00
How do we focus when the world feels overwhelming?
The news can be a lot. And sometimes it feels hard to keep up and difficult to keep paying attention. So how do we cope when the world is full of triggering news?
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22:00
Trump, Ukraine and the art of the deal
It's been three years since Russia invaded Ukraine and the US President Donald Trump says its time to make a deal. But he is also rewriting history with the American president saying Ukraine has been the aggressor all this time. Jules and Jez have been doing some fact checking. And how do you itemise the amount of work you do in a week? Elon Musk wants people to write lists of their weekly achievements, so will it work?SHOW NOTESAnne Applebaum on Ukraine: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/putins-three-years-of-humiliation/681810/Jules' Pick: https://apnews.com/article/valentines-day-animal-shelters-fundraisers-rats-elephants-40537881d8f5ad65dd971fef11a856f5Jeremy's Pick: https://x.com/SusanDavid_PhD/status/1894066591551086683
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38:00
What we're missing with the Belle Gibson story
There's plenty of hype around Netflix's new series about serial liar Belle Gibson, but what does the story mean to cancer survivors? Plus, we've got an interest rate cut, but when everything is costing more, so will voters blame the Government at the election? And Jez has been thinking about birthday cakes and making quite a few of them. SHOW NOTESFinancial Review "Cost of Living" article: https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/how-australia-became-the-world-s-biggest-cost-of-living-loser-20241118-p5krgkJulia's Pick: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-12/belle-gibson-apple-cider-vinegar-where-is-she-now/104918624Jeremy's Pick: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/02/14/birthday-jail-visit-centenarian/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-09/childrens-birthday-cake-book-changed-shape-kids-birthdays/10208246
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36:00
Why are more young men going to church?
Jules has been looking at some Australian and US studies about church attendance and they show an increase in young men identifying as Christian. At the same time, the number of women in the Anglican priesthood in Australia is dwindling, so is the Anglican Church becoming more masculine?SHOW NOTESThe Anglican Church's disappearing womenhttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-09/the-church-s-disappearing-women/104910172In a first among Christians, young men now more religious than young womenhttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/us/young-men-religion-gen-z.html
Not Stupid is the podcast that helps you understand the news of the week and the stories in your social media feed. Julia Baird and Jeremy Fenandez chat about the stories they are obsessed with and the stories you may have missed.
They look at what shapes our politics here in Australia from Anthony Albanese to Peter Dutton. As the Federal Election looms they’ll unpack and explain some of the big issues that might affect your vote.
Jules and Jez also try to explain what’s going on in the world. They both follow US politics closely and will be watching to see what the next Donald Trump presidency means for the US and the world.
But it’s not all about politics. If it is in your Facebook or Instagram feed (or even on X) they will talk about it. They look at the pop culture figures who are shaping our world from Elon Musk to Mr Beast and Ariane Grande.
There’s also a focus on the issues that affect you like the cost-of-living crisis and the duopoly of the Supermarkets Coles and Woolworths. They’ve also looked at microplastics and bushfires, looking at how climate change is affecting us and what impact humans are having on the environment.
The show will also make you laugh or cry. And on a good day, maybe both. They talk about poetry and history, about films and cakes and everything in between. Julia is passionate about grace and forgiveness so they talk a lot about that, but also about resilience and what makes us human.
At the end of each show, Julia and Jeremy talk about their “pick of the week”. It’s something that has made them think or giggle that week from the silliest Guinness World Record attempts to great books and silly Tiktoks.