Not What You Think With Zacha Rosen

In Mexico and across Latin America, and Australia, a quinceañera is a celebration of turning fifteen. It’s usually a party, usually for a girl and you might have seen a version of one in Jane the Virgin, One Day at a Time, or even Sweet 15: Quinceañera. But there’s much more to this tradition than just pastel dresses and high heels. Though there are those, too. Doctor Gabriela Coronado is a Mexican-Australian anthropologist whose areas include the intercultural complexities of cultures. She’s been to a few quinces. Links for this episode: Support FBi Radio! We got lots of options for you at https://fbiradio.com/support/ Las Rosas launches September 29th on YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, or join them at Casula Powerhouse for the series launch on October 6th. Adam Taub’s excellent documentary, La Quinceañera, follows one young girl and her family preparing for her quinceañera in Tijuana, Mexic

People say some stupid stuff when they think they're among friends. "All Jews" are this, maybe. Or "all Muslims" are that. Do you confront casual racism when you hear it, in private places like the dinner table, from family or friends? Or do you bite your tongue? Two Sydney women weren't sure that straight up confrontation would work all by itself, so they helped write a play that worked it. Nur Alam and Yvonne Perczuk are part of the writing collective Abe's Babes, which wrote the play The Laden Table about casual racism around Sydney's Muslim and Jewish dinner tables. Links for this episode: Follow Abe's Babes on Facebook to keep up with future productions of the play.Bakehouse Theatre's production of the Laden Table has a short video of the production.Some short explainers, if you want to know more about the Nakba and the Holocaust. Songs from Dinner Table Racism: Poyeyu (feat. Mariela Gerez) — SelvaMir — MurcofKravchenko –

Just because you don’t see people like yourself up on stage in international fashion shows doesn’t mean you don’t want good fashion of your own. There are great designers making clothes that include Fijian design, hijabs or Vietnamese fabric. And all of those just in Sydney’s western suburbs. Filmmaker Thuy Ngyuen made the documentary Against the Grain about the Western Sydney Fashion Festival. She also helped make the Festival happen in the first place. Links from this episode: Keep up to date with the Western Sydney Fashion FestivalSee some of the designers we were talking about in Thuy’s short doco about the Festival, Against the Grain.The designers mentioned in this episode were: Bayvick Designs Delina Amalina Aman Laksmhi-Bee Tiana Van Style of the Impressionism (Marky Dong)   Songs from this episode: 2 6 4 — Body TypeNo Quiero Crecer (reprise) — EusebioWrench and Numbers — Jeff Russo & The Prague FILMharmonic O

There are exciting drones and there are definitely scary drones. But drones have quieter things going on as well. They’re already at work doing ordinary stuff: working in agriculture, in infrastructure, filming the news. Peter Robinson is a journalist at the ABC, and has been working on pioneering some of those moves for the organisation. Links from this episode: CASA’s Can I Fly There? app.Four Corners’ water theft story, with its drone-shot footage.The drone battery fire on board a plane at Melbourne airport.New York Mag writer Benjamin Wallace Wells described a drone as something that can move you “back and forth between the intimate and the vast.”Wanna buy a drone now? The Wirecutter has a guide to buying a cheapish one. Songs from This Episode: They Do They Don’t — Jack JohnsonHomesick — Pavrov StellarLa Kebradita — Mexican Institute of SoundS.T.A.Y. — Hans Zimmer (Interstellar soundtrack)A.

War in the news is kind of hard to watch. Conflict gets presented like sports — two sides: one wins, one loses. Advocates of peace journalism think that war can be covered better than this. And, by reporting more to us than just a zero-sum game, it can offer ways of dealing with conflict that aren’t just about violence and who’s committing it. Zainab Abdul-Nabi is a former journalist who’s especially interested in using peace journalism to look at Al Jazeera’s coverage of the Bahrain pro-democracy uprising in 2011, during the “Arab Spring”.  Links from this episode: Zainab’s article looking at Bahrain’s uprising through the lens of Peace Journalism. Jay Rosen’s original piece on how some journalists seem to want to become political insiders. If want to know even more about peace journalism, the Peace Talks Radio podcast has a deeper dive.

Almost three hundred years ago, a woman called Mary Toft was interrogated a bunch of doctors in London. She was interrogated after having given birth to a litter of rabbits. Or so she claimed. But, in that era, one of the strangest things about the case wasn’t just the rabbits: it was that doctors — “male midwives” — were muscling into the giving birth business. Amelia Dale teaches at Sydney University and talked about Toft in her PhD thesis. Links from this episode: Learn more about Mary Toft here, or listen to the BBC’s take on her story. What Hogarth print where? William Hogarth was a visual satirist, who made fun of the scandal around Toft with this engraving:   Songs from Midwives, Doctors and Rabbits: Ojos Del Sol — Y La BambaAkogare — Super Magic HatsCopza Luca — Adrian Simionescu and Orchestre Marin Ioan (Gajo Dilo soundtrack)Slip Away — Kim Boekbinder

There’s this thing that’s disappearing in cities across the world: the entire Milky Way. Light pollution means that more and more people can’t see our own galaxy in the sky. A view which used to be a fundamental human experience. Angel Lopez-Sanchez is an astronomer at the the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) and Macquarie University who knows what we’re missing and what we can do about it. Links from this episode: Angel’s blog, the Lined Wolf and his post on light pollution. Find a good piece of dark sky to find the Milky Way on with the Dark Sky Map. Or read about Australia’s recently-declared, first Dark Sky Park. Songs from this episode:Human Orchestra — Mark Bradshaw (Bright Star soundtrack)As You Wish — stackhatStill Unbeaten Life — Gang of YouthsChi Glow — FishingHonest — Little EarthquakeLux Aeterna — Clytus Gottwold (2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack)

It's not just that there are a lot of different kinds of amphibians. There are a lot of different kinds of frogs. Some fight, some bark, some sing. we have a lot to learn from this (often) threated variety of amphibians. Not just about how frogs work, but also for human benefit as well. Jodi Rowley curator of amphibian and reptile conservation biology for the Australian Museum and the University of New South Wales. She knows frogs. Links from this episode: Jodi has SO MANY FROGS on her website. You can hear more frog calls on the Australian Museum website. There's more about singing frogs, missing frogs or vampire frogs there, as well. This is one of Jodi's pictures of a caecilian. The Amphibians of the World online reference. The lowdown on Amphibian Chytrid Fungus. Songs from this episode:No Hablo Español — FeaBatonga — Angelique KidjoI've Got a Fang — They Might

In 1978, Italy passed a law to shut down its Asylums. The asylums were ageing, horrfying institutions that weren’t so great at looking after people. Two people at the centre of the change were Franco Basaglia and his wife, Franca Ongaro Basaglia.  Historian John Foot accidentally discovered this story at a documentary screening, and wrote a book on them. He explains why what they did is such a big thing. Links from this episode: John’s book is available in all the places. The documentary that moved John was called San Clemente, by  Raymond Depardon and Sophie Ristelhueber. If you’re interested in how this ‘deinstutionalisation’ works with current mental health services, one of the best round ups is from the US (covering their system, but similar dilemmas). Of course, it’s by John Oliver. Songs from How to Close All of Italy’s Asylums:The Solist in the Living Room — Cold War KidsLa Strada

Lars Rutz grew up in the East Berlin bohemian scene in communist Germany in the 80s. Like a lot of people in the East, he wanted to leave. But East Germany was a police state, with an ever-present spy agency, the Stasi. What is it like to try to escape a place like that? And what is it like to read what the spies wrote about you, years later? Links from this episode: The Stasi really did have a library of smells. Snowden really did have a statue in Berlin, along with Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange. Though they started in Berlin, the three statues are part of an art project, Anything to Say, which is touring the world. Lars' lawyer was Wolfgang Vogel, who was the other lawyer in Bridge of Spies. (Not the one played by Tom Hanks.) Lars was suggested, accidentally, by Cassie Findlay. Much of this story was originally presented by Lars at a talk for the Australian Society of Archivists. Songs in this episode:Love is Blindness — Jack W

Why is menopause a thing? Only three species really do it: short-finned pilot whales, killer whales and humans beings. It’s biologically strange. And it gives us another biologically strange thing: grandmas. Dr Kristen Hawkes (University of Utah) is the lead proponent of the Grandmother Hypothesis, which says that grandmas became a thing in human evolution because having them was a pretty good deal, evolutionarily speaking.   Links from this episode: Listen to Kristen’s full lecture at the Science Festival at Sydney Uni’s Sydney Ideas podcast. (She’s introduced by local collaborator, Peter Kim.) The Atlantic also has a bit more about the Grandmother Hypothesis. If you just want to know about other animals that do go through menopause, National Geographic has you covered.   Songs in This Episode: Green, Green Rocky Road — Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack)1, 2, 3 — CamilleGolden Valves — Or

Nowadays the Ex. Ex. is less famous that The XX. But in the early nineteenth century, it was one of the most ambitious journeys in history. The US Exploring Expedition (the Ex. Ex.), traveled the Pacific on a mission of non-violent exploration. But it was an ideal it didn't always exactly live up to. Will Scates Frances is writing a PhD about the expedition and the perspectives of its crew. He knows the Ex. Ex. Links from this episode: Read a whole lot more about the Ex. Ex. at the Smithsonian. Will's Twitter summary of why the Ex. Ex. is worth knowing about. Music from the Ex. Ex.: Reunion (Mistakes Are Ok Remix) — The XXStranger in a Room — Jamie xx (ft. Oliver Sim)Hold Tight — Jamie xxFiction (Marcus Worgull Remix) — The XXSleep Sound — Jamie xxReunion (Ame Remix) — The XX

If you’re a fan of Serial, Law & Order, Making a Murderer, you’ve probably spent a bit of time watching TV police making people confess to their criminal acts and listening to witnesses place someone at the scene of the crime. But for the legal system, memory and confessions aren’t always as reliable as you think they are. Dr Celine Van Golde is the director of the Sydney Exoneration Project, which examines old convictions to look for wrongful imprisonment. Links from this episode: Read more about the Sydney Exoneration Project. Since we recorded this episode, Brendan Dassey’s conviction has been overturned. Music from this episode: Keep Running — New VenusiansSingle Serving Jack — The Dust Brothers (Fight Club soundtrack)Karle Pyaar Karle (from Sachaa Jhutha) — The Bombay RoyaleThe Cold-Blooded Murder Of Deputy Vilmos Kovacs — Alexandre Desplat (Grand Budapest Hotel soundtrack)Moving On — Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

  They're pretty much all guts, foot, teeth and maybe a bit of shell. Snails, limpets, octopuses or giant squid: they're all a kind of mollusc. You'll find one in almost every ecosystem in the world.  Sydney University's Professor Ross Coleman specialises in limpets and knows all his molluscs pretty well. He takes us from the Liverpool docks, to Blackwattle Bay, to the weirdest of mollusc sex. Links from this episode: The lowdown on molluscs of all kinds. Ross has written all sorts of papers, and most of them can be found here on Academia.edu. Read about cleaning up the Albert Dock in Liverpool, using mussels. (PDF) Music in this episode: River — Ibeyi Freedom Come — Gabriel le Mar Confessions of a Pig — Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett Back n Forth — Nimble Animal Sea of Love — Cat Power Space Monkeys — Dust Brothers

This episode talks about domestic violence in the LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bixexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer) community. It's probably not appropriate for children and could be a trigger for some listeners. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence you can talk to someone on 1 800 RESPECT. In an emergency, call the police on 000. Lots more options further down these show notes. Over the course of the last year Australia seems to have paid more attention to the issue of domestic violence than it ever has before. But, even so, many people are unaware that this isn't just an issue for the mainstream community. It's something that happens in the LGBTIQ community as well.  Moo Baulch is the CEO of Domestic Violence NSW. She'll walk us through what often happens and what you can do about it. Links for this episode: In or outside of Australia, Another Closet is a great resource specifically about LGBTIQ domestic violence. (Use "private" or "incognito" mode in your browser, carefully, if you need t

While a lot of newspapers in the grownup world are struggling to get by, one kind of newspaper is doing kind of ok thank you. In France, Germany and the UK children's newspapers are going strong, mailed out to a waiting audience of school-age children. Saffron Howden is launching "Crinkling" April, a kids' newspaper in Australia and she's ready to tell us all about the workings of these junior newspapers. Links from this episode: Crinkling launches in April. Have a look at their pre-launch stories or subscribe. You might also want to read their story on whether whether Syrian refugees get to go to school. There are all sorts of kids newspapers around the world. Mon Quotidien, publisher of two other kids' titles in France, Le Petit Quotidien and L'Actu. First News is an English language, UK newspaper that a lot of adults seem to read as well. Germany's Kruschel is also pretty cool (in Ger

It seems a bit like comic books are everywhere these days: dominating our screens from Iron Man to Jessica Jones. But this isn't the first time that there's been a comic book boom. And it's not always as easy to ride that wave, as an artist, as it might seem. Comic artist Matt Huynh has had a lot of success at this comic-making thing. First in Australia, now in New York. We're also joined by Marcelo Baez, who witnessed the 90s comics craziness first hand. Links from this episode: So much of Matt's art is on his site; but you'll need to check out SBS to read the Boat. Have a look at Marcelo's work on his site. There's some Diabla artwork to see as well. Frank Miller wrote and drew things like the Dark Knight Returns, 300, Sin City and Daredevil. The Daredevil story Born Again was one of the comics Matt recommends getting started reading with. The other comic he recommended was Marjane Satrapi's Chicken with Plums, which is first date approved by his girlfriend. Some of the Austral

São Paolo has a traffic problem. But while the cars stand still, motoboys (and motogirls) ride up the "corridor of death" between gridlock. Over two hundred thousand of them. It's an incredibly dangerous job. Spanish artist, Antoni Abad gave the motoboys a voice atmegafone.net in the early days of the mobile internet and will tell you all about them, from the favela to the app economy. He knows his motoboys. Links from this episode: The motoboy section of Megafone.net is still running, the better part of a decade later. If you're Sydney-based, you might want to check out his Sydney project Blind.wiki. If you're blind or vision impaired, you might want to contribute. You can also check out a few of megafone.net's other channels. Read the New York Times' article on Motoboys from 2004. Dated, but still good. Antoni was in Sydney for Art and About as a guest of theSydney Cervantes institute. You can also check out Rinaldo's mini-documentary about life as a motoboy. (It's ok: there are subtitles.) Musi

Have you ever thought about what the world is like as you get older? It can be hard. Even harder if you're a woman. And harder still if you're gay. Or transgender. If you don't fit in. Teresa Savage has spent her life not fitting in. And being awesome for it. She runs the website 55 Uppity, which is a site ”about what older dykes and queers and lezzos wear and think and believe.” She fills us in. Links from this episode: Find more cool, older lesbians at 55 Uppity. The Australian Silver Rainbow Project and the Rainbow Tickhelp make sure retirement is an LGBTI safe place. Songs in this episode: Impossible Girl #3 — Kim Bokebinder Musica Poetica I: Gassenhauer — Carl Orff (Tölzer Knabenchor, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, Der Kammerchor der staatlichen Hochschule für Musik, München, Fritz Schieri, Stuttgarter Sprechchor, Godela Orff-Büchtemann & Instrumental Ensemble) Bad Girls — M.I.A. You're So Cool — Hans Zimmer

Actor, standup and improvisor Sophie Long kind of has two secret lives. In one of them, she learned Impro at the Second City, where Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert got their start. It’s difficult to explain: which means sometimes it’s like having a secret life. It can so hard to know how to talk about it. Or when. And that’s before we get to Sophie’s other secret life. Links from this episode: Story night, Fabulous Monster; a bit more on Second City; read the Hyperbole and a Half comic; writer Michelle Law wrote about life at the Second City in the Lifted Brow 25. Songs in this episode: Mr Moustafa — Alexandre Desplat Si Tou Vois Ma Mere — Sidney Bechet Saturate — The Chemical Brothers  Hear more episodes of Not What You Think at fbiradio.com/notwhatyouthink