On April 26, eleven Australians set sail from Sicily aboard the second Global Sumud Flotilla with the mission to break the Israeli siege on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.

Among the activists was 22-year-old community organiser Ethan Floyd. Following the interception of their vessel in international waters, Ethan and five fellow activists were detained by the Israeli Occupation Forces. After reporting physical and psychological abuse during their detention, Ethan returned to Australia on Monday, May 4 at 5:00 PM. 

Producer Gabriella Accaria sat down with Ethan to discuss his experience and his continued commitment to the mission.

Content warning: graphic descriptions of physical and psychological abuse.

Aired 9 May 2026 on Gadigal Land. 

Want to support our show? Follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, leave us a five-star review, and share an episode with a friend.

On April 26, eleven Australians set sail from Sicily aboard the second Global Sumud Flotilla with the mission to break the Israeli siege on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
Among the activists was 22-year-old community organiser Ethan Floyd. Following the interception of their vessel in international waters, Ethan and five fellow activists were detained by the Israeli Occupation Forces. After reporting physical and psychological abuse during their detention, Ethan returned to Australia on Monday, May 4 at 5:00 PM.&nbsp;
Producer Gabriella Accaria sat down with Ethan to discuss his experience and his continued commitment to the mission.
Content warning: graphic descriptions of physical and psychological abuse.
Aired 9 May 2026 on Gadigal Land.&nbsp;
Want to support our show? Follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, leave us a five-star review, and share an episode with a friend.

Your alternative to talkback. Backchat is a weekly show of news, politics, interviews, discussion, satire, and feature reporting.

Hosted by Dani Zhang and Tanita Razaghi. Executive produced by Rebecca Cushway, with producers Dani Zhang, Holly Payne, Tanita Razaghi, Libby Hopper, Sana Shaikh, Lilly Grainger, Eva Sikes-Gerogiannis, Euan Kielly, Elisa Papaioannou, Grace Pittar, Jaspar McCahon-Boersma and Bridgette Donnellan. 

Got an idea for a story? Email us: backchat@fbiradio.com We're also on Instagram @backchatfbiradio and X @BackchatFBi.

Your alternative to talkback.&nbsp;Backchat is a weekly show of news, politics, interviews, discussion, satire, and feature reporting.
Hosted by Dani Zhang and Tanita Razaghi. Executive produced by Rebecca Cushway, with producers Dani Zhang, Holly Payne, Tanita Razaghi, Libby Hopper, Sana Shaikh, Lilly Grainger, Eva Sikes-Gerogiannis, Euan Kielly, Elisa Papaioannou, Grace Pittar, Jaspar McCahon-Boersma and Bridgette Donnellan.&nbsp;
Got an idea for a story? Email us: backchat@fbiradio.com We're also on Instagram @backchatfbiradio and X @BackchatFBi.

Backchat

Your alternative to talkback. Backchat is a weekly show of news, politics, interviews, discussion, satire, and feature reporting from Sydney's best young news journalists.

Hosted by Holly Payne and Tanita Razaghi. Executive produced by Rebecca Cushway, with producers Sana Shaikh, Libby Hopper, and Nic Huntington. 

Got an idea for a story? - backchat@fbiradio.com. We're also on X (Twitter) and Instagram - @BackchatFBi

Your alternative to talkback. Backchat is a weekly show of news, politics, interviews, discussion, satire, and feature reporting from Sydney's best young news journalists.
Hosted by Holly Payne and Tanita Razaghi. Executive produced by Rebecca Cushway, with producers Sana Shaikh, Libby Hopper, and Nic Huntington. 
Got an idea for a story? - <a href="mailto:eamonn@fbiradio.com">backchat@fbiradio.com</a>. We're also on X (Twitter) and Instagram - @BackchatFBi

Bonus: Full Interview with Australian Global Sumud Flotilla organiser Ethan Floyd

Intro

New Trans and Queer Inclusion in 2026 Census

Closure of Lazy Thinking

Native Rat Army Vs. Invasive Rats

Fibremaxxing: Yay or Nay?

 Cockroach Janta Party Protests in Australia

Outro

With the upcoming census, Australians are finally seeing some big changes to LGBTQIA+ inclusion, however, whether or not these new questions fill all the gaps is still up for debate. Whilst a landmark moment, producer Bec Cushway breaks down for us who still isn't included and why census inclusion is so important.

What do Mary's Underground, Divine Playhouse, and Lazy Thinking all have in common? Well, they're currently a testament to the decline in Sydney's nightlife, with Lazy Thinking just announcing its closure. We hear more from Lazy Thinking's creator Jim Flanagan, and why current nightlife just doesn't cut it.

Later on, we talk to conversation ecologist Mareshall Wauchope on the fight against rats with.. rats? Hear us out with this native bush rat army, as they may be the key to all our invasive problems (yes we're looking at you Black rats). 

Then onto the world of fibremaxxing, the latest gut-health frenzy to overtake protein. Wondering how much fibre is too much? So were we.. Lucky we got to talking with nutritionist Dr Emma Beckett about the highs and lows of the newest trend, and what impact it might have on our health.

Finally, it's made its way from New Delhi to Sydney, it's the Cockroach Janta Party. Listen to the latest on these solidarity protests with producer James de Fraine-Murphy. They cover conversation with Taufeeq Ahmed Sheikh on why students are protesting, and the significance of support anywhere in the world.

This episode was produced by Pongyada Soothipong, James De Fraine-Murphy, Bec Cushway, Euan Keilly and Holly Payne.

Executive produced by Bec Cushway.

Hosted by Nyaboth Chuol and Holly Payne.

Aired 8 August 2026 on Gadigal land.

With the upcoming census, Australians are finally seeing some big changes to LGBTQIA+ inclusion, however, whether or not these new questions fill all the gaps is still up for debate. Whilst a landmark moment, producer Bec Cushway breaks down for us who still isn't included and why census inclusion is so important.
What do Mary's Underground, Divine Playhouse, and Lazy Thinking all have in common? Well, they're currently a testament to the decline in Sydney's nightlife, with Lazy Thinking just announcing its closure. We hear more from Lazy Thinking's creator Jim Flanagan, and why current nightlife just doesn't cut it.
Later on, we talk to conversation ecologist Mareshall Wauchope on the fight against rats with.. rats? Hear us out with this native bush rat army, as they may be the key to all our invasive problems (yes we're looking at you Black rats).&nbsp;
Then onto the world of fibremaxxing, the latest gut-health frenzy to overtake protein. Wondering how much fibre is too much? So were we.. Lucky we got to talking with nutritionist Dr Emma Beckett about the highs and lows of the newest trend, and what impact it might have on our health.
Finally, it's made its way from New Delhi to Sydney, it's the Cockroach Janta Party. Listen to the latest on these solidarity protests with producer James de Fraine-Murphy. They cover conversation with Taufeeq Ahmed Sheikh on why students are protesting, and the significance of support anywhere in the world.
This episode was produced by Pongyada Soothipong, James De Fraine-Murphy, Bec Cushway, Euan Keilly and Holly Payne.
Executive produced by Bec Cushway.
Hosted by Nyaboth Chuol and Holly Payne.
Aired 8 August 2026 on Gadigal land.

New Transgender and Queer Inclusion in 2026 Census | Closure of Lazy Thinking | Native Rat Army Vs. Invasive Rats | Fibremaxxing: Yay or Nay? | 

Commuters, drivers and Western Sydney students were among the state budget's winners... but what about the losers? Producer Rebecca Cushway dives deep on where the money is flowing. 

On a related note, UNSW has just announced plans to expand their presence in Parramatta by building a new campus. Over ten years the University will invest over $65 million in a multi faculty campus that can accommodate up to 350 students daily. Pro Vice-Chancellor of Precincts at UNSW Professor Zoe Terpening joins the show for a chat. 

You also may or not be aware of the job cuts happening across regional newsrooms right now. According to Ette Media there have been 336 across Australian media just in the last month. Producer Tarni Cruickshank chats to a freshly graduated journalism student.

Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup has kicked off - a huge point of praise has been the diversity of Australia’s team, the Socceroos, with over 15 different cultural backgrounds in a 26-man team. At the same time, One Nation, a party that aims to “cut immigration by over 570,000 people from current Labor levels” and “withdraw from the UN Refugee convention”, has opened up a primary vote lead over Labor.P roducer Anagha Abhi asks writer, lawyer and anti-racism activist Mariam Veiszadeh why multiculturalism feels uncontroversial in Australian sport but controversial in public policy.

And with AI becoming an inescapable part of modern life, Sydney-based artist Tim Gregory joins the show to weigh in on whether AI belongs in public art. 

This episode was produced by Sana Shaikh, Anagha Abhi, Birdie Rinaldi and Tarni Cruickshank.

Executive produced by Bec Cushway. 

Hosted by Bec Cushway and Nyaboth Chuol. 

Aired 27 June 2026 on Gadigal land. 

 

 

Commuters, drivers and Western Sydney students were among the state budget's winners... but what about the losers? Producer Rebecca Cushway dives deep on where the money is flowing.&nbsp;
On a related note, UNSW has just announced plans to expand their presence in Parramatta by building a new campus. Over ten years the University will invest over $65 million in a multi faculty campus that can accommodate up to 350 students daily. Pro Vice-Chancellor of Precincts at UNSW Professor Zoe Terpening joins the show for a chat.&nbsp;
You also may or not be aware of the job cuts happening across regional newsrooms right now. According to Ette Media there have been 336 across Australian media just in the last month. Producer Tarni Cruickshank chats to a freshly graduated journalism student.
Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup has kicked off - a huge point of praise has been the diversity of Australia&rsquo;s team, the Socceroos, with over 15 different cultural backgrounds in a 26-man team. At the same time, One Nation, a party that aims to &ldquo;cut immigration by over 570,000 people from current Labor levels&rdquo; and &ldquo;withdraw from the UN Refugee convention&rdquo;, has opened up a primary vote lead over Labor.P roducer Anagha Abhi asks writer, lawyer and anti-racism activist Mariam Veiszadeh why multiculturalism feels uncontroversial in Australian sport but controversial in public policy.
And with AI becoming an inescapable part of modern life, Sydney-based artist Tim Gregory joins the show to weigh in on whether AI belongs in public art.&nbsp;
This episode was produced by Sana Shaikh, Anagha Abhi, Birdie Rinaldi and Tarni Cruickshank.
Executive produced by Bec Cushway.&nbsp;
Hosted by Bec Cushway and Nyaboth Chuol.&nbsp;
Aired 27 June 2026 on Gadigal land.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

NSW budget | UNSW Parramatta campus | Newsrooms in crisis | One Nation v the Socceroos | AI art galleries 

Palantir Technology is in the news, and not in a good way. Tech reporter at Crikey Cam Wilson dives into the controversial tech company's growing influence on global politics, including how it's become entangled with Australian surveillance and international conflict. 

Is conservatism making a comeback among young people? A new report from IPSOS and the King’s College London suggests Generation Z may be embracing more traditional gender views. We speak with University of Melbourne PhD candidate Claudia Young about what’s driving this shift, from economic anxiety to the influence of the manosphere. 

Later, we look at yet another collapse of a major Australian music event - Bluesfest. After decades as a staple of the Easter long weekend, the long anticipated festival has been cancelled, raising fresh concerns about the future of live music. Olly Arkins from the Australian Festivals Association explains why festival costs keep rising and what it means for artists, workers and regional communities.

We also break down the members of the Iran women's national football team being granted humanitarian visas after a protest during the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Analyst Neha Madhok helps explain the political context behind the decision and tensions between Iran, Australia, Israel, and the United States. 

This episode was produced by Eva Sikes-Gerogiannis, Bec Cushway, Holly Payne and Olivia Nunes-Malek.

Executive produced by Bec Cushway. 

Hosted by Eva Sikes-Gerogiannis and Pongyada Soothipong. 

Aired 14 March 2026 on Gadigal land. 

 

Palantir Technology is in the news, and not in a good way. Tech reporter at Crikey Cam Wilson dives into the controversial tech company's growing influence on global politics, including how it's become entangled with Australian surveillance and international conflict.&nbsp;
Is conservatism making a comeback among young people? A new report from IPSOS and the King&rsquo;s College London suggests Generation Z may be embracing more traditional gender views. We speak with University of Melbourne PhD candidate Claudia Young about what&rsquo;s driving this shift, from economic anxiety to the influence of the manosphere.&nbsp;
Later, we look at yet another collapse of a major Australian music event - Bluesfest. After decades as a staple of the Easter long weekend,&nbsp;the long anticipated festival&nbsp;has been cancelled, raising fresh concerns about the future of live music. Olly Arkins from the Australian Festivals Association explains why festival costs keep rising and what it means for artists, workers and regional communities.
We also break down the members of the&nbsp;Iran women's national football team being granted humanitarian visas after a protest during the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Analyst Neha Madhok helps explain the political context behind the decision and tensions between Iran, Australia, Israel, and the United States.&nbsp;
This episode was produced by Eva Sikes-Gerogiannis, Bec Cushway, Holly Payne and Olivia Nunes-Malek.
Executive produced by Bec Cushway.&nbsp;
Hosted by Eva Sikes-Gerogiannis and Pongyada Soothipong.&nbsp;
Aired 14 March 2026 on Gadigal land.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Palantir's involvement in Australian surveillance | The rise of traditional gender roles amongst young men | Bluesfest cancelled | Iranian women's soccer team  granted asylum in Australia

Bonus: Full Interview with Australian Global Sumud Flotilla organiser Ethan Floyd

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