Radio Reversal Podcast

Radio Reversal Collective

The Radio Reversal collective is a long-standing audio collective based in Meanjin, so-called brisbane. We are committed to using the tools of audio production and storytelling to platform and amplify grassroots community organising, critical theorising, & political art, music, and activism. The radio reversal collective is premised on a shared vision of abolitionist, Indigenist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-ableist, queer feminist political education. Radio Reversal is an ongoing experiment in public pedagogy; in thinking and learning out loud, together, over and over again. Since 2012, we have been producing and presenting a weekly, research- and interview-based live radio show on 4zzz, 102.1fm. Across a variety of formats and timeslots, the live show has continued to anchor the work we do. Live, community radio is at the heart of what we do, and we remain committed to making audio content that is accessible to anyone with a radio and willing ear. For over a decade, we've been building an audio archive of struggles for justice and liberation across this city and beyond; a record of the radical theorising, organising, mistake-making, re-thinking, and community building that happens across this city. Here, we hope to slowly share some of that archive, and the lessons we've learned from building it.

  1. Episode 31 - Refusing political censorship (from every river to every sea)

    5d ago

    Episode 31 - Refusing political censorship (from every river to every sea)

    In this episode of Radio Reversal we share two recent interviews from our broadcast program which each speak to the ways that Palestinian free speech and political expression is being censored and constrained at the present moment. First up, we hear from Rouba Rayan, a Palestinian lawyer and human rights advocate who is an organiser with Justice for Palestine Magan-djin and a legal observer with Action Ready Qld. Rouba talks us through the current attempts to challenge the legal validity of the new "prohibited expression" laws in queensland which criminalise two Palestinian liberation expressions: "from the river to the sea" and "globalise the intifada." Rouba talks about some of the legal arguments against this legislation, and why these legal challenges are an important part of the broader struggle against political censorship and silencing of Palestinian speech. In the second part of the episode, we catch up with friend of Radio Reversal Dr. Jordy Silverstein to talk a bit about the current Royal Commission into Anti-semitism and social cohesion. Jordy is an anti-zionist Jewish activist and organiser and a historian of Jewish history in so-called australia. She talks about how the structure of the Royal Commission forecloses any discussion of anti-semitism experienced by anti-zionist Jews, and accepts the controversial conflation of zionism and Judaism.

    54 min
  2. Episode 30 - Six Words for a Free Palestine feat. Dana Endelmanis

    Jun 23

    Episode 30 - Six Words for a Free Palestine feat. Dana Endelmanis

    This week on the Radio Reversal podcast, Marissa and Han catch up with trade unionist, trans justice organiser and pro-Palestine protester Dana Endelmanis. Dana was one of 7 people arrested in Queensland under the new "prohibited expression" offence in the Queensland Criminal Code during Justice for Palestine Magan-djin's Six Words for a Free Palestine protest last weekend. Dana and the other arrestees were detained, questioned and subjected to the everyday violence of policing, all for the terrible crime of uttering the phrase "From the River ...the Sea." In this conversation, Dana talks to us about her decision to participate in the protest despite knowing the likelihood of arrest, why it's important that we refuse to obey these absurd laws, and what her experiences in the watch house revealed about the everyday impacts of intensifying fascist law-making for trans people, activists, unionists and anyone committed to refusing unjust laws.

    34 min
  3. Episode 29 Introducing the NOlympics 2032 Committee

    Jun 16

    Episode 29 Introducing the NOlympics 2032 Committee

    In this episode, Nat & Anna discuss the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, and why being a host city is, overwhelmingly, a bad thing for the city and a worse thing for a city's poorer and more marginalised inhabitants. We draw on John Rennie Short's idea of "event capture" to look at the ways hosting a mega-event redirects urban processes (further!) away from more just modes of planning and transformation, the ways mega-events drive further dispossession of First Nations Peoples and displace poorer residents, and the ways even fairly limited checks and balances around social and environmental protections, and transparency and accountability in the planning and governance system get dodged, or overriden. All in service of an event that will cost billions and that will not even break even. This episode kicks off a new investigative series for us - the NOlympics Committee - digging into the extensive evidence base for why hosting the Olympics is bad for cities. We'll be exploring the history and politics of the Olympics, the narratives that are used to justify and legitimise this kind of public spending, and the relationship between these kinds of mega-events and other forms of oppression, dispossession and exploitation.

    45 min
  4. Episode 28 - Disability justice, psychosis and the NDIS with Belle from Only Human

    Jun 16

    Episode 28 - Disability justice, psychosis and the NDIS with Belle from Only Human

    In this episode, Anna catches up with friend and fellow 4zzz radio producer Belle to talk about disability justice, the NDIS, and Belle's experiences navigating a diagnosis of bipolar. Belle talks us through her experiences with bipolar and psychosis. She talks a bit about disability justice and the intersection between the health system and carceral logics, as well as the importance of access to (potentially) life-saving systems like the NDIS. If you want to hear more from Belle, check out her radio program Only Human, which airs live on 4zzz 102.1fm on Sundays, from 12-1pm and on Zed Digital on Tuesdays from 6-7pm. It is produced for and by disabled folks and centres disability justice, disabled and queer artists, and so much more. It's a brilliant show, so be sure to check it out for more from Belle!

    47 min
  5. Episode 27 - Radiance in Pain and Resilience with Dr Samah Jabr

    Jun 5

    Episode 27 - Radiance in Pain and Resilience with Dr Samah Jabr

    In this episode, Anna shares an interview from the Radio Reversal archives with the incredible Dr. Samah Jabr - د. سماح جبر, recorded during her 2025 tour of so-called australia. Dr Samah Jabr is a Palestinian Jerusalemite psychiatrist, psychotherapist and writer, and former Head of the Mental Health Unit in the Ministry of Health, Palestine. She has written columns about the psychological consequences of the Israeli occupation in Palestine since the 2000s. Inspired by anticolonial psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, her areas of interest include mental health, colonialism and universal human rights. In this interview, Anna speaks with Dr Jabr about the specific impacts of colonial violence and trauma, the inadequacy of mainstream western psychiatric approaches to understanding those impacts, and the issues in rendering deliberately inflicted collective trauma in the terms of individual illness or pathology. They also discuss what healing from colonial violence can look like, and the importance of agency and collective and community-based processes. Dr Samah Jabr also spoke with Anna a bit about her new book, "Radiance in Pain and Resilience: The global reverberation of Palestinian historical trauma" which you should absolutely check out. This collection of essays draws on Dr Jabr's years of experience working at the intersection of mental health and struggles for liberation. You can find links to the book and further details at radioreversal.org where you can also subscribe to the Radio Reversal podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!

    40 min
  6. Episode 26 - Poetry in times of crisis feat. Maria Van Neerven

    Jun 5

    Episode 26 - Poetry in times of crisis feat. Maria Van Neerven

    In this episode, Anna brings you an interview with Mununjahli poet Maria Van Neerven to discuss her new poetry collection "Two Tongues." We chat to Maria about this collection, and consider some of the questions it asks about the role of language in colonial occupation and anti-colonial resistance. In the face of the ongoing attempts by the queensland state government to prohibit political expression and prevent truth-telling in this moment, we consider the political imperative to make art, to write poetry, to refuse to be silenced. A riveting conversation with a brilliant poet: don't miss it!

    29 min
  7. Episode 25 - Global Sumud Flotilla

    May 25

    Episode 25 - Global Sumud Flotilla

    In this episode, we return to an interview from a few weeks ago with our wonderful friend and comrade Sam Woripa Watson about their decision to join the Global Sumud Flotilla. Sam is are a Birri Gubba and Wangeriburra activist and film-maker who grew up in the Brisbane Black movement here in Magan-djin. Sam is an active organiser and agitator for Indigenous justice and land back (both here in so-called australia, and across the globe). For over a decade, Sam has been a crucial part of Brisbane Black organising for land back and Indigenous justice, and an important part of the Justice for Palestine Magan-djin coalition. Sam also played an important role in local organising against engineering firm Ferra Engineering, who supply parts for the F-35 bombers used by the Israeli Occupation Forces against the people of Gaza. Most recently, Sam joined hundreds of other activists, health care workers, lawyers, human rights activists, writers, film-makers, and community workers on board a flotilla of vessels that set sail from Italy, aiming to deliver both much-needed humanitarian aid and global media attention to the people of Gaza. When Sam recorded their responses to my questions for this interview, they were in Italy waiting to embark on the flotilla mission. In the weeks since this interview first aired, Sam's vessel was intercepted by the Israeli Occupation Forces and Sam and his comrades were taken hostage by the Israeli government. They suffered significant abuse at the hands of the Israeli government, including physical and psychological torture, sexual assault and withholding of food, water, sleep, and adequate shelter. Sam was released after almost 4 days in custody, and spoke to Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist and writer Amy McQuire for Black Justice Journalism about that experience. You can read the full account here: https://www.blackwitness.com/p/this-is-the-most-violent-experience In this episode of the podcast, I take us back to Sam's initial optimism and excitement about participating in the flotilla. We reflect on the role of these kinds of movements and why they are important in continuing to escalate the global movement for Palestinian liberation. In the second part of this podcast I also share a short interview I recorded with Subhi Awad, one of the spokespeople for the Global Sumud Flotilla here in so-called australia. I spoke to Subhi after we heard the news that Sam's vessel had been intercepted by the IOF and that he had been taken into detention. Over the coming weeks we'll continue sharing updates from Sam and his comrades as they return home, so keep your ears open for more on this story!

    42 min
  8. Episode 24 - Human rights & homelessness: challenging the criminalisation of homelessness in Qld

    May 5

    Episode 24 - Human rights & homelessness: challenging the criminalisation of homelessness in Qld

    As most of you probably already know, over the past few years we've seen a sharp increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness across south east queensland as the housing crisis has intensified. This has led, unsurprisingly, to more people living in public spaces. This week on the podcast, Marissa catches up with Sam Tracy, Practice Director at Basic Rights Queensland, a community legal centre that works on human rights, discrimination and poverty-related laws. Marissa and Sam discuss a recent win on behalf of homeless clients in the Supreme Court in the case of Bobeldyk and Anor v Moreton Bay City Council; Eichin & Ors v Moreton Bay City Council [2026] QSC 27. In response to complaints from other residents, city council employees and the police have been directed to enforce evictions, removing people and their property from public parks. In 2025, this led to a number of people (including the claimants in the matter we're discussing in this week's show) being forcibly evicted from Eddie Hyland Park in Moreton Bay. These evictions were incredibly cruel, and led to significant distress and the destruction of priceless belongings (including in one horrific case, the destruction of the claimant's deceased daughter's ashes). This case was brought on behalf of some of the people evicted from Eddie Hyland Park. While the decision sadly does not stop Council’s from enforcing laws to move people on and destroy their belongings, it does set some limits on the way that these evictions can happen. The Supreme Court determined that the way the council "evicted and disposed of property belonging to people experiencing homelessness breached the human rights (and other legal protections) of those affected and was therefore unlawful." While this is not a resounding victory against evictions from public parks, it's a starting point for thinking about the role of lawyers and the legal system in this moment. For people sleeping rough, and for the people organising in solidarity with them, these kinds of legal processes offer a site of potential leverage. Forcing council's to slow down processes like evictions gives people more time to advocate for their own needs; more time to call in support; and importantly, more time for their neighbours and comrades to organise effective anti-eviction actions.

    39 min
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About

The Radio Reversal collective is a long-standing audio collective based in Meanjin, so-called brisbane. We are committed to using the tools of audio production and storytelling to platform and amplify grassroots community organising, critical theorising, & political art, music, and activism. The radio reversal collective is premised on a shared vision of abolitionist, Indigenist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-ableist, queer feminist political education. Radio Reversal is an ongoing experiment in public pedagogy; in thinking and learning out loud, together, over and over again. Since 2012, we have been producing and presenting a weekly, research- and interview-based live radio show on 4zzz, 102.1fm. Across a variety of formats and timeslots, the live show has continued to anchor the work we do. Live, community radio is at the heart of what we do, and we remain committed to making audio content that is accessible to anyone with a radio and willing ear. For over a decade, we've been building an audio archive of struggles for justice and liberation across this city and beyond; a record of the radical theorising, organising, mistake-making, re-thinking, and community building that happens across this city. Here, we hope to slowly share some of that archive, and the lessons we've learned from building it.

Information

  • Creator
    Radio Reversal Collective
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Radio Reversal Podcast