Two In The Think Tank - 343 - The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands

Episode Date: May 18, 2022

In 2004, the Australian Government passed an amendment specifying that marriage was be defined as a "union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others". In protest to this, a group set up the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands! This episode is about the Kingdom and Australia's Marriage Law Postal Survey.Support the show and get rewards like bonus episodes: dogoonpod.com or patreon.com/DoGoOnPod Submit a topic idea directly to the hat: dogoonpod.com/suggest-a-topic/ Check out our new merch! : https://do-go-on-podcast.creator-spring.com/ Twitter: @DoGoOnPodInstagram: @DoGoOnPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoOnPod/Email us: [e-mail] Check out our other podcasts:Book Cheat: https://play.acast.com/s/book-cheatPrime Mates: https://play.acast.com/s/prime-mates/Listen Now: https://play.acast.com/s/listen-now/ Our awesome theme song by Evan Munro-Smith and logo by Peader Thomas REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:https://web.archive.org/web/20161110134815/http://gaykingdom.info/https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/nancy/episodes/nancy-podcast-make-australia-gay-againhttps://www.thedailybeast.com/australias-lgbt-only-islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_and_Lesbian_Kingdom_of_the_Coral_Sea_Islandshttps://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/an-lgbtq-micronation-declared-war-on-australia-in-2004-and-a-sen_a_21726219https://www.theguardian.com/australia-new1s/2017/dec/07/marriage-equality-law-passes-australias-parliament-in-landslide-vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just jumping in really quickly at the start of today's episode to tell you about some upcoming opportunities to see us live in the flesh. And you can see us live at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024. We are doing three live podcasts on Sundays at 3.30 at Basement Comedy Club, April 7, 14 and 21. You can get tickets at dogo1pod.com. Matt, you're also doing some shows around the country. That's right. I'm doing shows with Saren Jayamana, who's been on the show before. We're going to be in Perth in January, Adelaide in February, Melbourne through the festival in April, and then Brisbane after that. I'm also doing Who Knew It's in Perth and Adelaide. Details for all that stuff at mattstuartcomedy.com.

We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. Episode of Do Go On. My name is Dave Warnke and as always I'm here with Matt Stewart and Jess Perkins. Hello Matt.

Oh hi Jess. Didn't see you there. So good to be here with you. Hello David. Oh hello. Are we not talking? Yeah I just wanted to start a rift. Alright well Matt can you tell Jess to piss off? Hey. From Dave. David said to piss off.

What a funny reaction when you said to Dave, hello David and he said, are we not talking? You literally just spoke to him. Yeah, but the way I spoke to him heavily implied we were in a fight. Jess, can you tell Matt to piss off? Matt, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but David has said piss off. That's a bit rough. I know. Jess, can you tell David please explain what this show is about?

Absolutely. David, Matt has requested that you explain what this show is about. Absolutely. David, Matt has requested that you explain what this show is about. Okay, but only because you said it, not because of him. It's so confusing. What we do here is we take it in terms of a report on a topic often suggested by one of our listeners. We go away, do a bit of research, bring it back to the other two who have no idea what the report is going to be on. And it is Matt's turn. Jess, tell Matt it's his turn to report on a topic.

And he always starts, well, we always start with a question to get us on to the topic. Matt. turn. Jess, tell Matt it's his turn to report on a topic. And he always starts, well, we always start with a question to get us on to the topic. Matt. Yes. It's your turn. We can't keep this up all day, can we? No, no, no. It's going to end after this. Okay.

It's your turn. Start with a question, please. All right, great. Can you tell Dave to grow up? Dave, grow up. That was from Matt. Okay. All right. grow up. Dave, grow up. That was from Matt. Alright, my question is

which country's refusal to acknowledge same-sex marriage led to the creation of a micro nation in 2004? 2004? Wow. Okay, so by 2004 we absolutely hadn't accepted it. So it's definitely not Australia. Okay, but is it

Rome and that's how the Vatican came about? They're often, they're very open with their ideas, aren't they? Very liberal. No, but is it Rome and that's how the Vatican came about? They're very open with their ideas, aren't they? Very liberal. No, it's not Rome. Okay. I should have said Italy. Fuck. Idiot.

Were you meaning whatever the, where the Pope is? What's that place called again? Vatican City. Vatican City. I don't know. I'll ask you, which country's refusal To acknowledge same-sex marriage Led to the creation Of a micronation in 2004

So that doesn't rule out Australia Because it is Australia Oh my god I'm like Jeez You've led yourselves down A bad track straight away I'm going to stick with

My answer of Rome So this was suggested by Tess or Tez From Manchester in the UK Great T-E-S Still Tess or Tez from Manchester in the UK. Great. T-E-S. Still Tess? Possibly, yeah.

All right. So let's go back to the year 2004. Where were you in 2004? 2004. I was butter, an old man, probably walking the earth. Yes. Okay. Walking the earth. Yeah. Okay. Walking the earth.

Yeah. Dave, are you looking at your phone to figure out? Where I was in 2004. We were in year eight. Oh, my phone says you're right. So, you're looking at your calendar? Okay, back to 2004. I was at uni for, you know, obviously, as a mature age student.

I was three or four hundred years old you were doing your fourth or fifth degree at that point yeah that's right insufferably putting your hand up for every question um excuse me sorry i know you were trying to end this shoot early uh but i'd love to go back to a point you made earlier i was wondering you seem to have forgotten about an assignment you'd uh you'd uh assigned to us and sorry i might be the only one here but i actually want to learn. I know you've got theories on how the pyramids were built, but I was actually there. So let me tell you. Let me tell you a thing or two, kids. Anyhow, in the year 2000, Australian

legislation didn't explicitly say that same-sex marriage was illegal. According to this great website I found, I think it's pronounced wikipedia.org. And that's what, like, legal kind of documents? I think it is, yeah. A lot of jargon. Yeah, I think the w is short for wig. Like a barrister's wig.

Like a barrister's wig. I think it was going to be wikipedia, but that was taken. By Wiggy Pop. Yeah, yeah. The Iggy Pop cover band. Yes. But theygy Pop cover band. Yes. But they all wear wigs. But they all wear share wigs.

It's very confusing. So according to wikipedia.org, that was all about to change. That year, public attention increased with respect to same-sex marriage due to court decisions in Massachusetts and Canada legal to same-sex marriage due to court decisions in Massachusetts and Canada legalising same-sex marriage. Two Australian same-sex couples married in Canada in 2004 and lodged an application in the Family Court of Australia in Victoria seeking legal recognition of their Canadian marriages.

Before the matter could be heard, the Howard government changed the law to prevent Australian recognition of same-sex sex marriages rendering a court case moot um yeah they saw it happening and they're like oh we better we better say it's explicitly between a man and a woman isn't that mind-boggling and it's it's so embarrassing that that was so recent yeah that was you know just over 20 years ago and i never heard this so before that no one had just ever asked the question is that right yeah that was you know just over 20 years ago and i never heard this so before that no one had just ever asked the question is that right yeah that's right i was just uh it didn't specifically say it so people just assumed yeah i guess so oh wow so before that

could you technically get married in a same-sex relationship i don't think it really as i understand it didn't really happen but legally you could. Wow. And then a couple wanted to be recognised and then the whole law changed to fuck them over. They're like, oh, other places in the world are allowing this. And Australians are going over there to have these ceremonies. We better make sure they don't have those rights here. Crazy. Yeah. In an attempt to prevent same-sex unions in australia the howard

government introduced the marriage amendment act in the parliament on the 27th of may 2004 the amendment specified that marriage undefined in the act would be defined as a union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others and that foreign same-sex marriages would not be recognized as such in australia additional reforms to the family law act prevented same-sex couples from being eligible adoptive parents for children in inter-country adoption arrangements the amendment passed the parliament on the 13th of august 2004 and went into effect on the day it received royal assent the 16th of august 2004 and i think part of this, I don't know if you went to any weddings for that following decade or so,

but it was legally to marry someone they had to say a line like that. Yeah. Maybe even that line exactly. Between a union of a man and a woman to exclusion of all others. Right. They had to say that. And often hear a celebrant say, legally, I have to acknowledge, I have to say that, yeah.

Yeah. Because indicating that they're like, this is bullshit. I don't agree with this, but to make this wedding, this marriage legal, I have to say it. And I read about one celebrant who was a gay man who had to say that, you know, every weekend he was saying it. And he said there was one day he was just feeling a bit down

and he struggled to get the words out without breaking down. Luckily, it was a day that the couple he was marrying was very supportive and they sort of, you know, they made it. They hugged him and they made it okay. But, yeah, he's just like oh it's brutal of course just having to basically say and by the way legally i'm not seen as equal yeah and that's you having to say that as part of your job yeah um so anyway well let's talk about the kingdom the micro nation yes that is set up in response to this. Very interesting. According to Nina Strotschlick, writing for the Daily Beast,

when Australia refused to allow its gay citizens equal rights to marriage, a group of activists deserted the country, sailed 200 nautical miles to an island off the Great Barrier Reef and hoisted a rainbow flag in the highest spot they could find. They declared it the gay and lesbian kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. The impetus came in 2004 during the Brisbane Gay Pride Festival when a collective of friends decided that without being granted legal marriage rights, they would leave and start their own, more inclusive country.

According to the kingdom's website, the group cited the law of unjust enrichment, which states, if something is unjustly taken compensation must be made the group were of the opinion that the change in the marriage law had taken from homosexual people the right to be treated equally whether it be marriage superannuation hospital visits adoption or ivf treatments so, there was like, and this sort of evolved over time, but back then I think not being able to be married meant they didn't really treat de facto relationships and other unmarried relationships

and didn't give those partners the same sort of rights. Yeah. You know, visiting hospital when one partner's sick and all these sort of things, superannuation. You're not married, so why would you wantuation and it's you're not married so why would you want to visit someone yeah possible if you're not married to them that's crazy what do you think i got this ring now i can walk into any hospital i want they go oh please i'm here to see my wife oh right this way sir and i mean we yeah i've been thinking about that quite recently the

sort of de facto thing as well and it's, I found it kind of hard to find relevant information on what rights are in a de facto relationship as well. Anytime I've Googled it, it's just like, in the event of a de facto relationship ending, here are your rights. And I'm like, yeah, sure. I mean, that's a good thing to know. I was more meaning like, if I'm in hospital, if I'm in an emergency, can he come see me?

Yeah, I think it's now actually, I don't know for sure, but I think now de facto relationships are a lot closer to you may as well be married pretty much now. Is that right? Yeah, I think so. You can like register your relationship. Essentially, you get a piece of paper for it as well. I think essentially if something there's if something happens

to your de facto partner you you just have to prove you're in a relationship and that is literally just we've lived together for a couple of years i think it's even six months is it or is it two years if there are kids involved it's like you can live together less than a year like it doesn't matter stan you have a kid yep de facto yeah facto. De facto. Yeah, so at least nine months. Your papers are stamped. Done. You get the tattoo. It's not going up. Yeah, it's very interesting and it's crazy that it's, yeah,

we're talking about something that's very, very recent. And I'm glad there's been a big shift, but it's so crazy and quite embarrassing that not that long ago. Yeah, of course, like why would two women want to have children? What do you mean? Like, of course they can. Yeah. But, yeah, I mean, I imagine there, well, I think there's definitely things going on now that we're going to feel similarly about in 20 years' time.

Absolutely. Anyway, continuing on. Instead of financial compensation, the activists chose territorial compensation by establishing an independent gay state on a scattering of tropical islands in the coral sea i mean they've picked a very good spot sounds amazing yeah uh the capital on cato island they called heaven yeah sounds like it uh as the island is so small it doesn't have a dock let alone an airport but they set sail on their own boat dubbed the gay flower a play on the mayflower that's good is that the is that the what do you call the thanksgiving day people in americans yeah what is yeah they had another name they've got like

belt buckles on their hats the pilgrims pilgrims maybe yeah is that right yeah anyway sorry americans um we're talking about australia god i mean we can't even come up with our own pun boat names they're all referencing american culture yeah but i did enjoy the gay flowers very good i like that a lot i reckon because uh this was voted on and tess who suggested it had that written in the thing so i put that in next to the on the poll this is how they suggested it and I think a few people went gay flower I have to vote for that yeah that one's getting my that's good stuff yeah uh in June of 2004 the gay and lesbian kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands declared independence from Australia according to the kingdom's website

the initiative for the founding of a gay kingdom was taken during the Brisbane Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival and the Coral Sea Islands seemed a perfect location because of a twist in international law that states, quote, oppressed people of overseas territories have a right to self-government and self-determination. time these islands were administered as an overseas territory of england but from the 60s they were administered from australia by the department of the environment sport and territories as an overseas external territory of the commonwealth of australia under the united yeah so it's sort of they reckon they sort of found a little loophole yeah right under the united nations and international law external overseas territories of all governments have the legal right to self government and self-determination okay the coral sea islands are internationally recognized by the government of australia and by all nations and by the united nations as an external overseas territory of australia and as australia has passed into legislation homophobic laws that clearly discriminate against its homosexual people, the gay and lesbian activists presume that the full force of international law

applies to the kingdom's independence. This is all still from their website. Wow. The activists also presume that neither England nor Australia has any rights to the Coral Sea Islands because both governments are unable to provide to the gay government any recording of anyone formally proclaiming the Coral Sea Islands as part of the British or Australian Crown. Neither of the governments have replied to them or anything.

Yeah, okay. So they're like, no reply? Okay. Okay. Your son speaks volumes. This also comes from the official website. Quote, The gay and lesbian kingdom formally raised the Gay Rainbow Pride flag on Cato Island

on the 14th of June 2004 and declared the territory an independent gay and lesbian state. A memorial plaque on the northeastern tip of Cato Island commemorates this historic event and reads, On the 14th day of June 2004, at this highest point in the Coral Sea, Emperor Dale Parker Anderson raised the gay rainbow flag. Emperor. And claimed the island of the Coral Sea in his name as homeland for the gay and lesbian peoples of the world. God save our king.

So that's right. It's Emperor Dale. Emperor Dale. Okay, if you're going to give yourself, I mean, you get to give yourself this title, right? Emperor, king, whatever. What do you go for? Monarch of the Glen.

Monarchs, I mean, yeah, I guess you can go. Yeah, go vague. Yeah, that's good. I don't know if I want to be a queen. Almighty ruler. Yeah, that's good. That's good. You want to make sure people know you're above them what about

emperor for life yeah yeah emperor for life turkman bashy yeah okay president oh what about el presidente that feels better that's a punch up isn't it that's good yeah that feels fun let me tell you a little bit about emperor dale all right i like dale already when his appointment was announced he told the Sydney Star Observer that he took the job because quote no one else would do it. According to the Kingdom's website

born in August 1965 Dale Parker Anderson is the eldest of identical twins. Must you know I love that. Five minutes.

Yeah. His early years were spent growing up in Outback Australia. His majesty has featured on gay and lesbian radio and been profiled in numerous newspapers and magazines. Quiet and shy by nature,

Dale lists his hobbies as gardening, music and travel. The Kingdom's website talks up the heritage of Dale, saying, the sovereign of the gay and lesbian kingdom, Dale Parker Anderson, is a direct descendant of the murdered gay king of England, Edward II, who was around 1284 to 1327. This makes the sovereign distantly related to all major royal houses of Europe.

Yeah, had you heard of Edward II? I looked him up a little bit, and I think it seems like a long time ago, but it was very dramatic, a lot of infighting and family. I think his mum, I forget. I should have written it down. I read this a month ago. Something about his mum.

But I think his mum's boyfriend had him offed or something like that. It was something very scandalous. Jeez Louise. But it does seem like, yeah, it seems like he was a gay man. Yeah, I think they love how that all ties together. He's sort of got royal blood, they believe. Yeah. And it's connected directly to the...

And it's the gay one, which is just funny. The website goes on to say that one of Dale's more recent forefathers was William Purcell of the HMS Bounty. He was the first to visit and stay in the Coral Sea Islands in 1789, I love how that's on their own website. They're by giving some kind of legitimacy. Hey, we're looking into this. We think it sounds good. Someone he's related to has also been here by that token i am the king

of a caravan park in a chuka i remember meeting my grandparents there once in the 90s um i don't know if you did you think it was it sort of seemed a bit weird to me that i went with kingdom you know it's sort of like a i feel that's all about equality and stuff so it should be a queendom well or just you know maybe some sort of thing where there's no no one ruler or yeah yeah or whatever but like a society yeah but every every country that starts out thinking no we're gonna be different we're just gonna be then eventually you're gonna start enforcing some rules and so then you get a government involved. Uh-oh.

You know what I mean? Dale, should we be worried about him? So let's just start with a monarchy or an emperor, you know? Exactly, because... Cut out all that faffing about in the middle where it gets awkward. Yeah, no power vacuum. Let's put some leaders in power. They assume that Dale wants the right to have children

and also the right to pass on his power to his children. Yeah. I really just think he just was like, if no one else will do it, I'll do it. So there's a reason they set the island up as a kingdom rather than a republic or anything else. According to the Kingdom's own website, which says, Dale was originally voted in as the administrator

of the gay and lesbian government, but upon legal advice advice his title was changed to that of sovereign on the grounds that under australian law a de facto prince trying to claim his crown cannot be charged with treason this law goes further and states in fact that anyone hindering a de facto prince or his supporters from obtaining his crown can themselves be charged with treason to date this law has predicted the gay sovereign and members of his government from australian law and its legal system in courts had a republic model of government been chosen all the gay and lesbian activists could have been charged with treason and being brought before the australian courts that's a

good on their website i should say i have no idea how legit any of that legal stuff is. I don't fully understand treason. Yeah, sort of, like, what is it? An act against your own country? Your own country. Yeah. So then by... Basically, it's dogging the boys. Don't dog the boys. Only the boys is your country.

So, but then by making them a sovereign, how can I possibly dog the boys? Because I'm the top boy. Yeah. Of a different group of boys. Yeah, in your laws, you can't come at me. I'm just claiming my crown. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it's all very complicated, isn't it? It really sounds like this group of friends had some lawyers in amongst it. Yes. Well, it became, I don't really go into it because, I mean, it's one of those ones that there's all the information is slightly hard to find about it but there was it sounds like there was a lot of work going on behind the scenes and it was an international thing there were people involved from all around the world and that yeah they they ended up being infighting and all sorts of things

that i i couldn't really get to the bottom of. There's another podcast I listen to, which is more of an investigative sort of thing, and I'll link to that in the show notes. But I really enjoyed that. They were trying to track Dale down. Yeah, right. And they, yeah, they, you know, it was a fun pod to listen to. But anyway, let's forge on.

So the rainbow flag became the kingdom's official flag. And for the coat of arms, I went with the pink triangle, which is my favorite shape. Triangle. Love the triangles. For the national anthem, I've seen two different ones stated, but more commonly I see Gloria Gay gainers gainers uh that's what i am uh according to their website and i assume you can trust their website but i think maybe it got changed at one point but

according to their website uh this song was written by jerry herman a long time public gay male who was made a lord of the gay kingdom because the gay and lesbian government is most honoured to have this song as the kingdom's official national anthem. That's nice. They wrote a declaration of independence. Yes. Of course. Which includes a big chunk from the US version

including a famous bit. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. It's funny that they left it. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's like plagiarized a bit of the U.S. fun. Well, I mean, like, the U.S. obviously perfected it.

Yes. And what are you going to do? Try and perfect perfection? Yeah. Get your head out of your ass, mate. Come on, mate. Come on Come on mate Let's not take the piss It also reads

Quote In countries where we have lived for centuries We are still cried down as strangers In the world as it is now And for an indefinite period I think we shall not be left in peace And We have appealed to the Australian Parliament,

and they too have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. Nailed it. Thank you. We must therefore, in the necessity which denounces our separation and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends. We therefore, as representatives of the homosexual people in general congress assembled appealing to the supreme judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions do the same i do in the name and by the authority of the good gay people of the coral sea islands and in the name of our Dale, our emperor Our Dale? In the name of our Dale

Oh our Dale, he's a good boy He's a good boy, our Dale In the name of our Dale, solemnly publish and declare that the gay and lesbian kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands are one and of right ought to be free and independent that is now absolved

from all allegiances to the Australian Crown and that all political connections between them and australia is and ought to be totally dissolved and that is free and independent we have full power to levy war conclude peace contract alliances establish commerce and to do all other acts and things which independent kingdom may have right to. I like that bit at the end. And everything else. There's a few specifics, but, you know. You know.

I can also go to the shops. Yeah. If I've forgotten anything, that's covered. Yeah. I can also, I can build a fish and chip shop here. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Yeah. I don't understand so much of that legal jargon.

I wasn't sure if, yeah. Reading it out, I'm like, I've probably left too much of this in. But it's, you know. I just sort of like, they really, you know, they put it all out there. It's all, they spent a bit of time on it. They've done all the right things to sort of cover their asses. And they copy and pasted some other things as well. Yeah, to be like, well, Australia, we've done everything we need to do to sever ties.

Yeah, so, nice knowing you. Oh, bit of a brutal breakup, hey? Yeah. Australia really ghosting you yeah oh yes no real replies or anything okay fine well i've said everything i need to say and yeah we'll leave that with you all's in your court i guess that's it you have anything to say you know where to find me on my island so according to strutch lick uh the capital heaven appears to just be a pristine beach with a sign saying, Welcome to Heaven.

Makes sense. It offers snorkeling and camping, but as there is no actual population or infrastructure on the island, no one actually lives there. It's really like just an elaborate protest. So people have been there. They go there to set things up, but they're still living in Australia or wherever they're from, communicating via the internet. But they, yeah, I think the website is really the key to it all.

Yep. And it is really just all in protest against the lack of marriage equality in Australia. Yeah. So, yeah, the island offers snorkelling and camping But there's no actual Population or infrastructure on the island So visitors must charter flights

And bring their own supplies The website notes that gay and lesbian visitors Will be thrilled to learn that much of the sea life Is transsexual The Kingdom's sole industry Is stamp collecting Which is described on the website As an activity to satisfy both The Kingdom's sole industry is stamp collecting, which is described on the website as an activity to satisfy both the most avid enthusiast and the casual or thematic collector.

And the island offers a shiny red mailbox on the capital's beach with which to use these stamps. That's cute. Yeah, it's cute. Go send a chat or a flight. But a postie has to turn up and pick them up? Yeah, I guess so. Maybe they might do it themselves, take it back to Australia and put it in another. Does Australia Post have a little dinghy?

Yeah, it's quite the big root. Big root. Big root. What would you know about that, Dave? You would know about big root. Oh, come on. Oh, come on. Big root. Big root. What would you know about that, Dave? You would know about big root. Oh, come on. Oh, come on. Big banana.

Big root. On the 13th of September 2004, the Gay Kingdom declared war on the Commonwealth of Australia. Uh-oh. They did so by sending a declaration of war directly to the office of then Prime Minister John Howard, as well as via Switzerland. So they're like, in case Australia didn't get it, we're sending it through a neutral country as well. Yeah.

So just letting everyone know we are at war with Australia. Essentially what we did at the start of the podcast. Hey, Switzerland, can you let Australia know we're at war with them? Yeah, yeah. Australia never officially responded. Of course they didn't. Ghosting again. Yeah. So immature. Dogs. Of course they didn't. Ghosting again. Yeah.

So immature. Dogs. Fucking hell, John Howard. Though years later, Liberal Tasmanian Senator Erica Betts mentioned it in Parliament. Betts, who's like a particularly conservative member of the Liberal Party, mentioned it when complaining about a rainbow flag being flown inside the Department of Finance building. In a 2017 Senate Estimates hearing, Abetz said, quote, I'll try and do a bit of an Abetz here.

To cut to the chase, there was a rainbow flag on display in the lobby. That's really good. Believe it or not, some people see as an activist flag for a particular cause in relation to an issue of whether or not we should change the legislation on marriage and some people of course support that others don't shut up wild yeah oh god a flag and it's all these lovely colors it It's so bright. He was saying, if we're going to fly this one, we really should fly the anti-marriage equality flag.

A photo of Erica Betts on the flag. Yeah. Oh, God, some people have put a colourful bit of fabric up. I'm angry. Shut up. Well, he apparently tried to get it a bit more humorous when he continued. Oh, this will be good. Saying, by way of some slight humor on this issue,

this particular flag, you will realize, is the flag of the gay and lesbian kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands that declared war on Australia, and you, Senator Corman, would understand they did the same as Prince Leonard of the Hutt River province, and now this is their official flag. What are you talking about? But funnily enough, just by him trying to, like, he's sort of making light of what they were doing. Funnily enough, just by him trying to, like, he's sort of making light of what they were doing. But he also said this officially, sort of, they were officially recognising in Parliament that it had happened. So it's now on the record.

I love that that man has never said anything that he finds funny without qualifying it at first by saying, I'm about to say something humorous because no one ever gets my jokes. And that's an everybody else problem, not a me problem. No one ever seems to get these. It's such a, like he didn't really over-promise either by way of some slight humour. Yeah, that's good actually. Really set the tone. According to Josh Butler writing for the Huffington Post,

Finance Minister Matthias Cormann, I think because I think Cormann is... I think he's Western Australian. So that's why Abet said that he would know about the Senate of the Hutt River Province, which I believe, Boppa, you... Is that the one you did a bonus episode about? Yeah, that's right.

It was a bonus, wasn't it? I was trying to think, was that a main... That was a bonus episode, yeah. The Hutt River Province. Yeah, I think I was thinking to think, was that a main, that was a bonus episode? Yeah. Hutt River Province. Yeah, I think I was thinking about this, is this the third micro nation we've done? I guess so, yeah. Sealand, Hutt River. Have we done any others?

Not that I can think of. Yeah, because there are a lot out there. I find them fascinating. I've never heard of them before. I guess they were really my thing until now. Oh, you did Sealand as well? Yeah. Oh, I'm so sorry.

Yeah, I did. Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. I've stolen your thing. No, you did Sealand as well? Yeah. Oh, I'm so sorry. Yeah, I did. Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. I've stolen your thing. No, it's okay. It's all right. It's fine. First you take serial killers from me and now you're taking micronations.

Do you want serial killers back? No. I'm just going to start doing a bunch of monkey stuff and see how it goes. Well, remember when you did it, you did do an orangutan episode. That was a bonus too, wasn't it? Yeah. And you were very mad at me for it. And you are now reaping my revenge.

A dish best served cold. Huh? Huh? Lap it up. It hurts, yeah. I've learnt my way. I've learnt my way, learnt my lesson. I love your way.

I love your way. Oh, baby, I love your way. Every day. way. Oh, baby, I love your way. Every day. I think I was thinking Powderfinger, but that's probably better. I was thinking the TV show. Oh, I love your way. On fire with the impressions on this episode. We're really crushing it today.

We've got Erica Betts and Bernard Fanning. What would it sound like if they had a conversation? I just want to wish you well. That sounds a bit gay. Eric, you piece of shit. So, according to Josh Butler, writing for the Huffington Post, Finance Minister Matthias Cormann, as tongue-in-cheek as Betts was, I'm glad Josh Butler saw that they were joking around because it's

not clear on the page. I read it in a different article and I didn't realise there were any jokes. I thought I just had to open a serious conversation. Yeah, none of this seems funny. So then when I read this Huffington Post article, I'm like, alright, I guess I'll take Josh's word for it. But

Cormann replied that he would uh conduct a flag inquiry uh saying it's certainly not the government's intentions in any of our official buildings to fly the flag of hostile nations uh we'll make sure there are no flags of hostile nations anywhere in any government building. I wonder if it... I'm wondering if he was just sort of like, um, go on. All right, Eric.

Oh, yeah, all right, mate. Yeah, yeah, well, that's how I read it initially. Oh, yeah, yeah, no, we'd hate to. But it's possible that they were both having a very funny conversation together. Far out. But imagine living your life being that dull. And, like, that's the funniest conversation you have in your day And you're angered by a flag Yeah, imagine

Imagine What a life that must be They've both got German heritage, right? Maybe, is Cormann from Germany? I think he's from Belgium Oh, I'm so sorry I'm so sorry Who are you apologising to? Belgium? Belgium? I think he's from Belgium. Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

Who are you apologising to? Belgium? I don't know. Yeah, just anyone concerned. Their flags have similar colours. Okay. I think one's horizontal, one's vertical. I'm sorry.

Okay, I'm sorry. Apologise. He's sorry, guys. I'm sorry. Is there anything more I need to say? I'm not sure who he's sorry to or for. Belgium born. Right, Belgium. I was thinking maybe it was like some sort of German humour they were doing to each other.

Yeah, right. We just didn't get. Yeah, but now I don't know. And Erika Betts, maybe he's Belgian. Maybe he's Belgian. But I thought, isn't his uncle a Nazi or something? Am I remembering that right, allegedly? All right, let me just, just in case, I'll Google Erika Betts Nazi.

Oh, Erika Betts, born in Stuttgart, Germany. I didn't know this. And I'm not saying that just because he is German. No. This is from this website, wikipedia.org, which we're talking about. It's sort of a legal one. It says, Erika Betts' great-uncle Otto Betts was a Nazi SS officer, German ambassador to Vichy,y France and a convicted war criminal.

Eric's grandfather was Karl Abetz, a professor of forestry science who joined the Nazi party in 1933 and became general consultant of the Reich Forestry Office in 1942. Right. Anyway, fuck, that's grim. So, let's get to some slightly more positive stuff. Yeah, let's lift the mood. Well, actually, there's some good stuff. Nah, let's lift the mood.

Well, you do a bit of work here then. All right. Since 2004, there were 22 unsuccessful attempts in the Australian Federal Parliament to legalise or recognise same-sex marriage under federal law. So, people were having a crack. There were politicians who were trying to make it happen but it was usually coming from it was private member bills can you read minor parties and read that sentence again since 2004 there were 22 unsuccessful attempts in the australian federal parliament to legalize same-sex marriage under federal law so it says well it says the thing i

wrote there were also pushes in state and i, there were also pushes in state and... I say. There were also pushes in state and territory parliaments, including the ACT, Australian Capital Territory, where a law legalising marriage equality was passed, but it was overturned in the High Court. What? The High Court unanimously struck the Act down in its entirety

on the basis that it was in conflict with the Federal Marriage Act that Howard brought in 2004. So it was so ironclad, Howard's legislation, that states and territories couldn't overrule it with their own. Wow. So even though the ACT wanted to, they were voted in, I believe, with a mandate to do it. It was a popular decision. I mean, this is like, for as long as i remember the polls always

showed that majority of australians were in favor of marriage equality yeah so that's the other wild thing about it um that no one like the the political will somehow has never it took so long for it to get to the point where what seemed like the public's will was um passed yeah uh yeah and yeah it's just brutal so they're the act is like if it can't happen elsewhere it can happen here yeah and then and they're like at least couples could travel to the act and get married now um according to wikipedia or wikipedia i forget wikipedia or wikipedia either way no wikipedia According to Wikipedia Wikipedia or Wikipedia Either way Wikipedia is the

Wiggy pop The Iggy pop and the stooges Cover band that wear wigs Wiggy pop and the woogees So according to Wikipedia.org The Liberal National Government Went to the 2016 Federal election with a policy to put

the issue of same-sex marriage the to a plebiscite and was narrowly re-elected though the legislation to establish the plebiscite was rejected by the australian senate in november 2016 and again in august 2017 i think other sides are saying it's not necessary we can just do a vote on it now yeah but that that was their promise so they you know that was a sort of a tight spot but even just getting that point they were like well that was their i i think that was sort of a tactic by the liberal national coalition to be like uh they're just sort of kicking it down the road a bit if you elect us we'll we'll have a vote yeah on it yeah should we explain what a plebiscite is because before the plebiscite that we all did i think a lot of people had never heard of that no i was just thinking then i was like i know what it was but i could not give you a definition of what a

plebiscite is i understand it because i i mean i did uh politics in high school thank god you're here i believe it's so you've either got a referendum and that is legally binding yep but i think a plebiscite is like oh let me check yeah this is from uh an australian government website in australia a plebiscite also known as an advisory referendum is used to decide a national question that does not affect the constitution so to change the australian constitution you have to have a referendum right so when we tried to decide a national question that does not affect the constitution so to change the australian constitution you have to have a referendum right so when we tried to become a republic that would affect the constitution that was a referendum yep which lost um but i know you're devastated about it you cannot wait to get away from that pesky queen and they they often do fail because uh

people hate change in a lot of ways yeah um but But then, and it's also hard because it has to pass, it has to get the majority of votes in a majority of states. Wow. Okay. So it's not enough to even just be like 51%. It also has to be. The majority in every state. You know, four states also have to have,

the majority of states have to have a majority. Wow. As well as an overall majority. Okay. I think. That's an old memory, but I think that's right. Holy shit, that's very complicated. So, yes.

So, a plebiscite can be used to test whether the government has enough public support to go ahead with a proposed action. But it's not legally binding and it can't change the constitution. So, it's essentially, a plebiscite is a vibe check. Yeah, that's right. What do you guys reckon? Oh, you think we should allow gay marriage? Okay, that's interesting.

I didn't see that coming. That's very interesting. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I guess we can agree to disagree. I'm not changing anything. And so to have a plebiscite, it has to go through parliament, but it was rejected. I think the opposition and minor parties are saying it's not necessary.

I think that's what happened. As in they were saying it's not necessary, we know what the people think, just make it a referendum. It's a waste of money and it'll drag. It's bad for mental health and you don't do popular votes for people's rights. Totally, yeah, yeah. I think that's how I'm remembering it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's how I'm remembering it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not like, do you guys want free ice cream on Fridays? Yes or no? It's something that... It's a yes from me. It's something that is really impacting... Should we quickly go around the room, though? That's also a yes from me.

Okay. We've got two, but the majority of states. Matt, free ice cream on Fridays? No, I think our money could be better spent. Oh, you piece of shit. You piece of shit. On gelato. Yeah, alright. I'm moving a...

He got us. I'm moving an amendment to say and or gelato. And or frozen yoghurt. Whatever you want. Fantastic. Cold treats. Can we say... Cold treats. Lactose free options. Any kind of sweet treat. Unless you don't like sweet, then a savoury.

Treats on Fridays. I think it's important that the treat has a slushy-like consistency. I think the treat has to have the ability to inflict a brain freeze. Yes. I think that is important. All in favour? But I don't really like ice cream. I'd prefer like a cheese board or something a bit more.

But it has to be very cold. Okay. You may have a cheesecake board and nothing else. That's good. We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge Indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from Indigenous voices.

We can demand more from the earth. Or we can learn from Indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. So they kept trying to get the plebiscite through they couldn't do it the vibe check the vibe check instead they went to their next option down which they didn't need parliamentary support on which was a voluntary postal survey and that's what the government can conducted cost about 100 grand people are also you know people opposing are also like it's a waste of money we know the

answer yeah it's there's no positives to come of this. Like, guys, do a Facebook poll. You know what I mean? Like, we'll get the answer. Just call in with your opinion. We'll take a few calls. Yeah, so far I've had three for yes, so. You're talking to Tony.

Go for Tony. Or no, sorry, Malcolm at this stage. Go for Malcolm. Just give out Malcolm's phone number and everybody can just text in yes or no. Yeah. How hard's that? Yeah. Doc's the Prime Minister.

Then everyone just pays for their own text. Yeah. And nearly no one pays per text anymore, do they? No, not these days. Unless you're on prepaid. And then what are you doing? You know what I mean? Getting a plan.

Come on. Come on. Join us in the future. So the... I was definitely still on prepaid in 2004. They conducted a voluntary survey between the 12th of September and the 7th of November 2017, ascertaining the views of Australians on legislating for same-sex marriage.

According to an article written in The Guardian at the time by Paul Karp, the move was controversial, with LGBTI groups objecting to a human rights question, equality before the law being decided by popular vote, which is sort of what I was referring to before. In a bruising three-month campaign, opponents of marriage equality claimed same-sex marriage would have far-reaching negative consequences for gender education

and claimed it would harm religious freedom and freedom of speech in arguing for the plebiscite and a lot of it like there was a lot of nasty stuff oh yeah going on real gross campaigns by pamphlets and all these sort of things uh and online yeah in arguing for the plebiscite the government said it could be a unifying moment for the country. Senator Penny Wong told Parliament that the same-sex marriage debate was exposing families to hatred. Quote, have a read of some of the things which are said about us and our families and then come back here and tell us this is a unifying moment, she said. Same-sex marriage advocates warned the postal survey on marriage equality would damage mental health, and according to the ABC, research published in 2019 confirmed those fears were valid.

The ABC article quotes activist Sally Rugg as saying, The LGBTI community and our friends begged the government not to put us through this process because we knew that people would be traumatised. We knew that we would see these terrible outcomes in terms of mental health and the 2019 study backed that view. Leading up to the postal vote, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom's website added a link to point viewers to the website of the Equality Campaign, the organisation which called on Australian voters to participate in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, in which a yes vote would likely

prompt the parliament of australia to enact same-sex marriage it's another thing people who were like what's the point of this is because they didn't even it wasn't legally binding even if it was yeah even if it came back yes it was a hundred percent yes they didn't have to yeah i mean it would be political suicide you you'd think, not to. But it wasn't a binding thing. So they're like, well, they'll probably do what it says. But there was nerves about, you know, the particularly anti-marriage equality people in the government would look at any little thing. If it was close or if certain states said no, then we can't vote for it because, you know.

Yep. So there were all these fears coming into it. But then on the 15th of November, it was announced that 61.6% of respondents voted in favour of same-sex marriage. So it was an overwhelming response in favour of marriage equality. And that was all, from memory, was it, and and that was all from memory was it i think it was all states also i believe oh it's going back a little while but yeah i think you i think so talk to dave for a second while i look it up how are you good who did you what did you vote i voted

yes oh what did you vote yes yay allies it was the literally the easiest way to support people i ticked a box um yeah a wild time i remember being a bit disappointed like finding it kind of a bit frustrating that it was only 61 yes like remember i was like really 61 okay yeah it's like that is the majority but it feels like it should have been a bigger majority in 2017 yeah state by state new south wales had the smallest percentage of yes vote and that was 57.8 so every state was clear majority great act 74 yep um i had 74 or like know, low 70s in my head for the overall thing, but it was 61, which is interesting. Yeah, Victoria was 64.

Okay. I think that's where I got the four from. You know, it was pretty, like, kind of consistent in every single state and territory. So it was sort of like, no, if you're in parliament representing the Australian people, it's hard to argue. Yeah. in parliament representing the australian people it's hard to argue yeah so um once that was announced the kingdom was dissolved on the 17th of november 2017 they saw their their job was done

yeah and then homer said but you didn't do anything and then spock then spock says didn't i or something like that um a law legalizing same-sex marriage was finally passed in the parliament on the 7th of December 2017 and received royal assent the following day, becoming the 25th country to recognise same-sex marriage. Feels like we'd like to think of ourselves as being a bit better than that. Yeah, absolutely. We were so slow. It was strange how slow we were to make it happen. I guess, what is that, 14 years after Canada?

Yeah, yeah. And Canada wasn't, was Canada first? Oh, the Netherlands. I thought something in my mind. They were the first in 2001. Yeah, right. Netherlands, yeah, they think they're often ahead of the game. In 2001, and it took us until 2017.

Bloody hell. But it was a yes.. But it was a yes. Yes, it was a yes. In the end, we got there in the end. Finally. According to Karp, the lower house passed marriage equality with almost all members of the governing Liberal National Coalition joining Labor, the Greens and crossbench MPs in a free vote to pass the bill,

which cleared the Senate without amendment. The only no votes were coalition MPs Russell Broadbent, Keith Pitt, David Littleproud, still a... He's a member. He's like a... He's the deputy nationals leader. And independent MP Bob Catter.

So what a wild list of people, you know, like to be like, hey, you'll be remembered for being on the wrong side of history there. Bob Catter, people from you know, like to be like, hey, you'll be remembered for being on the wrong side of history there. Bob Caddo, people from outside Australia probably don't know. He, the great, it was about marriage equality. He's one of his most famous clips. He was in a press conference.

Well, in a thousand blossoms blooms. Someone asked about marriage equality. He said, well, you know, everyone is allowed to have their sexual proclivities. So may a thousand blossoms bloom. But I ain't spending a lot of time on it. Because every month a man is torn apart by a crocodile in the Northern Territory. Which is not true. Oh, Matt, your third great impression of the episode.

That was great. We found your niche. You've got to see it because the gear change is so sudden. Amazing. It's terrifyingly quick. Let a thousand blossoms bloom. I ain't spending any more time on it. There's a Twitter account.

I can't remember what it's called, but it's something like batshit moments in Australian politics. And, you know, there's amazingly a lot of things to post. The one of Tony Abbott just staring blankly

at a journalist for so long. Tony, you're not saying anything. Yeah. Or when he ate the onion with the skin on. Raw onion.

He's such a psycho. So many strange moments. Disgusting. Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah. Talking about the leaders of our country, that's what we're talking about. Yes, and the five no votes.

Yeah, so in the end, it was pretty much everyone apart from the far right. And even like, I mean, there are a few classic far right people who are not listed there, so. Yeah. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tony Smith, declared the vote carried since fewer than five MPs opposed it, triggering a standing ovation from the parliamentarians and public gallery.

Some broke into a rendition of the chorus of one of the country's many unofficial anthems, I Am, You Are, We Are Australian. That's right. I forgot that. I don't know. I'm torn between that being nice and being really cringy. I think at the time, I think I remember seeing that at the time and being like, that's nice.

Okay, great. It was just a nice sort of, I think if it was really planned, it would be pretty cringy, but I think it's just one of those moments where it just sort of happens fairly organically and it's just a moment of unity. Yeah. I think it was nice. I think if I watched it now I'd be like but it was sweet at the time. Imagine trying to get it going

and no one joined in. We are one. But we are men. No, just the one. And from all, come on please, the lands on earth we come. Alright, the lands on earth we come. Alright, I'm giving up.

We share a dream. The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told the House that, quote, Australia has done it. Every Australian had their say and they said, it's fair, get on with it. We've voted today for equality, for love. It's time for more marriages, more commitment, more love, more respect, he said. This is Australia. Fair, diverse, loving and filled with respect.

Which is possibly a bit rich after putting people through that. And then he still claims like, you know, because he's since been voted out and lost his leadership of the party. But he's like, well, when I was in charge, I got gay marriage through. So, like, sort of showing that off. Like, mate, you didn't really help the cause for a long time. You didn't work that hard, yeah. And it did, yeah. That wasn't you.

No. Yeah, he did seem like he, one of those politicians that promised a lot, but. But then in the post-political career, being like, if I was in charge, this is what I'd do. Ex-Prime Minister have done that. Yes. Always. Always. And it's like, you had the power.

You had the majority. You could have got anything through if you wanted to. It's like, oh, that's right. You talk the talk. Yes. Before you get in and then after you're not in anymore. Yeah. Just afraid of your own party or just holding on to power or whatever.

You know, whatever. I mean, I agree it's a tough job. I don't want it. I don't want the job. I don't want the job, thank you very much. I'd get kicked out immediately. I'd be making some big old changes. We're not voting on shit. I'd go dictator.

That's what I'd do. Friday ice cream. Friday ice cream. Yeah, but I'd be a fun dictator. I'd fix that wage gap, let me tell you that. Fix that straight up. Yeah. Budget smudge it.

With the signing of a pencil. Done. Sorted. Jason Trois-en-Mick-Shane and his husband Adrian were married in Canada in 2004. One of those couples that got married in Canada and the Howard government's fear of them coming back with these marriages. Yeah, what a threat.

What a threat they would be. It was one of the people who kind of brought this on in the first place. He called the postal survey rubbish and unnecessarily painful, but said he loved the fact that the australian people had rejected fear campaigns that had questioned the legitimacy of lgbti people and our families i love the fact that australian people turned it on its head and forced the parliament to pass legislation without amendments 62 was an overwhelming win

in a vote design to maximize the no vote i think um i think for a lot of people as well maybe i don't know i feel like a lot of people sort of it sparked conversations they probably hadn't had with family members and stuff before not always for the better of course and then that's part of that mental health side of things yes for people in the community is is hearing people around you uh you know discuss your rights yes and that has no impact on them yeah but i remember my parents were overseas and it arrived and i um like was collecting their mail and i was like and how did you want me to

vote for you yeah and mom's like yes of course what are you talking about i was like oh thank god oh that is good news yes it's um i mean i knew but you know you just want validate you want confirmation so uh finally about twas on mcshane uh he was preparing to cry with relief when the result was sealed so i thought i'd sort of finish with some of his thoughts because it was you know sort of balanced between it was awful but also the beautiful side of it which is i know it's easy to say when i you know you're not going through that side but yeah um the the benefit the negatives outweighed the positives i think for that process it should have just been passed everyone like it was so clear for so long but

there is like you say there were conversations that might not have had otherwise yeah good and bad and now no one's since argued that it should be turned back. Yeah. Because it's like... Maybe there'd still be politicians who'd be campaigning, but how do they go... The vote was wrong. They can't say that. Whereas if it was just politicians,

they're like, politicians made the decision, not the Australian people. Yeah. Maybe. I mean, I don't know. I'm looking for silver linings, I guess. Yeah. I'll finish with one final, what I think is a fun fact i'll decide okay so the kingdom

they went away and they let their domain name lapse and gaykingdom.info is now a porn site so i had to access it on like a way back machine thing. It's been, you know, just kept for posterity. It's like it's been archived. Archived, yeah, yeah. How cool, I didn't know that. That's nice. That's nice.

Yeah, and that is my report on the gay and lesbian kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. No, I would have, I'm sure I'd check it to verify that. Fun fact. And that other podcast I mentioned before, if people want to hear more about it, it is called Nancy is the name of the show. And it is episode...

And the episode is called Make Australia Gay Again. That's nice. Yeah. Yeah. Do you remember like people sort of rushing to be the first to get married? Couples that had been together for, like, decades and getting married, like, it was, what, November or something? And they're like, December weddings, let's do this.

Yeah, so they had to, I think they had to wait till Feb. Like, there's some law that you've got to say, I want to get married. Yeah, it's intention to wed or something, isn't it? Yeah. I guess it's to stop that sort of Vegas-style wedding, spur of the moment. Drunk weddings.

But it did mean, I can't remember if I mentioned this, but anyone who was married overseas, they became instantly legal. That's so nice. Yeah. Yeah, cool. But yeah, I remember there being a lot of news stories at the time of sort of the first same-sex marriages. Yeah.

And it was always lovely. It was so nice. And the guy, I remember I said that celebrant who... Yeah. He was crushed every time. He was interviewed afterwards and he said it was just so nice and he got married as well. Yes.

And they don't have to say it now, do they? Don't have to say it, no. And he just, yeah. There's not actually that much that legally has to be said, is there? No. Our celebrant just sent us through a, and in red was the things you have to say and it's about three sentences or so.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. For it to be, you know, official and legal. We have to say, this groom is looking hot. Hotty. Am I right? Whoop, whoop, whoop. Get at least three high fives on that. And then, yeah, we're done.

They don't have to say something like, between a human and a human. Because one of the anti-marriage equality, you'd see arguments like, what's next, bestiality? Yeah. No. How have you got the hair? Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa why are you already thinking about that are you asking like because you're angry about it or you're hoping that's yeah what's next bestiality because i love my dog i love my dog so much i've got such a handsome doggy i'll

be able to marry this table this beautiful sexy table is that what's next this beautiful sexy table it's been there for me through thick and thin this table is my best friend yeah will i have to marry it will i yeah those are um pretty ridiculous and very funny arguments and did uh emperor dale we don't know what happened to our former monarch uh he sort of you you know, he just went on with his life. But if you want to hear about the hunt for him, listen to that episode of Nancy. Sounds great. It's kind of, it's like, it's a WNYC studio.

Sort of got a bit of a vibe like one of those, what's that America show? That famous podcast? Serial. It's got America in the name. Dis-American Life. Dis-American Life. Yeah, that kind of a reply all or one of those kind of podcasts

that sounds like it has a real budget behind it. Oh, wow. Probably a team putting it together. Yeah, and they read out a name of 3,000 producers. And it starts with a conversation that feels like it's probably staged where someone's bringing up a topic. Yeah. Like, hey, you know what?

Have you ever wondered? Actually, I have. Oh, my God, I have. How did they know? Well, luckily, we spoke to a reporter, Jenny Boog, who went out on the scene. Jenny Boog. Jenny Boog.

Look her up. Good work. Jenny Boog. She won a Pulitzer Prize. You didn't ask who I voted for. What did you vote for? I prefer not to say. It's a very personal question, Bob.

Sorry. Sorry for asking when you asked me to ask. Yeah, a bit weird that you... Sorry. That's fair enough. I didn't mean to pry. It is a bit rude to ask who you voted for. So now it's time for everyone's favourite section of the show

where we get to thank some of our fantastic supporters who make this show possible. If you want to join up and support us, you can do so at dogoandpod.com or patreon.com slash dogoandpod. And Dave, what kind of rewards can people get for subscribing? You'll be the first to hear about live shows. You'll also get discount tickets. You can be part of the Facebook group,

which is a very lovely part of the internet. It's the only place I ever post sincerely, I think, online. So true. If I ever thought that I'm like, oh, this nice thing happened, they'll be the people I tell. Yeah. Whereas I feel like it's hard to tweet stuff like that.

It just feels... Here's a nice flower I saw. Twitter's like, what the fuck is this supposed to mean? I've seen nicer. Yeah. Okay. You can also vote for topics. You literally can choose what we talk about on the show, which is, I believe, what happened

this week. That's right. Yes. Very, very good. And also three bonus episodes a month that no one hears, which is a lot of fun. Those episodes are often very loose. No one hears. No one else hears. No one hears. No one else hears.

No one hears. No one hears. We just put them in the bin. But you literally, I take the SD card out and I throw that in the bin. Yeah. We are broke. I keep having to buy SD cards. Yeah, but you know that we did it.

So that's. Yeah. And also, you know that you're helping keeping the show going. Maybe that's a reward for someone. It's a reward in itself. So the first thing we like to do is thank some people on the Sydney Scheinberg level in a section we like to call Fact, Quote or Question, which has a little jingle. It goes something like this.

Fact, Quote or Question. Ding. Oh, he always remembers the ding. And the way this works is people on the Sidney Schoenberg level give us a fact or quote or a question or a brag or a suggestion or whatever they like, really. They also get to give themselves a title, and then I read them out for the first time on the show.

Here we go. This one comes from David Loring, aka no-quitter submitter of the FQQ form. And David offers a suggestion, which we don't get all that often, writing, on my last submission, I used the word nifty, and that seemed to garner a positive response. Are you just going to have a stab now at other words that we might enjoy hearing? I really hope so.

So in the interest of expanding vocabularies, I thought I'd suggest three other words that I find pretty enjoyable. Enjoyable. One of them enjoyable. Vocabularies is in the same category to me as February. February, yeah. Vocabulary. Yeah.

Okay. Oh, I like this. Looking at it, there are phonetic spellings. Oh,, love that Nice and easy for Maddie Ebullient Ebullient Ebullient

Cheerful, bright, happy, energetic Ebullient Discombobulated Yeah, great word Being in a state of profound confusion or disorder Yep Discombobulated Love it

Calipygian Oh Having pleasantly shaped buttocks Calipygian. Oh. Having pleasantly shaped buttocks. Calipygian. Okay, none of us. Oh, come on. All right, square ass. Give us a fucking go.

You wish your ass looked this square. Hope you enjoyed. If these are a hit, I have more to offer. If they're not, I shall hide in shame. No, keep them coming. That was delightful. Honestly, David, you've made me feel ebullient. Oh, yeah.

Certainly not at all discombobulated. And I remain calipigic. Thank you very much, David. Great one. Next one comes from Ben Johnson. And Ben Johnson's without reading it I reckon the last few have all been a tax it Dave for not doing a book cheat

on the short history of everything I mean it's already a summary I'd be summarising a summary Ben I've been thinking about this the short history of the universe anyway please Ben's given himself the title of Of the universe. Anyway, please.

Ben's given himself the title of 1988 Olympic 100-meter gold medalist for Canada, later disqualified for doping. Oh, right. Yeah, so he's going through some... That's a famous Ben Johnson. Oh, that's good. Another famous Ben Johnson. Of course, that's very good. Ben has got a quote, which is,

Archaeologists recently discovered Shakespeare chewed his pencils. Apparently one pencil was so chewed, they couldn't tell if it was to be or not to be. That's a Lee Mack quote. That's quite good. That's very good stuff. That's good stuff. David loved that.

You nerd. Sorry, I got a little defensive there i thought i was expecting a steven hawking request i set it up that way but i hadn't read it but i read him till i read him you bastard dave he doesn't read him till he reads him i don't know how much clearer i can how much clearer can he make that every week it's a very clear sentence i don't read this till i read these okay no one else Can do that No one else can read them Until they read them I don't read them

Until I read them though So I'm different Dave I'm reading them When I'm reading them Dave he's reading them At the time of reading Yes If you're hearing it from me

That's the same time I'm reading it That's the same time He's hearing it What I read it for the first time On pod Is it the first time

You hear it from your own mouth Yes And sometimes He's shocked What are these sounds He goes Especially when someone Does a tongue twister Oh no No he sometimes From your own mouth? Yes. And sometimes he's shocked. What are these sounds? Especially when someone does a tongue twister.

Oh, no. No, sometimes you just glide right over them because you're not thinking about it. You just get stuck in. Gripping on for dear life. And the final one this week comes from Derek Brigham, aka the last Atlantean lost in Lemuria. Oh. Lemuria. I don't know if you remember the in Lemuria. Oh. Lemuria. I don't know if you remember the Atlantis episode.

No. There was another mythological island called Lemuria where lemurs were from. Oh, that's fun. Yeah. God, they're cute. Little lemurs. Derek also has a suggestion. Two suggestions this week.

Writing, I would like to suggest everyone check out the band Lemuria. All right, putting that one in the February category as well. One of my absolute favorites. I'd describe them as pop punk inspired indie band. Oh, my God, Dave, that sounds right up your alley. Yeah, I haven't heard of this band, but it sounds great. I wouldn't be able to pick a favorite song of theirs if you asked me to. Well, we're not asking,

Derek. Why do I get so defensive? But, quick question, what's your favourite song of theirs? I've put you in a tight spot there. This suggestion

comes with a bonus story. It's about a strange interaction I had a few years ago when I lived in Carlsbad, New Mexico. I was waiting in line at a convenience store

and I was wearing one of my Lemuria T-shirts that day. The shirt had the band's name printed across the front in large lettering. While I'm standing there, a man comes up to me and says he likes my shirt. And before I can even respond, he starts interrogating me about the Theosophical Society

and something about Lost Scrolls. When I could finally get a word in edgewise, I said it was a band I liked, and I went up to the cash register and then left. He's not still in the store. Oh, thank God. I'd forgotten all about this experience until listening to the Lost Island of Atlantis episode of

the pod. After Matt's breakdown of The Secret Doctrine, I flashed back to that convenience store and realised that guy was even nuttier than I had thought. Wow. Derek, love that story. Yeah, good story.

Well, obviously he's been a big fan for a long time then. Lumeria. How are we spelling that? How are you spelling Lumeria? It's L-E-M-U-R, so it's probably Lemeria. Is it? It's just hard. It's hard to say Lema with an E-R atR. So it's probably Lemuria. Is it? It's just hard.

It's hard to say Lemur with an E-R at the end. Yeah, Lemuria. Lemuria. That sounds stupid. I reckon you're probably saying it right. Okay. Thank you, Derek, Drew, Ben and David for your facts, quotes and questions. I heard a story.

I thought he was going to say that someone from the band came up to him. Yeah. That was making me think of a story I just heard from Jim Car carrey he's talking about the first time he heard pantera because they're in the new sonic film they've uh walked by pantera's in there and it seems like carrie asked for that to be in and he um he was telling the story that the first time he heard him they were driving to a show um he was driving a hotel to do a show in a theater or whatever. And they played it. And he was like, whoa.

He was so energized by it. He was laughing uncontrollably. He felt like just like just real buzzed by listening to it. He's like, whoa, what is this? Then they got to the hotel to check in and turned around and Pantera checking in behind him. And he's like, yeah, he's just been a big fan ever since. Whoa.

How did he know it was Pantera behind him? Isn't that interesting? If you just heard one song, you're like, oh, my God, it's you. How the fuck would you know? Are they all wearing Pantera T-shirts? Or, yeah, or is the concierge going, oh, Pantera. Right this way. Mr. Pantera's.

I just heard your song and they're like, Jim Carrey? Yeah. Yeah, maybe they were like, Jim Carrey, we're Pantera. And he was like, Pantera, I'm Jim Carrey. I just heard your music and laughed. Maniacally. You are very funny parody musicians, yes? I just watched your comedy and rocked out.

That's the power of laughter. The next thing we'd like to do is thank a few of our other great supporters. Bob, you normally come up with a bit of a... I was thinking we could name their kingdom. Name their kingdom, fantastic. What do you reckon? Yeah, great. All right, first up, I'd love to thank...

And they're all kingdoms. Yes. Just saying that Fantastic None of them are monarchs Monarchies No monarchies I guess kingdoms are monarchies

Whatever Shut up To get the shout out here You've got to be on the shout out level or above Which I believe is the Ass prod The first one I'd love to thank from Wadsworth In God's Country, Ohio.

Ohio. In the United States. It's Chris George. Chris George. Two names. Just saying. Kingdom of two names. Kingdom of two names.

Oh, does everyone have to have two first names? But it's pronounced like two namers. No, no. Jess didn't say two first names. She said two names. Oh, so you can't. Okay. No middle name.

No double barrel. No Scherz. Two names. No Madonnas. Everyone has two names. Adele? You can't okay no middle name no double barrel no shers two names no madonnas everyone has two names adele you can't come in so sorry because no one knows your last name nobody knows your last name adele it's not publicly available zendaya get the fuck out of here yeah when you go through customs they'll just give you they'll just double up your name if you want to come in you're adele adele now adele adele hello ile Adele. Hello. So nice to be here. I'm Adele Adele. And Adele Adele, always welcome. Always welcome.

I'd also love to thank from Wellsville in Utah. Give me two. United States. Alison Paul. Alison Paul. Alison Paul. Kingdom of Oranges. Tragic Kingdom in a way.

Why? Because it was a No Doubt. No Doubt. Album, Tragic Kingdom, and it was a tragic kingdom in a way. Why? Because it was a No Doubt album, Tragic Kingdom, and it was a real orange motif on it. Is that where your head was? No, I was thinking of, you said Utah Gimme Two, and I was thinking of Point Break. Oranges, yep. Take me on this journey.

I still haven't connected it. Gary Busey's character, they're sitting at some traffic lights, and a man walks past selling oranges, and he says, Oranges? And he turns to the guy and says, you want any? And then he says to the seller, no thanks, we've got a lot. What? It's like, Gary, why does your character have oranges?

No thanks, we've got a lot. But he also asked Keanu first. Are you wanting oranges? Is that a riff? No thanks, we've got a lot. That's beautiful. What the fuck are you talking about, Gary? I don't remember that, but I've got to watch that movie.

Really? It's all in the same scene as Gimme Two. That's why I thought we all got talking about Gary I don't remember that but I gotta watch that movie really it's all in the same scene as Gimme Two that's why I thought we all got to it I haven't seen it in a long time okay and I think you know

how your memories are just memories of memories yeah because I always bring up the Utah Gimme Two I remember that memory yeah meatball

hey Utah me too no thanks we got a lot what I said that to you and you're trying to sell them oranges lot What? I was trying to say that to you And you're trying to sell them oranges Finally for me I'd love to thank

From Brighton, Victoria in Australia Jack Sanguinetti Oh great name Fantastic name Kingdom of Up and Goes Up and Goes Up and Goes

Everything like in the kingdom of up and goes. Yeah. The rivers flow milky yellow, pink and brown. Up and goes are international. They're like a liquid breakfast. Yeah. A couple of Weet-Bix milk coloring flavor. They got Weet-Bix in them?

Yeah. I think they got that. Or they're always claiming with the goodness or the energy. Yeah, they got the goodness of two Weet-Bix. Got a bit of I think they got that. Or they were just claiming with the goodness or the energy. Yeah, they got the goodness of two Weet-Bix. Got a bit of fava, got a little protein. Yum, yum, yum. Good way to start your day. So thank you, Jack.

Hey, can I jump in here? Please. I'd love to thank from Mill Creek in Utah. Give me another two. Have a look at this. I'm confused, but do it anyway, Dave. Allison Poor. Do we have two places in Utah? I'm confused, but do it anyway, Dave. Alison Paul. Do you live in two places in Utah?

Give me two. What's the opposite of nominative determinism? Because if she has two accounts. She's rich. Alison Richmore like it. Alison Paul. Alison Paul from Wellsville, Utah is the Kingdom of Oranges, but Alison Paul from Mills Creek, Utah,

in case it's a separate person, we should give them a separate title. Of course. Just in case. Imagine we've got two Alison Pauls from Utah. Maybe it could be a very common name in Utah. Wow. I want to see how far apart they are. I reckon maybe Alison...

Oh, who knows? Different photos on her profile. They are an hour and 14 minute drive from each other. That's 80 miles between the two. No, that's two photos of the same person. Okay. Email addresses? Oh my God.

Alison Poore, have you accidentally signed up twice? And you've been on there for over a year. Jeez, you're doing God's work there. Alison, did you change your name after supporting us for so long? You've become Alison Poore. Alison Poore, you legend. Well, let's give Alison's already kingdom of oranges. Alison Poore, also from the kingdom of...

Lemons. Oh! But by that I mean kind of shit cars. Yes. Oh, okay. Come down to Alison Poore's... And the fruit. And the fruit. And the fruit.

Car Emporium. I don't know. You seemed unhappy with the cars thing, so. Ellison's Car Emporium. Oh, very good. Where we sell lemons. Yes, Dave! Sometimes.

I love a bit of lemon. It's got nothing. Love lemon. So the cars are lemons, but they've all got bootfuls of lemons. Of lemons. Yeah. Slide them into your Coronas, because we're la family. Even though I think they do limes in America.

Thanks, Alison. Thanks, Alison. I'd also like to thank from Silver Spring Inn. Is this Maryland? I believe so. MD, Maryland. In Maryland, it is John Brophy. Oh, Brophy.

What's up, Brophy? Brophy is like a brotherly trophy. Yeah. What's up, Brophy? So would it be maybe the kingdom of bromances? Yeah, kingdom of bromances. Oh, that's great. You get trophies for your bromances.

Kingdom of bromances and underage doctors. When I saw MD, I thought Doogie Howser. Doogie Howser, okay. I was like, I don't know where he's going with this. Underage Doctor? What? That was a show for ages. Yeah, no, and they've done a reboot.

Have they really? Yeah, it's on Disney. Doogie Howser MD. Is that in Hawaii? Is it like grittier or something? Pretty sure Ronnie Chang's in it. Really? It's a bit of fun.

What a guy. They did the gritty reboot of Fresh Prince. That's probably what I'm thinking, actually. Hey, I'd also like to thank from Tempe in Arizona, Jordana Hayden.

Jordana Hayden. It's a beautiful name. Yeah, well, Jordana rules over the kingdom of eggs. Scrambled, poached, sunny side up. What was that shop you saw before, Dave? Oh, yeah, Egg.

Egg Lab. Egg Lab. Egg Lab. The Lab of Eggs. And I said, how many names do you reckon they had on the shortlist before they chose Egg Lab? It was funny because we were driving to get some lunch and you're in the back seat and just sort of pipe up reading signs

and that's something my senile grandma used to do. She would just be in the back of the car reading every street sign she saw. Not just hear a little egg lab. What was egg lab? The cafe or something? There's a little cafe called egg lab. Egg lab. It's our official endorsement

Of Egg Lab Egg Lab Hey there's two There's one in Fitzroy And Brunswick There you go They're taking over Thank you so much

May I thank some people I'd love it I would love to thank From London I would love to thank Surname unknown So she can't come in To Chris George's

Kingdom of two names Would love to welcome Charlotte Unless Rename Charlotte, Charlotte. Charlotte, Charlotte. Then you could be like Charlie Charlotte or something. Charlie Charlotte.

Yeah, that's true. Lottie Charlotte. Charlotte Hornets. You could be Charlotte Hornets. You could be Charlotte Hornets. Yeah. Could be Charlotte, North Carolina. Yep.

Oh, that's three names. That's too much. You can only have two. Damn it. Charlotte, Carolina is fine. Or Charlotte, North. Yeah, Charlotte, North. Charlotte, North is pretty cool. You can only have two. Damn it. Charlotte, Carolina is fine. Or Charlotte North. Yeah, Charlotte North. That's pretty cool.

That's a good name. Charlotte, obviously, head of the kingdom of... Chocolate. Chocolate bunnies. Yum. Can you ride them? No. Oh.

Can't ride them. Well, you can, but you're covered in chocolate afterwards because your body heat obviously melts the chocolate a little bit. Yeah, you sort of sweat into them. And then just like... And they get a dip in their back. And yeah, just because you're... Like the way you were sitting,

you've now got a crotch that's just brown, covered in chocolate. Is that what you want, Dave? Yeah. Do you want a chock crotch? Yes. Dave's got a choc crotch, everybody. That sounds pretty inappropriate.

I mean, inappropriate. Sorry. A choc crotch. Choc crotch. No, that's awful. That's bad. I always think, like, edible undies is the grossest. Yeah, I feel like that's a good idea.

Don't put them on. Just eat them. Or better yet, grab a family block of chocolate. Yeah, a bit full on. I'm guessing it's not the best quality of chocolate. But it's also... Well, like body chocolate? Yeah, don't want to eat edibles.

But edible ones that are like those hard candies. You can get ones that are like a bra of candy. Good support, I imagine. Yeah, very good support. You can play ones that are like a bra of candy. Good support, I imagine. Yeah, very good support. You can play basketball in those. I'm wearing a sports edible undie. Wicks away sweat. Thank you, Charlotte.

Sorry for that gross riff. I would also love to thank from Providence, Rhode Island, Paloma Velasquez. Oh, my God. That is one of the great names. Beautiful name. Holy shit. Okay. Paloma Velasquez.

So good. Paloma Head of the Kingdom of Infinite Glory. Wow. That sounds like a cult. Is that a cult? No, no, no. That sounds like a fucking cult. That's Vegas hell.

It's an amazing place. It's just meadows as far as the eye can see. Right. And if you're there, you just feel glorious. Okay, but where do I sleep? You sleep where you want to sleep. In the meadow? Everything's comfortable in the kingdom.

There's no accommodation, no hotel or resort or something? Infinite glory. Infinite glory, yeah. No, no, everything. Is there a restaurant or any kind of thing? It's magic. You just always feel satiated. It's 100% occult.

Do we have to, is there like mass weddings or anything? This is a drug trip. No, not mass weddings. It's just if you're there, you are automatically married to Paloma. Okay, yeah, it's a cult. It's a cult. There's no wedding.

You're just already married. It's not a cult. Can we leave? Well, if you really want to, but there are some forms you're going to have to fill out. Okay. And the person with the forms

isn't here at the moment. Right. When are they coming back? We're not sure. Okay. So they left. Well, yeah dead they're dead and this is a cut i'm not saying that you're not not saying it either well we don't lie here so is there anybody else that would be able to fill out those forms or yeah yeah come back tomorrow or the next day. Okay.

But in the meantime, I just sleep anywhere. It's comfortable. Okay. What do I eat? You. Where do I go to the toilet? Oh, my God. So many questions.

Too many questions. You are lucky to be here. You've got a knife. Why do you have a knife? No reason. I just yell, you've got a knife. Thank you, Paloma. We have trouble in sector two.

Someone take it away. Paloma, I'm not sure how I feel about your kingdom, but thank you so much for your support anyway. It's better than it sounds. Okay. It's better than you made it sound. And finally, I'd love to thank you from Prospect in South Australia, Mike Waite.

Mike Waite, the kingdom of jumping castles. A bouncy land, yes. That'd be fun. Bad for my back, to be honest. I'm not allowed on trampolines, but- Mike has a blow-up crown. Yes, everything's inflatable. You can't get hurt.

That's fun. So, when you say you're not allowed on trampolines. Since I was seven years old. I know you hurt your back on a trampoline. Yeah. No, many times. But when you say not allowed, is that because your parents were like, you can't go on those anymore?

Yeah, because I kept hurting myself. But as an adult, could you go on one or would it hurt you to go on one? I would fuck my back immediately. How? What do you mean? I would jar my back instantly. She doesn't do you mean? I would jar my back instantly. She doesn't mean have sex with her back. I'm going to use how.

Walk me through. How? Sorry, what I thought you meant was you just presumed you'd have an accident, but you'd jump and land on the springs or something. Oh, yeah, I've done that. But no, just the jumping and the shock, it's not, yeah, no good. Hey, that's all right. Yeah.

But I love them. God, I love to be free. Bounce. Oh's not, yeah, no good. Hey, that's all right. Yeah. But I love them. God, I love to be free. Bounce. Oh, my God. Free to bounce. Like Mike Waite. Thank you, Mike. And Paloma.

And Charlotte and Jordana and John and Allison and Jack and Allison and Chris. And the last thing we'd like to do here is welcome some people into the Triptych Club. Yeah. Now, these fine citizens of the kingdom of Dugoan have been on the shout-out level or above for three straight years. Yep. And they get welcomed in to the Triptych Club. It's the theatre of the mind here.

We're inside a club. I'm on the door. Got the velvet rope. Got a clipboard. Got your names. I'll read out your name. Lift up that rope. You're welcomed in.

Dave's on the stage hyping up the crowd. Everyone, all previous inductees are still in got life membership everyone's cheering they're all cheering they're cheering your name as well dave's hyping you up he's your hype man jess is hyping up dave because dave's not the best hype man and then um i'm the best man in this fucking room and jess also uh has created a cocktail based on the topic. What is the... What do you call... What's the cocktail that is the kingdom,

gay and lesbian kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands cocktail? Well, what it is, it's... I was going to say it's a big shot glass. Essentially, I mean, it's a latte glass. And I've just got different coloured shots. They're all separated somehow. So it's just a multi-coloured rainbow drink. Yes.

And we have had a letter from Erica Betts saying, to be fair, we also have to have an anti-gay people cocktail. Yeah. Otherwise it's unfair. Yeah. Yeah. And that's absolutely what we would abide by. Makes sense.

Makes a lot of sense. Yeah. That sounds sense. Yeah. That sounds delicious. Yeah. And like a nightmare to put together. Oh, yeah, absolute nightmare getting them to sort of sit properly and then it tastes like shit. Too many places.

It's like, do you ever do ABC shots? No. Those things, oh, my God. Always be closing. That'll fuck you up. Always be closing. That'll fuck you up. Always be cocktail. And that was three shots. Right.

Absinthe something something. Oh yeah, that's a bad start. Horrendous. It tasted so bad. But this has so many shots. It's honest, it'll kill you. But you'll have a really good time. It's basically petrol.

You'll have a terrible hangover, but we do have electrolytes and Powerades. And we've got a... One of those oxygen things. We're like Richie Rich and we have a McDonald's in our club. Wow. Fuck yeah. So you're all good for when you're starting to feel a bit shitty. Every topic about a company we've done before, they have a little stand in there.

Vegemite, Coca-Cola. Myspace. Myspace is in there. Tom's there. We've done Myspace? Yeah. I did a Myspace episode. Fuck me.

I need to start listening to this podcast. I've probably said that a million times too. Anyway, we've got two inductees this week. We've also got some music. Dave, have you booked a band? After I welcome these people on stage, I'm going to say, please welcome Gloria Gaynor. Yes.

Welcome, Gloria. I was hoping for Cher, but okay. Singing I Am What I Am. Singing all the hits. I Will Survive. Let Me Know. I Have a Right. I Am What I Am. Singing all the hits. I Will Survive. Let Me Know. I Have a Right. I Am What I Am.

Never Can Say Goodbye. Great. Never Can Say Goodbye. Classic. All right. So, you ready to welcome in this week's inductees? Please. Firstly, from Leicester in Great Britain, it's Will Price.

Will he pay the price? Yes, he will. The price of admission Okay Will he price? Oh so nice Yeah that's more positive Will he pay the price?

I'm like sinister Okay We're ruining the The fucking flow here And finally from Little Hampton Jesus Christ Also in Great Britain It's Harry Pledger

Harry Pledger He's been pledged for ages Harry Pledger What a pleasure Oh that's quite good I just couldn't get over Pledger It's just so amazing Pledger's incredible That he pledges to our pleasure oh that's quite good I just couldn't get over pleasure it's just so amazing

pledge is incredible that he pledges to our podcast yeah it's very good uh Harry from more like Big Hampton alright

welcome in more like Big Legend Harry and Will Pledger and Price Pledger and Price feels like it could be like a

a really good sketch duo yeah sketch duo or an English crime. Yeah. Yeah, Pleasure and Price. Hello, this is me, Pleasure. This is me partner, Price. He's the character of the two.

So I've never thought about it before, but as we're welcoming them in, you're reading out who they are and where they're from, which is so great. You're not just saying, please welcome Jess Perkins. You're saying, from Melbourne, Australia. What's an international club?

Yeah. I love it. It's nice to give a bit of context. And then other people that are standing by ready to applaud and welcome new people in are like, oh, that's interesting. And they'll say, oh, I've always wanted to go to Leicester. Yeah, tell me about it. Or I've got a friend.

There's a comedy festival in Leicester. Have you been to that? That sort of stuff. I've always wanted to go to Little Hampton. What a fascinating part of the world. Let's connect, you know? Beautiful. Beautiful.

It's going to open up connections. Yeah, Matt Stewart, facilitating friendship since, I don't know, the dawn of time. I don't know how old he is. No one does. Records don't go that far back. Do you know? I have no idea. Oh, my God.

One day I'll cut myself open, count the rings. Hey, let's boot this baby home jess anything we need to tell people before we go um that if you have come across a news article you found interesting a story a video a website whatever a micro nation a micro nation jess i suggest she's very territorial about mine. You can suggest that to us. There's a link on our website, dogo1pod.com. It's in our show notes as well. And, yeah, you don't have to be supporting us to make a suggestion. Anybody can do that.

And we love to read them. You can get in touch at dogo1pod across all social medias. We're, you know, trying to get to 10,000 followers on Instagram. So not far off. Not far far off so give us a follow if you've got multiple accounts if you've got an account for your dog get in there although i tried to do a thing where my dog only follows other dogs um but yeah it follows some people anyway um dog on hey close enough yeah exactly um but yeah uh dave boot at home doggoon doggoon thanks everybody we'll be right next week with another episode but until Hey, close enough. Yeah, exactly. But yeah, Dave Brudenheim. Dogoon.

Dogoon. Thanks, everybody. We'll be right next week with another episode. But until then, I'll say thank you so much and goodbye. Later. Bye. Bye. I mean, you know, people are entitled to their sexual proclivities, you know. I mean, let there be a thousand blossoms, blooms, as far as I'm concerned. But I ain't spending any time on it, because in the meantime, every three months,

a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile in north queensland we can wait for clean water solutions or we can engineer access to clean water we can acknowledge indigenous cultures or we can learn from indigenous voices we can demand more from the earth or we can demand more from ourselves earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future.