Do you have books in your home or workplace? And, perhaps more importantly, do you read any of them? Our guest today, Rainer Jozeps, says the presence of books is a symbol of your curiosity and your interest in engaging with the world (my words). However, that utterance was a small park of a bigger issue he drew attention to in In Review, namely, our state government’s dropping of the ball (so to speak), when it comes to arts funding vs sports funding.
And in the Musical Pilgrimage, thoughtful singer/songwriter, Lucas Day.
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Running Sheet: Rainer Jozeps In The House With No Books
00:00:00 Intro
Introduction
00:00:00 SA Drink Of The Week
No SA Drink Of The Week this episode.
00:02:32 Rainer Jozeps
Books on bookshelves, news avoidance, ignorance, cocooning, and art making. These five topics were woven into an intriguing piece in InReview by Rainer Jozeps, entitled, South Australia Has Become Like A House With No Books. Rainer has been involved in Australia’s arts industry for more 30 years, holding senior executive roles with the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Adelaide Festival Centre, West Australian Ballet, Australian Dance Theatre and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Rainer, I’d like to use your article to give structure to this conversation, even though I’m anticipating that we will do an awful lot of colouring outside the lines.
Your article begins by recounting your many visits to display homes to sate your curiosity about what was being offered by builders, noting that you’d leave with an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach because the homes had no provision for books. You then quote Greek philosopher, Cicero, who said “a house with no books is like a body with no soul”. I’d like to explore this a little because my initial reaction was to cheer your claim that “books inspire creativity, excite the imagination and stimulate the intellect”, but then I realised that I have a wall or two of books at home and many have not been touched for years. Do you think there’s intrinsic value in “the having of books” or are you assuming that those with books actually read them?
The next theme in your article is ignorance, defined as the lack of knowledge. You argue ignorance can be a chosen state (you realise other people know things you don’t know), or it can simply be that you are unaware of there being things you don’t know. You note that ethicists call the former “recognised ignorance” and the latter “primary ignorance”. This drew recollections of the Johari Window but also the toxic saturation of conspiracy theories that thrive in this Donal Trump-led era of Fake News. Setting aside mainstream news consumption for the moment, are you hopeful or pessimistic about our society’s chances of shaking free from this almost ubiquitous, heavy veil of ignorance?
The third theme is the link between ignorance and “news avoidance”. What is news avoidance and what do we know about it?
The fourth theme is cocooning and I confess, I might be in that category. I quote: “Cocooning” is a middle-class phenomenon coined by US futurist Faith Popcorn, who predicted large swathes of the community would, in fear of an ever-changing outside world, equip their residences with entertainment rooms, streaming services, security systems and perimeter walls, and utilise ever more home delivery services. And now we want to work from home! What’s wrong with this picture?
The final theme in your article is art making. You lament our State’s reduction in art funding, especially compared to its increased funding of sporting events. I quote: “The arts in South Australia are woefully underfunded relative to other states. From 2017-2022, states and territories cumulatively increased arts funding by 22 per cent, while SA was the only state to head in the opposite direction, reducing funding by 9 per cent over the same period.” I think we can accept the funding figures as fact, so let’s look at your underlying reason for frustration here, you state: Our civic life needs thriving cultural institutions to counter ignorance and intolerance. How is that so?
Your words to our government and us?
00:53:22 Musical Pilgrimage
Our featured song this episode is Intuition by Lucas Day.
Guided by what’s left unsaid
Tempted to put my trust in it
Succumb
To intuition
Led by instincts rarely wrong
Held by hands with a mind of their own
Succumb
To intuition
Let your soul fly free
Your desire run wild
You got nowhere else to be
Than in the shared state of mind
Succumb
To intuition
Down that deep end is where I belong
Getting used to that sweet unknown
Succumb
To intuition
Let your soul fly free
Your desire run wild
You got nowhere else to be
Than in the shared state of mind
Succumb
To intuition
Succumb
To intuition
And here’s a slice from his Facebook page with his busy schedule:
why am I so happy?1st Sept BAND GIGplaying @fatcontrollerclub for the first time with @ebonyemili and @travcollinsmusic on the lineup8th Sept ONE MAN BAND GIGreturning to the @lovethegov stage supporting @noasis_official with @dumb_whales1st Oct ONE MAN BAND GIGventuring to the @terminushotelstrath supporting @bekjensenmusic for her album launch tour28th Oct BAND GIGhitting up the @spacejamsfest stage for @fleurieufolkfestthat’s why!so grateful to be able to share my music with the world and meet so many awesome people stay brightLD x
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220 - Vic Gostin on time, rocks, and space
219 - Arkaroola Rocks
218 - Yeh Goodboy Brad Hollis
217 - Of love and reason
216 - The Don Dunstan Foundation
215 - The food bug and the social media bug
214 The Bay To Birdwood Experience
213 - Royal Adelaide Wine Show Masterclass
212 - Sampling Adelaide
211 - EXPLICIT Decriminalising Sex Work in SA
210 - Understanding risk in a scary world
209 - The Adelaide Show At The Royal Adelaide Show
208 - Understanding food waste
207 - Understanding meat
206 - Understanding almonds
205 - Ghosts Amongst Us
204 - Dinosaurs Amongst Us
203 - Animals Amongst Us
202 - Rostrevor Pizza Podcast With The Lot
201 - Post Apocalyptic South Australia
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