For the sixth year running, Tony awards his speeches of the year on Triple R's 'The Grapevine' with Dylan Bird. This year, no Kulya who has moved on from the show after 13 years. Congrats Kulya. Thank you to Triple R for the audio. Dylan will be back in 2024 with a new show called Future Perfect. Join Speakola's mailing list and Substack Join Tony's personal writing Substack Donate to Speakola Merry Xmas, Happy holiday, have a great New YearSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomorrow is ANZAC Day in Australia, our most important day for commemorating and recognising the sacrifice of armed servicemen and women. To coincide, here is a re-release of speechwriter Don Watson's interview about the Paul Keating's 'Eulogy to the Unknown Soldier' delivered at the Canberra War Memorial on Remembrance Day 1993.  The occasion was the interment of the remains of one Australian solider, dug up from a battlefield on the Western Front. It is a revered speech in this country, the words are now chiselled into the Australian War Memorial itself and the phrase 'He is all of them, and he is one of us'; was even at the centre of a political stoush in 2013 over whether it should replace Kipling's 'Known Unto God' on the graves of Unknown Soldiers. (Kipling won the day). This is a shorter episode than the usual Speakola length. If you are interested in Don Watson and his speechwriitng career, the previous episode is much more detailed, and discusses Watson's somewhat broken relationship with the former Prime Minister. Watson's most recent books are 'There it is Again' (Collected Writings) and The Bush. The speech is now up on Speakola for the first time with vision thanks to Rhett Bartlett and Rhettrospective.  Become a free or paid subscriber to the Speakola newsletter.  Read analysis of this speech in newsletter  Read the Barry Humphries speech mentioned in the introduction, 'Through the Thin End of an Asparagus Roll', National Press Club, 1978 Make a donation or join the Patreon.  Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've just had the terrible news that Ron Joseph, Speakola's guest for E36 of this podcast, died this week aged 77. He was so accommodating with this interview, and we chatted for nearly two hours about his incredible life in footy administration and in particular the North Melbourne footy club. I'll put up some of the general (non speechy audio) from that day on the Good one, Wilson podcast, which is at my personal newsletter page.  This is a republish of that episode from last year, which featured Ron Joseph's eulogy to Lou Richards, which is one of the great AFL speeches.  Join Speakola newsletter here.  It's just $5 a month to be a paid subscriber.  Thanks also to those who are donors or Patreons.  RIP Ron JosephSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the fifth year running, Tony awards his speeches of the year on Triple R's 'The Grapevine' with Kulya Coulston and Dylan Bird. Thank you to Triple R for the audio. Listen to The Grapevine on Triple R Mondays 9-12am. They are on break now until 2023. This is the new hub/community base for Speakola with over 5300 subscribers, and a few of those are paying subscribers. Thanks so much! Signing up here either for free or paid is the best way to help me out. Speakola also has a Patreon page which you can join If you want to offer regular support for as little as $3/mth. We also welcome donations in any format and any size, recurring or one off. This is my website for books I've written. There's a 20% discount for paid subscribers at the newsletter. Episode sponsored by Docplay, the best streaming service in the world for documentaries. Get a 45 day free trial. Tony has been writing about World Cup, family, general stuff at Good one, Wilson! Sign up for funny and uplifting reading, an email a week to your inbox!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gabriel Sterling speech and interview re-release. Republican electoral official Gabriel Sterling was a witness called before the January 6 committee this week to give evidence into what went on in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol. This is a Speakola interview released as episode 23 in August 2021, during the Olympics. Sterling talks about the art of off the cuff speech making, as well as the anger he felt about threats of violence directed towards low level contractors working in the Georgia count. He also talks about the heat in modern day politics, the invective, and the push towards extremism. His 'Somebody is going to get killed' speech is the defining speech of The Big Lie period. As he says in this episode. 'It sucks to be right'. Tony Wilson has a new writing substack (free) you can subscribe to if you enjoy his words. Speakiola also has a newsletter where Tony unpicks a favourite speech. Subscribe here. Please donate on the patreon, or by paypal or credit card.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A different style of episode we're calling 'Speakola Reads' On 4th March 2022, Shane Warne, Australia greatest ever bowler, died of a heart attack in Thailand. This episode is Tony reading a tribute he wrote for Shane Warne in 2011. The piece was titled 'The Mile Wide Spin Club' and was included in a coffee table book called 'Australia: Story of a Cricket Country' (Hardie Grant, 2011, ed. Chris Ryan). The book ranked the greatest players in Australia's cricket history, and the top 5 were each captured in a dedicated article. Tony spoke to junior coaches, cricket academy people, and Warne's teammate Damian Fleming to write this. The conclusion was updated to salute Warnie's early and tragic passing. Tony has a new website for the books he has written, including sports books 1989: The Great Grand Final, A Boy Called Bob, The Selwood Boys, and Australia United. Speakola has a Patreon page which you can join If you want to offer regular support for as little as $3/mth. We also welcome credit card donations,  which can be monthly or one off. Subscribe to our newsletter if you want a fortnightly email setting out great speeches by theme. Episode supported by the Podcast Reader magazine. Issue #5 out now. For free pdf offer, email [email protected] and mention Speakola. Tony is @byTonyWilson on Twitter and Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the fourth year running, Tony awards his speeches of the year on Triple R's 'The Grapevine' with Kulya Coulston and Dylan Bird. Categories include sports, arts, issue, historical significance, young speaker, and pandemic related speech of the year. Tony has a new website for the books he has written. Speakola has a Patreon page which you can join If you want to offer regular support for as little as $3/mth. We also welcome donations in any format and any size, recurring or one off. Subscribe to our newsletter if you want a fortnightly email setting out great speeches by theme. Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/. Our other sponsor is the Podcast Reader magazine. Issue #4 out now.  Email and mention Speakola for a free copy of the latest edition as pdf. Speakola also has Twitter @Speakola_ and Facebook feeds. Tony is @byTonyWilson on Twitter and Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This isn't a regular interview + speech episode. Tony thanks the 15 guests who have appeared on the podcast in 2021, and shares a story from episode 26 guest Martin Flanagan about his journey into the Tarkine wilderness in Tasmania, with a Sherrin and six friends from his university football days to protest against the construction of a dam. The piece originally appeared in Footyology, and Martin reads it for Speakola here. His episode of the podcast was the most listened to this year, so Martin, almost like he is The Queen, gets to deliver the Christmas message. Tony has a new website for the books he has written. Speakola has a Patreon page which you can join If you want to offer regular support for as little as $3/mth. We also welcome donations in any format and any size, recurring or one off. Subscribe to our newsletter if you want a fortnightly email setting out great speeches by theme. Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/. Our other sponsor is the Podcast Reader magazine. Issue #4 out now. Email and mention Speakola for a free copy of the latest edition as pdf. Speakola also has Twitter @Speakola_ and Facebook feeds. Tony is @byTonyWilson on Twitter and Instagram.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.