top of page
Explore powerful stories at the intersection of history, culture, and music—from Aboriginal cricket pioneers and war heroes to legendary albums by Hendrix, Miles Davis, and Gurrumul. This blog dives deep into First Nations resilience, iconic protest music, and untold truths that shaped Australia and the world. Engaging, thoughtful, and unapologetically real—where powerful voices from the past meet today's social conversation.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this page contains images and names of deceased persons.
Search
All Posts
A Kamilaroi kid who changed the game.
From couch-surfing in Redfern to headlining Coachella — this is the story of a Kamilaroi kid who changed the game. Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard — better known to the world as The Kid LAROI. Born in Waterloo, New South Wales, and proudly Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) through his mother's side, his name isn't just a stage name — "LAROI" is a direct tribute to the Kamilaroi people, the mob he comes from. And everything about his journey honours that heritage. From humble beginnings
Groote Broadcasting
6 days ago2 min read
A glimpse into the life and legacy of Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM.
"Don't try and suppress me." Those were the words that stopped a nation in its tracks — and they came from an extraordinary woman. Here is a glimpse into the life and legacy of Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM — Arrernte Anmatjere woman, film pioneer, nun, activist, politician, and 2015 NAIDOC Person of the Year. Born in 1937 at the remote Utopia Station in the Northern Territory, Rosalie's life journey reads like something far too remarkable for any single human being to have lived.
Groote Broadcasting
Apr 152 min read
Artist Spotlight: Wilma Reading.
It was 1959. A 17-year-old girl from Cairns named Wilma Reading had come to Brisbane for a softball tournament. On a night out with teammates, she heard jazz drifting from a nearby arcade and stepped inside. Someone handed her a microphone. The room went silent. Her powerful voice stunned seasoned jazz musicians on the spot — and by the end of the night, she had an invitation to join a swing band at the Ritz Ballroom. That spontaneous moment set in motion one of the most extr
Groote Broadcasting
Apr 112 min read
Gwoja Tjungurrayi: His story is one every Australian should know.
Next time you pull a $2 coin out of your pocket, take a proper look at it. That face looking back at you? That's Gwoja Tjungurrayi. A Warlpiri-Anmatyerre loreman from the Tanami Desert. And his story is one every Australian should know. Born around 1895, north-west of Alice Springs, Tjungurrayi lived a life that was extraordinary, brutal, dignified and quietly remarkable. He was a stockman, a station hand, a cultural custodian, a father — and a survivor of one of the darkest
Groote Broadcasting
Apr 92 min read
7th April: World Health Day.
The theme this year is "Together for Health. Stand with Science." Science has given us vaccines, antibiotics, clean water systems and treatments that have transformed human life. We are living longer and healthier than any generation before us. Most of us, anyway. Australia has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. But this high national rate is not one shared equally across society. First Nations males can expect to live nearly nine years less than non-Indigenou
Groote Broadcasting
Apr 71 min read
She stepped up to the bell of a gramophone and sang. What came out changed everything.
For more than a century, the world was told a lie. When Truganini passed away in 1876, British colonists declared the Aboriginal people of Tasmania — the Palawa — extinct. A people written off like a footnote in someone else's history book. They were wrong. Fanny Cochrane Smith was still very much alive. And she had something to say. Born in 1834 at the Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment on Flinders Island, Fanny grew up absorbing the languages, songs and traditions of her pe
Groote Broadcasting
Apr 42 min read
Remember when "scrolling" meant looking through a photo album?
Somewhere between then and now, the world got a little bit... addicted. And Australia finally said enough is enough — last December, anyone under 16 got the boot from social media. Just like that. And honestly? Hard to argue with. Think about what kids used to do. They'd disappear outside after school and come back when the streetlights flickered on — dirty, tired and happy. Nobody knew exactly where they were. Mum wasn't worried because the whole neighbourhood was basically
Groote Broadcasting
Apr 12 min read
March 30th: International Day of Zero Waste.
International Day of Zero Waste — and this one will blow your mind... Picture this. The world produces MORE than enough food to feed every single person on the planet. Every man, woman, and child. Sorted, right? Wrong. In 2022 alone, the world wasted over 1 BILLION tonnes of food. That's roughly one in every five meals just... gone. And here's the thing — every single day, households around the world are throwing away the equivalent of at least one billion meals. Food that co
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 301 min read
Artist Spotlight: Budjerah
If you haven’t been paying attention to Budjerah yet, now’s the time. The platinum-selling, ARIA Award-winning artist — a Coodjinburra man from the Bundjalung nation — has quietly become one of the most compelling voices in Australian music. What hits you first is that voice. It’s rich, soulful, and carries an emotional weight well beyond his years. There’s a sincerity to the way Budjerah sings — no over-singing, no gimmicks — just pure feeling. Whether he’s leaning into stri
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 281 min read
Winning the War… But Losing Control?
In recent days, Donald Trump has declared victory — claiming Iran’s military capabilities have been destroyed and the conflict effectively won. But if that’s the case, why is the tone shifting? Why the softening language? Why the calls for allies to step in? Why the sudden talk of “productive conversations” instead of ultimatums? Because war isn’t just about firepower. It’s about leverage. And right now, that leverage sits in one place: the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly a fifth of
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 251 min read
Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
Even though cyclones are a familiar part of life across northern Australia, they’re still one of nature’s most powerful and fascinating systems. Cyclones don’t just “appear” — they build step by step. They begin over warm ocean waters (usually above 26–27°C), where heat and moisture rise into the atmosphere. As this warm air lifts, it leaves behind an area of low pressure at the ocean’s surface. Air from surrounding areas rushes in to fill that gap… and that’s where things st
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 232 min read
Artist Spotlight: Eric Avery.
Few artists in contemporary Australian music embody the power of cultural expression quite like Eric Avery. A Kabi Marrawuy Mumbulla man with connections to the Ngiyampaa, Yuin and Gumbaynggirr peoples of New South Wales, Avery is a violinist, vocalist, dancer and composer whose work moves fluidly between classical tradition and the deep cultural rhythms of Country. What makes Avery remarkable is not simply his technical mastery of the violin, but the way he reshapes the inst
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 211 min read
The logic of nuclear deterrence.
Deterrence means that if two countries both have nuclear weapons, neither side is likely to start a war because the consequences would be catastrophic. This is sometimes called Mutually Assured Destruction. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union built enormous nuclear arsenals. Yet despite intense rivalry and proxy wars, they never fought a direct war. The reason: both knew that nuclear retaliation would destroy both countries. So in that sense, nucl
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 182 min read
Winning the War… But Losing Control?
In recent days, Donald Trump has declared victory — claiming Iran’s military capabilities have been destroyed and the conflict effectively won. But if that’s the case, why is the tone shifting? Why the softening language? Why the calls for allies to step in? Why the sudden talk of “productive conversations” instead of ultimatums? Because war isn’t just about firepower. It’s about leverage. And right now, that leverage sits in one place: the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly a fifth of
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 181 min read
"The historical connection between trepang, northern Australia and Asian markets remains significant."
Trepang — more widely known as sea cucumber — has a long and remarkable history in northern Australia, one that stretches back centuries before European settlement. These unusual marine animals, found across tropical waters, became part of one of the earliest international trading networks connected to the Australian coastline. Trepang species are abundant in the shallow coastal waters and reefs of northern Australia, particularly across the Arafura Sea and around the Gulf of
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 162 min read
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon: A proud Yorta Yorta woman, Soprano, Composer, and Educator.
Few figures in Australian music have reshaped the cultural landscape with as much vision and determination as Deborah Cheetham Fraillon. A proud Yorta Yorta woman, soprano, composer, and educator, Cheetham Fraillon has spent decades redefining what opera can mean in Australia — expanding the art form to include First Nations languages, stories, and performers who had long been excluded from its stage. Her journey into music is inseparable from her personal history. Removed fr
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 142 min read
The Shah ruled Iran for 26 years with strong U.S. support.
In the early 1950s, Iran was led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, a nationalist leader who wanted Iran to control its own oil resources. At the time, most Iranian oil profits went to a British company (the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, later BP). Mosaddegh nationalised the oil industry in 1951 so Iran would receive the revenue. Britain responded with an oil embargo and began pushing for his removal. Eventually the United States joined the effort. In August 1953, the Central
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 112 min read
The Long Shadow of the Shah and the 1979 Revolution.
For decades before the Islamic Republic existed, Iran was ruled by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah. His government was strongly supported by the United States and other Western powers. The reason was strategic. Iran sat on enormous oil reserves. It was a pro-Western ally in a volatile region and it acted as a counterweight to Soviet influence during the Cold War. But the Shah’s rule was authoritarian. His secret police (SAVAK) suppressed opposition, imprisoned critics and tor
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 92 min read
![Graceland [1986]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4c5356_07ea9da264c749febee2187ee85bf9bb~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_940,h_705,fp_0.50_0.50,q_35,blur_30,enc_avif,quality_auto/4c5356_07ea9da264c749febee2187ee85bf9bb~mv2.png)
![Graceland [1986]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4c5356_07ea9da264c749febee2187ee85bf9bb~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_940,h_705,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_avif,quality_auto/4c5356_07ea9da264c749febee2187ee85bf9bb~mv2.png)
Graceland [1986]
When Paul Simon released Graceland, he didn’t just reinvent his own career — he altered the direction of global pop. Arriving in 1986, at a time when Simon’s commercial momentum had cooled, Graceland felt audacious: a deeply American songwriter immersing himself in South African township music during the height of apartheid. The result was an album that was musically radiant, politically complicated, and ultimately transformative. From the opening strains of “The Boy in the B
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 72 min read
A New Front in a Fragile Region: The Escalation of War in the Middle East.
In the last week, the Middle East has leapt from tension to outright conflict — with repercussions that will be felt globally for years. What began as a series of threats has turned into sustained military confrontation involving the United States, Israel and Iran, drawing in regional allies and reverberating well beyond the region’s borders. The United States and Israel launched a coordinated series of airstrikes against multiple targets across Iran, including strategic mili
Groote Broadcasting
Mar 42 min read
bottom of page