President of the Todd Mall Markets committee, Ashlee Dinham chatted with 8CCC Brekky about this milestone and Sunday's special event. Currently on the Council Lawns while the Mall is upgraded, come down and support local while having lots of fun! Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The open air cinema experience at Olive Pink Botanic Garden is on once again, care of Alice Noir - "the tastes and the flavours of what the people of Alice Springs like to watch". This time there's a dark fantasy theme and three outstanding fantasy film classics to vote for - The Princess Bride, Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Organisers Anna Miers and Oly Lee-yung chat on 8CCC Brekky about the Alice Noir origins and the event which starts at 6.30pm 29th August. Bean Tree Cafe will be open from 5pm. Bring your swags, comfy blankets, drinks and snacks - tickets are selling fast! Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8CCC's Kate Lyons-Dawson caught up with Neil Murray while he's in Mparntwe Alice Springs, as part of his Still Here By My Side tour. Friday night out at White Gums, Ilwempe Ilwempe from 7pm, everyone's invited to hear all your favourites, as well as this new track ahead of an album planned for next year. Neil said about Still Here By My Side "You get down to this end of the road, you've had a lot of people come through your life and many of them are gone now... Also places you've been and how much a place stays with you." Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8CCC's Kate Lyons-Dawson was joined by Arid Land Environment Centre (ALEC)'s Hannah Ekin and Community Engagement Coordinator, Meret MacDonald to invite the community to tonight's AI Data Centre Meeting at Red Hot Arts from 6pm. This is an opportunity to find out what the massive AI data centre push means for the NT and add your voice to the Federal Parliament Senate Inquiry into AI and data centres before 1 September 2026. Be part of a national and global push for AI accountability and transparency, whilst resisting the unregulated roll-out of hyperscale datacentres. And dinner is generously provided! Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Local film director, Jacob Hazeldine, joined Baini on the Big Brekky to chat about his first first feature length film ‘About the Soufflé’ Shot during the tumultuous global pandemic period, Jacob used the prevalent themes of homelessness and turbulence to influence his ‘coming of age’ film. “It was kind of informed by what we were going through at the time because we had no money… We wrote a story that we could film for free basically, so it’s got a real human touch to it. There’s a rawness to it that I think compliments the story and the themes.” Jacob said that he was inspired by the DIY French New Wave cinema movement, such as Jean Luc-Goddard’s ‘Breathless’ as a was to tell a very personal and relatable story. About the Soufflé is screening at the Darwin International Film Festival on Friday September 11th at the Deckchair Cinema. Jacob will be joined by lead actor and co-writer Connor van Helsing on the night for a Q&A. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stephen Enciso from Justice Not Jails joined Baini on the Big Brekky Show to discuss the Northern Territory government’s recent announcement for a new private prison facility in Darwin. The planned 1200-bed men’s facility was unveiled last week by the CLP government in response to the need to keep up with the demands of an increasing prison population and harsh incarceration conditions. Stephen condemned the plans and pointed at the injustices of the current remand system as the more pressing issue that needs to be addressed. “Remand shouldn’t exist. We shouldn’t be detaining people prior to trial at all. These are people that are technically innocent, they haven’t been found guilty of any offence, and they’re spending really lengthy periods on remand… The situation is such that people are incentivised to plead guilty so they can wrap up their matter quicker. That’s not really a justice system at all. So building a specific facility for remand is a step in the wrong direction.” Stephen offered several suggestions as to how the government could better invest in systemic change to reduce the incarceration rates in the community. Addressing the housing crisis and increasing drug and alcohol rehabilitation capacity are two areas that he believes would improve social harm in the community. Formed in response to the CLP government’s first act of parliament to lower the age of criminal responsibility, the grassroots collective ‘Justice Not Jails’ has been taking action against the government’s ‘tough on crime’ strategy ever since. If you’d like to get involved with Justice Not Jails, you can reach them on Facebook or Instagram Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Alice Springs Cinema keeps on bringing all the movies we want and is thinking outside the box when it comes to screenings and events. Whether it's Girls Night Out, Craft-a-Noons, Q&As or films in languages represented in our community, they manage to fit it all in. René Sutton, General Manager at the cinema, takes us through the August line up, including the Harry Potter marathon over two days on the last weekend in August and more good films for you to look forward. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Senior Rural Generalist in Tennant Creek and Kaytetye woman, Dr Sarah Goddard took some time out to update 8CCC's Brian Coleman with the current statistics on Diptheria in the NT and the best ways to make sure you're vaccinated and where to go if you're not. Look out for upcoming pop up centres at events like the footy! Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As part of last weeks's Central Australian Heat Resilience Summit, Jon Swain, Director of Director Climate and Homelessness at Byabarra presented on the Era of Homelessness & Extreme Heat - Those without shelter. He joined 8CCC's Kate Lyons-Dawson to expand on some of the issues around the impacts of increasing heat on homelessness that need to be addressed rapidly, as our climate heats up exponentially. Key to this is seeing those without a roof over their head as our neighbours and people worthy of empathy. Jon was also able to speak about his Churchill Fellowship which informed his knowledge of the problem and the policies in place in the US, which he hopes to utilise further in the work happening in this area in Australia. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Red Dirt Poetry Festival hits the ground running this week and Executive Director Laurie May was on 8CCC Brekky early today to give listeners a rundown on what the 2026 program has on offer. From Thursday 20 August until Sunday you'll find plenty of events to join in, including at 10am Saturday our 8CCC carpark hosts the international Haiku Death Match! Then it's a gentle stroll over to Lhere Mparntwe for Tree Jazz with Wendy Taleo at 11.30. Laurie spoke about her time representing Australian poetry in Rotterdam last year, which resulted in the inspirational pairing (or re-pairing/reparing of art and science as well as the collaboration with Chilean poets for this year's festival. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sarah Wilson from ECNT joined Baini on the Big Brekky to chat about the upcoming Gaslit: Blitz and Boogie event. The event, Saturday August 29th, will be held to distribute ‘Ban Fracking’ signs across Darwin suburbs. Sarah noted that 120 volunteers will be needed to hand out signs to the houses that have registered, and put the call out on the show for people to sign up online. After the ‘Blitz’ comes the ‘Boogie.’ From 2-6pm, an open party will be hosted at the Nightcliff ECNT space with food, live DJs, banner painting, screen printing and more. Sarah outlined the reasons for the event, and the need to promote anti-fracking sentiment throughout the NT. “Fracking in the Northern Territory has been going on for almost two decades now, and the community has been super strong this whole time in holding off full scale production gas fracking. But there are really big players in the Beetaloo Basin where they want to frack in the Northern Territory now. Santos, a huge company, have escalated the Beetaloo Basin as their number one most important project they want to go ahead with” Sarah gave an explanation as to how this posed huge risks to waterways and climate. The fracking process not only involves drilling up to 4kms deep and 10kms wide into the basin, but also potentially harmful chemicals continue to be injected into the earth which could cause contamination. If you’d like to volunteer for the Blitz and Boogie event or register for a 'Ban Fracking' sign, go to the Gaslit webpage to sign up. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On 12 August 2026, the Inaugural Central Australia Heat Resilience Summit brought together community leaders, technical experts and researchers, representatives from government and the community sector to share knowledge about the impacts of extreme heat on human health and liveability across Central Australia. Here we have Mparntwe Alice Springs Mayor Asta Hill opening the day's program and Shenagh Gamble, Manager Hazard Preparedness & Response, Bureau of Meteorology BoM speaking on the trends and risks regarding heat in Central Australia. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8CCC Brekky was lucky to have two thirds of East of West in the studio when the ARIA-nominated Queensland instrumental trio East of West released their fourth album, Velella. Malinda Morris and Goran Gajić (soon to be joined by Philip Griffin) are visiting Mparntwe Alice Springs for a weekend of workshops at Tamara Date Farm after joining in on the fun of the Winter Night Market, a concert at Olive Pink Botanic Garden and visiting local schools. Their latest album, Velella, takes its name from its title track, which refers to 'Velella velella—the “by-the-wind sailor,” a colonial hydrozoan whose way of life, floating across the surface of the open ocean, carries it by the wind to many places, as we hope our music does for our listeners,' quoting Goran. Over the eight years of their collaboration, East of West have developed an intuitive musical relationship, flourishing through their dynamic interplays, virtuosic unison melodies and expressive soloing. Gajić’s compositions explore gentle melodic motifs nested in uptempo passages set to Balkan-influenced rhythms, interspersed with moments of mesmerising musical sparseness. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Friday 14 August is a Winter Night Market from 5pm on the Town Council Lawns. Ola, Community Projects and Events Officer from Alice Springs Town Council talks us through what to expect this evening. The community eventy is leaning into a medieval theme and besides some new food trucks and free chai and hot chocolate you can join in perusing all the stalls - but get there around 5.45pm for a surprise! The event would not be Mparntwe Alice Springs; without a great lineup of live music and the Brekky Show also chatted with two of the acts - Be Ward as part of the new trio Fuego Encantado (with Pin Rada and Luiz Gubeissi) as well as Malindi Morris and Goran Gajić from trio East of West (with Philip Griffin) Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jac Marriott, the creative power behind Freefall which begins on August 14, came into 8CCC Brekky to talk us through the incredible real-life story behind this performance. We heard about the amazing crew too, including Jules Billington, composer Chrysoulla Markoulli and a little bit of what to expect at 3 Crispe St. Ticket's selling fast, plus raffle tickets available! 'Freefall is a movement-led solo theatre work exploring neonatal intensive care, maternal mental health and the lived realities of early parenthood. Developed from personal journal entries written after an emergency twin birth in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, an RFDS medical evacuation and a three-week NICU stay in Adelaide, Freefall combines physical theatre, storytelling and dark humour to illuminate a rarely represented experience of parenthood.' Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Barkly Regional Council CEO Peter Harder spoke on 8CCC Brekky following the July Council meeting. Some of the agenda items included the new commercial waste and rubbish collection service delivery due to rising costs across the budget. There was a motion that went through the May council meeting around that to say, part of the social responsibility of corporations is to contribute to the community they operate in and the Council has been asking the Territory government to review and let them set the rates. In the month before, he and Mayor Sid Vashist went to Canberra for the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) Conference in June, with the Mayor having an opportunity to present evidence at the Public Hearing: The House Standing Committee on Regional Dev, Infrastructure and Transport Committee “Local Government Funding”. " We need to get this council back into the black... We need to be able to plan for a solid future." Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you've been wondering about the transition for Alice Springs Library staff in the staged planning for the new building, 8CCC Brekky caught up with Library Programs Coordinator, Mel Rowsell to find out. Listen back here for information about the regular programs, including Read, Write, Chat, and what events are happening in August, including a FREE Wonderland Dancing Story Workshop presented by The Australian Ballet Education and Outreach Team on 19 & 20 August. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kat Byron from the Darwin Fringe Festival joined Kate and Baini to wrap up the 2026 iteration of the Top End's creative heartbeat. The festival took place in July, presenting between 70-100 shows from acts local and abroad. Kat shared a few highlights from the festival and named several of this years award winners, including Big D’s Boyband Bootcamp which took home the prize to perform at next year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival. 2026 marked 10 years of involvement from Festival Director, Hannah Illingworth. Kat expressed her gratitude towards Hannah’s diligence and vision that has guided the festival for so long. Hannah and the Fringe festival are both nominated in categories for tonight’s NT Performing Arts Awards. Applications will open in October for next year’s Darwin Fringe Festival, and Kat invited listeners to get creative and apply. “Everyone put their little creative thinking hats on…get some silly ideas together. October is when we’ll open our applications." Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Saturday saw DJ Tr!p release Bad Boy, featuring Cooperblack, but last week 8CCC Brekky had a chat with Cooperblack about the DJ Tr!p remix of their Like an Aeroplane, also featuring Tamara Day's "ghostlike vocal unison", that's been sitting in the vault but released to the world in June. Adelaide's DJ TR!P "flips Cooperblack’s original into a drifting world of sea mist synths, glitched French-touch textures and late-night melancholy". A great collab across the country resulted in this fun reinterpretation of the 1998 original, recorded on a Tascam 4 track and SoundEdit 16 and then released on 2021 album Interpacer. A bit of a general vibe about listening to music in 2026 follows and the pitfalls of AI, especially around indigenous languages. Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The theme for National Stroke Week this year is F.A.S.T Heroes and Alice Springs Hospital Stroke Clinical Nurse Coordinator, Lucy Thorne spoke on 8CCC Big Brekky about this year's campaign to celebrate people who quickly spot stroke symptoms and take fast action. There will be a presence in the hospital foyer on Tuesday and Wednesday and an awareness stand with resources and blood pressure checks on Thursday at Yeperenye Shopping Centre. They are developing resources to get the message out in more local Aboriginal languages in the hope of informing more people before it's too late. "A study in the Alice Springs Hospital found strokes were three times more likely to happen [to Indigenous Australians] than non-Indigenous Australians, and also [more likely] to happen at a younger age, and more severely." Stroke Foundation chief executive Lisa Murphy [image supplied. L-R Bridget Hoey, Lucy Thorne, Dr Anna Holwell, Scholastic Nyika, Abbey Bull and Natalia Despot] Support the show: https://8ccc.com.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
