Five years in the making, Women, Conscription and War brings to life the experiences of Melbourne women protesting the Vietnam War and national service. Almost sixty women tell their stories on this audio documentary series.
Five years in the making, Women, Conscription and War brings to life the experiences of Melbourne women protesting the Vietnam War and national service. At the heart of this series are interviews with almost sixty women who were personally involved in these events: women like Jean McLean and Joan Coxsedge, who – along with the other “Fairlea Five” – spent eleven days in Fairlea Women’s Prison for protesting national service. And women like Faye Findlay, who had never protested on the streets before, but took part in the May 1970 Moratorium out of religiously-inspired outrage at the Vietnam War.
Significant archival research supplements the interviews, in particular allowing access to the stories of women who have already passed away – like folksinger Glen Tomasetti, who withheld part of her income as a symbolic gesture at not supporting Australia’s defence budget.
The series is organised into 15 discrete episodes, including one on women were inspired by their faith – https://www.womenconscriptionwar.com/episodes/religious-responses. Episodes can be listened to in any order, and all stand as independent stories.
You can listen to episodes directly through the website, which also includes images, a full list of credits for each episode, and other information on issues relevant to each episode. The series can be accessed via podcast platforms like Apple, Spotify, and iHeartRadio as well.
About me: my name is Alexandra Pierce. I’m the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, a historian and educator, and an internationally recognised podcaster. My podcast Galactic Suburbia won a Hugo Award in 2015, and was nominated seven times; I have also created, hosted and produced two interview-style podcasts.
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