The Feed: Nov 9 – 12

This week on The Feed, an exclusive 30 minute special investigation on academic cheaters; Patrick Abboud meets Australia’s living dolls and Marc Fennell interviews Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef and West Wing director Tommy Schlamme.

Bassem Youssef: Comedian in Exile
Bassem Youssef has long been called ‘Egypt’s Jon Stewart”. The heart surgeon-turned-comedian has racked up millions of YouTube hits and his seditiously funny TV show Albernameg ridiculed politicians in a land where, well, they don’t often ridicule politicians. He was drummed out of his show, declared a national security threat and now he lives in exile. Marc Fennell sits down with Bassem to find out exactly how government pressure works in a nation like Egypt and whether comedy really does have the power to change minds and topple tyrants.

Pens for Hire
It’s currently exam season at universities around the country. While some students are working hard to earn their degrees honestly, others have been spending big bucks to rort the academic system. In this special 30 minute edition, The Feed enters the murky world of academic misconduct to find out exactly how students are cheating, and why they’re able to get away with it. The Feed team go undercover in this exclusive investigation into “exam impersonators” working at some of the country’s top universities, finding students who currently pay these “pens for hire” to sit their exams.

The Secret Life of Lolitas
Often described as ‘Living Dolls’, LOLITA is a Japanese subculture now growing in Australia. It’s a community of adult women and sometimes men (known as bro-litas) who dress like ‘girly dolls’ and embody all things doll-esque. Some liken Lolita’s to real life Barbies; others say they take inspiration from vintage Victorian-era dolls. More than just an alternative fashion and not just cosplay, the signature Lolita look is hard to miss: big banana curl wigs, porcelain white skin, eye enlarging make-up and cupcake clad dresses. But you might not have seen it before. Many of the sub cultures members in Australia keep their obsession under wraps only coming out to closed meet-ups like private tea-parties. The Feed’s Patrick Abboud goes inside the world of Australia’s Lolita’s – many of whom are revealing themselves publicly for the first time.

Walking & Talking with the Director of The West Wing Tommy Schlamme
The West Wing, ER, Ally McBeal, Sports Night, Friends, Mad About You, The Americans, Manhattan. If you’ve seen any of these shows then there’s a fairly good chance you’ve seen the work of Thomas Schlamme. He has set the tone for the most influential television programmes of the last two decades. And of course he is the architect of those famed ‘walk and talks’ on The West Wing. So, that’s exactly what we do. The Feed goes on a steady-cam mounted tour through the making of The West Wing. Marc Fennell walks with Schlamme and discusses Mike Myers, a blowjob and the surprise visit to The White House which changed the course of the career from one of the most prolific directors of our time.

7:30pm Monday – Thursday on SBS.