Time is running out for the Liberal Party to select candidates in a number of key seats, ahead of the federal election. The process should have finished months ago, but internal battles within the party have caused significant delays. And there are allegations that one senior minister - close to the Prime Minister - may be holding up the process to deliberately engineer a crisis. Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper , Karen Middleton on the power struggle within the Libera...
Feb 09, 2022•17 min•Ep. 627
Every year millions of dollars flows into the bank accounts of Australia's political parties - from individuals, businesses and unions. But loopholes and weak federal election laws mean that the source of more than half of the money political parties receive remains a mystery. Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Hannah Ryan on how political parties are hiding the real source of their donations – and what that means for the way our democracy works. Guest: Contributor to The Saturday Paper , ...
Feb 08, 2022•16 min•Ep. 626
Right now, if you contract Covid-19, the federal government’s advice is to contact the national coronavirus helpline. The hotline is supposed to direct you to the latest medical information, inform you of how long you should isolate and whether you should get tested. But in practice, it's staffed by workers who don’t have access to the information they need and administered by a company that previously chased welfare recipients caught up in the infamous Robo-debt program. Today, senior reporter ...
Feb 07, 2022•14 min•Ep. 625
Right now, in Western Australia, plans are underway to build Australia’s largest new fossil fuel project. If built, Woodside’s Scarborough gas plant would contribute significantly to global carbon dioxide emissions. But, it also threatens the existence of some of the oldest - and most significant - rock art in the world. It’s not the first time a mining company has threatened an Indigenous heritage site in WA, just two years ago, Rio Tinto blew up rock shelters at Juukan Gorge. Today, contributo...
Feb 06, 2022•17 min•Ep. 624
Today, Gina Rushton’s latest story for The Monthly magazine, ‘The first victim’ is voiced by Lucy Moir. The piece explores how victims of sexual assault are treated in courts of law - and asks whether the legal system in Australia puts people through unnecessary trauma. Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 05, 2022•56 min
Indie music icon Mitski had already released five albums and received critical acclaim before her 2018 song ‘Nobody’ blew up on TikTok. On her new album, ‘Laurel Hell’, Mitski explores her relationship to the music industry and making art under capitalism, at a moment when she’s more famous than ever. Today Shaad D’Souza joins The Culture to talk about Mitski, TikTok, and the grind of being a musician. Guest: Shaad D’Souza, music critic for The Saturday Paper . Background reading: Mitski's Laure...
Feb 04, 2022•36 min
Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the National Press Club in Canberra this week, hoping to reset his relationship with the public ahead of the federal election. Instead, it raised a series of questions – questions about just how out of touch Scott Morrison is with the Australian people and with his own party. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper , Paul Bongiorno on what the price of bread and a series of leaked text messages have to do with Scott Morrison’s leadership. Guest: Columnist ...
Feb 03, 2022•14 min•Ep. 623
Fifteen hundred kilometres north of Perth, inmates at the Roebourne Regional Prison are exposed to some of the hottest temperatures in the country. Recently, the prison marked its hottest day on record - reaching 50.5 degrees. Former prisoners and advocates have warned that it’s not a matter of if someone at Roebourne will die from heat - it’s a matter of when. Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Dechlan Brennan on what it’s like in Australia’s hottest prison, and why the government is refu...
Feb 02, 2022•14 min•Ep. 622
As Russia amasses troops on the border of Ukraine, speculation is mounting over whether the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, plans to invade the country. Today, world editor at The Saturday Paper Jonathan Pearlman on the escalating tension in Europe, and the likelihood of war. Guest: World editor at The Saturday Paper , Jonathan Pearlman. Background reading: Russian troop numbers build on Ukraine’s border in The Saturday Paper . Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram See omnystudio.c...
Feb 01, 2022•16 min•Ep. 621
This week children across NSW and Victoria are finally going back to school. Lockdowns and school closures have meant that many children have spent the better part of two years learning remotely. But the decision to reopen schools right now, in the middle of the Omicron wave, has been fraught, with governments caught between trying to reduce case numbers, to wanting to live with the virus. Today, journalist Hannah Ryan on the debate over when, and how, to return to in-class learning, and what go...
Jan 31, 2022•16 min•Ep. 620
Even though the worst case projections of the Omicron wave haven’t yet been realised, Australia’s health system is still buckling under the pressure. Thousands of healthcare workers are off work, and surgeries, palliative care and mental health services are all feeling the strain - leaving hundreds of thousands of Australians with inadequate or interrupted care. Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on the crisis in our health system, and how our government’s didn’t see it co...
Jan 30, 2022•15 min•Ep. 619
The Culture is back for 2022! And to start things off, we’re putting the magnifying glass over a game that has taken the internet by storm. With no promotion or monetisation, Wordle has grown a player base of over two million in a little less than three months. But what is it about this humble word game that has so many people addicted? To help unpack where Wordle came from and how it operates in a social media landscape, games reporter for Screenhub and regular games critic for The Saturday Pap...
Jan 28, 2022•27 min
This year Australians will head to the polls and cast their judgement on the performance of the federal government. The Coalition has been in power for nearly a decade, but according to the latest polls the Labor opposition are the favourites to win. But, with at least four months to go until polling day, anything could happen - especially in the unpredictable world of Australian politics. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on what kind of surprises might be in store this el...
Jan 27, 2022•13 min•Ep. 618
When world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic arrived in Australia earlier this month, he intended to defend his title at the Australian Open. Instead, his visa was cancelled and he was detained at a hotel in Melbourne - the Park Hotel. Before Djokovic’s arrival, the Park Hotel was home to around 30 refugees and asylum seekers who were being kept in indefinite immigration detention. Today, 7am producer Elle Marsh on the moment the world’s attention focused on Australia’s treatment of refuge...
Jan 26, 2022•16 min•Ep. 617
Fifty years ago today a group of four Aboriginal men planted a beach umbrella on the lawns out the front of Parliament House, as part of a protest over land rights. That action marked the beginning of the longest ever Indigenous land rights protest in history: the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Today, Kamilaroi Uralarai woman Frances Peters-Little on why land rights is fundamental to the campaign for Indigenous justice. Guest: Filmmaker, historian, author and musician, Dr Frances Peters-Little. See om...
Jan 25, 2022•17 min•Ep. 616
Right now most of Australia is living without restrictions, lockdowns or border closures. But with tens of thousands of people, including essential workers, being forced into isolation everyday our economy is still under intense pressure from the pandemic. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on how the rampant spread of Omicron has led to a shadow lockdown, and why for many businesses and families, it’s the worst lockdown yet. Guest: National correspondent for The ...
Jan 24, 2022•16 min•Ep. 615
After nearly two years of lockdowns and border closures there was hope that this summer things might be different in Australia. But then, Omicron hit. Now we’re entering year three of the Covid-19 pandemic. Case numbers are higher than ever, hospitals are being pushed to their limit and rapid tests are extremely difficult to find. So how did we get here? Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on how Covid-19 caught up with Australia this summer, and what the federal government...
Jan 23, 2022•17 min•Ep. 614
Author and activist Bri Lee regularly runs workshops on consent and sex in schools. She writes about those workshops in the context of a growing national conversation about sexual harassment and assault. Today, Bri reads her article from The Monthly , 'Ill-informed consent'. Guest: Contributor to The Monthly Bri Lee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 21, 2022•41 min
Today, Sarah Krasnostein, the best-selling author of ‘The Trauma Cleaner’, reads her essay from The Monthly . It’s called ‘The most hated man’ and it explores the sentencing of Richard Pusey, who was convicted of outraging public decency after he filmed the horrific aftermath of a car crash that killed four police officers. Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Sarah Krasnostein. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 14, 2022•36 min
It’s another special bonus summer episode of The Culture ! On this episode of The Culture , author and The Saturday Paper’s TV critic Sarah Krasnostein breaks down the best TV shows of 2021 - from drama, to comedy, to the best of Australian television. Guest: Sarah Krasnostein. TV critic for The Saturday Paper. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 10, 2022•32 min
Today, Scott Ludlam, ICAN ambassador and former Australian Greens Senator, reads his cover essay from the latest issue of The Monthly . It’s called ‘The Endgame’. It explores the trial of Julian Assange, and the powers fighting to extradite him, while his condition deteriorates in a UK prison. Guest: Scott Ludlam, ICAN ambassador and former Australian Greens Senator. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 07, 2022•33 min
On this special bonus summer episode of The Culture , we’re talking the best of films in 2021. It was a great year for movies, and there’s plenty of stuff to catch up on if you didn’t have the time to hit the cinema as much as you would have liked. Joining host Osman Faruqi is film critic and the co-host of the Total Reboot podcast, Alexei Toliopoulos. Guest: Alexei Toliopoulos, film critic and co-host of podcast Total Reboot . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 03, 2022•54 min
Twenty five years ago Paul Kelly, one of Australia’s greatest songwriters, released ‘How To Make Gravy’, a song that has since become a staple at many family Christmas gatherings. ‘How to Make Gravy’ is full of anecdotes and snapshots about summer in Australia: the hot weather, Christmas roasts, dancing, and of course, family reunions. It’s a song that perfectly encapsulates what this time of year is supposed to be about. Paul Kelly joined The Culture to talk about ‘How To Make Gravy’, the inspi...
Dec 20, 2021•40 min
Capitol riots, the Delta strain, sexual assault allegations rocking Parliament, the war in Gaza, the Olympics, COP26 and humanity’s last chance, the world’s longest lockdown, freedom days, and now Omicron and the start of a federal election campaign. Today, we look back at the news events that defined 2021 - in sound. Original music and composition in this episode by Alex Gow. Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See omnystud...
Dec 16, 2021•19 min•Ep. 613
For more than ten years hundreds of people seeking asylum in Australia have been detained on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. The Australian government has made it clear that none of them will be resettled here. But now a group of refugee advocates have a new plan to help them - involving a third country: Canada. Today, one of those advocates, assistant professor Dr Laura Beth Bugg, on the campaign to free refugees from Manus Island and find them a permanent home. Guest: Assistant pro...
Dec 15, 2021•18 min•Ep. 612
When Gladys Berejiklian spectacularly resigned as Premier of NSW, most people expected that would be the end of her political career. But then she was publicly encouraged by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make a comeback - to run for federal parliament. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on the real reason Scott Morrison wanted to enlist Gladys Berejiklian, and what it reveals about the Prime Minister’s weakening authority in his home state. Guest: National Corr...
Dec 14, 2021•16 min•Ep. 611
The Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the most disruptive and devastating events in recent history. But it also led to a series of incredible scientific breakthroughs, including the fastest ever development of a new vaccine. Now, the technology behind the Covid-19 vaccine, which has already saved millions of lives, is being adapted to find solutions for previously incurable diseases. Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton, on the woman who spent decades advocating for the unp...
Dec 13, 2021•17 min•Ep. 610
Australia has largely fallen behind the rest of the world when it comes to action on climate change. Even our closest allies regularly criticise our government’s slow approach to tackling the issue. While polls show a majority of Australians actually want to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels and move to renewables, there are some who are uncertain on how this future looks. Today, social researcher Rebecca Huntley on what ordinary Australians really think about climate change, and how the fo...
Dec 12, 2021•15 min•Ep. 609
Today, Mark McKenna, professor of history at the University of Sydney, will be reading his piece from the latest edition of The Monthly.It's called 'The Stunted Country', and in it, he argues that there can be no possibility of an Australian republic without constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.Guest: Mark McKenna, professor of history at the University of Sydney.Background reading: The stunted country in The Monthly. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See...
Dec 11, 2021•40 min
Wes Anderson is back with this 10th feature film, ‘The French Dispatch’, his take on a fictional magazine reporting from France to an American audience in the 1960s and 70s. The movie has all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from Wes Anderson, including a massive cast, a very specific sense of colour, and a lot of whimsy. To talk about the film, and the work of Wes Anderson more broadly, we’re joined by Flick Ford, film critic and the host of RRR's film show Primal Screen. Guest: Flick Ford, f...
Dec 10, 2021•36 min
