He published secret documents that gave us damning insight into the West’s military conduct inIraq and Afghanistan, and for that Julian Assange will likely be extradited to the US to face charges that could add up to 175 years in prison. In the last couple of weeks, Assange has received his first visit from an Australian high commissioner in London, and foreign minister Penny Wong is publicly saying that he has been locked up for far too long. But is there more the Australian government could be...
Apr 23, 2023•16 min•Ep. 941
Today on the show, writer Richard King, with his piece ‘Machine Learning’ about the AI chatbot ChatGPT. He begins his story with discourse sweeping a university campus as AI reaches the hands of ordinary students and teachers. How will this technology – still only a few months old – change not only teaching and marking, but the very nature of the transfer of knowledge? This is the question he sets out to answer, and it’s a compelling one as we stand on the precipice of a new age of technology. R...
Apr 22, 2023•16 min•Ep. 940
It’s independent of government, has enormous power over our lives and hasn’t been reformed in 25 years. But yesterday, the Reserve Bank bowed to a scathing review and even Governor Philip Lowe conceded parts of the RBA had been out of step with modern expectations. But will a new board of experts improve the way interest rates are set? Can workers have a seat at the table? And what does it mean for the future of Philip Lowe? Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on why the gove...
Apr 20, 2023•19 min•Ep. 939
After a week that forced a reshuffle on the Coalition front bench, Peter Dutton had to announce a new spokesperson for Indigenous Australians – he needed someone who would enthusiastically support his ‘No’ position on the Voice to Parliament. His choice was Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – a first-term senator. So who is Dutton’s new pick? How did she rise so quickly through the ranks? And what does she really believe about Indigenous Affairs? Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Pape...
Apr 19, 2023•19 min•Ep. 938
Australia has a body that’s supposed to look after all of our mental health, and make recommendations to the government on how to make the situation better. It’s called the National Mental Health Commission. But inside the commission, some of the staff that are supposed to be coming up with solutions have faced layoffs, stress, anxiety, and worse. So, how did a commission set up with the best intentions turn into such a struggle for staff? Today, senior reporter with The Saturday Paper Rick Mort...
Apr 18, 2023•18 min•Ep. 937
Kate Jenkins has wrapped up a distinguished term as Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner. In her seven years in the job, we’ve seen the global Me Too movement, along with the reckoning in Canberra sparked by allegations from former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins. So how have these cultural moments impacted the push for gender equality in this country? And what still needs to change? Today, Kate Jenkins on how far we’ve come – and the work that’s still not done. Socials: Stay in touch wi...
Apr 17, 2023•17 min•Ep. 936
It was meant to transform the way we deal with waste. Australians were told to sort through their bins, and take plastic bags and packaging to drop-offs at the country’s biggest supermarkets to have them recycled. But instead of being recycled, tonnes and tonnes of this plastic was shoved into storage. Now, authorities are still trying to track it all down. So how did it all go so wrong? Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe, on the impossible promise of REDcycle and...
Apr 16, 2023•19 min•Ep. 935
If the Liberal Party’s announcement that it would oppose the Voice to Parliament was meant to take attention away from fractures in the Liberal Party – the result has been very different. This week, the party’s spokesperson on Indigenous Australians resigned his post, and the party’s most high-profile Indigenous figure tore up his party membership. So how did it come to this? And have these splits torpedoed Peter Dutton’s case just as he’s begun to make it? Today, columnist for The Saturday Pape...
Apr 13, 2023•18 min•Ep. 934
Cost of living pressures and interest rate rises mean that millions of Australians are struggling. But what often isn’t acknowledged by the Reserve Bank, its governor, or many of our political leaders, is that some people are doing just fine in these economic conditions – in fact, they can benefit from them. Those people are the wealthiest Australians – in particular, people who have paid off their houses and are debt free. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on wh...
Apr 12, 2023•15 min•Ep. 933
Australia isn’t the first country to ban TikTok from government devices. In fact, all of our closest allies have already taken steps to keep the app away from government secrets. So how justified are these fears? Is the next step a forced sale? Or even a total ban? Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper Marty McKenzie-Murray, on how the company behind TikTok learned to walk the party line. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Associate editor of The Saturday Pape...
Apr 11, 2023•19 min•Ep. 932
Penny Wong has assumed the Foreign Affairs portfolio at a crucial time in Australian history. For years China has been on the rise, but now it’s challenging the United States’ dominance in the Pacific. World leaders and military planners are openly weighing the risk the two superpowers could stumble into war. How does Australia navigate a path to peace? That question now rests on Penny Wong’s shoulders. Today, contributor to The Monthly and Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU Hugh Whi...
Apr 10, 2023•20 min•Ep. 931
In recent weeks, we’ve covered an appearance by neo-Nazis at a rally in Melbourne, as well as ASIO’s decision to steer away from labels like ‘right’ and ‘left’ when talking about radicalisation in Australia. The issue of far-right extremism has often been covered in Australia as a political issue, but what about as an issue of safety and security? Today, we revisit our conversation with the author of ‘ Rise of the Extreme Right ’, Lydia Khalil, on the far-right in Australia, its connections arou...
Apr 09, 2023•15 min•Ep. 930
Today on the show, author of ‘ Sundressed ’ and fashion editor for The Saturday Paper Lucianne Tonti reads her piece on confronting the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothing condemned to landfill every year. The Australian fashion industry is a major cause of the 227,000 tonnes of waste clothing generated each year — much of it never worn before being discarded. Non-profits are attempting to curb the issue, redirecting and recycling the waste clothing – but the problem lies at the source: ...
Apr 08, 2023•16 min•Ep. 929
Australia is one of just a handful of countries around the world that have legislated in favour of euthanasia. Every Australian state has now legalised voluntary assisted dying – and the territories are expected to follow after the federal government granted them freedom to legislate. That situation would have been hard to imagine when Andrew Denton first joined the campaign for voluntary assisted dying. Known for his penetrating television interviews, Andrew found a debate where progress had be...
Apr 06, 2023•20 min•Ep. 928
The Liberal Party has finally come to a position on the Voice to parliament: No. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s announcement comes in the wake of two election defeats for the Liberal party in two weeks, first in the NSW state election and then in the Aston by-election in Victoria. So is opposing the Voice out of step with the electorate? And what lessons is Peter Dutton taking from his election losses? Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the future of the Liberal party. S...
Apr 05, 2023•15 min•Ep. 927
Renting or buying a home is not getting any easier in Australia – and the future could get even worse if we don’t do something. With the population growing, homes are going to be in short supply, particularly affordable homes. The government wants to build new houses with an investment fund, the Greens want a rent freeze and more guaranteed funding for affordable homes – and negotiations are becoming the latest flashpoint in a bitter dispute between the two parties. Today, chief political corres...
Apr 04, 2023•19 min•Ep. 926
One state in Australia locks up more children than any other: Queensland. And new laws will send more children into custody than ever before. The laws go against its Human Rights Act, but the state has chosen to override those protections in response to growing media pressure about youth crime. Today, Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall on the rights of children in a state that’s going to lock up more of them – and how his office has been sidelined. Socials: Stay in touch with u...
Apr 03, 2023•17 min•Ep. 925
A scare campaign is gathering momentum in the conservative media. Will the Voice to Parliament dictate policy? Are elite interests behind the referendum? And does it threaten the integrity of the constitution? These are the questions being asked by conservative commentators, mostly in the Murdoch-owned national newspaper. But The Australian wasn’t supposed to be opposed to the referendum – there was a time when it was one of the Voice’s biggest allies. Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper an...
Apr 02, 2023•19 min•Ep. 924
The Liberal Party is in a state of disarray. After the NSW election loss, powerbrokers and former strategists were airing dirty laundry – has the party forgotten the traditional values it stands for? Has it failed to offer younger voters anything? Or is there just not enough talent in its ranks? Well, this weekend these questions could multiply as the federal party faces the ballot box under Peter Dutton’s leadership for the first time, at the Aston by-election. Today, columnist for The Saturday...
Mar 30, 2023•17 min•Ep. 923
Donald Trump officially launched his campaign to be president again on a stage in Waco, Texas. Despite the likelihood of an imminent arrest and a campaign in disarray he is still, somehow, the frontrunner to face Joe Biden at the 2024 election. So, how can Trump still command the Republican base? Can the party, and America, ever be rid of him? And will he be the first former president to be indicted? Today, senior fellow at the US studies centre and former Democratic staffer Bruce Wolpe on Trump...
Mar 29, 2023•18 min•Ep. 922
Adam Bandt stood in front of TV cameras this week and announced a decision that could define the future of the Greens. The party will support Labor’s climate policy, after winning a series of concessions, even though it means new coal and gas can go ahead and it doesn’t meet the pleas of climate scientists around the world. So what does the deal mean? Will it make a difference? And is something better than nothing? Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe, on why Austra...
Mar 28, 2023•20 min•Ep. 921
When you think about a bank run, you might think of lines around the block – of regular workers eager to get their hard-earned wages out of a troubled bank. But recently there’s been another kind of bank run, one that plays out over group chats and email threads involving Silicon Valley billionaires and cryptocurrency investors. The panic among this group of depositors has already led to the collapse of several small and medium-sized banks in the US, and now that anxiety is hitting other banks a...
Mar 27, 2023•19 min•Ep. 920
A speaking tour claiming to quote ‘let women speak’ has been at the centre of disturbing scenes across Australia. Last week in Melbourne, neo-Nazis stood on the steps of Victorian parliament and openly performed the nazi salute. Meanwhile in Canberra, Senator Lidia Thorpe was tackled and held to the ground by police as she tried to protest the tour. So, who is the British woman touring Australia, provoking these scenes? And why is she here? Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper and co-editor ...
Mar 26, 2023•20 min•Ep. 919
Today on the show, author Sophie Cunningham on why we’re still logging native forests. She begins her story with the last sheafs of white office paper to ever be produced in Australia – the final sheet rolled off the mill in January of this year before it closed for good. What follows is her reporting on how and why native forests are still being cut down, despite our knowledge that this is not the best or most efficient way for us to source timber in this country. Socials: Stay in touch with us...
Mar 25, 2023•15 min•Ep. 918
Australia’s AUKUS deal was meant to have unanimous support, but it has thrown up unexpected challenges for the Labor government — with senior party figures breaking ranks to criticise its scope, price and impact on our relationships. Will there be a showdown over the $368 billion dollar plan? And if so, how will the Prime Minister handle it? Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper , Paul Bongiorno, on the increasing political cost of the AUKUS deal. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and ...
Mar 23, 2023•20 min•Ep. 917
This Saturday, the longest-reigning Coalition government in the country heads to the polls. Dominic Perrottet hasn’t been premier of NSW for long, but he’s hoping to extend the Coalition to a historic 16-year term in office – despite a torrent of scandals and resignations dogging his government. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe, on every scandal and resignation we could fit into a single episode. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Nat...
Mar 22, 2023•17 min•Ep. 916
Last year, Deanna ‘Violet’ CoCo was standing on top of a truck on Sydney Harbour Bridge with a flare in her hand. She was prepared to be arrested; prepared to face harsh anti-protest laws – but she wasn’t prepared to be the target of national angst and passion about climate protest. She was given a 15-month prison sentence for her actions — with the magistrate calling her ‘childish' and ‘emotional’ during the sentencing. Today, fresh from beating that prison sentence on appeal, Violet CoCo on pr...
Mar 21, 2023•16 min•Ep. 915
A few weeks ago, Independent MP Andrew Wilkie stood up in parliament and dropped a bombshell on the Australian megachurch Hillsong. He tabled a cache of documents that alleged staggering misconduct and outrageous spending at Hillsong, including details of extravagant personal purchases made by some of its leaders, including former global senior pastor Brian Houston, using church money. Now, several days after the speech, we have access to these documents and the potential damage to the church is...
Mar 20, 2023•18 min•Ep. 914
Bob Brown, the founding leader of The Greens, is ready to make a plea to Tanya Plibersek: stand up in cabinet and be a voice against coal and gas. While the party Brown used to lead is locked in a tense battle with the Labor party over the safeguard mechanism, he believes Tanya Plibersek could become the best environment minister Australia has ever had – she just needs the support of the prime minister. Today, former leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, on the promise of Tanya Plibersek a...
Mar 19, 2023•17 min•Ep. 913
The AUKUS agreement has brought a rare political sight this week: the government and the opposition are agreeing with each other. Both major parties support the deal and if anything they’re competing to show who can support it more strongly. But how will we pay for it? Will we cut spending on other services? Or try to increase tax revenue? Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on how $368 billion dollars in spending is inevitably getting political. Socials: Stay in touch with u...
Mar 16, 2023•16 min•Ep. 912
