Last week, News Corp tabloids ran front page stories in papers around the country, all saying a similar thing: Australia needs to “step on the gas” or face blackouts and soaring electricity prices. But you had to turn the page to find out the coverage – labelled an “exclusive” special report – was sponsored by major gas companies. Now, the Greens are planning to call Murdoch media executives before a Senate inquiry into greenwashing, saying the reporting was no more than propaganda masquerading ...
Dec 10, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1420
In 2019, Scott Morrison’s government managed to narrowly win a third term, despite polling placing them behind Labor for almost three years. At the heart of the victory was a change in the way they campaigned, bringing in a pair of New Zealand election strategists armed with a new weapon: low-quality memes. Since then, the duo known as Topham Guerin have brought their political tricks to bigger battlegrounds and have been hired by Peter Dutton ahead of the next federal election. But their method...
Dec 09, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1419
ABC chair Kim Williams has been slammed for recent comments made about broadcasters like Joe Rogan, as the national broadcaster undergoes a wave of structural changes. During his first Press Club address, Kim Williams took aim at the podcaster, saying commentators such as Rogan “prey on fear”. Mr Williams was there to deliver a speech calling for greater investment in the ABC, which he said had lost $150 million a year over the past decade, and to talk about the importance of public broadcasting...
Dec 08, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1418
Professor Clare Wright is the author of five works of history, including the best-selling The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and You Daughters of Freedom , which comprise the first two instalments of her Democracy trilogy. On this episode of Read This , Clare sits down with Michael Williams to discuss the final instalment of the trilogy, Näku Dhäruk: The Bark Petitions , which was released in October. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 07, 2024•31 min•Ep. 1417
Australian politics is changing in ways it seems the Labor party and the Coalition haven’t yet come to terms with. And as the electorate splinters, it’s becoming harder for governments to last more than three years. Just months from an election where the outcome of a minority government looks likely, scare campaigns about “unholy alliances” have begun. It’s a sign that the two major parties are rattled by the prospect of what’s to come. Today, author of Minority Report: The New Shape of Australi...
Dec 05, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1416
In 2007, future United States president Donald Trump stepped into the wrestling ring for a showdown with Vince McMahon, then head of World Wrestling Entertainment and Trump’s close friend. Trump played the villain perfectly. For decades now, Trump has been shaped by a love affair with professional wrestling. It taught him how to control and manipulate a crowd, how to speak, and how to respond to criticism. It is also shaping his cabinet, with Trump appointing Linda McMahon, Vince’s recently sepa...
Dec 04, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1415
What happens when you have a democratically elected leader who takes it upon themselves to prosecute their political opponents – as US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to do? The Philippines is a far more corrupt system, but its former president Rodrigo Duterte is someone who did exactly that. One such opponent was Leila de Lima – lawyer, politician and human rights activist who opposed Duterte’s death squads and corruption. As a result, she was falsely tarred as a drug lord and locked up ...
Dec 03, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1414
Anthony Albanese was triumphant on Friday, as he talked up the government’s passing of dozens of bills through the parliament. But there was one key piece of environmental legislation that didn’t make it. Albanese personally stopped the bill, right at the last moment and without warning Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. The decision by the prime minister puts mining interests – and the hope of votes in Western Australia – ahead of a deal that sources say he’d already approved. Today, nationa...
Dec 02, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1413
In Anthony Albanese’s political universe, personal relationships are everything. High on the list for Albanese is his bond with Peter V'landys, the chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission and chief executive of Racing NSW. That relationship has been central to the government’s decision to again delay reforms of gambling advertising, which V’Landys strongly opposes. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis with the inside story of why the government still hasn’...
Dec 01, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1412
The Robodobt scheme is considered by many to be one of the Australian government’s worst scandals. Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper and Walkley Award-winning journalist Rick Morton followed the case closely and he documents the crisis and its devastating effects in his new book. On this episode of Read This , we bring you Michael and Rick’s conversation about Mean Streak from Canberra Writers’ Festival. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 30, 2024•30 min•Ep. 1411
Two years ago, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled 6 News , a streaming news channel founded by then 14-year-old Leonardo Puglisi, a “fantastic initiative”. Now, under Labor’s very own legislation, currently working its way through parliament, every child under 16 – like Leo was then – will be banned from using almost every social media platform. The government is defending the proposed ban, arguing it will protect vulnerable children from social media giants that utilise “psychological man...
Nov 28, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1410
On Nauru, there are close to 100 asylum seekers who have been released from detention but are currently living hand-to-mouth. They are forbidden to work on the island, and are surviving on a stipend of $230 a fortnight – which they say is not even enough for three meals a day. The Australian government has mostly succeeded in keeping offshore processing off the front pages, but as boat arrivals continue, Nauru remains central to the Australian government’s immigration response. Today, contributo...
Nov 27, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1409
Crypto is skyrocketing, ever since Donald Trump won the US election. Trump is set to lead the most pro-crypto administration ever, promising a crypto advisory council and appointing a prominent pro-crypto hedge fund manager as his pick for Treasury secretary. His campaign received considerable donations from the crypto industry, who hope he’ll come good on his promise to create a national bitcoin stockpile. Today, managing editor of The Saturday Paper Emily Barrett on why Trump backs crypto and ...
Nov 26, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1408
The night Donald Trump claimed victory, he celebrated with his closest friends. Among them was Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart. Rinehart, who describes herself as a “long standing member of the Trump support group ‘the Trumpettes’”, is not only cultivating her ties among America’s right-wing political elite. She also remains a highly influential figure in Australian politics. And with the Australian election just months away, Rinehart’s friendship with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is...
Nov 25, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1407
The call for Treaty in this country stems as far back as European settlement. Now, the Victorian government has started negotiations in what will be the first time a state or federal government in Australia has sat down with Aboriginal people on equal footing to reach Treaty. But in the wake of the failed referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, the Victorian opposition has withdrawn support for the process, raising concerns Victoria’s Treaty process could be derailed after already comin...
Nov 24, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1406
Rachel Kushner always seemed destined to become a writer. At just five years old, her unconventional parents had her working in a feminist bookstore. Now, several decades and three award-winning novels later, she is back with a new book that follows a spy-for-hire who infiltrates a commune of eco-activists in rural France. On this episode of Read This , Rachel joins host Michael Williams for a conversation about Creation Lake , which was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. See omnystudio.com/...
Nov 23, 2024•32 min•Ep. 1405
Hundreds of climate activists, aboard rafts and kayaks, have paddled out into the Port of Newcastle for a so-called “protestival”, to disrupt the world’s largest coal port. The activists behind the protest, Rising Tide, are defying a police-sought court order that tried to have the protest stopped due to safety concerns. It means the demonstration will run in the presence of a police force that has a full suite of powers. Today, producer for 7am Cheyne Anderson on how challenges like this are be...
Nov 21, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1404
There’s a group of people who felt completely abandoned during our most recent public health crisis: those who suffered Covid-19 vaccine injuries. It is a rare event, but it happens. During the pandemic those who experienced side effects from Covid-19 vaccinations say they felt deserted by their friends, health services and ultimately, the government, which they believe failed to deliver its promised compensation scheme. Today, reporter for the ABC’s Background Briefing Maddison Connaughton on t...
Nov 20, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1403
Just a few days after the US presidential election, Prospect Park, located in the middle of Brooklyn, burst into flames. For Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks, who has long called America home, an autumn bushfire in the dense urban heart of Brooklyn was a scary sign of what’s to come under Donald Trump’s second term as US president. Today, Geraldine Brooks on Trump’s America – and what it means for a burning planet. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Pu...
Nov 19, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1402
Alan Jones was at his luxury Circular Quay apartment yesterday morning when Child Abuse Squad detectives arrived to arrest him. For nine months, police had been conducting a top secret investigation. Now, they’ve charged Jones with 24 offences, involving eight victims. Among the charges are 11 of aggravated indecent assault where the victim was under the authority of the offender. His arrest is the latest chapter in the downfall of one of Australia's most controversial figures, a man described b...
Nov 18, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1401
In deciding not to probe robodebt, the National Anti-Corruption Commission seemingly failed its first big test. But the NACC has been given a second chance to reconsider an investigation into the unlawful scheme and six people referred for possible corruption by a royal commission. Former solicitor-general Justin Gleeson was approached to review the decision, but the offer was withdrawn over concerns it might offend a former Coalition minister who is among the people referred. Today, senior repo...
Nov 17, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1400
Santilla Chingaipe has always been a storyteller. The Zambian-born filmmaker, historian and author spent her career exploring settler colonialism, slavery, and contemporary migration in Australia and she has just released her first book of non-fiction. On this episode of Read This , host Michael Williams is joined in the studio by Santilla to discuss Black Convicts , which offers a fresh understanding of the ways in which empire, slavery, race and memory have shaped this nation. See omnystudio.c...
Nov 16, 2024•31 min•Ep. 1399
Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the United States, does not appear to like Donald Trump – and the feeling is mutual. Speculation about Rudd's ability to work with the incoming Trump administration has flared, as Rudd’s historical criticisms of Donald Trump have caught the eye of some in the US president-elect’s inner-circle. This week, speculation peaked when a senior adviser to Trump reposted Rudd’s congratulatory statement to the president-elect on social media with a GIF of an hourglass...
Nov 14, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1398
When US President-elect Donald Trump claimed victory last week, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the first to congratulate him. Trump and Netanyahu have a close relationship and Netanyahu’s far-right national security minister has said he’s sure Trump would see “eye-to-eye” with Israel. Meanwhile, president-elect Trump claims he will end the war in the Middle East, but has not revealed how he plans to do so. Until December, Dana Stroul was the most senior civilian at the Pent...
Nov 13, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1397
The Albanese government has been accused of pork-barrelling after an analysis of $1.35 billion in grants found almost 90 per cent of seats that Labor held or gained at the election received a grant. Labor has defended the grants, saying they were campaign commitments that had to be met. Today, independent MP Helen Haines on pork-barrelling by the major parties and how the Albanese government rates on accountability and integrity as we head to a federal election. Socials : Stay in touch with us o...
Nov 12, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1396
The re-election of Donald Trump is likely to have alarming consequences for the climate. He was, after all, elected on a promise to “drill, baby, drill”. Trump is already preparing to pull out of the Paris Agreement, again. But this time he could also withdraw from the underlying convention, making it much harder for any successor to change course. Climate diplomat Thom Woodroofe was there when the Paris Agreement was signed – and when Trump rescinded the first time around. Now, as COP29 kicks o...
Nov 11, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1395
When Donald Trump took the stage to claim victory in Palm Beach, Florida, he was joined by a football team sized contingent of family and friends, including the chief executive of the Ultimate Fight Championship, Dana White. White, who has admitted to assaulting his wife, took the mic to thank some people he regarded as crucial to delivering his friend Donald Trump the presidency. They included online streamer Aidin Ross, comedian Theo Von and podcaster Joe Rogan. Trump’s appearance on podcast...
Nov 10, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1394
It is more or less impossible to imagine Australian literature of the past half century without Tim Winton. From his debut, An Open Swimmer to his epic Cloudstreet , the four-time Miles Franklin Award winner is beloved by generations of readers. On this special episode of Read This , host Michael Williams sits down with Tim to discuss his latest novel, Juice , a gripping tale of determination, survival, and the limits of the human spirit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 09, 2024•29 min•Ep. 1393
After the Country Liberal Party came into power in the Northern Territory, they scrapped a number of key portfolios. Among them was the climate change portfolio, with responsibility for the environment now sitting under lands and planning. It indicates the NT government is prioritising the economy, in particular big development projects. And now, according to a leaked consultation paper, the NT government wants to give itself new powers to fast-track major developments, sidestepping environmenta...
Nov 07, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1392
As the US election began to rapidly slip away from Kamala Harris, it became clear that the presidential candidate wasn’t going to speak at her election night rally in Washington D.C. That’s when people started slipping out of the event, including Dr Emma Shortis. Donald Trump is projected to win not just the presidency, but also the popular vote. Today, senior researcher at The Australia Institute Dr Emma Shortis on Donald Trump’s projected return to the White House, and what it means for the fu...
Nov 06, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1391
