Anthony Albanese won the first leaders debate of the election campaign last night. But it was a tight contest, with both leaders well prepared and polished, as they faced undecided voters in Western Sydney. Anthony Albanese spoke of a country rallying in spite of difficult global conditions. For Peter Dutton, it was about painting a dire picture of economic pain – and blaming Albanese for it. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on the biggest moments ...
Apr 08, 2025•17 min•Ep. 1527
“We made a mistake” are tough words for any politician, but in the heat of an election campaign, they can really hurt. In a spectacular reversal, Peter Dutton has walked back his policy to sack 41,000 public servants, saying he’ll now wait for people to quit and will no longer force those who remain back into the office. Dutton’s backtracking doesn’t just raise questions about sincerity – it also leaves the opposition with a giant black hole when it come...
Apr 07, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1526
It looked like a scene from a very different period of history: US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, standing in front of a prison pen filled with gaunt, shirtless men, their heads shaved, staring silently at the cameras. The footage is from El Salvador, where the US government had whisked away over 200 Venezuelan migrants to be held in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). It’s just one of the surreal propaganda posts the Trump administration has relea...
Apr 06, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1525
Colm Tóibín is regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest authors — and for good reason. With a career spanning 30 years and 11 award-winning novels under his belt, Colm is beloved both at home and abroad. In his latest book, Long Island , Tóibín returns to familiar territory with a sequel to 2009’s best-selling Brooklyn . On this episode of Read This , he and Michael discuss what it means to write a sequel, the importance of James Baldw...
Apr 05, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1524
It’s only been a week, but the election campaign is already off script. Trump’s tariffs have landed like a grenade in the middle of the campaign, with the announcement of a 10 per cent tax on all Australian goods bound for the US providing a real world test for both leaders. While Dutton’s plan to tackle tariffs lacks detail, he’s clear on one thing: he’d quite like to live in Kirribilli. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on D...
Apr 04, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1523
Barry Berih has lived in the same Melbourne flat for most of his life. He has mild cerebral palsy and is cared for by his mother. He has all the medical support he needs, along with his mosque nearby and his Eritrean community surrounding him. But one afternoon, without warning, Barry watched the then Victorian premier, Dan Andrews, announce on TV that the iconic public housing towers in the city would be demolished. One of those towers is his home, making Barry one of about 10,000 people set to...
Apr 03, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1522
Australian defence officials are preparing to choose whether to buy warships from Germany or Japan. It’s an $11 billion decision – and is about far more than ship design and cost. Given Japan describes Australia as its most important security partner after the United States, our decision will send a signal about whether the relationship is reciprocated. These considerations have been sharpened by the recent appearance of the Chinese navy off our shores – and by the Trump admini...
Apr 02, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1521
Today in the White House Rose Garden, President Trump will unveil his next round of tariffs – an event he’s calling “Liberation Day”. Trump’s first round of tariffs are already causing damage, and there’s more pain to come, as the president enacts what looks like a radical plan to reshape the entire global financial system. Today, managing editor of The Saturday Paper Emily Barrett, on Trump, tariffs and the economic blueprint known as the Mar-a-Lago accord. &...
Apr 01, 2025•17 min•Ep. 1520
As the federal election campaign kicked off over the weekend, chief political analyst at the Australia Institute Amy Remeikis was paying close attention. While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a crackdown on supermarket price gouging and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton focused on cost-of-living measures, Remeikis noticed there were some big issues that neither leader wanted to confront – such as climate change and Australia’s relationship with our most important ally. T...
Mar 31, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1519
In recent weeks, Australian researchers began receiving a questionnaire. Sent by the US government, it asked things like “can you confirm that this is no DEI?” and “Can you confirm this is not a climate or environmental justice project?” The questions were seeking to determine whether Australian research, co-funded by the United States, was complying with Donald Trump’s promise to cut funding from projects that support a “woke” agenda. The move has been ...
Mar 30, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1518
Tanzanian-born, London-based author Abdulrazak Gurnah was midway through writing his latest novel, Theft , when he received a call letting him know he’d won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. After more than a year of events and literary obligations, he finally returned to Theft , with more enthusiasm than ever. On this episode of Read This , Michael sits down with Abdulrazak to discuss his writing, the phenomenon of tourism and his latest book. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...
Mar 29, 2025•27 min•Ep. 1517
In his press conference announcing the May 3 federal election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australians have a choice, warning Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will cut “your job, your wages, your child’s education and… your Medicare”. In response, Dutton asked voters to consider if they are better off now than they were before Labor came to power. In this special election edition of 7am , special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis tr...
Mar 28, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1516
While Peter Dutton’s electorate braced for Cyclone Alfred, the opposition leader flew to Sydney to attend a $25,000 dollar-a-head dinner at Justin Hemmes’ Vaucluse mansion. It was a choice that’s been pilloried in the media – and the government. But as Labor sets about to raise money in similar ways, it raises questions about who has the ear of our leaders – and what Australia’s wealthiest people are getting in return for their donations. Today, special corres...
Mar 27, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1515
Traditionally, the idea of bail meant that someone accused of a crime had the right to be free until their trial. But over nearly fifty years, that has shifted dramatically, with bail now used as a tool for crime prevention. Jurisdictions across Australia are adopting more punitive bail laws – with Victoria just passing what it calls “the toughest laws in the country”. The government says it’s about community safety, but legal and human rights experts warn that these chan...
Mar 26, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1514
Jim Chalmers has handed down the Labor government’s election budget. Front and centre was a surprise tax cut for all Australians, along with many of the measures we’ve been promised, including a boost to Medicare, energy bill relief, housing support and student debt reductions. As the government makes its pitch for re-election, gross public debt is forecast to hit $1 trillion next year, and a decade of deficits loom. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on wha...
Mar 25, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1513
The ceasefire in Gaza collapsed a week ago as Israel launched a series of airstrikes. Since then, more than 600 people have been killed, including children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.Israel says the attacks were aimed at Hamas’s surviving leadership – and just a few days ago, Hamas confirmed its top political leader is dead. As the war reignites, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing his own political survival. Today, Middle East correspondent f...
Mar 24, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1512
When footage of a CFMEU “health inspector” assaulting a woman was made public last week, it shocked a lot of people. But many union members weren’t surprised. It’s been six months since the CFMEU, one of Australia’s most powerful unions, was put under federal administration. But now, the lawyer tasked with investigating corruption within the union is openly saying not only has it not improved – it’s worse than he could have imagined. Today, associate edi...
Mar 23, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1511
Tasmanian writer Robert Dessaix is a man of many talents when it comes to the written form – from travel memoir and fiction to biography and philosophy, he’s done it all. He became a household name for many listeners to ABC Radio following a long stint hosting the beloved show Books and Writing . Now, at 81, Robert is back with a new memoir. This week, Michael is joined by Robert for a conversation about memory, dance, and being a chameleon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...
Mar 22, 2025•26 min•Ep. 1510
Kos Samaras spends hundreds of hours listening to what voters really think. In focus groups and in surveys, his research and political strategy firm, RedBridge Group, gathers the opinions of everyday Australians to paint a picture of the national mood: What is worrying us? What do we think of the prime minister’s mansion, or the opposition leader’s share portfolio? Which politicians can we trust? But Samaras says this picture gets warped by politicians who live and die by the two-par...
Mar 21, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1509
Over the past month, a flotilla of Chinese military ships came close to Australian shores unannounced. They conducted live-fire drills off the coast of Eden, New South Wales – disrupting dozens of flights out of Sydney airport. The Chinese ships have arrived at a time when Australia’s ability to rely on the United States for defence is questionable, and their presence has sparked concerns that we’re unable to handle our own security in the event of an attack. Today, Director of...
Mar 20, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1508
Are Catholic priests employed by the Church, or by the hand of God? This question was at the heart of a five-year legal battle between a survivor of child sexual abuse seeking compensation from the Catholic Church and Bishop Paul Bird of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat. The High Court’s decision last November – that the Catholic Church does not employ priests and therefore is not liable – came as a surprise to lawyers and as a devastating blow to survivors seeking justice. Aus...
Mar 19, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1507
In December last year, a group of crossbenchers dialled into a secret call with the Albanese government. It was to get a briefing on a government-commissioned report on the national security risks posed by climate change – a report the government has been sitting on since early 2023. Described by one senator as “frankly terrifying”, the Climate Risk Assessment report has not been shared with the Greens, the Coalition, or even the relevant parliamentary committee on intelligence...
Mar 18, 2025•12 min•Ep. 1506
The discovery of an abandoned caravan full of explosives on the outskirts of Sydney earlier this year triggered widespread panic and fear. There were reports of a list of Jewish targets – and right away, NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it terrorism. In the months that followed, discourse concerning the caravan became increasingly politicised, with Peter Dutton blaming the prime minister for putting Australians at risk. But all the while, police were...
Mar 17, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1505
Donald Trump’s full-throated support of Elon Musk continues, despite more and more people questioning why an unelected billionaire is exerting enormous power over the future of the American government. While Musk claims to be bringing his business expertise to cutting government waste, his true motives are becoming clearer. WIRED reporter Vittoria Elliott has discovered Musk’s actions come straight from an ideological playbook designed to unshackle businesses from government oversigh...
Mar 16, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1504
Acolytes of Elon Musk, working in the Department of Government Efficiency, are currently gutting the US government, with Musk claiming he’ll find savings of up to US$2 trillion. Department by department, DOGE staff – mostly young men from the tech world – are sacking federal employees and gaining access to some of the government’s most sensitive information. Vittoria Elliott, a reporter for WIRED covering platforms and power, has been tracking the Silicon Valley figures r...
Mar 16, 2025•13 min•Ep. 1503
Novelist Sonia Orchard was in her 40s when a revelation during a therapy session turned her life upside down. Could the relationship she’d had in her teens with a man more than a decade older in fact be abuse? In her new memoir, Groomed , Sonia investigates her own story, sharing her gruelling journey through the justice system, and shines a light on the failures – social, structural, legal – that entrench and prolong the trauma for victim survivors. This week, she speaks...
Mar 15, 2025•29 min•Ep. 1502
Australia’s Chinese community proved to be a powerful voting bloc in the last election. And as the time draws near to vote again, a growing number of politicians have realised that appealing to the country’s 1.5 million Chinese Australians is key to electoral success. But as journalist Wing Kuang has found, the major parties’ attempts to court Chinese voters are proving to be rocky. The Chinese-owned app, RedNote, is a new frontier in efforts to reach Chinese ...
Mar 14, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1501
Donald Trump’s trade war is escalating, as his wide-ranging tariffs take effect. Australia had hoped to avoid a 25 per cent tariff on our steel and aluminium – but we now know there’ll be no exemptions. As Canada and the EU retaliate with counter-tariffs, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is focused on stemming the damage, by arguing other large industries – that would impact the Australian economy much more – should be immune. But as Trump’s foreign polic...
Mar 13, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1500
When Launceston nurse and midwife Amanda Duncan appeared at a Tasmanian parliamentary inquiry into ambulance ramping last year, her testimony was macabre and shocking. Duncan claimed hospital management at Launceston General Hospital had altered death certificates – meaning deaths that should have been investigated were quietly recertified. Those revelations triggered a public inquiry, yet questions have been raised about its scope and accountability as new cases continue to emerge t...
Mar 12, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1499
As Trump’s radical reshaping of the US pulls into focus, so too has the list of those who have gained entry to his inner circle. That list includes not only Australia’s richest person – but also Australia’s largest private arms supplier. Robert Nioa isn’t yet a household name, but the weapons mogul is a close confidante to Peter Dutton, married to a Katter, as well as a fishing and hunting pal to Donald Trump Jr. Today, special correspondent for Th...
Mar 11, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1498
