The opening scene of Chris Flynn’s fourth and latest novel, Orpheus Nine , came to him in a dream. Not long after, he had the whole story down from start to finish. On this week’s episode of Read This , Chris and Michael sit down for a conversation about the falsity of certitude, how trauma can re-shape a community, and what The Exorcist, the Bible, and Winnie the Pooh all have in common. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Apr 26, 2025•26 min•Ep. 1545
Paul Bongiorno is one of the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics who mourned the loss of Pope Francis this week. As he read tribute after tribute of the impact of the Pope’s life, he noticed what wasn’t on the front page – Peter Dutton’s last-minute policy announcements. “The Pope is a world figure… and of course, it swamped the world’s media, including here in Australia. So it’s not surprising that the death of this pope would overshadow anything that ou...
Apr 25, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1544
In January, Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting the trans community by banning some medical care for minors. The move has had a chilling effect across the United States, as doctors withdraw their services for fear of being prosecuted and parents stop accessing medication for their children. But many are fighting back. In one red state, we spoke with a doctor driving across state lines, at great personal risk, to give patients the care she says is needed to save their lives. No...
Apr 24, 2025•17 min•Ep. 1543
When Scott Morrison lost his job as prime minister, it was women who sacked him. A review commissioned by the Liberal Party after the 2022 election found that a decline in support among women was a decisive factor in their loss. The report outlined ways the party might win women back. But three years on, that hasn’t happened. Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Bri Lee, on what women want – and why they’re not getting it from the Liberal Party. If you enjoy 7am , th...
Apr 23, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1542
When Peter Dutton’s son, Harry, fronted the media to talk about his dream of home ownership, it was an attempt by the opposition leader to seem relatable. The 20-year-old apprentice said he was “saving like mad”, but it’s unlikely he’d be able to save enough in the near future. But it seems his father may have failed to anticipate the obvious question: would he help his son with a deposit? As reporter Mike Seccombe observed, “if he said he wouldn’t...
Apr 22, 2025•17 min•Ep. 1541
In a coastal corner of Australia, scientist Saul Griffith has been quietly working away on a plan to turn 500 households completely off fossil fuels. He hopes that what he achieves there can act as a blueprint for the rest of the country. But for that to become a reality, the federal government would need to drastically increase their commitment to renewable energy. Today, chief scientist at Rewiring Australia, Saul Griffith, on the electrification already underway – and what b...
Apr 21, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1540
As a child refugee in India, Harini dreamt of making it to Australia to study medicine and become a doctor. She arrived in Australia in 2013 when she was 10 years old, leaving behind her two siblings and mother. Harini did not realise her visa status made her different to her classmates until she received a university offer for a biomedical science degree that required her to pay international student fees of nearly $100,000. After attempting to self-fund her studies and falling a year behind in...
Apr 20, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1539
Over four decades Niall Williams has made a name for himself as one of Ireland’s leading novelists. In his latest novel, Time of the Child , Niall returns to the fictional village of Faha, in west Ireland, the setting of his previous book, This Is Happiness . Time of the Child centres on the notion of familial love, and as he explains to Michael in this week’s episode, Niall couldn’t have written it without becoming a grandfather himself. See omnystudio....
Apr 19, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1538
At one point during this term of government, Indigenous affairs dominated national debate. Politicians, pundits and the public couldn't stop talking about it. But since the Voice referendum failed, it’s become something of a taboo. Labor is eager to move on, while the Coalition is more focused on scoring points than offering a plan. Now, with the election weeks away, there are glimpses of what might come next. Labor says it’s about delivering jobs. The Coalition says it&r...
Apr 18, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1537
Last year, reporter Mike Seccombe looked into the divide between Australia’s richest and poorest schools to find out why this gap keeps widening. What he found was a broken system. Rich parents are able to get huge tax breaks by donating to opulent building projects at their kids’ private schools. It’s a practice that goes way back, despite many arguing the tactic has become outdated. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper and a proud state school boy, Mike ...
Apr 17, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1536
Last night, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton went head-to-head in the second leaders’ debate of the campaign. The difference between the two leaders’ visions for the country was stark. Albanese talked about his “optimism” for the future, while Dutton asked voters to reflect on whether they are better off now than they were three years ago, suggesting that most people are not. But Albanese and Dutton were united on one thing: neither leader really landed a blow – an...
Apr 16, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1535
Donald Trump’s presence looms large on the campaign trail, as both leaders face questions about how they would handle his trade war. The market chaos and escalating tensions between China and the US may have once seemed like the last thing Labor needed during an election campaign. But insiders now believe they’ve been granted a rare opportunity: to hold firm in the face of uncertainty and prove that changing government in this global political climate is too great a risk. Today...
Apr 15, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1534
In January, Jonathan Holmes met with the ABC’s then managing director, David Anderson. Jonathan and his colleagues at ABC Alumni wanted to know if Anderson was concerned about funding cuts under a Dutton-led government. Successive Coalition governments have made cuts to the national broadcaster over decades. Now, as Peter Dutton signals he’s looking to cut anything he deems to be “waste” at the ABC, alarm bells are once again ringing. Today, chair of ABC Alumn...
Apr 14, 2025•13 min•Ep. 1533
As a scientist, Tim Flannery says he’s seen climate change kicked around parliament for decades. Australians are now paying for the years of denial, distraction and delay from our politicians, with a decade’s worth of warming just in the past couple of years. While the last election sent the major parties a clear message that Australia should act on climate change, he says this election is all about how. And he says he’s optimistic that this could actually be the last climate e...
Apr 13, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1532
Turkish-born, Paris-based writer Ayşegül Savaş’s third novel opens with a young, ex-pat couple who are apartment hunting. Both foreigners in the city they live in and unburdened from the usual familial obligations, their days are marked by small pleasures: shopping at a local flea market, drinking coffee together before work, and taking long walks in the park. Like so much of Ayşegül’s writing, The Anthropologists is interested not just in foreignness, but what ...
Apr 12, 2025•25 min•Ep. 1531
Peter Dutton says he’ll cut migrant numbers by 100,000 people a year as soon as he gets into office. He says it’s part of his plan to free up housing for Australians, but it could also impact the workforce needed to build new homes. Dutton is putting a number to his plans just days after immigration dominated the first leaders’ debate. Abul Rizvi was a senior official in the Department of Immigration from the early 90s to 2007, until he left while serving as deputy secret...
Apr 11, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1530
Elon Musk is pressing NASA to abandon its planned journeys to the moon – projects that have been decades in the making, with billions already spent and contracts already signed. Despite backlash from NASA insiders and politicians on both sides of Congress – who view his plans as costly, disruptive and politically toxic – Musk remains resolute. Today, Wall Street Journal reporter Emily Glazer, on whether the SpaceX CEO can really upend NASA’s return to the moon. This is pa...
Apr 10, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1529
Donald Trump wants to write the next chapter in US spaceflight history. With billionaire tech CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk by his side, he’s outlined an ambitious agenda: to land the first humans on Mars before he leaves office. Whether or not that goal is achievable, the plan would massively reshape America’s space program to the benefit of Musk’s company. NASA has already suffered from Musk’s efforts to gut the federal government through the Department of Government...
Apr 09, 2025•17 min•Ep. 1528
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
