In the lead-up to Anthony Albanese’s trip to the G7 summit in Canada, Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry discuss the Pentagon’s Aukus review as well as the two countries’ contrasting views on sanctions on Israeli politicians. Also in this episode: will Tasmanian voters punish Labor for pushing them into another election? And what did trade unionist Bill Kelty say to Bob Hawke that made him cry?
Jun 13, 2025•28 min
The US Department of Defense has announced a review of the Aukus submarine deal, just days before Australia’s prime minister is due to meet Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada. Political reporter Josh Butler tells Nour Haydar what this means for relations between the two countries and why it throws Australia’s defence strategy into doubt
Jun 12, 2025•20 min
A Guardian Australia investigation reveals the government inertia behind the suicide crisis in Australian jails. Dozens of inmates have killed themselves in the past two decades using ligature points that authorities knew about, but failed to remove. Reporters Ariel Bogle and Christopher Knaus speak to Reged Ahmad about why the warnings are still being ignored and what it will take to stop these preventable deaths
Jun 11, 2025•25 min
Millions around the world watched Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad as she documented online her life under Israeli attack after 7 October 2023. Now she has released a memoir: a collection of diary entries, recounting living under siege and her love for her homeland. She speaks with Nour Haydar about life during and after fleeing the war You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport
Jun 10, 2025•21 min
Donald Trump’s decision to deploy 2,000 national guard troops against demonstrators protesting against widespread immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles has been criticised as the ‘act of a dictator’. Washington DC bureau chief David Smith tells Nour Haydar why the US president’s attack on the protests is a diversion from his feud with billionaire Elon Musk You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport
Jun 09, 2025•20 min
Three years ago, British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous defender Bruno Pereira vanished while on a reporting trip near Brazil’s remote Javari valley. The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, investigates what happened in the first episode of a new six-part investigative podcast series Listen to the whole series here: theguardian.com/mita
Jun 08, 2025•27 min
Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry take a look under the hood of the week in Australian politics. They examine the Albanese government’s response to US requests to increase defence spending, the extended fall out from the North West Shelf licence approval and the continuing pressure on the Liberal party – this time at the state level
Jun 06, 2025•27 min
After nearly a month of hearing experts, witnesses and police officers testify, this week Erin Patterson herself took to the stand. Patterson is facing three charges of murder and one of attempted murder – after she served a beef wellington lunch laced with death cap mushrooms – at her house in regional Victoria in 2023. She’s pleaded not guilty to those charges. Justice and courts reporter Nino Bucci takes Reged Ahmad through some of the key moments of her evidence, as she tells her side of the...
Jun 06, 2025•31 min
The Albanese government wants to increase the tax on super balances above $3m. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says it is a modest change but there have been countless articles and columns warning of the economic havoc it could wreak and the impact this would have on the retirement savings of young Australians. Nour Haydar speaks to the national news editor, Josephine Tovey, and the head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, about what will happen if Labor pushes forward with the reform
Jun 05, 2025•19 min
In 2020 tens of thousands of people took to the streets, demanding accountability and racial justice in solidarity with First Nations Australians. But five years on, and after a failed referendum on constitutional recognition, campaigners mourn the lack of progress. Indigenous affairs reporters Sarah Collard and Ella Archibald-Binge join Nour Haydar to discuss the recurring calls for justice
Jun 04, 2025•23 min
An alarming cultural shift is happening in Australian classrooms, as teachers report an increase in bullying and misogynistic and violent behaviour from their students. Education reporter Caitlin Cassidy talks to Reged Ahmad about the teachers speaking out about why they are leaving the profession
Jun 03, 2025•18 min
Social media is rife with hacks that claim to help you sleep better and deeper. From melatonin, feeding your baby butter and taping your mouth shut, the solutions range from obvious to unexpected. In conversation with Nour Haydar, anti-viral columnist Donna Lu breaks down the viral hacks the internet claims will help you get better sleep You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport
Jun 02, 2025•18 min
The Albanese government wants to reduce the tax breaks for those with more than $3m in superannuation. And while sections of the media are highly critical of the changes, others say the proposal does little to address intergenerational inequality in the tax system. Columnist Greg Jericho speaks to Reged Ahmad about why the media debate over a smaller tax break for Australia’s wealthiest 0.5% is divorced from reality You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport
Jun 01, 2025•19 min
In 2019, before most of the world had heard of the company, the technology journalist Karen Hao spent three days embedded in the offices of OpenAI. What she saw, she tells Michael Safi, was a company vastly at odds with its public image: that of a transparent non-profit developing artificial intelligence technology purely for the benefit of humanity. ‘They said that they were transparent. They said that they were collaborative. They were actually very secretive,’ she says. Hao spent the next fiv...
May 31, 2025•26 min
As the Coalition puts itself back together again, Labor is facing the first tests of its resolve on tax, climate and Gaza. Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry examine if Anthony Albanese is meeting the expectations of his voting base and look at the tension and problems to come for the Coalition Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
May 29, 2025•28 min
The Liberals leader, Sussan Ley, and the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, have reached a new agreement, presenting a united front and announcing a new shadow frontbench. But with the Liberals facing a mammoth task ahead, and net zero commitments up in the air, could this mark the beginning of a rocky term for the Coalition? Nour Haydar speaks with Dan Jervis-Bardy about the Coalition’s short-lived breakup
May 28, 2025•17 min
Donald Trump is not new to conspiracy theories, and last week in the Oval Office he ambushed the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, with false claims of genocide being committed against white people. Reged Ahmad speaks to Washington DC bureau chief David Smith about the US president’s false claims and the extent to which conspiracy theories are driving his agenda
May 27, 2025•20 min
It’s often said the 2020s will be a ‘defining decade’ for the planet and action on the climate crisis. Starting this week, the proposal to extend Woodside gas’s processing plant in Western Australia’s remote north-west by 40 years awaits the new environment minister, Murray Watt – the first of many consequential decisions facing him during Labor’s second term in government. Labor has secured a massive majority, with the possibility of another six years on the government benches. So what are the ...
May 26, 2025•21 min
New Zealand is known as a dream destination – with its verdant, rolling hills and picture-perfect scenery. But some locals are feeling that’s not enough to keep them anchored to the island. Journalist Michelle Duff speaks to Reged Ahmad about why New Zealand is facing a mass exodus as people of working age flee the weak economy Australia news live: latest politics updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
May 25, 2025•16 min
As this episode was recorded, the Liberal and National parties were still locked in discussions over the Coalition agreement, after the parties dramatically parted ways earlier in the week. But with a reunion already on the cards, Bridie Jabour spoke with Mike Ticher and former rural and regional editor Gabrielle Chan about why the breakup could be good for regional voters
May 22, 2025•19 min
On Tuesday, Nationals leader David Littleproud announced it was over – his party could no longer support the Liberals and the Coalition was finished. But by Thursday, things were looking less certain, with negotiations between the parties back on in an effort to try to save the decades-long political partnership. Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry on the future of an unsteady political marriage
May 22, 2025•34 min
As Israel intensifies its attacks, and prepares to indefinitely occupy the whole of Gaza, there has been a shift among some foreign leaders. Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti speaks to Nour Haydar about the growing global fury at Israel and why he thinks Australia needs to act now to help stop the killing
May 21, 2025•29 min
Just over a year ago, six people were killed and 10 more injured at a Westfield shopping centre in Bondi Junction. It was one of Sydney’s worst mass murders in more than a decade. The stabbing rampage finally ended when a police officer shot and killed the attacker, Joel Cauchi. Reged Ahmad talks to reporter Daisy Dumas about the confronting evidence heard at the Bondi Junction stabbings inquest
May 21, 2025•23 min
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has confirmed his party will not be entering a coalition agreement with the Liberal party. Chief political correspondent Tom McIlroy speaks to Reged Ahmad on what contributed to the decision to end an 80-year-old partnership, and what this means for the new parliament
May 20, 2025•16 min
Analyses of the 2024 US election widely heralded the ‘manosphere’ – the coalition of bro podcasters and YouTubers popular with male audiences – as key to delivering Donald Trump’s victory. There are now organised efforts to create a similar alternative rightwing media ecosystem targeting young female audiences. New York-based writer Anna Silman talks to Nour Haydar about the ‘womanosphere’, the anti-feminist media telling women to be thin, fertile and Republican
May 19, 2025•24 min
At 13 years old, a young Gina Rinehart read a book that would help shape her worldview – Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, which is having a moment around the world. The novel’s capitalist underpinnings promote the idea that people should strive to be their best industrial selves. In this episode, we explore how these values are playing out in Rinehart’s life today, including her proposal to build a coalmine in Canada’s Rocky Mountains. And we hear how author and environmental campaigner Tim Winton vie...
May 18, 2025•1 hr 15 min
Join Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry at this special live recording of the podcast at Federation Square in Melbourne for the Wheeler Centre’s 15th birthday celebrations. They discuss new leaders for the Greens and Liberals, Labor’s ministerial reshuffle and whether the prime minister will use the enormous political capital afforded him to push for big change
May 16, 2025•36 min
This week, the Liberal party elected its first female leader in Sussan Ley, but she’s already fighting to keep the factional sharks at bay. Same goes for the Nationals, who’ve re-elected David Littleproud in a leadership challenge that revealed deep divisions. The Greens also elected a new leader on Thursday, but will that mean a change in strategy after their stinging election loss?Reged Ahmad talks to head of newsroom Mike Ticher, national news editor Jo Tovey and chief political correspondent...
May 15, 2025•26 min
The Greens were on a high – until they weren’t. This election left the minor party almost entirely wiped out in the House of Representatives and without its leader Adam Bandt. Before a vote on who will take the party forward, the former Greens leader Richard Di Natale speaks to Nour Haydar on what lessons can be learned from the election result and where to now for the minor party You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport
May 14, 2025•23 min
A fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to be holding after weeks of clashes and recriminations over the disputed territory of Kashmir. This latest clash began when India accused Pakistan of involvement in a militant attack on mostly Hindu tourists, and has evolved into the region’s worst military skirmish in decades. South Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen tells Reged Ahmad about the origins of this conflict, and whether there is hope on the horizon for Kashmir You can sup...
May 13, 2025•23 min