Charlie is joined by returning guest host Rachel Withers of The Monthly. Together they talk to the Centre for Advancing Journalism's media ethics expert and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Denis Muller. They discuss the rise of Trumpism, the requirement for balanced reporting, the separation of opinion and news, and the Australian media's approach to political reporting in the wake of the referendum. Rachel and Charlie also explore the aftermath of The Voice to Parliament referendum, looking at where...
Oct 19, 2023•44 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Jess and Rachel are joined by Peter Lewis of Essential Media to talk about polling, given its prominence in the lead up to the Voice to Parliament referendum. What's the process how do they achieve accuracy? The team also talk to Nasser Mashni, President of The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, to discuss the week's coverage of the Palestine-Israel conflict. How has it shown the continuing bias of perspective in mainstream media, and the lack of context provided for situations such as this?...
Oct 12, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Rachel Withers and Jess Lilley are joined by Natasha May, Health reporter for The Guardian Australia, to discuss a special report into the rise in youth gambling - the team ask whether parents, schools and government are doing enough to regulate and educate. Rachel and Jess also discuss grifters, Taylor Swift, and the latest in the Voice to Parliament referendum and whether there really is a recent uptick in ‘Yes’ support....
Oct 05, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Award winning Investigative journalist Nick Mckenzie (The Age) joins Jess, Charlie and Rachel Withers, to discuss a groundbreaking investigation to former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo. The team also discuss the resignations of Dan Andrews and Rupert Murdoch and what it means for the local and international face of Newscorp now and in the future....
Sep 28, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 60
A note that this episode contains discussion of sexual assault. If you or anyone requires support, you can call the National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling line on 1800 737 732 This week, Jess and Charlie are joined by guest-host Esther Anatolitis, editor of Meanjin. Together they talk to Dr Eugenia Flynn, writer, researcher, RMIT Indigenous postdoctoral fellow and guest-editor for Meanjin’s most recent Spring Issue, which features works entirely from Aboriginal and Tor...
Sep 21, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Charlie and Jess are joined by host of The Mission, Daniel James and contributing editor for The Monthly, Rachel Withers. Together they discuss the media's focus on negativity, outrage headlines and disinformation in the lead up to the referendum on The Voice, and the real world impacts this has on Indigenous people. Journalist, Karla Grant also joins the team to talk about her SBS Dateline report on the Sámi First Nations Parliament of Norway. What parallels can we draw with the proposed Voice ...
Sep 14, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 58
The Spin Cycle team are joined by writer, critic and activist Natalie Feliks to discuss the anti-trans angle of 7 News' Spotlight on de-transitioning. They also talk more broadly about trans representation in the media. Jess and Charlie also cover the Press Council findings on The Australian's editorial targeting Louise Milligan and the choice of outrage toward Question Time protests relative to the group's power.
Sep 07, 2023•44 min•Season 1Ep. 57
What's Radiothon you ask? It's the time of the year that we ask you, the listeners of Spin Cycle, to help donate and support Triple R - the radio station that helps power Spin Cycle each and every week. Jess Lilley, Charlie Lewis and Rachel Withers talk community radio and listener-funded media, and they welcome 9 year-old Donnie as RRR's youngest radiothon broadcaster to read out the names of listeners who've pledged to support the station and show. Plus, they chat with ABC's chief political co...
Aug 31, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 56
This week on Spin Cycle, Jess & Rachel are joined by Xavier George, recent guest on Insight for their “Boomers vs Millennials” episode - which tackled all things generational divide. Plus the team recap other news of the week, including the return of Annabel Crabb’s Kitchen Cabinet, and her now infamous episode with Peter Dutton. With hosts Jess Lilley and guest co-host Rachel Withers....
Aug 24, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Charlie Lewis flies solo this week while Jess Lilley is on break. Author and journalist Walter Marsh joins the show to talk about his new book Young Rupert - chronicling the power and politics surrounding Rupert Murdoch’s early years and how he established his global media empire. Plus a breakdown of some of the week's media stories including News Ltd using AI to publish thousands of articles across its publications and the latest developments with Twitter/X as the ABC shuts down its accounts on...
Aug 10, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 54
High school student journalists Aidan Sinclair and Saskia De Leeuw Kyle join Jess and Charlie to discuss the YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament and its Youth Press Gallery program. They consider whether the environment simulates what it's really like being a journalist, and if there are enough outlets providing a platform for youth journalism. Jess and Charlie also cover the ABC and Nicole Chvastek, and the seemingly increasing newsworthiness of opinions.
Aug 03, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 53
As Barbenheimer floods cinema screens this week, the Spin Cycle team takes a look at arts and culture journalism in Australia. Jess and Charlie are joined by Brodie Landcaster, author and freelance cultural journalist, to discuss the Hollywood Writer and Actor strikes and whether the media environment provides enough time for journalists to generate meaningful film reviews. Jess and Charlie also cover the new Twitter and the Liberals' growing popularity in Melbourne's Western suburbs....
Jul 27, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Charlie Lewis is away this week. Jess captains the good ship Spin Cycle with special guest co-hosts Rachel Withers (Contributing editor at The Monthly ) and Esther Anatolitis (Editor of Meanjin ). They chat to journalist Nick Feik about his reporting into how laws designed to support whistleblowers are failing to protect those who speak up. Plus, a dive into the frontpage landlord stor y that sent Twitter chirping earlier in the week....
Jul 20, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Rachel Withers joins Jess and Charlie in the studio to discuss her recent piece for The Monthly. What does it mean to be a 'Teal Independent', and what do they tell us about the characteristics of the electorates they represent. The team also talk about the Robodebt commission report released this week and the role of media advisors in light of a recent Rochelle Miller interview.
Jul 13, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Associate professor of public health and preventative medicine, Charles Livingstone, joins Jess and Charlie to talk about the media and gambling. They discuss the politics, research, and recommendations, and ask the question : what does the future of gambling regulation look like in Australia? Jess and Charlie also update on the coverage of the yes and no campaigns for the Voice to Parliament, the recent Cricket crisis with British PM Rishi Sunak, and turbulence at the ABC. A note that this epis...
Jul 06, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Jess and Charlie's guest is Kimina Lyall, Deputy CEO of Dart Centre Asia Pacific, a clinical psychologist and a former journalist. She talks to the team about trauma literacy in the Australian media; how does the media respond to traumatic incidents, and are we cultivating a media environment of inflicting further trauma? Jess and Charlie also talk the corruption inquiry into Gladys Berejiklian, and influencers reviewing labour conditions.
Jun 29, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Jess is joined by senior reporter for The Australian, Sarah Elks, to discuss Sarah's jaw dropping series of investigative reports into long-time QLD MP, Warren Entsch. From spiriting a billionaire to Thursday Island for a covid jab to questions around government-funded pottery classes in Doomadgee to Entsch's former lives as a croc catcher and LGBTIQ+ activist - this is a story you don't want to miss. Jess is also joined by Swinburne University senior media lecturer, Dr Belinda Barnett, to discu...
Jun 22, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Media ethics expert and long-time journalist, Denis Muller returns to Spin Cycle to join Charlie for a discussion on the past week's news. What does the ABC's redundancy of Andrew Probyn and his role say about their approach to political reporting? Is the News Corp response to the Ben Roberts-Smith saga undermining other media outlets? Is there a way for media monopolies to be effectively regulated?
Jun 15, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Jess and Charlie are joined by journalist Marc Fennell for a discussion about the making of his new SBS documentary The Kingdom , his personal history with the church, and the changing face of Pentecostal religion in Australia. The team also cover how the continuing media response to the Ben Roberts-Smith verdict appears to have split along ideological lines and the continuing adventures of social media influencer Caroline Calloway....
Jun 08, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Academic and Author Sally Young joins Jess and Charlie to discuss Australia's media mogul history and her new book, Media Monsters: The Transformation of Australia's Newspaper Empires . The team also cover this week's verdict in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case and how defamation laws in Australia impact the media environment.
Jun 01, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 44
After Stan Grant's departure from the ABC , hosts Jess and Charlie discuss how various corners of the media responded, and the broader lack of inclusion and support of Indigenous voices in the Australian media. They also consider the strange bedfellows that celebrity journos and politicians make and the tech-riddled media fail that was the Twitter Launch of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' 2024 US Presidential bid....
May 25, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Award-winning author of The Trauma Cleaner, Sarah Krasnostein, Joins the Spin Cycle team for a chat through her latest piece for the Monthly - exploring the media response to 2022 Train family murders in Wieambilla, Queensland and their link to online conspiracy theories. Plus, the team digs into the latest media dramas of the week including 2023 budget reporting and how outlets select their political commentators. With hosts Jess Lilley and Charlie Lewis....
May 18, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Najma Sambul returns to Spin Cycle this week. Jess and Najma reviewed the recent episode of Foreign Conversation, Surviving in Somalia, as an example of the vital reporting foreign correspondents do. They also discussed the curious case of how twitter user, Bigolas Dickolas, created a number one Amazon best selling book.
May 11, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Jess flies solo this week with Charlie on holidays for the next fortnight. First up, Crikey associate editor, Cam Wilson gets on the line to discuss his recent reporting into how both the Daily Mail and the Spectator have published pieces by people who have tenuous links to neo-nazi movements and the alt-right. Later, Amy Remeikis from The Guardian Australia unpacks all the reporting around Jobseeker, the raise the rate campaign, the incoming budget and the government's response to their own adv...
May 04, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Ben Abbatangelo, writer for The Saturday Paper and The Guardian, joins Jess and Charlie to discuss his debut piece for Indigenous X, covering Peter Dutton's comments on Indigenous issues, Jacinta Price and the politics of refusal. Jess and Charlie also discuss the defamation case between Dominion and Fox News and the roots of "facts" in QAnon forums.
Apr 20, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Charlie Lewis is joined by guest-host Rachel Withers (The Monthly) covering for Jess Lilley. They're joined by special guest Kishor Napier-Raman, CBD columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age who covers Australia's most influential political and business figures, about what a "gossip column" really means, what it can tell you that straight news can't, and having a job that has powerful people yelling at you more than most. Plus, the pair survey the wreckage of the Twitter files, and ge...
Apr 13, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Rachel Withers is Jess Lilley’s guest host this week on Spin Cycle. Together they explore policies and politicians after the recent NSW election, and the associated media coverage. They are also joined by guest Bridget Brennan, ABC journalist and Gold Quill winner, to discuss media coverage of First Nations issues, in particular the Four Corners report from 2022: ‘How Many More? the Crisis of the murdered and missing First Nations women’.
Mar 30, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Joshua Thorburn, criminology PhD student at Monash Uni, joins Jess and Charlie to discuss the ideologies of incels and femcels, and common misconceptions about this group due to coverage in the media. Jess and Charlie also briefly cover Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull's failed tour of Australia and the media response to the appearance of neo-nazi support at anti-trans rallies in Melbourne on the weekend.
Mar 23, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Denis Muller, media editor, research consultant and specialist on media ethics and accountability, talks to Jess and Charlie about the role of public broadcasters in light of recent BBC controversy, and how the ABC stacks up in comparison. Jess and Charlie also talk about Paul Keating’s tough-love AUKUS opinions in his National Press Club address, and what ethical editing means in a news environment of such high output.
Mar 16, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Jackie Turner, the Director of the Trans Justice Project, joins the team to chat about how to identify anti-trans misinformation and become more media-literate to anti-trans rhetoric popping up in reporting, both of which she talks about in her piece for Junkee this week . Jess and Charlie also revisit the Tom Morris saga, as well as the on-going Fox News v Dominion lawsuit that has thrown the US media giant into existential crisis....
Mar 09, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 34
