The federal government announced the launch of the digital vaccine certificate last week. We expected widespread opposition to the idea. But there hasn’t been much comment or pushback. The idea has been really divisive in the US. Around ten states, all republican states have either banned them or passed legislation to ensure they’re never mandatory... and the White House has ruled out introducing a national system like the one we’ve introduced. Hank Jongen is General Manager of Services Australi...
Jun 13, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 130
THE WEEKEND BRIEFING: Samantha Harris is one of Australia’s most recognisable fashion models. She shot to fame in her late teens after becoming a finalist in the Dolly magazine model search and was just the second Indigenous model to grace the cover of Vogue Australia in 2010. Now Samantha is a diversity advocate, still walking on runways and workings as a World Vision ambassador. She joins Jamila Rizvi to talk about the climate of Australia’s fashion industry, her response to body-shamers and w...
Jun 11, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 129
It’s being described as Australia’s biggest ever crime bust and biggest blow ever to organised crime in Australia, but today the inside story of how the AN0M sting unfolded. Mark Morri, the Daily Telegraph’s Crime Editor, explains Australian police played a critical role in tricking drug traffickers around the world into using an app that enabled police to track their every move. Hundreds of people have been arrested around the world and millions of dollars seized. On today’s Briefing, Australia...
Jun 10, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 128
President Joe Biden has asked the US intelligence community to investigate the possibility Covid-19 leaked from a virology lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan. We all know the virus came from Wuhan, but we don’t know if it began in a wet market and was innocently passed from animals to humans – OR if it was a virus experiment that went wrong. Sharri Markson, the News Ltd columnist and Sky News host has written a book on the Wuhan Lab theory and says the evidence points to it being a leak from the l...
Jun 09, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 127
Will Melbourne…the city we all love…once the world’s most liveable city, ever be the same again. Cameron Stewart wrote in the Australian newspaper that he arrived back in Melbourne after four years as the paper’s US correspondent, and the city had changed considerably. More than 160 days of lockdown has changed the city forever. Alex Dyson owns Comedy Republic, a bar and stand-up comedy venue in the city’s CBD. He hopes things return to normal as soon as possible. But what will the new normal lo...
Jun 08, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 126
More young people, and more women, invested in the stock market for the first time in the last two years. This year’s annual Investor Study from the Australian Stock Exchange revealed that 23% of investors got involved in just the last two years - and a quarter of those new investors were aged 18-24. Chenny Wulandari is a 29-year-old who has become an investor for the first time. Scott Phillips is Chief Investment Officer for Motley Fool Australia. Scott explains how and why younger Australians ...
Jun 07, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 125
With Melbourne being sent back into lockdown last week, it’s time to ask, “has the pandemic highlighted our problem with booze?” 20 percent of us say our alcohol consumption has increased since the pandemic began. Caterina Giorgi is CEO of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE). She says we’re drinking more – and it’s women in particular who are seeking more help to cope with their boozing. Women say they’re hitting the bottle more because of greater childcare responsibilities....
Jun 06, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 124
You may know Clare Bowditch from her ARIA award-winning music career, her Logie-nominated role on the hit TV series Offspring , or her work as journalist, host and entrepreneur. Clare sits down with best-selling journalist and host Jamila Rizvi to discuss body image, balancing parenthood with a Rockstar lifestyle and working through grief in a beautifully honest conversation. THE WEEKEND LIST: Do: DIY Dumpling dinner party! We recommend miso eggplant Listen: The Sure Thing podcast Listen: Hope D...
Jun 04, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 123
Naomi Osaka walked out of the French Open tennis tournament this week. Just days before she’d copped a $15,000 fine for refusing to appear at mandatory post-game press conferences. Osaka said she refused to appear in a bid to protect her fragile mental health. Jana Pittman is a three-time Olympian and four-time Commonwealth gold medallist. She had a tumultuous relationship with the media throughout her career. She explains the pressures athletes face – and how she wishes she had social media in ...
Jun 03, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 122
More than 2,000 New Zealanders have been deported since 2014 when the federal government changed laws to make it easier to send Kiwis with a criminal record back across the ditch. The problem is, many of them have lived their entire lives in Australia Greg Barns SC is a barrister who has represented multiple clients trying to appeal their deportation; and Taryn O’Dowd is a 41-year old woman living in Auckland after she was deported to New Zealand after living more than 30 years in Australia. We ...
Jun 02, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 121
Being a vet and working with animals might seem like a dream job...but vets are at a higher risk of emotional distress and burnout...and the pandemic has made it worse. We’re joined by Dr Warwick Vale, CEO and President of the Australian Veterinarian’s Association to look at what’s causing vets to leave the industry and what can be done to fix it. Jess Batt is a vet in far north QLD who tells us the type of pressure vets are under and why so many are walking away from the job. Everyone loves the...
Jun 01, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 120
Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout has been plagued by problems. First it was difficulty sourcing vials, and then people across the world started developing blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca shot. Rachel Clun, the Federal Health Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age joins us for an update….to bring you the latest developments and to determine once and for all if we should be lining up to get the jab. The government is urging us all to roll up our sleeves to get the Coron...
May 31, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 119
Are Geriatric Millennials the heroes the world needs? Geriatric millennials are generally people born in the early 1980s and they make up some of the world’s leading CEOs including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Often defined as “weathered internet veterans” they can still keep up with the latest tech trends while holding onto traditional communication skills. Todays guest Erica Dhawan explains that by having a foot in both worlds, geriatric millennials are becoming the “linchpins of changing workp...
May 30, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 118
Rove McManus is undoubtably one of Australia’s favourite TV personalities of all time, popularising the US format of late-night television on our own soil before taking on the medium in the States. Having also been an early platformer to the likes of Carrie Bickmore, Peter Helliar, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee and Judith Lucy; and executively produced The Project, Rove also knows talent and opportunity when he sees it. Needless to say, his television career has shaped much of the traditional landscape...
May 28, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 117
Coal mining employs around 50,000 people directly... so why does coal dominate Australian politics?! It came up again at the weekend’s NSW by-election where Labor got smashed and the Nationals were re-elected. Kosmos Samaras is a former Labor strategist and is a director at the political consultancy firm Redbridge. He provides a fascinating insight into why these electorates hold such massive influence. There are around 240,000 people employed by the mining industry in Australia. 50,000 in coal....
May 27, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 116
Of all the things to destabilise Bitcoin... it turns out the environment has been a key factor. The digital currency has seen some wild price drops over the last two weeks. It peaked at 63,000 USD in mid-April and since then it’s dropped as low as $31,000. Dr Sean Foley, Associate Professor of Finance at Macquarie University, joins us to explain why. Dr Foley says mining for Bitcoin around the world, currently consumes half the electricity of Australia’s entire yearly usage. Could the environmen...
May 26, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 115
Monica Dux has written a book called Lapsed... about walking away from Catholicism, her childhood religion. It’s a relevant story in today’s world because Catholicism in Australia has been in slow decline over the last 50 years... but at 22% of all Australians, it’s still the biggest single religion in Australia and it’s held ground much better than the Anglican Church. It’s partly about growing up Catholic... but it’s more about why it has such a hold over people... even once they think they’ve...
May 25, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 114
Violent protests have broken out on the streets of Colombia. Demonstrations about tax reform have turned into massacres on the streets. Neighbourhoods have become battlegrounds as Colombians fight with police and the military – and the government struggles to maintain order. Alexandra Phelan is an expert on Colombian politics. We learn what the protests are about, and what the government will need to do to quell the violence. Today’s Briefing is a response to one of our listeners, Carol, reachin...
May 24, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 113
There’s been a lot of talk this year about housing affordability after another surge in home and apartment prices. But interest rates have remained at record lows, meaning borrowing money is cheaper than ever. So on, balance, is housing really as unaffordable as we’re making it out to be? We’re joined by Steven Koukoulas, leading economist and economics consultant and former economic advisor to PM Julia Gillard. Ignore the noise and stay calm as the property market surges out of reach TODAY'S HE...
May 23, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 112
The Royal Record is your weekly dose of Royal news, without the spin! Royal correspondent and expert Juliet Rieden and journalist Bryce Corbett use their insider info on The Royals to separate the fact from the fiction behind the latest Royal headlines. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 22, 2021•3 min•Season 2Ep. 111
Rick Morton’s book My Year of Living Vulnerably is topping best-seller lists around Australia for unpacking Australian masculinity. Jamila Rizvi sits down with Rick to talk about the male role models throughout his life, reckoning with his sexuality and the lightning bolt moment that made him realise he was grappling with complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Warning: This episode contains difficult conversations and graphic descriptions of injuries. THE WEEKEND LIST: Listen: Hey How You Going...
May 21, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 110
Everyone knows a conspiracy theorist. Someone who believes we didn’t make it to the moon; or the September 11 attacks were a hoax. How do you talk to them? Is engaging with them, giving their theories legitimacy? Professor John Cook is from the Centre for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University in the US. He’s also written a book “Cranky Uncle v Climate Change” We talk about how to deal with conspiracy theorists – and how seemingly ludicrous concepts gain traction. TODAY'S HEADLI...
May 20, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 109
The violence in Israel and Gaza explained. We’ll ask how it started... how similar is it to the last major flare ups in Israel... and what would it take to stop these cycles of violence? We’re joined by Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb, MSF Deputy medical coordinator in Gaza; Greg Barton, Professor in Global Islamic Studies at Deakin University; and Sophie McNeil, a former ABC Middle East Correspondent, now a researcher for Human Rights Watch. The world is watching yet another flare-up in violence….wh...
May 19, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 108
Everyone is talking about NFTs - Non-Fungible Tokens. These digital certificates have been hailed as a way for creators to get paid for digital works and files that get shared online. Cameron Wilson, tech journalist and Associate Editor at Crikey joins us to explain the new phenomenon. But what are NFTs and are they destined to live on the fringes of web culture? Or could they become part of our everyday lives? TODAY'S HEADLINES PM admits vulnerable people left behind by vaccine rollout Governme...
May 18, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 107
Huge numbers of mice have been tormenting farms and communities in western NSW for months. After lobbying, the state government has finally come up with a support package which they say will help “napalm” the mice. But this comes after locals have had to see crops and livelihoods decimated as they spent months fighting the crisis on their own. We’re joined by Katrina Humphries, Moree mayor; Susie Rae, Narromine artist and farmer; and Steve Henry, mouse expert with the CSIRO. Will the mice take t...
May 17, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 106
In last week’s federal budget papers, we discovered the government plans to keep our international borders closed until at least mid-2021. When can we realistically begin to plan to go back overseas? We’re joined by Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews – and we ask why the government is not providing more information on the timeline for international travel. We also speak to Tim Byrnes, an Australian who fled to Russia via New Zealand. What is the motivation for stopping us travelling? Surely, it...
May 16, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 105
Tanya Hennessy is one of the funniest (and busiest) people in Australia. As well as being a podcaster, radio host, TV presenter, comedian and author, Tanya also counts makeup guru and an “adults should be able to eat children’s meals” campaigner in her pursuits. Jamila Rizvi and Tanya discuss her latest book Drum Roll Please, It’s Stevie Louise , women in comedy and whether her career is what she expected. THE WEEKEND LIST: Listen (podcast): Linda Marigliano’s Tough Love podcast Watch: Call My A...
May 14, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 104
In March/April last year, 33,000 homeless people were given emergency Covid accommodation around the country. It was amazing to watch; thousands of people taken off the streets or from couch surfing situations, put in nice hotels. At the time, people in the sector were hoping this moment would be a circuit breaker that could end homelessness. We’re joined by Katherine McKernan, CEO of Homelessness NSW; and Paul McDonald, CEO of Anglicare Victoria. So did we seize the opportunity... how many of t...
May 13, 2021•23 min•Season 2Ep. 103
We go right to the top today to question the Finance Minister Simon Birmingham about Tuesday night’s budget. Some key questions: Where was the money for a quarantine facility; will we all be vaccinated by the end of the year; when will the borders open; and what about our struggling uni sector? Following up from Wednesday’s episode focusing on what’s in the Budget for our listeners, today it’s about what’s missing from the big-spending future outliner. TODAY'S HEADLINES Government sells Budget v...
May 12, 2021•23 min•Season 2Ep. 102
Last night’s federal budget was handed down by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. What does it mean for you? Why do we no longer focus on surpluses? How much impact has the pandemic had on the nation’s bottom line? And has it addressed the critical issues facing ordinary Australians – things like housing affordability and the cost of living. On today’s Briefing, a federal Budget special. What it means for you. TODAY'S HEADLINES Budget: "Australia coming back" Big spending on Covid, aged care, childcare ...
May 11, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 101
