A weekly podcast from The Australian Financial Review that examines the biggest stories in business, markets and politics, and why they matter, explained by the best financial journalists in the country.
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This week, resources reporter Peter Ker on the challenges ahead for Australia’s iron ore industry, why copper is booming and what miners are doing to ensure the country remains a resources powerhouse. This podcast is sponsored by Aussie Broadband Further reading: Iron ore giants face billion-dollar hit from China-backed price switch A new index for the country’s most lucrative export has been lower than the long-time benchmark for the vast majority of days since it was launched this year. Size c...
This week Technology editor Paul Smith and Chanticleer columnist James Thomson on why financial markets are suddenly spooked, which businesses are most at risk from AI disruption and whether the concern is overblown. This podcast is sponsored by Vanta Further reading: WiseTech drops Australia’s first AI jobs bomb Rapid, large-scale deployment of artificial intelligence is happening, with the companies most at risk of disruption leading the charge. AI comes for the software giants, and Australia ...
Political editor Phillip Coorey and former Labor adviser and columnist Lidija Ivanovski on Angus Taylor’s big move, the threat from One Nation and why this might not be the last leadership contest before the next election. This podcast is sponsored by Vanta Further reading: It’s Timmy v Jimmy, with CGT the first battleground Jim Chalmers and Tim Wilson both harbour leadership ambitions. Treasury will be their sparring ring, and both will be determined not to come off second best. Taylor’s big ad...
This week on The Fin podcast: journalist Lucy King on the global scam operators targeting Australian investors, how the brother of Olympic breakdancer Raygun came to be working for them and why they are so hard to shut down. This podcast is sponsored by Vanta Further reading: Raygun’s brother linked to global scam network with nearly 40,000 Aussie victims An AFR investigation unravels corporate registries to link Brendan Gunn, brother of “Raygun”, with a global network that has fleeced victims o...
This week, James Eyers on why key executive and eldest son Peter Fox has taken an unexpected break from the company, what it means for the Linfox succession plan and why handing over mult-billion dollar family fortunes is so hard to do. This podcast is sponsored by Vanta Further reading: Peter Fox’s long absence puts Linfox succession plan in the spotlight For seven decades, billionaire businessman Lindsay Fox has loomed large over the empire he built from one truck. Who will succeed him is an o...
This episode explores the challenges of Donald Trump's second presidential term, covering his controversial foreign policy decisions and domestic unrest, while also analyzing his communication style and declining public approval. It highlights Mark Carney's call for middle powers to assert themselves in a changing world order and Australia's pragmatic approach to maintaining its alliance with the US amidst these shifts. The discussion also delves into the strategic appointment of Australia's new US ambassador and future challenges for the relationship.
This week, health editor Michael Smith on why baby-making is such big business and how private equity firms are reshaping the IVF sector. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: Ill-conceived: Inside Australia’s IVF money-making machine The commercialisation of the industry as private equity owners take over from pioneering doctors has many people very worried. Monash IVF rejects $300m takeover bid from Genesis Capital as too low Shares in the fertility group have fallen more than 4...
Rear Window columnists Mark Di Stefano and Hannah Wootton look back on the action-packed year that was and ahead to what 2026 might bring. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: Cannon-Brookes now travels by private jet Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian co-founder and leading climate change crusader, has recently picked up a private jet. Dutton left ‘very serious’ cyclone area for Hemmes’ Sydney mansion The opposition leader said people wanted the prime minister “governing, not campai...
This week on The Fin podcast political editor Phillip Coorey and NSW political correspondent Paul Karp on the carnage at Bondi, what is being done to make sure it never happens again and whether it’s enough. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: ‘When is the shooting gonna stop?’ 9 minutes of terror on Bondi Beach At first, the crowd thought it was fireworks; but as the bloodied bodies dropped around them, they realised this was a shooting and they were the targets. Minns wants ne...
This week on The Fin podcast: Greg Bearup and Carrie LaFrenz on what’s behind Australia’s retail crime wave, why Victoria is ground zero and whether facial recognition technology is the answer. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: We met a professional shoplifter to understand this crime’s popularity Retailers are contending with a new type of player in their industry. Here’s how such offenders became a nationwide phenomenon and scourge of the country. Facial recognition tech vit...
Chanticleer columnist James Thomson and technology editor Paul Smith on the multi-trillion dollar AI investment boom, where the opportunities are for Australia and what happens if it goes wrong. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: OpenAI in Australian blitz as it woos start-ups, corporates The Silicon Valley giant behind ChatGPT will offer free services to major venture capital-backed tech companies as it attempts to steal a march on rivals. Burry, Buffett and boomers: How marke...
Senior reporter Jonathan Shapiro on the rise of DroneShield, why its CEO just dumped all his stock and whether the company can restore the faith. This podcast is sponsored by Aussie Broadband Further reading: Oleg Vornik defends $50m DroneShield share sale, citing risk to life While the businessman has been circumspect about the reasons for offloading his entire stake, privately he has given an explanation to some investors. Inside the two-week unravelling of high-flying tech stock DroneShield A...
Phillip Coorey and Tony Barry on the decision to dump net zero, the Coalition’s existential crisis and whether Sussan Ley’s leadership can survive. This podcast is sponsored by Aussie Broadband Further reading: Andrew and Angus who? Leadership rivals a blank canvas, says poll More than a third of voters have never heard of Andrew Hastie or Angus Taylor, the men who could challenge Sussan Ley for the Liberal leadership. One Nation seen as party best suited to handle immigration: poll While cost o...
John Kehoe and Michael Bleby on the RBA’s inflation dilemma, why the next interest rate move might be up and how that will affect the property market. This podcast is sponsored by Aussie Broadband Further reading: Investors are flocking back to the property market Three interest rate cuts, double-digit price rises and tepid new housing supply have convinced investors that property is once again a sure bet. If you’re waiting for another rate cut, read this first The lower speed limit means the ec...
Health editor Michael Smith discusses CSL’s remarkable story, why investors have lost faith in the healthcare giant and what Trump has to do with it. This podcast is sponsored by Aussie Broadband Further reading: How CSL went from 'bloated bureaucracy' to $145b global behemoth When Brian McNamee took on the top job at Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, the government-run entity was barely worth the land it was built on. McNamee vows to stay CSL chairman despite growing investor disquiet The pharma...
This week on The Fin, Lucy King and James Eyers on Australia’s crypto ATM boom, how they are being used for investment scams and why Australia is being targeted. This podcast is sponsored by Salesforce Further reading: ‘Devastated’: How I lost $500k in a crypto ATM scam Mary, 85, is one of thousands of victims of Australia’s boom in crypto ATM’s, which suck in $275 million a year, and are the “getaway cars” for scammers. Consumers, banks urge outright ban on crypto ATMs Home Affairs Minister Ton...
This week on The Fin podcast, Edmund Tadros and Paul Karp on Deloitte’s stuff-up, why it became a global story and what it means for the way we use, and value, AI. This podcast is sponsored by Salesforce Further reading: ‘Oversight was not followed’: Deloitte apologises for AI report The firm will discipline personnel over a report that had to be reissued after they failed to vet incorrect AI-generated material in the document. Deloitte’s AI scandal shows consultants need a new strategy The saga...
This week, senior writer Greg Bearup and Lowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor on China's dominance of the local EV and battery market and why that's a security risk. This podcast is sponsored by Salesforce Further reading: Is your Chinese EV a ‘ticking time bomb’? The rapid uptake of electric cars and home batteries from the Asian nation has put Australia’s energy infrastructure at risk of foreign hijack, experts warn. China could disable or detonate Aussie EVs, warns top cyber expert M...
Andrew Hobbs and Tony Boyd on how investors lost $1.2 billion in Shield, First Guardian and Australian Fiduciaries, and how the gatekeepers let it happen. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: The ‘easy peasy’ approval: Shield exposes $850b super wrap industry These funds told us they were toxic: how did Macquarie miss it? How Macquarie ignored its own advice on Shield (and lost $100m) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Senior reporters Jonathan Shapiro and Primrose Riordan on what ASIC's crackdown on LaTrobe Financial and the Jon Adgemis saga tells us about the private credit market, the risks for super investors and whether the golden run is over. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: Private credit faces tougher regulation after damning report La Trobe investment products hit with stop orders by ASIC Deutsche Bank appoints receivers for Adgemis pubs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...
Canberra bureau chief Nicola Smith and Washington correspondent Jessica Gardner on the Pacific defence deals and what to expect when Albanese sits down with Donald Trump. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: Trump and Albanese meet, as PM finally lands White House visit Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese met at a UN reception in New York as it was confirmed they would finally sit down together at the White House next month. China looms large over PM’s embarrassing setback Australi...
Chanticleer columnist James Thomson and banking reporter Angira Bharadwaj on ANZ’s overhaul, why banks are cutting jobs and whether management has lost control of the message. This podcast is sponsored by Acenda Further reading: ANZ’s pragmatic deal for ‘betraying’ Australia deserves no applause ANZ has stitched up a pragmatic settlement with ASIC to give Nuno Matos room to launch his reset. But it shouldn’t distract from what has been shabby governance. ‘It’s long overdue’: The cull wiping out ...
NSW political correspondent Paul Karp and deputy property editor Michael Bleby on the political leaders declaring war on NIMBYs, whether it will help the country meet its housing supply target and why the bigger problem might be a tradie deficit. This podcast is sponsored by CMC Markets Further reading: How the Woollahra development could redraw politics in Sydney’s east Urban infill doesn’t just reshape the local environment; it can change the political landscape as well. NSW planning minister ...
Rupert Murdoch's eldest son has finally secured control of the family’s sprawling media empire in a multi-billion dollar settlement with his siblings. Media reporter Sam Buckingham-Jones gives his take on the deal that ends a bitter succession battle. This podcast is sponsored by CMC Markets Further reading: Lachlan Murdoch takes family media empire, paying siblings $5b to exit The deal brings to an end almost two years of bitter legal wranglings over control, cementing Rupert Murdoch’s eldest s...
This week on The Fin, workplace correspondent David Marin-Guzman discusses the test case of a compliance company that has been spying on its staff, what it means for work from home and how AI will affect the future of surveillance. This podcast is sponsored by CMC Markets Further reading: Company turned laptops into covert recording devices to monitor WFH Safetrac says it needed to track work-from-home staff for underperformance, but some employees say the surveillance went too far and police ar...
Political editor Phillip Coorey on the debt bomb facing the next generation, the ‘Braveheart ’situation in parliament and the Iran-led attacks in Australia. This podcast is sponsored by CMC Markets Further reading: The VW, the tobacco kingpin, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Sloppy criminals who reused a stolen car for arson attacks on a synagogue and nightclub led spies to uncover a state-sponsored campaign of terror. PM had no choice but to act after explosive Iran revelations After years of re...
This week on The Fin podcast: senior writer Greg Bearup on why the Mormon Church is buying up vast tracts of Australian farmland and whether it’s in the national interest. This podcast is sponsored by CMC Markets Further reading: Mormon church’s $490m spending spree exposes trade deal blind spot Farmers fear the American church could change the face of Australian agriculture. The chequebook of Mormon: $500m on Australian farms in six months With its immense resources, the US-based Mormon church ...
This week on The Fin podcast: senior writer Myriam Robin on how worried we should be about declining fertility rates, whether they could and should be reversed and why politicians in Australia are so reluctant to talk about it. This podcast is sponsored by CMC Markets Further reading: Can Australia escape the global fertility crisis? Not too long ago, the world was worried about runaway population growth. But with birth rates falling too fast, the scramble is on to avoid the demographic crunch. ...
This week on The Fin podcast: senior reporter Jemima Whyte and associate editor Joyce Moullakis on whether Macquarie has lost its edge, who might be in line to take over the top job and what happens when you threaten the pay packets of a millionaires’ factory. Further reading: Macquarie scrambled to lobby proxy firms ahead of fraught AGM The company made the highly unusual move to understand if major investors would reject executive pay plans as it dealt with a backlash. Glenn Stevens feels the ...
This week on The Fin, Technology editor Paul Smith talks about his interview with Altman and reveals what it would take for the AI chief to pull the plug. Further reading: What OpenAI’s Sam Altman suggests you do to keep your job The race is on to build machines that can outthink humans. The tech founder in charge of ChatGPT says there is one thing that would make him stop. ‘Try the future’: New ChatGPT AI agents promise to do your jobs Drawing on three pre-existing OpenAI products, ChatGPT Agen...
