Well, they fight, they break up, they kiss, they make up. Never before have the lyrics of a Katy Perry song been more relevant to federal politics. After last week’s shock split, this week the Coalition got back together again. But at what cost? What compromises have been made on both sides? And will the Nats and the Libs be able to work constructively together after all the drama? Meanwhile, Labor is moving ahead with plans to hike taxes on super accounts of more than $3 million, and Anthony Al...
May 29, 2025•25 min
American debt is growing, fast . As we record this, the United States federal government has borrowed about 36.2 TRILLION American dollars in order to cover its expenses. But, by the time you hear this - that is, less than 24 hours since recording - it will have shot past this. OK, I can hear you asking: So what? Why should we care? What does it matter to us if Donald Trump has a bill passed that will add another three trillion dollars to that debt, as he’s hoping? Because these figures point to...
May 28, 2025•17 min
A few years ago, Australia earned the unenviable title of allergy capital of the world. This could well have been true, with a World Allergy Organisation review finding Australia had the highest rate of food allergies for children under five. But since then, something happened to turn allergy advice on its head, and parents have been introducing allergens to children at a far younger age than they used to. So, where are we at now? Explainer reporter Jackson Graham is here with us today to discus...
May 27, 2025•18 min
Shootings in a warring criminal underworld is not a particularly new thing for cities such as Sydney. This type of violence exploded almost two decades ago with the advent of the gang, Brothers For Life, whose method of choice claimed the lives of multiple gang members and seriously injured innocent people in the crossfire. But the violence did slow down once major gang figures had either been killed or placed behind bars. That is until recently, when, as crime reporter Perry Duffin writes, once...
May 26, 2025•16 min
Renowned author Colm Tóibín's international bestseller Brooklyn deals with the agonies of trying to adapt to the customs of a strange new land. When we meet main character Eilis Lacey 20 years later, in Tóibín’s latest novel, Long Island, she again grapples with the pull of her home country Ireland. So what does Tóibín make of our yearning to belong, and how it can twist us internally? How it can drive otherwise rational people to damn entire groups of people? In this special episode, Tóibín, wh...
May 25, 2025•25 min
It was high drama this week with the Nationals telling the Liberals they wanted a political divorce. But by Thursday, the separation – like a marriage on the rocks – was placed on hold while further conversations took place. So what happened? And what’s going to be better for both parties, and the political health of the nation? To discuss the drama in this special early episode of Inside Politics, chief political commentator James Massola, and political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos join h...
May 22, 2025•16 min
For decades, global sporting events like the Olympics and the Tour de France have been rocked by doping scandals that elicited a collective gasp. If the odd athlete used performance enhancing drugs, how was this a fair test of athletic greatness? But there’s a new event that will turn all of that on its head, where athletes will compete while intentionally on performance enhancing drugs. The “enhanced games”, as they’re called, will take place in Las Vegas next year. The prize money has already ...
May 21, 2025•16 min
We know, we know, Donald Trump has gone gangbusters in the Middle east, inking hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deals left, right and centre. But hidden within all the details about Trump’s whirlwind trip - the Qatari jet, his bromance with the Saudi crown prince - is one deal that you might have missed. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher, on Donald Trump’s microchip deal with the UAE government. Its inherent risks, for the world. And potential opportunity, for Aust...
May 20, 2025•21 min
From afar, many of us saw the odd agitator pop up on the federal election campaign trail, where they yelled at politicians, or others, like an indigenous elder on Anzac Day. They looked like the actions of random ratbags. But watching on was crime reporter, Sherryn Groch, who discovered something unusual. A small but sophisticated group of people, involved in many of these incidents, had links to Neo-Nazis. Today, Groch joins me to discuss the rise of neo-nazis in Australia. And the steps they’r...
May 19, 2025•15 min
40/20 is a brand new NRL podcast from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. During this year's State of Origin and Finals series we'll be breaking down the biggest stories from across the game with the best journalists and NRL insiders from around the country. We'll be giving you press pass access as we breakdown the latest news, controversy and performances from the biggest matches in the Rugby League calendar. To listen to our episodes as soon as they drop follow 40/20 wherever you listen to ...
May 19, 2025•47 sec
It is one of life’s agonising scenarios; your puppy gets hit by a car. Or your cat develops a tumour. Of course, you want the best care. But what if you’re being quoted $10,000? Or more? And why do prices vary so much from vet to vet? Today, senior reporter Henrietta Cook and national science reporter Liam Mannix on why veterinary bills have skyrocketed over the last few years. And the people who have to sell their furniture, or struggle to make rent, in order to care for their beloved pets. Sub...
May 18, 2025•16 min
Newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joins chief political correspondent David Crowe and federal political reporter Paul Sakkal for an exclusive interview on Inside Politics. They chat about the new Labor cabinet, Albanese's thumping mandate, plans for the term ahead and a new phrase the prime minister is trying out - progressive patriotism. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 15, 2025•27 min
In this time of political and economic chaos, we arguably need our allies more than ever. So let’s cut to Tuesday evening, when prime minister Anthony Albanese flew to Indonesia, to meet its president, Prabowo Subianto. It was notable; Albanese’s first overseas trip since being re-elected. But recent waves of protests against Subianto have erupted in the country, amidst fears that the president is taking Indonesia back to its authoritarian past. Today, international and political editor Peter Ha...
May 14, 2025•20 min
For years, Sean “Diddy” Combs was a music mogul unlike any other; once described as a “zeitgeist-dominating colossus” who helped hip hop become a global cultural force. But peppered throughout his years of living to extraordinary excess, were allegations of violence, and misconduct. He managed to escape much time in custody, until September, when he became inmate 37452-054 at a Brooklyn detention centre, after he was charged with federal crimes. Today, we speak to North America correspondent Mic...
May 13, 2025•22 min
The Pope may seem like a distant figure. But the newest one has wasted no time making waves. It’s not just the social media posts riffing on what vibe a Pope who originally hails from the south side of Chicago might bring to the Vatican. Because, even before Pope Leo the 14th slid the Papal ring on his finger on Friday, he launched something of an attack on American vice president JD Vance, angering many within the MAGA movement. And in Australia? Many Catholics have already begun questioning ho...
May 12, 2025•18 min
For nearly 20 years, Besha Rodell has used all kinds of schemes to hide who she is. And it worked. As a renowned, anonymous food critic for The New York Times, the LA Times and our mastheads, she has stripped away the artifice and marketing from restaurants’ offering, in order to judge their real value, and in doing so, she’s reached the top of her industry, earning a James Beard Foundation Award - the so-called Oscar of the food world. Today, Besha Rodell joins me to discuss why she’s unmasking...
May 11, 2025•23 min
It will go down as one of the most resounding victories in Australian political history. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese out-performed the expectations of just about everyone last weekend, decimating the Liberal party to the extent where even its leader lost his own seat. So, what next for Labor? As the caucus gathers in Canberra on Friday, we look at the new faces in the team and discuss which are the ones to watch. Also, we try to decide whether the teals have gone backwards or consolidated po...
May 08, 2025•24 min
Since the Liberal Party’s election wipeout, Liberals, and their media allies, have turned to sources of conservative wisdom, including Margaret Thatcher , in search of guidance. But, as our political and international editor, Peter Hartcher, writes: “I haven’t seen any of them citing Thatcher’s 1975 observation: ‘In politics if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman'." Today, Peter Hartcher joins me to discuss when the Liberal Party’s women problem first began....
May 07, 2025•18 min
This election was always going to be the test for the Greens. For the first time, there were more young people voting than baby boomers, and the previous election had shown there was strong support for the party from younger voters. And, the thinking had for so long been that any election after a Labor government’s first time, would be the party’s moment. So what happened to the Greens this election? Today, national affairs editor James Massola argues the Greens’ dream of more seats turned, inst...
May 06, 2025•17 min
Peter Dutton was full of bravado at the final question time before the election, but hiding in plain sight was a campaign about to go off the rails. Today, political reporters Matthew Knott and Natassia Chrysanthos give the inside story on the demise of the Dutton campaign, and the recriminations that now follow. Read their full story here. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 05, 2025•19 min
Anthony Albanese has defied the so-called “Incumbency curse” and made history with his astonishing landslide over the weekend. But, as they say in politics: That’s nice. What’s next? Might he finally tackle big reform? Perhaps try and solve our housing crisis, which has been generations in the making? And what else might he have in his sights? Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe, and senior economics correspondent, Shane Wright, on whether Anthony Albanese will avoid a common mistak...
May 04, 2025•20 min
Well, that was quick, about two and a half hours after the polls had closed, the election had already been called for the incumbent Labor government. But as the night went on, Anthony Albanese’s win was looking like a landslide, and Labor increased its majority in parliament. For the opposition, it was disastrous, its leader Peter Dutton has lost his seat in parliament and recriminations will surely be savage. To talk us through the results and what it all means, we speak to chief political corr...
May 03, 2025•25 min
Today we bring you a special episode recorded in the south-west Victorian electorate of Wannon. The seat encompasses tourist towns from Lorne along the Great Ocean Road, to Warrnambool. And who better to tell the evolving story of Wannon than our associate editor and special writer Tony Wright. He was born in Heywood, grew up on sheep and cattle properties in the Western District, went to school in Hamilton, started his career in small newspapers in Portland, Warrnambool and Camperdown, and stil...
May 01, 2025•18 min
Well, it’s finally here. Saturday is election day, and by Saturday night we will have some idea of who is going to govern Australia for the next three years, during this volatile and pivotal moment in global history. Today, we talk about the seats to watch on election night, the ones that will determine the outcome of the poll. And we will also zoom out to the bigger picture. Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have depicted duelling visions of the Australia they want to build. They also have shar...
May 01, 2025•23 min
Have your kids met Dot yet? You might not think so; Dot is an AI companion. But these companions are becoming ubiquitous - sought after to provide everything from solace to friendship. And even love. “The vibe”, said Dot’s creator Jason Yuan, “is, you turn to Dot when you don’t know where to go, or what to do or say.” But reports are surfacing of disastrous consequences from relationships that people, including children, are forming with AI companions. Today, international and political editor, ...
Apr 30, 2025•21 min
We bring you this bonus episode today, on Wednesday April 30th, after the first day of what’s become known as the mushroom trial. This is the case that centres around a quiet country lunch that resulted in three people dead, and another fighting for life, after the food they ate contained - as a jury was told - death cap mushrooms. To tell us what unfolded in court today, we’re joined by The Age’s court reporter Erin Pearson. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omny...
Apr 30, 2025•14 min
It’s never happened in Australia. But should we have a federal Minister for Men? Dan Repacholi, a Federal Labor MP, who is currently campaigning for re-relection, says it’s a “no-brainer”. He knows how taboo it is. That to promote the idea risks him being labeled anti-woman. But tragedies and struggles in Repacholi’s electorate - and his own experience - have convinced him of the need to speak out.Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent, Matthew Knott, on the movement across t...
Apr 29, 2025•22 min
Salmon farming is not something most voters consider when they go to the polls on election day. But for Tasmanian voters, it is a huge and often divisive issue. This debate about the environmental effects of salmon farming is playing out in an election where any other discussion of the environment is pretty much non-existent. Which is curious because energy policy goes hand-in-hand with the environment and that is a decisive topic of this election. It’s also curious that the federal environment ...
Apr 29, 2025•21 min
For decades, modern-day Welcome to Country ceremonies have been an established ritual in Australia, performed by Indigenous elders, far and wide. But on Anzac Day last Friday, during the hush of the dawn service remembering war veterans, Bunurong and Gunditjmara elder Mark Brown was booed, and jeered at, while performing the ceremony in Melbourne. And then that night, a planned Welcome to Country ceremony was ditched at a high-profile sporting event. Today, federal politics reporter Natassia Cry...
Apr 28, 2025•16 min
K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, is one of Australia’s natural wonders and every year, almost half a million people enjoy its wild and sprawling environment. But as visitor numbers swell, the question of how tourists coexist with some of the island’s oldest residents, the dingo, becomes more important. Twenty four years after a nine-year-old boy was fatally mauled by two dingoes on K’gari, strategies to manage the animal - and humans - haven’t stopped attacks from occurring. Today, we sp...
Apr 27, 2025•21 min
