Donald Trump’s conviction in a New York courthouse has led to furious reactions from his supporters and allies. A presidential candidate has never been convicted of a felony during their campaign and that historic first is just the latest uncertainty thrown into an already fractious election campaign. So, could things combust? Has the risk of political violence just gone up? Today, senior researcher at The Australia Institute Dr Emma Shortis, on the mind-boggling logistics and the risk of violen...
Jun 02, 2024•17 min•Ep 1259•Transcript available on Metacast Some non-Australian citizens facing deportation for convictions of serious crimes like domestic violence and child sexual abuse are managing to hang onto their visas and stay in the country. It’s sparked fierce debate in Canberra this week, as both sides of parliament attempt to answer one question – who is to blame? So, why are non-citizens in Australia being allowed to stay after they have served their time? Why are tribunals finding they shouldn’t be deported? And is the system working? Today...
May 30, 2024•18 min•Ep 1258•Transcript available on Metacast Nine years ago, the Liberal Party said it was aiming for gender parity by 2025. Since then, the number of Liberal women in parliaments across the country has actually fallen. And it’s costing the party seats in the federal parliament, with professional women abandoning the party in droves – often in favour of the teal independents. Now, with another election approaching, the Liberals have a fresh batch of candidates. Some of them look and speak like teals, but will it be enough to win back scept...
May 29, 2024•18 min•Ep 1257•Transcript available on Metacast As many as 2000 people have been buried under rubble and dirt after a landslide in Papua New Guinea’s remote highlands this week. Video released days later showing locals digging with their hands is a reminder of how difficult disaster response is in a country that’s just four kilometres from the top of Australia. The PNG highlands are an inaccessible and dangerous part of the world. Now, after a natural disaster, conditions are even worse. Today, senior lecturer at the Centre for Advancing Jour...
May 28, 2024•18 min•Ep 1256•Transcript available on Metacast There are currently a number of running campaigns concerned about the effects of social media on young people. These effects include exposure to harmful content to mental health issues, cyberbullying, depression and even suicide. And the proposed solution is to simply ban anyone under the age of 16 from social media for their own protection. But how realistic is that solution? And would it even work? Today, chief anchor and managing director of 6 News Australia Leo Puglisi on what he thinks of t...
May 27, 2024•18 min•Ep 1255•Transcript available on Metacast Here’s a question for you: can you place a value on lost cultural heritage, on separation from land and on families divided? It’s not only a moral quandary. The Federal Court is currently trying to calculate how much compensation is owed in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Yindjibarndi Traditional Owners have been locked in a long-running legal battle with Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group and the WA government over what the Federal Court ruled was illegal mining on their land. Today, c...
May 26, 2024•17 min•Ep 1254•Transcript available on Metacast The 2024 Euros are just weeks away – with some of the best footballers in the world competing in an event that draws in hundreds of millions of viewers. But the legacy of the last Euros is still an uncomfortable topic for many in England. Not only because they lost, but also the scenes of violence and hooliganism that led to a national debate and a new Netflix documentary. Today, journalist Martin McKenzie-Murray reads his piece from this weekend’s edition of The Saturday Paper. Socials: Stay in...
May 25, 2024•19 min•Ep 1253•Transcript available on Metacast On Monday, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan announced he would apply for arrest warrants for senior Hamas leaders as well as Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant. So, how did the ICC’s prosecutor come to the point of applying for arrest warrants? What happens next? And can international law survive the scrutiny it’s now under? Today, expert in international law and professor at the University of California Davis Chimene Keitner...
May 23, 2024•20 min•Ep 1252•Transcript available on Metacast The members of this federal Labor government have been pretty disciplined on not publicly criticising party policy. So it raised a few eyebrows when MPs from inner-city seats took aim at the government’s Future Gas Strategy. The plan pumps up gas as a vital part of the energy transition through to 2050 and beyond, which is at odds with moves to get households off gas as quickly as possible. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe, on what’s behind the gas plan and why ...
May 22, 2024•17 min•Ep 1251•Transcript available on Metacast Julian Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, describes the long, meandering court process Assange has faced as “punishment by process”. Just this week, in a decision that may have saved Assange from being immediately extradited to the United States, the British High Court ruled it will hear one more appeal against his extradition – but not until later this year. The only other literal get-out-of-jail card for Assange is if the US drops the charges against him. Today, Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Rob...
May 21, 2024•15 min•Ep 1250•Transcript available on Metacast When observing the Al Roj refugee camp in Northern Syria on Google Maps, you can see it’s only a few hundred metres away from an airport tarmac. But for the 40 Australian citizens stranded at the camp – with no water, electricity or any real plan for the future – getting on a plane home could still be years away. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on why the government seems to have abandoned its plans to bring them home. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitt...
May 20, 2024•16 min•Ep 1249•Transcript available on Metacast If you’ve bought salmon at the supermarket, there’s a strong chance it came from Tasmania. The island state is home to a billion-dollar salmon farming industry and much of it is located at Macquarie Harbour. That harbour is where Booker Prize-winning author Richard Flanagan grew up. But it’s also home to a 60-million-year-old creature whose fate appears to be the first Australian species to be wiped off the face of the earth during this federal government. Today, writer and contributor to The Mo...
May 19, 2024•18 min•Ep 1248•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jim Chalmers delivered what could be the most politically significant budget of his career – with the future of a Labor government and the country’s cost of living crisis on the line. Today, he joins 7am to discuss his vision for Australia’s economy and whether the government has done enough to end the living crisis. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Treasurer of Australia, Dr Jim Chalmers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 16, 2024•19 min•Ep 1247•Transcript available on Metacast It’s a budget we’ll be talking about for a long time, as we head to the next election and try to escape the cost of living crisis. But even though the budget is only 36 hours old, we’re starting to see the early criticisms from rival politicians emerge. So, has Labor spent enough to ease the cost of living? Or spent too much? And do the critics have plans of their own that would actually benefit Australians? Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on where the battle lines are bei...
May 15, 2024•16 min•Ep 1246•Transcript available on Metacast Jim Chalmers delivered what could be the most important budget of his political career last night. But how much will it help with the cost of living and how will we feel the impact? Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow on the budget that’s attempting to reshape Australia’s response to the living crisis. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper , Karen Barlow See omnystudio.com/listener ...
May 14, 2024•16 min•Ep 1245•Transcript available on Metacast It’s budget week, which means crunch time for the leaders tasked with tackling how expensive Australia is right now. And the thing we’re all talking about is our grocery bills, why food seems to cost more each time we visit the supermarket. Today, national affairs correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on what some call the great price gouge and whether the government is doing enough to address the rising cost of putting food on our plates. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter a...
May 13, 2024•19 min•Ep 1244•Transcript available on Metacast This week, as the federal budget is handed down, we’re bringing you The Cost: Inside the living crisis. We’ll explore the impact this crisis is having on our country, why it just isn’t ending and whether our leaders are doing enough to protect our standard of living. Today, executive director of the Australia Institute Richard Denniss on when prices will finally stop going up – and the kind of country we risk becoming once the crisis is finally over. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and...
May 12, 2024•20 min•Ep 1243•Transcript available on Metacast The tasering of a 95-year-old grandmother, the double-murder of a Surry Hills couple, the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial and now the spike in domestic violence. These are some of the biggest stories in Australia over the past 12 months, and all of them have drawn in one very powerful woman – Karen Webb, the commissioner of the NSW Police Force. The veteran cop has found herself at press conferences and interviews having to defend herself and the force to a national audience. Today, senior repor...
May 09, 2024•19 min•Ep 1242•Transcript available on Metacast One of Australia’s favourite shows has a contentious sponsor this year. MasterChef , a show that delivers fairytale stories of home cooks rising to national celebrity, is being supported by the gas industry. So what does big gas want with MasterChef ? And what are they paying for? Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe, on the fight over the future of our kitchens and whether the gas industry can survive their next major elimination challenge. Socials: Stay in touch w...
May 08, 2024•18 min•Ep 1241•Transcript available on Metacast Israeli airstrikes are targeting the southernmost city in Gaza and tanks have been seen entering the outskirts of the city. Rafah was once the last safe haven in Gaza, where civilians fleeing Israeli bombardment had been told to seek refuge. The United States, along with international allies, have long pushed for Israel not to invade the city. Today, Middle East correspondent for The Economist Gregg Carlstrom, on Rafah and what it would take to clinch a last-ditch ceasefire deal. Socials: Stay i...
May 07, 2024•16 min•Ep 1240•Transcript available on Metacast It’s a small mystery in Australian politics: Why was Peter Dutton’s first major policy as opposition leader a promise to build nuclear power plants? On the surface, it doesn’t seem like an obvious vote winner and early polling shows most Australians are yet to be convinced. But this may be less about votes and more about holding the Coalition together, with the help of a lobby group most of us have never heard of. Today, investigative journalist and contributor to The Monthly Marian Wilkinson on...
May 06, 2024•19 min•Ep 1239•Transcript available on Metacast In recent years, Australia has faced a reckoning over the actions of some of our special forces soldiers, who have gone from decorated heroes to murderers accused of horrific war crimes against civilians. David McBride is the former military lawyer who first gave journalists documentary evidence of civilian killings in Afghanistan. To his supporters he’s a war crimes whistleblower, but detractors say that was never his motivation. During a secretive national security trial, he pleaded guilty to ...
May 05, 2024•19 min•Ep 1238•Transcript available on Metacast Today, writer Angela Savage with her piece from a recent edition of The Monthly. Parents often face the dilemma of helping their children become independent, while not wanting to let them go. Angela’s story, ‘Fledglings’, tells the story of what changes when that moment finally comes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 04, 2024•15 min•Ep 1237•Transcript available on Metacast As Australia demanded answers to the domestic violence crisis, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese became a focal point in all the wrong ways when he got into a confrontation with a rally organiser on Sunday. But this week’s national cabinet meeting with state and territory leaders offered a chance to respond to the community’s concern and produce real solutions. So what solutions came out of that meeting? And will they genuinely help women who face domestic violence? Today, columnist for The Saturd...
May 02, 2024•17 min•Ep 1236•Transcript available on Metacast As Donald Trump zeroed in on his successful 2016 run to the presidency, he began to engage in what is called “catch and kill” journalism. Trump and his lawyers developed relationships with journalists, who were allegedly prepared to track down damaging stories aboutTrump, and then take money to ensure they would never be printed. Today, managing editor of The Saturday Paper Emily Barrett on the Australian who built a reputation as one of the best at “capture and kill” in America – and how he’s e...
May 01, 2024•17 min•Ep 1235•Transcript available on Metacast It feels like hardly a week goes by where we don’t hear about a woman in Australia being killed by a man she knows. Intimate partner deaths increased by almost a third during the last reporting year and early counts by advocacy groups suggest this year is set to be even worse. The spike in killings has led to protests, a national outcry and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declaring that violence against women is a national crisis. Today, author of See What You Made Me Do and journalist Jess Hill...
Apr 30, 2024•19 min•Ep 1234•Transcript available on Metacast There are strict rules around how drug company representatives can interact with doctors to ensure they aren’t influencing how medications are prescribed. But when it comes to expensive medical devices inserted in our bodies during surgery – all sorts of screws, pacemakers and implants – those same rules don’t apply. Medical device sales reps are scrubbed up and working in the operating theatre, even advising surgeons on which products to use. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper...
Apr 29, 2024•15 min•Ep 1233•Transcript available on Metacast There’s an old adage in Canberra: every first-term government gets a second chance. But when voters head to the polls next year, could the current Labor government be an exception? With so many Australians feeling the cost-of-living crisis, and the government facing a slump in the polls, evidence is mounting that Labor will struggle to retain majority government. So what’s its strategy to change course? Today, special correspondent in Canberra for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on why Labo...
Apr 28, 2024•16 min•Ep 1232•Transcript available on Metacast When Australia’s eSafety commissioner issued takedown orders to some of the world’s biggest tech companies at the beginning of this week, the commissioner probably didn’t realise it would put us on the frontline of a global battle over the internet. The orders were aimed at removing the kind of footage social media companies have agreed to remove in the past – but today things are very different, in large part because of Elon Musk. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on why E...
Apr 25, 2024•15 min•Ep 1231•Transcript available on Metacast The wait for elective surgery in our public hospitals is longer than ever, but it seems there’s a way to jump the queue. If you can afford to pay for private care in a public hospital, you might find yourself being offered more perks than just a free bathrobe and some slippers. Today, lawyer and contributor to The Monthly Russell Marks, on whether our public health system is truly fair and what happens when your own child’s health is on the line. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Ins...
Apr 24, 2024•15 min•Ep 1230•Transcript available on Metacast 
