There's a shadow world beneath Canberra, fed by the defence, foreign affairs and security communities, and it is hugely influential in how the government responds to our biggest geopolitical challenges. Margaret Simons has spent decades keeping a close eye on this world. Recently, the story of one think tank, China Matters, caught her attention. The group, dedicated to bettering Australia’s understanding of China, was defunded during a time of aggressive posturing towards the superpower and talk...
Jul 09, 2024•16 min•Ep 1288•Transcript available on Metacast If you pick up a copy of The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald , you’ll see the tagline ‘Independent. Always.’ under the masthead. Now, as journalists at those papers reel from an announcement that Nine Entertainment is slashing 200 jobs across the company, some are wondering if they’re being targeted for the papers’ recent coverage of Nine’s troubled culture. Are the cuts payback for certain papers being too independent? Today, National Correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on why A...
Jul 08, 2024•15 min•Ep 1287•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump’s lead in the polls for the 2024 presidential race has widened following a fumbling debate performance from Joe Biden, and concerns about the President’s age. With the increasing likelihood of a second Trump presidency, attention is now turning to his potential governing agenda. The blueprint, called Project 2025, is more than 900 pages long and includes calls to sack thousands of civil servants, expand presidential power, and dismantle federal agencies. Today, senior researcher at ...
Jul 07, 2024•19 min•Ep 1286•Transcript available on Metacast George Saunders is one of literary fiction's most acclaimed living writers. Along with his many collections of short stories, he also published the Booker Prize-winning novel Lincoln in the Bardo . To celebrate Read This' first birthday, we're bringing you Michael Williams' interview with George Saunders. They talk about his life and career and the three words that made him a writer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 06, 2024•31 min•Ep 1285•Transcript available on Metacast Smut Clyde spends several hours every day, scouring online science journals for suspicious-looking research. He’s part of a growing team of online ‘science sleuths’, combating the rising number of fake research papers being published. These papers are typically generated, with the help of AI, by ‘paper mills’: a cottage industry relying on overworked and desperate researchers to fuel their profit. Today, 7am producer and journalist Cheyne Anderson on how this epidemic of fraudulent research is i...
Jul 04, 2024•19 min•Ep 1284•Transcript available on Metacast When people think of the CFMEU, Australia’s powerful and fearsome construction union, they picture its top dog, John Setka. But as he prepares to step down from the union’s Victorian branch, Setka’s legacy is overshadowed by his brutality. Many current and former colleagues think his leadership was poisonous to the union, and that he may have even destroyed it. Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper Martin Mckenzie-Murray on the power and legacy of CFMEU boss, John Setka, and what comes n...
Jul 03, 2024•18 min•Ep 1283•Transcript available on Metacast Sebastien Lai woke up one morning in 2020 to find dozens of missed phone calls – his father, the Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, had just been arrested. Sebastien is in Australia now, trying to convince our political leaders to advocate for his dad’s release from a Hong Kong prison. Today on the show, Sebastien Lai tells the story of how his father Jimmy went from media mogul to political prisoner and what this means for journalistic freedom in Hong Kong. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twit...
Jul 02, 2024•17 min•Ep 1282•Transcript available on Metacast In high-security labs, from Silicon Valley to mainland China, researchers are racing to be the first to achieve what has been dubbed ‘Q-day’. On that day, all encryption and security could be laid bare – the deepest plans of militaries around the world, our medical records and private encrypted conversations could all be exposed. The internet could essentially break. Q-day, after all, is the day the most powerful machine yet comes online: the first fault-free quantum computer. Today, special cor...
Jul 01, 2024•16 min•Ep 1281•Transcript available on Metacast By the end of this week, the United Kingdom will almost certainly have a new prime minister and closure on 14 years of Tory leadership. One man in particular is working very hard to prevent that, and it’s not the current Tory leader. Since it kicked off with a bizarre, rain-soaked announcement, Rishi Sunak’s election campaign has been marked by ineptitude, misstep and ignorance. Today, veteran UK correspondent and contributor to The Saturday Paper Paola Totaro on the stratospheric rise of the yo...
Jun 30, 2024•18 min•Ep 1280•Transcript available on Metacast Over the past few months, there’s been a lot of focus on universities’ relationships with weapons manufacturers. Students set up encampments and occupied buildings, arguing that their unis are complicit in the assault on Gaza and demanding more transparency from their universities’ administrators. But, as writer and contributor to The Saturday Paper , Anna Krien started investigating the defence money flowing into education, she was shocked to find weapons companies are also tied to schools, sha...
Jun 27, 2024•18 min•Ep 1279•Transcript available on Metacast Julian Assange has finally landed in Australia, a free man. Today, his brother Gabriel Shipton on how the deal to release the long-incarcerated WikiLeaks founder came together. National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe explains what comes next. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Julian Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton; national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 26, 2024•19 min•Ep 1278•Transcript available on Metacast Meredith Whittaker turned her back on Google after raising concerns about the mass surveillance fueling AI, but she didn’t leave tech entirely. The former AI whistleblower is now the President of Signal, a messaging app that keeps conversations encrypted – used by journalists, whistleblowers, drug dealers, militants and others who want to keep communications secure. So why did she blow the whistle on Google? Is privacy the answer to AI? Or does privacy cause just as much harm as surveillance? To...
Jun 25, 2024•18 min•Ep 1277•Transcript available on Metacast Back in 2016, when Donald Trump was elected President, the Australian government was caught off guard. The then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called golfing legend Greg Norman just to get Trump’s phone number. This time around, the government is taking the prospect of a second Trump presidency seriously and has begun making preparations for it. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on what the government thinks Trump 2.0 could mean for Australia and the safety me...
Jun 24, 2024•16 min•Ep 1276•Transcript available on Metacast Once upon a time, Australians were told Pine Gap was a space base. Then we were told it was a weather station. But now, of course, we know the installation deep in the Northern Territory outback is a US spy base. Which isn’t to say it’s any less secretive – we still don’t know a huge amount about what goes on there. We do know it’s likely America’s biggest offshore spy base and that it gathers critical intelligence about current conflicts.Now, we also know that it’s undergone a rapid expansion. ...
Jun 23, 2024•18 min•Ep 1275•Transcript available on Metacast For 31 years, there has been a rivalry – drawing on a divide so inherent and base – that it pits mate against mate. We’re not talking about State of Origin, we’re talking about the Reclink Community Cup. The football contest began in Melbourne, but is now held in cities across the country – with the Rockdogs, a team of not-so-athletic musicians, taking on the Megahertz, a band of various music media personalities. The winner claims the bragging rights. Today, 2024 co-captain of the Rockdogs Anna...
Jun 22, 2024•14 min•Ep 1274•Transcript available on Metacast Nuclear power has been politically toxic in this country for decades. It’s been 55 years since a leader went to a federal election promising to build reactors and won. But Peter Dutton is hoping to do just that. And as unlikely as it sounds, he’s convincing people. A little over ten years ago, 62 per cent of Australians opposed nuclear power. Today, polls show the majority support it. So how is a policy so beset with challenges and criticism winning people over? Today, columnist for The Saturday...
Jun 20, 2024•17 min•Ep 1273•Transcript available on Metacast There’s been another strike against whistleblowing. Richard Boyle was a tax office employee when he raised concerns internally about a scheme to garnish overdue taxes directly from people’s bank accounts. When that didn’t work, he told journalists. A court in Adelaide yesterday upheld a ruling that he’s not a whistleblower – which means he now has no defence for leaking that confidential information. Today, Macquarie University professor of journalism and whistleblower advocate Peter Greste on w...
Jun 19, 2024•17 min•Ep 1272•Transcript available on Metacast There’s no nice way to put it: Australian childcare is broken, and not just for those with children. It’s prohibitively expensive, getting the days you’re after is like winning the lottery and if you do get some government subsidy, you have the pleasure of hours on the phone to Centrelink. We’re at a critical point though. The government has promised a huge overhaul of the system and the prime minister is considering reducing the cost to just $10 per kid, per day. Today, CEO of The Parenthood Ge...
Jun 18, 2024•15 min•Ep 1271•Transcript available on Metacast Peter Costello’s legacy was set. He was the longest serving treasurer in Australian history and under the then prime minister John Howard, he transformed our economy into what it is today. That was until he appeared to push a journalist asking pesky questions at Canberra Airport earlier this month and all of it was caught on camera. Three days later, he resigned as Chair of Nine amid a storm of scrutiny around its workplace culture. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Secco...
Jun 17, 2024•17 min•Ep 1270•Transcript available on Metacast Barely a week goes by when the Department of Home Affairs isn’t under the blowtorch of media or political scrutiny. In one way, the level of scrutiny is to be expected. When a department is so huge it takes in security, intelligence, immigration and policing functions, with some 14,000 staff under the one secretary – it’s inevitable. The question is, should one department have so much power? Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow on the inner workings of the sup...
Jun 16, 2024•16 min•Ep 1269•Transcript available on Metacast Two years ago, on the day after the Labor government was sworn into office, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen called a press conference. In those very first remarks, the new minister said the climate wars were over. Some scoffed at the time. There were still plenty of political fights to be had over how Australia would reach net zero – but there was nonetheless a belief that Australia would move forward with climate policy. This week that changed. Today, columnist for The Saturd...
Jun 13, 2024•16 min•Ep 1268•Transcript available on Metacast The US has a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, and this one seems to be gathering momentum. It’s not much different to the previous plans, except that it’s backed by the UN Security Council. The council’s resolution says Israel has accepted the deal, and Hamas has welcomed its adoption, but it hasn’t been signed. So, why not? What’s preventing an agreement on a ceasefire? Today, senior foreign affairs reporter for the Huffington Post Akbar Shahid Ahmed on whether Gaza is any closer to a ceasefir...
Jun 12, 2024•20 min•Ep 1267•Transcript available on Metacast If you were a public service chief picking a firm to run ethics training, would one of the big four consulting firms be your first pick? They have faced intense scrutiny both in the media and in a recent senate inquiry, which will today release its report with recommendations to keep the private consultancy sector in check. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on what the crackdown might entail and why the public service still thinks a consulting firm is best pla...
Jun 11, 2024•18 min•Ep 1266•Transcript available on Metacast Australia is about to receive a visit from the most senior Chinese leader we've had on our shores in almost a decade. But this visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang comes at an interesting time for China. President Xi Jingping is contending with economic stumbles and looming sanctions, making his vision for the future more precarious than ever. So what is going on inside Xi's inner circle? And what message will Xi’s close political ally bring with him when he lands in Australia? Today, contributor t...
Jun 10, 2024•16 min•Ep 1265•Transcript available on Metacast When the robodebt royal commission’s final report landed, it was scathing. It condemned the entire scheme, the individuals who rolled it out and the government culture that enabled it. The commissioner went to significant lengths to refer six people to the then very fresh National Anti-Corruption Commission. But last week, the NACC decided to drop the investigation, essentially saying it had nothing to add. So, what’s the motivation behind this shift? Why not take a swing at the architects of su...
Jun 09, 2024•18 min•Ep 1264•Transcript available on Metacast Over 90 years ago, a Swiss astrophysicist theorised there was an unseen, unobservable force that sits behind the universe we know. He called it ‘dark matter’, and today we’re not much closer to understanding it than he was. But that could be about to change, as a group of Australian researchers are part of our most promising effort yet to uncover the nature of this unseen force Today, Atticus Bastow will read his piece, ‘The search for dark matter’ from The Saturday Paper . Socials: Stay in touc...
Jun 08, 2024•16 min•Ep 1263•Transcript available on Metacast There’s an issue exposing fault lines within our political parties and pitting their traditional supporters against each other, fracturing the electorate. That issue is the new ban on vapes, which is set to pass parliament at the end of the month. The Albanese government’s proposed ban is putting pressure on the Coalition, which has already been losing ground with professional women tired of catching their kids with a vape, while the Greens fear they will alienate their younger voters if they op...
Jun 06, 2024•17 min•Ep 1262•Transcript available on Metacast There’s been a slow but steady reckoning on sexual harassment and discrimination in workplaces across Australia. That reckoning should have already come to the most high-profile workplace in the country – Parliament House. But several years on from the Jenkins report, has the culture really changed? Today, chief political correspondent The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, on the challenges of policing parliamentarians and why alcohol is so ingrained in political culture. Socials: Stay in touch with ...
Jun 05, 2024•17 min•Ep 1261•Transcript available on Metacast There are two things to know about the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The first is that it makes an immense difference to many lives across Australia. The second is that it’s wildly expensive and is projected to cost even more in the future. So, how to reconcile those two realities? It’s what the government is trying to solve with a new piece of legislation that’s been shrouded in secrecy for months – but some in the sector say this legislation could hand government authorities more power...
Jun 04, 2024•20 min•Ep 1260•Transcript available on Metacast Many Australians have an idea of New Caledonia. It’s just two hours away by plane and is sold to travellers with images of luxurious hotel complexes and pristine beaches. But riots in the capital, a state of emergency and the intervention of the French military have been reminders that the future of New Caledonia is a fraught political question sitting on our doorstep. So, what provoked the unrest? How are we involved? And why are the French still trying to hold on to a Pacific nation? Today, jo...
Jun 03, 2024•19 min•Ep 1259•Transcript available on Metacast 
