When Bill Shorten finally gave up his hopes of ever becoming prime minister, one door closed and another, much more lucrative, door opened. In his new role as vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra, he could earn up to three times as much as the PM. His appointment comes amid a fight about the exorbitant salaries Australian vice-chancellors receive and as his government's new cap on international students raises big questions about funding shortfalls in higher education. Today, national c...
Sep 17, 2024•16 min•Ep 1348•Transcript available on Metacast When Jim Chalmers said that interest rate hikes were “smashing the economy” he was either stating the obvious or starting a war, depending on who you ask. For weeks – in question time and in the news – a picture has been forming of an aggrieved treasurer, angry at the governor of the Reserve Bank. At the same time, senior unnamed Labor insiders have called Michelle Bullock a “nutter” and the RBA board “weirdos”. But behind the apparent breakdown between the government and the Reserve Bank, there...
Sep 16, 2024•17 min•Ep 1347•Transcript available on Metacast The militia movement in the United States has a long and bloody history. In the aftermath of January 6, it was buoyed by Donald Trump’s praise of those who attacked the Capitol, and the numbers of people wanting to join militia groups grew. With a resurgence in numbers, militia groups are now patrolling the US-Mexico border, forming bonds with active duty police and military and trying to influence the midterm elections. With the presidential election fast approaching, investigative reporter for...
Sep 15, 2024•15 min•Ep 1346•Transcript available on Metacast Star investigative journalist Louise Milligan has spent her career working on some of the most high-profile criminal cases in Australia. This incredible breadth of experience informs her first novel Pheasant’s Nest , which follows the abduction of a young journalist and provides a unique insight into the media, policing and politics that surround a crime like this. On this episode of Read This , Michael sits down with Louise to discuss the leap from reporting to fiction and why writing this book...
Sep 14, 2024•23 min•Ep 1345•Transcript available on Metacast When former inmate Daniel Vansetten heard about the idea of a national newspaper, produced for prisoners and by prisoners, he jumped at the opportunity to be involved. He says the incarceration system in Australia can be an information black hole and About Time intends to rectify that. The free paper is available to approximately 21,000 prisoners in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT. It’s tailored to prison life, and with the ambition to shift information in and out of prisons, hop...
Sep 12, 2024•16 min•Ep 1344•Transcript available on Metacast The United States presidential campaign so far has largely been based on fashioning public perceptions: with the Democrats painting Donald Trump as a threat to democracy, and Republicans calling Kamala Harris a radical Marxist who will destroy America. And with the election just around the corner, their first and possibly only debate was a chance to tell Americans about their visions for the country. So with most polls showing both candidates at a dead heat, did we learn anything about what they...
Sep 11, 2024•20 min•Ep 1343•Transcript available on Metacast Peter Dutton’s first major promise when he became opposition leader was to build nuclear power plants. It was a curious idea with no cost attached and and without much community support, according to polling. Now, the Labor government has signalled it wants the next election to be fought on the viability of these plants, with the release of a new attack ad focusing on how expensive nuclear power would be. Beyond the cost, questions remain about the legality and safety of nuclear power in Austral...
Sep 10, 2024•16 min•Ep 1342•Transcript available on Metacast Politics was changed at the last election in a way the major parties are still grappling with. Now, the record crossbench it delivered looks set to grow even more, with a hung parliament looking ever more likely. In the lead up to the next election, Labor is courting the teals, knowing the relationship could be crucial to forming government and keeping Coalition MPs out of inner-city seats. Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper , Karen Barlow, on Labor’s plan and the fight ...
Sep 09, 2024•14 min•Ep 1341•Transcript available on Metacast The Albanese government’s long-promised National Anti-Corruption Commission was met with high hopes that it would weed out corruption within our institutions and restore faith in politics. But when it came to its first big test – investigating the robodebt scandal – it took the commission a year to decide it would do nothing. Now, there are concerns that the NACC is failing to live up to its obligations and has been marred by silence and secrecy. Today, special correspondent in Canberra for The ...
Sep 08, 2024•16 min•Ep 1340•Transcript available on Metacast Gerald Murnane doesn’t have readers, he has acolytes. The New Yorker described him as “the reclusive giant of Australian letters”. He’s written 10 novels, several collections of short stories and essays, and a memoir about horse racing. Together these books represent one of the most formidable and singular bodies of work in literature. On this episode of Read This , Michael drives out to the Goroke golf course to chat with Gerald on his home turf. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
Sep 07, 2024•34 min•Ep 1339•Transcript available on Metacast Bill Shorten has wanted to be the prime minister since he was a teenager. Yesterday he finally gave up that ambition, announcing his resignation from politics. Shorten spent almost two decades in parliament – rising to be opposition leader and contesting two elections, but never winning. As an architect of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, his legacy is significant. But his political failures have also shaped the country in enduring ways. Today, Schwartz Media’s editor-in-chief Erik Jens...
Sep 05, 2024•15 min•Ep 1338•Transcript available on Metacast At a Senate committee last year, the NRL and Football Australia acknowledged the link between head injuries in contact sports and the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) . But a core member of the NRL’s concussion research group is also one of the most outspoken critics of the link between repeated head injury and CTE, calling it an “invented disease … conjured out of thin air”. His views corroborate the Australian NRL’s multimillion-dollar research program into form...
Sep 04, 2024•18 min•Ep 1337•Transcript available on Metacast Although Australians voted resoundingly against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Thomas Mayo – one of the Voice’s key campaigners – has not given up hope. He says while the “Yes” campaign lost the referendum, what they gained was resilience and a new generation of Indigenous leaders ready to take up the fight. He’s also written a new book , Always Was Always Will Be : The Campaign for Justice and Recognition Continues – outlining a vision for what comes next. Today, Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kal...
Sep 03, 2024•16 min•Ep 1335•Transcript available on Metacast The census is meant to reflect the country back to us – to give vital data on who makes up Australia. But this week it’s become a political landmine for the federal government, who first cancelled questions on sexual orientation and gender identity, only to partially reverse that decision amid tense backlash. But the question of data isn’t just academic. This debate is coming at a time when the Victorian coroner has specifically asked for more data on the transgender community following a number...
Sep 02, 2024•16 min•Ep 1335•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been almost a decade since Jacqui Lambie dramatically quit the Palmer United Party. Since then, she’s become a political force in Canberra and in her home state of Tasmania as the leader of the Jacqui Lambie Network. At the last federal election, Lambie’s longtime staffer Tammy Tyrrell won a senate spot – and at the last Tasmanian election, just a few months ago, the party won three seats. But now, the JLN is imploding, after Tyrrell resigned and two of the three Tasmanian MPs were sacked. ...
Sep 01, 2024•17 min•Ep 1334•Transcript available on Metacast Writer, artist, and filmmaker Miranda July has a devoted – even rabid – following, through her writing, her work on the screen, and her collaborative art projects. On this episode of Read This , she and Michael discuss her new novel, All Fours , which explores desire, intimacy, dance, and an often overlooked part of the ageing process. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 31, 2024•31 min•Ep 1333•Transcript available on Metacast The most damaging controversy the Indigenous art sector has experienced in years started with a video. The Ngura Pulka exhibition was set to open in June last year, featuring 28 new paintings by three generations of Aṉangu artists represented by the APY Art Centre Collective in South Australia. The footage shows white studio assistants working on canvases from an APY Lands artist, which became the linchpin for a vicious media campaign and provoked a series of investigations. Today, art curator B...
Aug 29, 2024•20 min•Ep 1332•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been a tough few weeks for Jim Beyer, the CEO of Australia’s third largest goldmining company, Regis Resources. The multi-billion dollar McPhillamy goldmine in NSW had been through all the approvals processes, but at the last minute, Beyer had to tell investors that it likely won’t go ahead. The announcement comes after an intervention from the Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, on behalf of a group of traditional owners. The resources industry, the Coalition and conse...
Aug 28, 2024•18 min•Ep 1331•Transcript available on Metacast Jess Hill hasn’t been sleeping much lately. For the past three months, she’s been working on a plan to try to end violence against women and children. Now, that plan is out. The rapid review looks beyond the education campaigns that we have come to understand as domestic violence prevention and calls for a complete overhaul to the way the government responds to men killing women. Today, journalist and co-author of the rapid review Jess Hill on what’s in the report and whether we’re going to see ...
Aug 27, 2024•15 min•Ep 1330•Transcript available on Metacast It was the biggest escalation between Hezbollah and Israel since October 7. On Sunday, Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel while Israel said it hit more than 40 targets in Lebanon – and isn’t done yet. The attacks come as talks of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel continue with no sign of an outcome. Today, world editor of The Saturday Paper and editor of Australian Foreign Affairs Jonathan Pearlman on whether the Middle East is headed for all-out war. Socials: Stay in...
Aug 26, 2024•16 min•Ep 1329•Transcript available on Metacast After the resounding defeat of last year’s referendum on the Voice to Parliament, the path towards Truth and Treaty has appeared to be on shaky ground. But history has been made in Victoria, with the state’s Indigenous representative body formally confirming it is ready to negotiate with the government on a state-wide treaty. The process is being led by the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, an elected body representing Victoria’s traditional owners and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islande...
Aug 25, 2024•15 min•Ep 1328•Transcript available on Metacast Roxane Gay is a prominent American author, professor, and cultural critic known for her unflinching honesty, quick wit, and razor-sharp intellect. She has gained acclaim for her essays, fiction, and memoirs that explore identity, gender, race, and body image. This week on Read This , Roxane joins Michael for a conversation about what it means to be a public intellectual and how this has shifted throughout her career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 24, 2024•28 min•Ep 1327•Transcript available on Metacast The ABC’s Managing Director David Anderson announced his shock resignation yesterday afternoon, after being reappointed for his second term in the role late last year. Anderson said stepping down was “the right time for me and the right time for the ABC”. The decision comes just months after Kim Williams took up his new role as chair with big plans for renewal inside the ABC. Today, ABC veteran Jon Faine on what this means for the future of the national broadcaster and who might be next in the M...
Aug 22, 2024•14 min•Ep 1326•Transcript available on Metacast In 2022, Elon Musk said Donald Trump was “too old” to be president, and Donald Trump called Musk a “bullshit artist”. In the relatively short time since, Elon Musk has endorsed the former president and offered him some free publicity by interviewing Trump on his website X. It’s now been revealed that Elon Musk has also been working behind the scenes to fundraise for Trump’ presidential campaign for months, raising millions of dollars while going to great lengths to keep his involvement secret. T...
Aug 21, 2024•15 min•Ep 1325•Transcript available on Metacast Alan Joyce was once hailed as a saviour of perhaps Australia’s most iconic business. The former CEO of QANTAS was championed by his board and well known in the Australian business community for his support of social justice causes throughout his 15 years in the job. So, it’s been a dramatic fall from grace. Joyce has now left his successors with a reputational mess after a series of bad decisions that left customers furious. And he’s had his bonus cut by millions. Today, reporter Marc Moncrief o...
Aug 20, 2024•15 min•Ep 1324•Transcript available on Metacast The treatment or mistreatment of refugees fleeing to Australia has been the wellspring of Australian politics for almost a quarter of a century. This time, it's Peter Dutton with his call for Palestinians fleeing Gaza to be banned from coming to Australia. The language is designed to wedge the government by making them look soft on national security. It comes at a time when ASIO has called for politicians to dial down the heated and divisive rhetoric consuming national conversations, with fear i...
Aug 19, 2024•17 min•Ep 1323•Transcript available on Metacast The hard-right group behind the “No” campaign, Advance, is amassing a multi-million dollar war chest to take down its next opponent: the Australian Greens. Advance has called the Greens the “single biggest threat to freedom, security and prosperity in Australia” – and they have big plans to target their voters ahead of the next election. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on who is behind Advance and why they believe they can flip progressive women to the hard r...
Aug 18, 2024•18 min•Ep 1322•Transcript available on Metacast It was 2014 when Bruce Pascoe went from being a prolific, yet relatively unknown writer, to public enemy #1 in Australia’s culture wars. That was the year that Bruce published his now infamous book, Dark Emu , and its re-examination of accepted historical accounts of pre-invasion Australia. On this episode of Read This , he joins Michael for a discussion about his new novel Imperial Harvest and shares why he still believes we need the messiness of democracy. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...
Aug 17, 2024•28 min•Ep 1321•Transcript available on Metacast “I didn’t have a boyfriend to text anymore so might as well text a therapist,” a millennial podcast host tells her audience while recommending they seek out counselling. Online therapy services like BetterHelp are some of podcasting’s biggest advertisers, promising to address the barriers that prevent people from accessing face-to-face therapy. Now, the American company is expanding its app into Australia – recruiting Australian psychologists while capitalising on the failings of a mental health...
Aug 15, 2024•18 min•Ep 1320•Transcript available on Metacast Brittany Higgins has now been at the centre of three court cases. First, there was the criminal trial of Bruce Lehrmann - which was aborted with no findings made against him. Lehrmann later sued Network 10 and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, claiming that they defamed him by identifying him as a rapist. The court found that he did, to a civil standard, rape Higgins. Now, Higgins’ former boss, Senator Linda Reynolds, is suing her for a series of social media posts claiming that she was uncaring and un...
Aug 14, 2024•18 min•Ep 1319•Transcript available on Metacast 
