Cut Through

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has gone from the fringes of political relevance to a genuine challenger at both state and federal level. As the party’s polling reaches heights of up to 30%, we wanted to find out who these new voters are, and why they had abandoned the two major parties. Journalist Michael Sainsbury joins Rachel Withers to discuss his recent conversations with One Nation converts, wha...

After a protest in Sydney against a visit from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, social media was flooded with videos of police pushing, punching and pepper-spraying protesters. Months later, those same protesters are still waiting for answers from NSW Police as the force is subject to an investigation by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission. Charlie Lewis speaks to Tina Quinn about her interviews...

With Victorians going to the ballot box in just a few weeks, the story of this state election is already being written. One Nation, the Coalition and Labor are neck and neck in some polls, so is a change of government inevitable? This week on Cut Through, Antony Green, ABC election legend and Crikey contributor joins our politics editor Bernard Keane and Rachel Withers to talk about the most signi...

With the fragmentation and loss of belief in the Liberal Party, the future of liberalism itself these days doesn’t look bright. But what would a “post-liberal” world look like? This week on Cut Through , Tim Dean, resident philosopher at The Ethics Centre, joins Rachel Withers to talk about why liberalism is worth fighting for despite its flaws, and the ways that the left and the right can join to...

Parliament is back in session, and there’s a new Greens leader on the scene to cause trouble for Anthony Albanese. Crikey’s politics reporter Anton Nilsson and journalist Tina Quinn discuss how Labor’s agenda is holding up against attacks from all sides. Plus, Josh Frydenberg’s incredible comeback story gets better every time, and how the scourge of “drops” to favourable journalists weakens the me...

In a special Q&A episode of Cut Through , Rachel puts your questions to long-time Crikey contributors, climate analyst Ketan Joshi and Dr Ben Eltham, about the unfortunate topic de jour: the rapid proliferation of data centres. What are they? Do we actually need them? And what is the benefit — if any — of having them operate on Australian soil? Plus, the AI wins we’ve had so far, and how this...

It’s been a busy month for our tips hog, Cochon Truffier. The intrepid pig snooped out some internal discussions between NACC staffers which probably should have been had at the pub, investigated the backlash to Mia Freedman’s comments about the Ed Sheeran/Macklemore saga, and dug into why student politicians at Sydney Uni were getting their knickers in a knot over allegations involving horse meat...

Paul Keating was prime minister of a very different Australia, in a very different geopolitical environment from that of today. How does his ambition for Australia hold up 30 years later? Crikey politics editor Bernard Keane and Professor James Curran from the University of Sydney discuss Keating’s legacy, and whether his approach to foreign policy suffered from the curse of being “right, but too...

Worms on the uterus, chatbots soliciting photos of women’s breasts, and AI-generated podcasts shilling supplements: welcome to the weird, dark and dangerous world of AI “Mum Slop”, a genre of content targeting the health anxieties of pregnant people and new mothers.  Crikey contributor Madison Griffiths joins the podcast to expand on her recent article exploring the intersection of AI and wom...

After conducting 10 days of public hearings and receiving almost 800 written submissions, the independent AUKUS public inquiry is moving into its final phase. It will soon prepare a report to answer the question: will AUKUS keep us safe, and at what cost? In today’s special episode, the inquiry’s lead commissioner Peter Garrett and former submariner and independent senator Rex Patrick join Cut Thr...

Why the eSafety Commissioner is arguing it should be allowed to keep some secrets relating to the under-16 social media ban, WA Labor’s gas lobbyist candidate for the Secret Harbour by-election does a runner, and former NACC commissioner Paul Brereton gets exposed by FOIs... again!  Charlie Lewis and Crystal Andrews recap these stories and many more compelling, illuminating and absurd items f...

Two major bills passed parliament this week, with Labor and the Coalition coming together to get the job done on gambling advertising reforms and the NDIS overhaul. Crikey’s politics writer Rachel Withers joins readers’ editor Crystal Andrews and media reporter Daanyal Saeed to bring you up to speed on which MPs crossed the floor to vote against their party, the important details buried within bot...

When it comes to what some call Australia's "epidemic" of men's violence against women, the media plays a significant role – as evidenced by the reporting on the trial of convicted rapist, Melbourne talent manager Ralph Carr. After a decade of media reform advocacy, Jane Gilmore says news headlines are still littered with rape myths, the villainisation of victims and favourable descriptions of per...

Immigration is one of the most dominant and heated political topics of the moment, with the media extensively covering an apparent surge in anti-immigration sentiment among Australian voters. Everything from housing shortages to unemployment is blamed on overseas arrivals, while the care economy is more reliant than ever on foreign workers. Bernard Keane joins the podcast to discuss the role of im...

Internal emails exposing the National Anti-Corruption Commission trying to evade one journalist’s questions, Tony Abbott making a very strange mistake in his political commentary, and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas enjoying an intimate dinner with a top News Corp journalist. Daanyal Saeed and Crystal Andrews recap these stories, and many more compelling, illuminating and absurd items f...

Australia’s most prestigious universities have been plagued by governance and corruption scandals over the past few years, all the while public debate continues on what role universities should play in modern Australian society.  Julie Hare, one of the country’s most experienced higher education journalists, joins Cut Through to unpack the ICAC investigation into the University of Wollongong,...

Politics editor Bernard Keane returns to the podcast to answer subscriber questions in a dedicated Q&A episode. What does he think of critics who say there is “nothing to see here” on union corruption in Victoria’s Big Build? Is there any substance to rumours that Anthony Albanese would leave politics before the next election? Will the global campaign to introduce a wealth tax – advocated by t...

How did Karl Stefanovic rise to the pinnacle of TV stardom, and what does his move to even smaller screens say about the current state of Australian media? Tina Quinn joins the podcast to go behind-the-scenes of her latest article for Crikey , which saw her speak to a long list of sources who worked alongside Stefanovic — from junior producers all the way up to senior management — about how he rea...

There was a flurry of activity in parliament as politicians tried to make the last sitting fortnight before the winter break really count. So it’s the perfect time to bring Cut Through back from our mid-year break – re-energised and ready to call it as we see it!  Crikey ’s politics writer Rachel Withers joins readers’ editor Crystal Andrews and reporter-at-large Charlie Lewis to discuss the...

The 2026 federal budget was one of the more “memorable” in recent history. Despite the vast majority of measures having already been aired in the media weeks prior, Jim Chalmers kept one major reveal for budget night: a three-part tax reform, winding back the favourable settings of capital gains tax, negative gearing and private trusts. The mainstream media has been bleating about “broken promises...

There are just three days until the Farrer by-election and – for the first time ever – it looks like voters won’t be electing a National or Liberal MP to represent them in Sussan Ley’s old seat.. Instead, the frustration with establishment politics has seen independent Michelle Milthorpe and One Nation’s David Farly emerge as the frontrunners in a fierce and unpredictable campaign To help you foll...

Health Minister Mark Butler’s “major overhaul” of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will reduce the total cost of the scheme by $15 billion over the next four years. The majority of the savings will come from the 160,000 people who will be kicked off the scheme – a brutal decision given that the NDIS only supports a fraction of the 2 million Australians with a severe disability. The justifi...

Is “free speech” an Australian value? We examine the latest developments concerning two state laws attempting to restrict political expression, and how the people are pushing back. First, the verdict is in on the protest-restricting laws introduced by the Minns government ahead of the divisive visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog: the changes are unconstitutional. Grata Fund founder Isabelle Re...

If it walks, talks and quacks like a duck… is it insider trading? Journalist Lachlan Keller joins the podcast to explain the suspicious pattern of behaviour that has lead experts and analysts to believe people within the Trump administration are using insider trading to make huge, lucrative bets on global news events. We discuss the major oil commodities trades made just hours before Trump announc...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a surprise announcement before the Easter long weekend – the government’s long-awaited proposal for gambling advertising reform was finally ready and intended to come into effect from January 1, 2027. So, where will gambling ads be banned, and how? Crikey media reporter Daanyal Saeed joins the podcast to unpack the proposed gambling ad reforms, including three...