We Used to be Journos

In this episode Jan almost falls for the same WhatsApp scam that worked on Labor minister Anne Aly We walk you through one of the whiniest, most unfair analysis of what's driving the housing crisis, courtesy of Canberra Times and Howard-era cabinet minister, Amanda Vanstone. Plus, in an era of podcast bros, we say hell NO to the latest podcast offering by the US military. A nd we give a nod to...

Welcome to They Used To Be ... a weekly interview podcast with people who are no longer in a role that once defined them. What can they see (and say) now? Sofia Liguori used to be an AI research engineer at Google DeepMind. But after three and a half years inside one of the world's most influential companies, Liguori recently resigned publicly, published an open letter, and accused the industr...

Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is the Senator-elect for the US state of Michigan and also a Habibi. As a fellow member of the Arabic-speaking diaspora, Jan Fran is pleased to be hearing her mother-tongue on the world stage. Let’s not underestimate the power of that but lets not over estimate it either. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan Fran and Antoinette can’t look away from the US midterm elections, albeit for very different reasons. Antoinette examines the the almost non-existent coverage of new rape allegations against Trump that include connections to Epstein. While Jan gives five stars to whoever is giving Democratic nominee Abdul El Sayed media training ahead of his battle for the hotly contested Michigan Senate seat,...

Welcome to the very first episode of They Used To Be... a weekly interview podcast with people who are no longer in a position that once defined them. Now they’re on the other side; they can speak candidly about who they were, why they left, and whether they see the world differently now that they’ve stepped away. Cathy Wilcox used to be a cartoonist for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age until...

Israel held a general election this week, and it’s a stalemate. Neither Netanyahu nor his rival Gadi Eisenkot, has won a majority to govern. But something has already happened since voting closed that is gonna shift things big time. Shift the material reality for Palestinians? No, shift the existential reality for Israelis? Yes. And it has to do with “Arabs” in Israel or Palestinian-Israelis. And...

We give a nod to the Brazilian journalists who helped uncover Meta’s questionable role in the lead up to their country’s general election. Did Meta try to sway the vote in favour of the far-right candidate? If so, it didn’t work! Antoinette unpacks Ben Roberts-Smith’s ‘exclusive’ media blitz ahead of his war crimes trial but loses count of the billionaire media barons helping rehab his reputation....

In the wake of the violent and deplorable attack on Independent MP Helen Haines, the Prime Minister has been asking everyone to “turn the temperature down”, but Jan Fran is not entirely clear on what that means or who it’s directed at. ​ In this episode of Only Fran, Jan Fran combs through previous examples of the PM using that phrase and finds that some people are turning the temperature up more...

Jan and Antoinette look at how a violent attack on independent MP Helen Haines was politicised by The Australian , despite the scant details and evidence available. Antoinette reflects honestly on her time in Lebanon, why it’s a country of contrasts and what "holidaying" in a warzone is really like. Also, we bring you a special interview with local reporter Widad Francis about the multif...

In the span of 12 months Chile, Colombia and now (likely) Brazil will join Argentina and take a Trumpian turn by electing far-right leaders. As it happens, they are the top four largest economies in South America. This week Jan Fran takes a look at why a far-right wave is is making a splash across South America and what that has to do with the current US president and the man who was US President...

In this special episode, Jan Fran is joined by Soaliha Iqbal, Ette’s social media editor, who brings a unique Gen Z perspective on media and journalism. They talk about Soaliha’s time in online youth media, why Israel/Palestine was such a fraught story to cover, what made Soaliha finally quit and why she doesn’t aspire to be an ‘objective’ journalist. Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber he...

Sorry folks, there wont be an Only Fran this week. Antoinette is away and I'm traveling, which has made it a bit difficult to put one together for you this week. Figured I'd keep you updated. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*** A special deal for the Etterati - for a 30-day free subscription to Lamestream head to https://www.lamestream.com.au/ette and get Scott and Os’s breaking news and analysis for free. In this special episode, Jan Fran and Lamestream co-founder Scott Mitchell sit down for a long overdue chat about starting independent media companies. They trade war stories about coming up through the mainstream...

This week Jan Fran takes a look at the battle between the Trump administration and the International Criminal Court, although can you really call it a battle when it’s only one side doing the battling? In addition to sanctioning individual members of the court, Donald Trump and his trusted Secretary of State, Marco Rubio are now considering sanctions against the entire organisation. If that happen...

In this special episode Jan and Antoinette take a deep dive into ABC’s 7.30 foreign policy interviews. They review forty-two interviews, by host Sarah Ferguson between mid 2022 - mid 2026 with international guests from conflict zones including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel. The results are telling: Israeli guests are giving three times as much airtime as Palestinians, only R...

With the Macklemore Ed Sheeran saga continuing to play out in the headlines, some commentators have suggested it’s a watershed cultural moment that will help move the dial on Palestine. Jan Fran wonders which dial, because there are certain dials that aren't shifting at all and are, in fact, going backwards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Antoinette takes a close look at the politics and culture journal Quarterly Essay and finds that it doesn’t quite reflect the "widest range of political, intellectual and cultural opinions." Also, the years-long “civil war” in Sudan might sound like it has little to do with Australia but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Not that you’d know it from our media. Plus,...

This week, immigration was top of the agenda. On Monday, One Nation announced its immigration policy. Then, on Thursday Labor followed suit with a “targeted” migration policy approach. After closely watching the week culminate in Burke’s National Press Club address, Jan Fran reckons his targeted migration approach has hit the wrong target.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Jan and Antoinette chat through the Federal Government’s attempt to regulate social media algorithms and why they’re a little dubious.  Plus, Macklemore accuses Ed Sheeran of being ‘apolitical’... except that he’s not, and Antoinette has the receipts.  Also, Anthony Albanese claps back at Pauline Hanson’s comments about his mother, but Jan’s not buying the backstory or the moving coverag...

Zohran Mamdani will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks as the first Muslim mayor of New York City. Jan Fran’s first question is … and?  This week, families of some of the 9/11 victims (flanked by myriad Republican politicians of course) presented him with a petition urging him not to attend the memorial at Ground Zero. Why?  In this episode, Jan Fran goes throug...

In this episode, Jan and Antoinette look at how unsuspecting media outlets end up creating what looks like sponsored content for Meta Glasses… without their explicit knowledge or consent. We examine Antoinette’s hypothesis that Rupert Murdoch’s News 24 is forcing its way into the homes of ordinary Australians via Samsung smart TVs. Plus, the UN released a landmark climate report warning that we’ve...

Milo Yiannopoulos is a British far-right commentator who rose to fame a decade ago being a “provocateur” and self-styled internet troll. He’s credited by some as a key figure in Donald Trump’s 2016 election.  Well, now he’s ashamed he ever supported Trump because this week he was arrested by ICE agents and deported back to Britain. Turns out Milo doesn't like the world that he helped usher in...

Jan Fran and Antoinette unpack the true crime spectacle surrounding American mother Lindsay Clancy, who is on trial for killing her three young children.  More proof Israel's war on journalists has spread to the West Bank, where violent settlers are attacking US and other foreign film crews while soldiers watch. Plus a Guardian investigation exposes the tens of millions of dollars Israel is p...

American-Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef has had to postpone his stand up tour of Australia because he has not received his visa in time. He says he was required to provide a criminal record from both the US and Egypt. Meanwhile around 40 IDF soldiers are in town to run in the Sydney Marathon as part of a “peace delegation".  Jan Fran explores who gets a visa to come to Australia, who doesn’...

In this episode, we look at a searing speech given by acclaimed author Richard Flanagan at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, in which he outlines the way the pro-Israel lobby is threatening our democracy. We also examine the media’s self-reflection (or lack thereof) following the tragic death of Cambridge Professor Jason Arday.  Jan gives zero stars to an opinion piece on the allegations of se...