Spin Cycle

The Spin Cycle team are joined by writer, critic and activist Natalie Feliks to discuss the anti-trans angle of 7 News' Spotlight on de-transitioning. They also talk more broadly about trans representation in the media. Jess and Charlie also cover the Press Council findings on The Australian's editorial targeting Louise Milligan and the choice of outrage toward Question Time protests relative to t...

What's Radiothon you ask?  It's the time of the year that we ask you, the listeners of Spin Cycle, to help donate and support Triple R - the radio station that helps power Spin Cycle each and every week. Jess Lilley, Charlie Lewis and Rachel Withers talk community radio and listener-funded media, and they welcome 9 year-old Donnie as RRR's youngest radiothon broadcaster to read out the names of li...

This week on Spin Cycle, Jess & Rachel are joined by Xavier George, recent guest on Insight  for their “Boomers vs Millennials” episode - which tackled all things generational divide.  Plus the team recap other news of the week, including the return of Annabel Crabb’s Kitchen Cabinet, and her now infamous episode with Peter Dutton. With hosts Jess Lilley and guest co-host Rachel Withers.

Charlie Lewis flies solo this week while Jess Lilley is on break. Author and journalist Walter Marsh joins the show to talk about his new book  Young Rupert  - chronicling the power and politics surrounding Rupert Murdoch’s early years and how he established his global media empire. Plus a breakdown of some of the week's media stories including News Ltd using AI to publish thousands of articles ac...

High school student journalists Aidan Sinclair and Saskia De Leeuw Kyle join Jess and Charlie to discuss the YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament and its Youth Press Gallery program. They consider whether the environment simulates what it's really like being a journalist, and if there are enough outlets providing a platform for youth journalism. Jess and Charlie also cover the ABC and Nicole Chvastek,...

As Barbenheimer floods cinema screens this week, the Spin Cycle team takes a look at arts and culture journalism in Australia.  Jess and Charlie are joined by Brodie Landcaster, author and freelance cultural journalist, to discuss the Hollywood Writer and Actor strikes and whether the media environment provides enough time for journalists to generate meaningful film reviews. Jess and Charlie also...

Charlie Lewis is away this week. Jess captains the good ship Spin Cycle with special guest co-hosts Rachel Withers (Contributing editor at The Monthly ) and Esther Anatolitis (Editor of Meanjin ). They chat to journalist Nick Feik about his reporting into how laws designed to support whistleblowers are failing to protect those who speak up.  Plus, a dive into  the frontpage landlord stor y that se...

Rachel Withers joins Jess and Charlie in the studio to discuss her recent piece for The Monthly. What does it mean to be a 'Teal Independent', and what do they tell us about the characteristics of the electorates they represent. The team also talk about the Robodebt commission report released this week and the role of media advisors in light of a recent Rochelle Miller interview.

Associate professor of public health and preventative medicine, Charles Livingstone, joins Jess and Charlie to talk about the media and gambling. They discuss the politics, research, and recommendations, and ask the question :  what does the future of gambling regulation look like in Australia? Jess and Charlie also update on the coverage of the yes and no campaigns for the Voice to Parliament, th...

Jess and Charlie's guest is Kimina Lyall, Deputy CEO of Dart Centre Asia Pacific, a clinical psychologist and a former journalist. She talks to the team about trauma literacy in the Australian media; how does the media respond to traumatic incidents, and are we cultivating a media environment of inflicting further trauma? Jess and Charlie also talk the corruption inquiry into Gladys Berejiklian, a...

Jess is joined by senior reporter for The Australian, Sarah Elks, to discuss Sarah's jaw dropping series of investigative reports into long-time QLD MP, Warren Entsch. From spiriting a billionaire to Thursday Island for a covid jab to questions around government-funded pottery classes in Doomadgee to Entsch's former lives as a croc catcher and LGBTIQ+ activist - this is a story you don't want to m...

Media ethics expert and long-time journalist, Denis Muller returns to Spin Cycle to join Charlie for a discussion on the past week's news. What does the ABC's redundancy of Andrew Probyn and his role say about their approach to political reporting? Is the News Corp response to the Ben Roberts-Smith saga undermining other media outlets? Is there a way for media monopolies to be effectively regulate...

Jess and Charlie are joined by journalist Marc Fennell for a discussion about the making of his new SBS documentary  The Kingdom , his personal history with the church, and the changing face of Pentecostal religion in Australia. The team also cover how the continuing media response to the Ben Roberts-Smith verdict appears to have split along ideological lines and the continuing adventures of socia...

Academic and Author Sally Young joins Jess and Charlie to discuss Australia's media mogul history and her new book, Media Monsters: The Transformation of Australia's Newspaper Empires . The team also cover this week's verdict in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case and how defamation laws in Australia impact the media environment.

After Stan Grant's  departure from the ABC , hosts Jess and Charlie discuss how various corners of the media responded, and the broader lack of inclusion and support of Indigenous voices in the Australian media.   They also consider the strange bedfellows that celebrity journos and politicians make and  the tech-riddled media fail that was the Twitter Launch of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' 2024...

Award-winning author of The Trauma Cleaner, Sarah Krasnostein, Joins the Spin Cycle team for a chat through her latest piece for the Monthly - exploring the media response to 2022 Train family murders in Wieambilla, Queensland and their link to online conspiracy theories. Plus, the team digs into the latest media dramas of the week including 2023 budget reporting and how outlets select their polit...

Najma Sambul returns to Spin Cycle this week. Jess and Najma reviewed the recent episode of Foreign Conversation, Surviving in Somalia, as an example of the vital reporting foreign correspondents do. They also discussed the curious case of how twitter user, Bigolas   Dickolas, created a number one Amazon best selling book. 

Jess flies solo this week with Charlie on holidays for the next fortnight. First up, Crikey associate editor, Cam Wilson gets on the line to discuss his recent reporting into how both the Daily Mail and the Spectator have published pieces by people who have tenuous links to neo-nazi movements and the alt-right.  Later, Amy Remeikis from The Guardian Australia unpacks all the reporting around Jobse...

Ben Abbatangelo, writer for The Saturday Paper and The Guardian, joins Jess and Charlie to discuss his debut piece for Indigenous X, covering Peter Dutton's comments on Indigenous issues, Jacinta Price and the politics of refusal. Jess and Charlie also discuss the defamation case between Dominion and Fox News and the roots of "facts" in QAnon forums.

Charlie Lewis is joined by guest-host Rachel Withers (The Monthly) covering for Jess Lilley.  They're joined by special guest Kishor Napier-Raman, CBD columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age who covers Australia's most influential political and business figures, about what a "gossip column" really means, what it can tell you that straight news can't, and having a job that has powerful...

Rachel Withers is Jess Lilley’s guest host this week on Spin Cycle. Together they explore policies and politicians after the recent NSW election, and the associated media coverage. They are also joined by guest Bridget Brennan, ABC journalist and Gold Quill winner, to discuss media coverage of First Nations issues, in particular the Four Corners report from 2022: ‘How Many More? the Crisis of the...

Joshua Thorburn, criminology PhD student at Monash Uni, joins Jess and Charlie to discuss the ideologies of incels and femcels, and common misconceptions about this group due to coverage in the media. Jess and Charlie also briefly cover Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull's failed tour of Australia and the media response to the appearance of neo-nazi support at anti-trans rallies in Melbourne on the weekend.

Denis Muller, media editor, research consultant and specialist on media ethics and accountability, talks to Jess and Charlie about the role of public broadcasters in light of recent BBC controversy, and how the ABC stacks up in comparison. Jess and Charlie also talk about Paul Keating’s tough-love AUKUS opinions in his National Press Club address, and what ethical editing means in a news environme...

Jackie Turner, the Director of the Trans Justice Project, joins the team to chat about how to identify anti-trans misinformation and become more media-literate to anti-trans rhetoric popping up in reporting, both of which she talks about in  her piece for Junkee this week . Jess and Charlie also revisit the Tom Morris saga, as well as the on-going Fox News v Dominion lawsuit that has thrown the US...

Melbourne music writer & Journalist, Ben Madden joins Jess Lilley.  They unpack  his piece for Junkee on Bluesfest's rocky PR misadventures since announcing,and then eventually removing, sydney-based rock band Sticky Fingers from their line-up. Jess also digs into the latest reporting around the Robodebt Royal Commission.