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Cyclone Alfred hits as we gear up for the federal election, bringing back memories of the floods and bushfires that tore through the country last time we voted. How Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton handle this moment could be crucial, as voters refocus on the increasing impact of climate change and closely scrutinise the plans both parties have to address it.  Today, national correspondent f...

Australia is heading into a federal election at a time when trust in politics and our institutions is eroding. Over the past two decades, satisfaction with the political system has collapsed, driven by economic inequality, housing stress and the rapid spread of disinformation across social media. Political parties are already preparing for a campaign that will lean heavily on negative messaging &n...

One evening, two weeks ago, Natan Mwanza was stabbed and killed at a bus stop in Melbourne’s south-west. He was 24 years old. Natan’s family had migrated to Australia from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008, and his death sparked an outpouring of grief from African diasporic communities in Australia. Historian and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe also felt the impact of Natan’s...

When Arthur Sinodinos arrived in Washington as Australia’s ambassador to the United States in 2020, he was told the best way to get things done with Donald Trump was to go straight to the person in the White House handling the issue. In many cases, that wasn’t a typical official – it was a business figure, a loyalist, or even a family member. As Trump 2.0 takes shape, his adminis...

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, they were there to sign a deal that would give the US access to a significant share of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Instead, Trump and Vance berated and taunted Zelensky, before asking him to leave. The deal remained unsigned, and relations between the...

Warmer waters, disease and antibiotics have pushed Tasmania’s salmon farms into crisis. But it’s not just an environmental disaster – it’s also a political one. With an election looming, the Albanese government is pouring millions into salmon farming in an attempt to save jobs and votes, even as rotting fish litter the shore.  Today, national correspondent for The Satu...

In Melbourne-based author Sean Wilson’s new book,  You Must Remember This , he tackles the complicated, tragic, and often fraught subject of dementia. On this episode of  Read This  Sean joins host Michael Williams for a conversation about loss, family, and how to hang on to one’s humanity as illness strips it away. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was just before Christmas when Geraldine Brooks sat down for the first in a series of conversations with Anthony Albanese – and his popularity was plummeting. The prime minister's net approval rating had dropped to minus 17, while Peter Dutton’s had ticked up to zero. Since then, the polls haven’t improved for Albanese. His critics have painted him as weak and ineffective &nda...

When the country’s peak arts body, Creative Australia, decided to dump Australia’s representative at the Venice Biennale, it set in motion an existential crisis for the arts.  The artist in question, Khaled Sabsabi, was removed from the role just days after his appointment – following an article in a News Corp newspaper, a set of opposition questions in the Senate and a phon...

It was 2020 when the government first discovered that a glitch in its system was wrongfully cutting  welfare recipients off from their payments. Rather than fixing the error, the department did nothing for three years. In that time, ten people died. Whether their deaths were the result of suicide or destitution after losing support, Services Australia won’t say. Today, senior reporter f...

The results in the latest Closing the Gap report are grim. Only five of the 19 targets are on track, and Indigenous incarceration rates are rising. But is the policy itself part of the problem? Critics like independent senator Lidia Thorpe argue that Closing the Gap hasn’t delivered change and should be scrapped. Meanwhile, the government has announced hundreds of millions in new spending, i...

One of the cardinal Murdoch family rules is never speak about the family outside the family. So, when journalist McKay Coppins got in touch with James Murdoch last year, he really wasn’t expecting a reply. But Coppins was curious – what would happen to the Murdoch empire when Rupert died? And what it would mean for his youngest son, James, who was seemingly an outcast from the family?...

Last year, one of the world’s most powerful families converged in a Nevada court room to fight over the future of their empire. Rupert Murdoch was attempting to change a decades-old family trust in order to install his chosen son, Lachlan, as heir apparent when he dies. Exactly what happened in that court room was a tightly guarded secret. But then, in a rare interview with The Atlantic staf...

Two time Miles Franklin Award-winning author Alex Miller is 88, but with 17 books under his belt and more writing on the way, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. On this episode of  Read This , host Michael Williams sits down with Alex to discuss his latest book  The Deal , which revisits the life of Lang Tzu, a character in his critically acclaimed novel  The Ancestor Game...

In news rooms, board rooms and electoral offices around the country, there's one question driving everyone insane: when is Anthony Albanese going to call the election? Nervous backbenchers are willing him to strike while the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates is fresh in voters’ minds, but the prime minister is being coy about his preferred date. Today, columnist for The Sat...

Australia faces its most “difficult threat environment” in 50 years, with larger and more varied plots than ever before. That was the message from the director-general of ASIO, Mike Burgess, when he gave his annual threat assessment on Wednesday night, taking the extraordinary step of declassifying some of the intelligence behind the warning. According to Burgess, foreign interference...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s confirmation as US health secretary made official one of President Donald Trump’s most controversial appointments. Kennedy’s confirmation came off the back of fiery questions from both Democrats and Republicans on his record on vaccines. Under oath, Kennedy denied he was against vaccinations, but watching closely was investigative journalist Brian Deer, who...

On Tuesday afternoon, the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate to 4.1 per cent. It’s the first interest rate cut since 2020, after 13 consecutive hikes between May 2022 and November 2023. Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the cut, saying it's a relief “Australians need and deserve”. But RBA governor Michelle Bullock has warned not to expect further cuts and given the impact on m...

Meals on Wheels is an essential service for many elderly people across the country.  It’s the sort of service that you can’t really put a price on – providing community connection and support to people who might be falling through the cracks. That’s what makes this failed plot to take over Meals on Wheels so shocking.  It’s a story that’s got it all: d...

When Bob Brown spoke out against the invasion of Iraq in 2003, at the height of the war on terror, he was widely derided. He was mocked in the press, and even abused by a young Queensland MP, Peter Dutton. But looking back, he says it’s one of his proudest moments. Now, at 80 years old, Bob argues that speaking up in public and in private is crucial to pushing back against the strongman lead...

In 2017, Rachel Khong released her debut novel  Goodbye, Vitamin  to critical acclaim. In 2024, she followed it with her second novel, a sweeping family saga spanning five decades. Real Americans is a fascinating exploration of what makes us who we are and challenges some of the corrosive myths that underpin America. In this episode of  Read This , Michael chats with Rachel about he...

The Brereton inquiry uncovered shocking allegations of war crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. But there was one failing of Australian soldiers that wasn’t investigated. According to documents and interviews, some Australian soldiers in Afghanistan used foreign rules of engagement in combat which they weren’t trained in, or permitted to use. The use of these rules m...

This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament it must face up to the fact only five of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track, as he handed down the government's annual implementation plan. Pledging an $842.6m investment in the Northern Territory over the next six years, the prime minister said closing the gap is about acknowledging what’s working and what isn’t. The...

Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has thrown American science and medical research into disarray. Through a flurry of executive orders, he withdrew the US from the World Health Organization, imposed a communications blackout on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ordered the removal of publications, guidelines and databases “that inculcate or promote gender ideolo...

Veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher has reported on Elon Musk for decades. In that time, they’ve talked publicly and privately on many occasions.  But not anymore. Elon Musk is in the process of dismantling US government spending as the head of the new “Department of Government Efficiency”, better known as DOGE.  And Kara Swisher says the techno-dictatorship he’s...