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A sleek Chinese-made ute is suddenly one of the most popular vehicles on Australian roads. It’s cheap, fast and packed with tech. But behind its rise are questions security agencies are struggling to grapple with.  Because the cars we drive today are no longer just cars; they’re also data collection tools. And in a tense geopolitical climate – the lines between convenience a...

In this inaugural episode of Read This , host Michael Williams and founding editor Sarah McVeigh head to Helen Garner’s house for cake and conversation. Helen shares what she’s writing about, how she problem solves, and the inspiration she gets from watching her grandson’s footy training. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the world watched for a response. But in Australia, there was silence. It took a day before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese or Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong addressed the media. When they did, they backed the US, tentatively, while calling for calm. For Albanese, a leader who once opposed the Iraq war, it’s a mome...

Cyclone Alfred should not have tracked as far south as it did. But in March it tore through Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Northern Rivers, affecting about four million people. One of them was climate scientist and IPCC lead author, Joëlle Gergis. She says the storm’s freak southward drift, driven by record-warm ocean temperatures, shows the climate crisis is outrunning politics. Toda...

A mistake at an IVF clinic has led to a woman giving birth to a stranger’s baby. It’s a catastrophic error and not the first one that’s recently come to light. Such risks are not covered in the marketing material of Australia’s major fertility clinics. But this mistake – at one of the oldest and most reputable clinics in the country – has had devastating consequ...

America’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend mark a terrifying turning point. Donald Trump has taken the US into direct conflict with Iran – and risked what the UN secretary-general is calling a “rathole of retaliation”. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth claims that Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated, but questions remain about the e...

Having fought his way to the top of the South Australian Liberal ticket, Alex Antic is working to reshape the party as a radical outfit more interested in ideology than governing. The Liberal senator calls himself an irrelevant backbencher, but he’s installed allies, toppled moderates and is pushing the party’s politics to the edge. His playbook mirrors Donald Trump’s: dominate t...

Ian Rankin introduced Detective John Rebus in his 1987 novel  Knots and Crosses . Since then, Rankin has published another two dozen books in the series and has sold almost 40 million books to date. Unsurprisingly, he’s now Sir Ian Rankin. This week, Michael sits down with Ian at Sydney Writers’ Festival for discussion about his latest Rebus book,  Midnight and Blue . See omn...

At the G7 summit in Canada, Anthony Albanese had prepared carefully for a meeting with Donald Trump – even reaching out to Trump’s golfing buddy, Greg Norman. But just before they were due to meet, the US president walked out of the summit and flew home to address the conflict between Israel and Iran. In some quarters, the snub has been portrayed as a personal slight against Albanese....

Medicine in Australia could soon become more expensive and harder to come by. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme – the safety net that keeps our prescriptions cheap – has been drawn into Donald Trump’s trade war, after the US president signed an order saying the United States should not pay more for medicines than its peer countries. Drug companies have now paused new PBS listing...

Abortion was fully decriminalised across Australia in 2023, meaning people can end a pregnancy without fear of prosecution. But that hasn’t stopped abortion being weaponised against women in the courtroom. Writer and producer Madison Griffiths, who has spent a decade covering reproductive rights, was shocked to learn that abortion records were surfacing in custody battles in the family court...

On Friday, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, sending roughly 200 fighter jets to hit more than a hundred sites across Iran – including parts of its nuclear program. Israel says the attack was “pre-emptive”, meant to address an immediate and inevitable threat on Iran’s part to construct a nuclear bomb. As attacks from both countries continue, scheduled talks between Ira...

A quiet transformation is underway at Australian universities. Behind closed doors, powerful consulting firms are helping to reshape higher education; cutting courses, centralising power, and outsourcing staff.  One firm in particular, Nous Group, is now embedded in some of the country’s most prestigious institutions. At the Australian National University, its role in a $250 million res...

On the surface, Kaliane Bradley’s debut is a time-travel novel — it’s speculative fiction meets romance and espionage. But underneath? It's a sharp, satirical exploration of institutional control — of what happens when government red tape meets the impossible. On this episode of Read This, Michael sits down for a conversation with Kaliane Bradley to discuss her bestselling...

As Anthony Albanese heads to the G7 summit, the future of Australia’s most important defence pact is suddenly uncertain.  The Trump administration is reviewing AUKUS, pushing for more military spending, and condemning Australia’s new sanctions on Israeli ministers – all signs of a once stable alliance under pressure.  Today, press gallery journalist and columnist for In...

Elon Musk and Donald Trump were once political partners – sharing praise, power and ice-cream parties. Now the pair have been trading insults on their own social media networks. In what started with Musk’s opposition to the president’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”, that proposes extensive tax cuts, the feud has sparked threats that could ground NASA missions and blo...

US President Donald Trump’s agenda of mass deportations has reached a tipping point. After ICE raids in Los Angeles sparked street riots, the president dispatched the National Guard and active duty Marines to confront protestors, while threatening to arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom if he stands in the way. Today, senior political correspondent for  Time magazine, Eric Cortelless...

When Anthony Albanese first became prime minister, he began dismantling the Home Affairs super-ministry, which had been overseen by Peter Dutton. Labor had long opposed a model which saw such significant power contained within one portfolio – and removed ASIO and the AFP from Home Affairs. Now, in a spectacular reversal, and without explanation, Albanese is making Home Affairs even more powe...

At the recent election, a generational shift became undeniable.  Nearly half of all voters were Millennials or Gen Z – and their votes helped deliver Labor its biggest lower house majority ever, returned a sizable crossbench, and left the Coalition reeling.  But despite their decisive influence, young voters are still waiting for answers – especially on one issue they’v...

Torrey Peters’ debut novel,  Detransition, Baby , was an instant sensation. Longlisted for the Women’s Prize in the UK and named one of the New York Times’ best books of the 21st century so far, the book catapulted Torrey into the limelight. Her second and latest book,  Stag Dance , is a collection of four stories that are brutal, funny, and brilliant. On this episode o...

Donald Trump’s return to power is testing Australia’s decades-old reflex to stand with the United States. When the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, demanded Canberra nearly double its military spend, Anthony Albanese answered that Australia will decide its own defence policy – and has been vocal in his criticisms of Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium. With public sup...

Greg Bourne, former BP Australasia president, once worked alongside Australia’s biggest LNG venture: Woodside’s North West Shelf. Now a councillor at the Climate Council, he warns extending the project will unleash billions of tonnes of emissions and threaten tens of thousands of ancient rock carvings, while delivering a “pittance” in economic benefit to Australia. Yet Bour...

Labor is poised to move forward with its plan to increase the tax on superannuation balances over $3 million. Critics are calling the idea unfair and questioning why Labor’s super tax will apply to unrealised gains, rather than just money made. But with Labor’s super majority in parliament – and support from the Greens in the senate – their opponents can only complain. Toda...

As the search to explain the Coalition’s disastrous election results continues, there’s one group being singled out inside Liberal campaign headquarters: the right-wing lobby, Advance. Flush with a multi-million dollar war chest, Advance promised to “take back” the country – yet Labor won 17 new seats and the Greens vote barely moved. As Advance and the Liberals blame...

For anyone doubting her ability to rehabilitate the Coalition after its thumping May 3 loss, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has a message: people have questioned her capability and drive before. Ley says she’s proven them all wrong – as a roustabout picking up fleeces in 40-degree heat or piloting aeroplanes low over western Queensland to muster cattle when no one thought she could. Now,...