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Kevin Wilson writes weird books about weird people — in the best possible way. In 2019’s  Nothing to See Here , two children have a condition that means they spontaneously combust. In  Now Is Not the Time to Panic , two lonely young artists wreak havoc on their small town, prompting fears of Satanism. This week on  Read This , Michael sits down with Kevin to discuss how...

After a week of turmoil, the Coalition has patched things up and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has unveiled her new shadow ministry. The appointments show the Coalition’s wounds are still raw. Nationals Leader David Littleproud secured key concessions in the renewed pact, but his hardball tactics have colleagues wondering how long he’ll last. Meanwhile, Labor is wrestling with its own d...

Philip Low’s brain-mapping breakthrough made him a billionaire. Now a blistering Facebook post has thrust the neuroscientist into a new fight – with his old friend, Elon Musk. Low called Musk a “narcissist with an obsessive lust for power” in a post shared nearly 50,000 times before it mysteriously vanished. Now Low is claiming X and other social media platforms are silenci...

Until late last year, the United States had a US$10 million bounty on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. A former leader of the al-Nusra Front and al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Sharaa was once an enemy of America. Now Syria’s transitional leader, al-Sharaa has just met US President Donald Trump, who called him “an attractive young guy” with “a strong past” and pledged to lift s...

Tony Abbott was on a layover in Dubai when he phoned Natasha Griggs – the president of the Country Liberal Party – and set off a chain reaction inside the Coalition. Hours later, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price defected to the Liberals and a surprise leadership ticket was taking shape. For moderates, it was another sign that the former prime minister and his confidante, Peta Credlin,...

Australia has a new environment minister – and he has a big job ahead of him: fixing the country’s broken environment laws. Murray Watt has replaced Tanya Plibersek, whose efforts at reform were famously thwarted by the prime minister. But before Watt can begin that task, he faces another critical decision: whether to let Woodside Energy extend its North West Shelf gas project to 2070...

London-based Australian author Jessica Stanley’s second novel,  Consider Yourself Kissed , opens with all the beats of a classic romantic comedy – a meet-cute, a grand gesture, instant attraction – but what follows is a book about the next bit, the day to day reality of just living. But Jessica writes it with grace and wit and compassion, finding the romance in what comes ne...

Yesterday we were saying “rest in peace” to the Coalition – but today there are signs it could be reborn. The Liberal and National parties are back at the negotiating table to see if they can repair their broken bond. How Sussan Ley handles this moment will say a lot about the future of the Liberal Party  under her leadership. It’s a choice between a strained partnersh...

Just a week after taking charge in the wake of the Liberals’ disastrous election result, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley now finds herself without a coalition partner. Nationals leader David Littleproud says he walked from the agreement after the Liberals refused to lock in a list of policy commitments, while Ley accused the Nationals of holding the agreement “hostage”. The split is...

Thousands of children from South Korea have been adopted by Australian families over decades. In many cases, these children were raised to believe they were orphans – and their adoptive families believed they were doing something loving and selfless by giving them a home. But a much more sinister truth has been laid bare: South Korea’s own Truth and Reconciliation Commission exposed ho...

Two weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his plans to step up his country’s attacks on Gaza, with “extensive ground operations”. Israeli officials have described the strategy as “conquering” and occupying the strip. That plan is now underway, with ground operations in the north and in the south. In the past week, hundreds of Palestinians have...

Larissa Waters is the new leader of the Australian Greens. She steps in as the party reels from its election wipe-out, losing three of its four seats in the House of Representatives – including that of Adam Bandt. Senator Waters’ task is to repair the Greens’ image: Labor has painted the party as obstructive and militant, and that perception has cost the Greens votes. Today, nati...

Josephine Rowe’s writing has been described by the  New York Times  as “gorgeous” and “precise”. This is particularly evident in her latest novel,  Little World ; a slender book that offers a deeper, denser exploration of ideas than its modest page count might suggest. This week on Read This, Michael sits down with Josephine to discuss the genesis of&nb...

When Labor insiders are asked who was responsible for their thumping election victory, one name keeps coming up: Paul Erickson. Even though Erickon likes to keep a low profile, Anthony Albanese made a point of thanking him in his victory speech on election night. So, who is Paul Erickson? And what is next for the quiet force behind Labor’s landslide win? Today, special correspondent for The...

Three years ago this month, Sussan Ley stood beside Peter Dutton as his deputy, the newly installed pair projecting confidence about the contest ahead. Ley backed Dutton enthusiastically. But now, in 2025, she faces the public as the Coalition’s new leader after voters rejected the Dutton-Ley project and handed the Liberals its worst defeat on record. The task before Ley is threefold: unite...

When Anthony Albanese’s new ministry was sworn in this week, it was overshadowed by the axing of Ed Husic and Mark Dreyfus. Husic in particular didn’t go quietly, calling Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles a “factional assassin”. After a landslide victory – with 93 seats and counting –  the prime minister could choose from a significant talent pool to ass...

Today, the Liberal Party will elect a new leader. Whoever is chosen will have to figure out how to attract women back to the party – both candidates and voters.  But Julia Banks thinks that ship has sailed and it’s time for a new coalition. Today, the former Liberal MP on what it’s like to be a woman in the party – and why she’ll never go back.   If you enjo...

Just before 4.30pm last Wednesday, Antony Green called it for the ABC: Greens leader Adam Bandt had lost his seat. Fifteen years after Bandt won the inner-urban seat of Melbourne from the ALP, Labor has taken it back – along with two of the Greens’ other three seats – leaving the party with just a single MP in the House of Representatives and without a leader. The wipeout came as...

In addition to being an established novelist, James Bradley is also a journalist and writer of non-fiction, much of it concerned with the natural world and the myriad threats it faces. Set in the near future, in a world that is in the grips of climate catastrophe, his latest novel,  Landfall , is a crime thriller at its heart. On this episode of Read This, Michael and James discuss what it me...

A week ago, most pundits were predicting a hung parliament as the likely outcome of Australia’s federal election. Instead, Labor has secured one of its largest majorities in recent decades – eclipsing even Bob Hawke’s first-term result. Anthony Albanese now commands near-unquestioned authority within his party. But as the celebrations subside, questions are already emerging about...

In 1999, Ali Jafari fled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and was resettled as a refugee in Australia. But then, while visiting Pakistan, his permanent residency was suddenly cancelled. Now, 12 years later, he’s still stranded – separated from his family and fighting ASIO’s allegations that he is a people smuggler. In court, Jafari’s family and legal team are up against it...

In January, Katie Tangey was killed in a Melbourne house fire believed to be part of the ongoing “tobacco wars”. Police say she was an innocent victim and the arsonists got the wrong address. The tobacco wars are driven by rival gangs fighting over a black market worth billions, and have been marked by firebombings, extortion and murder. While headlines focus on the violence, skyrocket...

As Peter Dutton conceded his 24-year hold on the Brisbane seat of Dickson, he said the Liberal Party will “rebuild”. The party’s soul-searching has begun, as it looks to select a new leader and consider its future direction. But a return to the Liberal Party’s traditional values is complicated by Peter Dutton having led the party further to the right and the election having...

Karen Middleton has known Anthony Albanese for more than 30 years – since before he entered parliament. She’s watched his rise, and documented the moments that have shaped the leader he is today. And Karen says this election is going to change Anthony Albanese, in ways that will change the country too. Today author of Albanese: Telling it Straight Karen Middleton, on why Anthony Albane...

The mood inside Labor HQ was jubilant as it became clear that against all expectations, Anthony Albanese had led the Labor party to victory, with a significantly increased majority. For the coalition the outcome is devastating, and Peter Dutton is out of a job. On top of that, the next generation of Liberal leadership has been wiped off the electoral map, setting the party back for years to come....