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On this Weekend Read, chief political correspondent for the ABC’s 7.30 program Laura Tingle, with her piece from the summer issue of The Monthly. It’s called ‘A patch of land’, and in it she writes of the joys of tending and surrendering herself to a native garden, before bidding it a fond farewell after nearly 20 years. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Chief politica...

Australia’s domestic security agency, ASIO, says right-wing extremism now makes up half of its priority cases. And the far right, while still fringe, has capitalised on division and social media to push its message during the pandemic. So just how big a risk is this movement today? And how did we allow this discredited and dangerous ideology to get a foothold once again? Author Lydia Khalil discus...

When we talk about the most significant events of the last year, the one that might have the biggest impact on humanity actually took place far above the Earth’s atmosphere. Up there, in orbit around earth, is one of the most powerful tools humans have ever had to hunt for the origins of our universe – and for alien life. The James Webb Space Telescope has the ability to look so far and with such...

Each year, around a million Australians visit the US . But it's becoming a more dangerous place: firearm murders alone increased by 35% between 2019 and 2020.  But you won’t find that statistic in the guidance for Australians travelling to the US. And it’s a risk that disproportionately affects people of colour. Today, author and contributor to The Monthly, Santilla Chingaipe on the travel guidanc...

Misinformation, fear and pain: when Andrew Denton was asked to speak on the topic of euthanasia, he found something that he couldn’t look away from. What started as a single lecture became the biggest political fight of his life. And the last year has seen the fruit of those labours, with every state now having laws to allow people the right to choose to end their life when faced with terminal ill...

Today, on the Weekend Read, writer and artist Sarah Walker with her piece, “Little Breaks”, from The Monthly . It’s a story of joy and sadness in the ocean.  She writes of her time in the water as a beginner surfer, finding glee in shallow breaks.  But beyond the break, in the deeper water, there’s also loneliness, isolation and vulnerability. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagra...

When Anthony Albanese declared victory in last year’s election, one of the first commitments that he made was to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. While the Uluru Statement from the Heart includes truth-telling and a treaty, a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament is the first step that the government plans to take. If it goes ahead, it will be the first referendum sin...

This year has seen an explosion of film and TV releases – as sound stages fill with productions, following the end of lockdowns that threatened the industry. But if you’re like us, this summer you might just be taking a breath and getting a chance to catch-up on the things you missed throughout the last year. So with that in mind, we’ve invited writer and critic Clem Bastow to share some of her fa...

Deep in Australia’s oldest forests there are criminal gangs operating: illegally chopping down trees to sell the wood.  The authorities know it’s happening, but the problem is catching the perpetrators in the act. The old growth forests are sprawling and these gangs know how to evade rangers and police. Today, author and contributor to The Monthly , Sophie Cunningham on the crime against our oldes...

Lachlan Murdoch is the presumptive heir to the global Murdoch media fortune – and with his father, Rupert, now aged 91, Lachlan’s time could be imminent. But Lachlan’s rise to the top has not been smooth. After a bright start, the first-born son fell out of grace with his father and was exiled to Australia, only to return to favour when the family was in crisis.    Now it seems that Lachlan could...

Next year, Australians will get to vote in a referendum and we will be asked whether Australia should amend its constitution to create an Indigenous Voice to parliament. In this episode from August, we spoke to the first person to read the road map to that referendum outloud after the Uluru Statement from the heart was agreed to. Today we revisit this episode with someone who has spent years worki...

When you become prime minister, a lot changes – but there’s only a few people who know exactly what that's like. One of them is Kevin Rudd,and this year the former prime minister joined the show to share his experience of the way the Murdoch media changes its approach when you enter Government. Today in this episode from June, former prime minister Kevin Rudd on the way News Corp brings new govern...

This year, the case that established the legal protection for people in the United States to choose to have an abortion has been overturned. Since this episode aired in June, 13 states have banned or restricted the access to abortion and the fight for access rights continues in courtrooms across the country. So how did a small minority of religious conservatives overturn the rights of millions to...

One of the most consequential political shifts of 2022 was the election of several ‘teal’ independent candidates to the federal parliament. The teals were mostly professional women who ran in traditionally Liberal-held seats, and campaigned on climate, integrity, and equality. Their election en masse was a shock to the Liberal party, and could herald a more permanent shift away from the major part...

For decades we’ve been reassured that everything at Australian casinos is above board.  They’re supposed to be heavily regulated, closely monitored, and operated by reputable, publicly-traded corporations. But this year, much of what we’ve been told unravelled. Since this episode, from September this year eleven former and current executives at the Star Entertainment Group were slapped with fines...

Seven months ago, Anthony Albanese’s Labor broke almost ten years of Coalition rule.  Labor’s celebration were large and loud – and 7am was there to record the moment. We spent the night in Marrickville, home soil for the new prime minister, at Labor’s election night party. Over the course of the night we spoke with our reporter Karen Middleton, incoming minister Tony Burke, and, at the end of the...

Back in May, our producer Elle Marsh was given unprecedented access to Dr Monique Ryan and her campaign, as they attempted to unseat one of Australia’s top politicians. At the time, we had no idea whether the so-called teal candidates would be successful in their campaigns against Liberal party members, often in safe seats.  Kooyong, the seat that Dr Ryan was running for, had been held by the Libe...

This year, the only head of state that most Australians have ever known died. It led to an outpouring of grief and mourning, particularly in the UK, but that wasn’t the only side of the story. There were also protests, marches and an attempt from some to reckon with the monarchy’s colonial past. Today we’re featuring this episode from September with the United Kingdom’s first Professor of Black St...

Months after he lost the Prime Ministership, it’s still hard to get a handle on who Scott Morrison was. If anything, the secret ministries saga has only raised more questions about what drives him, what his values are and who he really is. After years in public life, Scott Morrison can still seem hollow and one-dimensional. According to his biographer, Sean Kelly, this is deliberate.  That’s why w...

At 6 O’Clock in the morning on Thursday the 24th of February, Vladimir Putin addressed the world – he said he would begin a special military operation. It was the moment war broke out, and soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, sending troops into mainland Europe. Listening back to those first moments of war, it puts new context on just how surprising the next few months would be: the world’s response...

We’re seeing a fitting end to a tumultuous year – parliament was urgently recalled to thrash out an energy deal, and a former prime minister grilled in front of a royal commission.  This week’s showdowns were stark reminders of just how much our politics has transformed since January. But have the major parties learnt the right lessons from 2022? Who has listened to voters? And who’s at risk of lo...

It’s happening again. Ahead of these holidays, infections of Covid are spiking, and people are going home sick in droves. At the same time we’re also seeing major announcements from the federal government on changes to Covid policy, which signal the beginning of treating the virus like other respiratory illnesses. Today, Nobel laureate Professor Peter Doherty on what we can still learn from Covid...

The founder of Hillsong Church, Brian Houston is on trial. He faces charges of concealing historic child sexual abuse by his father, Frank Houston – who was also a Pentecostal pastor. Houston has returned to Australia and is fighting the charges in a Sydney court, with his defence team arguing that he didn’t conceal the crime from police. Today, author and contributor to The Saturday Paper Elle Ha...

When our politicians are making decisions, they’re often lobbied. These lobbyists arrange meetings, and make the case why the company they represent would do a good job, why a certain policy would be a good one or a bad one. In short, they represent vested interests. There are supposed to be rules to disclose this activity to the public. But what happens when the rules don’t apply? What happens wh...

Up to 15 months in jail, with a minimum non-parole period of 8 months – that’s the sentence that a climate protester was handed recently in NSW. It caused widespread alarm from human rights and civil liberties groups, and it heralds a new era in sentencing as anti-protest laws are passed around the country. But will this sentence change the tactics of the climate action movement? Or will it open t...