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As Russia amasses troops on the border of Ukraine, speculation is mounting over whether the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, plans to invade the country.  Today, world editor at The Saturday Paper Jonathan Pearlman on the escalating tension in Europe, and the likelihood of war. Guest: World editor at The Saturday Paper , Jonathan Pearlman. Background reading: Russian troop numbers build on Ukr...

This week children across NSW and Victoria are finally going back to school. Lockdowns and school closures have meant that many children have spent the better part of two years learning remotely. But the decision to reopen schools right now, in the middle of the Omicron wave, has been fraught, with governments caught between trying to reduce case numbers, to wanting to live with the virus. Today,...

Even though the worst case projections of the Omicron wave haven’t yet been realised, Australia’s health system is still buckling under the pressure. Thousands of healthcare workers are off work, and surgeries, palliative care and mental health services are all feeling the strain - leaving hundreds of thousands of Australians with inadequate or interrupted care.  Today, senior reporter for The Sat...

The Culture is back for 2022! And to start things off, we’re putting the magnifying glass over a game that has taken the internet by storm. With no promotion or monetisation, Wordle has grown a player base of over two million in a little less than three months. But what is it about this humble word game that has so many people addicted? To help unpack where Wordle came from and how it operates in...

This year Australians will head to the polls and cast their judgement on the performance of the federal government. The Coalition has been in power for nearly a decade, but according to the latest polls the Labor opposition are the favourites to win. But, with at least four months to go until polling day, anything could happen - especially in the unpredictable world of Australian politics. Today,...

When world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic arrived in Australia earlier this month, he intended to defend his title at the Australian Open. Instead, his visa was cancelled and he was detained at a hotel in Melbourne - the Park Hotel.   Before Djokovic’s arrival, the Park Hotel was home to around 30 refugees and asylum seekers who were being kept in indefinite immigration detention.    Toda...

Fifty years ago today a group of four Aboriginal men planted a beach umbrella on the lawns out the front of Parliament House, as part of a protest over land rights. That action marked the beginning of the longest ever Indigenous land rights protest in history: the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.  Today, Kamilaroi Uralarai woman Frances Peters-Little on why land rights is fundamental to the campaign for I...

Right now most of Australia is living without restrictions, lockdowns or border closures. But with tens of thousands of people, including essential workers, being forced into isolation everyday our economy is still under intense pressure from the pandemic. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on how the rampant spread of Omicron has led to a shadow lockdown, and why f...

After nearly two years of lockdowns and border closures there was hope that this summer things might be different in Australia. But then, Omicron hit.  Now we’re entering year three of the Covid-19 pandemic. Case numbers are higher than ever, hospitals are being pushed to their limit and rapid tests are extremely difficult to find. So how did we get here? Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Pa...

Author and activist Bri Lee regularly runs workshops on consent and sex in schools. She writes about those workshops in the context of a growing national conversation about sexual harassment and assault. Today, Bri reads her article from The Monthly , 'Ill-informed consent'.   Guest: Contributor to The Monthly Bri Lee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Sarah Krasnostein, the best-selling author of ‘The Trauma Cleaner’, reads her essay from The Monthly .  It’s called ‘The most hated man’ and it explores the sentencing of Richard Pusey, who was convicted of outraging public decency after he filmed the horrific aftermath of a car crash that killed four police officers. Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Sarah Krasnostein. See omnystudio.co...

It’s another special bonus summer episode of The Culture ! On this episode of The Culture , author and The Saturday Paper’s TV critic Sarah Krasnostein breaks down the best TV shows of 2021 - from drama, to comedy, to the best of Australian television. Guest: Sarah Krasnostein. TV critic for The Saturday Paper. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Scott Ludlam, ICAN ambassador and former Australian Greens Senator, reads his cover essay from the latest issue of The Monthly . It’s called ‘The Endgame’. It explores the trial of Julian Assange, and the powers fighting to extradite him, while his condition deteriorates in a UK prison. Guest: Scott Ludlam, ICAN ambassador and former Australian Greens Senator. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

On this special bonus summer episode of The Culture , we’re talking the best of films in 2021. It was a great year for movies, and there’s plenty of stuff to catch up on if you didn’t have the time to hit the cinema as much as you would have liked. Joining host Osman Faruqi is film critic and the co-host of the Total Reboot podcast, Alexei Toliopoulos.  Guest: Alexei Toliopoulos, film critic and c...

Twenty five years ago Paul Kelly, one of Australia’s greatest songwriters, released ‘How To Make Gravy’, a song that has since become a staple at many family Christmas gatherings. ‘How to Make Gravy’ is full of anecdotes and snapshots about summer in Australia: the hot weather, Christmas roasts, dancing, and of course, family reunions. It’s a song that perfectly encapsulates what this time of year...

Capitol riots, the Delta strain, sexual assault allegations rocking Parliament, the war in Gaza, the Olympics, COP26 and humanity’s last chance, the world’s longest lockdown, freedom days, and now Omicron and the start of a federal election campaign. Today, we look back at the news events that defined 2021 - in sound. Original music and composition in this episode by Alex Gow.  Stay in touch with...

For more than ten years hundreds of people seeking asylum in Australia have been detained on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. The Australian government has made it clear that none of them will be resettled here. But now a group of refugee advocates have a new plan to help them - involving a third country: Canada. Today, one of those advocates, assistant professor Dr Laura Beth Bugg, on...

When Gladys Berejiklian spectacularly resigned as Premier of NSW, most people expected that would be the end of her political career. But then she was publicly encouraged by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make a comeback - to run for federal parliament. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on the real reason Scott Morrison wanted to enlist Gladys Berejiklian, and wh...

The Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the most disruptive and devastating events in recent history. But it also led to a series of incredible scientific breakthroughs, including the fastest ever development of a new vaccine.  Now, the technology behind the Covid-19 vaccine, which has already saved millions of lives, is being adapted to find solutions for previously incurable diseases. Today, senio...

Australia has largely fallen behind the rest of the world when it comes to action on climate change. Even our closest allies regularly criticise our government’s slow approach to tackling the issue. While polls show a majority of Australians actually want to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels and move to renewables, there are some who are uncertain on how this future looks. Today, social resea...

Today, Mark McKenna, professor of history at the University of Sydney, will be reading his piece from the latest edition of The Monthly. It's called 'The Stunted Country', and in it, he argues that there can be no possibility of an Australian republic without constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. Guest: Mark McKenna, professor of history at the University of Sydney. Background read...

Wes Anderson is back with this 10th feature film, ‘The French Dispatch’, his take on a fictional magazine reporting from France to an American audience in the 1960s and 70s. The movie has all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from Wes Anderson, including a massive cast, a very specific sense of colour, and a lot of whimsy.  To talk about the film, and the work of Wes Anderson more broadly, we’re...

As 2021 comes to an end, most of us are winding down. But in Canberra, the contest is just beginning.  With an election on the horizon, both the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese have started pitching for votes.  Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper , Paul Bongiorno on what we’ll see as both leaders fight for their political future.  Guest: Columnist for The Saturd...

Every year, in the lead up to Christmas, thousands and thousands of native flying insects, known as Christmas beetles, would emerge from the soil and attach themselves to trees, street lights and crawl into homes across Australia. Or at least that’s what used to happen. In recent years Christmas beetles have disappeared, concerning scientists who are worried climate change is to blame. Today, prod...

A new report released by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner has revealed a toxic workplace culture in Parliament House, with nearly half of the women working there experiencing sexual harassment and bullying. But almost immediately after the report was released, a number of fresh allegations and scandals emerged in Parliament, demonstrating how deep the problem is. Today, chief political correspo...