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Just one year on from winning the US election, President Joe Biden is in the middle of a political crisis.  Divisions within his own party have left Biden unable to implement key election promises, and his approval ratings are plummeting.  And after losing key election races last week, there are now predictions the Democrats could be annihilated at the midterms next year. Today, former advisor to...

Today, Richard Denniss, chief economist at The Australia Institute, will be reading his cover story from the latest edition of The Monthly . It's called 'The needle and the damage done', and in it, he argues that the federal government’s handling of the pandemic has been the worst public policy failure in Australian history.  Guest: Richard Denniss, chief economist at The Australia Institute. See...

Lockdown is over and cinemas are back! Luckily, Australia’s reopening happens to coincide with a bunch of exciting new releases coming out between now and the end of the year. This week on The Culture , Osman Faruqi is joined by Flick Ford - film reviewer and presenter of Triple R’s ‘Primal Screen’ - to run us through the most exciting films to watch this summer. Guest: Flick Ford See acast.com/pr...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has just returned from two international summits, but Australia’s diplomatic standing is worse than ever. His handling of a $100 billion submarine contract has created tension with both France and the United States, two traditional allies, and he’s also been accused by his predecessor of being a serial liar. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on Sc...

With international travel resuming and our biggest states re-opening, life in Australia is finally returning to normal.  So, is this really the beginning of the end of the Covid-19 pandemic? And what have we learnt from the past eighteen months?  Today, Nobel prize winning scientist Peter Doherty on what surprised him most about the pandemic, and the way we respond, and what we should expect in th...

In Australia the not-for-profit sector employs over a million people, and it’s growing. Much of this growth is driven by charities accepting government grants to deliver essential services to our most vulnerable.  But these grants come with strict contractual obligations, which effectively prevent organisations from holding government agencies to account. Frontline workers say that this can mean t...

Last week former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian fronted the Independent Commission Against Corruption and was asked candid questions about the nature of her relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on what happened when Gladys Berejiklian went to ICAC, and what the corruption investigation reveals about NSW politics. Guest: Natio...

Dave Chappelle is one of the most successful comedians in the world, and his latest Netflix special, ‘The Closer’, reportedly made him $20 million. The special has sparked a huge amount of backlash, prompting a staff walkout at Netflix, and calls for the special to be taken down.  This week comedians Cassie Workman and Tom Ballard join The Culture , to help unpack the reignited conversation around...

After spending weeks locked in secret negotiations with the Nationals on climate policy, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is finally heading to the UN summit in Glasgow. But while Morrison’s deal with the minor party might solve an internal political issue for him, it still leaves Australia without a serious and ambitious emissions reduction plan. And that could lead to more political trouble for Mor...

Right now world leaders are gearing up for COP26: a major international climate summit starting in just a few days. The summit has been billed as humanity’s last chance to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change. But while many developed nations are preparing to commit to strong emissions reduction targets, Australia remains an outlier. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper...

A landmark judgement by the High Court of Australia has reignited debate over whether or not our legal system is fit for purpose in the age of social media. The Court found that news organisations are liable for the comments posted on their Facebook pages. The decision has forced many news sites to disable comments - impacting how each of us find and consume the news. Today, legal affairs editor f...

In recent weeks the world’s two superpowers, China and the United States, have been steadily building up their military presence in the Taiwan Strait. Chinese President Xi Jinping has made it clear that he wants to bring Taiwan back under China’s control, a move the United States seems likely to resist at all costs. Today, Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University Hugh White on how...

At the last federal election, mining billionaire Clive Palmer spent more than $80 million trying to influence the makeup of Australia’s parliament. Now his United Australia Party is back with a new leader - Craig Kelly. Kelly, a former Liberal MP known for his controversial views, says that under his leadership the United Australia Party is stronger and bigger than ever. Today, national correspond...

Today, Helen Garner, one of Australia’s most acclaimed authors, will be reading her piece from the latest issue of The Monthly .  It features entries from her diaries, covering her experience during this year’s lockdown in Melbourne. Guest: Helen Garner, acclaimed Australian novelist and nonfiction writer. Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out...

When the Real Housewives first aired 16 years ago it was written off as “trashy”. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem even called it "a minstrel show for women". But the show has shrugged off those labels, and become bigger and bigger, exploring themes of consumerism, class, and race, all while being highly entertaining. Now the franchise is at the centre of serious legal drama, providing both high stake...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has finally confirmed that he will be attending the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow in November. Morrison is under pressure, both from voters and Australia’s international allies, to publicly support a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.  But his coalition partners, the Nationals, are yet to support the policy - and some in the minor party are pushi...

Over the past week, Victoria’s anti-corruption commission has heard damning evidence about the political culture at the heart of the state’s Labor party.  The allegations aired so far include claims of branch stacking and misuse of taxpayer funds, and the investigation has already forced the resignation of a number of state government ministers. Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturda...

From the moment the pandemic began, uncovering the origins of Covid-19 has been a fraught pursuit. Many different theories - some more viable than others - have flourished, including the hypothesis that Covid-19 was deliberately leaked from a lab in Wuhan.  The Wuhan lab leak theory has been given new prominence thanks to a controversial book written by Australian journalist and Sky News commentat...

As vaccination rates across Australia continue to surge, the country is preparing for life after lockdown. But focusing on the headline, national vaccination rate masks the fact that many vulnerable groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, have been left behind in the race to get vaccinated. For the first time leaked government documents have revealed the disproportiona...

When Afghanistan fell back under Taliban control earlier this year, the Australian government announced it would evacuate more than 4000 people.  Most of them arrived in cities in the middle of Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdowns, unsure about what happens next and how to navigate their lives in a new and unfamiliar country. But despite being promised safety here, some are concerned they could be sen...

After a two year break HBO’s ‘Succession’ is finally back for season three. The first two seasons of ‘Succession’ were critically acclaimed, but failed to attract big audiences.  But the hype has been steadily building as more and more people streamed the show during the pandemic. To help preview the new season, and talk about how the show became such a phenomenon, writer and critic for The Saturd...

Four years ago Prime Minister Scott Morrison wielded a lump of coal in the Australian Parliament, demonstrating his commitment to fossil fuels. Now he’s trying to pivot, shifting his government towards a position of supporting net-zero emissions by 2050. But Morrison is facing stiff opposition from his Coalition partners in the National party, who have historically been opposed to taking more seri...

This week, after more than 100 days in lockdown, NSW residents were officially allowed back into restaurants, bars, shops and gyms.  But for many, the end of lockdown wasn’t about being able to drink beer in a pub again but the chance to see family after months of isolation. Today, 7am producer Kara Jensen-Mackinnon speaks to two sisters finally reunited after lockdown about what opening up means...

Since coming to power the federal Coalition has chipped away at the public service, increasingly outsourcing key functions of government to private companies. In the past 18 months everything from the vaccine rollout strategy, to advice on manufacturing the vaccine has been contracted out to management consultants. The trend has raised important questions about transparency, and the long-term sust...

The resignation of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, following the announcement of an investigation by the state’s ICAC, has renewed calls for a federal anti-corruption watchdog. In the lead up to the last federal election Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised to implement such a body, but the model he’s put forward has been criticised for being too weak. Today, contributing editor to The Monthly R...