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Companies like Uber and Airtasker have transformed the so-called ‘gig economy’ by hiring thousands of workers as independent contractors, rather than employees. But this practice has a downside - workers aren’t guaranteed basic rights like a minimum wage, superannuation or leave. It’s a model that is spreading across the Australian economy, removing more and more workers from traditional safety-ne...

More than three years ago, the Prime Minister Scott Morrison made an election promise to pass new laws protecting people of faith from discrimination. While the promise is now in tatters, the political debate around the bill has exposed enormous divisions in the Liberal party and raised important questions about how we treat some of the nation’s most vulnerable children.  Today, national correspon...

Australia has long been considered an international pariah on climate policy. Governments on both sides have regularly been criticised for failing to act fast enough. But one Australian, a former climate advisor to US President Joe Biden, thinks that we’re uniquely positioned to become one of the most successful zero emission economies in the world. Today, inventor and scientist Saul Griffith, aut...

Joe Rogan hosts one of the world’s most popular podcasts, regularly listened to by over 10 million people. But after interviewing a notorious anti-vaccination doctor on his show, Rogan and Spotify, the company that paid $100 million to exclusively host his podcast, are being targeted by high profile musicians like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. The episode has sparked important conversations about...

On Tuesday Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally apologised to all those who have experienced sexual harassment, assault or bullying while working in federal parliament.  During his speech he directly addressed former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, whose advocacy initiated the review that led to Morrison’s apology. The very next day, Brittany Higgins, alongside former Australian of the Year Gr...

Time is running out for the Liberal Party to select candidates in a number of key seats, ahead of the federal election. The process should have finished months ago, but internal battles within the party have caused significant delays. And there are allegations that one senior minister - close to the Prime Minister - may be holding up the process to deliberately engineer a crisis.  Today, chief pol...

Every year millions of dollars flows into the bank accounts of Australia's political parties - from individuals, businesses and unions. But loopholes and weak federal election laws mean that the source of more than half of the money political parties receive remains a mystery.  Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Hannah Ryan on how political parties are hiding the real source of their donatio...

Right now, if you contract Covid-19, the federal government’s advice is to contact the national coronavirus helpline.  The hotline is supposed to direct you to the latest medical information, inform you of how long you should isolate and whether you should get tested.  But in practice, it's staffed by workers who don’t have access to the information they need and administered by a company that pre...

Right now, in Western Australia, plans are underway to build Australia’s largest new fossil fuel project. If built, Woodside’s Scarborough gas plant would contribute significantly to global carbon dioxide emissions. But, it also threatens the existence of some of the oldest - and most significant - rock art in the world.  It’s not the first time a mining company has threatened an Indigenous herita...

Today, Gina Rushton’s latest story for The Monthly magazine, ‘The first victim’ is voiced by Lucy Moir.  The piece explores how victims of sexual assault are treated in courts of law - and asks whether the legal system in Australia puts people through unnecessary trauma. Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indie music icon Mitski had already released five albums and received critical acclaim before her 2018 song ‘Nobody’ blew up on TikTok.  On her new album, ‘Laurel Hell’, Mitski explores her relationship to the music industry and making art under capitalism, at a moment when she’s more famous than ever. Today Shaad D’Souza joins The Culture to talk about Mitski, TikTok, and the grind of being a mus...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the National Press Club in Canberra this week, hoping to reset his relationship with the public ahead of the federal election. Instead, it raised a series of questions – questions about just how out of touch Scott Morrison is with the Australian people and with his own party. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper , Paul Bongiorno on what the price of bread...

Fifteen hundred kilometres north of Perth, inmates at the Roebourne Regional Prison are exposed to some of the hottest temperatures in the country.  Recently, the prison marked its hottest day on record - reaching 50.5 degrees.  Former prisoners and advocates have warned that it’s not a matter of if someone at Roebourne will die from heat - it’s a matter of when.  Today, contributor to The Saturda...

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.