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The country might still be in the grip of a pandemic and ongoing lockdowns, but our major parties are already planning for a looming federal election. The Prime Minister has strongly hinted the nation could be heading to the polls in just a few months, and the political battle lines are now being drawn. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on when the election looks likely to be...

Over the past few weeks the world has witnessed scenes of chaos and desperation in Afghanistan as people scrambled to evacuate the country as it fell to the Taliban. Some were able to get out, but many others, including Afghans with Australian visas remain trapped. Coalition forces had been planning their withdrawal from Afghanistan for months, but it’s now emerged that intelligence reports failed...

Follow journalist Ruby Jones as she investigates an open secret in the Australian music industry -- stories of harassment, abuse and assault spanning decades. In this episode, Ruby asks why Me Too stories are still so hard to tell in Australia - and why there is so much fear about speaking out, and naming names. So will Ruby be able to tell this story? Or will the allegations remain hidden in plai...

As hospitals in NSW and Victoria prepare to deal with an influx of Covid-19 patients, there are fresh concerns that our healthcare system might not be up to the challenge. Hundreds of healthcare workers have been forced into isolation during this outbreak, putting further pressure on a system already grappling with the Delta strain. Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton, on the...

As wealthy countries like Australia race to vaccinate their population, many other nations in our region are falling behind due to the high cost of vaccines: a cost set by big pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer. As a result, South East Asia is now the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Lyndal Rowlands on the proposal that could speed up vaccinations aro...

Lorde released her first full-length album, Pure Heroine , back in 2013 and it struck a chord around the world, selling 5 million copies, picking up two Grammys and inspiring a new generation of pop artists. Four years later Lorde returned with her follow-up, the critically acclaimed but much less commercially successful, Melodrama . Another four years down the track, she’s back with her third alb...

It was just a couple of weeks ago that the Prime Minister, along with state and territory leaders, signed off a plan to end lockdowns and border closures when vaccine rates reached 80 percent of the adult population. But it didn’t take long for the so-called national plan to fall apart, with states and the federal government spending the last week bickering over Australia’s roadmap out of this cri...

As scientists, and the United Nations, continue to warn about the likely impacts of climate change, the federal government is spending big to help prop up the gas industry. One company in particular has been the sole beneficiary of a government fund established to help drill for gas in the Northern Territory.  That company, which has links to the Liberal Party, has been quietly lobbying for federa...

In November 2020, an Instagram account began to publish anonymous stories of harassment, abuse and assault in the Australian music industry. These were stories that journalist Ruby Jones had heard whispers about before. But when she started looking into them, she found that the allegations were much worse than she had thought, and that they were an open secret in the music industry.  Everybody Kno...

One of the most concerning outbreaks of Covid-19 in the country right now is taking place in western NSW. Towns like Wilcannia and Walgett have high Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations and some of the lowest vaccination rates in the state. When the pandemic hit the region only eight percent of Indigenous people were fully vaccinated. Now, with the virus spreading fast, there are seri...

As Covid-19 case numbers continue to reach record highs in NSW, so too do hospitalisations and intensive care admissions. Now, a leaked document from the National Cabinet has revealed that the state’s hospitals could soon reach a tipping point. Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton, on exactly who is being hospitalised with Covid-19 and how close our hospitals really are to cap...

After twenty years of war, invasion and occupation, US-led forces in Afghanistan, including Australian defence personnel have finally withdrawn, ending one of the longest military engagements in modern history. Within weeks of the withdrawal the Taliban, who were officially deposed at the beginning of the conflict, swept the country, seizing the capital, Kabul, and retaking control. Now there are...

Tony Armstrong, former AFL player and sports presenter on ABC News Breakfast, joins The Culture to talk about a show one of the most heartwarming TV shows out right now - ‘Ted Lasso’. The first season dropped on Apple TV last year, starring Jason Sudeikis as the small-time US football coach, who ends up coaching a UK Premier League soccer team. The show went on to make history, scoring 20 Emmy nom...

This week the federal government was caught out without a clear plan on two of the biggest crises facing the world right now: the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In both instances, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been accused of not sufficiently preparing for outcomes that many had predicted, and responding too defensively. Today, columnist for The Sa...

Outbreaks of Covid-19 are continuing to spread across the country, hitting largely unvaccinated and unprepared populations. Eighteen months into the pandemic many Australians are feeling exhausted, and compliance with public health measures is dropping off - leading governments to ramp up policing efforts. Today, infectious disease and pandemic response expert Dr Alexandra Phelan on the situation...

From its origins as a little watched cable news broadcaster, Sky News has grown into a media powerhouse reaching millions of people, primarily on YouTube. Now it’s broadening its reach even further, into the homes of thousands of Australians living in the regions, further solidifying Rupert Murdoch’s control of news media in Australia. Today, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on what Murdoch is pla...

NSW is currently experiencing its worst outbreak of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. With case numbers continuing to rise, the government has slowly acknowledged it’s losing control. Unlike the rest of the country, it now appears that NSW is abandoning its intention of eliminating the virus and reaching zero cases of community transmission, instead relying more heavily on vaccinations. To...

Australian scientist Joëlle Gergis was one of the lead authors on a landmark climate report by the IPCC, a United Nations body responsible for assessing the science on climate change. The report has been described as “code red” for humanity, a desperate attempt by the world’s best climate scientists to force political leaders to take action and stop runaway climate change. Today, Joëlle Gergis exp...

This week on The Culture, we’re talking about the young Kamilaroi kid from Waterloo, New South Wales, who this week topped the US Billboard charts. His name is The Kid LAROI, and his album 'F*ck Love' is taking the world by storm. He dropped his debut EP at 14, was mentored by the likes of Juice WRLD at 15, and signed an international deal at 16. He’s collaborated with Miley Cyrus and his most rec...

Australia’s anti-lockdown movement reached federal parliament this week, when a rogue Coalition MP took to the floor to blast public health measures used to limit the spread of Covid-19. The comments highlight growing divisions in the government over Australia’s national approach to the pandemic. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the challenges Scott Morrison is facing from...

In 2014 two friends from Sydney created a company that transformed the way we buy and sell things online. That company, Afterpay, has become a bedrock of the online shopping experience, growing exponentially every year. Its success was cemented when it was sold for $39 billion, making it the largest corporate deal in Australian history. Afterpay promises the allure of credit-free online shopping....

No matter which major party wins the next federal election, the top 5 percent of income earners in Australia will receive tax cuts worth 180 dollars a week.  These tax cuts, which will overwhelmingly benefit high income earners, will cost the budget 300 billion dollars over 10 years. So how will those cuts be funded? According to those in the social services sector it's likely to be made from cuts...

Eighteen months into the pandemic Scott Morrison has announced a plan for the way out, underpinned by modelling from one of our most respected scientific institutes, The Doherty Institute. The plan itself, which has four phases, is based on vaccination rates. It predicts we could be living almost as normal when we reach 80 percent of the population fully vaccinated.  But how likely are we to reach...

For thousands of years naturally occurring psychedelics have been used medicinally. But for the past few decades, research into their potential has been on hold, because their supply and use is illegal. Now, things are changing. In Australia there are a number of trials currently underway investigating the use of psychedelics as a way to treat depression and addiction.  But while the research is h...

In 2018 singer Billie Eilish released her debut album ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’ With it the teenager pretty much immediately changed the face and sound of modern pop music. Her album won all four of the major categories at the Grammy awards that year. The first time that’s happened since 1981. Her hit Bad Guy took out the top spot on the Hottest 100, making her both the youngest p...