7am

Josh Frydenberg’s second budget is a world away from the surplus he was predicting last year. Now, in the middle of a pandemic, debt is on track to hit $1 trillion and the Treasurer is talking up a jobs-led recovery. Today, Karen Middleton on a budget of big numbers and heroic assumptions.    Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton. See acast.com/privacy for pri...

The future of Australia’s universities hangs in the balance, with radical reforms to funding and student fees due to be voted this week. The government has been negotiating furiously behind closed doors to pass its legislation through the Senate. Today, Rick Morton, on the surprising stance taken by Senator Jacqui Lambie.   Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background read...

Helen Garner is one of Australia’s most celebrated authors, and today on 7am she talks to host Ruby Jones about the diary she kept during lockdown in Melbourne and what she experienced during her months of isolation. Guest: Author and contributor to The Monthly Helen Garner. Background reading: The lockdown diaries in The Monthly See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See omnys...

In a truly collaborative effort, host of online cabaret “Choose Your Own Variety” Ali McGregor and comedian Claire Hooper are let down only by the self-confessed sports-shaped hole in their knowledge. Still, they know the chemical formula of table salt, they work out the cube root of 729, and via a circuitous route, through pop culture, they arrive at which vaccine was invented by Jonas Salk. Gues...

As the Treasurer prepares the upcoming federal budget he’s facing pressure to spend big and keep the economy afloat. But can a government historically preoccupied with cutting spending invest more in economic stimulus? Today, Paul Bongiorno on the challenge facing Josh Frydenberg, and the country.   Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-o...

Throughout the pandemic, there’s been a vocal group of journalists who are adamant the risk of Covid-19 is being overblown. But what drives this kind of thinking, and is it changing anyone’s mind? Today, Richard Cooke on the Covid contrarians, and what they tell us about the state of the Australian media landscape. Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Richard Cooke. Background reading: The media’s...

When the NSW National Party threatened to break up the state’s Coalition over the issue of koalas many were mystified. But behind the political fireworks lies a story about a party being squeezed from both the right and the left. Today, Mike Seccombe on the Nationals fight for survival.    Guest: National Correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe. Background reading: NSW Nationals over a...

Australia’s universities have been hit hard by the pandemic, with thousands of job losses. Now the federal government wants to change the way the sector is funded, and how much students will pay. Today, Rick Morton on the crisis facing our universities, and why we’re on the brink of destroying our national research capacity. Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background rea...

Victoria’s second wave has been attributed to an outbreak of Covid-19 amongst private contractors working in hotel quarantine, and now government documents reveal more contractors at quarantine hotels have tested positive for the virus. Today, Osman Faruqi on Melbourne’s ‘hot hotels’ and the risks they might still pose.   Guest: Editor of 7am , Osman Faruqi. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and o...

Fearful of geography-based questions, this week’s guests – theatre maker Anne-Louise Sarks and political commentator Sean Kelly – nevertheless manage to navigate their way through the choppy waters of Caribbean nations, English cities and French history. Guests: Anne-Louise Sarks and Sean Kelly In the paper (this time, in The Monthly): Snapback See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informa...

Scott Morrison has spent the week untangling himself from Tony Abbott’s policies, on both climate change and the NBN. Today, Paul Bongiorno on new roadmaps and old problems.   Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Staff and students at Brunswick North West Primary School have endured one of the longest school shutdowns in the world, and they’ve created their own community radio station to help each other through it. Today, Ruby Jones talks to the students and the teacher behind BNWPS radio.   Guest: Brunswick North West Primary School music teacher Jack Madin and his students. See acast.com/privacy for priv...

Confidential documents leaked to The Saturday Paper show that hospitals remain a key area of coronavirus transmission, while doctors and nurses in Melbourne complain that they’re still not getting access to proper protective equipment. Today, Osman Faruqi on how healthcare worker infections are contributing to the length of Victoria’s second wave. Guest: Editor of 7am Osman Faruqi. Background read...

A Royal Commission has heard hundreds of aged care centres are facing financial collapse, as the crisis in the sector takes its toll. In the second half of this special two part series, Rick Morton investigates what happened to the aged care sector under the leadership of Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison.   Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background reading: The collapse o...

For decades, we’ve been warned about a crisis in Australia’s aged care sector, and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed its failures. In the first half of a special two part series Rick Morton traces the problems in aged care to Howard-era reforms, demanded by private, for-profit providers.   Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background reading: The collapse of aged care (...

What do Walloons, Novak Djokovic and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all have in common? They’re all questions that stump actor Belinda Bromilow and her husband, Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning writer Tony McNamara. Guests: Belinda Bromilow and Tony McNamara Background reading: Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony McNamara in The Saturday Paper See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out...

The federal Opposition is seeking to capitalise on the current economic downturn by arguing that the government’s policies are making things worse. Meanwhile, the prime minister is pinning his hopes on a gas-led recovery. Today, Paul Bongiorno on how Labor fired up, and the political battle over energy policy. Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. See acast.com/privacy for privac...

Australia’s economy has taken its biggest hit since the Great Depression, but so far government stimulus measures have cushioned most people and businesses from the worst impacts. Those stimulus measures are about to dry up. Today, the upcoming danger zone for Australia’s economy, and how we can avoid it.   Guest: CEO of the Grattan Institute Danielle Woods. Background reading: The way out of the...

Australia has one of the most concentrated media markets in the world, and that concentration could worsen as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp launches a new service. Today, Mike Seccombe, on how the Australian Associated Press was nearly shut down, and now faces the prospect of being starved out.   Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe. Background reading: Murdoch grab: The...

A coronavirus vaccine is the best chance the world has of returning to some kind of normal, but the stalling of one of the most viable candidates last week was a reminder that nothing is guaranteed. Today, Karen Middleton on the Australian government’s plans and the likelihood of a vaccine in 2021.  Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton. Background reading: Va...

A leaked briefing from Victoria’s chief health officer has contradicted public statements on contact tracing, and highlighted flaws with the privatised response to coronavirus in the state. Today, Osman Faruqi details the extraordinary call, and what it means for Victoria’s roadmap out of the pandemic.   Guest: Journalist and editor of 7am, Osman Faruqi. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-o...

Actor Miranda Tapsell describes her partner, James Colley, as a little nerd. His performance on the quiz doesn’t do anything to dispel that. If you don’t need any hints to answer “What technology is used to make telephone calls over the internet?” then a little nerd is exactly what you are. Guests: Miranda Tapsell and James Colley In the paper: Top End Wedding actress Miranda Tapsell See acast.com...

Scott Morrison is waging a war on two fronts this week. He’s locked in a battle with state governments to reopen borders, and he’s increasingly blaming the Victorian government for the severity of the state’s second wave. Today, Paul Bongiorno on the growing political divide across the country.   Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out...

As coronavirus transforms the country before our eyes, cultural institutions are trying to record what is happening in real time, as part of a movement towards constructing ‘social histories’. But, as Lauren Carroll Harris reports, Australian museums are hampered by a lack of a national vision for how to conduct arts and culture in the country.    Guest: Contributor to The Saturday Paper Lauren Ca...

Inheritance taxes are a feature of most advanced economies, including the UK and the US. But in Australia they haven’t been levied for 40 years, and their abolition has contributed to growing inequality in the country. Today, James Boyce on why now is the right time to restart the conversation on death taxes.   Guest: Author and contributor to The Saturday Paper James Boyce. Background reading: Th...