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There is fresh momentum behind the Adani mine in central Queensland, as the state government pushes through approvals and native title is extinguished. What happens next could define Australia’s relationship to climate change both here and globally. Anna Krien visited the Adani blockade and spoke to the people fighting there. Guest: Writer and journalist Anna Krien. Background reading: Inside the...

The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has heard evidence of dysfunction, inflexibility and underfunding. It has also heard personal accounts of what it is like to care for someone with a mental illness. Thornton McCamish on the people who are trying to stop the revolving door. Guest: Author and writer for The Monthly Thornton McCamish. Background reading: Spiralling admissions...

The Morrison government has been flatfooted by public outrage over its plan to deport a family from Biloela. Attempts to recapture the narrative have seen clumsy, anti-asylum seeker stories placed in The Australian . Paul Bongiorno on the political panic that has accompanied compassion for a Tamil family whose town spoke up. Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. Background readin...

Josh Frydenberg’s appeal for companies to address wage stagnation underscores the lack of government policy in the area. It also highlights how the Australian market preferences dividends over innovation. Mike Seccombe on the distorting realities in the pay debate. Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe. Background reading Stalemate on stagnant wage growth in The Saturd...

As Brian Toohey releases his major book on national security in Australia, he reveals that American spies have been working here without detection. Karen Middleton on secrecy and the state of the alliance. Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton. Background reading: CIA agents in Australia in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information...

The Panama Papers were the largest leak in financial history. They helped expose tax evasion and misdeeds that ensnared major companies and foreign governments. The reporter who first got the documents, Bastian Obermayer, on how he handled the leak and what he has found in Australia. Guest: Investigative journalist Bastian Obermayer. Background reading: The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more info...

Months before the latest mass protests began in Hong Kong, the Chinese government shut down an art exhibition in the city. The work was by Badiucao, a Chinese-Australian artist living in Melbourne. He has since been harassed and intimidated in Australia, and his work has become a key part of the pro-democracy protests.  Guest: Chinese-Australia visual artist and political cartoonist Badiucao. Back...

As Scott Morrison celebrates Timor-Leste’s independence, tension over the Witness K case continues to undermine the relationship. At the same time, Canberra is standing up to Beijing over the imprisonment of Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun. Paul Bongiorno on the political calculus that separates the two. Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. Background reading:  Timor-Lest...

When a communications agency started contacting members of the Muslim community for social media training, it seemed like their intentions were to elevate new voices. But the program was funded by the Department of Home Affairs, and the messages being positioned were from the government. Shakira Hussein on what it’s like to be pulled into a propaganda machine. Guest: Writer and academic Shakira Hu...

The Greens is a party with a leader who many think is too mainstream, struggling with the growing pains of infighting and factionalism. The party’s biographer says it is also on the cusp of another step change. Paddy Manning on Richard Di Natale and his third force. Guest: Contributing editor (politics) for The Monthly and author of Inside the Greens Paddy Manning. Background reading:  Inside the...

Scott Morrison has made a new appeal to the group he calls the “Quiet Australians”. He says they have a “trust deficit” with the public service and he wants bureaucracy to change itself so it can focus on serving them. The problem - as Rick Morton reports - is that research describes the opposite of what the prime minister is saying.  Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. For more info...

Joelle Gergis is one of Australia’s leading climate scientists. She says the current modelling is worse than previously thought. She also says the most extreme effects of climate change can still be arrested - they just need immediate and radical action. She says there is resistance to talking about emotions around science, but she feels grief and anger. Guest: Climate scientist Joelle Gergis. For...

After unhappy scenes at the Pacific Islands Forum, Scott Morrison is making a tour of Vietnam and then France for the G7. But his attempts at diplomacy are held back by his position on climate change. Paul Bongiorno on Scott Morrison, out in the world. Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. Background reading: The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on today’s episode,...

The furore over Australian swimmer Mack Horton’s stand against long-time rival Sun Yang underscores confusion about how drug testing in sport works. It has also begun a minor diplomatic incident between Australia and China. Tracey Holmes on what actually happened and what it means.  Guest: Journalist and host of The Ticket Tracey Holmes. Background reading: Hypocrisy and bad blood in  The Saturday...

As the Andrews government attempts to negotiate treaty with First Nations people in Victoria, it is proceeding with a plan to bulldoze hundreds of sacred Djab Wurrung trees. At the same time, Crown land that might have been part of treaty has been sold off. Lidia Thorpe on the campaign to protect her people’s heritage. Guest: Djab Wurrung traditional owner and former Victorian state MP Lidia Thorp...

As Xi Jinping increases his power and ambition, there is tension over the influence China has in Australia. Progressive critics finds themselves aligned with right-wing voices. Mike Seccombe on how we assess the threat posed to our democracy by the Chinese Communist Party. Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast....

Adam Goodes is one of the great AFL players of his generation. His career was played, especially in its final seasons, at the intersection of race and politics. Stan Grant on the weight of that story and what it means now. Guest: Writer and broadcaster Stan Grant. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au. Background reading : Adam Goodes and writing a new Australia in The S...

As the Morrison government begins its inquiry into press freedom, there is concern about the bipartisanship of the committee hearing it. At the centre is Andrew Hastie, facing his own issues over comments on China. Paul Bongiorno on the politics behind both. Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. Background reading:  Press freedom and Hastie words on China in The Saturday Paper Th...

A strict legal framework means there is a shortage of sperm donors across Australia. But online there is a huge and unregulated market of people willing to donate. Marina Kamenev on sperm donation in the time of Facebook. Guest: Journalist and contributor to The Monthly Marina Kamenev. Background reading:  The sperm drought in The Monthly  The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on tod...

In the past decade, reports of teachers and principals being abused by parents have increased. Accounts range from intimidation to stalking. Jane Caro on the possible explanations and the impact on the schools sector. Guest: Writer and broadcaster Jane Caro. Background reading : The bullying of school leadership by parents in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly  For more information...

The refusal of the major parties to hold a parliamentary inquiry into Crown Casino speaks to a larger and more pervasive relationship between politics and gambling. The Labor Party, for instance, draws millions in profits from its own poker machines. Mike Seccombe on the links between political parties and the gaming lobby. Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe.  Backg...

For the first time ever, individual articles in the media can be linked to far-right recruitment drives. High on the list is reporting from The Australian , in stories about Safe Schools as well as about race. Rick Morton on responsibility and self-reflection in an industry historically bad at both. Guest: Writer and author Rick Morton. Background reading: The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more i...

A visit from key US ministers gives a clearer picture of what America wants from Australia. But as Trump’s trade war with China escalates, it also sets the stakes for Scott Morrison’s visit to Washington. Paul Bongiorno on the weekend talks and the vice we’re in. Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. Background reading: The Saturday Paper The Monthly  For more information on toda...

The royal commission into aged care has heard evidence of extreme deprivation and mistreatment. It has also inquired into the toll taken on people caring for the elderly. Kate O’Halloran on looking after her grandmother, and what happened when she complained about her treatment. Guest: Journalist and research fellow at Victoria University Kate O’Halloran. Background reading: Carers’ evidence on ag...

Comments about Aboriginal people by a Northern Territory judge have led to widespread outrage. But the legal body whose clients were being addressed did not lodge a formal complaint. Russell Marks on the silence in the Northern Territory justice system.  Guest: Lawyer and writer Russell Marks. Background reading: Rough justice in the Northern Territory in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The...