Critical Line Item with Tom Ravlic

Jeff Schoep has spent almost half his life involved in an extremist movement. The former head of the National Socialist Movement in the United States left that organisation in March 2019 and has been an outspoken advocate against the ideology he was a part of for 27 years. He tells Tom Ravlic his story and how he gradually became aware that the life he had lived for more than a quarter of a centur...

6 News chief anchor Leo Puglisi is all smiles after YouTube has reinstated a video they booted off the platform for being 'too graphic'. Leo updates Tom Ravlic on what has transpired since YouTube caused 6 News to be off air one weekend. Leo also talks about the vibe at the climate strike protests he covered recently. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Australian National Audit Office is gearing up to open a can of worms in its review of the administration of JobKeeper if tax practitioners are any guide. TAx expert and trainer, Lisa Greig, has had to deal with JobKeeper. She outlines her concerns about the program and some of the administrative issues tax agents had to cope with when the pandemic hit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

The internet is full of text, images, audio and vision and sorting through it to find specific material related to conspiracies is, well, an impossible task without enlisting some digital assistance. Rand Corporation's Bill Marcellino joins Tom Ravlic in this podcast to explain what machine learning is and how computers are helping humans discover how much material there is on conspiracy theories...

Social media has provided state actors with a tool to engage in conflict that that takes the form of digital rhetoric. China's diplomats - also known as 'wolf warriors'- have become a symbol of how a state actor can and will use social media to tackle adversaries and critics. Marcel Schliebs, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, is the principal author of a study that looks at China's pu...

6 News has a following on Twitter and its chief anchor, Leonardo Puglisi, and his team are seen as honest brokers putting up a straight news bulletin each weekend. YoutTube gave Leonardo and his crew a channel strike for posting a video that was allegedly graphic. The 6 News crew dispute that classification. Leonardo joins Tom Ravlic to explain what on earth happened and how he feels about it. Hos...

Researcher and journalist James Cutler has looked at the far right in Melbourne up close and he has written academic papers based on his studies of the area. James spent some time tracking the progress of various far right identities and in this podcast shares the some observations about his time researching the extremist groups. What does he think about media coverage? And what can people do bett...

Every six months there is a Melbourne Cup field of analysis on the results of the banking section and accounting firm EY offers a perspective on the fortunes of the behemoths in the financial services space. EY partner Tim Dring explains why the banks results look better at the moment, what banks need to be worried about and why there is such a big focus on environmental, social and governance mat...

The Australian government is currently involved in a process of consultation that is aimed at designing a voice for indigenous people with the ultimate goal of giving them a more effective way of being heard by lawmakers. There are those like Professor Megan Davis, a prominent indigenous legal expert, who believe the current process puts the cart before the horse. She tells Tom Ravlic it would be...

The Soufan Center recently published a report that told readers that China, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia sought to amplify QAnoin conspiracies in order to mess with the minds of Americans just a tad. How did they do this? Data analyst Leela McClintock from US-based research firm Limbik explains to Tom Ravlic what does into finding the digital fingerprints that lead analysts to conclude not every...

The Australian taxpayer pays for the development of auditing standards but there is typically little interest in the process unless there is a controversy related to a company or firm. What the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board does is critical in ensuring the standards regulating audits and other assurance services are fit for purpose and designed to ensure auditors are focused on doing all...

6 News host Leonardo Puglisi is now an old hand at getting a bulletin out each week. Leo talks about how 6 News - a project that he fits in around school commitments - came about, the team he has assembled and what stories concern him. Have a listen! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cam Smith has spent the better part of almost two decades looking at and highlighting the activities of extremist groups. His work and that of Andy Fleming on the 3CR program, Yeah Nah Pasaran, provides a regular lens through which to examine the extreme views held by groups in Australia and overseas. The body of material by Smith and Fleming forms a unique body of evidence about the movements tha...

Phillip Wong is a long-time academic with a passion for teaching people the ropes in accounting. That passion has him on YouTube with a range of tutorial videos as well as his most recent foray into teaching the numbers game: a way of doing accounts for a small entity using Excel. Phillip talks about accounting education, complexities of business compliance and how people should look for solutions...

Australia is playing catch up with keeping tabs on far right groups and it continues to cause problems for the country's reputation with international think takes focusing on what is Australia's apparent reluctance to proscribe organisations as quickly as our intelligence partners. Labor's Senator Kristina Keneally provides an analysis of the problem through her eyes and talks about the role leade...

Iran is a country that for many is couched in mystique. It has had an interesting relationship with the United States and Kenneth Katzmann, an expert on the region, provides an overview of the tensions and challenges that exist between the United States. He is a contributor to the Soufan Centre's recent report on Iran in a personal capacity but works with the Congressional Research Service providi...

Warren Mundine has been at the cross roads of indigenous affairs and politics for a very long time. We last spoke with him almost 12 months ago just after the killing of George Floyd in the United States. This time the focus is laser like on getting the indigenous voice up and running as well as some of the controversies in Canberra involving poor behavior of politicians and staff. Hosted on Acast...

Channel 9 political editor Chris Uhlmann is known for being blunt in his assessment of the game of politics but some of that may just be attributed to his varied life experience before getting a gig at the age of 29 at the Canberra Times. He talks about news gathering, the importance of keeping on the chase, the role of reportage and commentary as well as explaining why he has grown to dislike asp...

Author Duncan McNab has spent a significant amount of time taking a deep dive into the Ruby Princess saga for his newly released book. He takes a look at the calamity that took place and reflects upon some fundamentals of reporting and investigation that are forgotten all too often. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Greg Barton is the Chair in Islamic Politics at Deakin University, which has meant you have seen him on television and heard him on radio a fair amount over the past two decades. In recent months he has been talking to the media and many others about the growth right wing extremism. This podcast looks at the implications of the War on Terror and how things may play out in regions such as...

Terrorist organsations need to resource their operations and history shows us that they use varying methods to get their hands on money to aid them in planning and executing acts of extreme political violence. Terrorism financing expert Jodi Viittori helps us decipher the world of shady financing used by the practitioners of political violence. Her 2011 book, Terrorist Financing and Resourcing, re...

The January 6 capitol insurrection reminded people that there are a range of groups that have the potential to create havoc in the United States that are classed as domestic terror threats. Who are these people? How do they differ from the global jihadists that have occupied intelligence, national security and military resources over the past two decades? Colin Clarke is the Director of Policy and...

Consultant and author Ben Kehoe has spent many years talking to businesses about how to improve what they do but the coronavirus has made it more challenging. What wisdom does Ben have for businesses and individuals struggling through this time? Listen up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Killelea is a businessman and philanthorpist who believes the world can be a much better place if we better understood how to help people in need. Steve talks to Tom Ravlic about his business career, his charitable work in various parts of the world and the Institute of Economics and Peace. His book, Peace in the Age of Chaos, looks at his perspective on some of the things political leaders...

The accounting world has had a range of challenges this year and Amir Ghandar, the auditing and accounting expert for the Chartered Accountants - Australia and New Zealand, talks about what has been a tumultuous year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.