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Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry examine a long list of stumbles and missteps made by politicians this week. They also discuss the prime minister’s Pacific push as China tested a long-range missile – and Nigel Farage’s resignation from politics only to stand at an upcoming byelection

Anthony Albanese offered an unequivocal apology this week after making an off-colour comment about Kylie Minogue while playing a ‘shag, marry, date’ game on a podcast. Josephine Tovey speaks with Patrick Keneally, Gabrielle Jackson and Josh Butler about what the prime minister’s latest podcast appearance says about an increasingly fractured media landscape

Today, Telstra’s chief financial officer Michael Ackland fronted up to the nation’s media to apologise – and answer questions about a massive outage that plunged the country into chaos. It stopped trains, turned off traffic lights and forced shops to close after Eftpos systems failed. And some calls to triple zero didn’t go through. Technology reporter Josh Taylor speaks to Reged Ahmad about what...

Since Donald Trump threatened to ‘take’ Cuba, the Caribbean island has been on edge. Escalating US sanctions and an oil blockade has crippled essential services, plunged the country into blackouts and ground life for its 10 million people to a near halt. Nour Haydar speaks with Ruaridh Nicoll about what life is like on the ground in Havana – and if US military intervention could be next

Co-hosts Reged Ahmad and Jonathan Yerushalmy look at the reported details emerging about Trump’s Fifa World Cup intervention and whether it will change the ‘beautiful game’. They also discuss the growing calls for Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race

This week social media giants have faced questioning at the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion as it asks: what more needs to be done to combat online hate? Reged Ahmad speaks to senior reporter Tory Shepherd on what the platforms have to say about accusations they have fuelled antisemitic content online

In a busy week for the prime minister, Anthony Albanese will meet with the leaders of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and India. On Monday he signed a new defence alliance with Fiji, advancing the government’s strategy to limit China’s influence in the Pacific. Later this week Albanese will also host the leaders of PNG and Tonga at the State of Origin in Brisbane. Meanwhile, back home, Albanese’s te...

More than a year ago, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination and went on to become the mayor of New York City. Now, his influence is spreading. Progressive and democratic socialist candidates endorsed by Mamdani have toppled established Democrats in New York and Colorado. But will this new way of doing politics connect with voters across the country? Nour Haydar speaks w...

The 2026 political year has already been surprising. Labor passed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, which they had previously ruled out. The Liberals changed leaders again, and One Nation has seen a surge of support in multiple polls. Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to press gallery colleagues Michelle Grattan, the chief political correspondent at the Conversation...

Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry discuss what led to the first drop in One Nation’s poll numbers in more than a year, and why the voters turning away from Pauline Hanson are not turning back towards the Liberal party. They also examine the politics of falling house prices and why it may end up being a challenge for Labor

An Australian man, Simon Peter Carman, 45, was charged over the weekend with the alleged murder of Thunchanok Donhomla. Her body was found in a suitcase near railway tracks in Pattaya, on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast, in the early hours of Saturday. Carman has denied the charges. Guardian reporter Natasha May speaks to Matilda Boseley from Pattaya about the arrest and the questions it raises abou...

How much do our genes determine about our lives, and could they influence traits like risk-taking, antisocial behaviour or even violence? Ian Sample talks to Kathryn Paige Harden, a behavioural geneticist and professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin who studies how genetic factors shape human behaviour. In her book Original Sin she explores how nature and nurture combine to inf...

In September 2025, Melbourne wellness influencer Stacey Warnecke decided to give birth at home, free of all medical help. No one else was present when she went into labour except her husband and a woman named Emily Lal. Warnecke later died in hospital. Lal, who describes herself as a ‘birth keeper’, had no formal medical training and had taken an online course offered by the Free Birth Society – a...

Jenny Kleeman investigates ‘Biotech Barbie’ Cathy Tie, the controversial entrepreneur hoping to revolutionise human reproduction by letting parents edit their embryos

Tony Barry and Barrie Cassidy examine a big week in politics. Will Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender prove successful with their new centrist political party? Is Angus Taylor in trouble after a week of stumbles responding to One Nation policies? And what lessons should Anthony Albanese learn from Keir Starmer’s downfall?

This week, Anthony Albanese’s UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, succumbed to mounting pressure and resigned as prime minister. A number of comparisons have been made between the pair, including resounding election wins followed by a decline in the polls while insurgent rightwing parties gained ground. Josephine Tovey speaks with Mike Ticher, Gabrielle Jackson and Guardian Australia’s international edi...

Earlier this year, Karl Stefanovic launched his own independent podcast, which has hosted a range of guests from the Anthony Albanese to Pauline Hanson. In one of his latest episodes, Stefanovic was in the UK to interview the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, a man with numerous criminal convictions who promotes Islamophobic conspiracy theories and is accused of inciting violent race riots. The e...

Reged Ahmad and Jonathan Yerushalmy are back after a short break and in this episode they examine the on-again, off-again talks to end the Iran war and why Donald Trump says it’s now all up to his deputy to deliver an outcome. Jonathan looks at the latest Kennedy to run for public office and asks: are Americans tired of political dynasties? And will Trump get his reflection pool finished in time f...

Having wiped out millions of birds worldwide and devastated wildlife populations around the globe, Australia has watched as the H5N1 strain of bird flu crept ever closer. And now it’s here, on the last continent to be hit. Birds have been discovered on beaches in Western Australia and tested positive for the virus. Reged Ahmad speaks to Graham Readfearn about how governments and wildlife experts a...

Keir Starmer has announced he will stand down as prime minister less than two years after his election victory, kickstarting the race for who will be the next Labour leader. And with MPs nervous about the growing threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform, many are speculating that the ‘King of the North’, Andy Burnham, could be next in the top job after a thumping victory in a local byelection last weeken...

Last week, the Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold but the decision was followed by a warning that a future rate rise was on the table because prices are still rising too fast. It came as the US and Iran signed an initial agreement to end more than three months of war, which had sent global supply chains into chaos. Meanwhile, Australians are feeling the pinch and deepening economic disaffect...

Socceroo Nestory Irankunda is part of a new generation of players who have renewed hopes for Australia’s chances in the Fifa World Cup. Multimedia journalist Bertin Huynh says as One Nation surges in the polls, those who represent us deserve celebration

Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry dissect Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club appearance this week and ask: is the leader of One Nation treated differently to other political leaders by the media? They also give their take on Hanson’s attacks on minorities, her pledge to dismantle public broadcasting and they meditate on whether appealing to people’s prejudices will backfire. And also: will the gover...

Pauline Hanson’s ascendancy in Australian politics was underscored this week by her first address to the National Press Club. In a lengthy speech, the leader of the rightwing party railed against multiculturalism and Islam in particular, pledged to slash public broadcasting and asserted the so-called ‘hoax’ of global warming was the driving factor behind poverty in Australia. Josephine Tovey speak...

Mason Jet Lee died at 22 months old after his stepfather punched him so hard his bowel ruptured. An exclusive Guardian Australia investigation has found that repeated warnings about his killer were ignored. Could an unpublished submission to the inquest of his death hold evidence of police failings? Nour Haydar and Queensland correspondent Ben Smee discuss what the violent death of Mason Jet Lee r...