Spin Cycle

Charlie, fresh from the room itself, joins Rachel to dissect Pauline Hanson's address to the National Press Club, unpacking why the press gallery played it so safe and how even the sharper questions still failed to pin her down. Plus, a roleplay of Tim Wilson's breakfast TV meltdown at Amanda Rishworth.

Jess and Rachel speak with Jeff Sparrow - Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Advancing Journalism and former Triple R Breakfaster - about his essay for The Conversation examining how liberal media outlets in Australia and the US have applied starkly different standards to coverage of Gaza compared to other conflicts. Plus - why does Dave Hughes care so much about changes to negative gearing and the...

ABC journalist Emily Baker talks to Jess, Charlie and Rachel about her investigation into sexual violence in Byron Bay in the 2000s. Plus, the team unpacks why Charlie Pickering's decision to call Grace Tame "problematic" was itself pretty problematic — and his non-apology.

Charlie and Rachel are joined by writer and author Patrick Marlborough to dissect the Abbott vs Downer battle for the Liberal Party presidency, unpack what Michael Gawenda's factually-challenged essay reveals about the declining standards of The Australian , and examine how media coverage of the interim Antisemitism Royal Commission report has played out.

Jess and Charlie speak with RMIT journalism lecturer and Triple R broadcaster (host of Future Perfect on Monday mornings) Dylan Bird about World Press Freedom Day, before dissecting the chaos of the White House Correspondents' Dinner and unpacking the Australian government and media's growing obsession with social cohesion.

Guardian Australia's chief investigations correspondent, Christopher Knaus, joins Spin Cycle to discuss his recent investigation into the death of Bikram Lama, a young Nepali man who died homeless in Sydney's Hyde Park.

Jess and Rachel are joined by Ben Smee, Guardian Australia reporter, delving into the new series Broken Trust . The two-year investigation looks into the handling of domestic violence cases in Queensland, and the alleged failures of the police force and courts. They also talk updates on Victorian politics, in particular, Jess Wilson’s supposed care for housing affordability. If this episode has ra...

Jess and Charlie are going all in on American reporter, Olivia Nuzzi this week, in light of the media coverage of her new book, American Canto. They also discuss the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility, and Sky News’ failings on TikTok.

Charlie, Rachel and special guest host Esther Linder discuss the news of the week, from the Victorian government’s punitive youth crime plans to the announcement that young Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg is running for office…. despite having never held down a job. They are then joined by award-winning journalist and RMIT professor Alexandra Wake to discuss the resignation of two senior BBC figure...

Jess, Charlie and Rachel are joined by reporter, photographer, videographer and podcaster Preeshita Shah, who has just graduated from Melbourne Uni’s Centre for Advancing Journalism. Shah, who plans on becoming a war correspondent, shares the lessons she learnt from Chris Hedges during his recent visit, and reflects on the ways in which she and her Gen Z peers approach questions of “impartiality”...

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Chris Hedges joins Jess, Charlie and Rachel to discuss Israel’s occupation of Gaza and his cancelled address, 'The Betrayal of Palestinian Journalists.' Chris speaks about his seven years of reporting from the Middle East – much of it in Gaza – including being on the receiving end of Israeli firepower. Jess and Charlie also discuss Sussan Ley’s embarras...

Canadian-Egyptian journalist and novelist Omar El Akkad, discusses his new book One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This , which critiques what it means to live in the West, during a time of devastating world events occurring across the world. A journalist for ten years, Omar has reported on various pivotal political movements and events, and describes how this shaped his response to th...

Jess, Charlie and Rachel invite freelance journalist and author of Slick, Royce Kurmelovs, to share some insights following the government’s announcement of its lacklustre 2035 emissions reduction target (or should we say range). The trio also discuss the moment the new Sky After Dark show, Freya Fires up, self-combusted after allowing UK Islamophobe for hire, Ryan Willams, to rant live to air whi...

Rachel, Jess and Charlie have another Radiothon special, this time joined by friend of the show Natalie Feliks, as they discuss the importance of community radio and independent media. Natalie shares her thoughts on the ongoing attacks on the trans community following the shooting of American right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk, as well as her love for RRR, while the team try not to lose their col...

Poet and co-editor of Overland Evelyn Araluen joins Jess, Charlie and Rachel to discuss the sudden closure of Meanjin, after Melbourne University Publishing decided that the 85 year old literary journal was no longer financially viable. They discuss the lack of communication over the closure, whether removing the archives paywall will lead to AI scraping of decades of Australian literary culture,...

Jess, Charlie and Rachel are joined by ABC reporter Nabil Al-Nashar followed by anti-fascist researcher Andy Fleming — aka Slack Bastard — to discuss the “March for Australia” rallies that took place in cities across Australia. Nabil shares his experience covering the rallies as a person of colour, including racist feedback on his social media, while Andy offers some perspective on the role the ma...

Rachel is back in the studio with Jess and Charlie, and they are joined by Esther Anatolitis. The four discuss the news stories of the week - including the productivity commission, the revelations about Iran’s involvement in anti-semitic attacks in Australia, Linda Reynolds’ defamation win against Brittany Higgins, and the media response to the police killings in Porepunkah. They also interview Ni...

Charlie and Jess are joined by OG Spin Cycler, Najma Sambul, and junior Spinner, Donnie, to celebrate Triple R’s radiothon festival. They discuss all the reasons why it is more important than ever to support independent media right now, reflecting on the guests of the show over the last 12 months. Subscribe at rrr.org.au to keep Spin Cycle broadcasting.

Jess and Charlie begin the show discussing the media’s failure to report Israel’s targeted attacks on journalists accurately. They talk to freelance photojournalists Alex Zucco and Jay Kogler about their experience photographing a neo-Nazi gathering in Bacchus Marsh, how they responded when they came under attack, and what it’s like working as an independent photojournalist in Australia. Charlie a...

Jess and Charlie discuss the search for offence in the media's coverage of the March for Humanity in Sydney over the weekend, and discuss conservative media's coverage of protests more generally. They are then joined by Guardian reporters Sarah Collard and Ella Archibald-Binge to discuss their incredible investigative series with Lorena Allam, The Descendants , that draws direct lines between fron...

In this week' Spin Cycle, Charlie and Jess discuss mushroom robots, and the media’s shift in reporting on Gaza. In particular they focus on the use of the image of toddler Muhammad al-Matouq and the heartless debate around its context. The team then share Jess's interview with Palestinian journalist, Plestia Alaqad, about the reality of reporting on the ground in Gaza, and her book, The Eyes of Ga...

Crikey reporter Daany Saeed joins Jess and Charlie to talk about Trump, Murdoch and Epstein - what are the differences between defamation in Australia and the US, and is this finally a turning point for Trump's unravelling? Jess and Charlie also cover the continuing misinformation around Israel's War on Gaza and some of the imbalanced censuring of MPs upon Parliament's return.

Donnie joins Jess to discuss a new record-breaking Roblox game 'Grow a Garden', and the Moo Deng celebration in Thailand raising awareness for the conservation of pigmy hippos. They are then joined by Nick Feik to talk on the history of Jillian Segal, in light of her new plan to combat anti semitism in Australia. They discuss what the plan is about and how the media has contributed to the conflati...

Joey Watson joins Jess and Charlie to discuss online radicalisation in light of his new Listnr investigative podcast ‘Lone Actor’, which delves into the background of the Christchurch shootings. Jess and Charlie also talk about the mushroom murder convictions, and the government’s conflation of the purpose of protests in the name of broader regulation.

Investigative reporter for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, Eryk Bagshaw, joins the Spin Cycle team to review his recent exposure of hospitality giant Merivale’s exploitation of migrant workers. Together they discuss the background of the story, and how the series of articles came together with the work of multiple journalists.