The Morning Edition

Investigative reporter Nick McKenzie logged on to a Zoom call to meet the man who said he was Aaron Pierson. McKenzie was also hiding his real identity, posing as a recruiter for an Australian tech company. The whole thing was a set-up, a trap for someone McKenzie suspected to be a spy for North Korea. Today, McKenzie talks about the new way spies are targeting Australian businesses, and what happ...

The government has finally announced its national fuel security plan to help us cope with one of the worst global oil crisis the world has seen. After meeting with the heads of all states and territories in a special meeting of the national cabinet, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was acting now to be “overprepared" for any worsening of the crisis that has resulted from t...

In a sudden conclusion to one of Australia’s most intensive manhunts, self-described sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman was shot dead by police on Monday morning. For more than 200 days, Freeman evaded police after killing two police officers at a rural property in Porepunkah, in Victoria’s High Country, on August 26 last year. In a bonus episode today, crime reporter Melissa Cunningham on...

When the murky and fast-flowing water surged into their house in northern Victoria, Brian and Glenys Mulcahey were determined. They would save their home of more than 50 years. In the end, they couldn’t. But what they didn’t know then, during that devastating flood in 2022, was that the worst was still to come. For Brian Mulcahey was never the same again; the previously active man slid...

This week , while we were all freaking out about the oil crisis – and rightly so – European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen visited to finalise a trade deal between Australia and the EU. Negotiations for this have been on and off for eight years, so it was not a moment too soon that we signed it. But , as Jacqueline Maley and Paul Sakkal discuss, this wasn't just about delici...

How can we make heads or tails of where the Iran war is headed, and when it might end, when Donald Trump changes his strategy with whiplash speed? One minute, the US President says he’ll drop more bombs on Iran, “just for fun”. The next he decides to lift sanctions on Iranian oil and says that he’s having “productive” negotiations with his enemy. Today, internat...

As much as we love to hate Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O, who for so long ruled Australia's most expensive radio program, the implosion of their show is consequential. And not just in a business sense – although if Sandilands is successful in the lawsuit he launched against his former employer this week, it could take the entire radio network down. Today, media writer Calum Jaspan on whe...

You’ve noticed the hike in prices at the petrol pump, but how high might prices go? And are we at risk of running out of petrol? Today, energy reporter Nick Toscano on what plans our government and the fuel companies have to manage this crisis. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Looksmaxxing" is a trend on social media where, as the name suggests, men aim to "maximise" their appearance in sometimes extreme ways. There are tales of breaking legs in order to be taller, and talk of "bone smashing" – where young men claim they are hammering their faces to heighten their cheekbones. Today, Becca Rothfeld, a writer with The New Yorker magazine, talks about where this mov...

This week we’re talking about the enormous global volatility the government is dealing with, courtesy of the US-Israel war on Iran, and whether we need to be worried about things like our fuel supplies. Also, with this global instability and an interest rate rise this week, will Treasurer Jim Chalmers water down his budget ambitions, or press on with major changes to intergenerational equity...

For someone who has said he’s already won the war in Iran, US President Donald Trump sure is angry. On Tuesday night, he lashed out at allies, including Australia, that have declined to send ships to the Middle East to help put a stop to the oil crisis caused by the war. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher speaks on the attacks Trump is now facing from within his own par...

Medicinal cannabis has been increasingly used, legally, to relieve symptoms and treat conditions such as anxiety or chronic pain. Today, health reporter Angus Thomson on the Australian researchers who’ve found there is no evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective at treating anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/...

Housing affordability in Australia is at an all-time low, and it’s left young people rethinking the dream of homeownership – something previous generations had taken for granted.  Today, property reporter Caroline Zielinski, on whether we can (or should) return to the Great Australian Dream – an enduring belief that home ownership can lead to a better life.   Subsc...

By now, you’ve probably seen the Reddit threads blowing up over which movie should win the best picture Oscar today. How can Ryan Coogler’s Sinners – a vampire horror musical set in the Jim Crow era – not win, say angry cinephiles, noting that it’s the most nominated film in Oscar history. And yet, One Battle After Another , the Leonardo DiCaprio starring film about a...

This week, we talk about the incredible story of the Iranian women's soccer team, some of whom defected and were given asylum in Australia. It was a wonderful story, and a great public relations coup for the government.  Plus, the legacy of outgoing Nationals leader David Littleproud, and we examine the somewhat controversial style of the incoming leader Matt Canavan. Joining host Jacquline M...

It could be argued that no American president has been as enamoured with violence as Donald Trump. He appears to relish all of it: the spectacle, the promise of it taking place, and, lately, its bloody reality, as - at the time of recording - American bombs continue to drop on Iran. So, is this the key to to understanding the US president's motivation or all the other wars he’s planning? Tod...

Five female Iranian soccer players, in Australia competing for the Asian Cup, escaped in the night from their handlers to seek refuge from their home country, which is in the middle of a war with the US and Israel. Initially another two women decided to join them and defected a day later, but on Wednesday afternoon, one of the pair changed their mind and contacted Iranian officials with the intent...

Thousands of people in Lebanon have fled their homes due to Israeli airstrikes and forced evacuations as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated this week. Today, Europe correspondent David Crowe and photojournalist Kate Geraghty report from Lebanon, after the US and Israel’s war on Iran expanded to the region.  Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See o...

The lieutenant governor of Texas has called it “the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas”. He was referring to the work of Australian gamblers who scooped up a $US95 million jackpot. And this is the kicker: they did it by buying up nearly every single lottery ticket and, they say, by following all the rules. Today, investigative reporter Patrick Begley on the...

Micky Ahuja catapulted his company MA Services from nothing to the big time to become the security provider of choice to the federal government retail giants like Coles and Bunnings, and a major sponsor of AFL clubs. But his empire was a house of cards. Today Nick McKenzie on one of the more spectacular and disturbing corporate unravellings in recent memory.  Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https...

Israel and the United States are at war with Iran in a rapidly escalating conflict that Australia seems to be trying to avoid as much as possible. Today, we'll talk about how viable it is to be neutral these days, and whether Australia is doing its duty as a middle power. We'll also discuss the Liberal Party review that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and others tried to keep it secret, only t...

Only six days since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, the destruction is mounting. More than 800 people have been killed, including Iranian schoolchildren and American service members.  What will it take to stop this war? And what might compel Donald Trump to end it, if he can?  Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on Trump's tactics, and how his MAGA b...

In this bonus episode of Inside Politics , we’re joined by the Nationals leader David Littleproud. He’s a man under pressure – commentators, Liberal MPs and some of his own colleagues blamed January’s split on the 49-year-old from Chinchilla in regional Queensland. Today, chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and Littleproud discuss the Coalition rupture and what’...

Only days before US President Donald Trump declared war on Iran, another Epstein files bombshell dropped — this one, relating to allegations against the American president. An investigation revealed that the Department of Justice withheld more than 50 pages of FBI interviews and notes from conversations with a woman who accused Donald Trump of sexual abuse, decades ago, when she was between...

US President Donald Trump's act of war on Iran at the weekend seemed inevitable but nevertheless shocking. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and civilians died when joint American and Israeli strikes rained down on the country, beginning on Saturday. Trump says it’s time for the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their government. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher discusses...