The Women's Agenda Podcast

Police are prosecuting a 31-year-old woman from Geraldton for stealing menstrual products from a store earlier this year. This week, Olivia Cleal spoke with Rochelle Courtenay from Share The Dignity about the reality of period poverty in Australia. Olivia shares more with Tarla Lambert in today’s episode. Also today, we go through some findings from WGEA on the gender pay gap in the Commonwealth p...

Senator Jane Hume had a bit of a slip up during Senate estimates this week... but let's be real: we can relate. If anything, it humanises her as a politician. Plus, it was a lighter moment in the news cycle this week. In today's episode, Tarla Lambert and Olivia Cleal discuss the recent election of Claudia Sheinbaum as the President of Mexico, and what it means for women's representation worldwide...

It’s official: Former US President Donald Trump has been found guilty of all 34 charges in his hush money trail, seeing him become the first current or former US president to be convicted of felony crimes. In this week’s episode, Tarla Lambert and Olivia Cleal discuss the breaking news. What will it mean for the 2024 presidential election in November? All eyes are on Rafah, following a devastating...

As Budget Week draws to a close, Angela Priestley and Tarla Lambert dissect the wins and the losses for women in this year’s federal budget. Is it really a budget that “works for women”? Plus: everybody is talking about Baby Reindeer, the British hit show on Netflix. But a controversial interview on Piers Morgan’s YouTube show with Richard Gadd’s alleged stalker has raised some interesting questio...

The list that ranked girls based on their attractiveness that was created by Year 11 boys at Yarra Valley Grammar in Melbourne is unfortunately nothing new. As Chanel Contos said, if you’re surprised, you’re not paying attention. What was promising to see was the swift action from the school’s principal. Find out what he said in this week’s episode.   Ahead of next week’s budget announcement,...

This week, Angela Priestley and Tarla Lambert break down the federal government’s response to the national crisis of men’s violence against women. Has Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met the needs, or is there still a way to go? Part of the government’s announcement following the national cabinet was to target young men and boys’ attitudes towards women and girls. We look at a recent study that sh...

After sharing some wins, Tarla Lambert and Olivia Cleal start this week’s podcast with the biggest story to come out of this week: the outcome of the Lehrmann v Network Ten defamation trial. Justice Michael Lee found, on the balance of probabilities, that Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in March 2019.    This week, we also talk about Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s strong words o...

US-born artist Kirsha Kaechele's Ladies Lounge, a "conceptual artwork" in the MONA in Tasmania, was found to be discriminatory towards NSW Jason Lau, when he was refused entry to the space in April last year. This week, Tarla Lambert and Angela Priestley break down what the case was all about, and what's next for the Ladies Lounge. On this week's episode of The Crux, we also discuss Serena William...

This week, we learned the devastating news that Australian aid worker, Zomi Frankcom, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza. The news has shocked Australia and sparked even greater outrage amongst Australians over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Also this week, Tarla Lambert and Angela Priestley chat about the appointment of Sam Mostyn as Australia’s next governor-general, free contraceptio...

It’s the long weekend, so what better way to kick it off than with some wins? We take a look at ultra marathon runner Jasmin Paris and figure skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek. Some major moves for women’s health in Australia as well, with the launch of a new medical research centre in Sydney, plus a huge milestone for women’s reproductive health. In this episode, Tarla Lambert and Angela Priestley als...

The World Happiness Report was released this week, with Finland taking the top spot for the seventh year in a row (no surprises there). In this episode, Tarla Lambert and Angela Priestley consider why the same countries top the list year after year - could it have something to do with their women leaders? Also this week: some desperate changes needed for pregnant and parent employees in Australian...

Women around the country have vowed to #FinishSamanthasRun, after the 51-year-old mother from Ballarat, Victoria went for her weekly run and never returned home. She was allegedly murdered by 22-year-old Patrick Orren Stephenson, who was charged the day before International Women's Day last week. In this episode, journalist Olivia Cleal joins Tarla Lambert, as they discuss their feelings on violen...

Sam Kerr's face has been splashed on the front of newspapers and news sites in recent times - but not for the reasons we're used to. She's being accused of racial harassment for calling a police officer a "stupid white b*****d". Some are calling it "reverse racism", but is that even a thing? This week, Angela Priestley and Tarla Lambert also discuss how gender equality could actually be going back...

Australia jumped higher up the WEF's Gender Index last year , largely due to an increase in women's political representation. One such woman elected at the 2022 Federal Election was Dr Sophie Scamps, who ran as a community independent in the seat of MacKellar in Sydney and is now commonly known as a Teal. Dr Scamps is a GP turned climate activist, political candidate and now key part of the crossb...

The wait is over - we now have access to the gender pay gaps of more than 5,000 Australian businesses, and some of the results are pretty grim. Angela Priestley and Tarla Lambert discuss their key takeaways from the data. There’s another gender gap we talk about this week - it’s a gender exercise gap. More than half of women say they don’t exercise as much as they want to. Why is this the case? We...

Among several exciting appointments from this week was the appointment of Amanda Bardwell as CEO of Woolworths, following the current CEO Brad Banducci’s disastrous interview on ABC Four Corners. But it’s a tale as old as time: a man makes a mess, and a woman cleans it up. Why do they keep handing us the mop? This week, we discuss the horrific term used to describe Kelly Wilkinson in the days befo...

Barnaby Joyce seems to be getting away with his usual antics. Very few people are calling the Deputy Nationals leader out on his booze-fest last week - and it’s mainly women who are stepping up. What will it take for him to step down? This week, journalist Olivia Cleal joins Tarla Lambert to discuss the wins in women’s sport from all ages, concerning research findings on women’s health and the “va...

Why are all-female founded startups still only getting just four per cent of funding in 2023? Most of the $3.5 billion went to all-male founded teams. Is it because women just don’t have good business ideas? Or is it yet another sign of a sick startup ecosystem? As Angela Priestley and Tarla Lambert agree: “More to be done.” Lots of good news from Parliament House this week, including the “right t...

We know women and girls are disproportionately affected by AI-distorted images and deepfakes on social media. This week, we saw it happen to two high-profile women: Taylor Swift and Victorian MP Georgie Purcell. But who is really responsible? This week, Angela Priestley and Tarla Lambert look at the ABC’s first episode of its docuseries Nemesis , a three-part docuseries looking into the nine-year...

No, we didn’t record this episode in a sauna, nor an ice bath. But this week, we found out that some people actually conduct business from such places. Are they serious?  In this week’s episode, Angela Priestley and Olivia Cleal discuss the Barbie snub at this year’s Oscar nominations, how climate change increases unplanned pregnancies, the stage three tax cuts and an inquiry into women’s pai...

Welcome back to The Crux for 2024! The team at Women's Agenda are well-rested and ready to get stuck back into reporting on the biggest issues faced by women in Australia and around the world. In our first episode for 2024, we start with a couple of great wins, including Mar Galcerán becoming the first parliamentarian in Spain with Down syndrome, as well as Naomi Osaka's open vulnerability about r...

And just like that, 2023 is done! This episode is a wrap up of some of the biggest moments from this year in Australia. We go over key numbers, key appointments, key events and so much more. As another massive year draws to a close, we have a few people we'd like to thank. Firstly, thank you to all our partners for helping Women's Agenda bring our audience daily news updates and in-depth analyses...

Women’s Agenda  journalist Olivia Cleal joins Angela Priestley as on  The Crux  to discuss the stories of the week.  This week, we discuss Annastacia Palaszczuk retiring from politics, and later, Pamela Anderson making headlines again for her “pro-ageing” movement. Plus, Angela Priestley sits down with human rights lawyer Prabha Nandagopal from Elevate Consulting Partners to ta...

One of the biggest stories to come out of this week was allegations of indecent assault made against former 2GB radio host Alan Jones. The Sydney Morning Herald’s major investigation into the allegations has dominated headlines over the past couple of days. We discuss the story and the incredible power Alan Jones has wielded - until now, perhaps. Only 15 out of the 140 speakers at the COP28 climat...

Four domestic violence deaths. Seven days. One state in Australia. We are living in a global epidemic of male-perpetrated violence - but an American comedian decided to make a joke about it in his Netflix special. Is it really that funny? We also discuss the three female CEOs that have made headlines this week - good news, and not-so-good news… WARNING: This podcast episode contains discussions an...