Truth, Lies and Media

Dean Allen-Craig interviews our very own Nicole Chvastek on his new podcast "That's News To Me". From TV News to live Radio talk-back, Nicole has so many amazing stories to share. Adding to this, her own personal story of re-connecting with her birth mother after 30 years is an extrordinary story. You can find more TNTM episodes on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1dyRp0RR0rkjgpKH947t9V...

Bondi media BS .. how the mainstream media led by the Murdoch press wanted the public to think it was railing against hate while it weaponised a massacre. In the US we examine the arrest of a former CNN anchor Don Lemon in a Trump crackdown to silence the press after the fascist regimes agents executed a mother and then an ED nurse in Minneapolis. At the same time Washington Post boss Jeff Bezos p...

A Minneapolis ED nurse is executed by an ICE terror squad - the second killing in a month - as Donald Trump dummy spits being overlooked for a Nobel Peace Prize.  Is there a legal way of getting rid of the neo fascist President of the United States? Prof Emeritus Damien Kingsbury talks us through the Congressional processes that need to happen first. Support independent journalism Become a me...

What is the future of a world where untouchable gangster states can ignore international law and storm into sovereign countries, kill innocents, kidnap the President and thieve their resources? Are we next if we don’t do what we’re told?  This special Deep Dive episode scrutinises Trumps brazenly illegal kidnapping of a head of state in order to steal Venezuelas vast oil reserves. With Prof E...

Join us for the last weekly discussion in 2025 - It's been a wonderful year! We'll be back in early 2026. Thank you for listening and for all your support! Have a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best from us at TLAM - Nicole, Denis, Simon, Brendan, Denes and Pixie. Support independent journalism Become a member Our Socials Facebook BlueSky X Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

A fired up Kerry O’Brien delivers some truth bombs at journalism’s night of nights .. but why did some of Nines papers omit his praise for courageous Palestinian reporters who paid with their lives to report a genocide.  Plus .. the BBC bends the knee to Trump, cutting criticism from a prestigious lecture it commissioned. And whose ABC? Wall to wall white guys handed all the plum broadca...

Phil Johnson returns to share his unique experience and insights. Content Warning - This conversation includes themes of violent crime and post-traumatic stress. For help please call the Blue Knot Helpline on 1300 657 380. Rain falling on a roof is a disturbing sound for journalist Phil Johnson.  People walking behind him makes him jumpy. Then there’s the nightmares.  Our special Saturda...

We take a revealing look inside the head of billionaire ex media baron James Packer who, from his yacht, has savaged Dan Andrews for nearly "ruining his life" with a multi million dollar tax bill that Crown had to pay when Packer was at the helm. Still you'd consider the insults a badge of honour when you consider his list of heroes - an alleged war criminal, a hardline media propagandis...

A major shake up is unfolding at Channel 9 which will see dozens of jobs axed as the free-to-air broadcaster merges with its 'Stan' streaming operations. The dramatic restructure reflects the reality of declining traditional TV revenues while digital streaming services boom - but what will it mean for audiences? We take a look at the legacy of the notorious hard man of the NSW Labor Righ...

Sally Gibson was a young self described ‘politics nut’ and writer for ‘The Age’ who had watched in horror as her hero Labor PM Gough Whitlam had been sacked.  But women weren’t selected to cover the big politics stories back in the day.  In fact when she’d applied for a journalism cadetship she was told no .. because her husband ‘would want dinner on the table by 6pm.’ Then one day the p...

Where were you 50 years ago when Australian democracy appeared to be on the verge of tearing itself apart over the sacking of the messianic Labor PM Gough Whitlam? Denis Muller was working as federal parliamentary sub editor at the  Sydney Morning   Herald  and describes that newsroom on Remembrance Day 1974 as a political tidal wave hit. Plus .. Donald Trump rolls out his tried and...

Another fairytale Melbourne Cup story goes down in history .. but who shines a light on the shameful way many of the thoroughbred champions are treated?  And .. first there was Robodebt - now the Australian Tax Office is using an aggressive private debt collector to hunt taxpayers including welfare recipients - while billionaire media propagandist Rupert Murdoch pays no tax. Is salacious goss...

Silencing the truthtellers .. A furore ignites after the National Press Club cancels a pro Palestinian commentator and then falsely denies he was ever booked ..   The ABCs David Marr then interviews the Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent .. but it too turns into an attack. Why such rage triggered by the celebrated Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges whose sin was apparen...

In front of a world audience Anthony Albanese charms the irascible, unpredictable, self-aggrandising President of the United States, inking a lucrative rare earths deal for Australia and artfully defusing a petty insult thrown at ambassador Kevin Rudd - who once called Trump the "village idiot". The Age  describes the landmark meeting as "a raging success" but News Corp drags out its haters t...

The attempted global rebrand of Donald Trump from dictatorial tyrant to world peacemaker is in full swing .. but will the media fall for it? The backdrop of the Egypt peace summit, lavish orchestral music and freed hostages is not convincing everybody as innocent Americans continue to be rounded up violently by masked ICE enforcers and Trumps corrupt business deals come under scrutiny. Plus the ne...

A Special Live Event with ABC Friends Inner Melbourne. Moderated by Dr Jennifer Bowen, Nicole and Denis discuss the making of this podcast, and answer questions about the state of the media in Australia and the world. Recorded on October 7, 2025, at the "Meet the Podcasters" event. Many thanks to everyone involved for a fantastic night! Support independent journalism Become a member Our Socials Fa...

Using the violent language of Mussolini, Trump and his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth tell 800 generals and admirals that they will be expected to wage war in Democrat cities against American citizens they are sworn to protect claiming there is "an enemy within." The American media immediately went "red alert" at the unprecedented threat from a President to the people ..  Why did the Australia...

A speeding stolen car, an injured pedestrian and terrified onlookers puts Bourke Street in the headlines again, in a chilling reminder of the deadly 2017 rampage. But when crime is retraumatising a city, why is the media response endless "lock em up and throw away the key" stories? Plus the end of an era with the Channel Seven media baron Kerry Stokes to retire after a $400m Seven West merger...

The public backlash at the sacking of American late night host Jimmy Kimmel to appease Donald Trump becomes a hurricane .. and the Disney-owned ABC backflips as it hemorrhages money and subscribers.   Denis Muller says we are watching before our eyes the decay of the American democracy as its tyrannical leader terrorises major media outlets who broadcast or publish political cr...

The Honour and the Cost of Court Reporting: From the Age to AW to the ABC, from the Gangland Wars to Black Saturday .. In this Saturday special of “Truth Lies and Media” Nicole Chvastek and the award winning court reporter Phil Johnson take us behind the scenes of some of Australia’s most unforgettable news stories.  He saw a notorious hitman in court just hours before he was killed and...

Register here for our live Q&A Event on 7th October, hosted by Friends of the ABC: https://events.humanitix.com/truth-lies-and-media-meet-the-podcasters-talk The shooting death of Trump youth ally Charlie Kirk lights a bonfire of media coverage and debate - but why did the June double murder of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband barely rate a mention in comparison? News of the shooting murde...

Investigative Journalism and What It Takes to Win: Denis Muller speaks with journalist Charlotte Grieve, the driving force behind the investigation of a renowned orthopaedic surgeon, resulting in a remarkable defamation case win for The Age / Channel 9. Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia Support independent journalism Become a memb...

Is there anyone out there the LNP don't hate? Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, the Liberal senator who aspires to be PM, blames the media after she gives an interview sledging Indian immigrants, triggering a backlash within her own party.  It's straight from the Trump playbook - demonising migrants and the journalists who report you doing it. Plus Murdoch's Sky News plays "as live" to...

A Neo Nazi inserts himself into the news cycle with a bizarre and menacing rant at Jacinta Allan as she holds a press conference forcing it to be abandoned. These are not ‘anti immigration” protesters - they are violent racists. So why do some media normalise and downplay their dangerous hate speak? Plus whistleblower Richard Boyle had his life turned into hell by the ATO after he lifted the lid o...

The shockwaves reverberate as two police officers are murdered in cold blood by a maniac with a gun and a grudge.   The grief hits Victoria Police the families of the slain officers like a sledge hammer .. and the accused killer is now on the run.   How can journalists do justice to the outpouring of emotion and avoid intruding on those who are suffering while still ensuri...