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Episodes
Weekend Read: Surfing the little breaks, with Sarah Walker
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, on the Weekend Read, writer and artist Sarah Walker with her piece, “Little Breaks”, from The Monthly.It’s a story of joy and sadness in ...
Can the Voice to Parliament deliver radical change? With Gary Foley
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Anthony Albanese declared victory in last year’s election, one of the first commitments that he made was to implement the Uluru Statement from ...
What to be watching right now, with Clem Bastow
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This year has seen an explosion of film and TV releases – as sound stages fill with productions, following the end of lockdowns that threatened the ...
The crime deep in the forest, with Sophie Cunningham
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Deep in Australia’s oldest forests there are criminal gangs operating: illegally chopping down trees to sell the wood. The authorities know it’s ...
Lachlan Murdoch: The successor, with Paddy Manning
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lachlan Murdoch is the presumptive heir to the global Murdoch media fortune – and with his father, Rupert, now aged 91, Lachlan’s time could be im...
Spotlight: Megan Davis on what’s next for the Voice
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Next year, Australians will get to vote in a referendum and we will be asked whether Australia should amend its constitution to create an Indigenous V...
Spotlight: What Murdoch asks from new prime ministers
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you become prime minister, a lot changes – but there’s only a few people who know exactly what that's like.One of them is Kevin Rudd,and this...
Spotlight: How the Christian right overturned Roe v Wade
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This year, the case that established the legal protection for people in the United States to choose to have an abortion has been overturned.Since this...
Spotlight: How the teals really won, with Simon Holmes à Court
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most consequential political shifts of 2022 was the election of several ‘teal’ independent candidates to the federal parliament.The tea...
Spotlight: The dirty secrets inside one of our biggest casinos
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For decades we’ve been reassured that everything at Australian casinos is above board. They’re supposed to be heavily regulated, closely monitore...
Spotlight: Inside Anthony Albanese’s election night
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Seven months ago, Anthony Albanese’s Labor broke almost ten years of Coalition rule. Labor’s celebration were large and loud – and 7am was ther...
Spotlight: Monique Ryan vs The Treasurer of Australia
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Back in May, our producer Elle Marsh was given unprecedented access to Dr Monique Ryan and her campaign, as they attempted to unseat one of Australia’...
Spotlight: Why Britain can’t face up to the empire’s past
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This year, the only head of state that most Australians have ever known died.It led to an outpouring of grief and mourning, particularly in the UK, bu...
Spotlight: Who is Scott Morrison?
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Months after he lost the Prime Ministership, it’s still hard to get a handle on who Scott Morrison was. If anything, the secret ministries saga has ...
Spotlight: Russia moves on Ukraine, plus how prepared is Scott Morrison for conflict?
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At 6 O’Clock in the morning on Thursday the 24th of February, Vladimir Putin addressed the world – he said he would begin a special military opera...
How Albanese, Bandt and Dutton ended the political year
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re seeing a fitting end to a tumultuous year – parliament was urgently recalled to thrash out an energy deal, and a former prime minister grill...
How are we having another Covid wave?
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s happening again.Ahead of these holidays, infections of Covid are spiking, and people are going home sick in droves.At the same time we’re als...
The trial of Hillsong’s founder
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The founder of Hillsong Church, Brian Houston is on trial.He faces charges of concealing historic child sexual abuse by his father, Frank Houston – ...
Why Australia’s lobbying rules just don’t cut it
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When our politicians are making decisions, they’re often lobbied.These lobbyists arrange meetings, and make the case why the company they represent ...
15 months in jail after a climate protest
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Up to 15 months in jail, with a minimum non-parole period of 8 months – that’s the sentence that a climate protester was handed recently in NSW.It...
Anthony Albanese’s race to get energy prices capped
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s one last thing Anthony Albanese has to do before the end of the political year.Energy prices are still out of control, and they’re only se...
What happens next for Brittany Higgins?
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The trial of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins – an accusation he strenuously denies – will not see a court room again, and ...
Can Tanya Plibersek stop new fossil fuel projects?
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Australia has a new, stronger emissions reduction target.But we are also one of the world’s biggest exporters of fossil fuels, and there’s no plan...
This generation is an existential threat to the Liberal Party
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Liberal Party is trying to resurrect its popularity after a devastating loss this year, under the leadership of Scott Morrison.But can changing th...
‘We exist 365 days a year’
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1992, the UN General Assembly agreed that 3 December every year would be International Day of People with Disability.It marked an early attempt to ...
Scott Morrison makes history (for all the wrong reasons)
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A prime minister will never again be able to secretly appoint themselves to act in multiple ministries.The practice will be made unlawful, with new ru...
When bureaucrats try to understand human behaviour
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are people inside government departments who want to use insights into human behaviour to influence us.At its best, it can help design systems t...
The biggest protests in China since Tiananmen
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, streets across China filled with angry protestors.Some held blank pieces of paper instead of signs, to protest censorship, others chanted ‘...
How much Christianity do we need in our military?
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you don’t believe in God, then heaven help you in the ADF.Those are the words of Senator David Shoebridge, who has argued that our military is pu...
David Pocock’s vote: The most valuable thing in Canberra
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The wages and workplaces of Australians could be about to change.The government’s new industrial relations packages promises to make pay more transp...
A referendum on Dan Andrews: Inside the Victorian election
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The first major election since a wave of green and teal changed the federal map is set for this Saturday.The Victorian election is about a lot of thin...
Migrant workers died to bring us this World Cup
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The World Cup is the most watched sporting event on earth.Some predict that this year’s matches in Qatar could be watched by 5 billion during the mo...
Did Australia live up to expectations at COP27?
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The world has come to new agreements on climate action.At COP27 in Egypt, measures to tackle damage and loss in countries affected by climate change h...
How Mike Cannon-Brookes staged a climate coup
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Mike Cannon-Brookes succeeded in staging what amounts to an internal coup at Australia’s largest climate polluter, AGL.Having failed in h...
‘Use of force’: How Medibank changed the fight on hackers
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the most sensitive data to be obtained by hackers in Australian history has been published.A Russian network of hackers has put online private...
Albanese’s meeting with Xi Jinping: Will Australia get a second date?
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Australia was one of the first western nations to recognise the communist government of China, almost 50 years ago.But more recently, China appeared t...
Charlie Teo: The media’s ‘maverick, miracle doctor’
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Charlie Teo is known for his incredible brain surgeries, taking on operations that other doctors won’t touch.But several families have come forwa...
How not to fund your future leaders, Scott Morrison-style
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was the governor-general’s pet project, a foundation that promised to nurture the future leaders of Australia.But the elite foundation never came...
Climate justice: Should countries like Australia pay compensation?
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the world gathers at COP27 to decide on the next steps in our response to the climate crisis, the biggest point of contention is one idea: climate ...
Why nuclear submarines can’t save us
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Australia is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on eight nuclear-powered submarines.It’s estimated to be one of the biggest spends in the hist...
The Weekend Read: Sam Vincent on the overdue arrival of native Australian ingredients on our plates
12 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, author and farmer Sam Vincent, with his piece from the latest edition of The Monthly. It explores how native Australian ingredients have gone ...
‘Air of possibility’: Surely not in Canberra?!
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Labor government’s workplace reform package, which it promises will increase wages, has passed the lower house. But it may struggle to pass the ...
Elon Musk’s half-baked Twitter takeover
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk says he plans to turn Twitter into his ideal version of a public square, and use it to advance the evolution of human communication.But his ...
They were warned, and did it anyway: Inside robo-debt
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Not long ago, the Australian government was forced to abandon a scheme it was using to pursue welfare recipients for money.The robo-debt scheme was bi...
Could Trump win in 2024? What the midterms will tell us
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Americans head to the polls in the country’s midterm elections.At stake is control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate. Both ar...
How Peter Dutton was created
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Dutton has an uphill battle, even he would admit that.But the Liberal leader known for tough, hardline conservative talking points is trying to ...
Wages and power prices: A wake up call for Albanese
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
People counted Dutton’s Opposition out, but Labor’s restrained budget might have opened up some attack lines for the Liberals… with some help fr...
‘You’re not imagining it’: Why the weather forecast could be wrong
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Internal tensions at the organisation that tells us about the weather — the Bureau of Meteorology — appear to be going from bad to worse.Among the...
Did the home of the Melbourne Cup make the city’s floods worse?
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When an inner suburb of Melbourne was hit by flooding a few weeks ago, attention turned to Flemington Racecourse: home of the Melbourne Cup.The track ...
Can a fossil fuel company go net-zero?
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike in almost every other country in the world, the Australian government actively helps some of our biggest carbon emitters make claims to consume...
House prices are dropping faster than ever
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The prices of Australian houses are dropping faster than ever before – but is this a blip on the way to higher prices, or an actual value crash?And ...
PM Rishi Sunak: Will this one last more than 45 days?
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After 45 days of economic chaos under Liz Truss threatened the welfare of ordinary Britons, the UK now has a new prime minister: Rishi Sunak.Sunak’s...
Will mashed potato on a Monet solve the climate crisis?
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the world’s most treasured art works have been under attack in the last few weeks.Paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso and Monet have been doused ...
What’s inside Labor’s first budget?
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A Labor government has handed down a budget for the first time in nine years.It isn’t the budget that many might have imagined in May when the party...
The Bureau of Meteorology: Chaos at the forecaster
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last Tuesday, while torrential rains brought floods that cut off whole towns in Victoria, Australia’s weather forecasting agency made a strange anno...
Australia is getting a wellbeing budget. What is that?
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An idea that Australia discarded a decade ago will return on Tuesday night.That idea is a so-called “wellbeing budget”. It is being talked up by t...
Listen to this before budget night
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Labor party has been making promises.The latest is that it hopes to end domestic and family violence within a generation.But ahead of the budget, ...
When your identity is no longer your own
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's been two weeks since millions of Australians learned their data might have been compromised in the Optus hack. Since then other data breaches ha...
Sea Shepherd loses its pirate captain
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when an organisation founded on radical activism decides to work with, instead of against, authorities? For Captain Paul Watson that con...
Kylie Moore-Gilbert on the Iranian protests
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The notorious Evin prison in Iran, which holds the Islamic Republic’s political prisoners, was on fire over the weekend.Around the country, protests...
China’s 'leader for life': Kevin Rudd on Xi Jinping
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Xi Jinping is ascending to a historic level of power.He is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, which has 95 million people who are members, and...
The Weekend Read: Cate Kennedy on the collective power of song
15 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, author Cate Kennedy reads her piece from the latest edition of the Monthly. Beginning in the first months of lockdown, it asks the question: w...
Setting the cultural agenda: The Monthly one-on-one with Tony Burke
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Arts policy in Australia has been virtually non-existent for ten years, and in those ten years the arts have suffered enormously.Today, we bring you a...
Albanese can’t be haunted by Labor’s ghosts
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Labor party keeps saying this coming budget is full of hard decisions.We know the budget is already in deficit, but services are underfunded and i...
Will we ever be dry again?
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Much of the country has been hit by torrential rain, and communities across Victoria and New South Wales are inundated with floodwaters.But this is ju...
Are we on the brink of global recession?
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers offered a grim warning to Australia: we could be on the brink of a global recession.While Australians are already fa...
What Labor says about unemployment behind closed doors
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Labor has been shy to propose any major changes to the unemployment system.During the election, it ruled out raising the rate of unemployment benefits...
Zoe Daniel on the power of Julia Gillard's misogyny speech
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years ago the then-prime minister Julia Gillard delivered a speech to parliament about misogyny.At the time, the speech was poorly received by the...
Is Albanese about to axe the stage three tax cuts?
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
They are the tax cuts Scott Morrison promised and Anthony Albanese said he would deliver.If Australia cancels the stage three tax cuts, experts say we...
Vladimir Putin has unleashed dangerous forces in Russia
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin held a rally in Moscow.Even as Russia continued to lose ground in his war in Ukraine, he was defiant; calling the we...
Decline of the IPA: How the right’s favourite think tank ran out of ideas
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For decades now some of the most important public policy that's shaped our country hasn’t been designed by politicians or public servants – it has...
Reducing good teachers to a single test
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All of us know that a great teacher can make a huge difference in a person’s life – and a bad one can be a disaster for a young person who’s try...
Nigel Farage, the pornographer and their weird Australian tour
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The right-wing anti-immigration politician who led the Brexit campaign in Britain is currently touring Australia.Nigel Farage has become increasingly ...
The trauma of robo-debt is finally being investigated
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mothers whose families were torn apart by the robo-debt scheme have welcomed the start of the long-awaited royal commission into the policy this week....
The Optus hack: How 10 million people got pwned
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of Australians will need new drivers licences and passports, after Optus’s lax data management exposed the details of around 10 million Aus...
‘A shell of a hospital’: opening new facilities without more staff
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As populations move and grow, communities are in desperate need of more hospitals.But what good is a building without staff? What good is a bed withou...
'This is not justice': the law keeping more people locked up after their sentence
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you are ever jailed for a crime, you would hope to do your time in jail and be released at the end of it.For a small number of people who are deeme...
‘Collective delusion’: Why Britain can’t face up to the empire’s past
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week on the public holiday to mourn the Queen's death, there were protests against the monarchy in major cities across Australia. The marches re...
How agencies access personal phone data
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Police and security agencies often have access to a wealth of personal information about the people they’re investigating — including phone calls,...
Spotlight: A night at the opera — How Whitlam and Kerr fell out
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a 10-year legal battle, the “palace letters” were finally released. In full, they show how Gough Whitlam’s relationship with the governor-...
How much will Labor pay to hold refugees on Nauru?
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Next year will be 10 years since Australia began offshore processing – sending refugees that arrived by boat to places like Papua New Guinea and Nau...
The dirty secrets inside one of our biggest casinos
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The very idea of a casino was invented with the involvement of the American mafia.But for decades we’ve been reassured that everything at Australian...
The Charles formerly known as Prince
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
King Charles III is now Australia’s head of state.As with all members of the Royal Family, the appearance of Charles’ political neutrality will be...
Australia is mourning the Queen longer than the UK
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be in London on Monday, joining other world leaders at the funeral for the Queen.Parliament has been suspende...
Russia suffers a stunning collapse in Ukraine
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Ukrainian army has swept across areas in north-eastern Ukraine.Russian troops appear to have been thin on the ground, unprepared and quick to retr...
Why being a renter is getting more expensive
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Across the country, rents are going up.But it’s not because the value of the properties has risen - in fact values are largely going down.Instead, i...
Why a third wet summer could be the most dangerous yet
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We could be in for another wet, cloudy summer. The chances of another La Niña weather event are growing, and it’s now very likely the east coast o...
The end of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign
11 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Late last week, news broke that England’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II had died at the age of 96. During her 70-year reign the Quee...
Albanese's race to ease the cost of living
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, rates rose to seven-year-highs and inflation still won’t be easing off anytime soon.Cost of living is a problem the government has promis...
Will Lachlan Murdoch beat Crikey in court?
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rupert Murdoch’s son, co-chair of News Corp, Lachlan Murdoch is suing a small independent publisher in Australia over an article it published on its...
Scott Morrison and the secretive $18m grant
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Before he was voted out, the former Prime Minister Scott Morrison received a pitch from the Governor-General David Hurley: the taxpayer should fund a ...
What do the 35 new members of parliament believe in?
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The federal election marked a change in direction for the country but it also signalled the beginning of 35 new political careers.As parliament return...
Can Tanya Plibersek save the environment?
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tanya Plibersek is arguably Labor's most high-profile female politician. Once described as the next female prime minister, she rose through the ranks...
The Weekend Read: Jock Serong on the coral windows to our oceans’ past and future
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, journalist and author Jock Serong will be reading his piece from the latest issue.It's called 'Front-row seats to the end of the Reef' - in it ...
The truth about the jobs summit: it's the descent that kills you
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Labor has been spruiking its Jobs and Skills Summit for months, but is the gathering live up to the hype? Anthony Albanese has spent his senior polit...
‘If they want to survive, time for them to run’: Ukraine’s new plan
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are signs that Ukraine has begun its biggest counter-offensive yet to win back territory held by Russian forces.It's too soon to know if the ope...
New questions over whether Scott Morrison acted lawfully
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amid the controversy over Scott Morrison’s secret ministry appointments a new question has emerged: did the former Prime Minister act unconstitution...
Ghost cities: Is China’s economy about to crash?
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A crisis that began in China’s housing market is now threatening to drag down the country’s entire economy. If that happens, the repercussions wi...
Your order for employment rights has been cancelled: Deliveroo v Franco
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Diego Franco was a food delivery rider. He worked for Uber, DoorDash and Deliveroo, to transport food in Australia.What happened to him, and his subse...
Secret ministries are legal. Now what for Scott Morrison?
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Solicitor-General’s legal advice on Scott Morrison’s secret appointments painted a complex picture.What Morrison did was legal, but it fundame...