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Episodes
Morrison doubles down on Fortress Australia
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For over a year now Australia’s international borders have been closed to the rest of the world.Travel restrictions have played a crucial role in ke...
Facing prison for cultural fishing
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sixty years ago commercial licenses were handed out to Australian fishers working in the lucrative shellfish industry. Since then, the families that o...
The politician behind a new anti-abortion push
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In an attempt to fend off allegations of sexism within the Coalition, Prime Minister Scott Morrison reshuffled his cabinet earlier this year. But his...
Gaza’s deadliest day
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For the past week the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip has been under an intense aerial bombardment.Last Sunday was the deadliest day in the co...
Kate Manne on why we don't believe women
16 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Five years on from when MeToo went global, high profile allegations of assault and harassment still make headlines but justice rarely seems to be serv...
Fighting racism in Australian sport
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Rana Hussain’s family migrated to Australia from India they brought with them a passion for cricket, though it wasn’t long before Rana fell i...
The website the government doesn’t want you to see
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the middle of a growing national conversation about sexual harassment and consent, the federal government launched a campaign on respectful relatio...
Josh Frydenberg's big-spending budget
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has handed down what is expected to be the government’s last budget before the next federal election. Today, chief...
The terror arrests you missed
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last month police arrested two people accused of possessing extremist material.The arrests came at the same time as Australia’s security agencies we...
Does Dutton really want war with China?
09 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The relationship between Australia and China has already reached an all time low, but now senior political figures are starting to talk publicly about...
Who foots the bill?
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Next Tuesday, the federal government will drop its highly anticipated budget, laying out its priorities for the next 12 months.The stakes couldn’t b...
Australia abandons its own
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Right now thousands of Australian citizens are trapped in India unable to get home, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to devastate the country. They...
When Hollywood came to town
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From Crocodile Dundee to Marvel blockbusters… Australia’s film industry is being rejuvenated by an influx of international productions.The pandemi...
The end of Chinatown?
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia’s restaurant industry has been devastated by lockdowns and the loss of international tourism. Some of the hardest hit businesses are thos...
The government vs. Grace Tame
02 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The 2021 Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, was recognised for her advocacy against sexual abuse. Since her appointment she’s been outspoken in her...
Weekend Read: Bri Lee on consent and sex education
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author and activist Bri Lee regularly runs workshops on consent and sex in schools.In the upcoming issue of The Monthly Bri writes about those worksho...
A sermon from the Church of Morrison
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made no secret of his deep, evangelical Christian faith. At a recent appearance at the Australian Christian Chur...
The Murdoch plan to save Fox
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is one of the most powerful corporate influences right around the world, but in recent years it’s been through radic...
What Peter Dutton did next
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Dutton has long been one of the most controversial ministers in the federal government. As Immigration minister he became the face of the Coali...
What’s behind the violence engulfing Northern Ireland?
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For much of the 20th century Northern Ireland was marred by violence, as Irish republicans and forces aligned to the United Kingdom fought over the fu...
Richard Flanagan on Tasmania's toxic secret
25 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The billion dollar Tasmanian salmon industry promotes itself as environmentally friendly, healthy, and good for the state. But when you look a little...
Will this verdict change the US?
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly a year ago George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. His death sparked a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement.Over t...
How Australia is blocking global climate action
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
World leaders are preparing to meet for a historic global climate change summit, to try and limit the catastrophic impacts of global warming. After d...
The scientist investigating Covid's impact on the brain
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists researching Covid-19 have discovered that the physical impacts of the virus on the body go far beyond what we might have originally thought...
The fight to overhaul Australia’s vaccine rollout
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Federal and state governments are locked in a high stakes battle over the future of Australia’s vaccine rollout, while hundreds of millions of peopl...
Closing the loophole in Australia’s sex discrimination laws
18 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The recent wave of allegations in federal parliament have highlighted that the law that’s supposed to protect women from harassment doesn’t actual...
The real story behind Christine Holgate’s exit
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Six months after the chief executive of Australia Post, Christine Holgate, was forced out of her job, she’s now broken her silence. Holgate claims t...
The fight to end Indigenous deaths in custody
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Thirty years ago Australia held a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, but most of its recommendations still haven’t been implemented...
Big government is back, but not in Australia
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Both the United States and the UK have recently announced policies to increase their tax rates, and spend the revenue on new social policies, as part ...
A doctor explains the risks of the AstraZeneca vaccine
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia no longer has an official vaccination target, and one reason for the delay is our reliance on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been associ...
The crisis we should have seen coming
11 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are growing fears that homelessness could soon rise in Australia. One of the most at risk groups in the country is older women, who face both ag...
Scott Morrison’s vaccine shambles
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The federal government promised that by the end of March four million Australians would be vaccinated against Covid-19 but as of this week we’ve bar...
The new 'God power' that will upend the NDIS
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The National Disability Insurance Scheme was established to provide people living with a disability high quality and tailored support, but leaked docu...
The plan to lock up more Indigenous children
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2015 the Northern Territory government announced a Royal Commission into Youth Detention, but six years on almost every single young person in pris...
Alan Finkel on the electric planet
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Australia’s former Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel has been on the front line of Australia’s climate wars. This year he was appointed special ad...
Highlight: Bruce Pascoe on how to build a sustainable Australia
04 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For the past three years author and farmer Bruce Pascoe has been trying to establish a sustainable practice on his land. Informed by the Indigenous fa...
Climate change will kill you, part three: sickness
03 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From thunderstorm asthma to the increasing prevalence of infectious disease, a warming planet is already making us more sick. In the final part of thi...
Climate change will kill you, part two: flood
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011 the Queensland town of Grantham was inundated with rain, causing flash flooding. It had a devastating impact on the town’s residents. But ev...
Climate change will kill you, part one: heat
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From bushfires and heat, to floods, and the increasing severity of disease, Australians are already feeling the impacts of a warming planet. In this n...
The story behind Australia's mouse plague
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After suffering through record-breaking bushfires, a pandemic, and floods, big parts of Australia now have a new problem: a plague of mice. Farming ...
How these billionaires doubled their wealth during a pandemic
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For many Australians the pandemic has led to some kind of economic hardship, but while workers have suffered some of Australia’s billionaires double...
One month, four more Aboriginal deaths in custody
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past month there have been four Indigenous deaths in custody across Australia. Now, a new organisation has been created to help their familie...
The plight of the platypus
28 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The platypus is one of Australia’s most iconic and intriguing animals, but like so much of our natural wildlife it’s under threat. Today, James Br...
Scott Morrison says he’s listening. Should we believe him?
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Morrison told the women of Australia this week he was listening to their concerns. But since then the Liberal Party has been rocked by more and ...
The backlash engulfing an Australian arts festival
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of Australia’s biggest arts festivals is facing an intense backlash after announcing a work that called for the blood of First Nations people. T...
First came the fires, then the floods
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly 20,000 people have been evacuated as Australia’s east coast suffers from the worst floods in more than half a century. NSW’s mid-north coas...
The catastrophe unfolding on our doorstep
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia’s closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, is on the verge of a Covid-19 crisis. Thousands of people in the country are now infected, pushing ...
“The system isn't broken. It was never set up for women.”
21 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week’s march for justice highlighted how the justice system stacked against women, from the law, to the police, to the courts. Today, Bri Lee o...
Christian Porter goes back to parliament
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Christian Porter is still facing calls for an inquiry into allegations of sexual assault levelled against him, allegations he denies. But Porter has a...
The new law that could censor the internet
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Online Safety Bill is being framed by the government as a way to modernise how Australia regulates the internet. But concerns have been raised abo...
The billionaire who went bust, and the town on the brink
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For years the rise of Lex Greensill, a farmer’s son turned billionaire investor, seemed unstoppable. But now things are falling apart, and the econo...
As Australians march for justice, Christian Porter sues
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of Australians marched in cities and towns across the country yesterday. The protests were sparked by allegations of sexual harassment and a...
The end of Hong Kong
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday night the Chinese government passed new laws effectively stamping out democracy in Hong Kong, significantly strengthening the Communist Pa...
tHe RuLe oF LaW
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Prime Minister has declared Christian Porter “innocent” and said any inquiry into the allegations of sexual assault would undermine the rule o...
What police are getting wrong about the far-right
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Growing concern about far-right extremists in Australia has led to the creation of a new federal inquiry, but the inquiry has revealed that one police...
Why is Australia’s vaccine rollout taking so long?
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout is already behind schedule, but while the headlines have focused on issues with supply and delivery, there ...
Fixing a broken system
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, the most significant report to examine aged care in Australia was released. The Saturday Paper’s senior reporter Rick Morton has been cov...
Bruce Pascoe's vision for the future: 'Leon Musk is welcome to Mars'
07 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For the past three years author and farmer Bruce Pascoe has been trying to establish a sustainable practice on his land. Informed by the Indigenous fa...
Inside the Christian Porter strategy
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Attorney-General has so far refused to resign, denying the rape allegation levelled against him. He’s been supported by senior ministers and the...
Christian Porter names himself (plus, Australia’s university crisis)
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The federal Attorney-General Christian Porter has identified himself as the cabinet minister accused of a sexual assault that allegedly took place in ...
The sexual assault crisis that rocked Australia
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A cabinet minister in the federal government has been accused of rape, but he hasn’t been publicly identified and the Prime Minister has so far refu...
A refugee prison in Carlton
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Across Australia more than one hundred asylum seekers are being detained in hotel rooms. They have no access to fresh air and limited space to exercis...
Young people v. the Queensland police
28 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Following a series of fatal car accidents, Queensland has announced a major crackdown on youth crime. According to youth advocate Siyavash Doostkhah, ...
A Neanderthal on the crossbench
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Craig Kelly quit the Liberal Party to sit on the crossbench. But the Morrison government is so mired in scandal, it went largely unnoticed....
Living with a disability through the pandemic
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Description: For some people living with disabilities, the pandemic triggered feelings of being different and even dispensable. Micheline Lee on livin...
Why won’t house prices go down?
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australian property prices have just hit a record high – despite predictions the market would crash during the pandemic. So what happened? What will...
‘I was a staffer, and so was my perpetrator’
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Eighteen months ago, Dhanya Mani spoke to the press about being assaulted while working as a Liberal Party staffer. This week, she reflected on how li...
Robo-debt: the origin of the supervillain
21 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two long-forgotten High Court cases warned the government that robo-debt might be illegal. But they persisted with the welfare scheme anyway. Rick Mor...
Episode 400: Sitting week
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Brittany Higgins case has dominated the week in Canberra. This is the story of how the prime minister has responded to her alleged assault, and ho...
Tanya Plibersek: Labor after Covid-19
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Labor prepares for a possible early election, Tanya Plibersek says the party is ready to confront the government over shortcomings in its handling ...
James and the giant breach
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A damning report has found Crown Resorts unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW. But what does that mean for James Packer’s operations in other state...
The colonisation of space
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The early era of space exploration was dominated by romantic ideas of universal connectedness. But the increasingly privatised nature of the space ind...
How Covid-19 keeps escaping hotel quarantine
14 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Victoria has been plunged back into lockdown after a new strain of Covid-19 escaped from hotel quarantine into the community. In recent weeks leaks ha...
The Coalition’s climate standoff
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Prime Minister is trying to calibrate his climate policy to better fit into a post-Trump world, but he faces a conservative revolt on his own back...
Eddie McGuire’s gone but Australia’s racism problem isn’t
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Eddie McGuire’s resignation as the President of Collingwood is the culmination of a decades-long story of racism at the club. But the story isn’t ...
The Liberal MP who wants to empty your super
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Coalition’s surprise win at the last federal election is largely attributed to a relentless campaign targeting Labor’s key economic policies, ...
Inside Australia’s military fetish
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While Australians grapple with shocking allegations of war crimes levelled against our armed forces, the federal government is moving ahead with a $50...
The world's newest dictatorship
07 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Myanmar’s democratically elected leader, Aung Sun Suu Kyi, was arrested last week as part of a military coup. The country is now back under complete...
The miseducation of Craig Kelly
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Morrison’s attempt to restart the political year was blown off course after one of his backbenchers was criticised for promoting misinformatio...
China is warning against a new Cold War. Will Australia listen?
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Diplomatic and trade tensions between Australia and China are at an all time high, and China’s president has even warned against the risk of a new c...
Is GameStop a win for the good guys?
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Financial analysts and investors are scrambling to understand what is actually going on with GameStop, Reddit and the sharemarket. But in this battle ...
The world is embracing climate action. Why isn't Australia?
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All over the world governments are abandoning fossil fuels like coal and gas, and embracing renewable energy, leaving Australia isolated and economic...
The sailors stranded at sea because of Australia's trade war
31 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Right now hundreds of ships carrying Australian coal are stranded in Chinese ports. More than 1,000 sailors have been trapped on board for months now ...
Has Labor already given up the next election?
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Labor’s Anthony Albanese has been facing growing criticism over his political strategy and there’s renewed speculation over his leadership. With 2...
The Australian Open has divided the country. But could it save sport?
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While thousands of Australians are still stranded overseas, 1,200 tennis players, officials and support staff have flown into Melbourne to take part i...
When are we getting the vaccine?
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last year Scott Morrison announced Australians would be first in line for the Covid-19 vaccine. But with 50 million people now vaccinated around the w...
Invasion Day: Why white Australia won’t reckon with its past
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Invasion Day, Wirlomin Noongar author Claire G. Coleman discusses how tokenistic gestures from our federal government have replaced the real change...
How Trump changed Australian politics forever
24 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Joe Biden takes the reins in the US, the legacy of Donald Trump continues to cast a shadow across the world. Today, Richard Cooke on how the ideas ...
Highlight: ‘In my new home, I am loved.’
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After five years on Manus Island, Imran Mohammad was resettled in Chicago. He says arriving in America was one of the happiest days in his life. But t...
Climate change will kill you, part three: sickness
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From thunderstorm asthma to the increasing prevalence of infectious disease, a warming planet is already making us more sick. In the final part of thi...
Highlight: How 4 million books were sold on fabrications
15 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australian author Heather Morris has made millions selling books about the Holocaust. But the people she writes about are in many ways unrecognisable,...
Climate change will kill you, part two: flood
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011 the Queensland town of Grantham was inundated with rain, causing flash flooding. It had a devastating impact on the town’s residents. But ev...
Highlight: The school fighting to save its language
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, students in Footscray in Melbourne’s West, have been taught in Vietnamese alongside English, in line with the suburb’s long-standing ...
Climate change will kill you, part one: heat
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From bushfires and heat, to floods, and the increasing severity of disease, Australians are already feeling the impacts of a warming planet. In this n...
The Saturday Quiz: Zoë Coombs Marr, Kate Jinx, Sarah Snook and Dave Lawson
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Four times as many questions plus two times as many guests equals more laughs than it’s possible to quantify. In this final episode of The Saturday ...
The year that was (plus, Buon Natale from Paul Bongiorno)
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve months ago the eastern half of the country was blanketed in smoke and our Prime Minister was nowhere to be seen. Since then the pandemic has se...
Dutton’s new plan to spy on Australians
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The federal government has proposed new laws that would give federal police the power to spy on Australian citizens. But the decision contradicts the ...
Australia's responsibility for the Christchurch massacre
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Royal Commission report into the Christchurch terrorist attacks led to an apology from the New Zealand government. But in Australia, there’s bee...
The Liberal minister forcing action on climate
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Liberal party has historically been handbrake on serious climate action, but in NSW one minister is pushing through ambitious environmental poli...
John Hewson on what’s wrong with politics
13 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scandal after scandal has battered the authority of the government and diminished the trust the public has in our democratic institutions. Today, form...