The alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in a terrace house in the inner city of Sydney, on February 19, stunned the nation.
The case began after police found a bag with bloodied contents on February 21, in a skip near a police station in the south Sydney suburb of Cronulla. This led to a manhunt, across Sydney and beyond, after which time Beau Lamarre-Condon, an active police officer, handed himself in at a police station. Exactly a week ago today, Lamarre-Condon led police to the bodies of the slain couple.

But many crucial questions have remained unanswered. Until now.
Today, crime reporter Perry Duffin on the leaked police document, and conversations with former friends and colleagues of Jesse Baird, that tell us the inside story behind this tragic case.  Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The killing of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies: What we now know

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

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We are used to hearing bad news when it comes to the environment. 
And it's for good reason. The world’s temperature is rising at an alarming rate, our air is full of pollutants, species are becoming endangered and then, extinct. 
But, we are here to deliver some good news, on the Australian initiatives that are making a difference. 
Today, climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley on the three good news stories about our environment. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Depressed about the environment? Hold on, there’s good news

Over the last few months, a new wave of avian flu has been raging across the world. 
In the United States, the strain has been found in cows, and it has also reached far-flung Antarctica, infecting penguins, seals and polar bears. 
So far, transmission to humans has been extremely rare, and Australia remains the only continent in the world to keep the virus out.
But last week, health authorities confirmed a Victorian child had been critically ill with another strain of the virus, becoming Australia’s first-ever case of human bird flu.
Today, science reporter Angus Dalton on the alarming new cases of bird flu in Australia. And what the risks are to us. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has its first-ever case of human bird flu. What happens now?

This week we look at two stories about our public servants. The first story is about the faceless kind of public servant who toil in government departments, and the second story is about the political public servants at the heart of the Albanese government, as we discuss the different public and private roles of ministers. 
Joining Jacqueline Maley is national affairs editor James Massola and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside Politics: ‘Delay, deny, die’ the human cost of cutting public servants

For years, it has been the biggest question in geopolitics. Who will win the struggle for world domination? China? Or the United States? American president Joe Biden has dubbed it the “fight to win the 21st century”.
But behind the grandiose rhetoric, there is one tiny country stuck in the middle of these two superpowers. Taiwan, the independent country that China claims as its own.
Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Taiwan’s new president - a former political ‘hot-head’ inaugurated earlier this week - might manage his country’s struggle for sovereignty. And his citizens’ growing fear of invasion. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taiwan’s new president was once a ‘hothead’. Can he beat back China?

It’s not everyday that an Australian artwork gets thrust into the global spotlight, let alone becomes a punchline on a hugely popular American late night talk show.
But all that changed last week, after news broke that Australia’s richest woman demanded that her portrait be taken down from the walls of The National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra.
Today, investigative reporter Eryk Bagshaw, who helped break this story on why it’s gone viral, and how Gina Rinehart’s lengths to remove the portrait speak to the heart of Vincent Namatjira’s artwork, a satire about wealth and influence. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The killing of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies: What we now know

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