Qantas has been told it’s the “wrong kind of sorry”.

Five years after illegally outsourcing 1,800 ground staff, the airline has been hit with a record $90 million penalty on top of compensation for workers.

Qantas is promising cultural change, but the court's judgment questions whether the airline’s remorse is real or just for show, given the move saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run.

Today, Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston, on what this ruling means for the airline – and whether anything has changed since Alan Joyce's departure.

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Guest: Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston

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Fresh off the back of his meeting with Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump has held talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. 

While details of those talks are still trickling out, this time things seem to have gone well. 

Trump has promised Ukraine security, and is now talking about a peace deal – though not a ceasefire. 

Today, associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, David Szakonyi, on Trump's plan to profit from providing protection and whether we might see an end to the Russia Ukraine war. 

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Guest: Associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, David Szakonyi

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Darwin’s crocodile farms supply some of the world’s most exclusive fashion houses.

But as award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson started looking into this booming hundred million dollar industry, she knew she had to visit the Northern Territory herself.

As she got closer to this secretive industry, what she found was shocking: animals being kept in cramped conditions and being killed in drawn out processes, Indigenous people who say they are being ripped off for dangerous work and claims of conservation by a scientist with a sordid criminal history.

This is part one of a two part series.

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Guest: Award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson

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This is part two of a two-part series. Start with Part 1: Inside Australia's secretive crocodile skin industry.

The lucrative Australian crocodile skin industry has always sold its conservation credentials - arguing that by farming the animals, they were ensuring the future of the species. 

Two prominent scientists, using successful media businesses to promote research which showed those benefits, gave credibility to an industry worth 100 million dollars.

Their work also reportedly underpinned Northern Territory and Queensland legislation regulating the industry.

But when one of these scientists was exposed as one of the worst animal abusers in Australian history, everything about crocodile farming was called into question.

Today we go inside the Darwin jail cell where that scientist now resides, and hear about the reckoning inside the controversial crocodile industry. 

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Guest: Award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson

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When the Australian government appointed its envoy to combat Islamophobia, it came amid escalating violence in Gaza. 

But signs have emerged that the envoy chosen - Aftab Malik - appears to see his role as separate from the conflict in the Middle East.

Now there are questions about why Malik was chosen, and concern about whether his report - due any day now - will go far enough to address Islamophobia in this county.

Today, Crikey reporter Daanyal Saeed on the secret briefings the envoy is holding, and the disquiet over how he’s approaching his role. 
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Guest: Crikey reporter Daanyal Saeed

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A few weeks ago, Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar addressed the National Press Club to discuss what he describes as the “next great industrial revolution”.

Singing the praises of the economic opportunity of artificial intelligence, Farquhar called on the government to loosen the rules – allowing AI models to train themselves using creative works, without paying for it.

Now, as Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the Productivity Commission focus on the potential billions AI could produce – there are questions about what it will mean for the future of creative work and journalism.

Today, principal at Good Company Law, Hannah Marshall, on the collision course between AI, art and the law. 

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Guest: Principal at Good Company Law, Hannah Marshall

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It’s easy to dismiss conspiracy theories as fringe or imported.

But conspiratorial ideas are gaining traction with everyday Australians – about one in three endorse at least one conspiracy belief.

They’re also being echoed by people in power, and have spilled into real-world violence.

Today, Conspiracy Nation authors Cam Wilson and Ariel Bogle on how conspiracies leap from the fringe to the mainstream – including all the way to Parliament house.

This is part two of a two-part series.

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Guest: Authors of Conspiracy Nation, Cam Wilson and Ariel Bogle

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia – like many countries – saw protesters take the streets.

They weren’t just protesting lockdowns, they were rallying around a tangle of fears and conspiracies.

Those threads fused into a broader worldview that pulled people down a pipeline and built a small industry of influencers.

Today, Conspiracy Nation authors Ariel Bogle and Cam Wilson on the conspiracy pipeline: how it works, who benefits, and where it’s heading now.

This is part one of a two-part series.

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Guest: Authors of Conspiracy Nation, Cam Wilson and Ariel Bogle

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When dead fish began washing up on South Australian beaches earlier this year, Dr Scott Bennett was alarmed.

Scott’s a marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania, and knew that dead fish on shore meant trouble under the surface.

On a dive in June, Scott came face-to-face with the devastating impact of the largest algal bloom Australia has ever seen.

The full impact still isn’t known – but some of Australia’s rarest and strangest animals could be wiped out entirely. 

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Guest: Marine ecologist Dr Scott Bennett 

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Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced.

Albanese claims the move will help advance a two-state solution and is “humanity’s best hope” for peace in the Middle East.

But as Israel intensifies its military campaign in Gaza once again, what difference does recognition really make?

Today, contributing editor of The New Daily, Amy Remeikis, on what the international community is trying to achieve – and whether it's too late.

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Guest: Contributing editor of The New Daily Amy Remeikis

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