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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 come from think tanks.

Among the most influential in Australia is the Institute of Public Affairs, the IPA, a right-wing think tank that prides itself on being the policy brain of the conservative movement.

But the organisation is in decline, it’s generating less new ideas and it’s finding it harder to get the support of business.

Today, national correspondent at The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on the decline of the IPA.

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Guest: National correspondent at The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe

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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 trying to find their way.

So how do we make sure the best people become teachers?

That’s the question that obsessed Julia Gillard when she was Education minister in 2008. The answer she came up with has had some unforeseen consequences that teachers are still living with now.

Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on the testing regime for Australian teachers that was inspired by an American consultancy firm.

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Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton.

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The right-wing anti-immigration politician who led the Brexit campaign in Britain is currently touring Australia.

Nigel Farage has become increasingly irrelevant in British politics, but he is commanding speaking fees and being given a hero's welcome by Sky News presenters and One Nation politicians

It could be a cynical money grabbing exercise, a play for political influence in Australia… or both.

Today, journalist Kurt Johnson on the Nigel Farage tour, the figures behind it and the global franchise of right-wing populists.

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Guest: Journalist, Kurt Johnson

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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.

One, Kath Madgwick, said her son took his own life just hours after learning he owed a Centrelink debt through the scheme – she’ll be making a submission to the royal commission.

But this week’s hearings are only the beginning of an attempt to hold people accountable over what happened. 

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno, on how the commission is trying to find the truth for the victims of robo-debt, and the future of integrity in our parliament.

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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Millions of Australians will need new drivers licences and passports, after Optus’s lax data management exposed the details of around 10 million Australians to a hacker.

Anthony Albanese has announced Optus should foot the bill for new ID documents and has called the hack a ‘wake up’ for corporate Australia.

But why did Optus hold so much data on millions of Australians? Why wasn’t it held more safely?

Today, associate professor Toby Murray from the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne - on how millions of Australians are now exposed – and what we need to do about it.

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Guest: Associate professor, Toby Murray.

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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 without the nurses and doctors to care for someone in it?

That’s the question one state is facing, after it was revealed that NSW Health believe they will need billions more in operational budgets to sufficiently staff the new hospitals that are being opened.

Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton on the big shiny hospitals without enough staff to run them.

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Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton

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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 deemed to pose an exceptional risk to society, such as sexual offenders and terrorists, that hasn’t always been the case – and in some jurisdictions they can be kept in jail or given harsh restrictions long after they leave.

But now those exceptions are expanding — other offences are increasingly subject to what is called ‘preventative detention’.

Today, journalist Kieran Pender on the question of who gets to walk free at the end of their sentence.

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Guest: Journalist, Kieran Pender.

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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 represented many who harbour a resentment towards the British crown and the unhealed wounds inflicted by the British Empire.

In the UK, some people feel the same way and not all Britons participated in the scenes of public grieving that have been seen around the world.

Today, the United Kingdom’s first Professor of Black Studies and author of The New Age of Empire, Kehinde Andrews, on what the monarchy represents today. 

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Guest: Professor of Black Studies and author of The New Age of Empire, Kehinde Andrews

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Police and security agencies often have access to a wealth of personal information about the people they’re investigating — including phone calls, texts, emails and metadata.

Access to that information is supposed to occur under very controlled circumstances. But there’s evidence that’s not what’s happening. 

A report has found that police and other agencies routinely break the law in handling private data, and despite warnings - their conduct is getting worse rather than better.

Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton on what happens when the people in charge of law enforcement, act outside the law themselves. 

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Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Karen Middleton

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After a 10-year legal battle, the “palace letters” were finally released. In full, they show how Gough Whitlam’s relationship with the governor-general broke down - and how involved the Queen was through this collapse.

Today, we revisit our episode from 2020 with chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Karen Middleton.

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