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Even though the worst case projections of the Omicron wave haven’t yet been realised, Australia’s health system is still buckling under the pressure.

Thousands of healthcare workers are off work, and surgeries, palliative care and mental health services are all feeling the strain - leaving hundreds of thousands of Australians with inadequate or interrupted care. 

Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on the crisis in our health system, and how our government’s didn’t see it coming.

Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton.

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The Culture is back for 2022! And to start things off, we’re putting the magnifying glass over a game that has taken the internet by storm.

With no promotion or monetisation, Wordle has grown a player base of over two million in a little less than three months. But what is it about this humble word game that has so many people addicted?

To help unpack where Wordle came from and how it operates in a social media landscape, games reporter for Screenhub and regular games critic for The Saturday Paper, Jini Maxwell, joins The Culture this week.

Guest: Jini Maxwell, games critic for The Saturday Paper.

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This year Australians will head to the polls and cast their judgement on the performance of the federal government.

The Coalition has been in power for nearly a decade, but according to the latest polls the Labor opposition are the favourites to win.

But, with at least four months to go until polling day, anything could happen - especially in the unpredictable world of Australian politics.

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on what kind of surprises might be in store this election year.

Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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When world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic arrived in Australia earlier this month, he intended to defend his title at the Australian Open.

Instead, his visa was cancelled and he was detained at a hotel in Melbourne - the Park Hotel.  

Before Djokovic’s arrival, the Park Hotel was home to around 30 refugees and asylum seekers who were being kept in indefinite immigration detention.   

Today, 7am producer Elle Marsh on the moment the world’s attention focused on Australia’s treatment of refugees, and what happens now most of the media have moved on. 

Guest: Producer for 7am podcast Elle Marsh and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Mehdi Ali.

Background reading:

‘I grew up in this cage’: Life inside the Park Hotel in The Saturday Paper

The sky of this cage in The Saturday Paper

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Fifty years ago today a group of four Aboriginal men planted a beach umbrella on the lawns out the front of Parliament House, as part of a protest over land rights.

That action marked the beginning of the longest ever Indigenous land rights protest in history: the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. 

Today, Kamilaroi Uralarai woman Frances Peters-Little on why land rights is fundamental to the campaign for Indigenous justice. 

Guest: Filmmaker, historian, author and musician, Dr Frances Peters-Little.

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Right now most of Australia is living without restrictions, lockdowns or border closures.

But with tens of thousands of people, including essential workers, being forced into isolation everyday our economy is still under intense pressure from the pandemic.

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on how the rampant spread of Omicron has led to a shadow lockdown, and why for many businesses and families, it’s the worst lockdown yet.

Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe.

Background reading: Tracing the 'nightmare' reality of the shadow lockdown in The Saturday Paper.

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After nearly two years of lockdowns and border closures there was hope that this summer things might be different in Australia. But then, Omicron hit. 

Now we’re entering year three of the Covid-19 pandemic. Case numbers are higher than ever, hospitals are being pushed to their limit and rapid tests are extremely difficult to find.

So how did we get here?

Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on how Covid-19 caught up with Australia this summer, and what the federal government could have done to better prepare for this moment. 

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

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Author and activist Bri Lee regularly runs workshops on consent and sex in schools.

She writes about those workshops in the context of a growing national conversation about sexual harassment and assault.

Today, Bri reads her article from The Monthly, 'Ill-informed consent'.

Guest: Contributor to The Monthly Bri Lee.

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Today, Sarah Krasnostein, the best-selling author of ‘The Trauma Cleaner’, reads her essay from The Monthly. 

It’s called ‘The most hated man’ and it explores the sentencing of Richard Pusey, who was convicted of outraging public decency after he filmed the horrific aftermath of a car crash that killed four police officers.

Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Sarah Krasnostein.

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It’s another special bonus summer episode of The Culture! On this episode of The Culture, author and The Saturday Paper’s TV critic Sarah Krasnostein breaks down the best TV shows of 2021 - from drama, to comedy, to the best of Australian television.

Guest: Sarah Krasnostein. TV critic for The Saturday Paper.

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