7am

For decades, liberal democracy came with a promise: that with each generation we would become freer, wealthier, and have more control over our lives.

But after years of economic shocks, war and political upheaval, more and more people seem to have stopped believing that promise.

And in its place, we’re seeing political movements emerge that don’t just want different policies – they’re questioning some of the fundamental ideas our democracies were built on.

In his new Quarterly Essay, Time of Monsters, writer and broadcaster Waleed Aly argues this is part of something bigger – a crisis in liberalism itself.

Today, Waleed Aly on whether we’re entering a post-liberal age – and what might replace the old order.

 

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Guest: Writer and broadcaster, Waleed Aly 

Photo: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

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For years, Donald Trump’s attacks on the media were treated as part of the spectacle of his politics. Now, three major news organisations have had their White House passes revoked – and Trump says others could follow.

Here in Australia, we’re seeing Pauline Hanson follow the same playbook – with One Nation repeatedly deciding which news organisations can attend its press conferences. But unlike America, press freedom in Australia has remarkably few legal protections backing it.

So what happens when politicians stop respecting the rules we’ve simply assumed they would follow?

Today, journalist and press freedom advocate Peter Greste, on how fragile press freedom is in Australia and why we’ve relied for so long on convention rather than law.

 

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Guest: Journalist and press freedom advocate, Peter Greste

Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

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It’s an uncomfortable fact our government doesn’t like to face: 25 years on from the Tampa affair, we’re still paying a tiny island micro-nation hundreds of millions of dollars to keep immigration detention alive.

One of the ways we’re doing that is by helping to prop up Nauru Airlines – a company riven with financial, governance and safety issues.

Today, independent journalist Nick Feik on how our relationship with a foreign commercial airline is compromising the Australian government’s own regulators, departments and procurement processes in the name of immigration detention.

 

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Guest: Independent journalist, Nick Feik

Photo: Nauru Airlines

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One of the defining themes of Donald Trump's presidencies has been his war against the media.

Last week, he banned journalists from three media outlets from the White House, saying he’s had enough of the negative stories about him. This week, those outlets sued him over the ban.

And just last year he proved no one’s off limits,  taking media mogul Rupert Murdoch to court in a ten-billion-dollar lawsuit that’s still playing out – all over another story he didn’t much like.

Today, journalist and author Gabriel Sherman on the battle of the titans between Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch – and who really holds the power in this twisted transactional relationship.

 

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Guest: Journalist and author Gabriel Sherman

Photo: EPA/Samuel Corum and Kevin Lamarque via AP

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Australia in 2066 will be older, richer, and – according to the treasurer – transformed by artificial intelligence.

The latest intergenerational report says, despite an aging population, our real incomes will be 55 percent higher by 2066. And Jim Chalmers says AI will get us there.

But the same report says younger Australians aren’t seeing the same gains in income, wealth and home ownership as the generations before it. So what does this report really say about our future – and how much of it is political wishful thinking.

Today, Vice Chancellor’s professor and Chief Societal Economist at the University of New South Wales, Richard Holden on what Australia could look like in 40 years – and where the economics end and the politics begin.

 

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Guest: UNSW Chief Societal Economist Richard Holden

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

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A whole new galactic battleground has just opened up.

The United States has declared it has weapons in space, and it’s ready to use them.

So, are we entering a new era where the opening moves of a war could happen hundreds of kilometres above us?

Today, Senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Dr Malcolm Davis on the space weapons now at the ready, and the likelihood of an orbital offensive.

 

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Guest: Senior analyst at ASPI, Dr Malcolm Davis

Photo: National Air and Space Intelligence Center

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Last year, the company that ran Australia’s immigration detention network for over a decade, British conglomerate Serco, lost its contract, but not before helping build what’s been called one of the world’s ‘most extreme and secretive’ detention regimes.

The question at the time was whether its replacement – American private prison operator MTC – would be any better.

Eighteen months later, we have an answer. Recorded incidents across the detention network have more than doubled – from almost 800 to over 1,600 – since MTC took over.

At the same time, Australia’s offshore detention system on Nauru is expanding – hundreds more people are being transferred to the island, and the Albanese government has announced plans to expand immigration detention as part of its crackdown on visa overstayers.

Today, journalist Denham Sadler on the private companies paid billions to run Australia’s immigration detention system – and the warnings that were there before MTC took over.

This episode was originally published in January, 2025.

 

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Guest: Journalist Denham Sadler

Photo: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

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Migration is shaping up to be the next big battleground in federal politics as Labor desperately tries to wrestle back control of the narrative from One Nation.

But does this week’s long-awaited plan leave the government stronger or weaker politically?

And could going harder on Pauline Hanson hold the key to tackling One Nation? This week, the major parties gave it a try as some of Hanson’s nasty comments came back to bite her.

Today, Contributing Editor at The New Daily, Amy Remeikis on immigration politics and whether some things are off limits, even for Pauline Hanson.

 

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Guest: Contributing Editor at The New Daily, Amy Remeikis

Photo: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

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After one false start and a hell of a lot of political pressure from the right, Labor has finally unveiled its long-awaited immigration plans.

Backpackers, students and visa overstayers will all be targeted by the measures – designed to bring net overseas migration down from around 300 thousand, to 225 thousand by 2028.

So what impact will the overhaul have on our economy, our communities, and on Labor’s re-election prospects? 

Today, journalist Peter Mares – who writes extensively on immigration for Inside Story magazine – on what’s in store, and whether the issue Labor’s addressing is a political problem, or a real one.

 

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Guest: Inside Story Magazine journalist Peter Mares

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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Last week, countries including the UK, Canada and France announced plans to restrict trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In the past, Australia has joined its overseas allies in actions on Israel. This time it’s different – with Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong, saying Australia isn’t considering joining the ban. 

So – why not? 

Today, Commissioner on the UN’s Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel, Chris Sidoti, on Australia’s responsibilities, and its failures. 

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

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Guest: Commissioner on the UN’s Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Chris Sidoti

Photo: AP Photo/Leo Correa

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