7am

As Brian Toohey releases his major book on national security in Australia, he reveals that American spies have been working here without detection. Karen Middleton on secrecy and the state of the alliance.

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

Background reading:

CIA agents in Australia in The Saturday Paper

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

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The Panama Papers were the largest leak in financial history. They helped expose tax evasion and misdeeds that ensnared major companies and foreign governments. The reporter who first got the documents, Bastian Obermayer, on how he handled the leak and what he has found in Australia.

Guest: Investigative journalist Bastian Obermayer.

Background reading:

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

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Months before the latest mass protests began in Hong Kong, the Chinese government shut down an art exhibition in the city. The work was by Badiucao, a Chinese-Australian artist living in Melbourne. He has since been harassed and intimidated in Australia, and his work has become a key part of the pro-democracy protests. 

Guest: Chinese-Australia visual artist and political cartoonist Badiucao.

Background reading:

Hong Kong's fight for freedom in The Saturday Paper

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

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As Scott Morrison celebrates Timor-Leste’s independence, tension over the Witness K case continues to undermine the relationship. At the same time, Canberra is standing up to Beijing over the imprisonment of Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun. Paul Bongiorno on the political calculus that separates the two.

Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno.

Background reading: 

Timor-Leste independence and press freedom in The Saturday Paper

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

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When a communications agency started contacting members of the Muslim community for social media training, it seemed like their intentions were to elevate new voices. But the program was funded by the Department of Home Affairs, and the messages being positioned were from the government. Shakira Hussein on what it’s like to be pulled into a propaganda machine.

Guest: Writer and academic Shakira Hussein.

Background reading: 

Strategic communication’ and Muslim communities in The Saturday Paper

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

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The Greens is a party with a leader who many think is too mainstream, struggling with the growing pains of infighting and factionalism. The party’s biographer says it is also on the cusp of another step change. Paddy Manning on Richard Di Natale and his third force.

Guest: Contributing editor (politics) for The Monthly and author of Inside the Greens Paddy Manning.

Background reading: 

Inside the Greens, by Paddy Manning, published by Black Inc.

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

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Scott Morrison has made a new appeal to the group he calls the “Quiet Australians”. He says they have a “trust deficit” with the public service and he wants bureaucracy to change itself so it can focus on serving them. The problem - as Rick Morton reports - is that research describes the opposite of what the prime minister is saying. 

Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

Background reading:

Morrison in the middle in The Saturday Paper

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

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Joelle Gergis is one of Australia’s leading climate scientists. She says the current modelling is worse than previously thought. She also says the most extreme effects of climate change can still be arrested - they just need immediate and radical action. She says there is resistance to talking about emotions around science, but she feels grief and anger.

Guest: Climate scientist Joelle Gergis. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

Background reading: 

The terrible truth of climate change in The Monthly

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

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After unhappy scenes at the Pacific Islands Forum, Scott Morrison is making a tour of Vietnam and then France for the G7. But his attempts at diplomacy are held back by his position on climate change. Paul Bongiorno on Scott Morrison, out in the world.

Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno.

Background reading:

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

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The furore over Australian swimmer Mack Horton’s stand against long-time rival Sun Yang underscores confusion about how drug testing in sport works. It has also begun a minor diplomatic incident between Australia and China. Tracey Holmes on what actually happened and what it means. 

Guest: Journalist and host of The Ticket Tracey Holmes.

Background reading:

Hypocrisy and bad blood in The Saturday Paper

The Saturday Paper

The Monthly

For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.