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One year on from the October 7 attacks against Israel, the region is bracing for more war. 

It seems almost certain Israel will launch a retaliatory attack against Iran, after it fired ballistic missiles at Israel last week. 

Meanwhile, over the weekend, Israel continued its airstrikes on Lebanon, with multiple explosions reported in the suburbs of the capital Beirut. 

Today, Israel correspondent for The Economist Anshel Pfeffer on where the Middle East is headed, and how, or if, the fighting can end. 

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Guest: Israel correspondent for The Economist Anshel Pfeffer

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Charlotte Wood became a mainstay in Australia’s literary firmament in 2016 following the release of her award-winning novel, The Natural Way of Things. Her latest book, Stone Yard Devotional, is a meditation on grief, solitude, what it means to live a good life, and what we owe one another. It has been shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. On this episode of Read This, Michael sits down with Charlotte to discuss her new book, and she shares the psychic catastrophe that informed its final form.

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There’s a greater than 50 per cent chance that there will be a terrorist attack – or a planned attack – in Australia in the next year.

That’s the reality behind the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s recent decision to upgrade the nation’s terror threat level to “probable”.

So the need for all states and territories to be working on a united strategy with the federal government to prevent terrorist attacks is greater than ever.

But that’s not what’s happening. The states and territories have taken the unprecedented step of abandoning the Albanese government’s planned counter-terrorism strategy, in favour of figuring it out themselves.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on why the national strategy on counterterrorism has collapsed – and what it means for our safety.

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Guest: Special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis

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As much as they would hate to admit it, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris fit the definition of “coastal elite”. The United States presidential candidates are a wealthy New York businessman and reality TV star running against a San Francisco liberal with a career in public office.

That’s why they’re both hoping their vice-presidential candidates and running mates will speak to a specific group of voters – the blue collar, working class area of the Midwest.

And yesterday’s debate showed that both J.D. Vance and Tim Walz are taking that opportunity seriously.

Today, ABC journalist and host of the Global Roaming podcast Geraldine Doogue, on how the two candidates are using their roots to appeal to voters in very different ways.

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Guest: ABC journalist and host of Global Roaming, Geraldine Doogue.

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There are hundreds of angry posts on X, TikTok and Reddit from citizen journalists archiving Coles and Woolworths' published prices and noticing some strange patterns.

The posters complain that the two supermarket giants have misled their customers with their “Down Down” and “Prices Dropped” promotions.

Now, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched legal action, alleging the big two presented discounted promotions that were actually higher, or the same, as the price that had been charged for the same items just weeks beforehand.

Today, economist and contributor to The Saturday Paper Peter Martin, on the “illusory” discounts and how a Cadbury Caramello Koala helped fuel the outrage.

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Guest: Economist and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Peter Martin.

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When Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in Beirut over the weekend, Michelle Jasmin Dimasi felt the blast from her apartment. 

Michelle’s an Australian journalist and she’s been based in the city for a few months.

Now, as Israeli airstrikes continue, she is preparing to leave, likely by plane. 

But for a million displaced people within Lebanon, that calculation of where to go, and how to get out, is much more complicated.

Today, Michelle Jasmin Dimasi on the reality of life in Lebanon right now and why thousands of people, including Syrian refugees, are fleeing back into Syria.

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Guest: Journalist Michelle Jasmin Dimasi

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The leader of Hezbollah has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

Hassan Nasrallah led the group for more than 30 years, building it into a powerful political force within Lebanon and the most heavily armed non-state militia in the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered the killing from his hotel room in New York, before his speech at the United Nations general assembly.

Joe Biden has called the killing a “measure of justice”.

But Lebanon is entering three days of mourning, at a time when more than half a million people are displaced there and airstrikes continue.

Today, Middle East correspondent for The Economist Gregg Carlstrom on Hassan Nasrallah’s legacy and what his death means for Lebanon, and for Israel.

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Guest: Middle East correspondent for The Economist Gregg Carlstrom

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Sri Lankan-born Canadian essayist, poet, and Booker Prize-winning novelist Michael Ondaatje recently released a stunning collection of poems. Ondaatje is now 80 years old and it’s almost half a century since he published his first novel; even longer since he first published poetry. On this episode of Read This he joins Michael for a conversation about A Year of Last Things and why writing remains such a joyful act of discovery.

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The Reserve Bank should lower interest rates, and if they don’t, the government should make them, according to the Greens.

Their spokesperson for economic justice Nick McKim has said he won’t support the government's reforms to the RBA unless the treasurer intervenes in the bank’s decision-making processes and tells them to lower interest rates. 

It’s a big demand: something that has never happened before and is unlikely to now, with Labor saying the Greens are “out of control”.

And there is also unrest within the Greens about the position, with some concerned the demands go too far at a time when the party is looking to make itself a viable alternative to the two major parties at the next election.

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on just how independent the Reserve Bank is and what the Greens are playing at. 

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Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe

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The Liberal National Party has been in the political wilderness in Queensland for most of the past three decades. But in a month’s time that’s likely to change, after an election campaign fought on youth crime.

Yesterday, David Crisafulli announced courts would be able to access young people’s full criminal histories, even after they have turned 18. It’s a move legal experts say is cheap and won’t change rates of offending.

All this tough talk hides a more complicated story, in which a small number of highly publicised and shocking crimes obscure the fact that, by the police’s own figures, youth offending is near record lows.

Today, we hear from a survivor of Queensland’s youth justice system about the real reasons young people offend, and what helped her escape the cycle.

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