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In more than 30 years of lobbying for gambling reforms, Tim Costello says no government has tried to silence him through the use of a legally binding non-disclosure agreement.

That’s until the Albanese government asked him to sign an NDA as part of lobbying the government on new gambling advertising laws.

The chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform says he believes its purpose was to “muzzle” the group.

It’s part of a growing government trend to use non-disclosure agreements as a condition of consultation on reforms, even threatening advocates and social welfare groups with imprisonment if orders are breached. 

Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, on the impact these NDAs have on meaningful consultation and how the government justifies its turn towards secrecy.

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Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Karen Barlow.

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If you ask a Melbourne local, almost all of them would have heard of the 1977 Easey Street murders.

In one of Victoria’s most brutal unsolved killings, two women in their 20s were stabbed dozens of times in their home on Easey Street in Collingwood.

Now, after 47 years and examining over 130 “persons of interest”, police have finally made an arrest.

Today, journalist and author of Murder on Easey St Helen Thomas, on the killings that haunted Melbourne and the suspect – known as “the boy with the knife” – that police overlooked for decades.

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Guest: Journalist and author of Murder on Easey St, Helen Thomas.

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Peter Dutton is now on TikTok, and his first post was about as inspiring as you might imagine. It’s shot in an office, he’s wearing a suit, and he’s talking about housing.

It’s easy to see this as a case of trying to appeal to the kids. But it’s also a sign of a broader trend among Australian politicians, with around a third of them now on TikTok and more likely to join the platform.

Peter Dutton’s move to TikTok is especially curious, beyond his use of the word “demure”. It signals that he’s made a calculation that the opportunity for votes is more important than any of the security concerns flagged about the app’s parent company, ByteDance.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on whether TikTok is actually a threat – or just an opportunity for political embarrassment. 

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Guest: Special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis

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Even if you’re not an obsessive Ancient Rome aficionado, you may have heard of Mary Beard. With more than 20 books to her name, including the wildly successful SPQR, Mary might be most famous for her work as a BBC host for shows such as Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town and Julius Caesar Revealed. On this episode of Read This, she sits down with Michael to discuss her life sentence — the half dozen words that set her on the path to becoming Britain’s best-known classicist — and why the Roman Empire is so misunderstood.

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In a court case earlier this year, an art installation at Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art that was designed to playfully poke at the historic and ongoing disadvantages faced by women was found to be discriminatory.

MONA’s Ladies Lounge was a small, private room within the museum, bordered by silk green curtains and open only to those who identify as “ladies”.

MONA is appealing the decision, arguing that men weren’t being rejected from the lounge, but rather their rejection was an experience of the artwork itself.

Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Gabriella Coslovich on the Ladies Lounge saga, and what happens when discrimination is the entire point.

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Guest: Contributor to The Saturday Paper, Gabriella Coslovich.

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As a child refugee in India, Harini dreamt of making it to Australia to study medicine and become a doctor.

She arrived in Australia in 2013 when she was 10 years old, leaving behind her two siblings and mother.

Harini did not realise her visa status made her different to her classmates until she received a university offer for a biomedical science degree that required her to pay international student fees of nearly $100,000.

After attempting to self-fund her studies and falling a year behind in payments, the university disenrolled Harini in 2023 – four months before she was set to complete her degree.

Today, Harini Rathnakumar on how her promise of a better life in Australia was shattered, and the many others stuck in visa limbo.

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Guest: Harini Rathnakumar

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When Bill Shorten finally gave up his hopes of ever becoming prime minister, one door closed and another, much more lucrative, door opened. 

In his new role as vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra, he could earn up to three times as much as the PM. 

His appointment comes amid a fight about the exorbitant salaries Australian vice-chancellors receive and as his government's new cap on international students raises big questions about funding shortfalls in higher education. 

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on how much vice-chancellors earn and how they justify it. 

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Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe

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When Jim Chalmers said that interest rate hikes were “smashing the economy” he was either stating the obvious or starting a war, depending on who you ask.

For weeks – in question time and in the news – a picture has been forming of an aggrieved treasurer, angry at the governor of the Reserve Bank. At the same time, senior unnamed Labor insiders have called Michelle Bullock a “nutter” and the RBA board “weirdos”.

But behind the apparent breakdown between the government and the Reserve Bank, there’s a much more bitter feud going on: between Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor, who has recently walked away from a bipartisan plan to fix the Reserve Bank.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on how the deal unravelled and what it means for the future of the Reserve Bank.

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Guest: Special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis

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The militia movement in the United States has a long and bloody history. 

In the aftermath of January 6, it was buoyed by Donald Trump’s praise of those who attacked the Capitol, and the numbers of people wanting to join militia groups grew. With a resurgence in numbers, militia groups are now patrolling the US-Mexico border, forming bonds with active duty police and military and trying to influence the midterm elections.

With the presidential election fast approaching, investigative reporter for ProPublica Joshua Kaplan has gained rare access to the secretive world of one militia, American Patriots Three Percent, to find out how they are preparing for the election and what will happen if Donald Trump loses.

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Guest: Investigative reporter for ProPublica Josh Kaplan 

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Star investigative journalist Louise Milligan has spent her career working on some of the most high-profile criminal cases in Australia. This incredible breadth of experience informs her first novel Pheasant’s Nest, which follows the abduction of a young journalist and provides a unique insight into the media, policing and politics that surround a crime like this. On this episode of Read This, Michael sits down with Louise to discuss the leap from reporting to fiction and why writing this book was a kind of therapy.

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