Backchat

In big news this week, the Israeli government pushed through a controversial law declaring the country as the "nation-state of the Jewish people", defining Israel first and foremost as a Jewish state where Jewish people have an “exclusive right to national self-determination”.

Later, our reporter Eden Faithfull reports on the petition to permanently fly the Aboriginal flag on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and we chat to ABC Online Technology Reporter Ariel Bogle about My Health Record.

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We're excited to celebrate NAIDOC Week on Backchat today. Joining us in the studio is Dylan Voller to talk about Indigenous youth incarceration. Last month, the Northern Territory government confirmed that all children currently in detention in the Northern Territory are Aboriginal. The numbers haven’t changed since the Royal Commission into the youth justice system, which took place after an ABC’s Four Corners report uncovered the treatment of Indigenous children in the Don Dale youth detention centre.

Later, we chat with Dr Maggie Walter, inaugural Pro Vice-Chancellor of Aboriginal Research and Leadership at the University of Tasmania, about the significance of Indigenous data sovereignty for the Uluru Statement.

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Hosts Swetha Das and Natalie Sekulovska bring you the freshest wrap of news from the week, including the World Cup, a just launched inquiry into workplace sexual harassment, and a new English language test for migrants under consideration by the government.

We also welcome Regina Jefferies, teaching fellow at UNSW and affiliate of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, to discuss Australia's National Refugee Week and immigration policy in the US.

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Maddison Connaughton and guest host Johnny Lieu discuss the biggest story dominating headlines this week - the Trump-Kim summit. The two leaders signed a joint statement promoting "mutual confidence building" and to potentially pave the way to denuclearisation.

Later, Sydney Morning Herald Legal Affairs and Investigations reporter Michaela Whitbourn talks to us about Australia's defamation laws and why a review of the current laws are needed.

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What's new in politics this week? After a marathon debate, abortion "safe-access zones" legislation has passed through the lower house in NSW. Plus, Tony Abbott and Alan Jones launched a new anti-PC book by Dr Kevin Donnelly, called "How Political Correctness is Destroying Australia."

Later, we chat to Matt Noffs, CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation, pill tester, and author of the book "Addicted", about sniffer dogs at music festivals.

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It’s National Reconciliation Week and our hosts Maddison Connaughton and Swetha Das speak to Teela Reid, a lawyer and human rights advocate, about the Uluru Statement.

We also chat to Nathan Sentance, librarian and First Nations programs officer at the Australian Museum, about reclaiming Indigenous voices in galleries and museums.

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This week hosts Maddison Connaughton and Swetha Das welcome Gina Rushton from BuzzFeed into the studio to chat about the NSW parliamentary vote on abortion “safe zones."

Later, we chat about a “virtual kidnapping” scam that’s been targeting international students in Australia with Dr Lennon Y.C Chang, senior lecturer in Criminology at Monash University. Plus we round up some of the most important stories in politics this week, including Luke Foley's "white flight" comments and the anniversary of Sorry Day.

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Over the past decade, Sydney has become one of the least affordable places in the world to buy a house. Indigenous architect Joel Spring comes into the studio to chat about gentrification and its impact on local communities in Redfern and Waterloo.

Later, we welcome in author and race scholar Randa Abdel-Fattah to talk about the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict after nearly 60 Palestinians were killed in the Middle East when Israeli troops fired shots during a protest last week.

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This week, hosts Maddison Connaughton and Swetha Das discuss all things federal budget. Who are the winners and losers this year? What sneaky cuts has Scott Morrison introduced?

Later, Jackson Kwok, policy analyst at China Matters, drops by the studio to chat about the NSW government's relationship with Confucius Institutes. Gavin Walker, an activist co-chairing this week's FIRE rally, also comes in to discuss Aboriginal deaths in custody.

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Hosts Maddison Connaughton and Swetha Das bring you the freshest wrap of news this week, including the latest in the banking royal commission, Australia's first pill testing trial, and free TAFE in Victoria.

We welcome Jodie Pall from the University of Sydney into the studio to discuss the university's investment in arms manufacturing after her protest video went viral earlier in the week. Drew Rooke, the author of One Last Spin: The Power and Peril of Pokies, also drops by the studio to chat about Australia's pokies epidemic.

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