Flight of Fancy

By The Age and Sydney Morning HeraldSociety & Culture Places & Travel

Flight of Fancy episodes

January 23, 2019 Are we ready to redefine Australia Day?
The cliches about our identity get rolled out every Australia Day. But in recent times, what, and more importantly, who counts as Australian has been co-opted by far-right fringe groups with a view to exclusion. Undeniably, Australian pride is not as simple as many would like to think.
This week on Please Explain, national editor Tory Maguire examines Australian identity in 2019 and how Australians might redefine what it means to be proud of their country.
Guests:
Lisa Davies - Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Stan Grant - ABC's Global Affairs and Indigenous Affairs analyst. He is about to release his book Australia Day.
Michelle Simmons - 2018 Australian of the Year and quantum phsyicist at the University of New South Wales.
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The Sydney Morning Herald: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
40 min
January 17, 2019 Brexit breakdown: where to now?
No deal, no confidence and no plan. On March 29, Britain is scheduled to depart the European Union officially after 46 years.
After this week's failed vote, and the clock ticking down to d-day, our latest episode of Please Explain looks at the best - and worst - case scenario for the Brits, and the EU.
Guests:
Nick Miller: Europe correspondent, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
James Chessell: Executive Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and former London Correspondent for the Australian Financial Review.
John McDuling: business, media and technology writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
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The Sydney Morning Herald: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
38 min
January 09, 2019 2019: The year of the housing correction
Australian house prices have finally ceased their extraordinary run and started falling back down to earth. Meanwhile, having sat on its hands with interest rates at record lows for more than two years, the Reserve Bank is keeping watch for signs it can begin raising rates to normal levels.
This week on Please Explain, guest host Jessica Irving assembles a crack team of economic experts to help you make sense of what’s to come for your wealth, your mortgage and your paypacket.
Guests:
Ross Gittins, Economics Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald
Shane Wright, senior economics writer in Parliament House, Canberra
Martin North, Principal of Digital Finance Analytics
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The Sydney Morning Herald: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
41 min
January 02, 2019 The good, the bad and the ugly: three books that sum up 2018
It's summer - and that means some serious book time. It just so happens three of our best reporters wrote, or are writing, some great long form yarns. This episode you'll hear three interviews about three huge stories that captured the nation last year.
South East Asia correspondent James Massolaand fixer Veena Thoopkrajaetake us behind the scenes of the incredible underground retrieval of 12 Thai boys and their coach, in the book The Great Cave Rescue.
Senior Sydney Morning Herald journalistHelen Pitt won the 2018 Walkley Book Award for her ode to the Sydney Opera House, The House, which was released just in time for the Everest racing scandal debate.
And, Walkley award-winning reporter Adele Fergusongives us a sneak peak at her forthcoming book Banking Bad: How greed and broken governance conspired to break our trust in corporate Australia.

Please Explain - from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, a weekly podcast that cuts through the noise to give you insight into the stories that drive the nation.
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The Sydney Morning Herald: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
38 min
December 27, 2018 "The defining yarn of our generation": our editors reflect on the year that was
What stories defined 2018? Listen in to our exclusive subscriber-only events where editors of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age dissect the news events that shaped the world.
49 min
December 19, 2018 How a Facebook post could cost you your home: freedom of speech in the lucky country
Sued, gagged and broke: nobody does defamation quite like Australia.
It has provided some of the best-read and most colourful cases in our legal history - but defamation law is so bedevilled with complexities and anachronisms that it leaves many lawyers and judges shaking their heads.
In the latest episode of Please Explain, investigative journalist Kate McClymont, Larina Alick, editorial counsel for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and group executive editor James Chessell delve into the risks of publishing, including the social media dangers that most users of Facebook and Twitter are completely unaware of.
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The Herald: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
35 min
December 18, 2018 Coming home blues: How to deal when the holiday is over
Ever had a full-blown case of the post-holiday blues? Here's how to cope with everyday life after the best trip of your life.
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30 min
December 13, 2018 Bonus episode - Intrepid co-founder Geoff Manchester on how travel has changed
Geoff Manchester and Darrell Wade were just a couple of backpackers who had a good idea, and that idea has transformed into a multi-million dollar business, Intrepid. Geoff talks to Ben Groundwater about how travel has change and how we can all continue to be good and sustainable travellers.
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15 min
December 13, 2018 When you're the product: Google and Facebook in the hot seat
When it comes to Google and Facebook, you are the commodity.
That's what ACCC chair Rod Sims said of the Australian inquiry into the tech behemoths. "Their business is about gathering data about you and they do that in more ways than you think," he said.
In this episode of Please Explain our panellists national editor Tory Maguire, media and telecommunications reporter Jennifer Duke and technology reporter John McDuling discuss the broad and sweeping changes the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommend for the two tech giants.
McDuling catches up with Sims himself and foreign and investigations editor Michael Bachelard takes time out while on assignment in Jordan to chat to Please Explain about his experiences in refugee camps near the border of Syria.
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The Herald: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
33 min
December 11, 2018 Things that will surprise you about Vietnam: First-timers travel guide
From sunsets in Ha Long Bay to bustling Ho Chi Minh and cultural Hoi An, this is a travel guide for first-timers (and return travellers) to one of Asia's most loved destinations, Vietnam. Ben Groundwater, Annie Dang and Intrepid's Geoff Manchester talk sights, food, experiences and more.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
39 min