Hack

Australians are one step closer to voting on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament with the Senate passing the special laws required to put on the referendum.

For the Voice to be enacted, more than half of Australians will have to vote "yes" nationwide and four out of six of the states will also have to have a "yes" majority.

We speak to First Nations Australians with different views on the change.

Guests:

• Shalailah Medhora, Hack political reporter
• Mililma May, Kulumbirigin Danggalaba Tiwi woman and Uprising of the People CEO
• Ben Abbatangelo, Gunaikurnai and Wotjobaluk writer

It's the Shakeup, and we are sifting through the big issues, like should we ban pet cats once and for all? Why is politics such a difficult and sometimes dangerous place for women? And should we lower the voting age to 16?

Host Jo Lauder is joined by Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell and The Conversation's deputy arts and culture editor Patrick Lenton.

When you were studying in high school or university, did you ever use prescription drugs (like Ritalin) to help you stay up and get your work done? Some new research has found taking them may not make you work harder or smarter at all.

Plus, Senator Lidia Thorpe made some shocking allegations in parliament this week. We break down how parliamentary privilege works.

And, are you tuning out of the news? It looks like more than two-thirds of Australians are actively avoiding news with Gen Z women losing the most interest.

Guests:

• Dr Elizabeth Bowman, Centre for Brain, Mind and Market, University of Melbourne
• Shalailah Medhora, Hack's political reporter
• Dr Sora Park, News & Media Research Centre,University of Canberra

A Melbourne woman says she was fired for telling her colleagues about her pay rise. What are your rights in this situation?

Shark nets at beaches have been controversial for years and an environmental group reckons some of the animals caught aren't reported in government data.

And Paul McCartney is working with AI to release a new Beatles track with John Lennon's voice. We take a look at how artificial intelligence is changing the music industry.

Guests:

• Glen James, host of my millennial money podcast
• Andre Borell, Envoy Foundation
• Justin Shave, co-founder of Uncanny Valley

There's a new campaign launched  to lower the voting age in Australia from 18 to 16, but would it work and who would it benefit?

17-year-old Wah Nay Moo is hiding in the Thai jungle trying to escape the Myanmar military government. His cousin is trying to him into Australia, but with the backlog of humanitarian visas, it's a long and dangerous wait.

And a Victorian report on mental health has found people who suffered "gross human rights violations" during treatment should be offered compensation by the state government. 

Guests:

• Graham Thom, Australian refugee advisor for Amnesty International
• Simon Katterl, mental health consultant
• Intifar Chowdhury, ANU School of Politics and International Relations

It's the Shakeup and we're talking … about the very unpopular "advice" being dished out by the Reserve Bank governor, how the PETA founder is bequeathing her body parts to world leaders and the new Qantas casual. 

Dave Marchese is joined by actor and comedian Ruby Teys and SMH crime reporter Perry Duffin.

A lot of people hate disruptive protests, like throwing paint on a famous artwork or stopping traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But there's a good reason protesters are going to these extremes.

On another extreme topic, the federal government has flagged new legislation to ban Nazi symbols including the public display of flags, on armbands and T-shirts.

We also hear from some country folk getting their medical degrees so they can head back home and help out with rural doctor shortages.

And did you see a crocodile overseas somehow managed to reproduce by herself? Yep. Didn't even need a man croc to help her.

Guests:

• Dr Aiden Ricketts, Southern Cross University
• Josh Burns, Federal Member for Macnamara
• Billy Collett, Australian Reptile Park

Have you ever been drink spiked? It's pretty scary. What about needle spiking? It seems like a crazy thing to happen, but there are reports of people who have been injected with a substance without their consent in Australian clubs and pubs.

We hear from two friends who got needle spiked on a night out in Sydney, talk to experts about the problem and find out what you should do if you get spiked.

Guests:

• Helena Conibear, chief executive of the the UK Alcohol Education Trust
• David Caldicott, ANU Medical School

At the moment, Aussie performers are involved in more than 12 massive Broadway shows, and changes are coming to make it more accessible for people to audition than ever before. We hear from some of the stars leading the way.

Have you ever considered moving back in with your family to help ease your cost-of-living costs? Now some people are moving back in with their parents and grandparents to ease their financial burden too.  

And for a long time, people have assumed young people in the country fall behind their city peers because of socio-economic status, but it turns out there might be something else going on instead. 

Guests:

• Dr Edgar Liu, Senior Research Fellow at the UNSW City Futures Research Centre
• Dr Philip Roberts, Associate Professor in Rural Education at the University of Canberra

Have you ever thought what would happen if you jumped out of a plane skydiving … and the parachute didn't open? Brad Guy survived this worst-case scenario, with his family and close friends all watching him in freefall. We chat to him about his experience and the aftermath dealing with PTSD and mental illness.

Also, more than 20 years after being jailed over the deaths of her four children, Kathleen Folbigg has been pardoned and released from prison in NSW.

Guests:

• Brad Guy, author of Freefall
• Michelle Ruyters, RMIT's Bridge of Hope Innocence Project